Henry sighed. “Letting temporary insanity take hold … I?—”
That was all I could handle. I scurried away to my bedroom, shutting the door firmly. Sitting on the edge of the bed, I dropped my head into my hands and sucked in a long breath. And then another. And another.
What did he mean by temporary insanity? Was last night just a moment of reckless stupidity for him? Meanwhile, here I was, realising that one night with him had changed me. I wasn’t going insane, in fact, I felt more clarity about Henry than I had with any person I’d been with.
But it didn’t change the fact that we’d both agreed, even if he was having a brief lapse of sanity, that it was just for one night. That it was one night of pretending that we were in a real marriage, with all the marital perks that came with it.
If he was already regretting it … I fell back against my pillows. Then the best thing to do would be to pretend it never happened. To go back to what we were before last night.
Two years of it though? That was going to kill me. Especially after getting a taste of what the real thing would be like with him.
But at the end of it, I’d be an Australian resident. That was what I had to keep telling myself. I’d be official, and legal, and no one would be able to force me back to Romania … tohim. And wasn’t that worth more than a romance with Henry, no matter how strong my feelings for him were growing?
I stood and went to run a nice hot shower. As much as I wished I could marinate in the scent of Henry that clung to my skin and hair forever, it wasn’t exactly helping me to keep a level head. I needed to scrub the ghost of him off my body.
If only I could take a loofah to my heart too … before it was too late.
It was already too late.
Pizda.
A knock on the door startled me as I was towelling my hair dry. I wrapped the towel around my head with hands that shook, taking longer than was normal to make sure every strand was tucked up underneath. I was stalling. I wasn’t ready to face him one on one.
Gaina, the little voice inside my head taunted. Iwasa chicken. But between the brain-chemistry-altering sex and having to look him in theeyes in the cold light of day, knowing that he knew about my family, was it any wonder I was freaking out?
“Catnip?”
I swallowed back the urge to open the window and launch myself straight out into Sydney Harbour.
“Come in!” I cursed myself for the tremble in my voice.
The door opened, and in streaked an orange blur. He launched himself into my lap with a forlorn yowl. I winced as claws pricked my skin, silently thanked Abernathy for putting a barrier between me and the adorable, sexy, sweet man in the slutty little glasses who poked his head tentatively around the door.
“Morning,” he greeted, andnaiba, that voice of his. Would I forever be reminded of him pleading,‘Take me deeper, Catnip’every time he spoke?
“Good morning,” I replied formally, stroking Abs with intense concentration.
“So …” The bed dipped as he sat beside me, and I failed to suppress a shiver when the warm solidness of his bicep brushed against mine. “Last night … it hasn’t made things awkward, has it?”
Fuck … yes …
“Of course not!” I replied breezily, steeling myself and turning to face him, flashing what I hoped was a carefree smile. His eyes were serious, expression concerned, and a piece of my heart splintered. That wasn’t the expression of someone who was struggling with … feelings.
It was the look of a man who had gotten his temporary insanity under control and had come to check on the weak link in the partnership.
“Okay.” He sounded uncertain, and his hands gripped his knees. “I’m sorry.”
My heart fluttered. “What for?”
“I should have controlled myself. I know that we agreed that we needed to keep a modicum of distance for this to work, and I?—”
“Donotapologise, Henry,” I blurted, throat thick. I cleared it.Have you forgotten how to pretend everything is fine, Ri? In Romania, that was your life!“Like I said earlier, I think we needed to get it out of our systems. Now all that sexual tension has been relieved, and we can get on with the fake marriage business without it hanging over our heads.”
“Is that really how you feel?” Henry’s expression looked so wholly unconvinced by me that I forced out a laugh, smacking him on the arm with the back of my hand. “Sure is! Look, I’ve never been one to confuse sex with emotions, so … we’re all good, buddy!”
I inwardly cringed.Buddy?What was wrong with me? I shot to my feet, Abernathy tumbling to the floor with a disgusted, “Meowp!” He immediately jumped back onto the bed, shot Henry a doleful glare and stalked up to my pillow where he curled up, covering his face with his tail.
“I’m heading to Icebergs for a swim!” I announced, rummaging in my closet for my swim bag. “I need to get myself back into a routine with my training. Not that it matters, I suppose; I really should just let go of the Olympic pipe dream, but?—”
