“I’m not letting him do this to us, Aves.”
I think about the embryos Enzo told me about. How, if I don’t follow my father’s plans, I have absolutely no doubt my family will continue in my absence. They’ll use my own unborn children as ammunition against me, against the boy I love. And it’s not just that. I fear what my father will do to Will if he sees him as a threat to his grand plans.
My father has had people killed for less. Much, much less. I’ve loved Will since I was seventeen years old. And the last thing I want to do is be the reason he ends up dead in a hit-and-run, or from a mysterious overdose, or just plain disappears, never to be seen again.
My cousin Ty’s girlfriend disappeared three years ago, after he got careless and she got knocked up. They found her in Mexico, in a poppy field. Or, they found pieces of her, buried amongst the flower beds. My cousin was never the same after that. He never suspected his own family, but I did. I know what the Capulets are capable of doing in the name of blood.
“I have to,” I whimper. “I’m sorry.”
“You will be,” Will snaps. “Take your dress off.”
I unzip my dress and push it down over my hips, letting it pool on the floor like a dark puddle around my feet. I’m completely naked now, my nipples so hard they ache, my body desperately craving to be filled.
Will dips his head, pressing his forehead against mine as he reaches between us. He’s still hard, the head of his cock purple with need.
“Wrap your legs around me,” Will murmurs, ripping the condom off and dropping it on the floor. He lets go of my throat and uses both of his hands to grab my ass, lifting me in the air. My pussy rubs against his cock as he carries me three steps, slamming me against the mausoleum wall. Holding me against the wall with one hand under my ass and the weight of his body to pin me still, he uses his other hand to guide himself to my entrance. I don’t think I’ve ever been so naked, so desperate, so fucking turned on.
“I’m not letting him take you away from me,” Will says through gritted teeth, pushing into me. It’s different like this, skin on skin. It’s never felt this good before.
“I’m sorry,” I say again, screaming as he seats himself in one violent thrust.
Will pulls back, gripping my chin with his thumb and forefinger, his skin hot, the room cold. “Avery,” he says, and then something clicks for him. He sees it in my face. He knows I’m not going to fight for him, at least not in the way he wants me to. He knows I’m going to marry Joshua. And the rage inside him, when he realizes this, needs somewhere to go.
I open my mouth to explain, but Will clamps a hand over my mouth. His gaze is like fire, and in that moment, it’s like he sees everything I’ve ever kept from him in one devastating flash. I hear his teeth grind together, his jaw straining as he searches for my eyes. Is he looking for hope? For something to redeem me?
Whatever it is he’s looking for, he obviously doesn’t find it. He takes his hand away from my mouth slowly, his intent clear: Don’t speak.
So I don’t. I stay silent, watching him, both of us still breathing heavily, me still impaled on his cock, wet and needy and trying desperately to stop my hips from the shallow thrusts they seem to be doing of their own accord, as my body tries to draw him deeper. Even physically, I feel like I’m losing him.
“Will,” I sob.
His expression turns to pure rage, but I’m not afraid. Not when he takes my wrists in his hands and pulls them down by my sides. He makes a low sound in his throat, almost a growl, as he smashes my wrists against the hard marble wall. It hurts, shock waves of pain lancing from my wrists through my body. I choke on a moan as Will’s fingers return to my throat and squeeze again.
“I love you,” Will says, choking me as he rears back, almost pulling out of me. “But I fucking hate you, Avery.”
He slams into me on the word hate, and I’d scream again if he weren’t choking me. He must realize I’m on the verge