Sentenced to Marriage by MadlainQ

Sleeping with him “You are loud.” i flinched at hearing Aren‘s hoarse mutter.

“H-how...?"” It was the only part of the question | could mumble in panic.

Aren lifted his upper body, supporting his weight with a bent elbow, his eyes narrowed from sleep. “How...

what?” “How did | end up here... like this?!” | looked at him wide-eyed, my heart pounding.

Aren sighed, a faint smirk curving his lips. “You fell asleep.” A wave of heat flooded me, a juicy blush surfacing on my cheeks. How could that happen? | wasnt drunk. | had barely drank two glasses of champagne. Fine, | was exhausted, but how could | fall asleep in the middle of...

Oh, God...

“And... why are you..?” “Why am | here with you?” He finished my question. “I also need to sleep.” He shrugged, glancing atwith increasing amusement.

“B-but...” | breathed, desperate to find a way out of this embarrassing situation.

A huff of irritation escaped his throat. A second later, he hooked his arm around my waist and pulledclose. | barely registered how | found myself lying with my back against his chest, his arms clutchingtightly. “It's five in the morning. Sleep,” he commanded, breathing into my ear. Easy for him to say. My heart hammered as if a mad heavy-metal drummer banged on it. His scent overwhelmedagain, sending all kinds of lewd thoughts to my mind. My body was tightly wrapped in his, my back pressing against the firm wall that was supposed to be called his chest and stomach muscles. His one arm lay on my waist while the other went under my neck and down to my shoulder and arm. The slightest movement of his fingers sent shivers through my entire body and made my wicked mind print thousands of imaginary pictures of him naked each tI tried to close my eyes.

No... falling asleep in his arms was like a freaking mission impossible! “Your shirt...” | mumbled. He chuckled softly. “What about my shirt?” | swallowed before asking. “What happened to your buttons? Did I..7” He snorted and tightened his grip around me. “When you fell asleep, you tangled your fingers around the rim of my shirt’s neckline. | was about to wake you up gently, when you moaned and yanked your hand away, ripping all of my buttons.” | gasped in embarrassment. | could almost see my subconscious with a facepalm gesture. Thankfully, | had my back turned to him, and he couldnt see my flustered face. “Why didn’t you take the shirt off?” | mumbled.

| could hear the grin in his tone when he said, “I thought it would be fun.” He continued, as he leaned over to whisper, “I wanted to have proof of you being savage” “Stop teasing me,” | grunted “I can take it off now If you wantto.” “No!” exclaimed in panic, which camedhis chuckle “Just letgo, and.” “Cora,” he said, his voice firm and commanding, “shut up and sleep” His hand reached for a blanket to cover in both as we lay, and then he tangled his legs with mine to preventfrom escaping, | gave up, i listened to his steady and calm breathing, and finally drifted away in a dream.

| woke up from the sound of typing on the computer keyboard and opened my eyes to find i was lying on Aren’s sola alone while he was already working behind his desk. His body was fully covered in a freshi, Irresistibly sexy navy suit and white shirt, with a full set of buttons this time. | pulled myself up to sit frantically, combing my hair with my fingers, Aren'’s eyes shifted from his computer screen to me, “What would you like for breakfast?” | pushed up to my heels, correcting my ruffled clothes, my eyes roaming across the floor to search for my shoes.

“Um... coffee,” | replied, not looking him in the eyes, | was still flustered after spending the night in his arms. | kept telling myself it wasn’t a big deal. We didnt have sex —we merely slept together... but it felt more intimate than anything | had ever experienced with Callan.

