Chapter 86

Annoyance boiled inside Hannah, each second ramping up her frustration.

Her flailing legs knocked over the glass lamp by the bed. The sharp crash of shattering crystal sliced through the room, but Vincent didn't so much as flinch. He stayed locked to her mouth, unyielding.

Every second, the kiss intensified, raw and unrelenting. Jagged glass crackled underfoot, blending with the ragged, hungry sound of his breathing.

Losing patience, Hannah sank her teeth into his lower lip, hard enough to draw blood.

Vincent only grunted, tightening his hold as he pulled her closer, claiming her tongue with a fierce,possessive urgency that made her throat ache in resistance.

Several long moments passed before he finally broke away, shifting his weight off her and letting go of her wrists.

Roughly,Hannah wiped her mouth, her glare seething with disgust."Asshole!"

Vincent stared down at her, eyes dark, slowly unbuttoning his cuffs. He shrugged off his jacket, fingers moving to unbutton his shirt.

Alarm shot through Hannah. She scooted backward, her voice sharp."What are you doing?"

A cold, enigmatic smile flickered across his face."Thought I'd show you just how much of an asshole I can be."

He pinned her beneath him again. Fabric tore sharply as he ripped at the edge of her skirt, his movements rough and unforgiving. Instinct drove her to strike back, knee flying upward, but he intercepted her ankle mid-motion, dragging her beneath him once again.

Nails dug into his shoulder as she raked his skin, angry red lines blooming up his neck. "Vincent, don't even think about it-"

A dark, gutturaI reply met her words. "We're husband and wife, Hannah. Or has that slipped your mind?"

He kept her pinned beneath him, not backing off for an instant. "Besides, Grandma keeps asking when she'll have a great-grandchild. Figured today's as good a time as any to make that happen."

Those words hit her harder than any physical blow. The idea of a child-his careless mention-left her paralyzed, dredging up wounds she'd never healed. With quiet resistance, her palms pressed firmly into his chest, but she said nothing. Her head turned aside, her face void of expression.

A crease formed between Vincent's brows as he hesitated. "You're not willing?"

No answer left her lips.

That silence cut deeper than a shout. One strong hand snatched both her wrists, pinning them high above her head, closing any gap between them.

The sharp bite of his belt buckle pressed into her side, cold and unyielding.

His mouth found her collarbone, teeth scraping before he jerked the fabric apart-buttons skittered across the floor, the harsh snap echoing with her startled breath in the heavy hush.

No part of her was unfamiliar to him. As he glimpsed the flush rising to her ears, his breath grew ragged,heavier with each second.

Yet, his features stayed locked in place, unreadable, as his fingers worked the belt loose, raising what was left of her skirt and thrusting into her.

Through Hannah's blurred vision, she saw him looming over her, his shirt rumpled and half-untucked,the fabric clinging loosely to him, rising and falling with each restless breath.

Time after time, the cool cotton grazed her bare waist-a relentless mix of irritation and shivers.

Without uttering a word, she endured it all, teeth pressed hard into her lower lip.

A few rough grunts escaped Vincent, but from Hannah, not even a whimper broke the silence.

He kept at it, refusing to stop until darkness filled every corner of the room.

At last, when it ended, she sat up, reaching for her scattered clothes and slipping them back on, never once looking in his direction. Her voice sliced through the air, cold as steel. "You're terrible in bed. I didn't feel a damn thing. Maybe you should get some pointers from those male escorts-they actually know what they're doing."

No one could have missed the venom dripping from every syllable.

A scowl took over Vincent's face, and he twisted his lips into a sneer. "Look who's talking. You just lay there,stiff as a corpse. There was nothing to feel."

The second he finished, regret flickered across his face. His mouth opened, searching for an apology, but Hannah beat him to it. A harsh laugh broke from her. "Unbelievable. You feel nothing, but you still did it anyway. That must have been quite a sacrifice for you."

She spotted a pillow on the floor, snatched it up, and hurled it at him with a snap of her wrist.

It struck him squarely in the chest, and he stared back, features set in stone. "Yeah, sure. I'm the pathetic one. I'm the fool for wanting a family with you. Guess that's my mistake."

Blind anger had driven him-never the kind of impulse that guided the logical, measured Vincent Jones of old.

"Don't even mention children to me." Instantly, Hannah's features iced over. Her lips pressed into a thin line,breath coming sharper as her lashes quivered.

A chill flattened her words. "I will never have a child with you." That tiny, one-month-old heartbeat she had lost-nothing could ever heal that scar. With divorce drawing nearer every day, the thought of bringing a child into this mess was utterly unimaginable.

Hannah's rejection struck a nerve. Vincent let out a sharp, bitter breath of laughter. "If not me, then who,Hannah? Felix Wade?"