Page 51 of Loving Her Enemy

They had expected his parents to be surprised and maybe a little disappointed, which was totally understandable. Most parents would want to be a part of their children’s big moments, mainly to support them and love on them. But Sloane had insisted his parents weren’t like that, and had never been like that, specifically his mother.

How sad was it that he thought his mother would try to sabotage their wedding? Or that if invited, she wouldn’t have respected their desire to keep their wedding small, private, and intimate.

During the wedding planning, Sloane had said he couldn’t trust his mother to keep a secret if he asked her to. Now Halayna understood. His mother’s behavior at dinner had been deplorable. What grown woman behaved like that? Especially an older woman who should know better, and why would she want to anger her own son? She’d gone on and on about being excluded from his big day, and it didn’t help that Marcella was there stirring her own pot of bullshit. The woman was infuriating. Halayna wasn’t typically a violent person, but she’d wanted to throat-punch her.

She sighed as she finished undressing and then slipped into a black satin robe and matching house shoes. When she reentered the bedroom, Sloane had just walked in.

“You’ve been quiet since we arrived home,” she said and moved over to him.

He looked worn out though normally he had more energy than anyone she knew. As she began unbuttoning his shirt, he reached up and removed the chopsticks from her hair and ran his fingers through her tresses.

There’d been a time she’d considered cutting her hair into a short, more manageable style. Yet, seeing how much Sloane liked the length, and how much she enjoyed it when he ran his fingers through her hair, she was thinking about leaving it as is.

Once his shirt was off, she ran her hands up his bare chest, concerned he still hadn’t said anything. “Are you okay?”

He started to speak but frowned when he saw she wasn’t wearing her hand brace.

“Before you asked, I took it off. My wrist is better.” The thing had been getting more uncomfortable by the day, and she just needed a break from it.

He ran the back of his fingers along her cheek with such tenderness, she almost whimpered. “I don’t know if that’s a good idea since your wrist is not a hundred percent yet.”

“No, it isn’t, but I figured it’ll be okay for a few minutes.” She wrapped her arms around his waist and gazed up at him. “I’m sorry about tonight.”

“Why are you sorry? You have nothing to apologize for. I’m the one who’s sorry. I’m sorry you didn’t get the type of welcome to the family I had hoped you’d get. I’m also sorry I lost my temper and dragged you out of there in the middle of dinner. Hopefully, I didn’t embarrass you too much.”

“You never have to apologize for defending my honor. It’s nice to have a husband who takes such good care of me the way you do.”

“Of course I’m going to take care of you.”

He lowered his head and when his lips touched hers, heat spread through her body. The kiss was tender, thorough, and filled with so much… so much love, that it choked her up inside. It was too soon to think what was building between them was love, but that’s how it felt. Every kiss, every touch, even the way he looked at her sometimes made her feel as if he was in love with her just as much as she was in love with him.

The feeling was scary as hell. The last time she thought she loved a man, he betrayed her and broke her heart. Was she setting herself up for much of the same? She and Sloane had gotten together because it would be mutually beneficial for them, but what if they somehow fell in love with each other? No, love was not part of the deal, but what if it could be?

Sloane moaned right before he slowly broke off the kiss, and he pressed his forehead to hers. For what seemed like hours but was only seconds, they stood that way with him not saying a word. Something was heavy on his mind, and she wished he’d talk to her, but she wouldn’t push.

He gave her another quick kiss and straightened. “Go ahead and get in bed. I’ll join you shortly.”

He left her standing there and headed to the bathroom.

Sloane stepped into the oversize shower and released a long sigh as he braced his hands against the tile walls. He closed his eyes and stood under the rain shower head, and not for the first time, he appreciated the numerous jets in the stall.

Tension slowly eased from his body as he thought about the shit show at his parents’ home. Just once, he wished he could go over there without losing his temper at something they said or did. Clearly, that was impossible. After all these years, he didn’t know why he’d expected something different out of the evening. Then again, he’d known it wouldn’t go well, but he had hoped.

As the powerful water pressure did its job in creating a spa-like massage over his body, Sloane thought about his wife. His beautiful, sweet, intelligent wife.

God, he loved that woman. She didn’t deserve the way she’d been treated tonight, but like usual, she’d carried herself with class. Which was more than he could say for his mother and Marcella. Never again would he subject Halayna to that type of treatment.

“Sloane?”

Sloane lifted his head at the sound of Halayna’s voice and almost swallowed his tongue. She was on the other side of the glass enclosure, gloriously naked, and of course his dick hardened at the sight of her.

So caught up in his thoughts, he hadn’t heard her enter the bathroom, but he was glad she was there.

She opened the door and stepped in, not seeming to care if her hair was getting wet. Still, he turned off the jets and positioned her to where she wouldn’t get as wet under the large shower head.

“Is it okay if I join you?”

Sloane chuckled. “Sweetheart, you never have to ask permission to join me in here or anywhere for that matter.”