Page 44 of Scream (Duchess & Devils #1)

Sabrina.

One Week Prior

It's a Monday evening after the charity when Savage and I get home from the office, after a very long, very petty divorce proceeding. My poor client not only had his wife followed by a PI and found out she was having an affair, but it was with my client's barely legal teenage sister.

I haven't had any sugar since that bite of cookie Maksim fed me at the charity. When I come home - er , to Maksim's penthouse – to find that not only is my room padlocked, but all of my belongings are gone.

"What the fuck!" I screech, as I jingle and jangle the bloody knob, only to find my husband, all six-feet, six inches of him, smirking at me from the threshold of his bedroom door. "What did you do, Maksim?"

That smirk of his turns wicked, dark eyes brilliant, as if he's a clever wolf and he's caught a lost lamb to devour.

Fuck.That should not be so hot.

"All your things are safe. They're just in my room now." He says so coolly it simply irks me.

"Why?"

"Because you need to get used to my presence. My heat. My touch. My kiss. You're my wife. You should be in my bed."

"You signed the agreement, Mr. Giordano. You-"

"I changed my mind," he shrugs, crossing his arms like a petulant teenager.

"That was a non-negotiable."

"No, Parker was the ‘non-negotiable.’ This... is progressing forward as the contract states in the fine print. Or did you not read that?"

I raise a brow, lift my chin, and square back my shoulders. " The fine print states-"

His arms relax and go to his sides, and my giant husband takes a step forward like an ominous shadow.

"The fine print states that if one party or the other wants to push things forward, the first step is sharing a bedroom.

Ergo, you are now in my bedroom. You will sleep beside me.

You will no longer need your weighted blanket, because that's now me. You need my heat, Duchess? You got it. You need my cock? My fingers? My mouth? All me. I protect and I provide as a husband should. I will come home for dinner every evening, and you will kiss me. I will also be kissed in the morning before you get out of bed, or either of us leaves for the day.”

I gasp as I search his eyes, trying to remember the fine print to see if he's lying.

But no – my husband may be a wanker, but he's not a liar.

Not like me, anyway. I search my brain and vaguely remember Lily bringing something for me to sign while mumbling anxiously.

"You bastard! You had the fine print changed! Give me the key to my room."

"No."

"I'm not kidding Maksim, give me the fucking key!" He crowds me, my back almost flush against my (now vacant) bedroom door, but I don't back down. Standing up on my tippy toes and shoving my finger into his chest. "You're being an insufferable brute."

"And you are being my stubborn, beautiful wife. Mine. Mine to fix and mine to ruin all over again."

"There's absolutely nothing wrong with me," I lie.

"Isn't there? You flinch at my touch, get hives when others touch you," he lists every single one of my flaws one by one, as if I don't know them all, and I shrink back. "You, my beautiful wife, are done fighting the demons in your brain alone. I provide. I protect. I shelter. I help as much as I'm going to hurt. You will no longer reject me, Sabrina. I’m over it. I’ve done things your way, I’ve been a very patient man, but it’s time to end this and do it my way.”

Tears well into my eyes, "Give me the fucking key, I'm not asking again."

"No," he states firmly, and I shake my head.

"This is hurting more than helping, I need time. I need space."

"Not from me. Not anymore."

"I hate you!" I shriek, pushing him away. I run downstairs like a child throwing a horrific tantrum, so he doesn't see me cry, bypassing Savage on the way down. But I have nowhere to go. I can't even go on a run, because my stuff is in his room. God hates me. I'm sure of it.

I go straight to the kitchen, hearing Savage's familiar footsteps, but he doesn't speak a word to me.

Instead, he hands me my headphones, Bluetooth already on, I put them on, making sure to make extra noise as I pull out baking supplies.

It only pisses me off further because they're all reusable silicone and make absolutely no fucking noise when I slam them down.

I am not God’s favorite.

In the end, I decided that scream-singing at the top of my lungs to Pierce the Veil is the proper way to go.

That evening, after pecking my stupid husband, I sleep on the floor…. But I wake up on Maksim's bed with his thick, muscular arm around me. When I try to shove him off, the cockwomble only holds me closer, tucking me into his body like I'm his favorite pillow.

Also, the enormous thing poking me in the back? Obviously not his gun.

And he wasn't lying - he sleeps completely nude.

