Page 61 of Lovers' Dance: Vol. 2

“Afterwards.” she warned as he took the laptop while she slid an arm around his waist.

“But of course,” he agreed, palming her arse and liking the feel of it in his hand. “Oh and please don’t bother Jeremy anymore.”

They started heading towards the stairs that would lead them to the lower deck.

“I’ll leave him alone, Matt, once I get a life raft,” she scoffed. “I am not going to end up as fish food.”

I was currently eye-sexing my tanned husband. Sun-kissed, he and the sun had enjoyed a torrid affair right in front my gaze.

“Have you got everything, poppet?” Matt asked, casting his grey eyes over our bags.

I nodded and reached for my coat, pausing to stare at my left hand. The wedding band was simple, outshined by the engagement ring resting flush against it. But it meant so much more to me. I was married.

“The car should be waiting for us,” he advised impatiently, shrugging into his coat. I was not looking forward to the cold drab weather after our honeymoon in the sun. “Shall we get something to eat on the way, or would you prefer to wait until we arrive home?” he asked.

I picked my coat up and put it on quickly as Matt walked over to the open door and called for one of the crew to get our bags.

“We can eat when we get home.” I mumbled. Where was this anxiousness coming from? Why did I not want to disembark the yacht? When would the knot in my stomach go away?

“Madi,” Matt walked back to my side, gripping my chin and turning my face to his. “What’s wrong? You’ve been frowning since we moored.”

A bright smile flashed on my face as I jerked my head away and swatted his hand lightly. “Nothing’s wrong and I haven’t been frowning. This is my tired face.”

He assessed my face closely then gave me a curt nod. “Right then. Make sure you have everything. I need to speak to the captain.”

I smiled again as he gave me a fleeting kiss before leaving the room. A sigh left my lips while I stared at the rumpled sheets on the bed. At least it was still in one piece, there had been instances when I thought the bed would break under our heated lovemaking. A shiver of inappropriate desire went through me and I averted my gaze from the bed. Married. Good grief. Had I lost my mind? What if-

“Stop it.” I muttered to myself and began to wander around the room, checking to make sure I had indeed packed all my stuff.

A passing glance in the mirror confirmed my hair was a hot mess. Damn. Running out of leave-in conditioner half-way into our trip had not done my ends any favours. Why was my gut twisting this way? Maybe it was the fear of the media. I dreaded the thought of what they would print once they found out. Had they found out already? Oh God! What if that psycho resumed sending me malicious emails? It had stopped as abruptly as it had begun. Those emails had secretly made me afraid, but outwardly I had given the impression of nonchalance to Dante. Then they had just stopped coming right after the New Year. I pushed that to the back of my mind and attempted to run worst case scenarios in my head. Ok, if the paps were waiting for us I would just have to deal. How bad could the headlines in those gossip sheets be?

I peered at my hair again in the mirror and shuddered.Jungle hair for junglegirl. Shit!Eccentric tycoon unable to tame wild bride. Oh shit.Bradley weds-

I stopped imagining the headlines and rifled through my bag until I found a brush. Ten minutes of vigorous brushing and my hair looked even worse. I hurried to the bathroom, wetting my hair before trying to arrange my curls. Eventually I held my head under the tap and drenched it into submission. After blotting out the excess water I pulled it up into a high ponytail, a few curls escaped as I heard movement back in the room.

“Madi?”

“Be right there, hon.” I called and grabbed my brush. I stared at my reflection, stuck my tongue out while making an ugly face, before plastering a tight smile in place. When I walked into the room Matt was overseeing the removal of our bags. He glanced at me, eyebrows arched at my change in hairstyle, then beckoned me over.

“Let’s go,” Matt held a hand out to me. “The car’s waiting.”

I picked up my handbag, quickly shoving the brush in and took his hand. “Are the press out there, Matt?”

Understanding dawned on his face and he gave me a sweet smile. “No, poppet.” A gentle squeeze of his hand on mine as we headed for the door. “The news of our marriage was leaked while we were on ourhoneymoon, but Nathan’s father used his contacts to keep the media frenzy to a minimum. I don’t want you worrying about that. Ok?”

I nodded and returned the squeeze. Matt brought my hand to his lips, pressing a soft kiss across my knuckles. Saying goodbye to the crew was not something Matt had planned to do. Trying and failing to hide his impatience, he tapped his foot while I hugged everyone then hurried me off his yacht to the waiting car.

“Home please, Dan.”

“Right away, Mr Bradley.”

The drive to Matt’s home…our home, was very quiet. I stared out the window at the dark sky. It was only the 2nd of February and it still got dark early. Matt placed his left hand on my thigh while his attention went to his phone in his right hand. The wedding band on his finger matched mine. My gaze jumped from his hand to his side profile, taking in the lines of his face. Sometimes I felt like pinching myself, he truly was stunning. I studied him under my lashes, curious about the tiny smile curling up the corners of his mouth as he fiddled with his cell. Must be an amusing text, or something. Once again my eyes fell to his wedding ring. What sort of husband would he be? Matt had been a great boyfriend, a supportive fiancé. That wouldn’t change now we were married. At least I hoped not. There were still some traits of his that drove me up the wall. I chewed my lower lip in contemplation. He could probably say the same about me. Crap.

Would I be a good wife?

I had faded memories of the way my dad used to look at mom. The way they used to look at each other. I wanted that for Matt and me. Aunt Cleo, she was a great wife. Uncle David loved her completely. He would always tell us that she was his angel and without her he would be a shadow of himself.

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