Page 29 of The Billionaire's Bride

"Fuck, fuck, fuck." I rake my fingers through my hair. "This entire arrangement is bullshit, and you know it."

"No, it isn’t." She straightens her shoulders. "I need to give both of you an equal chance, and right now, this is the only way."

"What-bloody-ever."

I shove open my door, stalk around the car to her door, but she’s already stepping out. She walks up the garden path and I follow her to the door. She steps onto the patio, and I follow her onto it.

She reaches for the door and I don’t move. She huffs out a breath, "I am not going to ask you to come in."

"I didn’t expect you to."

"Sure, you did," she mutters, "but it wouldn’t be fair to Edward if I did."

"You going to tell him about how you kissed me back?" I allow my lips to twist. "You going to tell him how my filthy words turn you on, how you like it rough? How you want to be dominated and not given a choice, how you like your every hole filled at the same time, how you like to be spanked and treated like a fuck toy, how—"

She turns on me, "Shut up," she hisses. "Just shut up."

"Yeah," I widen my legs, "thought not. He can’t give you what you want; only I can."

"How do you know he didn't give it to me rough?" She tilts her head, "How do you know that’s not how he fucked me already?"

Blood thuds at my temples. My pulse rate ratchets up. I step into her space, then bend my knees and peer into her features, "Is that right, Eve? Is that how he gave it to you? Is that how he shagged you, Eve?"

She pales, opens her mouth, when the door to the house flies open.

"What’s happening here?"

11

Edward

Baron straightens, as the two of them continue to stare at each other.

"What the hell are you doing?" I step outside, shoving at Baron. "Get out of her face, man," I growl.

He glowers from her to me, then back at her. "This isn’t over, Ava." He shoves my hand away, then turns and stalks off.

Ava watches him walk down the path; her features wear a haunted expression.

"What did he say to you, Eve?" I demand. "Did he insult you, because if he did I—"

"No," she swallows, "it’s nothing." She brushes past me and walks inside the house.

I watch as Baron gets into his car, then turn and stalk back inside. "It didn’t seem like nothing to me," I mutter.

She places her bag on the couch and sinks down next to it. Her hair flows about her shoulders. It’s obvious her shoulders are tense.

Walking over, I stand behind the couch, push her hair to the side, then dig my fingers into her shoulder. Finding a knot in her muscle, I work at it until it loosens.

"That feels good." She leans into my touch. "Don’t stop, Ed."

I use my good arm and continue to massage her shoulders, alternating between the two, until the tension fades away and she’s pliant.

"Mmm." She closes her eyes and leans her head back on the couch. "Thank you, that was wonderful."

"The pleasure is all mine." I smile down at her relaxed features.

She opens her eyelids, gazes up at me from under her lashes. The curve of her lips, the relaxed set of her features, the sleepy look about her eyes... All of it pulls me in. I bend down until my face is poised over hers. She traces her gaze down my face, until it rests on my lips. She swallows and I close the distance between us until my lips are poised above hers.