“About what exactly? The rings or the note?”

“The rings.”

“Not the note?” He gripped my waist.

“No.”

“Why is that?”

“Because you pissed me off.”

He turned and pressed me against the wall so fast I lost my breath.

“And how do you think I felt? I ordered you to shut down to protect you from those in my family who don’t want the wedding to happen.”

“You think they will use my clubs to stop our wedding.” I gripped his shirt. “I know how to deal with vipers. I grew up in a den of them.”

“Don’t underestimate your value in this game. They will have no problem exposing you publicly or throwing your family to the wolves.”

“Like you threatened to do to me when we met.”

His palm settled on my jaw, tilting it to the side so he could rub his stubble against the skin along the column of my neck. “But unlike me, they aren’t going to give you an alternative. They won’t let you become a vital part of their lives. And they definitely won’t fucking marry you.”

“I won’t live in a bubble, Simon. That isn’t who I am.”

“I will keep you safe.” He grazed my shoulder with his teeth.

“I’m that important to you?”

“Tell me if this answers your question.” He lifted his head and leaned in, stopping when his nose was a hairsbreadth away from mine. “You aren’t just your father and brothers’ weakness. You’re mine. I would burn this fucking world down if something happened to you.”

I stared into his beautiful green eyes, seeing the truth of his words.

Cupping his face, I drew his lips to mine. Immediately, he groaned, deepening the kiss.

God, he tasted incredible, of scotch and his own earthy essence, something I hadn’t realized I needed so desperately.

The hand at my waist slid upward, cupping my breast and pinching the straining, sensitive nipple through my dress.

“Simon,” I gasped, breaking the kiss and arching up.

His mouth trailed down my throat, licking, sucking, and biting in that way that drove my need for him higher and higher.

He lowered to his knees, his fingers circling my ankles and then gliding upward, under my gown, over my knee and thigh, gathering the fabric as he went.

“I believe I owe you something.”

“Yes, you do.”

With a quick jerk of his hand, he ripped my thong from my body, making me gasp, and then in the next second, I moaned as his hot tongue took a long swipe over my sex.

I dropped my head back against the wall and closed my eyes, losing myself in the pleasure I’d craved ever since he’d left me hanging earlier this morning.

He pushed two fingers deep into my soaked core and circled my pulsing clitoral nub with his mouth.