Page 25 of Merciless Union
“Aren’t we …?”
He looks back at me, quirking his eyebrow. “Aren’t we going to what?”
“Would you hold me?” In my dreams about my first time, the man always held me after. It made everything much more romantic.
He stares at me so intently for a moment before a dark laugh passes his lips. “I’m not a cuddler, Arina. You did your duty to me. You’re officially mine. That pussy is mine. That’s all there is to it.” He turns back around and enters the bathroom. After a couple of seconds, I hear the shower turn on.
I lay back down, staring up at the ceiling.
I’m in a beautiful bed in a beautiful hotel room in the best city in the world. And yet, I’m upset.
He was right when he said he only wanted me as a trophy. I’m nothing more to him than what’s between my legs.
He didn’t even give me a true first kiss.
I’m too tired even to cry. I look at the ceiling, wondering how I’m going to find happiness within this marriage.
CHAPTER7
Maxim
Arina’s body is stiff next to mine when we go to bed. She won’t even look at me. Guess it’s what I get after telling her I don’t cuddle. And I accidentally took her a little rougher than I meant to. She just looked so appetizing in her wedding dress that I needed to make her mine as soon as possible.
“Are you angry with me?” I ask. She turns her back to me and curls into a fetal position.
“No. I’m just tired.”
“Huh.” I stare up at the ceiling. “Well, then, goodnight.”
Her voice comes out as a whisper. “Goodnight.”
I stare at her back, watching as her shoulders relax and her breath evens with sleep.
I finally close my eyes and drift off.
The first thing I see in the morning is an empty spot next to me. I sit up quickly and grab the gun I always keep on my bedside table, no matter where I am. Where the fuck is Arina?
Then I hear the rainfall from the shower and relax, setting my gun down. She’s just in the bathroom.
Fuck.
With all this uncertainty about a coup, I guess I’m a little on edge. Arina’s fine. I don’t even know if I care for her all that much, but the thought of her being gone sends a pang of worry through me.
I can’t care about my wife. Any weakness can be used against me. I need to keep my walls up around her.
But that doesn’t mean I can’t enjoy her body.
I slip out of bed and go into the bathroom. Steam is everywhere. Through it, I can make out Arina’s figure as she washes her hair.
Closing the door behind me, I step into the bathroom. Her eyes are closed. She doesn’t even sense me. She really is like a deer—innocent and startles easily.
I know this because she shrieks when I open the shower stall.
She covers her breasts as she faces me, looking at me wide-eyed.
“It’s not like I haven’t seen them before,” I murmur.
“What?”
