Page 84 of Rapunzel Is Losing It

“Alright.”

“I do want a ring. A wearable one.”

“Alright.”

“My wedding dress will be pink.”

“Alright.”

“You’re taking my last name,” I said. Victor’s lips parted but no sound came out, so I continued: “You’re going to be part of my family. Mine. Screw your uncle. Screw anyone else who thinks they have any claim on you. You’re mine.”

He gave me a small smile and a nod. “Alright,” he whispered and lifted my top off, before covering my body with his. Skin on skin, any space between us was diminished when he finally sank his mouth over mine again. He fit so perfectly over me, our bodies aligning in all the ways. I wanted to feel more of him. All of him. But when I tried to reach for his waistband, Victor grabbed my hands and pressed them deep into the mattress beside my head.

“Try to undress me again and you’re not walking out of here a virgin,” he warned and dug his teeth into my lower lip.

I whimpered, at his words and his bite. “I just want to feel you.”

Without warning, he viciously rocked his hips into mine. I could feel him. Every inch of him, hard and rough against my center. Only a thin layer of fabric between us. A fresh electric current thrummed up under my skin and I pushed my hips against him, seeking more friction.

“Fuck, Cordelia, how can you-” He pressed his lips together, stopping himself from finishing that sentence.

“What?”

“Nothing.”

“What?” I asked, unable to stop the laugh erupting at his deeply furrowed brows. I reached up to smooth out the small wrinkle above his nose. “What’s wrong? You look like you’re trying to win at chess without cheating.”

“Nice,” he huffed and playfully snapped at my hand, managing to graze his teeth over my palm, “it’s truly nothing. Just me being an idiot.”

“Tell me.”

“You know what you want. I shouldn’t be surprised that you’re not shy in bed.”

I let out an ungodly cackle. “I’m sorry,” I gasped, “oh my goodness, could you imagine?Oh no, Victor, please, your erect penis is so intimidating. Don’t come any closer or I might faint.”

He laughed. The only thing better than a Victor laugh, I discovered, was a Victor laugh reverberating from his chest into mine.

“You’re right. Fuck that.” He was still grinning when he leaned back down to kiss me.

“Oh no, I’m fainting,” I mumbled into the kiss, “my poor virgin soul is being corrupted.”

Cordelia’s rattlingbreath pulled me from the half-asleep daze. My arms immediately tightened around her. After hours of talking and kissing and dozing and finding all the ways her body fit against mine, the nervous tremble in her chest ripped through the warm comfort of her bed.

“What’s wrong?” I asked.

“Nothing. Go back to sleep.”

“You’re a shitty liar.”

She scoffed and buried her face in the crook of my neck. “The campaign just went out,” she mumbled, barely audible.

Fuck. I’d completely missed that. That explained her panicked flashbacks from last night. Of course her nerves were getting the best of her the night before she became the official face of her foundation. She’d spent too many years hiding for it not to affect her.

I caught a glance at the time. Just after 10am. She was off-schedule, and it was my fucking fault. Not only had I kept her in bed, I hadn’t made sure to get her breakfast in time.

“I’ll go and get your computer,” I said but before I could move, Cordelia’s arms around my waist turned to stone.

“I’ve got my phone for emergencies, but I took the day off.”