Ruins of Chaos (Legacy of the Nine Realms #3) - Amelia Hutchins Page 0,172

here because I’d brought her into this mess. Lennox wouldn’t have allowed me to walk away from her after he’d caught her scent, but I’d at least tried. She didn’t deserve to be stuck with me, and yet I’d gone and fucking married her because no matter how much I fought it or argued with it, Aria was mine. I felt it in the very bones of my being.

Aria got close, and I’d pushed her away. She pulled away, and I’d yanked her back. I hated her indifference and the hurt she felt when I struck against her. Aria stood at the end of the aisle in her wedding dress as panic rushed through her, wanting to run from what was happening. She’d looked every inch the queen she was born to become. I’d lied and told her I preferred her hair down when the truth was I loved it up. I loved seeing the soft curve of her throat. I knew sooner or later, I’d lose the fight with Lennox, and our mark would be there for the world to see.

Aria had skipped every tradition on our wedding night, hers and mine. She hadn’t worn the jewels I’d left for her or even worn shoes. Aria hadn’t worn the Hecate crown, choosing to accept mine in its place. The shoulder chains would have marked her royalty, and yet she’d forgone them to come to me as herself. Her humbleness floored me. She had been a true queen coming to a king, with her body bare of jewels and markings.

The type of woman she was, well, it was what I’d craved since before my cock had ever twitched. She loved everything I did, and we had more in common than anyone else I’d ever met. Aria was this perfect thing that craved me as much as I craved her, and it hurt me deeply to acknowledge it.

She was more than I deserved, and we both knew it. I knew it on a level that I hated, but I set that aside as she’d given herself to me for days without ever wanting more than to be with me. She had been content to spend the time beside me, learning of our world with the mind of a scholar. I’d made love to Aria, something I hadn’t done since Liliana was alive, and even then, I couldn’t say it was anything like I’d shared with Aria in that stone hut.

Aria, with her walls down, had socked me in the gut harder than I cared to admit. I’d felt her pain and watched tears swimming in her eyes as she brought them down for me. Her voice had cracked when she’d whispered the truth of how she felt. I’d needed to reassure Aria that she wasn’t the sum of what she’s endured. What those monsters did hadn’t defined her or who she would become. I’d told her it wouldn’t have mattered if they’d raped her, and it shocked me to know I truly felt that way. I only cared that she’d gotten back up and refused to remain down.

News of the attack on the stronghold had ripped open my wounds, and I’d needed to hurt her. I had been preoccupied, and those days with her in bed had ended in this shit show of a mess. I’d needed her to know that no matter what had happened, nothing had changed between us. I’d slammed her down onto the table, using her as I had countless others. Pulling back, I’d watched her body clenching in both pain and pleasure, leaking our fluids down her legs. I’d hated myself for it, and I’d pulled away because it was how I kept myself in check. It was how I reminded myself that Aria was my enemy.

I’d felt like the world’s biggest asshole, but then she’d ridden me slowly, erotically rocking my fucking foundation. I’d never been so turned on in my life as she spoke naughty words, asking me how much I enjoyed her tight pussy. She’d mesmerized me with her slow-moving hips, rolling them while her body clamped down against mine hungrily. Her pretty titties jiggled, and fuck if I hadn’t craved to taste the dusky-colored peaks again.

I hadn’t seen it coming.

Aria had knocked me to the ground, and placed her tiny foot on my throat, sending her claws into my soul before shredding it without mercy. I’d treated her like a camp follower, and she’d taken it. Or I thought she had. Instead,