Page 47 of The Marriage Bargain

“Everything well?”

I nodded, clearing my throat softly. “Yes, they’re all down for the night, I think.”

“Any news on your sister?”

“Zyn said she’s hanging tough. The baby’s heartbeat is good so far. No talk of a C-section yet. We’ll see.”

“That’s good.”

I nodded again, shoving my hands into the shallow pockets of my sleep pants. “Yeah. So, you need anything for the night or are you good?”

He sort of looked the couch over, the nest he’d built. “I believe I have sufficient.”

Funny, but I was coming to realize how I loved his more proper method of speech. Probably a result of not being familiar enough with the English language to incorporate much slang.

“Okay, well, I guess I’ll turn in, then.”

He looked up at me. “Would you care to watch TV first? I poured you wine. After everything you’ve undergone today, I thought you might like to relax.”

My heart flipped upside-down. How could I say no to that?

I pushed down the fluttering wings in my stomach as I crossed the dark room to take a seat beside him on the couch. He reached over and snatched a glass of wine off the end table, handed it to me, then reached for his own.

“Shall we toast our marriage and wedding night?” he teased.

I chuckled. “Some wedding night,” I grumped, but I clinked my glass with his.

We both took a sip of wine, then settled in, leaning against the back of the sofa. Caide picked up the remote.

“What would you like to watch?”

“I don’t care. You pick.” I drew my feet up under me on the couch, crossing my legs, making myself comfortable. Sure, I could go to bed, but he’d made the offer to watch TV and drink wine. It was nice, actually. Very nice. For once, there was the opportunity to hang out without either the sparks of animosity that had marked the beginning of our relationship or the sexual heat that had seared us lately. For once, it was nice to catch a glimpse of what life could potentially be like as a boring married couple.

Wine in front of the TV. Talking softly about nothing. His arm around me, drawing me into his side.

I went without a word of protest, snuggling up. I didn’t know what was on the screen. I didn’t care. They could have been showing a boring nature documentary on the housefly or a serial killer documentary that normally would have freaked me out and kept me up all night, and I wouldn’t have known the difference. All I could think about was the Asterion male next to me: how he felt, how he smelled, and how he made me feel.

Safe. Secure. Wanted. Beautiful. Desired.

It was a whole host of emotions and none of them were bad except the tiny, niggling worry in the back of my mind that begged, What if this doesn’t last?

That was a concern for tomorrow. Definitely tomorrow, I assured myself. For now, I tried to live in the moment, enjoying cuddling up to this beautiful non-human creature I’d happened to marry and marveling at the strange set of circumstances that had led us here.

“Delle?”

“Mmmm?”

I was so cozy my eyelids were sliding shut. I hadn’t even realized I was drifting off.

“This is pleasant, isn’t it?”

Was he feeling me out? He didn’t have to. If he couldn’t tell by the way my body had thoroughly relaxed, sagging into his, that I was all over this moment, he wasn’t very perceptive.

“Very,” I agreed around a yawn. “Very pleasant.”

I took another sip of my wine, then shifted to place the glass on the floor. I was so tired and so relaxed by this point that I didn’t even fight the urge while I was down to there to simply lay my head in Caide’s lap. I felt his fingers thread in my hair and suppressed a shiver.

“Do you regret marrying me?” he asked softly.

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