Page 39 of Tempt Me
Isaac drops me like a hot potato before he steers me back into my room and closes the interconnecting door, leaving me cold, alone, and full of a burning arousal for him that craves to be satisfied.
“Rue!”
“Uhm, hang on. I’m not dressed,” I call out, running my hands through my hair and noticing my peaked nipples pebbling against the fabric of the tee.
Moving my ass to the closet, I grab my robe and wrap it around me, tying the belt tightly but then loosening the fabric around my top half to disguise the obvious excitement that my body is still waiting to sate.
Unlocking the door, I yank it open with a scowl to see my parents standing there with a beat-up Antonio between them.
“Did he hurt you?” Dad asks, still with that quiet calm that is his signature tone.
Blinking, I take a second before I answer, knowing my voice will be husky with desire.
“Rue?”
“Yes, he did.” I shove up the flowing sleeve of my white satin robe to show my parents the bruising that is now darker and uglier.
For the first time in my life, I see the flash of fury in my dad’s dark eyes. He shoves Antonio to his knees in front of me and pulls out a gun. Placing the barrel with the silencer attached at Antonio’s temple, I can’t help the thrill of anticipation that shoots through me.
Letting out a breath, I wait for it, but instead, my dad says, “Sign the document.”
It takes me a moment to understand that he means me. “What?” I ask, looking at my mom, who is holding out a piece of paper.
“Sign it, Rue,” she says.
With a shaking hand, I take it, glancing down at the printed words as the nausea wells up and threatens to crash down over me, forcing my lunch up with its progress.
“No,” I say, shaking my head. “No.”
A soft click draws my focus to the interconnecting door, where I see Isaac looming in the space between our rooms.
“Sign it, and then this will all be over,” Mom says softly.
“Why?”
“I explained the legalities to you,” she replies.
“What?” Wracking my brain, I try to recall our conversation—something about land and no legal comeback.
“You were going to do it anyway,” Dad states, back to being the unruffled, almost Head of Solitaire. “This is pushing up the timeline slightly.”
“Slightly?” I croak. “This is…this is…” Glancing at Isaac, my mouth open, understanding floods his expression before his gaze goes hard and cold, almost unfeeling. It breaks my heart as he moves in just behind my dad, showing his support for this decision, almost as if he knew.
My heart explodes as Mom presses a pen into my hand. Gulping back the overwhelming feeling of emotion in my throat, I take it and sign the marriage license, wondering what in the fuck is going to happen next.
I’m not left waiting long as Dad hauls Antonio back to his feet and gestures for Father Vince to enter the room.
Standing there in my oversized tee, covered by a white satin robe and bare feet, I’m drawn into a wedding service that is so far beyond surreal, I don’t even know what’s happening as it’s happening.
Moments later, Father Vince mutters, “You may kiss the bride?”
The question in his tone is almost comical. I let out a loud snort as Dad shoves Antonio toward me by the back of his head, forcing him to kiss me and make this marriage legal and binding. I swear to God, if I have to consummate this farce, I will kill both of my parents where they stand and accept whatever punishment will be headed my way.
“Excellent,” Dad says jovially, yanking Antonio back.
It’s only now that I notice that his wrists are bound together behind him with zip tie.
“Isaac.”
