“Well, we got married and we consummated the union.” I’m a little proud of my steady voice.
“Only once,” he murmurs darkly and damn him, I can feel my knees getting weak. “I was so looking forward to a repeat last night. And this morning.”
My undies are ruined.
“This afternoon…” His devil’s whisper slides over my nerve endings and I shudder slightly.
“Well, there’s no reason unless we’re required to get pregnant, and there’s no demand for that, correct?” My gaze skitters away, it’s too hard to look at him and not remember how it felt to have him over me, inside me.
“There’s no demand for children, no,” he agrees slowly. He’s still trying to figure me out.
“That’s good.” I cut my eggs into tiny pieces and rearrange them. “I had a birth control shot-”
“A month ago, yes,” he says. “Good for another five months.”
My eyes narrow. “Did you read through all my personal information? Is there anything you missed, any clarification needed on vaccines, my grades, or that suspicious mole on the back of my neck?”
“We didn’t have a chance to get to know each other the usual way. Of course I would like to understand you as quickly as possible.”
Yeah, so you could manipulate me,I think bitterly.And you did, like a master.
“Or, you could have asked me. But I’m sure you’re not a man who likes to waste his time.”
“Youareupset,” he says, “specifically, with me. Was it because I wasn’t here yesterday morning? I did want to be. That’s why I checked in with you throughout the day.”
I chuckle, almost choking on my cranberry juice. “No, that was fine. I’m fine. You have a lot to do in the family business. I’m very capable of keeping myself busy.”
“Hmm…” He’s still watching me closely and I take a bite of my now-cold eggs. Checking his watch, he rises with a sigh. “I do have to leave. I will be back tonight at 5, and we’ll talk then. This is all new, I know. We can talk about how we’d like to shape our future.”
Mason’s hand slides under my chin, maybe to lift my face for a kiss and I freeze. He pauses before taking my hand and kissing the back of it instead. “I’ll see you tonight, wife.”
***
I take my laptop and Talon and I return to The Red Poppy. Niles greets me dramatically, as if I was a long-lost lover returning home from the war.
“You’re back, ye brave little sprout of broccoli!” He’s grinning, looking right past me to my oblivious bodyguard.
“Lovely to see you, Niles. Hey, Talon. Isn’t it lovely to see Niles again?”
Talon looks between me and the beaming barista. “Aye,” he grunts, going back to the sandwich case.
“I’ll wear him down,” Niles says confidently. “I’m extremely charming.”
“If that’s all it takes, you should start picking out your wedding china pattern.” I pat his arm as Talon picks up our drinks.
I paid today because my bodyguard handed me a black card with my name on it this morning. “Mr. MacTavish wanted you to have this.” I’m grateful for it and resent it at the same time. I’m still reliant on someone else for my money. I need a job. Even if it’s something small, I need it.
The coffee house is quieter today, just the dedicated chess players and me. After finishing off two doughnuts, a croissant and the rest of Talon’s sandwich, I get to work.
My college tuition was paid through the end of the year (unless Dad is such a spiteful prick that he remembered and demanded a refund) and I’m trying to craft an email to my professors about “sudden life changes” and convincing them to allow me to finish my degree online.
By the time Mason fulfills his promise of “shipping me off” and ignoring me, I’ll have a plan. And hopefully, a degree. This isn’t the first time Dad’s pulled the metaphorical rug out from under my life, but the one happy realization in the last few days is it will be the last.
Are you forgetting that he’s expecting you to spy for him?
I’ll fold that thought up and put it with the rest.
Chapter Thirteen
