“Call me husband,” he corrected, his voice a low, unyielding command. His hands slid down to her waist, easily lifting her up onto the edge of the heavy marble dining table.
Sarah gasped as he stepped between her knees, trapping her against his hard, muscular frame. Her fingers instinctively reached out to grip the lapels of his white shirt, her heart hammering wildly against her ribs under the sheer weight of his presence.
“Husband,” she whispered, the shy breath catching in her throat even as her arms tightened around his neck, betraying how desperately she wanted him closer.
Nathan’s mouth claimed hers right there on the edge of the table until Sarah’s last timid protest melted completely against his tongue. He kissed her with a fierce, possessive hunger, parting her lips effortlessly to deepen the touch, taking his time to trace the sensitive roof of her mouth until she was breathless and clinging to him for support. When he finally pulled back, her lips were swollen, her eyes unfocused, and a deep flush burned across her cheeks.
“Look at me, Sarah,” Nathan murmured, his thumb coming up to trace her lower lip, which trembled slightly under his touch.
Sarah looked into his dark, burning eyes, her chest rising and falling in shallow, rapid gasps. “Nathan… I mean, husband… someone might see us through the glass…”
Nathan let out a low, dark laugh that vibrated against her chest. “No one can see us up here, my sweet wife. We are fifty floors above the rest of the world. Up here, it’s just you and me.”
He slid one arm under her knees and the other around her back, lifting her effortlessly off the table and into his arms. Sarah let out a soft, sharp gasp, burying her hot face into the crook of his neck to hide the sheer thrill running through her. The scent of his expensive cologne, sandalwood, cedar, and raw heat filled her senses, making her dizzy with desire. Her fingers clung tight to his broad shoulders as he carried her past the sweeping ocean glass wall, down the private, dimly lit corridor, and into the grand master bedroom.
He set her on her feet at the foot of the enormous king-sized bed facing the water. The moonlight filtered through the glass, casting a soft, silvery glow over the room. She trembled under the intensity of his gaze, her heels sinking into the plush carpet, her chest heaving as she tried to gather her thoughts.
“Turn around,” Nathan ordered softly, his voice dropping into a deep, raspy register that sent a shiver straight down her spine.
Sarah bit her lower lip, heat rushing all the way to her ears, but she obeyed. She turned her back to him, facing the vast dark sea outside the window. She heard the faint sound of his breath catch behind her as his long, warm fingers found the zipper along her back.
Slowly, deliberately, he pulled the metal pull down. The ivory silk parted and slid down her shoulders, over the full curve of her breasts, past the dip of her narrow waist and the generous flare of her hips, pooling in a soft whisper of fabric at her ankles.
She instinctively tried to fold her arms over herself, breathless and wildly self-conscious under his heavy stare, but her knees felt weak with anticipation.
Nathan went completely still behind her. His gaze stayed pinned to her flushed skin, taking in every curve, every dip, every line of her body.
“f**k!” he muttered, his voice thick and raspy with raw desire. “You are so beautiful, Sarah.”
Sarah swallowed hard, her heart hammering against her ribs like a trapped bird. She wanted to look away, to cover herself from his intense stare, but the possessive dark in his eyes anchored her in place. He stepped closer until his warm chest pressed gently against her bare back, his hands reaching around her waist to unhook her lace bra. He drew it off, letting her soft, abundant curves spill free under the dim lights of the room.
“These,” he rasped, cupping her in a broad, warm hand, his heavy thumb rubbing over her swollen peak. “These are mine now.”
A small, helpless sound escaped her throat. She didn't pull away; instead, she leaned imperceptibly into his touch, her body arching back toward his chest even as her eyes darted down in bashfulness.
He turned her around in his arms, backing her onto the soft mattress until her legs hit the edge. He brought her down over the silk sheets and came down over her, his mouth closing over her breast without a moment's hesitation.
Sarah cried out, a sound trapped between a startled sob and a desperate surrender. He claimed her like a man starved after a long winter, drawing her sensitive peak deep into the wet heat of his mouth while his broad hand worked her other side, squeezing and molding her skin to his liking.
“Husband…” she gasped, her voice small, trembling, yet utterly yielding. Her fingers tangled into his thick, dark hair, half trying to hold him still, half pulling him closer to her body.
