Total pages in book: 114
Estimated words: 107639 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 538(@200wpm)___ 431(@250wpm)___ 359(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 107639 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 538(@200wpm)___ 431(@250wpm)___ 359(@300wpm)
I opened my mouth to tell him he was wrong. That it had never been just physical. That saying otherwise had been the only way I knew how to protect myself.
But he slid a hand over my mouth. “Don’t say it,” he begged. “If you don’t want a future with me, lock me out of the bedroom tonight. Because I’m too weak to stay away on my own, but I can’t spend another night wrapped around my executioner.”
His voice broke on the last word.
I reached back and palmed the back of his head, pulling him closer before turning and capturing his lips. The kiss was searing, desperate. He might have worried it was a goodbye, but I forced him to feel my surrender instead.
Without a word, I tried to tell him everything. That I loved him. That my future was his, however he wanted it.
His hand came around to stroke my cock, sending me immediately into the stratosphere. Landry clamped a hand back over my mouth to stifle the sound, but the restraint only drove me higher, wringing every last drop from me.
Just as his movements stuttered and his breath caught with his own release, voices broke through the haze.
A man’s voice grew louder as he reached the curtain. “Your coat is in here, ma’am. Let me fetch it for you.”
Landry ground into me one final time—a defiant, lingering pulse of pleasure—before reality crashed back. He pulled out and shoved me deeper into the alcove before snatching a coat off the rack. He threw it on and pressed me into the darkness of the back corner, hiding as much of me with his body and the heavy fabric as he could.
A woman’s voice followed, far too close. “And my husband’s also? His is a dark gray overcoat with a cashmere scarf tucked into the collar.”
I held my breath and prayed the coat around us didn’t have a scarf attached.
Rustling. A murmur. The sounds of a man checking tags.
Then, the woman let out a satisfied sigh. “Ah, lovely. Thank you very much.”
Footsteps receded.
The curtain dropped closed.
And I exhaled.
“You’re shaking,” Landry murmured.
“I was almost the center of a global sex scandal.” I was aiming for a joke, though it was too real to be funny. “But I suppose it would have quieted any concerns about how real our marriage was if we’d been caught, wouldn’t it? We could’ve blamed newlywed passion.” I laughed nervously.
Landry pulled back just enough to meet my eyes. Shadows sharpened the angles of his face. “Sorry I put you in this position.” He brushed his fingers over my cheek, then pressed a lingering kiss there. He let out a soft laugh. “That’s a blatant lie. But I am sorry we were almost caught.”
I snorted and shoved him back as I leaned down to yank up my pants. He handed me a linen handkerchief before reaching into his pocket to retrieve his cufflinks.
After cleaning up as best we could and checking each other over, he leaned close and caught my mouth in a deep, slow kiss. “Please remember what I said.”
And then he was gone.
I stared after him, heart pounding from the kiss. What the fuck is he talking about?
And then I remembered.
If you don’t want a future with me, lock me out of the bedroom tonight.
A laugh bubbled up before I threw open the curtain and strode back to my seat. Halfway there, Cora stopped me.
“Everything okay now?”
“That depends.” I grinned. “What’s the opposite of locking someone out of a bedroom?”
Her eyes widened, and she looked around to make sure no one had heard. She might have blushed if her cheeks hadn’t already been flushed from the chaos of running the event.
“I’m not sure I want to know in your case since you’re sleeping with my cousin,” she muttered. “But on a completely unrelated note, feel free to take the centerpiece roses home later. You know, in case you… need flower petals for any reason.”
I laughed.
I floated through the rest of dinner, trying not to pay too much attention to Landry in case I giggled like a little girl.
He loved me.
He loved me.
The words weren’t surprising, really, but he’d said them like a promise. Like he meant to build a life on them.
And I wanted that more than anything.
The remainder of the evening lasted a thousand years. I drifted through it in a daze, although my ass reminded me periodically that it would much rather be soaking in a nice hot bath—preferably with Landry—than standing around or dancing.
Landry, of course, looked impeccable. He worked the room effortlessly, always charming and composed, like a man used to owning a runway with poise and grace. Like a man who knew how to wield his rare combination of looks, brains, and charisma like a weapon.
Like a leader.
By the end of the night, my nerves were frayed. Yes, he’d said he loved me, but what did that actually mean? What kind of future did he envision? Was I really going to sign up to be his… what, viscountess? I’d made jokes about it, and obviously, that wouldn’t be my title, but the truth was I’d be expected to shape my life around his.