Page 28 of Pretend Wife (Angels of the Secret Order #4)

TWENTY-ONE

Hayden

Danielle’s words landed somewhere between my heart and my soul.

I swallowed hard as I drank in the sight of her body—her perfect breasts, her slim curves, her toned stomach that suggested she was much stronger than one would assume, the white lace panties that hid her pussy, the thick garter strapped around one thigh.

There would be no going back after this, but I didn’t want to go back.

I wanted her forever. I’d already known nine months wasn’t going to be nearly enough time with her, but now I wasn’t sure an entire lifetime would be enough.

I closed the space between us and cupped her face between my palms, hoping she couldn’t feel the way my hands were trembling.

What the hell was wrong with me? I wasn’t even this nervous my first time.

My own inexperience had never terrified me nearly as much as the idea of taking Danielle’s virginity.

I’d never been a woman’s first before, and Danielle wasn’t just any woman.

She was everything I’d never dared to believe existed.

“Hayden,” she murmured, “are you okay?”

“It’s not me I’m worried about.”

Her fingers curled around my wrists. “You don’t have to worry about me.”

I shook my head. “I’m always going to worry about you, Sunday School.”

A soft smile curved her lips. “I know, but I’m going to be fine. You want to know how I know?”

“How?”

“Because I trust you.”

Her words hit me like a sucker punch to the chest. I didn’t deserve her trust, not after I’d shattered it to dust when I left her nearly a year ago. But she was staring up at me with wide eyes like I was a much better person than I was.

And dammit, I was going to figure out how to be that person for her. Even if it was the last thing I did.

My lips claimed hers in a deep kiss, her sweet taste overwhelming my senses.

Her hands tightened around my wrists as she moaned into my mouth.

I backed her against the nearest wall, pinning her between my body and the unyielding surface so I could devour her more thoroughly.

She was more addictive than anything I’d ever tasted, and I wondered how I’d managed to survive an entire year without kissing her. The idea seemed unimaginable now.

I didn’t even care if she tore my heart out and broke it into tiny bits as long as she was mine. Danielle was worth any fallout and every risk .

My hands dropped from her face to run over every inch of her body. I’d just reached her hips when she wrenched her lips from mine.

“Wait,” she gasped out.

I groaned, forcing my hands to still. If she was changing her mind now, there was a legitimate chance that I would go insane. “What is it?”

Her hand landed in the center of my chest, and she pushed me back with a surprising amount of strength, forcing me to stumble back a step.

With her other hand, she undid the garter around her thigh, letting it fall to the floor along with whatever she had tucked inside it.

“You can’t touch that,” she said, her tone dead serious.

I raised my brows at her, glancing down at the garment. “Do I want to know?”

“It’s one of those secrets that’s dangerous to you and you claimed you didn’t care about.”

I shook my head. “I’m not going to pretend to understand.”

“Probably smart.”

“Can I kiss you now?”

“Yes.”

I didn’t need to be told twice as I claimed her mouth again before moving on to her jaw, her neck, and over her shoulders.

Her head tipped back against the wall, offering me better access as I covered her skin with kisses.

I was torn between wanting to take my time feasting on her and the need for more.

My fingers wrapped around her now-bare thigh, and I watched her face for any hint of hesitation or refusal as I pulled her leg around my waist. All I found was my own lust reflected back at me in her darkening eyes.

I was still fully dressed, my pants and the thin lace of her panties creating a barrier between us that my cock wasn’t at all thrilled with. He strained against his confines in an attempt to get to her, growing harder and more painful by the second.

But he could wait.

Right now the only thing that mattered was Danielle and her pleasure.

Her hips arched into me, rubbing against the bulge in my pants. She was a sight to behold with her head thrown back, her eyes closed, and her lips parted as she chased her pleasure, grinding herself against me.

Fuck. I wasn’t going to last like this. And I absolutely refused to come in my pants like a pubescent boy. It had been a long time since I’d been this affected by a woman. In fact, I wasn’t sure I’d ever been so turned on.

As I drank in the sight of the sex goddess in my arms—the perfect mix of innocence and pure temptation—I finally got why people wanted to get married.

The desire to claim her, mark her, never ever let her go, burned in my gut.

I needed her to be mine and only mine, for the world to know that she was taken.

If I could keep her hidden away in my room forever, I probably would.