The title made his heart beat faster. He sucked harder, his tongue circling the peak before drawing it in again, wet, deep, and greedy. He switched sides, latching onto her other breast with the same hungry focus while his palm squeezed her waist, holding her pinned beneath him.
Every time she whimpered the word husband, Nathan made a dark, satisfied sound against her flesh, his mouth growing more possessive by the second. He kissed, licked, and sucked her until her skin was marked with the wet shine of his mouth, burying his face between her breasts to inhale her sweet, intoxicating scent.
“Say it again,” he rasped against her sensitive skin, his hands trailing down her sides, pushing the last layer of her silk panties down her thighs.
“Husband,” she sobbed softly, hiding her burning face against his shoulder as the cool air hit her skin, quickly replaced by the scorching heat of his body. “Husband… please…”
He stripped off the rest of his clothes in brief, frantic movements, coming back over her, bare, heavy, and searingly hot. He parted her thighs with his knee, lining himself up at her slick center, hovering over her with a look of absolute, unyielding ownership.
Sarah felt him, thick, hard, and pressing directly against her center. She sucked in a quick, panicked breath, her thighs trembling around his knee, torn between a sudden wave of bashful hesitation and a desperate, aching need to feel him inside her.
He didn't wait. He held her hips firmly with both hands and thrust into her in one deep, claiming stroke.
Sarah shrieked, the sound breaking into a needy, breathless gasp as her hands clutched wildly at his muscular back, her nails digging into his skin. “Husband!”
Nathan groaned, a deep, primal sound that vibrated straight into her chest. He filled her completely, stretching her, holding completely still for a brief second so she could feel every single inch of his strength and size. Then he began to move slowly at first, deep and possessive, setting a heavy, relentless rhythm that drove every other thought from her mind.
Sarah’s nails dug deeper into his broad shoulders as her hips instinctively rose to meet every heavy stroke. Her body remembered him, welcomed him, and burned for him.
“Husband… husband… ah… husband…”
Each shuddering cry made him thrust harder, holding her close against his chest as he drove her higher and higher into a swirling storm of heat. He palmed her waist, pulling her tighter into his hips, relentless in his obsession while he claimed her again and again.
Sarah was shaking, completely undone. Her face was flushed, her voice wrecked, but she kept repeating the word, clinging to him as the intense sensation coiled tightly in her lower stomach, pulling her toward the edge.
“Husband… please… don’t stop… husband…”
“Never,” Nathan rasped against her wet skin, his breath ragged. “I will not be separated from you. This body stays in my bed. These stay in my mouth. I stay inside you. Do you understand me, Sarah?”
“Yes… husband… yes…” she gasped, burying her face in his neck, completely consumed by the fire between them.
He hooked her leg higher over his broad hip and drove deeper into her core. Sarah let out a broken, high-pitched shout, her body instantly seizing and clenching around him in a hard, violently sweet climax. Nathan followed seconds later with a raw groan, spilling deep inside her, holding her so tightly against his chest that not a sliver of air remained between them.
He stayed inside her long after, his mouth resting against her bruised, wet skin, his heavy chest rising and falling in deep, steady rhythms against hers.
Sarah’s fingers trembled lightly in his dark hair as the world slowly settled around them. She pulled the edge of the silk sheet up slightly to cover her bare shoulder, her cheeks burning with a deep, lingering heat. Yet, despite the bashful urge to hide, she made no move to push him away.
I'm in trouble, she realized, her heart thumping softly against her ribs. The first time at the hotel had been a reckless, liquor-fueled decision born of pain and betrayal. But this? Now they were legally bound as husband and wife under the law. It was supposed to be just a three-year contract, a strategic shield against her father… so why did her heart flutter as if she wanted this fire to burn forever?
Nathan felt her subtle shift and adjusted his weight, kissing the swollen curve of her breast before trailing slow, possessive lips up her neck to capture her mouth in a deep, lingering kiss.
He pulled back just enough to look into her dazed, flushed face, his dark eyes burning with a quiet, dangerous fire.
Three years? Nathan thought to himself, a dark, victorious smirk forming in his mind as he tightened his grip around her waist. You actually think I'm letting you walk away in three years? Never. You are mine now, Sarah, and I am never, ever letting you go.