“Are you planning on fainting again?”
“I didn’t plan on fainting.”
“Exactly. I think we should make an appearance, have some lunch and cake, and go home. I’m your husband now and I get to make the decisions.”
She gaped at me, standing on wobbly legs. “Don’t try to tell me what to do.”
“I’m nottryingto tell you what to do,” I said. “Iamtelling you what to do.”
I didn’t let her protest any longer—it was my job to take care of her as her husband. She followed me, bristling, as I pulled her down the hall and out the side door where the car waited. The driver held the door for us and I lifted her inside.
It wasn’t an ideal situation, but she soldiered through the reception. I stuck to her side like glue in case she decided to pass out again. Every time I glanced down at her and she caught me looking, she sent me a severe glare. She was good at those severe looks. She’d cock her head and her mouth would pout. The nickname I’d given her felt appropriate—she reminded me of a vengeful kitten, just waiting for me to make a wrong move so she had an excuse to sink her claws into my flesh.
We left a few hours into the reception and picked up a pizza on the way back to my house. We weren’t going on a honeymoon because she had her fall classes. I was swamped with work with the city elections coming up so it was better that way.
She stood in the kitchen in her wedding dress and ate a slice of pizza and had some coffee. I could tell she was feeling better. The color had returned to her face and she had a faint rosy blush over her cheeks and the rise of her cleavage. God, I’d never noticed before, but she was wonderfully endowed.
“You’re staring at my boobs,” she whispered.
I studied the swell of her breasts beneath the deep V of her neckline. Her breathing hitched and I took a step nearer, taking the coffee from her fingers and setting it aside. She watched me, wary like an animal, as I circled her and brushed the strands of hair from her neck.
“How are you feeling?” I murmured.
“Better than I was,” she said hoarsely. “I don’t have a headache anymore.”
Bending, I let my lips brush up the side of her neck. I hadn’t gotten laid since sometime in the spring and my cock was painfully hard in my pants. But more than that, I was curious about my new wife. I barely knew her, despite her being a fixture in the background of my life for so many years. My head didn’t even know if I liked her, but my body was yearning to get her out of this dress and between the sheets.
“Are you feeling up for sex, is what I’m getting at?” I sucked gently on her earlobe, sliding my hand up her stomach.
She turned around all the way. I hadn’t realized how short she was, but her head just reached my shoulder.
“Do you want me like that?” she whispered.
“You’re beautiful and sexy,” I murmured. “Just because we don’t love each other doesn’t mean we can’t fuck and have fun together.”
Her pupils dilated and she nodded in one, quick movement. Triumph flooded my chest and I picked her up, ignoring her gasp, and carried my wife up the stairs.
I’d had the primary bedroom redone a month ago. It was decorated with dark wood furnishings and the huge bed in the center of the room was made up with black silk bedding. Over it hung a glass chandelier, set to low. The thick drapes were drawn over the windows, blocking out the evening light. Housekeeping had lit candles and the room smelled faintly of rose petals.
Her breath came short and fast at the sight. I paused in the doorway, setting her down and watching as she wandered through the expansive room. In the far corner was a marble statue of an archangel, wings spread and sword held pointing down to the earth. There was a scale in the angel’s right hand, lifted up in judgement. There were so many angels in my house I scarcely noticed them anymore.
She turned, white lace trailing behind her. “This is your room?”
“No, this is our room,” I said.
She swallowed. “Can I shower?”
I jerked my head toward the bathroom. “Go ahead. I had your bags collected this morning and my housekeeper unpacked everything.”
She was gone in the bathroom for a long time. I undressed to my pants and shirt, unbuttoning it down the front. When the door finally creaked open and my wife appeared, my whole body stood to attention.
She wore a black slip that just brushed the middle of her thigh. Her hair was down, falling over her shoulders, and she’d taken off her makeup. I’d never seen her bare faced before and it stole the breath from my lungs.
CHAPTER NINE
ROSALIA
His amber gaze dropped swiftly, drawn to the place between my thighs. His mouth twitched, his jaw working. He rose from the bed, unfurling his beautiful body, and moved towards me. Slowly, like an animal stalking its prey. My heartbeat increased slowly the closer he got and it was pounding like a frightened rabbit as he paused before me.