Chapter 29: His Wife, His Temptation

The bedroom was too quiet.

Too dark.

Too dangerous.

Verbena lay curled under the silk sheets, her heart racing against her ribs. She had been pretending to sleep for the past twenty minutes, aware of every creak, every flicker of candlelight, and — most importantly — every breath coming from the man sitting near the window.

Theodore Hellgrave.

Her villain husband.

Her accidental obsession.

The man who had started to feel far too real.

He had wandered into her room again tonight — uninvited, yet impossible to refuse. Verbena didn't even ask why this time. Some part of her already knew. Neither of them could sleep without the other nearby.

It was dangerous — this strange, forbidden comfort. But Verbena had stopped fighting it days ago.

"You're awake." His voice was low, a lazy rumble that sent heat curling down her spine.

"I couldn't sleep." She rolled onto her side, facing him directly. "You?"

He smiled faintly, shadows carving his features into something sinful. "You're my wife. My body has already adjusted to your presence."

The air between them crackled.

Verbena's throat went dry. "That sounds dangerously romantic for a villain."

Theodore stood, slow and graceful, and crossed the room until he stood at the edge of her bed. The moonlight caught in his hair, silver threading through the black strands like frost.

"Who says villains can't fall in love?" he asked softly.

Her heart skipped a beat. "You're teasing me."

"Am I?" He leaned down, one hand pressing into the mattress beside her hip. His scent — dark wood, expensive leather, and a faint trace of something spicy — flooded her senses. "You've been running from me since our wedding night, Verbena. Tell me — do you still think you can escape me?"

She could barely breathe, let alone answer. Every inch of her skin prickled with awareness.

"I… I'm not running," she whispered, even though they both knew that was a lie.

He caught her chin between his fingers, tilting her face up. "Liar."

The kiss came without warning.

Soft at first — his lips brushing hers with a dangerous gentleness that made her toes curl. Then deeper, hotter, as if all the unspoken words and forbidden longing they had both buried since their marriage ignited at once.

Verbena clutched his shirt, fingers twisting into the fabric, pulling him closer even as her mind screamed that this was madness. But her heart — her traitorous, reckless heart — no longer cared.

Theodore's hand slid to her waist, fingers tracing the curve of her hip through the thin silk of her nightdress. The light touch sent sparks flying under her skin. His mouth left hers, trailing a path of kisses down her neck, pausing at the delicate pulse point beneath her jaw.

"You drive me insane," he murmured against her skin.

"Right back at you," she whispered, breathless.

His laugh was low and dark, the sound vibrating against her throat. "Do you still want to divorce me, little wife?"

Verbena's fingers froze, caught between desire and panic. Divorce. Right. That had been her original goal. The entire reason she was faking amnesia and plotting ridiculous escape plans.

But right now, with Theodore's lips tracing sinful patterns on her skin, her heart screaming louder than her brain, she couldn't remember a single reason to leave.

"I…" Her voice faltered.

He pulled back just enough to look her in the eye, his gaze molten gold. "Say it. If you want to leave, say it now."

Her lips parted — but no sound came out.

The truth was terrifying. She didn't want to leave. Not anymore. Not when the villain had become the only person who made her feel truly alive.

"You're dangerous," she whispered instead.

He smiled, slow and wicked. "So are you."

And then he kissed her again — this time with no restraint. Passionate. Possessive. Like a man who knew exactly how much power he held over her — and how much power she had over him in return.

Verbena gasped into his mouth, her back arching as he lowered her onto the bed. His weight pressed her into the mattress, solid and real and terrifyingly comforting all at once.

"You shouldn't tempt me like this," he said against her lips. "You're too sweet for a villain's love."

"Then stop pretending to be a villain," she whispered back.

His hands slid under her nightdress, fingers tracing bare skin. Verbena's breath hitched — but she didn't stop him. Instead, she tangled her hands in his hair and pulled him back down to kiss him again, her own hunger matching his.

For the first time, she wasn't running.

For the first time, Theodore wasn't chasing.

They were simply falling — together.

And if this was the start of the end… then Verbena would gladly burn in the fire they had both started.

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End of chapter