Hateful Games: (An arranged marriage billionaire romance) (Arranged Games Book 2)
Chapter 39

I distinctly remember falling asleep on the couch in the library last night.

Yet as I slowly rise from my slumber, I’m lying in a plush bed that smells utterly divine and the warmth emanating from it makes me want to stay curled up all day long.

Since when do beds have steady heartbeats?

That’s because I’m not alone, which isn’t unusual because Maggie likes to cuddle. Today, it’s not soft fur tickling me but rather a hard slab of muscle I’m wrapped around like a koala bear.

Hesitantly, I skate my fingers over the smooth ridges, feeling a pulse rise between my thighs. My body catches up before my mind can. Slowly, details take shape and awaken my senses. The rise and fall beneath my ear, the lack of barrier against my skin. My limbs tangled with someone and their knuckles grazing the length of my spine.

A boring gaze watching me.

With a start, I jerk awake to full consciousness.

As I travel my gaze up the familiar set of washboard abs, it clashes with Nova’s hooded eyes. Morning light streaming in through the small space between the curtains highlights the angular contours of his face.

So ungodly ravishing, it’s unfair.

One arm bent at the elbow and bracing his head, he stares down at me with dark possession. Even half naked, he’s commanding. Unlike most men, he wears his dominance beneath a thinly veneered layer of charm.

I’ve barely scratched the surface.

I feel tiny and feminine against his broad shoulders and hard pecs, especially the way he’s leaning slightly against the headboard. Those dark orbs deepen with hunger as they study my eyes, the tip of my nose, and finally resting on my lips when I lick the corner.

He just caught me copping a feel of him in my dozy state.

When did he bring me upstairs? How did I not feel him carry me?

I become even more aware that I’m draped over his firm chest more than the bed. My shirt is ridden up and bunched just below my breasts. The heat of his body searing my skin laden with goosebumps.

Something feels different and my eyes go wide when I feel my breasts bare underneath my shirt, which wasn’t the case when I passed out last night. Aghast and blushing, I ask him, “Did you take my bra off?”

“You didn’t wear it the first night,” he lazily drawls with a shrug. His morning voice deep and husky. “So, I assumed you don’t wear them to bed and took it off.”

“You had no right!”

In a flash, his arm hooked around my waist tightens and lifts me to straddle his hips, right over his hard length. It swells even more when I grind in an attempt to shift away. Like a deer caught in the headlights, I cease all movement.

“On the contrary, I have every right.”

Unable to squirm away from his vise-like grip, I make the terrible mistake of peering down and swallow nervously when his pierced tip peeks over his black boxers.

Heat burns my cheeks as I look anywhere but at him and whisper, “Put me down, Nova.”

“No,” comes his swift response. “You’re exactly where you’re supposed to be.”

A deeper and hidden meaning resides behind those words. I ignore them like my life depends on it. “I’m mad at you.”

Now sitting upright, his thumb circles my outer thighs. My silk sleep shorts stretched just below where my hips meet my thighs. Nova takes full advantage and spans his hands around them, bringing his fingertips close to my folds.

I fight not to wriggle, even as my body comes alive with his filthy words.

“Let’s fuck and make up.”

His fingers edge to the waistband of my shorts and I grasp his hands just before they make contact. Daring to meet his eyes, I murmur, “I’m too mad at you.”

“Hate fuck it is, my wife,” he rasps thickly.

“No fucking of any kind.”

His cock twitches against my ass when I say fucking. I become scared and turned on when his grip becomes impossibly tighter and he looks close to losing control. I only have a second before his hand flies to grab the back of my neck and yanks me down.

“I’ll settle for a kiss,” he growls before smashing his lips against mine and savagely thrusting his tongue inside my pliant mouth. Threading his fingers in my hair that falls around us in a curtain, he makes me his willing captive.

The kiss is nothing like the past ones.

It’s harsh.

Feral.

A claiming.

I’m out of breath and my sanity when he pulls back after a painful bite to my bottom lip. Sharply tugging my hair until I whimper, he speaks against my swollen mouth, “Only for now, though. You’re playing a very dangerous game, Rose. Denying me your sweet cunt and making me wait isn’t going to make me lose interest or have me chasing another woman. You’re it for me. The one. Mine. Your name might as well be tattooed on my dick.”

I almost come from his possessive claim.

Moving me from his lap to the side, he rises from the bed and walks into the bathroom.

I slump flat on the mattress and stare at the ceiling, dumbfounded. The butterflies retuning like a vengeance. I’m way out of my depth here. Nova is pulling at every string attached to my heart.

The dark.

The weak.

The filthy.

It won’t be long before he’s controlling them all with an iron hold. So, how do I stop it?

***

Nova is still hovering downstairs in the kitchen, scrolling on his iPad with a dark scowl when I come after taking a long bath in the Jacuzzi tub. Silly me for thinking I’d get rid of him that easily.

