Sunrise Malice: An Arranged Marriage Mafia Romance

I’m not confined to our rooms in the mansion, exactly, but Julien makes it clear that I shouldn’t go wandering around. “Remember the rules,” he says, watching me from the doorway as I sprawl on the couch. I’m still achy from the explosion and I swear I hear this high-pitched whine every time I’m in silence. “Stay away from Grandpère and his men.”

“I know, I know, you’ve made it clear.”

He grunts and turns away, but he doesn’t leave. I know he’s only telling me this stuff to protect me, but I’m still going a little stir crazy. “Just check with me before you go anywhere.”

“What about the hospital to visit Kim?”

His shoulders tense and he shakes his head. “That’s a bad idea right now.”

“Come on, it’s the hospital. I’ll be safe there. You really think Dusan would try something?”

“Maybe not while you’re there, but on the way he might. I don’t want to risk it.”

“I’m not going to stop visiting her.” I sit up and stare at him. “Seriously, I’m not going to abandon her.” The idea is monstrous. She was hit by a car because of me, her pelvis is ruined because of me, she may never walk again and might always be in pain, both because of me, and there’s no way I’m going to let her sit around at that hospital alone.

“You’re not abandoning her. You can call and text whenever you want.” He gestures at my phone. “You’re practically in constant communication already.”

“That’s different from actually visiting and you know that. It’s my fault she’s there, Julien.” My voice trembles and I fight back the tears.

“Not because of you,” he murmurs and taps a knuckle against his chin. “I’m sorry, but you just can’t go right now.”

“Unacceptable.” I curl my hands into fists and move toward him. “I’ve gone along with everything you want. We’re living in the mansion, we slept in the same damn bed, I took you to Ronan’s place, and I haven’t complained. I’m not asking you, Julien. I’m telling you. I’m going to visit Kim.”

He doesn’t like that, but I don’t give a damn. I’d love to see him try to stop me. He comes back toward me, all six-foot-two and covered in muscles, looking like rage and sex and death got into a three-way and gave birth to my French husband. The man’s built from muscles and steel, and he could rip me in half if he wanted, and that still won’t stop me from seeing my friend.

His expression is hard, and he seems like he’s teetering on the edge of something, like he’s struggling to keep control.

“I’m not going to risk losing you, Brianne,” he says, his voice firm, but coming out in a harsh whisper. “When that bomb went off, all I could think about was what my life would be like if you were suddenly gone, and I couldn’t handle it. Something broke in me during that explosion, and now I’m ready to die before I let you get hurt.”

I stare at him, heart beating fast, afraid of him saying too much. I can sense a yawning chasm in front of me, and one wrong step will send me tumbling.

And the problem is, I want to fall.

“I’m okay though. You saved me.”

“Right now, you are, but I can’t be there every second of every day, and I think Dusan’s going to keep coming for you. I took away his cousin, and now he’s going to try to take away my wife, and I won’t let him do that. I fucking won’t.” His fist slams into the table at his hip and he sucks in an angry breath as he tries to gather himself.

I’m not used to seeing Julien this emotional. It hits me hard, right in the guts, hearing him talk like that and seeing him react as though losing me would be the end of his world.

We’re not supposed to be like this—our relationship isn’t even real—and yet he’s acting like I’m the only important person in his life.

He’s protective and possessive, and the sick part is, I like it.

I want him to act like he’d rather die than let me get hurt.

It scares the hell out of me, but it also makes my heart race with a crazy excitement.

“I’m not your responsibility,” I say weakly. “Seriously Julien, you’ve done enough already.”

He advances toward me. I stare at him as he comes closer. He’s like a lion on the hunt, a predator, a monster, a beast. My mouth waters and I lick my lips as he puts a hand on the small of my back and tilts my chin up toward him with the other.

“You’re my wife, Brianne,” he says with more force and emotion than I can handle. “That means something to me. That means everything, and I won’t let anyone touch you. Not ever, not while I’m still breathing.”

“You can’t lock me up,” I whisper as he stares into my eyes.

A gorgeous, dark god of death and ruin. An angry, vengeful monster. A beautiful beast prepared to rip the world to pieces if it means keeping me safe.

“It won’t be forever. But for now, I need you to do what I’m asking. I need you, Brianne.”

Those words. I need you. They make a whimper rise to my lips, and I struggle to swallow it back.

“No,” I say, but there’s no force behind it.

And I crumble the second he presses his lips to mine.

It’s like my brain goes blank. All thoughts, feelings, memories, they’re all wiped clean as Julien kisses me and I throw myself into kissing him back. I’ve been wanting this so badly but I’ve been struggling against myself this whole time.

But he’s right, something did change in that explosion. It cracked inside of him and it shattered inside of me. Now it’s like even if I wanted to stop this—and I absolutely, positively do not—I don’t think I could make my body obey my commands anymore.

I’m drawn to him. I’m sucked into him. My mouth parts and his tongue invades me and I take that step⁠—

I tumble, hard and fast, head over heels.

And I like it.

He undresses me. I feel impatient as I kick my pants aside. His hands are all over my body, caressing my skin, cupping my breasts. We stagger into the bedroom and he shoves me down, staring at me with a simmering desire burning in his gaze. His eyes rake down my skin, lingering on my hard nipples, moving down to my wet pussy and the small burst of groomed hair there, and he licks his lips, my god, he looks like he needs to devour me whole.

