Chapter 43
ASHLEY
Satisfaction trickled through my veins as I tucked my lips between my teeth, gazing at the masterpiece that was sleeping beside me. He was shirtless. In the past few weeks that I have been married to him, I have come to notice that he hates wearing a shirt to bed. His flawless ivory skin was out in the open, only for my eyes to see. He didn’t have all the muscles in the world, but he was ripped enough to make my mouth water at the sight of his abs.
His chest fell and rose with ease, the bags under his eyes seemed to be fading. He had come back home late at night and even though he thought I was deeply asleep, I saw him walk in with a bloodied shirt. He rushed to the bathroom to change because he didn’t want me to see him, but I did. And in truth, I didn’t know how to feel seeing him with blood on his hands and his chest. So, I just didn’t allow myself to feel. I turned my emotions off because if I didn’t shut them out, they would overwhelm me.
I exhaled, my eyes flitting to his messy black curls that looked glossier under the morning sun that filtered into the room. It was weird to see him without his jaw locked so tightly, without that murderous glare and cold look in his eyes. Right now, he looked like a baby that had just been breastfed and was tucked into bed. He looked so peaceful.
His thick black lashes were so tempting that I almost reached out to touch them and those sinful salmon-colored lips of his that were enough to ride any woman to ecstasy. The thought of him having gone down on another woman didn’t sit well with me. It left this uncomfortable and unnerving feeling of rage stirring up in me. I furrowed my brows, glaring at him. I scooted closer to him, breathing softly on his face. I brought my hands to his face, brushing the pad of my thumb over his soft cheek. It trailed further and I brushed it over his lips, utterly fascinated at the sight of him.
He was so handsome that it hurt my eyes to look at him for so long. My eyes flickered to his messy hair and I couldn’t resist the temptation that surged through me as though it was a force to reckon with, so I gave in. I dug my fingers into his hair and a soft sound left my lips at how lush it felt in my hands. My lips twitched, an involuntary smile crawling to my lips.
“That feels so good,” he mumbled and I froze, my hands freezing in his hair, and the tips of my fingers suddenly went numb. I wet my lips with my tongue and tried to move away from him but he tugged me to himself, picking me up and that made me shriek. Before I knew what was going on, I landed on his lap. His eyes fluttered open and I hitched at the brightness of his eyes. I returned his warm look with a death glare, trying to wiggle my way out of his hold, but it only made him groan.
“Stop moving. You are only going to make me more turned on than I am.” He grunted, holding me firmly by the waist and I grew red in the face, sitting still in his arms but not meeting his gaze.
“You shouldn’t be holding back from touching me, Peach.” He said to me, sincerity dancing in his green eyes. I huffed, folding my arms around my chest. I watched his eyes linger on my breasts and I threw him a stink eye.
“Go fuck yourself, Arden!” I growled at him and he smirked at me, running his fingers through his hair. I bit my lip at that action because he couldn’t have looked sexier than he did right now. His hold on me seemed to have grown lax and I took that as my cue, getting up from his lap, but he spanked my ass before I could get off the bed.
“Are you crazy?!” I yelled at him.
“I couldn’t help it,” he chuckled, falling onto the pillow. I rolled my eyes, still feeling the stinging ache on my butt, but there was something more overwhelming than the ache. The after-pleasure.
Fuck, what’s going on with me?
“Do that one more time and you won’t have hands anymore!” I growled at him but the bastard didn’t seem fazed, instead, he looked amused.
“Is there anything you want to do today?” He asked and it ticked off the conversation I had with the girls yesternight before I went to bed. The girls and I agreed to go shopping for some girl bonding.
“Yes, I am going out with my friends,” I answered him, walking over to my dresser to find a band for my hair. He probably pulled it off my hair when I was asleep because I remembered clearly that I tied my hair before going to bed yesternight.
Control freak.
“Alright. I will ask Duncan to prepare some guards.” Arden deadpanned like it was the most normal thing in the world and the speed at which I swung my head in his direction scared me. I arched a brow at him and a second was all it took before that guard came back up again. His eyes went cold, holding a hint of challenge in them. It felt as though he was daring me to go against what he had just said and I scoffed, clicking my tongue.
“You must be fucking insane if you think I will allow some damn guards to hover around me like a hen when I am with my friends!” I snapped at him, walking over to the bed. He didn’t spare so much as a glance in my direction and what he did next infuriated me. He picked up his phone and started tapping away on it.
“You seem to forget that I wasn’t asking, Evaline.” His voice seemed dead but I would rather die than allow this bastard to exert his sick control over me.
“I am not your puppet! I am your wife! Your equal! You don’t get to dish out orders for me without consulting me first! You fucking control freak!” I shouted at him, hauling the pillow I grabbed at his head.
“Then fucking act like my wife and do every damn thing I tell you to do!”
“God, Peach!”
“Your stubbornness won’t get you anywhere, it will only get you into trouble, along that sharp thing you call a mouth!” He growled at me, throwing his phone somewhere in the room, and then he got up from the bed, approaching me with long strides.
“Because that’s the only thing I have left since you have taken everything away from me!” I fired at him, rage simmering in me.
“YOU WON’T RAISE YOUR VOICE AT ME, EVALINE!” He bellowed, his green eyes taking a darker shade of green, causing shivers to shoot up my spine. My heart lurched in my throat when he took an unnerving step forward, causing me to swallow my breath that tasted like death, tears spilling out of my eyes.
“You are a devil, Arden.”
“So I have been told,” He deadpanned and I scoffed, unable to control my tears.
“You control, you manipulate, you do whatever damn thing it is that you want without caring about how others will feel! God, I am so sick of you! I am disgusted at the sight of you!” I spat in his face and spun on my heels, walking out on him, but he was quick to grab me and yank me to himself, eliciting a yelp from me.
“Don’t touch me!” I yelled at him.
“What did I say about walking out on me whenever I am done talking?” He asked, his voice dangerously low with his harsh breath fanning my face, causing me to release a shaky breath. His hold on me tightened and I fought to get out of his grip, but the stronger I tried, the harder his grip got. Hot tears spilled from my eyes and I barely met his gaze, but my heart wouldn’t stop pounding furiously against my chest.
“Look at me, Evaline!” He commanded and I flinched, a sob tearing through my mouth. “You fucking look me in the eye whenever I am talking with you!” He growled, yanking me into his chest and I screamed. His hands met my jaw and he tilted my head to meet his eyes that were so dark and terrifying, and chills scattered everywhere on my body.
I breathed shakily.
“Now, what did I say about walking out on me?” He repeated his question, his searing tone alerting me of his impatience.
“I should never do that!” My voice rose a notch.
“Fuck Peach! You are pushing my buttons and there’s only so much that I can take. I don’t want to yell at you but you always manage to rile me up.” His tone grew softer and I sniffed, trying to pry myself out of his overly strong grip. His hands, which were tightly wrapped around my waist, softened a little, moving to cover the entirety of the small of my back. He released a breath, dropping a kiss on my cheek.NôvelDrama.Org content rights.
“Let me go, Arden. I want to go and get dressed.” I mumbled grouchily, not meeting his eyes. He exhaled and let me go. I didn’t waste a second with him. I marched into the bathroom, shutting the door with a bang.