[Elena's POV]

My legs felt like jelly.

Every step I took down the garden path sent a dull ache through my thighs. My body felt heavy, used, and marked.

I pulled the high collar of my dress tighter around my neck. It was a conservative, long-sleeved white dress, the only thing I could find that covered the purple bruises and love bites Noah had left on my skin.

He hadn't let me sleep. He had kept me up until dawn, touching me, fucking me, punishing me for making him wait for 3 days.

"Sit up straight," Noah murmured, walking beside me. He looked fresh, energetic, and perfectly groomed in a...