Chapter Sixty-Three
Poppy
It wastime for the send-off. I was ready, or I thought I was. I had on a new dress, this one much more scandalous than the wedding gown I’d worn all night. There was also a knife hidden in the lingerie the grannies had made me for me, as well. The lingerie added with the loose dress would never hold a knife and they felt like a holster was too bulky so the week before, they dropped off special lingerie that would keep the knife secure but not give it away. It made me feel confident and skittish, all at once. Was I strong enough? Was I able to do this?
Hands trembling, I smoothed my palms down the dress again, like that would somehow settle me. Like fabric could armor the fact that a single wrong breath would get me and Jane both killed.
A murmur of voices swelled beyond the doors. Laughter. Music. The clatter of glasses. The scraping of chairs as the last round of champagne was passed before everyonewalked outside to send us off like we were the picture-perfect couple.
A soft knock sounded behind me.
“Poppy?” Donovan’s voice slid down my spine like a cold touch. “They’re ready for us.”
I forced a smile as I turned, and he beamed back at me. It was the most I’d ever seen him smile and once again… I wondered if I was making the right decision. Would he truly care for me? Would he truly love me? Treat me right?
My thoughts flashed back to the envelope that had all of the proof in it. It flashed back to the way Ivan looked, being carried out of the buildings by the docks. It reminded me that I would never be free and that he could look happy all he wanted to… but that didn’t mean it would last.
The doors opened, and the people seeing us off cheered. Rose petals floated through the air in a shower of ivory and gold while the photographer clicked away at the end of the tunnel.
Donovan forced our joined hands in the air, and I smiled as if my life depended on it.
Not much longer.
My husband twirled me around, dipped me low, and then planted a deep, sensual kiss on my lips. My stomach bottomed out. We were about to be alone in the car… Would he expect more from me before I was ready? I hadn’t thought about that.
He pulled away from the kiss with a loudsmackand began pulling me towards the waiting car. If he wanted morefrom me in the car… he would find the knife. I couldn’t kill him with his driver present.
Donovan opened the car door with a flourish, grinning like a man about to unwrap a present.
“After you, Mrs. Madden.” My stomach twisted.
Mrs. Madden.
It was the first time he’d said it out loud.
I hesitated—just a second—but it was enough for his hand to find the small of my back and guide me inside. His touch was deceptively gentle. Possessive in a way that made my throat tighten.
The interior of the car smelled like leather and expensive cologne. It felt too small. It felt too intimate.
His eyes slid to me, slow and hungry. “You look terrified,” he murmured, brushing a knuckle along my jaw. “Don’t be. I’ll take good care of you tonight.”
My pulse skittered violently. His touch made my skin crawl, but I forced myself to lean into it.
“Big day,” I whispered. “A lot to take in.”
His hand drifted down my arm, fingertips grazing the edge of my dress. “You were perfect.” He leaned closer. “And you’ll be perfect tonight.”
“Donovan,” I said softly, trying to keep my voice steady as the car began to roll out of the venue’s circlular drive, “maybe we could… talk first? Before anything else.”
He chuckled low. “Talk? You’ve talked plenty today.” His hand slid to my thigh, squeezing through the fabric of the dress. “Now I get to enjoy my wife.”
Ice flooded my veins. “Then we'd better hurry back to your place, right?”
One of his eyebrows inched up. “One day, I’ll break you of these little virgin tendencies. You’ll be mounting me in the car every chance you can get.”
Somehow, I pushed the nausea down and ignored the obvious bulge in his pants.
***
