“Keep her name out of your mouth.” He takes a step forward.

I weigh the distance between us. Close but not close enough. He just needs one last little push to send him hurtling over the edge. I lower my voice and lean forward a bit. “You can call me by her name if you want. Since you’re obviously too much a coward to have closed the deal with her.”

“Monroe.” On his tongue, my name sounds like a curse. I kind of like it.

“Actually, I have a better idea.” I give him a slow, predatory smile. “Maybe I’ll say her name instead. I bet her pussy tastes as sweet and innocent as she looks.”

Broderick moves, faster than I would have given him credit for. If I weren’t waiting for it, he would have caught me flat-footed. As it is, I sucker punch him and slip past. He careens into the wall with a muffled curse, but he’s recovered by the time I reach the bathroom door. Tough bastard.

“You bitch.”

“Don’t think you’ll turn my head with pretty compliments.” I twist around and back toward the bed.

Broderick looks like he wants to wring my neck. He rushes me, and even though I try to dodge, he hooks an arm around my waist and takes us both to the bed. I’m fighting as soon as my back hits the mattress, but he’s ready for me this time. He grabs my wrists and forces them over my head, dodges my attempt to knee him in the balls, and wedges himself between my thighs. All in the span of three seconds.

Impressive.

He growls. “It didn’t have to be like this.”

“On the contrary.” I shiver, my desire making me forget myself for a moment. Broderick really is a worthy opponent, though I’d cut out my own tongue before I admitted as much. “It most definitely had to be like this.”

He looks like he wants to argue, but I stop the words by arching up and kissing him. He tenses against me. For a moment, I think he might keep fighting this, but he makes a low sound against my mouth, and then he’s kissing me back. It’s just as much a battle as everything has been up to this point. We fight for dominance even as he shifts my wrists to one hand and reaches between our bodies to shove two fingers into me.

Broderick lifts his head and glares. “I fucking loathe you.”

Chapter 3

Broderick

I had meant to go about this a different way. To keep things as distant as possible when it comes to consummating the handfast. To not do anything to further the enmity between me and my new Bride. To…

It doesn’t matter now.