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Broderick grabbed her ass, his movements slow, dragging his cock out until just the tip kissed her entrance.

Then he drove back inside, coaxing a whimper from her lips.

He set a languid pace, drag and thrust, drag and thrust, each stroke stoking the fire beneath his skin until restraint began to fray.

He angled her hips, thrusting deeper, harder, until the slap of his balls against her ass punctuated each plunge.

He wanted to know every inch of her, every tremble and gasp, every subtle plea for more.

She was his to map, to master—and the way her body yielded, even as her mind warred with itself, filled his veins with molten need.

Her nails raked his shoulders, swift little bites of pleasure-pain, as she clawed for something solid amidst the storm of sensation. Her movements grew frantic, hips rising to meet him, thighs clutching him closer, her desire a wild pulse beneath her defiance.

It made him ravenous for her.

“Look at me,” he growled, his voice roughened by lust and command.

Her eyes fluttered open, and for a fleeting breath, vulnerability glimmered in their depths—an unguarded, naked yearning. Gone in an instant, swallowed by the familiar fire of her stubborn pride, but he had seen it. And it fanned the inferno raging inside him.

“Let go,” he rasped, tightening his grip on her thighs as he slowed his rhythm to a torturous pace. “Let me give ye this, Davina.”

She didn’t speak, but her body betrayed her desire to surrender. Each gasp, each shiver, every helpless moan that escaped her lips urged him on, her voice breaking as it wrapped around his name like a plea.

His mouth brushed her kiss-swollen lips. A rough, satisfied rumble vibrated in his chest. “Stop fightin’, it Blossom,” he coaxed, his voice thick with need, then drove into her with a savage thrust.

Her frustrated groan sent a dark thrill through him, and he continued his slow torment, taking her to the brink again and again but she never let herself fall.

He wanted her to break, to shatter completely beneath him, to give him everything—her body, her soul, her surrender.

But she clung to her defenses, her walls still fiercely intact even as her body pleaded for release.

“Say it,” he growled with raw desire. “Say ye want me.”

Her lips parted, but no sound escaped. Her eyes locked with his, wide and glimmering in the firelight, and for a fleeting instant, he saw those walls tremble. Cracks formed, but she gathered herself, chin tilting with stubborn defiance.

“I don’t need to say it,” she whispered, her breath uneven. “You already know.”

His grin unfurled slowly. “Aye, Blossom,” he murmured, his voice a dark caress, rough silk sliding over her skin. “I do.”

Broderick drove into her, increasing his pace, each thrust more demanding, more punishing, hitting her deep at just the right angle.

Her inner muscles gripped him tight, and his control, already threadbare, began to unravel.

She was everything he’d imagined—nay, more.

She was fire and silk, fury and surrender, and he was drowning in her.

“God, Davina,” he groaned, her name torn from his throat like a desperate prayer.

His mouth found her neck, teeth grazing her pulse as he lost himself completely in her heat.

He didn’t know if he was claiming her or if she was the one unmaking him, but it didn’t matter.

Nothing else existed beyond this moment .

Her cries climbed higher, rising like a tempest as her body tightened around him, quaking beneath his relentless rhythm.

Her nails raked furrows down his back, drawing blood, marking him as hers.

And then she shattered, her release bursting free with a cry of his name, raw and breathless, a sound that drove him over the edge.

His balls drew tight, pleasure coiling at the base of his spine before it exploded in a blinding rush. He drove deep inside her, his body tensing with the force of it, a groan tearing from his lips as he emptied himself into her heat. He didn’t stop until his legs ceased their trembling.

Spent and breathless, he collapsed over her, their bodies still locked together, slick with sweat, their ragged breathing filling the quiet chamber. The fire crackled softly nearby, casting flickering shadows over their tangled limbs.

Broderick lifted his head, brushing a damp strand of hair from her flushed face, his fingers lingering over her fevered skin. Even now, buried inside her, his shaft hardened once more, lengthening with impossible desire. What in blazes is this woman doing tae me?

For the briefest moment, he glimpsed something vulnerable in her eyes—something soft, almost tender, like a hidden ember beneath the ashes of her pride.

But then her gaze cooled, like a winter wind snuffing a flame.

She shifted beneath him, sliding away, and the fragile moment between them vanished.

She rolled to the edge of the bed, scooting away from him. “The marriage is consummated,” she said quietly. “I’m going back to my chamber.”

Broderick snatched her wrist, stopping her. “Nay,” he said, his voice firm. Propping himself upon his elbow, his gaze pinned her in place. “I can still feel yer walls up, thicker than ever. Ye gave me yer body, but not the rest of ye.”

Her gaze hardened, and she pulled her arm from his grasp. “That wasn’t part of the bargain. I gave you what you needed. What we both needed. That’s enough.”

A grunt scuffed his throat. “No’ even close, Blossom.”

She bent and grabbed her torn chemise, then draped it over her breasts, the thin material cascading over her lush thighs. “You’ll be gone soon anyway,” she said, her voice clipped. “Why does it matter? We’ve met our obligations. You’re free to go.”

Her words were a knife, cutting deep, but he forced his expression to remain neutral. “I’ll be back t’morrow eve.” His deep voice calm but solid. “We’ll talk about trust.”

“Why at night?” She narrowed her eyes, suspicion darkening their sapphire hue. “Where are you during the day? Not a single person is able to answer that question for me.”

Broderick clenched his jaw, frowning. “Checkin’ intae my business, are ye?”

“You’re my husband now. Don’t you think I have a right to know?”

The corner of his mouth curled into a devious grin. “Interesting how ye use this marriage when it suits ye.”

Her chin jutted forward in that relentless defiance.

“Where I go durin’ the day is nay yer business.” He didn’t like shutting her out when he was trying to coax her trust, but Broderick wasn’t ready to reveal his true nature…yet. Or maybe he never would if he were leaving anyway.

Defiance burned in her sapphire eyes. “Then you’ll be greeted by my locked doors.”

His chest bounced with a huff. “Ye think a locked door’ll keep me out?”

She inhaled sharply, and she hugged her torn garment tighter to her throat.

Pivoting on the ball of her foot, she showed him her delicious teardrop ass and slammed the door to the nursery behind her.

Broderick listened to the whoosh of her rapid heartbeat, her shallow breaths just on the other side.

Then her retreating footsteps and the soft closing of her chamber door.

He sighed and fell back onto the mattress, staring up at the canopy. She’d left his bed again, and he still wasn’t satisfied. She was sweeter than anything he’d imagined, more intoxicating than the first time. But he didn’t just want her body. He wanted her complete surrender.

Saints be damned, he would have it.