The Heir's Secret Bride

Chapter 56

Maeve continued to massage Byron's injured knee in silence, her gaze distant and unfocused.

When she finished, she was about to tell him he was all set when suddenly, his warm breath brushed against her cheek. Before she could react, his cool lips pressed firmly against hers. Byron cupped the back of her head, his dark, intense eyes locking onto her shocked expression.

His tongue easily slipped past her unguarded lips, claiming her mouth with a forceful, unyielding kiss.

His kiss, like everything about him, was domineering and relentless, driven purely by his own desires.

In the past, his kisses had been just that-kisses, But this time, his hand slid down from her car to her neck, his long fingers lightly parting the collar of her nightgown.

The teasing, suggestive touch made Maeve's cheeks burn with embarrassment. She tried to push him away, but he effortlessly pinned her wrists behind her back with one hand. Half-kneeling between his knees, her neck held firm by his grip, she felt trapped in his embrace.

The sheer intimacy of

the

position made her feel overwhelmed with shame, her mind going blank.

It was only when Maeve began to struggle for breath that that Byron finally released her slightly, a low chuckle escaping as he looked into her embarrassed, tear-filled eyes. "I told you, I'm a a normal man," he he murmured, his dark eyes glinting with a predatory edge. "Did you really expect a normal man to act any differently?"

Maeve's breath reath caught, а wave of heat spreading through her body..

"If you can't even control your basic urges, what kind of normal man are you?" she snapped, frustrated.

She thought, "As "As if I I hadn't noticed where your hands was just moments ago. gaze sharpened as he studied her. "So, do you want to find out?"

Byron's

"Find out wha Find what?" Maeve blinked, Maeve blink struggling to

"Find out whether I'm a normal

to follow his line of thought. man or not.

"Why would I want to do that?" Maeve's heart skipped a beat, her voice trembling as she tried to argue. "We're just married in name. Do we really need to be doing this?" Just last night, he had talked about their future divorce, and now he was talking about fulfilling marital duties. She thought. Does he want a divorce or not?" Byron raised an eyebrow and asked, "Who says a married couple in name can't do these things?"

"I say so!" Maeve blurted out, quickly pushing his hand away before rushing out of the master bedroom in a panic.

leg, a faint smile tugging at

it, why is she so flustered? What

a restless night of tossing and turning, Maeve woke up

the balcony to pick some vegetables for breakfast, she was shocked to find

08:22 Thu, Oct 17

Chapter 56

stopped breathing

8.78%

up, noticing her crouched on the balcony with a pained

look

"Are these plants dead?"

you for your wonderful watering." She was so upset over the vegetables she had painstakingly nurtured that she momentarily forgot about the events of the previous night Byron

with a deadpan

brief pause, Byron offered,

sighed, gazing at her drooping plants, genuinely saddened. T'd grown

loss for words, thinking, 'Attached to a bunch of vegetables? Yet you

went downstairs and bought two pizzas, which she ate before heading off to

holding his suit jacket, glanced toward the balcony. After a moment

the arived at the

sofa. led out

plants

exchanged surprised glances. They were used to tending rare and exotic plants at the estate, and had assumed they were being called in to care for something equally special. But it turned out they were

of the gardeners wiped

we usually do, Mr. Mcdaniel, yes, we can save these

do.

Byron said, his tone firm. "You'll stay here today and take care of these plants. Bring them back to life. If you do a good job. I'll

The gardeners' eyes lit

vanished. "Yes, Mr. Mcdaniel, you can count

glanced at his watch before asking, "How long will it

we can't guarantee that, but we'll do

Alright,

you," Byron said,

on her frustration, as she was quickly buried under a mountain of work. She had already completed the designs for the Morningstar series, and the

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