Page 32 of The Marriage Bid
“What?”
I froze. I had called her mine. Where the fuck did that come from? It was as though it came out of a deep-rooted part of me I never dug. A part that I kept closed and no one saw. And just like always, it needed to stay locked. Preferably with the key thrown away. “You’re my wife, aren’t you?”
She groaned. “I cannot wait to divorce you.”
“You could produce your father’s distorted blackmail, and I will gladly let you go.”
“I told you. I do not have it.” I went to her side of the bed and tapped her head. “Then you’re going to have to get used to being my wife. Wifey.”
Chapter 17
Saffron
The ride back home wasn’t as mortifying as I thought. Tyler was right that his assistant said nothing about what he saw that morning, or his employees were polite enough not to mention or look like they were aware. Matt, however, was doing his best to avoid me or, when he couldn’t, he was overly cordial. Was this how Matt was with Tyler’s other women? Or was he simply not aware of them, and I was the first woman he encountered? Knowing Tyler’s ‘I don’t shit where I eat’ policy—yes, I read his Architectural Digest profile—it was probably the latter. Even so, knowing that someone had seen us was still a tad embarrassing.
Like a sex-starved woman, I had given it up the moment he challenged me. Heck, I had given it up because I wanted him so bad. He hated me. Made no qualms about hiding the fact, and yet I jumped into his bed at the first opportunity.But the sex was so good.I don’t remember having sex that good since… Well, since Tyler. He was right; he was the best I had ever had, sex-wise. He was obsessive and relentless in bed. He made sure I was satisfied and, more than that, he made me feel like I was the only woman in the world. The only woman who could drive him insane. He was a god in bed. Everywhere else was another matter. After I woke from his bed, I rushed to my room, my walkof shame amplified by my lack of dress. I had to wear one of his robes so I could make the dash.
“Penny for your thoughts.”
I jumped. Yanked out of my thoughts of Tyler, who had come to occupy a seat opposite mine. He had been busy with his people on the other end of the plane, just like last time, and I had not seen him coming until he was sitting next to me.
“Shouldn’t you be doing an all-hands or whatever?”
He shook his head, a small smile playing on his lips. “The all-hands is done.” The casual outfit of jeans and a white shirt did not calm my raging nerves. The minute I laid my eyes on him after avoiding him all morning, my body went into overdrive remembering everything about him last night. What he did to me. What I did to him.
“Wipe that smirk, will you? And leave me be.”
“You wouldn’t be saying that if you knew why I am here.”
I made a dramatic effort of closing the book cover of my iPad and put it to the side. “What?”
He chuckled. “You know, for someone who screamed my name through multiple orgasms, you’re highly ungrateful.”
I glanced around to see if anyone had heard us, but everyone else had headphones on and was at the other end of the plane. “If you wanna rehash—”
“I’ll grant you your divorce.”
I perked up.
“Under one condition.”
“Oh.”
“You help me find who is blackmailing me.”
“So now you believe I don’t have it? If I had known sex was all it took, I would have fucked you a long time ago.”
He smirked again. “Your pussy isn’t that good. But I’ve had some time to think, and you’re right; we should end this thing.”
My eyes narrowed. “Why now? You weren’t so urgent about it before.”
“Trust me, I don’t want to be married to you, and now that I’ve fucked you out of my system, I don’t have to be attached to you anymore.”
“So, you remained married to me because you hadn’t ‘fucked’ me out of your system? What about last time? It didn’t work then, so what makes you so sure it will work now?”
He shrugged. “It did. I’m sitting in front of you right now, and I am not thinking of fucking you senseless. I consider that progress.”
It stung, but part of me could only hear that he hadn’t been able to concentrate in my presence. So I wasn’t the only one. “Congratulations.”
