“Damn. This view… You can see Fraternity Row from here. Fuck! I think you can see my parents’ house.”
Scout arches an eyebrow and shrugs. “It’s a fine view.”
She’s not into this, and I feel responsible. The weight of her disapproval sits inside my chest. I’m trying to keep my excitement contained, but I’m doing a shitty job.
So I lean into it more than I normally would. If she won’t relax, maybe I can help her. Show her how exciting this can be. We just got married. Got an amazing place for our first night together. Things are looking up. Maybe my joy will be contagious.
I hold up a chilled bottle of champagne and a tray of chocolate-dipped strawberries. She likes chocolate. “This is insane, right?”
“Not… No. Not really. Pretty standard affair.” She peeks into the bedroom and murmurs, “Plus, they have cheap mints on the pillows.”
“Mints on the pillows!” Waving my hand around the room, I showcase how lucky we are. I gallop over to see them, popping both into my mouth. “So good.”
She studies me like I’m a problem she hasn’t solved yet. “You’re easy to please.”
“Mints!” I gasp, repeating myself to make sure she heard me. “I never thought I’d stay somewhere like this before. And there’s, like, fifty pillows on this bed. They could fit a lot more, I suppose.”
Whirling around, she snaps, “Why did you do that?”
“Do what? Put mints on the pillows? I think nice hotels?—”
But her face gives away that she’s holding a whole otherconversation I’m not privy to. “Kneelwithme at the ceremony. Put on a show for the press?”
My jaw tightens as my voice drops low. “It wasn’t a show for me. I told you. I want to be a good husband to you.”
“Huh.” She scoffs like she doesn’t believe me, and I reach for her, but she just gives me a sideways glance that has me stopping near the doorframe to the bedroom. Her shoulders relax, though. So I wonder if she’s debating if I’m for real.
Scratching the back of my neck, I try to think of a way to slice through the tense atmosphere. I loosen my tie and toss it onto the dresser as she kicks off her shoes.
“So…” I gesture toward the bed. “We doing this now, or—” It’s a test. A half-joke. A way to push her buttons.
She smirks in response. Not a complete shut-down. “I told you, it’s not happening.”
I chuckle. “Tonight, or ever?”
My skin tingles as she purses her plump lips and scans my frame from toes…all the way up to my face, as if she’s trying to see how good I’ll make it for her. “I don’t know yet.”
I clear my throat and unbutton my shirt. She watches my fingers.
“Well, my dear, you can use this body for your pleasure. As you need it.”
“I don’t get off from sex.”
My eyebrows shoot up with surprise. “I’m sorry?”
She crosses her arms and her breasts lift in her white dress. “It takes somethingmorethan penetration. It’s not something that works for me.”
“Bet.”
With a snort, she rolls her eyes, then throws her hands in the air and heads for the living room. “Of course!You’retheman who’sdifferent, right? You can rock my world and take me to new heights with your pierced cock.”
I laugh, trying to lighten her poor mood, and lean against the doorframe of the bedroom, flicking off the light to create a mood. The lamps are dim and sultry. “If not my dick, then my mouth can. We’re both aware of that.”
She shivers as I approach her from behind and trail my finger down her bare arm. Leaning down, I murmur, “And after Thriller Thursday, I think we know how much you liked the piercing in the right spot.”
When she faces me, I expect a slap. Maybe some anger. Her cheeks are crimson. Mouth parted like she may spit venom at me.
It’s amusing.
