Ruthless Arrangement (Underworld Kings)

"Wow,” she murmurs.

“What?”

“Your idea of what our marriage will be is pretty one-sided.” She’s frowning, but I can’t change the facts. I can only shrug.

"Does that sound like a good life to you? Having a woman in your life who may or may not have feelings for you?" Her eyebrows pinch together as she purses her lips.

"It's better than what I’ve had in the past, and I guarantee that life with me will be better than anything you've had in the past."

"That's true. You've already given me so much, but I had hoped for a marriage of love."

I snort. “Love is an archaic excuse for decisions people make to obtain what they want. I want you. It’s that simple. My mother used to say that she loved my father. That emotion nearly destroyed her. I'm not wired to give love, but if you crave love so much, you can love our children." I expect her to be upset, to fight my reasoning, but she surprises me instead.

"Will you love our children?" she asks quietly.

"I will care for them and take care of them,” I respond. “I will never fail in protecting them, and Belle, that's more than either of us have had."

I’m treading carefully with her. I'm not tactless enough to broach this like a negotiation, but she's not going to be blindsided by the fact that I'm not the kind of guy that will even begin to operate on emotions labeled as love. She nods, not happily, but as if she understands.

"Does that mean you agree?" I ask, trying to keep a spike of hope from my voice. I don't know why I care, but I do, and I don't like it. She nods. A mixture of relief and happiness—something I truly haven't felt in months—washes over me. "Prove it. Come over here and kiss me."

She moves around the table as I sit on its edge. I pull her between my legs as she kisses me first. There's no hesitation, although there’s an innate shyness about Belle that, truthfully, turns me on more than anything else ever has in my life. It's hot and sensual as she explores my lips and mouth with her tongue. I don’t take control. That’s big for me, but for some reason, I’m enjoying her feeling free enough to take what she wants. I run my hand up to her breast, kneading the tender flesh before teasing her taut nipple. She gasps, pulling back enough to allow me to see her eyes widen in surprise. I grin at her. The taste of her on my lips and the feel of her breast beneath my hand is better than I could've imagined. There's a fire in her that burns hot for me, and I long to have more of it.

"I'm not sure I can wait until I get out of here to have you," I admit, my breath tickling her full lips. Her own breathing is erratic as she touches them. The silence hangs between us before I kiss her again. I only have a limited time with her, and I don’t want to waste it.

CHAPTER 25

BELLE

One Month Later

I'm working on a surprise for Killian. The anticipation of seeing him tomorrow has been building in me all week. I really wanted to do something nice for him, so I talked E-Z into helping. I have no idea how he did it, but he got approval for me to bring food to Killian so I can spend alone time with him.

It feels almost like first date jitters only it's with my husband. It still feels weird to think of myself as married. I want things to be perfect for him. After a lot of insistence from me, Mavis agreed that I needed to learn how to make his favorite meal—homemade lasagna. At first, she insisted that she could make it and that taking it would be enough to surprise him, but I wanted to do something for him myself.

It took a lot of learning and a lot of failures. E-Z thought it was hilarious. He’s still watching me today, the same amusement on his face.

"Why are you going through all this trouble? It's your fifth time trying to get those noodles right." He grins and shakes his head as I look at him in surprised.

"Because they're for Killian. He always makes sure I'm okay and have everything while he is sitting there with nothing. I want to do something to make him smile." Something I said must have caught E-Z off guard because he doesn't respond, just sits there staring at me. I blow my bangs out of my face, use the back of my had to rub some flour off my cheek, and try to go back to pulling the noodles from the attachment on the mixer.