by Violet Paige
“Thank you.”
I heard them shuffling around and then she was gone.
“You can come out now, Casper.”
I threw the sheet off my head. “There was no way I was going to let her see my face, after what she probably heard me scream thirty seconds ago.”
He laughed. He wheeled the cart closer to the side of the bed. “Can I hear it again?” He winked.
I blushed. “Maybe.”
“Oh I intend to. Maybe every morning.”
He lifted the lids from the silver trays. There were pastries, croissants, platters of fruit, eggs, and bacon.
We sat on the floor with the platters between us. Jeremy poured two cups of coffee. I was starving. Other than the few bites of bread in between the Malbec, I hadn’t eaten. The food was delicious.
“How do you feel?” he asked.
I broke off the end of a piece of bacon. “Hungover.” I smiled sheepishly. “And hungry.” I reached for the coffee. Caffeine was always my magic fix when I had too much wine. After breakfast I would see if there was complimentary ibuprofen in the bathroom.
“I meant about our arrangement?” He grinned. “Any regrets?”
How could I regret the kind of sex I was having? There was no way I wouldn’t be pregnant in a few months at this rate. It was a dream come true.
“None.” My answer was confident. “This was the best decision I could have made.”
“I think so too.” He plucked a strawberry from the fruit platter. “I’m surprised as hell we actually went through with it.”
“It was your idea.” I eyed the croissants.
“Doesn’t mean you would agree to it.”
“And what if I hadn’t? Would this have been your plan? Find someone to marry and claim your inheritance?” I asked. As soon as I said it, part of me wanted to take it back. I didn’t want to know the answer. Loveless marriage or not, my ego was already involved.
He huffed. “Hell no. Everything fell into place last night. That’s how I see it. If I hadn’t gone to Bella’s, I’d be waking up alone in my New York apartment.”
I bit my lip and my shoulders relaxed. The slight twinge of jealousy that had started to flicker faded. He wasn’t on a quest to find any woman. Last night, I was the woman.
“So is that where we’re going? To your apartment?”
“After this blissful North Carolina honeymoon?” He raised his eyebrows.
I inhaled, taking in the room from my vantage point on the floor. “The room is great, but I don’t think six hours at the Magnolia Inn counts as a honeymoon.”
He bit into a Danish. “Why not?”
“Honeymoons are usually vacations, Jer. You know people go to the Bahamas or Mexico, or they do the whole European thing. Sometimes they’re gone for two weeks. It’s more than breakfast on the floor.”
He rubbed the back of his head. “I have to talk to my lawyer. We need to make our marriage public. The sooner we do that, the sooner we have access to the money. I need to be in New York today.”
“Right. Of course.” I didn’t mean to frown. There was a lump in my stomach. It shouldn’t be there twisting with disappointment. What? Did I expect an exotic honeymoon with this marriage? How far off the deep end had I gone? Did sex with Jer make me process information differently?
“You can always take a trip if you want. You can go anywhere. Do anything. I’ll cover it. Have you been to Europe? It’s on me.”
The sour pit in my stomach grew larger. “Thanks.”
It sucked. And it was shitty. But I needed these reminders. This wasn’t a marriage. This was an arrangement. I needed to write it on my hand, or set a daily alarm on my phone—Jeremy wasn’t my boyfriend. He wasn’t my best friend. And even though that piece of paper on the table said we were married, he wasn’t a real husband. He wasn’t going to be protective or jealous. He didn’t need me. He didn’t love me. I was a means to an end. A voluntary ticket to a fortune.
“But maybe you should let me know where you are if you do take a trip.”
I stared at him. “I’m not going to just leave. It seems like the timing would be off, don’t you think?”
“I guess that’s true. Not a very convincing start to our story if you take a vacation on your own.”
“And not to mention the other part.”
“Other part?”
I blushed again.
He laughed. “I know. The baby part. You need to be in my bed every day. Anything less seems like we’d be making a mistake.”
“A mistake?”
“To waste an opportunity to get you pregnant. You need me inside you, every day.” He winked.
“And you need me,” I reminded him. This was a mutually beneficial situation. I wanted him to know I was as important to this puzzle as he was.
I looked at him over my coffee, waiting for his reaction.
His head snapped when we heard a phone ring.
“It’s mine.” He rose from the floor.
I realized I needed to call my parents. Or Frannie. Someone needed to know where I was. They wouldn’t miss me until tomorrow, but my mom would undoubtedly call at some point to see how my shift went last night.
Jeremy walked into the bathroom with the phone and closed the door. I stared as it locked behind him. The thud seemed louder than it was.
I didn’t know who had called him. I didn’t know who was in Jeremy’s life. Was there someone important to him? Was there a woman out there who loved him? Someone who thought one day she would be Mrs. Hartwell?
I wrapped the sheet around my chest as I stood. I could hear his deep voice through the door. I tiptoed closer.
13
Jeremy
“What is it?” I barked into the phone. I didn’t want to be interrupted.
“Are you going to make the 8:30 Lennox meeting?”
