Page 27 of The Billionaire's Bride

"You mean until you figure out who you’re going to choose?"

She scowls up at me. "I’m trying to do what’s right."

"I’m right for you, Ava." I massage her neck and her chest heaves. "See how you respond to me? How you yearn for my touch, how your body reacts to my nearness?" I lower my head to hers again and her lips part. "You want me, Ava. Admit it. You need me. You can’t live without me in your life. Without my telling you what to do. You want the strength of my dominance to subsume you, you want me to throw you down and rip into your pussy. You want me to bend you over this table and fuck you in the arse in front of everyone."

"Baron," she breathes, "what are you saying?"

"You want me to take you in front of this bar, so you can cry out and show them just what a good little slut you are. You love being an exhibitionist, Ava. It turns you on, thinking of all the forbidden things I can do to you. You want me to claim you, to tell the world that you belong to me."

"No," she whispers, "that’s not true."

"It is."

"No, it isn’t." I sense her move. The next second pain explodes behind my eyes; my groin screams in protest.

"What the fuck—?" She kneed me in the balls. Why that little— I turn around, find her running out of the bar. Shit. "Ava, hold on." I spring forward and my body protests. I grit my teeth through the pain, force myself to move forward. I race toward the door, up the sidewalk in her wake. "Ava, stop."

She turns around, scowls. "Why should I, after you pulled that underhanded stunt on me?"

I increase my pace, closing the distance between us. She yelps, faces forward, trying to run faster. I catch up to her, grab her arm and she screams, "Let go of me."

"Ava, stop." I haul her to me and she struggles in my grasp.

"Release me, you asshole.’

"No."

"Why did you kiss me like that?"

"Because you like it?"

"How dare you say those filthy things to me?"

I yank her up to her tiptoes, clamp my hand around the nape of her neck. "Because it turns you on, Eve."

"Stop calling me that!"

"Why should I?" I haul her against me and her breasts flatten against my chest. "You make me crazy, Ava. You know that?"

"Good," she huffs, "because you do the same to me."

"So, choose me."

"I," she blinks, "I can’t, Baron."

I stare into her face, and my heart begins to race. "Fuck," I swear. "F-u-c-k." I release her so suddenly that she stumbles. I grasp her shoulder to make sure that she finds her balance, then step away from her. "I’ll drop you home."

Half an hour later, we pull up at her house. I grasp the wheel of the car, stare straight ahead.

"Baron, I…"

"Get out of the car, Ava."

She turns to me. "You’re angry with me and it’s not fair. You knew Edward would return, that this entire situation would turn out to be messy."

"No shit," I growl.

"Baron, be reasonable. I—"