Total pages in book: 91
Estimated words: 86322 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 432(@200wpm)___ 345(@250wpm)___ 288(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 86322 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 432(@200wpm)___ 345(@250wpm)___ 288(@300wpm)
“So, do you understand?”
“Yeah. I guess I do,” she said, her lips pulling down.
“Don’t look so sad, princess. Most of the time, that kind of love is fleeting or a lie altogether,” I admitted, unable to keep the bitterness from my tone. I’d thought I’d had that love with Daria, and as I said, it’d all been a lie. “This kind of marriage has all the benefits without any of the expectations. Expectations are what fuck marriages up.”
She nodded but didn’t get a chance to respond before the timer on the oven went off.
“Dinner’s ready,” I announced. “Why don’t you go get us a bottle of wine while I serve?”
She scooted off the stool and went to the wine fridge, pausing when she opened the freshly stocked shelf. “Oh, wow,” she murmured.
“What?” I peered over my shoulder as I got plates, noticing which rack she pulled out. “Yeah, I just got those.”
“Th-these are my favorites.”
When I bought them, I thought nothing of it, but now, watching her look through them, tension crawled down my neck and around my shoulders. “Yes. I remembered what you ordered at our dinner meetings, and I asked the sommelier for similar recommendations. I figured you might like having your own selection now that you’ve moved in.”
I refused to turn around in the ensuing silence, instead focusing on twisting the pasta into a neat circle, spooning a small portion of sauce, and topping it with chicken nuggets.
“Thank you.” She finally spoke, freeing me from the torment of wondering if she’d read more into the gesture than I’d intended—and from the even stranger torment of wondering why I’d done it at all.
“It was nothing.”
Without another word, she rounded the island back to her seat, passing me the bottle with one of the softest smiles she’d ever given me—igniting a slow, delicious warmth that spread through me from the inside out.
Furrowing my brow, I looked away and reminded myself…
It was nothing.
CHAPTER 4
LUCIAN
Clutching the velvet box tighter than necessary, I rounded the corner to her bedroom door open and froze, finding her perched on the settee in front of her bed, draped in black silk and lace, bent over one completely exposed leg from the slit in her dress, and fastening the buckle on her strappy black shoes. Her floor-length dress with long sleeves covered her completely, yet she seemed on the edge of indecently exposed.
Shaking my head, I tapped my knuckles on the door before she caught me staring like a fool.
“Almost ready,” she said.
She stood, and I nearly choked on my tongue. If I’d thought her dress revealing before, it was nothing compared to seeing her fully upright. Lace clung to her arms and swept over her upper body, meeting a band of silk at her waist, sheer enough to tease the illusion that with a closer look, I might glimpse skin beneath.
But that wasn’t what sent my heart pounding.
It was the deep vee, plunging to the center of her stomach, that made my cock twitch in my pants. She was demure and illicit all at once, a contradiction wrapped in lace and silk, and I clenched my fists painfully tight to keep from tearing the dress away to see the rest of her.
“You look—” I choked over the words and swallowed. “You look amazing.”
Her ruby red lips spread into a brilliant smile as she preened dramatically. “Why, thank you. You don’t look so bad yourself.”
“Was that a compliment? From you?” I joked, yearning to lighten the tension coiling in my chest.
“I can play nice, if you can.”
“Oh, princess. I can play very, very nice.” And now the tension was back…but lower.
“I bet,” she purred, but quickly shook it off. “But we have a gala to attend.”
“Of course. I meant, being nice at the gala,” I said, ignoring my own insinuation.
She snorted and collected her purse and another small item from the cream comforter. She turned back to me with lips rolled between her teeth and hesitated to meet my gaze, switching her balance from one leg to another. I furrowed my brow, wondering what brought on the sudden show of nerves.
“So, I know we said it as just a joke, but I figured why not?” she explained, laughing nervously. “So, yeah. I-umm-got you this.” She thrust out her hand, clutching a black silk rose with a diamond leaf attached to a pin.
The sight of the boutonniere triggered a laugh that rose from deep in my chest. Aspen snatched her offering back, misunderstanding my reaction, and I rushed to clarify. “Oh, no. I love it. It’s just that…” I extended my hand with the long velvet box. “I guess we’re more alike than we thought.”
Her mouth formed the perfect oh. I desperately wanted to rub my thumb across the plump curve before sliding inside and ordering her to suck. With Herculean control, I restrained myself and cracked the box open. “It’s not quite a corsage, but I thought it would do.”