Chapter Three: Let Go
1446 Words
The startling deep redness of her gaze pinned him in place on his seat. To say he hated their intensity would be an understatement: Ruby was nothing like he expected or wanted her to be.
She was in his car, in his space and around his men, so how the hell did she get the courage to stand her ground this openly when his intention had been to show her who would be in charge of their relationship?
‘I want to learn how to pleasure my future mate so they never think of anyone but me; that means I want you to teach me how to have sex.’
Adrian played her words in his head, and the same bitterness followed.
How dare she utter that to him?
Did she think he did not know her position? That she was deemed the worst of the Clive bastard children because, unlike all of the green-eyed Clives, she was the only one with red eyes—even her mother doesn’t have red eyes. Could it be more obvious that she was the product of an affair?
He had no idea why the head family accepted her existence, but since Rebecca Clive, her cousin, refused his proposal, he had to settle for her.
Again, his gaze raked her frame, settling yet again on the curves of her breasts. The folding of her hands to hide them from his view only plumped them beautifully, drying his lips to the point that he craved moistening them with his tongue.
But he wouldn’t; he wouldn’t give her the barest of clues that her body enticed him, that the mention of his name from her lips almost stiffened him, that her soothing scent of ripe and freshly cut watermelons near maddened him.
He should not feel this way, especially for a Clive.
"Six times."
"What?"
A frown creased her brow at his answer.
"I will f**k you six times, Ruby. I'd hate to have you fall in love with me."
She blinked twice, replacing the surprise on her face with an emotion he couldn’t place before a scoff left her lips.
“No. The Alpha will never have to worry about that.”
Her words caused an odd irritation to swirl around his chest. She said them with such confidence that, for a moment, he wanted her to love him—or at least profess her love to him so that he could reject her.
Would she cry if he did?
He wanted to see that; he wanted to see those crimson eyes weep because of him.
"Fine, six times, but I will be the one in charge of deciding when these six times will occur."
She uttered as she fished for a pen in the car’s pouch as if she had been in his car before.
At his evident frown, she smiled.
“Oh, I just saw it there—am I not permitted to use the pens?”
“No, go ahead.”
“You have accepted that I am in charge of the six times?”
“Do you simply want to be in charge of something?”
“What a condescending question, Alpha. But yes. I want to be in charge of something.”
Her calm response irritated him; everything about her was irritating.
If there was one thing he longed to do, it was to shatter her calmness.
He could- no, he would.
In the year they would spend together, he would shatter every ounce of pride in her being.
His tongue, without his conscious control, found his lips. At the act, her body stilled before a visible shudder rocked through her.
Their eyes remained locked in each other as a burning desire to sink his teeth into her flesh and taste her watermelon sweetness clawed him. For a second, he wondered if she would retain its hydrating qualities or simply taste sickeningly sweet.
Her gaze tore from him, breaking the trance and leaving him cursing himself mentally.
“Fine, you will be in charge; note your conditions, read through the document and sign; we are almost at the reception.”
He uttered, turning his gaze to the only safe space in his car—the window.
**
The wedding reception was loud and cheerful, with the Lycan king and his queen stealing the show at every angle. It was fitting that Ruby caught the bouquet; her smile as the other ladies cheered made him want to walk to her and tell her not to forget that their marriage was only a contract and for a year at that, but by the time the night ended, she no longer held the flowers in her hand.
“You should escort her home.”
His Beta, Leo, uttered as he took his drink from his hand—an act that aggravated him. If he were to deal with Ruby, then he would need every ounce in that glass.
“She’s fine.”
“Of course, she’s fine, but she’s friends with the Queen and if you want stable connections in your new position….”
His friend drawled as if the ending to his sentence were obvious.
“Ugh! Fine…fine.”
Adrian uttered, pushing himself from the table to walk towards her fast-exiting frame.
Two bulky men leapt from behind him to follow him.
The security personnel that came with his position as Alpha was something he would have to get accustomed to—he didn’t need two warriors he was stronger than by his side, but the last time he uttered that, the Lycan had laughed and asked how he thought he felt.
His hand reached for Ruby’s arm when he finally arrived where she stood awaiting her driver in the night’s cold; the second he touched her cold skin, her eyes flew to him on high alert as if she were about to flee from him.
“Oh…you.”
“‘You’?”
He repeated before his nose lifted to inhale her scent that was corrupted by that of whisky and nicotine.
“Have you been smoking?”
“What—no.”
A lie, he understood instantly when she lowered her nose to sniff her flesh.
His grip on her hand tightened.
“I don’t want a wife who smokes.”
Her gaze lifted slowly to his before she smiled.
“And I don’t want to have to address my husband by his title—especially in public, but oh well, I guess we’re stuck.”
He could feel a sneer rise on his lips.
“Good God, you are irritating.”
“Let go of me, Alpha. My car is here.”
A sleek black car pulled up next to them as she uttered the words.
“I will drop you home.”
“Hard pass.”
“I am not asking, Ruby.”
Even under the garden lights, her glare at his words shone.
“Let go of me.”
His hand tightened again on her flesh, and only once she winced did he lessen the pressure.
“I said I will take you home.”
His gaze dropped to her lips; the red stain of her lipstick remained unnaturally perfect despite the liveliness of the ceremony; come to think of it, not even a strand of hair was out of place. Aside from the scent of nicotine, she maintained herself too perfectly. She did not even have a jacket on despite the mountain’s cold.
“If you are trying to score brownie points with the King and Queen, they are watching fireworks, deeply in love and away from here. So, let me go, or I will scream, and if I do resort to the latter, I promise you, the rumour of your assault will reach their ears faster than that of you escorting me home.”
A silence passed between them as he tried to control his fury at her words.
“You will regret threatening me, Ruby.”
Her smile widened.
“Do you promise?”
A stillness passed, and again, he was drawn to her lips.
He could keep her from saying any more infuriating words in a few ways. At least that was why he permitted his head to lower to her height—definitely not because he wanted to find out her taste.
She must have lifted her frame to his height because the distance closed too suddenly. Just as his lips almost crashed into hers, she dropped to her usual height and turned her face away, leaving him gazing at her unscarred cheek and marvelling at the length of her lashes.
“My arm, Alpha. Let go of it.”
- Writer
