Chapter 4 Iii - Sophie

• I couldn't believe that he was kissing me. One second, I was yelling at him, and the next, everything went dark and he grabbed me.
• His mouth devoured mine, and with each twist of our tongues, he seemed even more ravenous. I ran my fingers up his back, pulling him closer to me and feeling the heat emanating from his body, even through all his clothes.
• He held the back of my neck, tilting my head and deepening our kiss even further, while his other hand descended to my buttocks. My dress clung to every curve, and I remembered what he had said about my outfit earlier. A spark ignited in my chest at the thought that he was already looking at my body with lust.
• A moan escaped my throat as he sucked on my tongue, and I briefly parted my lips in search of air. My heart raced, and my blood boiled with a desire I had never felt before. His mouth latched onto my neck, and I moaned as I felt him kiss my skin, moving up to my earlobe.
• "God, girl!" he spoke with a rough voice, and his breath brushed against me. "If we don't stop now, I'm going to throw you on this table."
• I remembered where we were. At any moment, someone could walk in and catch us like this. It would be even worse if he put me on the table and did what his voice promised.
• It was the first time I lost all sense of my surroundings, and I grabbed his neck, returning to kiss his mouth. I felt intoxicated by the sensation of our tongues touching, a need inside me growing with each passing second.
• He squeezed my buttocks, and I held onto his wrist that was on my neck. That's when the lights turned on, and as if it were a trigger, he quickly pulled away from me.
• "Are you okay?" I managed to say as I tried to catch my breath, watching him run away from me like the devil fleeing from the cross.
• I blinked several times, trying to understand what had just happened. I looked around, searching for anything that could give me an answer, and then I saw the black mask he had worn forgotten on the table.
• Patrick turned off the lights to take off his mask and kiss me, but he ran as soon as something made them turn on. He didn't want me to see his face!
• I picked up our plates and started clearing the table, heading to the kitchen. If he didn't want to talk to me about this, maybe I could try with Holly.
• "What happened? I thought you were getting along when I didn't hear anything else."
• "He kissed me," I said aloud, still stunned by everything that kiss made me feel.
• "That's good, isn't it?"
• "It's great, but then the lights turned on, and he ran away."
• Her smile faded, and she let her shoulders slump, telling me what I feared.
• "Oh, girl, you're going to need a lot of patience. Patrick doesn't like others to see his face after the accident. It took him a while to stop wearing the mask around me and John, but with outsiders, he's still like that."
• "I suspected that. I don't know why he would run like that. We're married, and I'll end up seeing it at some point."
• I took a deep breath, remembering the kiss. I knew he felt as much desire as I did. I felt his erection, and even though I may be a virgin, I've read plenty of romance novels with hot scenes, so I know what I felt. All the signs were there, even him turning off the lights just to kiss me.
• Holly was right, I just needed to be patient, and as promised, I wouldn't give up so easily.
• I went back to my room and quickly fell asleep, my thoughts filled with the sensations of our kiss.
• When I left my room in the morning, there was no sign of him. I crossed the house and headed towards the kitchen, but stopped when I saw Patrick in the dining room.
• "Good morning, husband," I entered the room feeling optimistic. The mask covered his face and it was daytime, so there was no way I could kiss him. But driven by that desire, I kissed his covered cheek.
• "What do you think you're doing? Do you think this is a joke?" he exclaimed angrily, and I froze before sitting down.
• "I'm just saying good morning, what's the problem with that? We're married, you kissed me yesterday."
• The air was charged with sexual tension as we stared at each other, and I was ready to argue. I could have patience and keep trying, but if there's one thing I learned from living with my uncle, it was not to back down, or things would get much worse.
• "Yes, I kissed you, and I see now that it was a mistake!"
• I narrowed my eyes, knowing that he was trying to attack me just because I caught him off guard, but I wouldn't give in.
• "A mistake that you're dying to repeat," I sat with my chin held high and started serving myself. "I don't know how you thought we were going to have a child if you keep avoiding kisses."
• He stood up and grabbed my chin, squeezing it and forcing me to look at him. But I smiled, even though my heart raced in fear that he would hit me, I smiled pretending not to be affected.
• "Don't play with me, girl!"
• "Or what? Are you going to hit me? Send me back to my uncles? Cancel the money? Believe me, there's nothing you can do to hurt me."
• I saw Patrick clench his jaw, seemingly trying to control himself, then he removed his hand from my face and sat back down.
• "You don't know me..."
• "And you don't know me!" I shouted, silencing him and swallowing the tears that threatened to escape. "If you didn't want a wife, you should have made a different arrangement, but you asked for a wife and I will act like one," I stared into his eyes, which were almost completely hidden behind the mask. "Even if you don't do the same."
• I looked at the plate in front of me, feeling like all my appetite had disappeared. Not even all the fruits and cakes made me want to eat, so I pushed the chair and left.
• My chest felt tight, and as soon as I turned the corner away from his eyes, my chin trembled and I surrendered to tears. I don't know if it was all the emotions of the past three days or the fear that he would hit me and be as horrible as my uncle, but everything hit me like an avalanche.
• I was a burden in the hands of my uncle, and I was traded without a second thought, and now I could only imagine that I had been given to someone just as bad as him.
• No matter what Holly said, or Patrick's parents, actions spoke louder than words, and he was showing who he really was.
• I walked through the corridors of the enormous house until I came across an open door, and with just a glance, I saw the shelves. I quickly entered and found myself surrounded by shelves upon shelves, two floors filled with books.
• At least that would make me like this place, a refuge in the midst of the storm.
• I picked up a book and sat in the armchair near the window. It was how I forgot about my problems since I was little, and it was what I did now. I don't know how long I stayed there until the door opened, and I came face to face with Patrick.
• "The lunch is on the table," he said seriously, but instead of leaving, he stood there staring at me, waiting for me to get up. "Come on, stop being childish and come eat."
• "Or what? Will you care if I starve? I highly doubt it."
• Sweet conversations might work, but I had already seen that he showed more humanity when I provoked him. I turned my eyes back to the book, and the footsteps echoed on the wooden floor.
• "Get up, Sophie, or I'll throw you over my shoulder!"
• "Maybe I'm hoping you'll do that. Being carried by my husband is every woman's dream, isn't it?"
• Maybe I was going too far, but I wasn't going to back down now. Two large hands grabbed my arm and lifted me quickly, and then he pushed my body until I was leaning against the shelf.
• His face came close to mine, and I really wanted to tear off his mask. His eyes met mine, and his hands held my waist firmly.