“I don’t need your pity,” she said, meeting his eyes.
“I know you don’t need pity, but that doesn’t mean I can’t feel bad for the little girl that you were. For the child that lost her home and her mother.”
He didn’t want to say this out loud…not yet, anyway, given that their marriage was very new and very fake…but Cooper thought that Alice’s history made a whole lot of sense with her behavior.
She was skittish and reserved. Though it was getting easier and easier for him to decipher what her facial expressions meant or what her heavy silences could possibly express, Cooper was still not that confident that he knew her enough to make a statement as bold as saying,you were alone for so long, you’ve forgotten how to be with other people.That would probably get him nothing but a slap.
“Maybe we should jump into the water and snorkel already,” Alice announced, standing up.
The thin wrap that Alice had wrapped around herself was nearly see-through, giving him but a glimpse of her curves, stuffed into an elaborate one-piece that showcased her hips. Cooper’s mouth immediately watered as he imagined what it would be like to get his hands on those hips.
He shook his head, but it was no use. By the time he was done moving like a puppy getting out of the water, Alice stood on the boat in nothing but the swimsuit that could have been a decent piece of lingerie.
His eyes nearly popped out of his head because he wanted her so much. He tried to tame his desire for his wife, but it was almost impossible with his dragon roaring up a storm in his mind. Apparently, the great big beast was just as an enamored by their wife as Cooper.
NINE
ALICE
After returning to their respective hotel rooms, Alice changed and then stared out the window. She was a married woman. Off the market. She had a wedding band on her finger and a sexy husband she couldn’t kiss or touch. It was totally unfair, but her life hadn’t exactly been fair up to that point. Why she would suddenly expect fairness, she didn’t know.
The only consolation…and it was no small prize…was that she was now safe. No matter who was ordering the assassins after her, they would be deterred by her new marital status. No one wanted to go to war with a thunder of dragons. Especially not the Dawsons, who had more money than God and more land than … Well, the Dawson dragons owned a whole lot of land, and they hoarded it almost as if it were a precious treasure.
Of course, Alice was very aware of the possibility this plan wouldn’t work, but if someone still made an attempt on her life, they had to expect retaliation from the Dawson thunder. There was no way for Alice to know if Cooper would actually avenge her if she did end up being attacked or, worse, killed.
The thought made her shiver, and Cooper immediately noticed. He stepped closer to her from where he stood at her door. He had just knocked, surprising the heck out of her. Cooper’s hand went straight to her lower back. “Are you okay?” he asked.
“I’m fine,” she assured him. “Just fine. I’m guessing I’m just in shock.”
He laughed softly. “Because of the wedding yesterday? Or is it because your husband is standing at your door with a bouquet of flowers?”
Alice blinked at him. “I’m gonna have to say it’s a combination of all of that.”
“Ah,” he grinned. “I see.” He handed her the flowers and continued to smile. “I know that our marriage isn’t exactly what you might have expected for your future plans, but I do want you to know that I am going to do everything I can to make this decent ….Good, even. For you.”
She nodded, her head filled with cotton. Who was this man, and where did he come from? Alice had no clue men like this actually existed. Men who wanted to make their wives happy. And not even a wife he had chosen for himself, but a wife that was pushed onto him because of a life debt. Alice was still in disbelief that Cooper was a man of his word, but maybe…just maybe…she was lucky, and her husband wouldn’t be a total brute.
“I see that Portia has already been here.” With his smiling face, he nudged his chin toward her. “You look really good, Alice.”
She looked down at her dress, and she blinked up at him. “Portiawashere, yes, and she insisted that I put on this dress and get ready for dinner. I figured she would arrange something for the two of us. She really wants this union to work.” There was a spark in his eyes when she spoke those last words, and Alice wanted to ask him what it had meant. That was way too bold, though.
He offered his arm. “Let me lead the way, dear wife.”
Alice could hardly refuse her husband, the man who had saved her life. Together, they got onto the elevator and made their way down to the lobby. Cooper took her to one of the ballrooms where there was nothing and no one in the spacious space.
“Whoa,” Alice gasped when she walked into the room.
“Right?” Cooper said, pointing to the little candlelit table. He came to stand beside her, and they took in their surroundings together.
“Portia really went all out, huh?” she grumbled.
Cooper laughed softly. “Portia?” He shook his head with a low chuckle. “I would love to give her credit for all of this, but really, it was my idea. I figured if you knew that, you might not agree to join me. But yeah … I did this.”
Her head snapped in his direction. “What? Why?” She took in the room again.
It was beautifully decorated, the magic of it all making the room smell like sparkles. The table was covered in a white linen tablecloth with two candles burning on top of it. There was no food yet, but Alice thought magic would be used for that too.
“You got her to decorate all of this for you?”