The Wrong Bride (The Windsors, #1)(15)

“I don’t like underwear,” she says simply. My gaze roams over her perfect body and I groan loudly, my cock throbbing. I’m trying my hardest to control my thoughts, but fuck. She’s so fucking beautiful. Her nipples are dark and hard, in perfect contrast with her skin. Every inch of her is beautiful, even those long legs she’s straddling me with. Then there’s her bare pussy, sitting right on top of my cock. Fuck.

I tear my gaze off her and wrap my fingers around the edge of my t-shirt, pulling it up and over my head in one smooth motion. “Come on,” I tell her. “Put this on.”

She holds her arms up for me, and I sigh as I pull it over her head before pulling her hands through, trying my hardest not to touch her unnecessarily.

“Bed time,” I warn her.

She looks disappointed but nods. “Does no part of you want me even a little?” Her voice is soft, pleading, and her eyes are filled with an emotion I can’t quite describe.

“No,” I lie to her. “The friction from you moving on top of me made me hard, yeah, but I don’t want you, Raven. I’ll never want you. I’m not sure what you’re thinking, but you need to stop. Do you know how much your actions tonight would hurt your sister? Fuck, it’s hurting me, Rave.”

She freezes and nods as she turns her face away from me. My heart fucking drops when a tear runs down her cheek, and I instantly regret my words.

She sniffs, and my heart shatters. “Fuck, Cupcake. I’m so fucking sorry. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it, not at all.”

“No,” she says, rising to her knees. “I’m sorry, Ares. I just… I thought… I’m sorry. I-I… I need to go.”

I grab her waist and pull her back to me, my arms wrapping around her as I cup the back of her head and push her face into my neck. “You’re not going anywhere, Cupcake. Not tonight. It’s okay, Rave. We’ve all had our messy drunken nights, and this is no different. I’m sorry.”

“Not as much as I am,” she whispers. “I should’ve known better. Of course you’d never want me. You’ll never want anyone but Hannah.”

I hug her tightly, my heart breaking. Fuck. Tonight has been one big mess. I have no idea what’s gotten into her, and though I shouldn’t be, I’m relieved it’s me she was with tonight. Had it been any other man, what would have happened?

“Come on, Cupcake. Let’s go to sleep, okay?”

I keep her in my arms and move us over so I’m lying flat on the sofa with her nestled against me. “Just sleep, Rave. We’ll forget this happened tomorrow, okay? I suspect you’ve drunk so much you won’t be able to remember, anyway. Let’s just go to bed, huh?”

She nods and settles against me, but even though I’ve got her so close, I feel like I’m losing her. I had no choice but to say what I did, yet I regret my words immensely. I hope tonight doesn’t change anything between us, but deep down, I know it will.





Chapter Nine





Raven





“Raven?”

I frown at the sound of Grandma Anne’s voice and snuggle a bit closer, not wanting to wake up.

“Ares?”

I freeze as my muddled mind slowly starts to clear. I feel a strong arm wrapped around me, and fragments of last night flash through my mind. Oh no.

I blink rapidly and twist in Ares’s embrace, waking him up. He blinks slowly, his eyes finding mine as he smiles lazily. “Morning, drunkard,” he says.

The smile melts off his face as he looks past me, and I let my eyes fall closed in shame. “Grandma,” he says, his voice tinged with horror. “What are you doing here?”

He sits up and pulls me up with him, keeping his arm wrapped around me. I raise my face hesitantly, well aware of what this looks like. My dress is on the floor, and Ares is in nothing but his gray sweatpants, while I’m wearing his t-shirt.

Grandma Anne’s expression is unreadable. “Big night?” she asks, and I nod.

“Sierra and I, um… we drank way too much, and Ares ended up having to take care of us.”

I can’t face him, not after what I did last night. The way I harassed him last night was not okay. I have no doubt he’ll be furious, and I’ve probably done irreparable damage to our friendship, and what for?

“Where is Sierra?”

Ares clears his throat. Does he realize he still has his arm wrapped around my waist? “In my bed. Best to let her sleep a bit longer. She was really quite drunk.”

Grandma nods. “How about you two get some more rest too? You look… disheveled. I will have some breakfast sent over for the three of you later. You can just warm it up once Sierra wakes up.”

Ares and I are tense as Grandma Anne walks away, a smile on her face. “I should go too,” I say the moment the door closes behind her. I rise to my feet nervously and grab my clothes off the floor, embarrassment flooding me.

“Hold on,” Ares says, and I turn around to face him, my heart hammering in my chest. “Come here, Raven,” he orders, and I walk back toward him hesitantly, pausing in front of him, his legs on either side of me. He leans back and spreads his arms across the back of the sofa, his eyes on me. I haven’t seen him this way in years, with his torso bare and his abs and chest on display. Does he realize what kind of image he’s painting?