“Do you always go to the office late?” I breezily ask, pretending as if his earlier words aren’t still circling in my head on a loop. Or that the sight of him in a custom-made three-piece Brioni suit doesn’t cause a stutter in my steps. “Kinda sets a bad example for the employees.”

“Since dinner was ruined, I was hoping for a pleasant breakfast.”

I glance toward the dining table and it’s decorated with a wide array of fruits, toast, and coffee. Just the way I like it. When I flick my gaze back to him, his eyes are roaming down my short summer dress with the bare back to the top of my ass. The air crackles with electricity and sizzling tension as they linger on my breasts.

I’m rethinking forgoing a bra.

His eyes, which match the color of his tie, flick to my lips when I ask, “You made breakfast?”

Discarding his tablet on the kitchen island, he crosses the distance until we’re only standing a breath away. “Yes. Why do you look surprised?”

“Because you look like a man who has an errand boy for everything.”

“Sorry to disappoint you.” I open my mouth for a perfect sassy response but he shushes me with a finger to my lips. “I can do without the sarcasm, little hellion.”

I push his hand away and innocently reply, “I was going give you a compliment, Nova.”

“Really?” Amusement flickers on his face. “Which is?”

“You missed your chance.”

“You wound me, Rose.”

His mock hurt draws a chuckle from my lips before I can stop it. Grasping my hand, he guides me to the dining table and like a gentleman, helps me sit. Taking his seat beside me, he makes me a plate, serving me a bit of everything.

I’m about to dig in when I suddenly realize none of my dogs are to be seen. “Where are Bunny, Maggie, and Fire?”

Nova grabs my wrist when I stand to go in search of them, and answers, “They’re outside playing in the pool. It seems Bunny has found a new hobby.”

“Oh,” I mumble in relief and sit back down. I sip my coffee and suppress a pleased moan.

“Good?” Nova hums, reading my expression like a pro.

“Mhmm.”

“What else do you like for breakfast?”

“Why? You planning to cook for me every morning?” I joke.

“Absolutely,” he answers without pause. “I also plan to have every meal together with you.”

I choke on my perfectly brewed coffee, making his head swing in my direction. His hand pauses in midair. “You can’t be serious.”

“Text me the list of your favorite dishes and I’ll go grocery shopping on my way home,” is all he says and takes the drink from my hand to rest on the table when it wobbles. “My parents will come around eight. In case I run late, cook something simple for my mom because she’s not allowed to eat from outside. I’ll order something for the rest of us. Okay?”

“Me and cook?” I croak out.

He lifts one eyebrow. “You do know how?”

“Of course I do.” I don’t.

“A tip. No poison. Doesn’t taste good.”

I slap his chest. “Shut up!”

He goes back to finishing his coffee while I focus on my toast. I’m almost done when I watch him absently grab a grape from my plate. Instinct has me slapping his wrist away and bringing the plate closer.

He looks at me with a perplexed expression.

“I don’t share.”

“It was only a grape.”

“So? It would’ve made you think it was okay and soon, it’ll become a habit,” I explain with all seriousness, and he listens with a straight face. I pop the grape he was trying to steal into my mouth and mutter, “It’s nothing personal, Nova. Ask Iris or Bianca.”

Running his hand over his clean-shaven jaw, he counters, “Does it apply both ways? If I’m eating something you’re curious to try, you won’t try to steal a bite.”

I mull it over and answer, “Let me make it simple. What’s mine is mine, what’s yours is also mine, and what’s mine definitely isn’t yours.”

“Is that so?”

“Absolutely.” I dig into another grape with the fork and lift it to my mouth, only it doesn’t make it. “Hey!”

Nova chews it with a smug grin. “Sharing is caring, Rose. And you’re right. What’s mine is all yours.”

Again, the butterflies flutter in their cage. He’s done a complete one-eighty from our wedding weekend. I swear the man has a selective hearing problem. If what I say isn’t convenient for him, it flies straight over his head. “God! I hate you.”

Standing from his chair, he bends and takes my mouth in a sweet kiss. “I’ll come by to pick you up for lunch.”

The next second, he’s gone.

Calming my racing heart, I think about the hole I dug myself in. I haven’t got a single clue about cooking. There was always a chef at my home and since we were to maintain a professional distance from them, I couldn’t exactly ask them to teach me. Mom was always busy. So, I didn’t really bother to learn.

Now, it’s coming to bite me in the ass.

Fortunately, I have the perfect ace in my pocket. Sprinting to the library, I replace my phone on the couch where I left it yesterday and pull the group chat with my best friends.

ME: SOS

BIANCA: Okay… No need to panic.

IRIS: We are prepared. I knew the day would come. Not so soon though.

BIANCA: Don’t touch anything, Ro.

IRIS: There are two options. Chopping it into pieces or burning it with chemicals. Though both are messy. But the first is quicker.

Are my best friends high? Drunk? I read their texts over and over, coming up short for a reasonable explanation.