Slowly, he takes off his clothes. My mouth falls open as he reveals inch after inch of gorgeous muscle. He’s covered in tattoos, skulls, knives, jaguars, symbols of death and pain, a gorgeous patchwork of images scattered from ripped, defined chest muscles down to the toe-curling beautiful line of hip muscles pointing into his dark boxer briefs. He continues, steps out of his underwear, leaving my heart pounding, as his fist grips his thick, hard cock.

He moves forward, one knee onto the bed, then the other, and he pins me down beneath him. “Should I be gentle with you, my wife?” he whispers.

“Please,” I whimper, and he softly bites my lower lip.

He raises my hands up above my head as he kisses my neck, going slow, taking his time, his hard cock pressed against my body. My pulse skitters in my chest and, dimly, I’m aware that this is really happening, that I’m not stopping him, that I actually want this.

My first time. My very first time.

I’m panting as he licks my nipples. “You’re beautiful, you know that? I can’t stop thinking about you. All fucking day long, I walk around with you in my head, and the best part of my day is coming back to you at night. I need you, Brianne. I need you, my wife.” He licks my belly button then drops to his knees at the end of the bed and spreads my legs.

I moan, back arching, as his mouth finds my soaked pussy.

He laps me up. It feels so fucking good, I can barely stand it. He sucks and licks, the delicious monster, feasting on my skin. One hand reaches up to tease my breasts as he does it.

“Incredible,” he growls, pausing only to slide two fingers deep between my legs. I’m moaning now, completely lost in him. “You taste like fucking heaven, my sweet wife.” He licks me faster, sucking my clit, and I grab his hair tight, my core clenching down, unable to take it anymore.

I come hard against his mouth. He groans and chuckles as the orgasm rips me to shreds. Lights shine at the edges of my vision and my skin flushes as I collapse backwards, breathing hard.

“Fuck, baby, you really needed that, didn’t you?” He teases me, kissing up my body again. “But I’m not done with you.”

Now, right now, I have to say something. It’s now or never, and I’ve been dreading this moment since we got together. I never really thought I’d have to say anything, but right now⁠—

“Julien,” I gasp as he spreads my legs. I feel his cock teasing me, gliding up and down my swollen, sensitive lips. He wriggles his hips and I moan in bliss.

He kisses me. “Say that again.”

“Julien,” I whimper.

“Fuck, baby, I love it when you say that.” He kisses me deep and full.

“Julien!” I put my hands on his hips. “Hold on. Wait.”

He lets out a growl. “I don’t know how long I can keep myself from plunging inside of you, my sweet wife.”

“I’m a virgin.” The words spill out, no preamble, no explanation. He pulls back, but he doesn’t look outraged or disgusted like I thought he might. Instead, his expression absolutely smolders.

“Are you really?” he purrs.

“I should’ve said something sooner. I mean, I wanted to, I just never found the right time, and now⁠—”

“And now that I’m about to fuck you, my sweet wife, you couldn’t keep your secret any longer.” His smile drives me wild as he leans down and kisses me. “Then I was right before. I’d better be very, very gentle.”

“Shit,” I whisper as the tip of him presses against me.

And slowly, agonizingly, painfully, he slips himself inside. Inch by inch, I take him, my soaking pussy pulling him deeper and deeper, and it hurts and it feels good, and my back arches into him grinding my clit against his pelvis, and he whispers in my ear how good I look and how amazing I feel, and I’m so overwhelmed that I nearly come right then and there.

But he fills me to the brim, fills me more than I’ve ever been filled before. His lips find mine and I luxuriate in that kiss, letting myself linger on his taste, before he slowly begins to fuck me.

“Oh my god,” I moan, wrapping my legs around his hips.

“You were built for me, baby,” he whispers, his voice sultry and deep. “This pussy was mine the moment I saw you.”

“Yes,” I gasp as he licks a hard nipple and fucks me faster. “Please, Julien, please.” I don’t even know what I’m begging him for, but I need it, I need more and more and more, I need him to keep going, to fill me to the brim, to drive my brain into a wild, molten frenzy.

He gives me what I want. He takes me, growling in my ear like a beast, fucks me faster until I’m caught on that perfect, excruciating precipice between bliss and pain, my body filled with hunger, his cock taking me and keeping me and making me his, until I can’t handle it anymore.

I come on him. I come on my husband’s big dick, my back arching and pressing into him, my eyes rolling back and squeezing shut as flowers bloom across my vision. I come hard and it lasts forever, until I slowly drift back from whatever heaven he dragged me into, gasping for air and barely conscious.

His moans heighten, and I feel him stiffen and fill me. His orgasm is warm and exquisite between my legs, and we collapse onto the bed together, both of us covered in a slick sheen of sweat and breathing hard. His hands stay on my body like he can’t take them away, and I curl into him, into his massive, muscular frame, feeling like I’m floating.

“I lost my virginity,” I whisper, mostly to myself, mostly because it’s so strange and it should’ve happened a long time ago, and now it finally did.

“And how did you enjoy it?”

“I think…” I lift my head, grinning like an idiot. “I think I could do that again sometime.” He laughs and pulls me on top of him. I whimper as he kisses me. “Not right now though!”

“How many of your little checkboxes did we just mark off?” He cups my ass with both hands.

“One?” I say, leaning my head against his chest and listening to his steady heartbeat. “Maybe two? I’m not really sure.”

“We’ll have to try harder next time then.”

“Julien—”

“If you’re about to say there won’t be a next time, I’d reconsider, because there’s no fucking way I’m going to keep my hands to myself. Not after that.”

I let out a huffing breath and close my eyes, grinning like an idiot.