Page 17 of Bought By the Revenant
My hand travels from his shoulder to the back of his head, and I pull him to me, kissing him again. He hesitates, then wraps his arms around my waist, holding on to me for dear life. I can feel it – the desperation in his embrace, the thirst in the way he’s devouring my mouth. I moan, and he grunts in response. We’re about to get lost in each other.
There’s a voice at the back of my mind screaming at me. “What are you doing, Amity? What the hell? He is… He is…”What is he, though?“He’s made of dead parts!”
I should feel horrified. Why don’t I? Any other woman would run for her life, or run to her death, preferring to be sacrificed to Draug than married to a monster like Riven. Anyone would tell me right now that I’m not reacting normally. That I shouldn’t…be doing this. That I shouldn’t want to touch him, taste him, have him.
But the truth is… By all the gods, he smells and tastes amazing! Better than the peasants I’ve been with. No dirt under his nails, no garlic breath, no beer belly. Riven is, in fact, a true gentleman. He dresses like a noble, behaves like a noble, and smells like a noble. Despite his stitches, he is clean. And despite his mismatched limbs, he is somehow graceful. And strong… By all the gods, he is so strong! Just thinking about how he lifted that tree trunk blocking the road with his bare hands makes me soak my panties.
And they’re soaked enough as they are.
“Amity,” he whispers against my lips. “What are we doing?”
I smile. “What does it look like we’re doing?”
“If we keep going like this, I don’t know…”
He doesn’t finish the sentence, and that makes me more excited. I take a step back, look up at him from behind my dark lashes, and then take his hand. There’s a dull throb in my arm, but he patched me well, and the bandage is clean. It seems like the bleeding stopped. I don’t want to think about it, or I’ll start picking at the bandage, trying to see my wound. The best thing right now is a distraction. Like Riven.
Like my monstrous, revenant husband.
“Come,” I say, pulling him toward the door, then out of the workshop.
He follows me without a word, and I start toward the grand staircase. When we reach my room and I open the door, Riven freezes at the threshold. I turn to look at him, but I’m not sure I know how to interpret the expression on his face.
“Amity, I don’t know if this is a good idea.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean…” He looks down, meeting my gaze. “Are you sure you want to…”
I cock an eyebrow. At least he hasn’t let go of my hand, so I give him a reassuring squeeze.
“To sleep with my husband? Yes, I’m sure.”
I chuckle to loosen the atmosphere, but it doesn’t seem to work. He’s tense.
“It’s the middle of the day.”
“So?”
He stares at something beyond my head, and I turn to see what got his attention. The curtains. Every morning, I open them to let the sun in. The two tall windows overlooking the garden are crystal clean, one of them open, letting a soft breeze in.
“Maybe we could close the curtains,” he says.
It starts to dawn on me what his problem is. But he doesn’t let me respond, because he pulls his hand free and takes a step back into the darkness of the corridor, as if my bedroom is off limits.
“No, I don’t think we should do this. Not during the day. Not ever. I… I don’t know why I thought I could take a bride. I can’t do this, Amity. I’m so sorry. It kills me to disappoint you, but I can’t give you what you want. What you need.”
Okay, now my patience is starting to wear thin. I’m still hot, very much horny, and while I understand where his insecurities come from, I also need him to get over them. I reach for him, grabbing him by the wrist this time, feeling the thick stitches scratch my palm. This takes him by surprise, and when I pull him into the bedroom, his feet obey before his brain can intervene.
“Riven, that is nonsense.” I wrap myself around him and nuzzle his neck with my nose. “I understand, okay? I get it. I heard you, and all I can say to you is that I don’t care. You’re scared I won’t like you anymore if I see you naked?”
With a sigh, he wraps his arms around my waist. I place both hands on his cheeks and look deep into his infinitely white eyes,forcing him to hold my gaze. Our bodies are pressed together. His hard cock is trapped between us, and that is proof that he wants me just as much as I want him. It’s admirable that he’s able to hold back, but I don’t want him to. If anything, I’m actually curious to see what’s hiding underneath his fancy clothes.
“I don’t know,” he whispers.
“I do.”
“No, I don’t know…”