Shit. I had every intention of waking up in New York this morning. But there wasn’t going to be enough time to keep the appointment. I looked at my reflection in the ornate mirror. I couldn’t tell if they were going for a French or Italian theme in here. My stubble was filling in. I rubbed my jaw. I needed a shower and a shave.
“No, I had something come up.”
“What kind of something?”
“I don’t think you can ask me that, can you?”
Sasha breathed heavily into the phone. “How am I supposed to manage your schedule if you don’t tell me when things change?”
“Why don’t you take the meeting for me?”
“You are the spokesperson. It’s not going to be the same coming from me. The launch is next month. You can’t spring something like this on investors. You know how easily they get cold feet.”
“Then make sure that doesn’t happen.”
“It won’t happen if you’re here. Where are you, Jeremy?”
It wouldn’t take much for her to track the jet if she started digging. “In Asheville.”
“North Carolina? What happened? Did you have weather issues?”
I was only going to make one statement announcing my marriage to Evie. Sasha could learn when the rest of the world did.
“I needed to take care of some family business. I’ll be back in New York before lunch. You can either move the meeting or handle it for me.”
“I don’t like either of those options,” she snapped.
The truth was, I didn’t either.
“Let me know what you decide. I’ll text you when I’m back in New York.”
“This isn’t going to play well with the investors.”
“It never does.” I shook my head. I hung up, tossing the phone across the marble countertop. I didn’t want lectures, or business advice from my business partner.
I splashed water on my face and brushed my teeth. My marriage was going to come as a shock to her. I reached for a towel and dried my cheeks and chin.
I looked back and forth between the shower and the wide soaking tub sitting in the middle of the honeymoon bathroom. I glanced at th
e door over my shoulder. Why not take a few more minutes to relax before we flew home?
I turned the heavy brass knob and watched the tub begin to fill with hot water. I unlocked the door. Evie was sitting on the bed, flipping through a magazine. Her eyes lifted toward mine.
“I need you in here, Mrs. Hartwell.”
She dropped the magazine on the bed.
“You do?” Her eyes were playful.
“Now,” I growled.
The sheet fell from her body as she walked toward me. Her hips swayed with every step.
“What is it?” She stood in the doorway, looking up at me.
I nodded toward the tub. “Look like fun?”
She bit her lower lip. “God, that looks amazing. Every part of me is sore.”
I grinned. “Why don’t I give you a few minutes and I’ll join you?”
“Yes, please.”
I winked, leaving her alone.
Ten minutes later I walked back into the mini-spa. I had to suppress a growl when I saw Evie floating, immersed in bubbles.
“Care to join me? It feels so good.”
I released the tie on the robe. I saw her lick her lips when it hit the floor. Her eyes wandered over my body. She liked what she saw. There was undeniable chemistry between us. As far as marriages went, we were off to a good start.
I stepped over the side of the tub with one leg and then the other. I slid in next to Evie. Her hair was piled in a messy bun on top of her head. Loose strands fell around her face. Her cheeks were flush from the steam rising around us.
I reached for her waist and she glided through the water until she straddled me. She grinned, tucking her knees on either side of my hips.
“I don’t think I’ve ever taken a bath this early before.”
Her tits bobbed on the surface, collecting bubbles as they sailed past her nipples.
“I thought you were going to tell me there was some kind of bath ritual we had to follow the night after getting married,” I joked. I locked my hands at the base of her spine.
She twisted her lips together in a pout. “You must think I’m very traditional and well-informed about some weird wedding folklore. Are you implying I’m a nerd?”
“You did have all A’s in high school.”
She ran a finger nail in a straight line along my breast bone. “But you are the one who got all the scholarships.”
“Baseball,” I reminded her. “Maybe you should have played.”
She gasped when my cock nestled at her entrance. Her eyes lit with fire. I wanted her last night. I wanted her when we woke up, and I wanted her now.
“I was never good at sports.” She struggled with the words.
I caught her lips with mine as she sank over my shaft. Our eyes closed and in that second our bodies fused together. The hot water surged to our shoulders, sealing us inside a sphere of heat like molten lava.
“But you are so good at fucking,” I growled into her neck, tasting the vanilla bubbles on her skin. I lifted my hips, searing my cock farther into her slick pussy.
“Am I?” she whispered, clutching my bare shaft with sudden fierceness.
“Incredible,” I groaned. As long as she kept doing that, I never wanted to leave this tub. We could live in this honeymoon suite for all I cared.
“Oh, shit, Jer.”
She gripped the side of the tub as we started to rise and fall. Her knuckles turned white. The water splashed over the side, making puddles on the tile. I licked the base of her neck as her head fell backward. I’d never seen anything as gorgeous as Evie riding my dick like a sexual goddess.
The hard points of her tits grazed my skin.
“That’s it,” I coaxed. “Fuck me, Evie. There’s nothing on my cock. I want to feel your sweet come on me.” I had forgotten how sex without condoms felt. The warmth of her pussy was everything.
“Oh God,” she whimpered. Her lips parted. I pushed my thumb inside her mouth and she began to suck wildly. The harder she sucked, the faster she rocked her hips.
