That wasn't a lie.
Their marriage might have been built upon cool, slashing words and disdainful looks, but it was becoming quite evident there was heat there too. Desire. Need. Ever since that bloody day in the Ivory Tower when she'd saved his life and he'd nearly taken her right there on the floor, she couldn't seem to look away from him.
Something within her had bloomed to life that day, and Adele wanted it.
Why not take this one thing for herself?
It didn't mean anything more than that.
Soft lips found her throat, brushing against her grandmother's pearls.
"Do you want me to fuck you on my desk, Adele?" Malloryn nuzzled her throat, stubble rasping against her sensitive skin, and she flinched a little at the rough sound of his voice, of that word.
All those years pretending she was unaffected. All those years of burying her fire, her fury, hiding it all behind a mask of cool disdain. It wanted to erupt from her skin. She felt not at all herself as her nails dug into his shoulders and he made a slight hissing sound of gratification.
Malloryn wasn't promising a damned thing except pleasure.
And more....
For the first time she realized he was offering her something else: the opportunity to take what she wanted from him.
Fingers turning into little claws in his shirt, she arched her throat and moaned as his teeth bit down sharply. Not just pleasure, but unabashed pleasure. Uncontrolled. Untamed. A little dangerous....
And Adele made her decision.
"Make me your wife," she whispered.
Malloryn drew back and looked at her, face-to-face with her. She felt like she could fall into those gray eyes forever as she sought to find the truth of the man behind them.
Then his lashes fluttered shut as his mouth melted against hers in a kiss that would have had her begging him, if she hadn't already conceded. She didn't want soft and sweet. She wanted ruin. Adele bit his lower lip, sucking it into her mouth. A growl echoed in his throat, and then he was moving.
One hand blatantly cupped her bottom, and he hauled her thighs around his hips. Adele clung to his collar as he turned and strode toward the desk.
The hard muscled flex of his hips surged against her, and she could feel the rampant press of his body between her thighs. Adele gasped, one hand slamming back upon the desk for balance as he bit at her jaw.
It was all happening.
So swiftly she could barely think, let alone react. But oh, gods, how she wanted it.
Malloryn pulled back, soft fingertips trailing down her throat and décolletage. She could almost sense him reining himself in, but that wasn't what she wanted at all.
She needed him to remain unbalanced.
"I hate your composure," she snapped, grabbing two fistfuls of his shirt and tearing.
Buttons shot everywhere.
"And I hate the way you make me feel," he growled. "I want to ruin you."
"You couldn't, even if you tried."
"We'll see." Malloryn captured her mouth, his lips firm and punishing. There was no sweetness to this kiss. Only hunger. Only absolute dominance.
Adele yielded with a low moan.
Her palms slid against his chest, but there was no time to explore. She dug her nails in, wanting him to feel her urgency. Needing him to know it too.
Then he was shoving her skirts up, tearing at the lace in his haste. The insistent press of his fingers found her through the slit of her drawers, and for the first time his touch gentled. The stroke of his fingertips was like a velvet lash that lit her nerves on fire. No hiding how wet she was. The second he'd slammed her back against that bookcase, something had started aching low in her abdomen.
Their eyes met.
His touch slowed, thumb pressing insistently against her clitoris until her nails curled into claws on the mahogany desktop. Oh, God. Even now he sought control. Even now he could play her body like a lute.
Adele grabbed a fistful of his hair and dragged his mouth back to hers. Her other hand darted between them, finding the firm press of his erection. Buttons.... More wretched buttons. She tore them loose, and then her palm was curling around velvet-sheathed steel.
Malloryn groaned into her mouth, thrusting into her palm. Sharp teeth bit her lower lip, as if to prove she wasn't wholly in control here, but he let her learn him. Let her circle the swollen, heated head of his erection with her thumb, just as Lena had directed.
The soft touch of his own fingers had slowed.
Adele's heart soared. Not so in control. Not now.
Then he was pressing forward, the firm head of his erection nudging against her slickness. A thrill shot through her; a luscious little mix of nervousness and desire. Yes. She threw her head back as teeth raked down her throat, sending sensation slicing through her.
The tip of him breached her. Then he withdrew. Used his cock to rub exactly where she needed it. A tease. The whole damned thing was a tease.
Adele bit her bruised lip, her hips begging him for more.
"Please," she whispered, exulting in his lack of composure.
Malloryn eased inside her again, and this time he wasn't drawing back. Adele clung to the remnants of his shirt, fighting the instinct to tense. She'd felt his length and size and for a second wondered how on earth she was to manage this....
And then he surged to the hilt, a harsh breath escaping him.
Finally a wife in more than name.
It wasn't precisely painful.
No, it was the strangest, fullest sensation she didn't think she'd ever be able to describe. Adele sank her teeth into her own lip as he rocked against her, a ricochet of heat and pleasure spearing through her.
Dark eyes met hers as he looked up. The blackness of the craving swept through his irises, stealing away the stormy gray. There was only hunger there now. A desire to claim.
"Are you all right?" he clearly forced himself to say, the muscle in his jaw locking tight.
Adele pressed her lips there, her lashes fluttering half-shut over her eyes as she caressed his face. "I thought you promised me ruination? Don't stop now."