“What the hell is that?” He speaks through clenched teeth like he’s having a hard time maintaining composure.
I swallow, trying to retreat, but his hand keeps me in place. “Nothing.”
“Don’t fucking lie to me.”
My eyes narrow, and I pull back harder, bristling at his tone. He releases me, and I snap the scarf from his hand, wrapping it around me quickly. Luckily, Juliet and Orlando are speaking to the judge and no longer paying us any mind.
“Who did that to you?” Elia growls, reaching for me.
I twist away, shooting him a nasty look. “Just drop it, okay?”
“Drop it? Where the fuck would you like me to put it, Caroline?”
Shaking my head, I cross my arms over my chest, closing myself off from him and the confusing things he makes me feel.
This marriage isn’t supposed to be like that.
He huffs harshly, rapidly tapping his hand against the wooden railing in front of the defendant’s stand, and then grips my wrist and starts pulling me from the room before I’ve even had a chance to tell my sister goodbye.
Like I’m actually about to give up any information.
He has his secrets, I have mine.
I’VE BEEN MARRIED to this nymph for all of five minutes, and I can already tell she’s going to cause me problems. That fucking bruise on her neck is all I can think about, clogging my brain with thoughts of murder.
Why the fuck won’t she tell me who did it?
Tugging her along behind me, I burst through the front doors of the courthouse, ignoring the way she struggles to keep astride me. My town car sits at the curb, Benny behind the wheel, and I elbow my way through the crowd, throwing open the back passenger door and shoving her inside.
At least, I try to. My palm flattens on top of her head, but she braces against the roof, resisting. “Get your hands off me,” she snaps, her voice low to avoid eavesdroppers.
My eyes flicker to the cameras behind us, taking the scene in for all of King’s Trace to see. “You really want to do this out here? Our first lovers’ quarrel, where everyone can listen and use our words against us?”
Her top lip curls over her teeth in disgust. “We arenotlovers.”
“No? What would you call what we did at Luca’s party?”
“Nothing that involves the word love, that’s for fucking sure.”
I inhale, closing my eyes, trying to tamper down the heat in my bones.This girl makes me insane.My dick stiffens, and I move forward into her, fitting it into her backside. “Careful,mio amore.Someone might hear and think you have ulterior motives for defying dear old daddy.”
“Yeah? And what wereyourmotives? Because if you think I’m one of your little whores that’ll do whatever you say, you have another thing coming.” She glares at me over her shoulder, fingers flexing against the rubber material on the inside curve of the car door frame.
Her tight, plump ass feels soft against my groin, and I throb with desire. It flares in my feet and zings up my spine, flooding my vision. My hand comes down on one cheek, fingers flexing against the material of her white dress. “I’d watch that pretty little mouth if I were you.”
Even though we’re surrounded by a throng of people, half-strangers with fabricated investment in our lives, there’s a glint in her eyes as she meets my gaze over her shoulder. A flame ignites, though I can’t pinpoint its origin. “I thought you liked my mouth.”
A guttural moan vibrates in my neck, my forehead dropping to her shoulder. “It’s the best thing about you,sweetheart, but it’s about to get you in a lot of fucking trouble. Get in the car.Now.”
She tosses her hair over her shoulder, the scent of tropical, flowery fruit assaulting me as she finally ducks into the vehicle. I slide in beside her as she moves to the opposite door, smoothing her dress down over her legs. We buckle in silence, and Benny pulls away from the sidewalk, inching through the crowd.
“Now,” I say, crossing one leg over the other, “let’s talk about the bruises on your neck.”
“You can’t just tell me what to do, you know. You’re not my father.”
“Thank fuck for that, considering he’s a massive piece of shit whosoldhis daughter.”
She tosses me a heated glare, nostrils flaring, cheeks pinkening.Fuck, that blush makes my throat burn.“How lucky for me that you got there first.”