SWNOVELS Chapter 8
The spanking only mutes my fiery fiancée for a minute before she’s raining down a hailstorm on my back with her little fists. When that doesn’t work, she literally attempts to paw at my skin with her sharp and spiky nails. Or whatever shape these women call it these days.
They’re a deadly weapon, not some pretty art.
I squeeze her plump and enticing ass in warning, which does the opposite of taming her. Instead, she doubles down on her futile efforts to hurt me. I just knocked out a six-foot-three and two-hundred-pound man to the ground and she thinks her small punches are going to hurt me.
“Stop ignoring me, you ass,” yells the little firecracker, now pounding both her fists. “Or did Bryant hit you too hard in your thick skull that you’ve gone deaf?”
Just to fuck with her, I hike her even higher until she squeals in fear of being dropped. I suppress my laughter as I move past the crowd, who are recording the debacle. By tomorrow morning, our faces will be plastered everywhere.
No one steps in my path as I make a beeline for the tunnel I came from earlier. Everyone knows to give me a wide berth after a fight. Until I’ve calmed down.
Leave it to my reluctant fiancée to make me break my ritual.
The second I locked eyes with her, everything got fucked.
I had to blink several times to make sure I wasn’t hallucinating her, standing mere feet from me. Everything became white noise, the world around disappearing while I was held entranced by her.
My first thought—my arsonist fiancée has become a fucking knockout.
None of the innocence remained in a single bone of her jaw-dropping body. With flaming red curls, siren red lips, and a haughty nose. And don’t get me started on her belly piercing. That tiny jewel hasn’t stopped tormenting me with its vision for the past two goddamn years.
The second that motherfucking prick had grabbed her aggressively, a dizzying wave of possessiveness flared inside me and my mind went haywire.
“For fuck’s sake, Nova!” she speaks, drawing my attention. “Everyone is star—”
Cupping her ass, I drag her down and wrap her legs around my waist, effectively shutting her up. I trap her arms against my body, so she can’t hit, slap or punch me in the face.
Let’s be honest, she definitely will.
Her coal-black eyes, which always glimmer, go round when she feels my hard cock against her heat. They become hooded when I shamelessly bring her firmly against my length, letting her feel every inch and just what her fight is doing to me. Her nails are now digging into my sides while her front is plastered against my own.
I’m beckoned to her siren red lips as they part on a small gasp, teasing my chest with her breath. Wrapping her ponytail in my fist, I tug her head back. “Unless you’re willing to take care of the very hard problem you caused, I’d not utter a single word.”
The shocked haze vanishes from her blushing face, replaced by the poisoned hate she carries for me in her little black heart.
“Manhandling me made you hard?” she growls low, squirming to get away. I hold her tighter. “You’re disgusting.”
“I crave a fuck after every win. Don’t consider yourself special just ’cause your body made my dick hard. Any woman would’ve.”
“Then put me the fuck down.”
“No.”
“I’m not sleeping with you.”
“Since you wouldn’t know the difference being a virgin and all, fucking isn’t sleeping,” I whisper low against her mouth before taunting, “Tell me… Is your book porn still getting you off?”
Her nostrils flare, making my dick twitch. She pretends to ignore it but the redness on her cheeks gives her away. While my mind hates the truth that I’m even remotely attracted to her.
She’s the spawn of my mortal enemy.
“Malcolm is so dead,” she grumbles under her breath.
I narrow my gaze. “Did he bring you here?”
“Who else would? I don’t know anyone here.”
“Stop being a smart-ass.”
“I am smart,” she retorts. “And you can let go of my ass.”
I cup it harder, eliciting a tiny moan from her lips. Fuck! With every small and innocent reaction, she’s practically screaming her tempting body is untouched. Starved for pleasure. Craving to be taken to heights that being overcome with lust brings.
Filling my head with fantasies and visions I have no business imagining.
I’m getting her the hell out of here fast.
Besides, no way I’m watching another fucker circle around her like a shark, sniffing around what belongs to me. To steal her virtue that is rightfully mine. It doesn’t matter that I don’t want her any more than she wants me but that doesn’t alter the honest truth.
That Rosalie Kapoor is mine.
My possession.
My nemesis.
My kryptonite.
Kept caged her whole life, I’ll bet on anything that she’ll try to spread her wings. I haven’t overlooked her ill-fated attempts at dating over the years. I’ll be damned if I let it happen here under my watch.
I’ve went to extreme lengths—not that she knows—to ensure my claim on her.
“Hey! What’s that smirk for?” she snaps, watching me closely. I didn’t even realize I was. Just the thought of tampering with her life thrills me like a deviant.
“You’re smart,” I taunt. “Figure it out.”
