The Wrong Bride (The Windsors, #1)(71)

When I asked her if she’d give me a chance, she said she would… but she hasn’t. She’s been on guard, scared to get hurt. I can’t take away all her fears at once — only time can do that. I can, however, prove how much I want her.

She looks up from her tablet when I walk into the living room and then does a double take, her eyes widening as her gaze remains glued to my sweats. Fucking hell. Perhaps this was a bad call after all. If she keeps looking at me like that, I’ll be the one getting seduced.

Raven snaps out of it when I sit down next to her, her cheeks beautifully rosy. There’s something so innocent about her, and I love it.

“Show me what you’re working on,” I tell her, leaning into her, my chin brushing over her shoulder. I smirk as I slide my arm around her waist, pulling her closer.

“Ares,” she whispers.

I bite back a smile and look at her innocently. “Hey, do you think you could draw me?”

“Draw you?”

I nod at her tablet. “Yeah. Can you?”

She blushes, but then she nods.

I wrap my hands around her waist, lifting her up, until I’ve got her straddling me the way she did that night. If I could do that night all over again, I’d give her what she wanted.

“Ares!”

I smirk and tighten my grip on her waist. “Draw me a portrait, Rave. I want to see what I look like in your eyes.”

“I don’t need to be in your lap for that.”

I suppress a smile and shrug. “It’ll be easier for you to see the contours of my face.” The contours of my face? What kind of bullshit has she got me spouting now?

Raven nods and repositions herself, moving further away, until her ass is perched on my knees. She grabs her tablet and glances at me, her cheeks stained pink. She looks so fucking beautiful sitting there like that, her legs spread so I can see her matching red underwear, that long hair of hers flowing down her body. Fuck. My cock hardens at the mere sight of her, and these sweatpants are doing nothing to hide my desire.

I stare at my wife as she focuses on my face, drawing intently while I allow my eyes to peruse her body. She’s utter perfection, and it isn’t just her body. It’s everything about her. What would it be like if she and I truly gave this marriage a chance? Until she uttered those words, it never even occurred to me that we truly could, that she might genuinely want that with me. All along, she seems to have felt like she doesn’t stand a chance with me, when it’s me who’s unworthy of her.

I let my hands slide down her waist, to her ass, my fingers kneading, teasing. Her lips fall open and she looks into my eyes, disarmed. Something flickers through her eyes, and I smile when I recognize it as desire.

Raven’s gaze roams over my body, pausing on my hard cock. I’m not sure what I expected, but seeing hurt flash through her eyes wasn’t it.

“Moment of honesty,” she whispers. “Being in this position reminds me of the way I sat in your lap when I got drunk, and all I can think of is you telling me you’d never want me.”

Fuck. I should’ve known that my lies that night would come back to haunt me.

I inhale deeply and pull her tablet out of her hand, throwing it on the sofa. “Will you let me tell you a secret, Rave?”

She nods hesitantly.

“Dozens of women have sat in my lap throughout the years, for one reason or another, often unsolicited. You’re the only one I’ve ever reacted to in this way. It isn’t a natural reaction, baby. It’s a reaction to you, specifically. I just couldn’t admit that last time, so I lied. To both you and myself.”

I cup her face gently, my thumb brushing over her lip. “Let me tell you another secret, wife. I find you fucking irresistible. The things I want to do to you… fuck.”

She looks at me with such disbelief in her eyes that I can’t help but want to take it all away. I grab her ass tightly and pull her flush against me, until she’s sitting right on top of my cock, our positions exactly the same as back then.

“Do you have any idea how badly I wanted to fuck you that night, Rave? You’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen, and you were sitting in my lap, naked. You were mine for the taking, your pussy bare and your breasts pressed against my chest. Do you know how many times I’ve replayed that night in my mind?”

I rotate my hips, pressing my cock against her. “In my fantasies, you’re riding my cock, your tits bouncing as you take all of me, my name on your lips.”

I slip one hand into her hair and pull her closer, my lips brushing against hers. “Even back then, you were all I wanted,” I whisper, before kissing her. I tighten my grip on her hair, and she moans, rotating her hips in my lap. She drives me fucking mad.

I move my hand down her body, until the tips of my fingers trace over her lace that covers her pussy. She moans into my mouth, and I chuckle as I push the fabric aside.

“Wet,” I groan. “You’re always so wet for me, baby. I love that about you.” I slip a finger into her while my thumb presses against her clit, and she kisses me harder. The way she moves her hips… fuck. She’s riding my fucking hand the way I want her to ride my cock.

“Ares,” she moans. “I need you.”

I smirk as I push my sweats down, exposing my cock. “Then take what you want, baby. I’m yours.”