PROLOGUE

His mouth felt hot against hers. He tasted her with his tongue and stroked his lips across hers, teasing, tantalizing, then kissed her fully. His mouth tasted of champagne and expensive cigars, sweetly seductive, rich. The dark musk of his cologne was overwhelming. It filled her senses and carried her to a sensual place of desire and longing. She wanted this, oh how she wanted this! It seemed like she had been waiting forever for this moment and now it was here. It was going to be perfect because this most perfect of men was going to take her there. The anticipation had been building to agonizing levels all day. The day’s activities were a blur of people, well-sighers, smiles and flashes of endless cameras, but all she could think of was this night. 

She had decided to do this right and had put him off until now. He had laughed and said she was old-fashioned, but she didn’t care. She had waited for this all her life and she wanted to do this right. Now they were alone and she could feel her arousal building by the second, slowly replacing her shy nervousness. He was amazing, he was gorgeous, and he was everything every girl dreamed of in a husband. Handsome, rich, considerate, patient, and he spoiled her rotten. And now he was going to take her where no other man had ever taken her.

She was blissfully happy.

She felt the heat of his hands trailing down the front of her blouse, unbuttoning it deftly. He slowly pushed the soft silk off her shoulders as he kissed her deeply, then ran the palms of his hands down her arms as he dropped her blouse to the floor. His hands came back up and caressed her breasts through her bra, slipping a finger under the top of the lace to stroke her soft, heated flesh.

“Gregory,” she breathed, leaning into him more fully.

“Don’t talk Amanda,” his voice was smooth, persuasive. “Just let me feel you.”

She sucked in a quick breath as he unsnapped the front clasp of her bra and dropped it the floor as well. His hand felt cool as it cupped her full, hot breast. She pressed into him as he hungrily kissed her. Her arms went up around his neck, her fingers twinning in his thick, dark hair. It felt like luxuriant, soft mink. His hands were caressing and kneading her breasts, lifting and pressing them together, feeling their firm weight. He found her sensitive pink nipples with his fingertips and pinched them, bringing them to erect, hard nubs. Jolts of sensation seared her body and she moaned. Her heart was racing with a mounting passion. She could hear it throbbing in her ears. He slid his hands down her sides and arounds her waist, then unbuttoned her skirt and let it follow the blouse and bra to the floor.  He cupped her bottom firmly and pulled her hips against him until she could feel his hard arousal. He continued to kiss her hungrily as he backed her towards the king-sized bed.

She felt the bed on the backs of her knees and he eased her down on it, covering her with his hard body. He kissed her deeply for a moment, then rose just long enough to strip off his shirt and slacks. He reached down and slipped her lace panties over her hips and off her legs before continuing his passionate assault. He parted her legs with his knees and settled himself between them.

She felt a twinge of alarm as she felt his hard, hot arousal seeking her moist, untried opening. Not yet, she thought. Not so soon! She wanted this stage of the seduction to last a while longer. She shifted beneath him, placing her hands on his muscled shoulder.

“Gregory, wait. There’s no need to rush this. We have all night.”

His grip on her tightened. The throbbing in her ears turned to a dull roar as her heart began racing with the adrenaline of growing unease. Wordlessly, he positioned himself to enter her, watching her eyes.

She struggled against him. This couldn’t be happening! Where was the gently patient man she had dated? That he would force her before she was ready? No! It wasn’t supposed to happen this way.

“Gregory, no, not like this!”

He covered her protests with a hard mouth and, steadying her hips with an iron grip, thrust hard into her. She cried out as the pain ripped through her, burning to the depths of her soul. She could see the perspiration on his forehead as he uttered a soft moan, eyes clenched shut. He finished with a few quick strokes.

The burning wouldn’t quit. Done in love, she could have borne it, but not with this possessive haste. She didn’t understand the feral gleam in his eyes as he took her without thought of how she might feel. How could he have changed so dramatically? She tried once again to free her body from his, and then lay still in shocked disbelief. She stared in horror at the man she had married that day. What had happened? That wasn’t right. Why had he hurt her in the worst way possible? He had declared his love, but this wasn’t love. It was subjugation. Humiliation. She felt a hollow coldness growing somewhere near her heart. It was racing painfully and his weight made it hard to breathe. Her terror calmed enough to be replaced by bling rage. She struggled once again to push him off of her.

Finally he moved away and took her burning face in his cool hands. How could his hands be so cold after what he had just done? His black eyes were distant, detached. She felt a cold shudder wash over her and she bit off the words of anger that she was about to utter. He was repugnant to her. Utterly repulsive. She held her breath, waiting.

“Amanda, I want this to be a reminder to you. You are my wife now. You belong to me. Everything you own, everything you are is mine. If you ever betray me or hurt me in any way, know this.” A slow smile crept across his face. “One way or another, I will hunt you down and I will kill you.”