Authors: Faye Avalon
The woman opened a door and stepped back to let them walk into the
sitting room of their suite. Surprisingly light brocaded walls contrasted with
dark mahogany antique furniture and extravagant artifacts. Through an open door
to the left, Lissa glimpsed the bedroom and saw that their bags had already
been deposited on a low table to the side of the enormous bed.
Her stomach, already tied in knots, trembled
with anticipation at how she and Reed might use that bed. If the sex that week
had been any gauge, she was in for one hell of a wedding night.
Lissa glanced around the sitting room. On a side table, champagne
chilled in a silver bucket with two beautiful crystal flues alongside. While on
another table, long-stemmed red roses bloomed from its antique glass vase, and
a huge dish of chocolates lay next to a massive bowl of fruit.
Lissa wasn’t sure if her stomach churned with hunger or nerves, but
guessed it was the latter as she turned to see Reed take the key from the
woman. He walked with her to the door where she told him to ring if there was
anything else he needed. He thanked her and slipped her a tip.
When they were alone, Lissa turned to him as she took off her jacket.
“It must cost you the same in tips as it does for the room in a place like
this.”
He placed the key on yet another side table. “You don’t like it?”
“What? That you spend a fortune in tips?”
He laughed. “Already you’re starting to sound like a wife. I meant the
room.”
“I know that.” And she didn’t want to admit that the thought of being
Reed’s wife, if only temporarily, caused a little flutter under her heart. “I
was simply stating a fact.”
She draped her jacket over a chair, then walked into the bedroom and
picked up her bag. She caught sight of herself in a mirror that took up almost
an entire wall facing the bed.
For the
ceremony, she’d chosen a pale blue skirt suit and had asked the hairdresser to
sweep her hair into a loose chignon as a salute to the bizarre situation in
which she found herself. Since most of her hair had fallen out of its hold, she
tugged at the pins and gave the remaining strands their freedom. Giving her
head a shake, she looked up at the ceiling. “Oh, my God. You have to be
joking.”
Reed stepped into the bedroom and looked up. “You’ve never slept in a
room with a mirrored ceiling?”
“No. It’s so clichéd it’s almost funny.” She dropped her bag on the bed
and turned to him, noting his upturned mouth. “Did you know about it?”
“Maybe.”
As he unfastened the already loosened knot of his tie, Lissa narrowed
her eyes. “You’ve been here before.”
He threw the discarded tie on a chair and started popping his shirt
buttons. “Not in the honeymoon suite.”
It didn’t matter at all that he’d visited the hotel before with someone
else, so why did the knowledge make her chest squeeze? Because, despite her
protestations, she wanted this to be special? Because she wanted to share
things with Reed that no other woman had? Ridiculous.
“What is it with this place and mirrors anyhow?” She threw her arm out
to indicate the massive wall mirror. “Are they catering for a bunch of
narcissists?”
He shrugged out of his shirt. “Don’t tell me you’ve never enjoyed the
delights to be had from mirror sex, princess?”
Oh hell. There went her stomach again. “I’d rather be doing it than
watching myself do it.”
He laughed and opened his overnight case. “I’ll have to educate you,” he
said with a wink as he pulled out his wash bag. “Seeing as it’s not only
yourself you’ll be watching.”
She had a vision of Reed’s firm ass tensing and releasing as he thrust
into her. His shoulders bunching, and his broad back expanding as he fought for
breath.
The image didn’t exactly stay her rapidly escalating hormones, but she
raised her chin into the air. “After a whole week of sex, I would have hoped
you’d realize there’s not that much you can teach me.”
“Princess.” He stopped as he reached the door to the adjoining bathroom
and looked over his shoulder at her. “We haven’t even warmed up.”
He then disappeared into the bathroom leaving Lissa staring open-mouthed
after him. Hell. If that were true, she was in for one doozy of a wedding
night.
After another glance at the mirrored ceiling, she reached for her bag
and began to unpack. Her hands shook a little as she held up her new lingerie.
She’d taken ages to pick out the style and color, but wasn’t about to berate
herself for doing so. Wasn’t a woman supposed to take time picking out lingerie
for her wedding night? Even a travesty of one like this?
It had been impossible to rid herself of the knowledge that what they
were doing was wrong on so many levels. Not only did it make a mockery of the
institution of marriage, for which her conventional aunt would likely disown
her, but it also meant she had to lie, even by omission, to the woman she’d
loved and respected all her life.
Maybe that was why she’d been feeling so out of sorts the last few days.
