Suddenly exhausted, I mumbled my agreement and leaned my head against the window. Sylas maneuvered the truck to a stop on the shoulder of the road and leaned over me, his body blanketing mine in a way that had my heart rate speeding up, but all he did was recline my seat so I could rest more comfortably.
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome, Tiger,” he murmured, pressing a light kiss to my cheek and stroking his hand over my flat belly. “Rest well.”
I must have been more tired than I thought because by the time that I woke up, we were parked in front of a huge marble building and I was alone in the cab of the truck, a bag that smelled like tacos on the console next to me with several bottles of water.
Raising my seat, I caught sight of Sylas talking with the attorney that had met with Bari at the compound a few days earlier. They were standing at the front of the truck as the attorney pointed out various lines on papers that he had spread over the hood. Sylas turned his head, smiling when he caught sight of me and walking swiftly to open my door.
“Good, you’re awake. Did you sleep well?”
I nodded and tried to stifle a yawn. “Is it time?”
Sylas smiled and brushed my hair out of my eyes. “Almost. Why don’t you come out here so Drey can explain some of this paperwork to you?”
“Okay.” Sylas helped me down from the truck and led me over to the other man to make the introductions.
Once the pleasantries had been exchanged, Mr. Christof jumped right in. He handed me a pen and began a rushed explanation of each form. There was one that said I hadn’t been kidnapped and was marrying Sylas of my own free will. Another one that said all my money would stay mine and be given to me in full. There were several more that I didn’t really understand, but finally Mr. Christof seemed satisfied. He piled them all up into a stack and shook Sylas’s hand, giving me a smile.
“Here’s your marriage license,” he announced, passing an envelope to Sylas. “You have about forty minutes before the justice of the peace is done for the day, so hurry.” He started to walk away and then turned back with a frown. “Sylas, you do know the union has to be consummated before you return to the compound?”
“Wait here, Tiger,” Sylas instructed, walking the short distance to where the attorney had stopped.
I watched in confusion as the two men whispered furiously back and forth before Mr. Christof stepped back and raised his hands in defeat.
“Then I can’t guarantee that this will work.”
I swallowed hard. Sylas was willing to marry be but only if he didn’t have to have sex with me? Not even one time to be legal? I mean, my father had never wasted any chance to tell me how unappealing I was, how little I had to offer, but even the thought of justoncewas that bad?
“Okay, Tiger. Let’s go,” Sylas called out to me as he walked back, his smile a little forced.
I stayed where I was.
“Paul?” Sylas stopped before me. “Did you change your mind?”
“I..no,” I said slowly. “But I guess I don’t understand what the point is of going through all of this if it isn’t going to work.”
“It’s going to work,” Sylas said before understanding dawned on him. “Oh, you mean what Drey said? I didn’t know you could hear us. Don’t worry about that. He’s just concerned that since it’s too early to use a paternity test your father might try to request a court-sanctioned lie detector test to verify that we’ve been intimate. I doubt he’ll go that far.”
“But what if he does?” I asked, chewing on my lip.
Sylas frowned and gently eased my lip free with his thumb. “I don’t want you to have to do that, Tiger. To give your body up to get your freedom. Not even just once. It’s not a fair exchange.”
“I don’t think I would mind,” I mumbled. “Not much, anyway, if you don’t.”
Sylas seemed to stifle a grin. “If I didn’t mind having dirty, sexy times with a beautiful young Omega? It would obviously be a terrible sacrifice on my part,” he teased me. “Why don’t we worry about that later? It’s not a decision that needs to be made right now.”
When I nodded, Sylas wrapped his arm around my waist.
“Let’s get hitched.”
Chapter Eight
Sylas
Hearing Paul offer his body up to me to ensure his safety damn near broke my heart. And when he squared his shoulders to argue the point, it took everything I had in me not to gather him to my chest and promise him that I’d never touch him like that. In truth, Drey saying that consummation might be what it took to fully protect Paul’s future was the only thing that kept me from making promises I wasn’t sure I could keep.
With all the paperwork out of the way, the trip in to file it with the county clerk followed by a detour down the hall to be legally married only took another fifteen minutes. When the Justice of the Peace pronounced us husbands, I leaned down and caught Paul’s lips in a long, slow kiss, telling myself that the only reason was to put on a good show for the witnesses.
