\[Rosco's POV\]
I lay awake, listening to the sound of Denali's soft breaths as she slept soundly beside me. I had to admit that for someone who was so on guard earlier on, she was completely oblivious to the danger that lay just beside her.
Sighing, I gently brush a strand of hair off her forehead, exposing yet another scar that marred her skin.
'Bastards,' Fabian growls, mirroring the anger I feel at the physical signs of years of abuse covering her.
'We will make them pay,' I assure him. 'Just give it time.'
I knew how fucking awful Roger and Beatrice were, but for him to allow his true daughter to ensure so much was beyond my comprehension. What was so great about his step-daughter that she received all his love and affection? I didn't know, but for Denali, I would find out.
Even if she never accepts me, after the way I treated her, I still owed her this much. Back then, the signs were there she was suffering, but I was so lost in my own misery I ignored them and just took a ridiculous picture for comfort. I should have investigated her and found out what was truly happening, but I didn't, and now she was like this.
"I'm sorry," I whisper, gently brushing her skin. "I should have..."
"Mom."
The word is so soft, I'm not sure if I've heard it correctly, but when a devastated whimper escapes her and a single tear falls down her cheek, I'm sure I heard it right.
It was no secret, the original luna of Emerald Moon was always of poor health. And after she gave birth, she took a turn for the worse before dying. Her tale was a tragic one, and to be one of the stars of said tragedy, couldn't have been easy.
"Mom," Denali repeats more urgently, her voice shaky. "Please don't go."
"Poor thing," I sigh, understanding she must be having a dream about the day she lost her mother. "You've really been through a lot."
"Mmm."
Feeling my heart lurch, I continue to take her in as tears start to freely fall and her face contorts to show the pain she is reliving. And when it becomes too much, I pull her against me and close my eyes. Maybe just feeling my presence would help, or maybe it wouldn't. But for now, it was all I could do.
The next morning, I wake to a tiny yelp followed by squirming as Denali attempts to break free of my hold.
"Stop moving," I warn, feeling my dick throb as her body brushes against me. "Otherwise, I'm going to jump you."
"What?" She gasps, freezing entirely. "What do you..."
"I'm sure you feel it," I sigh, prying my eyes open while pressing my erection against her. "You're only making it worse."
Even though I was willing to go at her pace and wait until she was willing to open up to me, I was still a man, and as a man, I had needs.
"Why are you even holding me?" She gasps. "Let go!"
"Get used to it, princess," I chuckle, pulling her closer. "We are married, and we will be putting on an act of being madly in love. This much touching is expected for that."
"When we are in public," she argues, beginning to squirm again. "But in private..."
"I said stop moving." I huff, flipping us over so that I'm on top of her. "Do you feel that pressing against your thigh? It is my dick, and the more you move, the more I'm going to want to put it in you. Now, be a good girl and stop, got it?"
Hearing my words, Denali's eyes grow wide, leaving her looking like a deer in headlights. However, she quickly recovers and narrows them.
"Then release me," she huffs, trying to act tough. "I've agreed to work with you, but I didn't agree to being a thing you can play with anytime you want."
"Yet," I counter, sitting up so she can quickly flip herself away from me. "But that doesn't mean you won't change your mind. Now, do me a favor and make yourself pretty. We've got a luncheon with our families today."
I don't know what I was expecting from the mention of our families, but it wasn't the flash of pain that crossed her features or the hatred that was settled there. It looked like there were many demons she was carrying from her time in Emerald Moon, and it would take a while for her to exercise them.
"Don't worry," I murmur, reaching out and squeezing her shoulder. "We will make them pay for what they've done."
For a moment, Denali doesn't speak as she takes me in and considers my words. But when her lips twitch into a small smile, I know I've made a small achievement.
"Yeah," she says quietly, her smile growing bigger. "We will."
"Atta girl," I grin, feeling a small flutter in my chest from seeing her first genuine smile. "Has anyone ever told you you're beautiful when you smile?"
The words are leaving my lips before I can stop them, and I know that they've ruined the moment as Denali's lips twitch down.
"No," she admits. "They haven't."
"Is it because, until this point, you haven't had a reason to smile?" I ask, suddenly wanting to know more.
"Maybe," she shrugs.
Frowning, I simply nod instead of pushing.
"Fair enough. Come on, we need to get ready unless you want to be fashionably late."
"I'd rather be nonexistent," she admits, but still gets out of bed. "But fashionably late will be fine."
An hour later, I sit downstairs, waiting as Denali gets ready, and when she finally emerges, I’m not disappointed.
She cleaned up well, and despite the clear signs of abuse that covered her body, she was still absolutely gorgeous with her long, dark hair, which draped her body perfectly. And with makeup on, she looked even more ravishing, to the point where I wasn’t sure I wanted to share her with the world.
However, that wasn’t what attracted me the most. It was the way she held herself with so much pride that it was hard to believe that she suffered at all.
“Do I look bad?” She asks, catching me staring. “Should I maybe change?”
“No,” I respond. “You look perfect.”
She did. Along with doing her hair and makeup, she also put on a flowy white dress that hugged her slim frame perfectly. Of course, I wished that it would reveal more curves, but that would come soon enough as she began to heal from her past ordeal. But even now, her body was beautiful.
“Do I really?” She asks, blushing.
“Yes,” I assure her. “So much so, I’m sure you’re going to be the star of today's show.”