Her lips press into a thin line, nose tilting haughtily as she glances away. But when she sees the hundreds of eyes on her, she goes back to staring at my chest.
“I’m waiting, smart-ass,” I probe.
“God! You’re still so fuc—
I walk faster, entering the tunnel and the moment we plunge into the darkness, she goes silent.
Too quiet.
I’m certain she doesn’t even breathe because she’s so still, until the light from the locker room filters in. Her eyes are unfocused when I observe her, making me frown. Her reaction isn’t of someone who is simply afraid of the dark.
Curiosity has me itching to ask but firstly, she would never answer, and secondly, I don’t care. At least, now I know of a way to make her shut up. Instead, I tighten my grip in her hair, making her break out of the haze.
She blinks, the light in her eyes returning as she aims it my way. “Where are you taking me?”
“Home.” I kick open the door to the locker room before closing it shut. “After you tell me why the fuck you decided to come early.”
“Put me down first.”
I slide her down to the ground but keep her pinned against the wall. Her head reaching up to my shoulder. Despite being tall for a girl, she still has to tilt her face.
“Do you need step-by-step instructions?” She huffs in annoyance. “Move back.”
“Stop stalling,” I snap. “Why is your ass in London, let alone at my campus and interrupting my fight?”
I was half sure she would find a way out of this trip, like she does back at home. While the other half of me thought I could just ignore her, if she decided to come. Now after only a minute in her vicinity, I have done everything but ignore the little hellion.
“I didn’t ask you to come to my rescue.”
“Because you were doing such a perfect job of staying out of trouble.”
“I think you needed an excuse since you were clearly losing your fight.”
“The two men I left behind unconscious will say otherwise.” I smirk before raising one eyebrow and demanding, “Did you miss me?”
“What?” Shock swarms her features at the sudden switch in topic.
“Or perhaps a secret crush?”
“That punch must have really hurt what was left of your brain cells.”
I lean close, ignoring her jab. “I think it’s both, since you couldn’t resist coming a day early, unable to stay away a minute longer, that you tagged along with my friend to see me fight from the front lines. I bet you were cheering too.”
“Cheering for you to lose, you mean?”
“Sweet lies.”
“Bitter truths,” she growls, trying to push me away.
I don’t budge, earning an irritated scowl from her. “Was it another one of your mom’s tricks to bring us close?”
“Am I not allowed to surprise my fiancé?” she sweetly taunts. “Or are you worried it will put a damper on your womanizing lifestyle?”
“Why? Do you need a babysitter?” I bite my tongue from revealing I have her days planned to keep her occupied.
“Ha. Like I would trust you with my safety.”
“Even after I just defended your honor?”
“We both know I’m capable of protecting myself. Had you waited a second before going all macho, you would’ve seen for yourself.”
I frown when her gaze flicks to my forehead, where I can feel a cut. My heart thuds when she tentatively reaches forward, gazing at me for a lingering second as if I’ll stop her. When I don’t, she rubs carefully before swiping at the wound. Her thumb shines with my blood after she lowers her hand between us.
“You need stitches. The cut is deep.”
“Hurting for me, Rose?”
“Quite the contrary. I’m jealous.” Her voice is a whisper. “I’m the only one who has the right to make you bleed.”
“Slow down, hellion. We aren’t married yet.”
“We don’t need to be married at all, if you just tell our fathers.”
“I’ve changed my mind.”
Her jaw tenses in anger. I hate when it doesn’t diminish her dark beauty and the fact that I’m thinking of her as pretty. So, when she pushes me away this time, I step back and straighten.
“Why do you insist on being in a loveless marriage?” she questions in a high-pitched voice. “If an heiress from a powerful family is what you’re looking for, then there are literally a ton of options out there for you. Some might even dreamily fall at your feet.”
The last sentence is spoken with disdain, making my lips twitch. She equal parts amuses and angers me. Her power to fuck with my head is still running strong two years later.
“It won’t make a difference because it will still be loveless,” I reply. Flicking my chin at her, I smirk. “At least with you, it’ll be a hateful marriage. Love is overrated anyways.”
Without waiting for her comeback, I turn and walk toward the showers. Her non-answer conveying her coming early was her mother’s doing. That woman is hell-bent on us spending time together. At one point, I was certain she had eyes on me to constantly know about my whereabouts. Because the moment I would come home during a break, she’d be ringing and arranging a date for me and Rosalie.
I could never decline unless I was in the mood for a long-ass lecture from my dad, which I never am. He and I are already walking on eggshells around each other since the engagement. He knows about my reluctance, the disgust I carry for that family, but none of that matters to him. Both of us know I will never back down from my obligations.
Our union is just that.
An obligation.
A necessary evil.
And ultimately, Mihir Kapoor’s downfall.
Too bad, my future wife will have to be collateral damage.