Be a Doll(20)

This time, I was the one to lean closer. I risked a glance at Megan, but her attention was solely on an older lady who happened to be the grandmother. “I don’t get you. You get a wife from a place you know makes docile wives and yet you enjoy when I show you my temper. It doesn’t add up.’’

“And you want to figure me out?’’ he asked with a humorless chuckle as he fixed the guests without truly seeing them as if he was lost in thought. It didn’t soften his face or make him seem more vulnerable, it only enforced the fact that he was unattainable. “Let me give you advice,’’ he continued as he looked back at me. “Don’t waste your energy on figuring me out. This is a business arrangement.’’

“Do you truly believe I’d forget it?’’ I laughed but it was without humor, but to another person I was sure we looked like newlyweds sharing sweet nothings and laughing at the same time. “I’m not a silly little girl who believes in fairy tales. I can assure you that if by the end of our marriage I find you mildly decent it’s going to be huge progress.’’

“Oh, Lila, once again you underestimate me.’’ He chuckled and thanked a waiter that replenished his glass.

“You have such a high opinion of yourself, it’s maddening.’’ I shook my head and made a move to turn to Megan to chat with her, but Mathis’ hand shot to me under the table. The weight of his hand on my thigh covered by my dress had my head snapping back to him.

“Don’t always trust your first opinion of someone.’’

***





MATHIS


Lila was standing in the middle of the honeymoon suite behind the lavish light green couch and facing the window. The city’s lights made her glow and if I was the kind of man who would spout poetry on his wedding night, I’d do it right now.

She was probably the most gorgeous woman I had ever laid eyes on.

Briefly, I regretted giving her an out and depriving me of having sex with my wife tonight because I knew she would never let herself be with me so soon. Somehow, the idea of toying with her, of making her mad with desire and lust for me had me hardening. Also, the fact that I hadn’t had sex since I met her at Carter Manor didn’t help either.

I cleared my throat and watched her shoulders tensing as she remembered that I was there. In the quiet room I heard her sigh and saw her bracing herself to face me. But she didn’t turn around just yet. “I suppose you’ve changed your mind now that we’re alone and in this honeymoon suite.’’

“I’m not a mercurial man, Lila,’’ I said and walked straight to the wet bar to pour myself a whiskey neat in a tumbler that was probably of the finest crystal.

As I brought my drink to my lips, she turned around and even a dozen or so feet away I saw the mistrust written all over her face. For a reason I couldn’t yet explain to myself, my blood temperature rose at that lack of trust.

I might enjoy playing with her temper, I might have purchased her to marry me and I might be a cold man most of the time, the fact remained; I would never force myself on a woman and I would never physically hurt a woman. In a way, I believed she was still fighting against her instincts that told her she was safe in my presence.

“Everybody is entitled to change their mind.’’

I put down my drink on top of the wet bar and traced my lower lip with a finger as my eyes trailed over her still in her wedding dress, a beautiful work that only made her beauty all the more striking.

“True, but I rarely do.’’ I stalked toward her and it was a pleasant surprise when she didn’t move. A certain excitement mounted inside me, starting with my cock that twitched without shame and hardened the closer I got to my wife. I stopped right in front of her, slightly too close to be considered polite, but at least her perfume invaded my nostrils and made my mouth water at the thought of one day tasting her skin, of biting on that plump lip of hers and making her scream my name until she was hoarse. That thought alone would make the day she’d surrender all the more thrilling. “It’s been a while for you, hasn’t it?’’

Her eyes widened for a brief second when the sense of my question hit her, but I was surprised when her cheeks didn’t turn pink. I knew she wasn’t a prude as Carter Manor wouldn’t take on women who were estranged from sex, but considering the kind of sheltered life these women lived for years, I was sure she’d be a little bit more skittish.

“Obviously. It’s no secret that the Manor wouldn’t let us out without a chaperone and that was when we were lucky enough to get off of the property.’’

I nodded and once again traced my lower lip. Her eyes followed the movement of my finger, but it didn’t seem as if she got aroused at watching my mouth. The way she stared at me made it as if a scientist was studying a specimen of some sort.

“Then, Lila, I can assure you that you’ll come to me at one point.’’ I leaned closer to her and let my lips ‘accidentally’ brush against the shell of her ear. “Your body will betray you and I’ll be there to make you burn with a desire you’ve never known.’’

She shivered and when I pulled away, sure I’d find some trace of desire on her face I only found anger. Her eyes were narrow slits, her mouth stretched into a thin line as her small fists clenched along her body. She was vibrating with the burning need to put me in my place.