The Wrong Bride: Ares and Raven’s Story (The Windsors)
The Wrong Bride: Chapter 31

Hannah: I miss you, Ares. How long are you going to ignore my messages? You said we could be friends, but now you won’t even speak to me.

Hannah: I got the lead role in Stars That Shine. I know you had something to do with that. I know you still care, Ares. I promise I’ll respect your boundaries. I know how you feel about marriage — I know that better than anyone else. Is it so bad that I still want you in my life? Is it so bad for me to think that you want the same?

She’s been texting me every day since we had dinner, but I have yet to respond. I’m feeling oddly conflicted. On the one hand, I’m mad at her for leaving me at the altar the way she did, yet on the other hand I’m relieved. I shouldn’t be, but I am.

The door to my home office opens, and I lock my phone before putting it away, leaving Hannah’s messages unanswered. Raven walks in wearing a red nightgown that puts my wildest fantasies to shame, and I try my hardest to keep my eyes off her body, but it’s a losing battle. The fabric might as well be sheer for all that it’s covering. I can see a hint of her dark nipples, and I’m not sure she’s wearing anything underneath at all. I bite down on my lip as I remember the way she looked at me when she told me that she doesn’t like wearing panties, her bare pussy in my lap and eyes on mine. What would have happened if I’d just given into my desire that night?

I try to tear my gaze off her and fail. Raven has always been sinfully beautiful, but seeing her dressed in this way is a turn-on of a different kind. This is for my eyes only, and I fucking love it.

“Look at this,” she tells me as she lifts herself on top of my desk, putting her breasts at eye level for me. She’s so fucking close… what would she do if I spread her legs right on top of my desk?

I clear my throat and glance at the sofa she’s showing me. “I like this darker one better,” I tell her as I swipe through the options.

Raven grins at me. “I was hoping you’d say that because it’s my favorite too.”

I look up at her in surprise. “You don’t need to ask me for my opinion, you know? You can do whatever you want.”

She shakes her head. “I don’t want to do that. I already feel like I’m intruding in your space.”

I grab her hand and hold it gently. “Don’t, Rave. There’s no need to feel that way. This is your home now.”

“It’s ours,” she corrects me. “I’m asking for your opinion because I want you to love our home too.”

I nod at her and entwine our fingers. Designing our home together has been much more fun than I expected it to be. It truly feels like we’re making it ours, but it’s bittersweet, because it also means I’m washing away everything related to Hannah. Raven and I haven’t spoken about her at all recently, and I’m hoping to keep it that way. It’s odd, the way she and I attempt to exist in this bubble where we pretend I wasn’t engaged to her sister for years, yet it seems to work for us, for now.

“Are you done with work?” she asks, glancing at my laptop.

I nod and close it. “Yeah. I’m exhausted.”

Raven glances at my pajamas and nods. “Let’s go to bed then.”

She tightens her grip on my hand and pulls me along, both of us quiet as we make our way to our bedroom. Day by day, each memory with Hannah gets overwritten, until one day, I’ll look around and replace nothing but Raven written onto my walls.

Raven lets go of my hand and walks over to her side of the bed, her cheeks rosy. We’ve gone to bed together every night since the first night she fell asleep in my arms, but she still gets shy about it. It’s odd, because we’ve always been so comfortable with each other.

We’re both silent as we get into bed, and I turn toward her with a smile on my face. “Why are you so nervous, Cupcake?”

She chuckles and turns onto her side too, the two of us facing each other. “I’m not sure. I guess this is still just new to us?”

I look into her eyes, trying my hardest not to let my eyes dip down to her breasts. “Is it, though? You fell asleep in my arms on the sofa not that long ago.”

Her eyes widen just a fraction and she looks away, her cheeks reddening rapidly. “Did you have to remind me of that? I’m so embarrassed about my behavior that night, Ares. I can’t apologize enough.”

I reach for her and cup her cheek gently, turning her face back toward mine. “Don’t apologize,” I whisper. “I didn’t mind it one bit, despite what I might have told you then.”

She nods and lets her eyes fall closed, hiding from me once again. This time, I let her get away with it.

“This is not so bad, right?” she whispers eventually. “That night you told me that you’d never want me, and I know that. I know I’ll never be Hannah, but…”

“Don’t,” I cut her off. “Don’t mention her in our bed, Rave.”