Danielle grasped my shoulders, her nails digging into my skin, the tiny bursts of pain sending pleasure straight to my cock.

This wasn’t going to work.

I pulled back, and a second later I was scooping Danielle into my arms .

“Wh-what are you doing?” she asked.

“I did not wait this long to have you just to fuck you against a wall. We’re doing this right, wife.”

“What’s wrong with the wall?”

I shook my head at her. “It’s not happening.” I dropped her on my bed, taking a second to admire the view of her there. “Lie back and spread your legs for me,” I told her, my voice coming out low and rough.

Her breath caught in a sharp gasp, but she obeyed, slowly parting her thighs. She was still perched on her elbows though.

“Lie back,” I repeated.

“But I want to see you.”

I didn’t respond as I climbed between her open legs and lowered my upper body over hers until she had no choice but to lie down.

“Good girl.”

She shuddered at the praise. “What are you going to do?”

“Whatever I want.” My forehead met hers, and I stared into her eyes. “I need you to talk to me, baby. If I do anything you don’t like, tell me. If you want me to stop or need a break, just say the word, okay?”

“Okay.”

“Good. Now put your hands above your head.”

“But I want to touch you.”

“No. It’s my turn right now.”

She let out a sound of frustration, but she stretched her arms out toward the headboard.

I smirked at her. “If you don’t keep your hands up there, I’ll tie them down. ”

Her brows rose, a look of skepticism covering her features. “With what?”

“Oh baby, I’m secretly hoping you find out.”

My friends weren’t wrong when they called me a control freak. I’d always been demanding, and most of the time I was used to having my orders followed. But a part of me really did want Danielle to defy me right now just so I could have the excuse to dominate her.

“So beautiful,” I murmured, lowering my mouth to her peaked nipple.

She let out a shuddering breath. “Hayden, please.”

“Please what,” I mumbled against the soft flesh of her breast.

“I need more.”

My lips curved into a satisfied smile, and I stroked my fingers over the skin of her stomach, getting closer to her panties with each pass. She was so responsive, gasping and arching with every soft touch. But she kept her hands above her head like I’d told her.

I was torn between being pleased by her submission and wishing she would disobey so I’d have an excuse to follow through on my earlier threat.

I replaced my fingers with my mouth, kissing down her abs. When I swept my tongue under the band of her panties, her back bowed off the bed, and a second later I felt her fingers in my hair, fisting the strands.

“You moved your hands,” I said, lifting my head just enough to meet her gaze.

Her eyes widened and she let go of my hair.

I chuckled. “It’s too late for that, Sunday School.” I moved so I was straddling her and yanked my belt from its loops.

Danielle’s eyes followed every movement as I wrapped the leather around her wrists, creating makeshift shackles.

“How does that feel?” I asked.

“How is it supposed to feel?”

“Tight enough that you can’t get out but not so tight that it hurts.”

She gave me a wicked grin. “If I really want to get out, no leather restraints are going to keep me down.”

My cock jerked, straining against my pants in a desperate attempt to get to her. “Fuck, baby, you have no idea how hot that is. But you’re going to be a good girl and stay in your shackles if you want more. Understand?”

She nodded.

I hooked my thumbs into the waistband of her panties and dragged them down her legs, slowly revealing the promised land at the apex of her thighs.

If I thought she was gorgeous normally, she was downright breathtaking like this. A rush of possessiveness overtook me, and I had a sudden need to ensure that I was the only one who ever got to see her like this.

“You’re still wearing all your clothes,” she whispered.

“Is that your way of asking me to strip?”

“Maybe.”

“In a minute. I have a promise to fulfill first.” I threaded her panties through the leather restraints around her wrists and a mostly hidden metal ring at the base of my headboard.

Yes, I had a bed designed for tying people up.

I liked being prepared for anything and having options.

I’d never actually used it to tie a woman up before.

A rosy blush spread across Danielle’s cheeks as I secured her arms above her head, but the look of desire in her eyes told me she wanted this as much as I did.

I climbed off her and took a second to admire my handiwork before reaching for the buttons on my shirt and slowly undoing them.

Danielle’s eyes tracked every move, her tongue darting out to wet her bottom lip before her teeth sank into it.

My pants joined my shirt on the floor a second later, but I left the boxers on.

“Spread your legs wider, baby,” I ordered, my voice little more than a growl.