Second (Betrothed 6)

And I kissed her.

Her lips were warm and soft, just as I remembered, but they were also now rigid and still. She took a deep breath when she felt me, her body tightening under my grasp.

I kissed her again, feeling that old inferno spark to life at the simplest touch. My chest rumbled with the fire in my heart, and my cold fingertips suddenly felt scalding hot. My hand left hers, and I circled her waist, wanting to pull her into me so I could feel her heartbeat through her clothes.

But I never got the chance.

She pushed me off and stepped back, her fingers moving to her lips like I’d punched her instead of kissed her. She closed her eyes for a moment, self-loathing written on her face. She wiped away my kiss on the jacket before she opened her eyes and looked at me again. There was no desire there anymore. Now, there was just contempt like she hated me. “I’m married.”

I felt terrible. Her rejection stung, but the pain in her voice hurt me more.

She stripped off the jacket and threw it at me. “He cheated on me, but I would never do the same. I’m better than that. I’m bigger than that.” Ferocity was in her gaze, as if she’d lost all respect for me. “Stop doing this, Damien.”

“Doing what?” I asked quietly.

“Using me. You know how I feel about you, and you play me—”

“I’m not playing you.” Was that how it seemed? My feelings were one-hundred-percent genuine.

“Yes, you are. What was your plan? Push me up against that wall and fuck me right here? Then pretend like nothing happened?” Her voice was loud and hysterical, as if she didn’t give a damn if anyone overheard us.

“Annabella, I didn’t have a plan—”

“Fuck you, Damien.” She threw down her arms. “You dumped me because you didn’t want me. You told me not to marry Liam even though you don’t love me. You just want me on your hook. You want me to pine for you because it inflates your ego—”

“That’s not true at all.”

“Just stay away from me, Damien. I mean it.” She held up her hand to keep me back. “You turn me into a person I don’t want to be. You make me desperate, irrational—and now you’re turning me into a woman who cheats on her husband. That’s not who I want to be. That’s not who I’m going to be.” She turned around and walked off.

“Annabella.”

She didn’t stop. She went back into the ballroom and left me there.

Alone.

5

Annabella

I hadn’t realized love could turn to hate so quickly.

Damien played me for a fool, made me sing like the strings of a violin. He turned me into an imbecile, a stupid woman who would abandon everything for a beautiful man.

I was not falling for it…not this time.

I knew who I was, and I wouldn’t falter. I wouldn’t abandon my beliefs just because of the pain in my heart. I wouldn’t betray the man who loved me. I told Liam I was committed to our marriage, that I wanted to try again. Hooking up with Damien was disrespectful and just wrong.

Damien was an asshole for putting me in that situation. He’d had his chance to be with me, and he declined.

And I wouldn’t be his goddamn side chick.

I sat at the vanity and removed my diamond earrings before I unclasped the necklace from around my throat.

Liam was visible in the reflection behind me. He sat on the edge of the bed and untied his dress shoes before he slipped them off. Then he sat there, staring at me with those intense blue eyes. It wasn’t a gaze packed with desire. It was a different look altogether.

I returned his stare, just as prey looked at the predator before they were attacked.

“Did I do something?” His deep voice shattered the silence of the room, quiet but still innately powerful.

I dropped my gaze in shame. “No.” I’d been angry with Damien since the event on the balcony. After I’d walked inside, I’d calmed down in the bathroom, but when I found Liam in the crowd, I said I was ready to leave…even though the party had just started. “It wasn’t you…”

“Then tell me.”

I hadn’t decided if I was going to tell Liam what happened, but it seemed wrong to lie about it now. When he was with another woman, he came clean and told me. I didn’t appreciate what he did, but I did respect his honesty. He deserved the same from me. “I went to get some air on the balcony…and he joined me.”

Confusion came over his face, digesting the equation I’d just thrown at him. When he cracked it, he turned cold again but also angry. “And what did he do?” He straightened on the bed, his hands gripping each of his thighs, taking a defensive stance.