God absolutely hates me.

Three Days Prior

"Use me as much as you need to, because when you're ready for me, I'm gonna fuck you so deep, so hard, and so fucking good, you'll waddle for a fucking week.

" Savage takes a step away from me and my body follows, I merely catch myself with a step before falling on him. "So yeah, I can wear a shirt."

"You're playing a dangerous game, Parker," I rasp, wanting to follow that woodsy, masculine scent of his, to allow him to destroy me.

I am a bad, bad wife, on the road to hell.

Guilt eats at me as I watch him shrug and turn to leave but not before handing me a face towel. I watch the muscles in his back flex with every movement, all those fucking tattoos drowning me further with shame at the way my body reacts to him.

Could I even stand to do hand-to-hand combat with him? Would I be able to trust myself to not ride his thigh to fucking euphoria and not want more?

Could I handle more?

I haven't even tried masturbating again since that whole debacle last time, and even though I'm needy with want for the first time since, I can't bring myself to chance seeing Kane's face again.

My dreams at night are getting fierce, and I wake up so wet and fucking needy, but I can't bring myself to throw myself at Maksim to take care of those needs like a husband should.

Ugh, the fucker would love that, and I don't think I can handle him smirking down at me all triumphantly.

Stupid, sexy Italian Shrek.

I sit down on the mat, crossing my legs like we did as kindergarteners, plant my elbows on my knees, my face in my hands, and let out an irritated growl.

We had a contract for a reason.

Now all I am is confused.

What am I going to do?

If I give in to my desires, I let Maksim win.

If I fuck Savage accidentally on purpose, I'll be the world's most terrible wife.

I can't give in to either one.

Present Day

Raven and I get ready for Maksim’s fight in matching silk gowns, mine pink, hers black.

We spent the day after I trained with Savage shopping with my bodyguard and Jonas, at a little boutique off Fifth.

Even though we’re both riddled with anxiety at having to be in a large crowd tonight, it feels so good to dress up with her again, like we did when we shared a room when we were in a sorority at Rayne-Moore.

Granted, that only lasted a year, because she was brutally assaulted and left for dead in the music hall during our sophomore year at RMU, but having her here with me is so much fun.

We settle back into our old routine so easily, grabbing each other’s makeup, helping each other with our hair, zipping our dresses up, and my darling best friend dons gloves with me so she can hold my hand.

It’s little displays like this that Raven does that lets you know she has your back in more ways than one.

I’d trust her with my life. I’d trust her enough to borrow a favorite book of mine and bring it back unscathed just as well as help me hide a body.

And with her past, I’m assuming she would know exactly what to do and bring in her trio to help.

They’d do so without question. Okay, maybe Maverick would ask a question or two, but then help while grunting at us.

I love those guys.

I shove my clear ear buds in before we get to Eden, replaying my mantra in my head over and over again, exhausted I even have to.

I’ve been here before; I shouldn’t have to do this still.

And yet, I can’t stop myself. Leaving the house, both mine and the penthouse, has become even more difficult since having to share a room with Maksim.

It’s like I can feel him around me at all times.

We enter the elevator and go down to the floor where the fights are held.

They’re getting easier to watch live since I’ve been studying up on YouTube, mentally preparing myself to watch Maksim possibly get hurt.

But something slightly astounding happens after the first fight - a cage comes down.

Jonas leans over and explains it’s mostly done for MMA.

But then they’re padlocking it to the floor, and I start to feel a little nervous.

It’s a surprise when Maksim throws off his robe and shows off his physique along with his tight, baby pink shorts you could consider boxer briefs.

I'm sopping wet after that display of a kiss my husband plants on me and the fucking silk pink shorts of his aren't hiding any thing .

My husband is, erm, for lack of a better word - proportional and the gigantic slut is just showing the goods to the entire population, causing the women in the crowd to scream and whisper ‘lucky bitch’ behind my back.

See? God thinks this is the most hilarious joke.

He sends me a husband with what has to be a nine-inch dick, and I'm essentially a nun.

Not to mention the day in Central Park Savage dry-humped me until I exploded, he was so hard, and long, and thick, and heavy .

And I swear to God, I think I felt something else on his cock through the fabric of the athletic shorts he wears on our runs.

I squirm in my seat, definitely not a good day to wear silk.