She couldn’t get him to listen to her, but maybe she could get him to slow down before he destroyed the fragile relationship they’d been building. She didn’t think her self-respect could handle another brutal mauling. If he hurt her this time, it was over. She really was going to leave him. At least she would when she found her way off the darn island.

Instead of stopping him, she ignored his rough handling and touched him gently, like a lover, running her hands over his shoulders in a caress, then down his back, tracing his spine with her fingers. He shivered under her touch, so she did it again, sweeping her hands up and down his warm back.

When he froze over her, his hands settling on her, rather than squeezing or pinching, she pushed her luck, sliding her hands beneath his shirt. He groaned in her ear as she ran her fingernails down his bare skin. Moving her hands to his front, she unbuttoned his shirt, then slid her hands into his pants, tugging it free.

She peeled it back from his shoulders and ran her hands down his chest, touching the springy hair that covered his pectorals. It felt rough against the pads of her fingers, contrasting with the silken skin covering the steely muscles. She scraped her fingernail over his flat brown nipple, drawing a shudder from him.

He captured her hand. “What are you doing, Yasmin?”

She shivered at the way he spoke her name, in a hard, uncompromising tone. No Turkish endearments.

She licked her lips and tipped her head back on the soft mattress to look up at him. “I’m trying to seduce you so we can have a proper wedding night.”

His hand tightened around hers, threatening to crush the delicate bones. “And why would you do that when you were trying to escape our wedding night?”

“Because I don’t want you to hurt me,” she whispered.

There was no point in trying to convince him she was innocent. He wasn’t ready to listen. But if she could get him to set aside his anger and treat her like the beloved spouse he swore she would be, maybe there could be a path forward from this mess.

She had to try.

She leaned up on her elbows and pressed her mouth to his, closing her eyes and immersing herself in the firm, dry warmth of his lips. As she wanted him to set aside his anger, she set aside her fear and pushed boldly forward, determined to seduce him into remembering that she was the woman he claimed to love.