Page 34 of Inconvenient Marriage
I nod, and he flashes me a grin that has my heart stuttering in my chest.
So I’m married to a man I barely know.
Tohim.
In this car, just the two of us… I feel like I’ve known Sebastien Reynolds my entire life. I could pick out the slight imperfection on his cheek with my eyes closed, trail my finger down the pale slash over his eyes, trace the curve of his nose and his jaw… but before I can do any of that, he pops open his door. He circles around the front of the car, opening the door for me, helping me and my stained wedding dress climb out of the Porsche.
“Come on, love. Let’s get you home.”
Home. Right. This is my apartment because, despite us just having our wedding, I’m living in my apartment, he’s living in his mansion, and there will be no wedding night for us.
Not when it was a fake wedding.
This is the first time he’s been to my place. Any planning we did was over the phone or after he invited me to return to his house. As we take the elevator up together, I’m suddenly nervous. It’s nothing like what a Reynolds would be used to, but I want him to like what I’ve done with my space.
It’s not much. I have a living room, a bedroom, a bathroom, and a small kitchen. It’s more than enough for just one person, and as I use my keys to open my front door, I suck in a breath before shoving it in.
I almost expect Sebastien to leave now that he’s followed me up to the third floor and has seen me safely to my door. If so, I don’t know him at all. Of course he follows me in, his dark gaze sweeping over the entryway.
He sidles past my, hands momentarily bracing my shoulders—my skin tingling upon the slight contact—before he moves further into the apartment.
“You got good security here, love?”
Why would he want to know? “Um. Yeah.” I toss my keys in my purse, put my purse on my couch as I pass it, joining him in the living room. “A sturdy lock. Window latches. A chain when I remember to engage it.”
“No cameras?”
I give him a curious look. “No. Why?”
Sebastien turns into me, chucking my chin. “We’ll have to get you some. You may insist on staying here, but I need to know my wife is safe.”
My wife.
My wiiiiiffe.
Oh, boy.
That shouldn’t warm me up the way it does. Or how he cares about my safety like that… “I’ll look into it.”
“Don’t worry, love. I’ll take care of it. After all, I am your husband now.”
The way he says that is like he dares me to tell him that he isn’t. How can I? Especially when I’m still standing here in the dress I wore to marry him…
I nod, and he chuckles under his breath, visibly pleased with himself for winning that minor battle so easily.
I open my mouth to say something—anything—but before I can find the words, Sebastien walks over to me, moving until he’s behind me. He hooks a finger somewhere in the back of my dress.
“Long day, remember?” he murmurs. “Let me help you get out of this, then I’ll go.”
I almost argue—but I don’t. For one, if my husband wants to see me in my underwear, that’s his right, isn’t it? I promised him intimacy if he wanted it, and thisisour wedding night. For another, he’s not wrong. I’d needed Miranda to help me zip up into this after she came by to get ready with me before Sebastien picked me up. Miranda went home with our parents. How did I expect to getoutof this dress?
Sebastien handles that part. He slides the zipper down, slow enough to make every nerve in my body light up with undeniable want as he reveals my back to him.
The dress loosens around my shoulders. However, before I can climb out of it, Sebastien backs away.
“All done,” he says softly. “Goodnight, Annaliese.”
Oh. Okay. “Goodnight.”