Wasn't | pitiful? Aren smiled. “I'll add stoast and scrambled eggs to that coffee. The order should get here in twenty minutes. You may use my bathroom; it's on the right. Take a shower. There are sfemale cosmetics in the cabinet,” “Female cosmetics?” | pointed out suspiciously. He smirked. “I told Neil to get it for you, just in case.” 1 glanced at him in disbelief. “When?” “Two days ago,” he tossed, and quickly added, “He will bring you sfresh clothes in a few minutes.” I nodded, figuring that | should probably shower before the stink of yesterday‘s sweat reached my nostrils... or worse, before it reached his nostrils as well! As soon as | entered his bathroom, his scent surrounded me. | found myself breathing it for a minute before snapping out of this weird daze and taking my clothes off to step into the cabin. My lustful imagination didn‘t disappoint me, makingfantasize about Aren while dr water caressed my overly sensitive skin. What did that night in his embrace do to me?! | chased those erotic thoughts away with a frustrating groan as | walked out of the shower. | wrapped myself in a towel, figuring that | should leave his office quickly to avoid the unpredictable, humiliating situations that were likely to occur if | stayed there longer. Suddenly, | heard a knocking sound, and Aren’s voice followed. “Neil brought your clothes. Please open the door so | can pass them over to you.” Tightening the towel around my chest, | slid my hand through the small crack, but Aren chuckled and pushed the door wide open, his eyes slowly taking in my not-so-covered body. God! My mind freaked out again! A second later, | found myself biting my lip while imagining Aren yanking that towel off ofand then fuckingsenseless... Seriously?! Is my period coming tomorrow or something?! But the worst of all was that | caught him staring atwith cocky amusement “I like it when you do that,” he purred seductively.

“Do... what?” | took a cautious step back.

He snorted. “You've just imaginednaked.” “I did not!” | protested, bursting into the world’s most awkward laughter ever.

He stepped into the bathroom, urgingback against the wall. His black irises, soaked with lust, sent a silent demand that almost madeunwrap myself and present my full nudity in front of him.

“Stop denying it. It's fun to watch how you struggle, but it would be easier if you just let it go. “He lookedup and down with a smug grin before stepping outside, allowingto breathe again.

| felt flustered and angry. | was acting like an absolute idiot. Would it be so shameful to admit how | felt? He walked every single day, breaking through the walls | built, and I let him. Why? Maybe | wanted him to... Led by a sudden strike of courage, | walked out of the bathroom as | stood covered with the towel.

“I'm scared, OK?!” | called out and cringed as the following words appeared in my head. “I feel like... there are invisible marks all over my body... He placed it on me, and | cannot get rid of them...” Aren'’s eyes locked on me, his gaze filled with concern and restlessness. “He? You mean Callan? I nodded, lowering my head. “The fact that he will be still present in my life scares the hell out of me. And the fact that | will see him tonight...” | couldn‘t tell how | found myself in Aren’s embrace, his arms holdingpossessively. “He won't be present in your life. | will protect you tonight, and once we leave the mansion, | will make sure that this fucker doesn’t show up within your sight.” | pulled in a jittery breath, barely restraining my tears from falling. He made it all sound so easy as if | could heal all of my wounds with one magic word. My anxieties were still very vivid, swirling inside my head and makingbroken. But what if he was able to fix me? “J-just, dont leavealone with him,” | muttered, placing my head on his chest. He stroked the back of my head and chuckled. “I'm a possessive fiancé. | won't let other men get near you, not to mention, stay alone with you.” | nodded, desperately needing his words to be true. “And if he tries to touch you,” Aren continued, his arm muscles tensing around me, “I'm going to cut off his fucking dick, then cut him open and watch him bleed out in the most agonizing way possible.” Dinner Fortunately, there was no one except for Neil when | left Aren‘s office. He greetedwith a mischievous smile that had painted his lips much too often recently. But since he was the one who broughtfresh clothes, | decided to ignore his teasing.

As soon as | walked into my new workspace, the day passed in a flash. Alan, Norton, and | went from one department to another, installing our program using the excuse of checking ssecurity issues. It was the amazingly boring part of the plan, but at least it went smoothly without people complaining that we interrupted their work. It was six o‘clock before I knew it -tforto get dressed up and put on sdecent makeup, preparing myself for a dinner at the Wintons* mansion.

More than an hour later, dressed in a wine-red long, slandering figure dress, | looked like a brave and confident woman. | wish | could feel like one as well. Unfortunately, my anxieties didn‘t go away despite Aren’s reassuring words. Perhaps if it were only those two or three hours of dinner, | would feel less restless, but | wasn't naive, | knew that Aren hoped to spend there at least a night. It was obvious even by looking at the two small suitcases that Marcus packed into the trunk of our car. Aren needed tto find what he was looking for. The whole farce of the family reunion was calculated for that one purpose. “You look gorgeous.” Aren kissed my hand before helpingget into the car.

“Thank you.” | smiled, admiring him in his impeccable black tuxedo.