His other hand cups my face and tilts my mouth up toward his.
“Wait,” I say, blinking rapidly, shock setting in, my mind overloaded by his smell, musky and spicy with a hint of evergreen tree sap. “What are you—”
He presses his lips against mine.
He nibbles my lower lip. He bites it gently, then harder. I gasp and whimper, and I can’t move—I should move—I should run.
I should push him away.
I should scream.
But his mouth covers mine, and his tongue moves against mine, tangling and twirling, and I’m kissing him back with a mindless, reckless passion I didn’t know I had deep inside.
I fall into him and kiss him so hard I think I might break my teeth. I moan into that kiss as his hand moves back to grip my hair tight, holding it hard, almost pulling as he dominates me with his mouth, as he takes me and holds me, and I feel him stiffening against my crotch, and my god, he’s strong and massive and his lips are like heaven and his tongue is like candy, and I think I might pass out—
Until he releases me and I stand there staring into his eyes, breathing hard.
Neither of us moves for one amazing moment.
Until reality reasserts itself.
“What the hell was that?!” I slap his chest and stumble back. My lips are numb like I bit into poison and my fingers fly up to my mouth. “Did you seriously just kiss me?”
His smile is mocking. “I do believe that’s what the kids call kissing.”
“Why? What are you doing?”
“I had to find out.”
“Find out how hard I’m going to punch you in the face for kissing me like that?” I glare at him, my cheeks burning red. I’m so mad and so turned on that I can’t think straight. “You could at least warm me first, you dick. You can’t just—take whatever you want. Not after what happened.”
His face drops slightly. “I wasn’t thinking about that.”
“No, you weren’t. You were thinking about yourself as always.” But I don’t know why I’m blowing up on him. That kiss was incredible, amazing, and it left me breathless, my nipples hard, my pussy tingling and dripping, and maybe that’s why I’m so mad.
I don’t want him to have this power over me. I don’t want to react to his every touch and stare with mindless lust.
I want to hate him as much as he hates me.
This is a game and he’s winning.
“You want to marry me,” he says, his smile gone, his usual scowl in its place. “I need to make sure we’re compatible.”
“Right, so grabbing me and kissing me one random night is the way to do it.”
“It’s a start.”
I grind my teeth together, my excitement dying down, replaced by true anger. “So, what, you’re testing me now? You’re unbelievable, Nico.”
“That’s right,” he says, tilting his head. “I am testing you, princess. If I’m going to marry you and save you from some Russian gulag down in Texas, I need to be sure we can do this for real. I never wanted to marry, so if I give you that, I expect something in return.”
“What the fuck could I possibly give you?”
“You.”
He says the word slowly and I take a step back, my fingertips tingling.
“What?”
“You.” He says it again, staring hard. “You will give me you. All of you. No bullshit. We won’t have a relationship like your father and Elise where you spend all your time in Tuscany going on photoshoots and fucking mindless male models. You’ll be my wife. You’ll have my children.”
“Sounds like hell. I might as well go rot in Dallas.”
“This is your thing, not mine, princess. You want me to save you? You’ll obey me first.”
A sharp spike of excitement races down my core and I force myself not to release a shocked whimper. He’s looking at me like he’s about to rip off my clothes and take me here and now but he hasn’t moved an inch since I backed away.
I don’t know if I should run or throw myself at him.
“What does that even mean?” I speak quietly. I’m almost whispering.
“I’ll be your husband and you’ll be my wife. I’ll give you what you want, princess, if you’ll give me what I need.”
I back away from him again and bump into the bar. I turn, grab my drink, and throw it back. I nearly gag on the gin but force it down my throat. My head’s reeling and my knees are weak and this guy, this fucking guy, he’s a nightmare.
He can’t be serious right now.
“You’re going from acting like I’m a worthless piece of trash to wanting me to obey you. Forgive me if I’m finding this hard to accept.”
“Take your time, princess. I’m in no rush. Besides, I like watching you squirm. Nothing brings me more joy.”