ME: What the hell are you two going on about!??

IRIS: You killed Nova… right?

BIANCA: Don’t worry, I’ll be your alibi. Dash knows people.

IRIS: I can help with getting rid of the body. I’ve been learning from episodes of Breaking Bad. I’m sure we can figure it out. It’s pretty simple.

IRIS: Any idea how much he weighs?

Jesus Christ! They’ve really thought this over. Especially Iris. I swear her mind is scarier than mine. Yet I’ve got the bad reputation.

ME: Nova is fine.

IRIS: Of course he’s fine. Dead bodies don’t feel anything.

ME: He’s ALIVE! Still my husband.

IRIS: Oh!

BIANCA: Then what’s the emergency?

ME: Cooking emergency. Both of you get your asses here.

ME: And by both, I mean Iris.

BIANCA: Hey! I’m a decent cook.

IRIS: Respectfully, Bianca, you’re not.

ME: Not so respectfully, you’re terrible.

BIANCA: At least I know how.

ME: Ouch.

IRIS: Also, I’m stuck in back-to-back classes.

BIANCA: Such a shame.

BIANCA: Not so respectfully.

ME: You were willing to miss classes when you thought I killed him, Iris.

IRIS: I cook daily. Burying a dead body… not so much.

BIANCA: Text me the address. I’ll come.

I slap my phone down on the counter after texting her and hear a wet tapping sound come in my direction. Lifting my head, I see a drenched Bunny barreling toward me with his tongue lolling out to the side.

My boy looks happy.

He never had this much freedom to roam around in my parents’ house as he does here. Even the anxiety I felt is missing. No dark corners and icy hallways. Confined to a cage and forgotten until I was worth something.

My dad would be pissing in his boots if he saw the way I was being treated by Nova and his family. The devil worshippers… as he derisively calls them. The evil enemies who’ve tainted his world.

Yet I can’t risk letting them in past the walls around my heart.

My thoughts are cut short when Bunny slams into me, rising on his paws to reach my face and lick with affection. I bump into the island behind me from his heavy weight but I can’t stay mad.

“Heya, Bunny… Are you enjoying yourself?” I ask him in a baby voice. Dogs have the tendency to make grown-ups sound like idiots. Their faces too cute to resist. People scram away after one look at Bunny’s face. Their first instinct is thinking he’ll attack them. In our country, they’re given such a bad reputation, it hurts my soul.

It is true he killed his last owner and was being condemned with the same brutal fate. But what people don’t know is that he did it to defend himself. The police were able to get the horrific footage where his owner could be seen tying him with a rope and attempting to hang him. Even malnourished and abused, Bunny fought and saved himself.

I had seen over the internet when the news spread like wildfire.

Immediately, I knew I had to save him.

After a lot of trouble and paperwork, I brought him home, much to my father’s dismay. It took me months to earn his trust and loyalty, but it was all worth it. It’s the reason why he’s so protective of me. He’s remotely coexisting with Nova because I’ve given no inclination my husband will harm me.

I thought I would have to keep them separate but it’s like Bunny could sense I’m comfortable around Nova, which left me flabbergasted. It was an alarming realization that raised questions I didn’t want answered.

Was he seeing something I was missing?

Do I even want to know?

“Want to go back to the pool?” I amusedly ask Bunny, who bites the skirt of my dress and pulls. “Want me to come with you?”

He jumps, tugging harder. “Woof!”

“Let me change first!”

“Woof! Woof! Woof!”

“Go on, I’ll be there, Buns.” I nudge him until he lets my dress go. Then I watch him run down the hall, leaving a wet trail. Quickly cleaning it up so nobody has a bad fall, I rush upstairs to change into a bikini.

It’ll be a while before Bianca shows up anyway and I’ve been meaning to explore the depth of the pool. Yesterday was spent decorating my library, which is almost done. Admiring my reflection in the full-length mirror in our closet, I twist to stare at my behind. The bottoms are held by knots on the sides, showing off my lean legs and ass department. I’m blessed in the ass while my boobs are a B cup. However, with the halter style of my bikini, they look even perkier and bigger.

Tying my hair in a messy bun, I take the stairs and reach the pool in two minutes. I expected chaos, and that’s what I replace.

Maggie is lounging in the shadows and props her head up upon hearing me. Meanwhile, Fire circles around the edge of the pool, barking at Bunny who is repeatedly diving in and out. Without a care that the water is splashing out of the pool.

“Bunny, out!” I shout. He ignores me. I walk closer and yell again. He turns his head and stops before jumping again. “Good boy. Go with Maggie.”

He gazes at the pool with doe eyes but when I say his name in warning, he follows my command. My fireball also calms down. As soon as the pool is empty, I dive straight in and sigh in pleasure when I’m enveloped by the cool water.

The world quiets down until it’s my heartbeat I hear in my ears.

When I come out to the surface, the sunlight soothes me.

Just like that, I forget all the complications of my life.