Her stifled moan shot straight to his cock and he straightened before he couldn’t stand in front of the celebrant and witnesses.
With Ruby's hand in his, he led her to the front of the room, aware of little but her palm in his, her subtle berry fragrance, and her clear, strong voice as she recited vows.
He interjected at all the right moments, following the celebrant's cues, binding himself in matrimony to Ruby Seaborn.
While their fake marriage wouldn't last long, for a long, drawn-out moment after he said, "I do" he almost wished circumstances were different.
"You may now kiss your bride," the celebrant announced with a beatific smile.
"They've already done that part."
Everyone chuckled at Murray's quip and this time he kept the kiss short and sweet. Because he knew the next time they French kissed he wouldn't be able to stop until he had her hot and panting and pliant beneath him, begging for more.
After the ceremony, Opal sidled up to them, her speculative gaze swinging between them. "I was wrong about you two."
Ruby shot him a hesitant glance he didn't understand. "What do you mean?"
Opal patted Ruby's cheek. "Anyone can see you two are crazy about each other. Be happy."
He intended to be.
As soon as he got his luscious new bride naked.
Chapter 14
Ruby didn't talk much on the drive to Daylesford, the quaint spa town an hour from Melbourne.
Thankfully, Jax understood her need for silence and he respected it, humming softly to old eighties songs as he drove. Apart from the occasional glance at her, he focused on the road, his single-minded concentration probably indicative of everything he did.
She squirmed, not needing much to remind her of what he'd said at the register office.
You won't be wearing it long.
She should've known a commanding guy like him wouldn't take no for an answer. He probably saw her refusal to sleep with him as a challenge, hence his,'It'll be late by the time you finish seeing your sister, sowe'd better stay over in Daylesford.'
Sure, he'd masked it in subtle caring, but she'd seen right through his act. And that had been before the kiss at the ceremony.
Damn him for making every cell in her body throb in anticipation when she didn't want to do anything but focus on the task at hand.
Seeing Sapphire and delivering the ‘good news’ before it hit the papers or she heard it second-hand.
"Is this the place?"
Ruby squinted atTenangscrawled in flowing duck egg blue against an ecru background.Tenangmeant tranquil in Malay and Sapphire needed that. Tranquillity, peace, a haven away from the burden she'd been carrying this last year. MakingSeabornviable had been highly stressful—she should know considering the lengths she'd gone to to save the business—but dealing with grief over their mum's death when Sapphire had been so close to her, keeping the secret ofSeaborn’simploding financials from her… Yeah, her sister had been an emotional breakdown waiting to happen.
In a way, the chronic fatigue symptoms had been a blessing, a warning before she collapsed or, worse, actually had a complete breakdown.
Ruby hoped the news she had to deliver wouldn't set Saph back; or cause a relapse.
"Yeah, this is the place.” Ruby pointed to the right. "You can park there."
Jax followed the long, winding driveway shaded by towering pines before pulling up alongside the main entrance.
Nerves pinched her gut as he killed the engine.
"You sure you don't want me to come in with you?"
She wasn't sure of anything, least of all the wisdom of marrying the enemy and then having to tell her sister.
