Page 42 of Claimed By the Villain

“Even though you think we shouldn’t be together?”

“Yes. There’s something you should never forget, Jackie. No matter how precious you are to me, I’m a monster. And monsters don’t have a conscience.”

“There’s nothing you’ve done that you regret?”

“No. Except not getting closer to you sooner.”

She takes a step back, but I can see a vein pulsing in her neck, telling me she’s turned on too.

“What do you mean by that?”

I walk over to her and grip her jaw, my face hovering over hers.

“I’ve tasted your pussy. I’m kind of addicted to it. If I’d known you were that sweet, I’d have taken you for myself a long time ago.”

“You don’t want me for me, you want my body.”

“Yes, that’s right. For five years.”

Jackie

I want to have the courage to push him away, torn between loving him more for not selling me a fantasy or hitting him for refusing to lie, even a little.

“I need to think.”

He slides an arm around my waist and nips at my jaw, making my skin prickle.

“There’s nothing to think about. I’m trying to handle this without treating you like the bastard I am, but I’m not letting you die just because you’re stubborn as hell.”

“If I agree…”

He lifts an eyebrow with irony.

“Whenwe get married,” I correct, and I practically have to smack myself in the face to remember the marriage will be a sham, because I like how that sounds way too much, “I don’t want to be obligated to sleep with you. I’d feel horrible if it happened.”

He looks so shocked that he lets go of me and takes a step back.

“I’d never force you.”

“I know. It never even crossed my mind that you would. But you’re a master at seduction. You make me forget my own name. I’m accepting this absurd marriage deal, Lucifer, but my body is non-negotiable. I’m not having sex with you just because we’ll be husband and wife and that would give you easy access to me.”

“Isn’t that what happens in most marriages?”

“I don’t work that way. I need the connection.”

“Believe me, very few couples who claim to be in love have a connection like ours.”

He smiles when he says it, but I see it doesn’t reach his eyes. I know he’s irritated, and I suspect it’s because he’s used to having women throw themselves at him with a snap of his fingers.

“I wouldn’t know.”

“What do you mean?”

No one’s ever made me feel this way, I say in my head, because I’d rather die than let my guard down that much.

I see he is still waiting for an answer.

Because while being with someone else, Lucifer, I was always waiting for the day you’d stop seeing me as a sister and see me as a woman.