She looks at me with so much sorrow in her eyes. “Moment of honesty? This bed doesn’t feel like ours. Every single night, I feel like I’m sleeping in her bed.”

Raven turns away from me, but I lean over her and force her to face me. “Then we’ll throw the whole damn bed out, Raven.” Her eyes widen, and I cup her cheek gently. “Let’s just order a new one.”

She nods and hesitantly reaches for the collar of my pajamas. “Can we throw these out too, then?”

I glance down in confusion. They’re plain blue checkered pajamas.

“I know Hannah and you have matching pajamas, and maybe it’s petty and immature, but I…”

I sit up in bed and pull her up with me until we’re both sitting on our knees. “So take it off, wife.”

The sheets bunch around her waist as she lifts a trembling hand to my chest. Her eyes meet mine, and she hesitates for a moment before she undoes my top button. I watch her beautiful face as more and more of my chest comes into view, taking note of the way she blushes, the way her breathing accelerates. She undoes the last button, letting it fall open as she grabs the collars.

Raven looks at me, her gaze heated as she pushes my shirt off my shoulders, her fingers moving slowly as she takes her time, letting them trail over my skin, until my chest is left bare.

I raise my hips and tilt my head, provoking her. Raven hesitates, so I grab her hands and place them at the top of my pants. “You said you wanted it off, baby. So take it all off.”

She bites down on her lip and curls her fingers around the waistband before she pulls them down slowly.

Her breath hitches as she exposes the V lines on my lower stomach, and I can’t help the way my cock hardens. Having her hands on me when she’s got such a gorgeous blush on her face, her lips slightly parted. Fuck.

She pulls my trousers down until my thighs, and I smirk at her. “Good girl,” I whisper, and she looks up at me, clear desire in her eyes. This is how she looked at me the night I had her in my lap, and her expression has haunted my dreams ever since.

I smile to myself as I take off my pants, leaving me in nothing but my boxer shorts, my erection obvious. Raven stares at it and sucks down on her lower lip, her hard nipples betraying her desire.

“I’ve always hated sleeping in pajamas,” I admit, my voice soft, almost as though I’m subconsciously scared to break the moment. “I just didn’t want to make you uncomfortable by being half naked.”

She shakes her head and drags her eyes back up to mine. “I’m not uncomfortable at all. I see male models dressed in little to nothing all the time, remember?”

Annoyance washes over me at the thought of her doing intimate shoots with other men. I need to replace a way to get her to move to my company. I don’t trust her manager either. Raven doesn’t seem to realize just how beautiful she is. It’s like she separates her model persona and her true self, and somehow, in her mind, the latter is lacking. I never understood why, but I’m determined to fix it.

“Oh, I remember,” I tell her, my voice terse. I lean in and gently tuck a strand of her behind her ear. “Remind me, that recent underwear campaign you did… it was something like this, wasn’t it?”

I pull her against me and thread one hand in her hair before tipping her head back to expose her neck. She gasps when I lower my lips to her ear, my teeth grazing over her earlobe. “This is how you posed with Tom Foster, wasn’t it? Tell me, my love, was he as hard as I am when he held you like this?”

I kiss her neck, my teeth grazing over her skin for a moment before I suck down, leaving a small mark. Raven’s breath hitches, and the way she pushes her chest against mine makes me fucking feral. Her hands thread through my hair, her grip tight.

“No,” she says, her voice far too fucking alluring. “He’s very professional. The shoots aren’t as intimate as they look, I promise. There are so many people around, and we move from one position to another very quickly.”

I move my lips to her throat and kiss her there. “Good,” I tell her. “Good for him. He’ll get to produce co2 for another day, then.”

She giggles, and the sound goes straight to my heart, filling me with a longing that’s far deeper than my physical need for her. “I never realized you were so possessive,” she whispers.

I pull back to look at her and push my fingers up her scalp, grabbing more of her hair as my grip on her waist tightens. “I never was. Not until you. You… yeah, you changed the game. I want all of you, Raven. I need you to be mine in every single way.”

She looks at me with such vulnerability in her eyes. “I’m already yours, Ares.”

