Page 46 of Single Dad's Fake Bride
The demand tore through me. I caught her mouth in a bruising kiss, thrusting deep and holding there as the heat at the base of my spine ignited. My release hit hard, spilling into her in thick, pulsing waves while I swallowed the sounds she made.
“Christ,” I groaned against her lips, every muscle drawn tight as I emptied myself, hips jerking once, twice, before I finally eased back enough to breathe.
Her hands stayed on me, gentle now, like she didn’t want to break the moment. I pressed my face into her neck, catching the mingled scent of sex and her skin, letting the last shudder roll through me before I pulled back to look at her. The reality of what had happened settled around us slowly. I ran my fingers through her hair and tried to find words for what I was feeling as I backed away.
"Harrison," she said quietly.
"Yeah?"
"This doesn't have to mean anything…" Her calm words wrapped around me like a warm blanket. I pulled back and sat down next to her, and she adjusted her panties and satup, pushing the hair from her face. We'd muttered those words before jumping into bed together, but I wasn’t sure if I could honestly make it mean nothing to me now.
"You're right," I told her, nodding. "We are consenting adults who got a little carried away and…" I let the words drift off because I felt foolish again, like the old man who couldn’t control himself around the beautiful younger woman.
Besides, I knew I had to bring up the arrangement I had proposed to her the other day. I'd planned to do it over dinner, had rehearsed different ways to bring it up. But now, with her warm and trusting in my arms, the conversation felt even more difficult.
"There's something I need to show you," I said.
She lifted her head to look at me. "That sounds ominous."
"Maybe it is."
I helped her up, handed her the dress she'd discarded, and watched her put it back on. Her movements were careful, self-conscious now in a way they hadn't been before. I pulled on my shirt and pants, then went to the kitchen to retrieve the envelope I'd left on the counter.
"What is it?" she asked when I handed it to her.
"Letters from the school board. A copy of my father's will. The terms I told you about."
She opened the envelope and pulled out the documents, her eyes scanning the pages. I watched her face change as she read—confusion giving way to understanding, understanding giving way to something that looked like trapped desperation.
"Ninety days," she said finally.
"Fewer than eighty now."
"And if you don't marry…"
"I lose everything. The school goes to the board, Eloise loses her place there, and I go back to being nobody… With the addition of a little girl who is traumatized and sisters who willlikely never speak to me again except to rub it in." I ran a hand through my hair and sank onto the couch next to her.
I never intended to pressure her, but Juan's warnings about getting this done quickly kept nagging at my thoughts. Maybe I was wrong, but in my mind it was an answer to her problem too. Her mom needed help only I could afford, and only now thanks to my upgraded life, compliments of Daddy Dearest.
She looked up at me, and I could see the wheels turning in her mind. "Why are you showing me this?"
"Because I think we can help each other."
"Help each other how?"
I sat down beside her, careful not to crowd her. "You need stability. I need a wife. We both care about Eloise, and we both want to protect her. And your mom is sick," I said, emphasizing the word she shared with me so as not to upset her.
"You're talking about marriage, Harrison." She shook her head, clearly overwhelmed. I knew I was pushing too hard.
"I'm talking about a partnership. A way to solve both our problems without destroying ourselves in the process. Besides, lots of people have arranged marriages."
She stared down at the papers in her lap. "This is insane."
"Maybe. But it could work."
"Could it?" She looked at me again, and I could see the fear in her eyes. "Harrison, what we just did… It complicates everything, doesn't it?" Her eyes flicked up to meet mine again and I saw the war in her mind.
"It doesn't have to."
