Eden Grace
The mattress dipped beneath his weight as he hovered over her, one arm planted beside her head, the other resting near her waist, close enough that she could feel his warmth through the thin fabric between them.
Eden's heart slammed against her ribs. She stiffened at once, panic flooding her senses.
"Cassian, what are you doing," she whispered sharply, trying to pull away.
He did not answer.
Instead he leaned closer, his nose brushing against her hair, then her neck, inhaling slowly as if committing her scent to his very soul.
"You smell nice today…" Cassian murmured softly.
'More closer! Closer!' Rael growled in excitement. 'Mark her!'
Her breath faltered.
Eden twisted and pressed her hand against his granite like chest, panic surging through her veins. "You…did I give permission to invade my space? Get off me."
"Permission….?" Cassian murmured against her ear softly. "Last time I checked, husbands, especially mates, do not need invitations to cozy up to their adorable wives."
She glared up at him, her voice trembling with restrained emotion. "How many times do I have to say it before it finally enters that thick head of yours. I am not your mate nor your wife. Do not twist reality just because it suits your ego."
He whispered dangerously, "I think it's your thick head that doesn't understand, little pet. Didn't I tell you I don't give a fuck about mate bond at all…?"
His gaze darkened. "I decided you were mine the moment I laid eyes on you..Bond or no bond, wolf or no wolf, heaven or hell. You belong to me because I said so. Understood?"
This fucking psycho.
"Morever we signed the marriage certificate. Contract or no contract, you are my wife legally. So I own everything of you."
Eden grit her teeth, "You talk like the whole world is your property. I hope you know signing does not mean controlling, Cassian."
His lips curved into a cold smile. "But in my world, it does. I control everything, including you."
She clenched her jaw. "Then your world is twisted."
He chuckled darkly. "And yet, you are standing right in the middle of it."
Eden snapped, "Only because I have no choice!"
Cassian chuckled, "Everyone has a choice, my love. You just chose me."
With that he moved instantly, closing the gap and pressed his lips on her. Something sparked inside her body, knocking the breath out of her.
Eden shoved his chest immediately, freaking out, "Are you insane?"
I hope he didn't catch Ishira's presence.
Cassian simply watched her with dark amusement, as if her anger was nothing more than an entertaining performance.
"Why?" he murmured. "Didn't you kiss me first, dear wife? You were the one who invaded my space first, you were the one who acted first. You were always the one who took what you wanted without permission. So tell me why am I not allowed to do the same?"
His words struck deeper than she expected.
Her mind went blank. Because he was right.
The memory crashed into her without warning, vivid and merciless. The kiss had not been weak, it had not been accidental.
It had been desperate. It had been intense. And he knew it.
Her fingers curled tightly into the fabric beneath her, nails digging in as if she could anchor herself to reality before she completely lost control. Her throat felt dry, her heart pounding so violently she was sure he could feel it through their bodies pressed so close.
"I… that was different," she muttered weakly, even as she knew how pathetic it sounded.
"Different how?" he asked softly, leaning closer, his forehead nearly touching hers, his breath warm against her skin. "Because you did it first? Because you wanted it?" His gaze darkened. "Because you forgot yourself for a moment and let the truth slip?"
Her chest rose and fell rapidly as she struggled to steady herself, but it was useless.
Being this close to him was dangerous. His presence was suffocating. Overwhelming.
Every part of her was hyper aware of him. The way he completely dominated the space around her without even trying.
"Whatever the reason may be.." he murmured, brushing his nose lightly against hers, "you still kissed me like you were afraid I might disappear."
Her breath hitched before she could stop it. His hand had slid to her waist, not gripping, not forcing, just resting there possessively, as if reminding her exactly where she was and who she was trapped with.
"You know, little pet…" Cassian murmured lazily, his thumb tracing slow, absent circles on her bare stomach, his gaze fixed on her face as if he were enjoying every second of her discomfort.
"The day you kissed me in the marriage office, it reminded me of our first kiss in school days. The way you lost control…it drove me crazy."
Eden stiffened instantly, her cheeks burning as she snapped, "Don't you dare bring that up. That day was a disaster, and you know it. I was dizzy, confused, and half unconscious because those stupid girls spiked my drink as a prank. I was not even in my senses. If they had not done that, I would have never kissed you."
He smiled, dangerous and knowing. "I know, I knew even back then.
He leaned closer, his voice dropping until it brushed against her skin like a whisper.
"But you were fully conscious in the marriage office. That kiss was not an accident, little pet. That was you losing control. With me."
His eyes darkened, burning into hers. "And you know, since then I have never been so restless that I can't seem to stop having fantasies about you."
Eden's breath came uneven, her fingers curling into the sheets beneath her. Cassian Blackthorn fantasies about me!?
His voice dropped into something low and intimate. "Do you not want to know what I fantasize about you, Eden?"
She swallowed. "No."
"Liar," he said softly.
His lips hovered dangerously close, eyes dark, dangerous, predatory. "I pictured us naked in our private mansion, you screaming my name while I pound into your tight little pussy."
Eden's breath hitched, the crude image he was painting on her head, something dangerously close to desire knotting together.
"I fantasized about tying you to bed, pull your legs over my shoulders and fuck you until you pass out."
"I fantasized my hands fisted in your hair and my dick shoved down your—"
"Cassian!" Eden clasped his mouth with her trembling hands. It was meant as a warning but it comes out as a helpless whimper. An overwhelming, strange sensation taking over her body because of his crude words.
"You're insane…" Eden breathed, voice trembling, betraying her despite every shred of defiance.
"Insane?" he murmured, brushing a fingertip dangerously close to her thighs. "Maybe…but you're insane with me too, little pet."
"You can lie all you want with your words, pretend I don't affect you, but your body… your body doesn't lie."
His hand snakes inside her top and circles her nipple. "Your nipples are hard. They're all tight and sensitive so maybe they like the opposite of what you speak."
"You.."
"Admit it, Eden… you're already mine."
Eden stiffened, her body burning, chest rising and falling faster than she wanted. She pressed her hands against his chest, trying to create distance, trying to remind herself that she could still fight him. "I… I am not," she whispered, trembling with a mixture of panic and something she could not name.
"Is that so?" His voice dropped lower, a dangerous growl threading through every word. "Then shall I get the answer from your body itself?"
Eden froze as a sharp tremor ran through her. A soft, almost pitiful whimper escaped from deep inside her.
Ishira, her hidden wolf, had started to react to him!