Page 87 of Corrupted Pleasure

Davina’s silky hair covered my chest like a dark curtain as she laid there, spent and beautiful.

So fucking beautiful that something in my chest actually ached. I had never wished for a wife. I took Juliette and Killian for my own, but I had seen what love could do to people. With my father. With my own sister. It fucking ruined you.

Yet, now I wanted this young woman. I wanted to consume her, not only her body but her heart and soul.

The question was whether I was willing to give her my own.

CHAPTER36

Davina

“Well that went great,” Quinn drawled. He was our witness at the Court House where people got married like it was a fast food drive through. “I’m surprised the judge didn’t call the police while you were reciting your vows.”

Liam had secured a beautiful, simple white Chanel dress and white pumps with a red button that matched the red roses braided into my hair by the hairdresser Liam hired. He even bought me fancy undergarments from La Perla. It was as if he knew I loved luxurious undergarments.

Despite the circumstances, I felt beautiful.

“You behaved like we had a gun to your head,” Quinn added dryly.

He was getting on my nerves. “The judgeshouldhave called the police,” I snapped. “Because Liam’s forcing me into this shit.”

Liam grabbed my clammy hand and pulled me along, proclaiming, “It’s done and behind us now.”

It certainly was.

It took us all of ten minutes since we arrived before we were proclaimed husband and wife. Until death do us part, the judge said.Or a divorce,I added silently in my head. Though something about that thought didn’t sit well with me.

A man had been waiting for us as soon as we arrived at the courthouse. He fussed over us from the minute he met us until he delivered us to the judge who would perform the ceremony.

Liam Brennan must have had connections to be able to secure us speedy service on such short notice. But then again, I knew that. He had connections in the criminal world as well as the political one.

And I got my confirmation of those connections right before the judge commenced the service with his comment.

“Thank you for your generous donation, Mr. Brennan.” The judge beamed like a hundred watt light bulb. “Mr. Byron Ashford insisted I don’t mention it, but I couldn’t not thank you.”

Holy shit! Did he mean Byron Ashford, one of the Billionaire Kings? His father, Senator George Ashford had been eyeing the presidency.

Even I, with my limited knowledge of the political world, had seen the papers mentioning Byron’s sister, Aurora Ashford who married a Russian mobster last year. Alexei Nikolaev. Some scary tatted up dude, if pictures were anything to go by. Reporters were having a field day with that little connection. It was a smear on Senator Ashford’s political career for sure, but his daughter didn’t bother hiding it. Not that she should.

But all that had faded into the back of my mind as the ceremony started.

My thoughts scattered, aware only of Liam’s hand on the small of my back and his body next to me. I couldn’t remember all of the words we spoke. I just felthim.

The whole ceremony was a blur, with the exception of the vows Liam uttered as he held my gaze.

You are blood of my blood, bone of my bone.

I give you my body, that we might be one.

I give you my spirit, until our life is done.

The words were beautiful and my heart shuddered with all the possibilities of love. With this man. The heat in his eyes could heat the world and it seeped into my bloodstream, feeding this addiction that formed while I was too busy making other plans.

The moment he slid an expensive diamond wedding band onto my hand, he stole my breath and my heart. To my amazement, my hand didn’t shake at all. As if this was what I had waited for my entire life.

As he promised to love, honor, cherish, and protect me for the rest of our lives, his gaze met mine, burning into my skin and my heart flipped. For being forced into this arrangement, I behaved strangely, fluttery and jittery. Like I was a real blushing bride, and something inside me glowed under the city’s warm breeze.

When we stepped back outside, the New York sun shone bright and held promises of a future. I had no idea where the thought came from, but it held steady in my heart.