So they all bunched together and the lady took a couple of pictures of the five of them.
‘Thanks so much,’ Xavier said, pleased with his quick thinking. It would look much better to have at least two of his friends in the wedding photos.
‘We should do one more of just you and Soli, for safety,’ Russell said to Xavier, before they all dispersed.
‘Ooh, yes. You make such a gorgeous couple,’ the woman said, beaming at the two of them. ‘You should do one with the two of you kissing. I always think they’re the nicest ones to have displayed.’
There was a small pause where neither of them reacted.
‘Er… yes, good idea,’ Soli said a little too loudly beside him and he felt her slip her arm around his back and lean in towards him, giving him a slightly awkward cuddle.
For a moment he stiffened under her touch before realising how odd that would seem to the small group that were looking at them intently now.
Without allowing himself to think about it, he slid his hand against her jaw, tipped her head towards him and kissed her fully on the mouth.
She drew in a small, breathy gasp, but didn’t pull away, instead sinking into the kiss and wrapping her arms tightly around his waist as he instinctively opened his mouth against hers. The soft, flowery scent of her enveloped his senses and he breathed her in deeply, struck by the distinctiveness of her taste and smell.
Delicious.
Her lips were so soft and perfectly pliant he experienced the strangest sensation that they were somehow made to perfectly fit with his. His stomach swooped at the thought and he became aware of something deep inside him – long buried – beginning to stir.
Sensation fizzed along his veins, causing his breath to shorten and his heart to pound against his chest.
Oh Lord, that’s not good.
Pulling abruptly away, he didn’t dare look her in the eye again in case she saw even a hint of the heavy need that now pulsed through him. ‘Was that okay? Did you get it?’ he asked Russell, who was standing behind the camera looking at the two of them with an odd expression on his face.
‘Yes, perfect. I got it,’ his friend replied, quickly rearranging his features into a smile.
Xavier’s stomach twisted as he realised that the spark he’d felt between them had outwardly showed. Not that that was necessarily a bad thing. At least to Hugo it would have looked as though they were genuinely attracted to each other.
When he glanced back at Soli he noticed she looked as bewildered as he felt, and his stomach knotted even tighter.
‘Well, I’d better get inside before I miss the beginning of this thing,’ Hugo said loudly, strolling over to give Xavier a slap on the back and jolting him out of his tangled thoughts. ‘Looking forward to seeing the two of you next weekend.’ And with that he gave them both a farewell salute and strode quickly away.
Xavier swallowed, his mouth suddenly dry and his head tight around the temples.
‘I’d better go too!’ the lady in the red hat said, glancing at her watch and moving towards the door of the register office. ‘Congratulations, you two, and good luck for the future!’
Luck? Yes, they might need a bit of that if this fake marriage was going to go without a hitch.
‘I guess we’d better get on, then,’ he said, pulling himself together and turning to look at Soli.
‘Okay. Sure. Great,’ she replied, her expression still a little shell-shocked. Something tugged hard inside him as a strangely protective instinct appeared from nowhere.
He shook it off.
He needed to get on top of this weird, edgy feeling that was messing with his head. It was this place, it had to be; it was bringing back too many long-suppressed emotions. He couldn’t allow himself to develop any kind of feelings for Soli, or encourage her to have any for him. It could cause all sorts of problems.
And extra problems were something neither of them needed right now.
4
SNAKES & LADDERS – A FRUSTRATING GAME OF UPS AND DOWNS.
Soli stood in front of the register office, having just kissed her new husband for the very first time, trying to deal with a strange sort of unease at finding she’d enjoyed it much more than was probably healthy for a woman who was now expected to live a life of celibacy for the next twelve months.
How had it been possible to feel so much in so few seconds?
