The Contract Wife: Marriage Of Malice

"Tell me to stop, and I will," he murmured against my ear. "But if you don't..." He didn't finish. He didn't need to. I didn't tell him to stop. Instead, my fingers curled into his shirt, clutching the fabric as though it was my only anchor. Something in him snapped—something he had been holding back for too long. His mouth found mine in a kiss that wasn't tender, but hungry, desperate. I gasped into him, his hand sliding up to cup my jaw, holding me as if afraid I might vanish. "You drive me insane," he breathed against my mouth, his lips trailing to my throat. "I can't lose you, Ella. Not you." My head fell back, a soft sound escaping me as his fingers memorized my waist. My anger melted beneath his desperation. "James..." I whispered, more plea than protest. His hand caught mine, fingers threading together tightly. "I'll bring him back. I swear it. Just... don't turn away from me. Please." The word please—low, ragged, almost broken—undid me more than anything else could have. ****** Ella never imagined she would marry the man she had secretly loved for years in such a way. When her brother Theo faced twenty-five years in prison for massive embezzlement, the ruthless business tycoon James Lancaster offered her a deal: marry him in exchange for her brother's freedom. This wasn't a fairy tale proposal, but a carefully orchestrated revenge. Because in James's heart, Ella was the culprit who had killed his sister Cecilia. He wanted her to pay the price—to atone with a lifetime of suffering.