Page 72 of Devil's Iris
I gulp, glancing up at him while carefully avoiding direct eye contact. “A little… here and there,” I murmur. “I’m sorry if I did or said anything inappropriate last night.”
He levels a look at me. “I couldn’t sleep all night because of you.” He takes a deliberate step towards me, and I scramble to my feet, clutching the covers around me like a shield. But there’s nowhere to retreat in this suddenly too-small room. “Are you going to take responsibility for that?”
My heart pulses in my throat. “W–what do you mean?”
“You—” He waves a hand down my body, “—stripped yourself bare and spread out on that bed like the most tempting offering I’ve ever seen. While I was in the shower, trying to cool down from everything you’d said to me. Do you have any idea what that did to me?”
I flinch at the seductive note in his voice. Heat floods my cheeks. “Oh, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean–”
Then he’s right in front of me, close enough that I can see the storm raging in his green eyes, and he chuckles. But it’s not a happy sound—it’s strained, almost pained. “When I finallyget my hands on you this weekend, I’m going to punish you for this torture. I’m going to fuck you so hard you’ll beg for mercy. But I won’t show you any. Not after what you put me through.”
Oh.The air in the room crackles with electricity, becoming so thick and heated I can barely breathe. Sweat slides down my spine as my core clenches with sudden, desperate need, sticky wetness leaking, coating my inner thighs.
I gulp, staring up at him with wide eyes, completely speechless, my mouth opening and closing like a fish gasping for air. The covers slip slightly in my nerveless fingers, and his gaze tracks the movement with laser focus.
He curses under his breath, then spins away from me, storming out of the room like he can’t get away fast enough.
What just happened?
Long after he’s gone, I stand there frozen, heart thundering an unsteady staccato while I try to process the tornado that just swept through my life. My body is still humming with unwanted arousal, still aching for something I don’t have a name for.
He threatened me. Promised to hurt me. And I… I liked it.
A knock on the door snaps me out of my stupor. “You awake, sleeping beauty?” Elira’s cheerful voice drifts through the wood.
“Yes.” It comes out as a husky whisper, so I clear my throat and try again. “Yes!”
“Good. Get ready. Breakfast is on its way up.”
“I’ll be out in a minute!” I call back, then make my way to the bathroom on shaky limbs.
There are two toothbrushes on the counter—one still in its packaging, the other obviously used.Romero’s.I swallow hard, because even the thought of him standing in this exact spot brushing his teeth makes my clit throb with want. What’s he doing to me? Why did his words affect me that way? I should’ve been scared, not aroused!He’s twisting me into a deviant like him.
I brush my teeth with more vigor than strictly necessary, trying to scrub away the taste of champagne and regret and whatever this new, hungry thing inside me is becoming. Then a quick shower before I get ready for what promises to be a very long day.
Breakfast is a spread worthy of royalty—perfectly fluffy pancakes, bacon that’s crispy without being burnt, coffee that smells like heaven in a cup. But I can’t focus on any of it.
Because he’s sitting directly across from me.
Stop looking at him.
But I can’t help myself. Every few seconds, my traitorous eyes drift up from my plate to find him already watching me with such blazing heat and intent that makes my fork rattle against the porcelain. The girls are on one side of the table, the guys on the other side—Emily’s punishment for them ‘crashing our party’, as she so eloquently put it.
If only she knew what kind of crash landing I’d had this morning.
I steal another glance at him, and my heart seizes. Each time our gazes meet, my mind replays his threatening words on an endless loop.
I’m going to fuck you so hard…
“Done?”
I jolt, nearly sending my coffee cup flying, as Gia places a hand on my shoulder. She frowns with concern, but thankfully doesn’t comment on my obvious distraction. I nod, glancing down at my plate in surprise. It’s completely empty, though I have no memory of actually eating anything. My throat had felt too tight to swallow.
Emily efficiently kicks the guys out so we can ‘get readywithout being groped’. Herexactwords. They make me gulp when I think of my own fate on my wedding night.
The wedding—which is tomorrow. Holy shit.
After we’re properly dressed and primped, the girls pepper me with questions about the ceremony, which I can thankfully answer now after my meeting with Marcy, the wedding planner, a few days ago. I’m grateful for the subject change—finally, something to think about besides Romero’s dark promises. At least for a little while.
