Page 29 of An Inconvenient Marriage
Earlier this morning, in the bedroom, she had every opportunity to become the seductress the press liked to write about, and again in the dining room. But all I saw was—dare I say it?—a shy young woman who didn’t know the first thing about seducing a man.
No, that wasn’t quite right. She definitely could seduce the pants off a holy man. She simply didn’t realize she was doing it. There was nothing deliberate about her actions. It was all natural and innocent.
Like right now.
She was like every man’s wet dream in her bright-yellow dress and hair piled high on top of her head. But instead of trying to get my attention, she was focused on the world beyond her window.
The woman I’d read so much about was stupidly easy to figure out. But this one riding in the car with me? She was a closed book.
“It’s so beautiful.”
She’d said the words so softly, I was certain it hadn’t been meant for me, but I answered her anyway.
“It is.”
I realized then I’d been staring at her when I spoke. Gritting my teeth, I gripped the steering wheel tighter and forced my attention back to the road. Not that I had an issue with acknowledging her beauty. Because I didn’t.
My irritation stemmed from the way my fingers itched and my skin tightened when I looked at her. From how my tongue longed to learn her taste and how desperately I wanted to hear her moan my name.
Taking all that into consideration, this trip might not have been my best idea.
“You grew up in Catalonia, right?”
I glanced in her direction. She wasn’t watching the outside world anymore, I was now the sole focus of her attention. Curious blue eyes locked on to mine and held me captive for a second too long.
Pull over, my mind yelled.Pull over right now. Drag her onto your lap and devour her pretty little mouth.
Shiiit. The thought alone almost had me groaning out loud. Giving myself a mental shake, I broke the connection between us and forced my attention back to where it belonged.
“I was born there, but we moved to a small village after my brother was born.” Thankfully, my tone stayed even.
“A small village? That sounds so much better than a busy city.”
I heard the smile in her voice, and it took all my restraint to not shift in my seat and witness it for myself.
“It was.” This time my voice was hoarse. Clearing my throat, I added, “I was a very unhappy child when my mother moved us to the States.” I still remembered thinking the move was the worst thing that could’ve happened to me. How wrong I’d been.
“Have you ever thought about moving back here permanently?”
Natalie’s voice halted my dreadful trip down memory lane. Something in her tone reminded me of the longing I felt when I wasn’t here in my home country. This was where my heart had always been. But I couldn’t come back. Not yet. Not until I’d destroyed Trent Stevens.
Of course I couldn’t tell Natalie any of that, so I simply said, “Maybe someday.”
She hummed and faced the window again. Silence stretched as the minutes slowly ticked by. I was about to switch on the radio when Natalie spoke again.
“Will you tell me about your brother?”
A spark of something I refused to acknowledge as jealousy ignited inside me, sending a burst of irritation rushing through my veins. “Why?”
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Natalie fidget with her fingers in her lap.
“I’m just trying to get to know you a little. We’ll be spending a lot of time together in the coming months, and it would be nice to talk about… things. But if you don’t want to talk about your family, that’s fine.”
“I don’t.”
The words were out before I could stop them. And when the soft “okay” she let out was full of hurt, guilt gnawed at my gut.
I didn’t like the feeling. And yet, the words still spilled from my mouth without hesitation. “We’re meeting Javier for dinner later. I’m sure he’ll happily answer any questions you might have.”
