Fools Rush In

SUMMERINE KNEW SHE had made a mistake the moment the words had flown out of her mouth.

I'm dead.

(You are.)

Not helping.

Ryu slowly unfolded back to his full height and stared down at her with unfathomable dark eyes.

(And you're in for it now.)

Really NOT helping.

(Try not to get yourself killed.)

Excuse me?

But there was no forthcoming reply, and Summerine was torn between tears and laughter at how her Inner Troll had willingly shut itself back in the—-

Oh.

No.

Ryu had walked back to his chair, and even she was no idiot not to understand what he meant to do when he crooked a finger at her.

Yes, she had dreamt he'd do something like this—-

"Come here."

But oh, the very idea of what he meant to do—-

"Don't be scared."

Summerine took several gulps of air in an attempt to calm her racing heartbeat. Weren't those the last words a victim typically heard from their would-be murderer?

"Please take a seat, Summerine."

"I...I..."

"Know this has to be done," he finished for her.

"By a doctor," she hastened to add.

"Or your husband," he parried back without missing a beat, "which I am. So be a good girl," Ryu actually purred , "and come here."

Her husband had actually purred.

And fool that she was, the sound actually worked, and she found herself obeying his command.

Her knees knocked against each other as she walked, and she felt as if she was in a trance as she took a seat.

Ryu took another chair to sit in front of her...before oh-so-slowly reaching for her legs under her dress.

His touch was like fire, but when she started to look down—-

"Eyes on me."

Her stunned gaze flew back up at his command.

"And you can't look down until I say so."

His hands slowly traveled up her trembling thighs, and her breath caught when his fingers came into contact with the waistband—- aaaah.

Ryu's gorgeous face remained impassive as he tore the scrap of silk from her flesh, and Summerine was no longer sure if she was trembling out of fear...or shameful excitement.

Maybe even both?

He pocketed the torn piece of fabric while his gaze locked her in place.

"Open your legs."

No. No. No.

Her mind reeled at the command even as her legs parted open.

"Wider."

Had she already turned into his slave without knowing it, and that was why she was unable to resist his command?

" Wider ."

His tone was firmer now.

Like a master to his slave , she realized helplessly even as unused muscles in her legs began to protest.

"I can smell your desire, wife ."

The shocking intimacy of his words, and the fact that it was Ryu's first time to address her in such a way, had her body shuddering in a way that thrilled and terrified her at the same time. And when she, too, started to notice how a musky scent had tinged the air...

Fire burst in her cheeks, and the way his gaze gleamed only had her face feeling hotter than ever.

Summerine couldn't ever remember feeling this mortified .

This exposed .

But most of all, she couldn't remember feeling this restless.

It was as if flames of lust were licking every inch of her, and she had to fight against the urge to start writhing in the chair.

"You're starting to feel it, don't you?"

Oh no .

The way he was taunting her was so much like the Ryu in her dreams, and it just made her feel more of everything.

Mortified.

Exposed.

And so, so achingly restless that just as she started to wonder if she was about to lose her mind—-

"You want me."

A cry spilled past her lips as the truth of his words hit her.

"So ask for it."

The words were crazy-familiar, and the lines of reality and fantasy began to blur.

"Ask for me to touch you, Summerine."

She stared at him in a mixture of shock and helpless desire.

Did he just say—-

"Ask me to see if you really are as innocent as you say you are."

She could only moan.

He really did say—-

"Ask me."

It was that tone again.

A firmness that a master reserved for his slave, and it was as irresistible as ever.

"Please," she heard herself whimper. "P-Please..."

"That would do...for now."

She hadn't any time to digest his words.

Aaaaah.

Since he was already touching her.

His long fingers sliding past her throbbing folds.

Until he had her gasping as he came into contact with undeniable proof of her innocence—-

"R-Ryu..."

She didn't even realize she had whispered his name until she saw him jerk.

And then his eyes were locking with hers once more—-

"R-Ryu!"

She ended up sobbing out his name this time.

Because his fingers were suddenly moving.

In a way that had her breath hitching—-

Her head spinning—-

And her breasts swelling and aching—-

Until pleasure brought her to the edge of oblivion.

When Summerine woke for the second time in the storage shed, it was to find herself cradled on her husband's lap.

Embarrassing memories flooded her mind a moment later—-

Oh my gosh!

But his arms only tightened around her when she tried to escape his hold.

"Be still."

Her limbs were frozen in immobility all at once, and Summerine was in utter despair. Why was she so powerless whenever he used that tone of his?

"Look at me."

She so, so wished she could deny the command...but she couldn't.

Summerine reluctantly lifted her gaze to his...and was immediately confused by the brooding look on Ryu's gorgeous face.

"I apologize for doubting you," her husband said tautly. "But it's also unfortunate that you're not lying."

Her confusion grew. "W-Why is it unfortunate?"

"Because it means whoever sent me that message wasn't lying either."

"B-But—-"

"My wife is in love with another man...and love has the tendency to make people do regrettably foolish things."

Ryu was back on his feet by the time he finished speaking, and Summerine was still trapped in his arms when he walked out of the storage—- whoa.

One, two, three...ten...twelve...fourteen.

"H-Had something happened?"

There were fourteen men in black waiting outside the storage shed, and all of their attention was focused solely on Ryu...and her?

Ryu's air suddenly tickled her skin, and Summerine barely managed to bite back a moan.

"It turns out I don't like sharing," her husband whispered mockingly into her ear, "and they've all been hired to ensure it stays that way. From now on, I'll be the only man in your life."