“Maybe I will next time,” she said as if serious. “Anything is possible.”
“I cannot wait to see it.”
They laughed together at the absurdity of the conversation. It was the first time they had spoken this way since marrying, and Gabriel was surprised by how comfortable he felt. He had always suspected that there was more to his wife, but to see it now in action, he was starting to realize how much he liked it.
More than that, he liked her.
Not just her looks either. And not just her silly sense of humor. It was the delight she took in the small and unimportant. Like a child stepping outside for the first time, everything was new to her, everything was exciting. And he could see from the wicked look in her eyes that she wanted more.
“So, what’s next?” she asked him as she finished her brandy. She then looked around for a place to put the glass down…
“Don’t even think about it,” he warned her.
“What?”
“Tossing the glass,” he said. “Yes, you are now free to do as you wish. And clearly, you enjoy the fact. But there are still rules in this world, and I expect you to follow them.”
She blew through her lips. “I don’t play by the rules anymore. Didn’t you know?”
He scoffed. “See if that same bravado lasts when you wake tomorrow with a hangover.”
“It will.” She sat up and glared at him. “Do not think so little of me.”
“Sophia…” He sighed and touched his chest. “I hoped by now you would understand that I am the only one who does not. This is my victory as much as yours.”
“Oh yes, there it is. Finding a way to make it about you.”
“Isn’t everything?”
She rolled her eyes. Then she widened them at him, grinning wickedly as she clutched the glass as if she meant to throw it… only to gently place it on the ground. “Happy?”
“You have no idea how much.”
They were sitting across from one another, but not so far that the distance was felt. With the way that Gabriel leaned forward on his knees, there was perhaps one foot between them.
The fire burned low in the room’s only hearth. The night was silent beyond the room. Almost on instinct, Gabriel’s eyes flicked to the spot beside where his wife sat, done so that she would see him doing it. She frowned, raised an eyebrow and then she shuffled across as if to offer him the space.
Gabriel swallowed as he saw the situation play out in his head.
The atmosphere was slowly transforming around them both. The crackle of the fire. The heat that came from it, washing across their bodies. Gabriel had drunk a little, Sophie was clearly tipsy, and as they spoke they plied one another with coy smiles and suggestive gazes.
This marriage was never meant to be about romance. Gabriel had no intention of falling for his wife. He was not the type to covet, and he was certainly not one to become besotted. In fact, he had chosen Sophia because he had assumed she would never want him like that. She did not seem the type to fall for a man with his reputation.
Only… Sophia was no longer the woman who he had married.
I suppose that’s the great irony, isn’t it. I married a woman who I did not want with the precise intention of changing her. And now that she is changed, I want her… and she wants me.
He licked his lips as he considered. He tried to ignore the beating of his heart and the shaking of his legs as he glanced over her body, sprawling along the couch. Her beauty was one thing, but it was her personality, the freedom inherent in her actions, that drew her to him.
All he had to do was stand up, sit next to her, and he was certain of what would happen.
“I should…” He hesitated, seeing her perk up. “I think it is time that I…” Pulse racing, desire rising. “My bed awaits,” he forced himself to say. “It has been a big day, and I need my sleep.”
He saw the reaction in her immediately. The way her shoulders slouched. The light leaving her eyes. And the disappointment evident in the way her face dropped.
“Oh…”
“I enjoyed myself tonight, Sophia.” He stood quickly as if to make the point. “I hope you did too.”
