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"What the fuck!" I screech, as I jingle and jangle the bloody knob, only to find my husband, all six-feet, six inches of him, smirking at me from the threshold of his bedroom door. "What did you do, Maksim?"
That smirk of his turns wicked, dark eyes brilliant, as if he's a clever wolf and he's caught a lost lamb to devour.
Fuck.That should not be so hot.
"All your things are safe. They're just in my room now." He says so coolly it simply irks me.
"Why?"
"Because you need to get used to my presence. My heat. My touch. My kiss. You're my wife. You should be in my bed."
"You signed the agreement, Mr. Giordano. You-"
"I changed my mind," he shrugs, crossing his arms like a petulant teenager.
"That was a non-negotiable."
"No,Parkerwas the ‘non-negotiable.’ This... is progressing forward as the contract states in the fine print. Or did you not read that?"
I raise a brow, lift my chin, and square back my shoulders. "The fine print states-"
His arms relax and go to his sides, and my giant husband takes a step forward like an ominous shadow. "The fine print states that if one party or the other wants to push things forward, the first step is sharing a bedroom. Ergo, you are now in my bedroom. You will sleep beside me. You will no longer need your weighted blanket, because that's now me. You need my heat, Duchess? You got it. You need my cock? My fingers? My mouth? All me. I protect and I provide as a husband should. I will come home for dinner every evening, and you willkiss me.I will also be kissed in the morningbeforeyou get out of bed, or either of us leaves for the day.”
I gasp as I search his eyes, trying to remember the fine print to see if he's lying. But no – my husband may be a wanker, but he's not a liar. Not like me, anyway. I search my brain and vaguely remember Lily bringing something for me to sign while mumbling anxiously. "You bastard! You had the fine print changed! Give me the key to my room."
"No."
"I'm not kidding Maksim, give me the fucking key!" He crowds me, my back almost flush against my (now vacant) bedroom door, but I don't back down. Standing up on my tippy toes and shoving my finger into his chest. "You're being an insufferable brute."
"And you are being my stubborn, beautiful wife. Mine. Mine to fix and mine to ruin all over again."
"There's absolutely nothing wrong with me," I lie.
"Isn't there? You flinch at my touch, get hives when others touch you," he lists every single one of my flaws one by one, as if I don't know them all, and I shrink back. "You, my beautiful wife, are done fighting the demons in your brain alone. I provide. I protect. I shelter. I help as much as I'm going to hurt. You will no longer reject me, Sabrina. I’m over it. I’ve done things your way, I’ve been a very patient man, but it’s time to end this and do it my way.”
Tears well into my eyes, "Give me the fucking key, I'm not asking again."
"No," he states firmly, and I shake my head.
"This is hurting more than helping, I need time. I need space."
"Not from me. Not anymore."
"I hate you!" I shriek, pushing him away. I run downstairs like a child throwing a horrific tantrum, so he doesn't see me cry, bypassing Savage on the way down. But I have nowhere to go. I can't even go on a run, because my stuff is in his room. God hates me. I'm sure of it.
I go straight to the kitchen, hearing Savage's familiar footsteps, but he doesn't speak a word to me. Instead, he hands me my headphones, Bluetooth already on, I put them on, making sure to makeextra noise as I pull out baking supplies. It only pisses me off further because they're all reusable silicone and make absolutely no fucking noise when I slam them down.
I am not God’s favorite.
In the end, I decided that scream-singing at the top of my lungs to Pierce the Veil is the proper way to go.
That evening, after pecking my stupid husband, I sleep on the floor…. But I wake up on Maksim's bed with his thick, muscular arm around me. When I try to shove him off, the cockwomble only holds me closer, tucking me into his body like I'm his favorite pillow.
Also, the enormous thing poking me in the back? Obviouslynothis gun.
And he wasn't lying - he sleepscompletelynude.
God absolutely hates me.