She wriggles in my grasp, and I tighten my hold across the top of her thighs. I’m aware of Knox smirking, of Nathan staring with surprise. Sinclair takes a step in my direction. He’s stopped by Connor, who shakes his head. The silent ones are those to watch out for. Connor must read my intentions correctly, for he nods at me. Without bothering to acknowledge his gesture—there’ll be time for that later—I charge down the aisle with my bride thrown over my shoulder.
Is it wrong to behave like a caveman right after my wedding ceremony? Yes.
Do I regret it? No fucking way.
Show me a bridegroom who has eyes only for his bride, and I'll show you one who secretly wants to kidnap their wife after the ceremony and take her to a place where it's the two of them, where they could do unspeakable things to her. Of course, they don’t have the balls to carry through with their intention.
But I do.
As I pass Arthur, he gives me a thumbs up—which I register with mixed feelings. On the one hand, it makes me realize that we have something in common, after all. On the other, I’m not happy that we have anything in common with him. I shove aside any feelings of misgiving and pick up my pace.
I walk past her friends, who’re looking at us with varying expressions of surprise, shock, and dreamy rapture. Past her father, who looks apprehensive , and past my father, who has a smug expression on his face.
I don’t owe an explanation of my actions to anyone—except for Raven. And I’m counting on the fact that when I make love to her, she’ll understand what she means to me.
As I enter the house, she continues to wriggle around in my grasp. I don’t hesitate to bring the palm of my hand down on her behind. The resulting slap vibrates through her body. She instantly stills. Long enough for me to make my way through Sinclair’s conservatory, cutting a path through his living room and toward the doorway.
His butler holds the door open. He’s poker-faced, as usual. Trust a British butler not to show any surprise at the prospect of a bridegroom leaving his own marriage with his bride hoisted over his shoulder. I reach my car, where my chauffeur holds the back door open. Once more, there’s no surprise on his face. There’d better not be, considering the salary I pay him. When I slide her in, she splutters. "What the hell do you think you’re doing?"
I urge her to move over and climb in. The chauffeur closes the door, then walks around to slide into the driver’s seat. “Let’s go,” I order him.
When the car begins to move, I press the button to raise the partition between our seats. The car glides forward.
She turns, shoves her veil out of her face, and raises her hand. I see the slap coming, but let her palm connect with my cheek. The sound echoes around the space. She takes in the flesh of my cheek and the pattern of her fingers, no doubt, outlined there. When her gaze connects with mine, she must see my intent, for she slowly shakes her head.
"No." She begins to back away.
I let her, because it’s going to be so much sweeter when I get my hands on her.
"Quentin—" she swallows. "No."
"You asked Felix to walk you down the aisle without telling me. That counts as being very, very bratty, don't you agree?”
She swallows, then nods.
"I didn't hear you."
"Y-yes. Yes sir."
“You did it, knowing I was going to punish you for it. And you want it; you want it so, so much, don’t you, baby?”
A low moan escapes her. “Yes Sir,” she whispers.
I’m instantly hard. Hearing her call me Sir makes me want to deliver on the trust she’s put in me.
“Choose a safe word, baby.”
“Safe word?”
“So if you ever feel that you need to stop things, you can use it.”
“Why would I do that?” Her forehead furrows.
“Because I’m going to test your boundaries, and I want to make sure you’re always safe. Your well-being is paramount to me.”
She nods slowly. “I don’t completely understand what that means, but I have faith in you.”
Warmth squeezes my chest. A hot sensation pours through my veins. How did I get this lucky? What have I done to deserve this goddess in my life? I’m going to ensure she has the kind of wedding night she’ll remember for the rest of her life.