I was in awe of my wife. In awe of her magical pussy. Her dirty mouth.
14
Evie
Everything was more vibrant and expressive when Jer was inside me. It was as if I could see colors that didn’t exist. I could reach out and touch sensations my skin had never felt. I experienced my body in an entirely new way. And I loved every second of it.
His cock was a continuous gift, pleasing me in new ways every time we fucked.
“Oh, Jer,” I moaned.
He raked his teeth over my bottom lip. “You’re hot, Evie. So fucking hot.”
God, he made me feel sexy and beautiful. Something I hadn’t felt in years. It was my own fault. I stopped dating. I stopped trying to leave Newton Hills. I gave up on romance and sex. I put my family first and my dreams second. At least, until I decided I wanted to have a baby.
The idea that we were making a baby this way, made my body quiver. Every part of me twitched and trembled. I looked in his eyes. It was as if a curtain had been dropped around us. I only saw Jeremy. His hulking body, taking me over the edge of sanity. His smoldering stare drowning me in lust.
There was no end to how many times he could make me come. My hips danced forward as I sucked on his thumb. With every breath, I felt my nipples harden. I was only seconds away from combusting with my first orgasm. It wasn’t going to be a quiet and soft climax. No, not the way Jeremy fucked.
It was going to be deafening and ear-splitting as the orgasm thundered through my limbs. My hands moved to his shoulders. I dug into his firm skin.
“Oh, oh, oh,” I whimpered, knowing I was finally unbound. I let my release consume me with swaths of color and light. It tore through my veins and pounded in my core. It suffocated my thoughts with feverish want.
“Holy shit,” I screamed toward the ceiling as I came apart in his arms.
Jeremy’s eyes narrowed as he thrust inside me again. A long groan escaped from his perfect lips. I knew he was filling me again with his release. We both vibrated, sending more waves over the side of the tub.
I rested my forehead on his shoulder as the water settled.
“Maybe we should get a tub like this for the apartment,” he commented.
“The apartment?” I leaned away so I could see his expression.
“In New York.”
“Are you saying we’re going to live together?”
Weren’t these the conversations engaged couples had before they got married? We had skipped every step in the book.
He shrugged. “You’re my wife, Evie. You should move into my apartment.”
I stared at him blankly. “We hadn’t talked about it.”
He laughed. “We haven’t talked about much. Quick reunion. Quicker elopement.”
I slid back so I could unwind my legs in the tub. I stretched out next to him. “What do you mean? Like roommates?” I was confused.
“How else are you going to get pregnant? You can’t very well fly back and forth to Newton Hills. You can use the jets, but it’s only going to delay the payout.”
He had a valid point. I had tried for months to schedule insemination around the choice dates of my cycle. It wasn’t ideal. Living with Jer certainly increased the odds of conceiving much more quickly.
“What do you say we rinse off in the shower?”
He stood, helping me to my feet. He drained the tub water and started the shower.
I was surprised at how quickly I lost my timidity around him. I didn’t know if it was the loose strands of familiarity we had, but I had already surrendered a part of myself to him. After all, he was going to be the father of my child. He had seen me completely drunk. He had seen my orgasm face. And he had licked every square inch of my body. What was there to shield him from?
I walked into the marbled shower, eyeing his chiseled ass. The water felt good on my shoulders. I stood under the second set of nozzles. It was a double shower.
“I think I could sleep for a week.” I bega
n to wash my hair.
“Wouldn’t that be nice?” He reached for the soap.
“Have you ever taken time off like that?” I asked. “Do you take long vacations?”
He ran the shampoo through his thick hair. “No. Never. Too busy.”
I thought back to his reaction to my honeymoon suggestion. “Well, when you inherit your father’s money maybe you could do that.”
He rinsed his back. I watched the suds swirl once before disappearing in the drain. “Maybe when I retire.”
“What’s the point of the money if you don’t enjoy it?”
“The point is to have it.” There was a deep crease between his eyes.
“And then what?” I challenged. “You can’t take it with you when you go.”
“You don’t think I know that?” He turned off his side of the water, plucked a towel from the hook, and walked out of the shower.
Shit. His father had only died two weeks ago.
“I’m sorry, Jer. I shouldn’t have said that.”
He toweled off his hair before wrapping it around his waist. “We need to go. I’ll be waiting for you.”
He closed the bathroom door.
I finished the rest of my shower in silence, realizing we had just had our first marital spat. As I dried off, I knew I didn’t like the feeling of fighting with my husband, whether the marriage was real or not.
I jumped when I heard Jeremy’s phone. He had left it on the counter next to the sink.
A gorgeous blonde flashed on the screen.
Sasha.
My stomach rolled. There was someone else. Someone beautiful with flawless pale skin and lush red lips.
I couldn’t go through with this. What in the hell was I thinking?
15
Jeremy
I wasn’t used to being questioned. It was one of the benefits of not getting attached to people. To keeping my distance. To not dating a woman who wanted more than casual fucking. I felt my temple throb. Damn it.
I got dressed and placed my suitcase next to the door for the valet. Our car should arrive soon to take us to the airport.