I let my fingers move up from her waist, over her ribs, until they’re tracing the underside of her breasts. “No,” I whisper. “Not yet. Not all of you. But you will be.”

I cup her face, my thumb brushing over her lips. She opens up for me, and I nearly fucking lose it when he tongue darts past my finger. She looks so fucking sexy, her hair messed up and in my grip, that sexy nightgown, that look in her eyes.

“Moment of honesty,” I whisper. “I can’t resist you. I haven’t stopped thinking about the way I kissed you at our wedding, and then again in your office. I need more, Raven. I need another taste.”

She leans in hesitantly, her lips brushing against the edge of mine. “Then take it,” she whispers. “I’m yours for the taking.”

I groan as my lips meet hers, her hands roaming over my body with the same need I’m feeling. She moans, and my cock fucking twitches with need. The way her tongue tangles with mine is unreal, and I already know I want my cock in her pretty little mouth. My wife is a fucking enchantress, no doubt.

“Raven,” I whisper against her lips, pulling away. She’s panting, her lips slightly swollen, and fuck me. She’s never looked more beautiful.

I smirk as I push against her shoulder, making her fall back onto our bed. “Ares,” she moans, my name a plea on her lips.

“Do you have any idea how hard it’s been for me lately, baby? Watching you walk around my home in these sexy little outfits? Every time you smile at me, you make me fucking weak.”

I lean over her, my cock pressed right against her pussy as I hold myself up on my forearms. “You’re not the only one who’s been struggling, Ares,” she whispers.

I grin and lean in, my lips brushing against hers, once, twice, before I dive in and kiss her fully. She feels so fucking amazing against me, and this is so fucking surreal. I thrust my hips into her, and she moans into my mouth, her leg hooking around my hip, as though she wants more. Fucking hell.

I groan when Raven pushes against my chest all of a sudden and pull away to look at her, confused. She looks conflicted and tips her head toward her phone. I hadn’t even heard her alarm ring. “What the fuck is that?”

She pushes me off, and I sit up, my cock tenting in my boxers. “I’ve got a campaign that’s going live in Asia now. As part of my contract, I’m required to engage with the content on social media for an hour.”

I run a hand through my hair and groan loudly. “You’re kidding me.”

She shakes her head and starts to scroll through her phone. “It’s awful timing, I know. I just…”

I pull her back against me and kiss her, my hand balling into her hair. “Fuck the campaign,” I whisper in between kisses. “I’ll pay the penalty. I’ll do anything if you’ll just let me keep kissing you.”

She giggles and pushes against my chest, her expression admonishing despite the lust in her eyes. “No,” she tells me. “That’s not who I am. I hate being irresponsible like that.”

She sits up in bed, and I groan as she puts her no-nonsense work face on. Yeah, there’s no way she’ll let me kiss her now.

I sit back next to her, our shoulders touching as I try my hardest to calm my raging cock. I don’t recall the last time I wanted someone this desperately. I don’t think I ever have.

Raven gasps and then bursts out laughing, her cheeks turning rosy once again. My curiosity piqued, I lean in over her shoulder and glance at her phone.

“What the fuck?” I yank her phone out of her hand and stare at the dick pic in her Instagram DMs. “Who the fuck is this?”

Jealousy more intense than anything I’ve ever felt before steals my every thought, replacing it with images of Raven and some boyfriend she’s hidden from me.

“No idea,” she says, stealing her phone back. “I get these all the time.” I watch as she deletes the message and moves on to the next one, completely unfazed and entirely unaware of my burning jealousy.

What the fuck is even wrong with me? I have no doubt that Hannah received countless similar messages and I’ve always simply disregarded it as part of her job, but I’m replaceing it impossible to do the same with Raven.

“Raven.”

She raises her brows in question, and I reach for her hand, entwining our fingers.

“Where the fuck is your wedding ring?”

Her eyes widen, and she looks away. “I took it off.”

“What do you mean, you took it off?”

She pulls her hand out of mine and slips it underneath the covers. “It just… it’s very much Hannah’s style, but it isn’t mine. It doesn’t feel right to wear it.”

I roll onto my back and stare up at the ceiling for a moment, trying to collect my thoughts, yet replaceing it impossible to do so.

“Next week,” I tell her, my tone harsher than I intended. “We’ll buy you a new ring next week, and you will wear it.”