ARIA'S POV
Marcus’s arm is still draped around my waist like a heavy, suffocating shackle... While he beams at the guests, playing the role of the devoted fiancé but to me, he is nothing but a ticking time bomb.
Three weeks...
The number pulses behind my eyes. I have three weeks to get the merger signed, dismantle a conspiracy threatening my life, and somehow find a way out of a marriage that would be a prison sentence...
I force my lips into a practiced curve... A bright, empty smile that doesn't reach my eyes as I greet our throng of well-wishers who came to congratulate us after Marcus's announcement...
My core is still throbbing... A secret heat that makes my skin feel too tight for my body. I can still feel the ghost of Nicolai's hands on my hips and the phantom friction of his