During her usual midweek visit to the nursing home, her aunt had been much more
coherent and had actually recognized Lissa. She’d asked about Lissa’s work and
whether she had a boyfriend yet. Lissa had tried not to lie too much, saying
that things were going really well and that she had lots of new plans for the
business. Both of which were true, thanks to Reed’s offer. Thankfully, her aunt
never asked about Debbie, so Lissa never told her she was no longer her
business partner. If she ever did ask, Lissa was prepared to say that she and
Debbie had parted amicably, rather than worry her aunt by admitting she’d been
screwed over good and proper by the woman she’d called a friend as well as a
business partner.
She’d driven home from the hospital accompanied by the usual sinking
feeling of having let down her aunt—the woman who had been willing to take out
a mortgage on her beloved house to help fund Lissa’s start up costs for her
joint business venture with Debbie. In return, Lissa had put the house in
jeopardy because she couldn’t keep up the mortgage repayments along with all
the other debts.
When she thought how close she’d come to having the house repossessed,
she could only be grateful to Reed for giving her the opportunity to avoid that
particular catastrophe. If he hadn’t come along with his proposition, she would
not only have lost the house, but would have had to uproot her aunt by moving
her to a less expensive nursing home.
She’d been saved all that. So why did it feel like she’d given away her
soul? That instead of celebrating, she should be running scared?
With a sigh, she sank onto the bed. She had to get a grip. It was too
late for second thoughts anyway. She was married to Reed. It might have been a
big con job, a charade, but nevertheless they were married.
Reed hadn’t wanted to get married any more than she had.
And that, Lissa realized with a jolt, was the crux of it.
Somehow, during the week they’d spent together, Reed had started to
become more than a quick fix out of her problems. She’d looked forward to
seeing him each night after work, looked forward to their evenings together.
The movies they downloaded to watch on his giant TV, the meals they ordered in,
and of course the sex. Don’t forget the sex.
She looked up as Reed came back into the room with a towel slung around
his neck. He was shirtless, the waistband of his trousers unfastened. She saw
that he’d shaved.
Her heart leapt remembering that she’d complained, albeit with a laugh,
that his evening bristle had made her pussy lips sore. He’d disappeared into
the bathroom and had returned with a clean-shaven face.
Now he stood in the doorway and looked down at her. “Everything okay?”
She nodded. “Feeling a bit weird, that’s all.”
He glanced up. “Because of the mirror?”
“No.” She laughed softly. “Not because of that. Because of all this.”
She twisted the diamond ring around her finger. “It feels really strange.”
He came and sat beside her and lifted her hand. “Try not to over think
it. Okay, maybe it’s not every day that people hitch up for reasons other than
love and romance, but the thing with us is there’s no chance of all the crap
that goes with it. We both know where we stand. We know why we’re in this. We
have no allusions, no expectations. It’s a business deal. Nothing more. Nothing
less.”
Her palpitating heart sank. If that was supposed to make her feel
better, he was way off course. “I know all that.” And she did, didn’t she? It
wasn’t his fault she felt this way. She couldn’t expect that he would have
started to feel differently about her. As he’d so brutally stated, this was a
business deal. Perhaps somewhere in all of this she’d forgotten that. She had
to remember that there was no room in their
deal
for those allusions, expectations or anything else.
Business. Nothing more. Nothing less.
So why did it feel like it was?
He squeezed her hand and when she looked up his smile almost dazzled her.
Her heart gave another leap, but she ignored it.
“I’m being stupid,” she said, attempting a smile. “Like you said, over
thinking things.”
He raised her hand to his lips and kissed her knuckles. “There’s not
much point worrying about it now. The deed’s done.” He kept his hand around
hers as he lowered it. “Why don’t you focus on what the benefits are? You’ve
given your notice at work, your debts will soon be settled, and we’ve already
started developing your business plan. Isn’t that worth celebrating?”
Yes, it was. Lissa drew in a huge breath as she looked down at their
joined hands. “I can’t thank you enough for all that. I never thought I’d be
deep in debt before I even reached my mid-twenties.”
“You were too trusting. Some people get halfway through their life
without learning that lesson. In business it’s okay to over think. Remember
that.”
“Don’t worry. I plan to.” Interestingly, their conversation had settled
her. She had a great deal
to look forward to, so it was time to put away her emotions and spend
her time with Reed learning from him. Already she’d picked up numerous tips. As
they’d worked through her finances and business plan, he’d given her advice
that money couldn’t buy. And she planned not to waste it.
“Feeling better?”
She returned his smile. “Much.”
“Good.” He squeezed her hand. “What do you fancy for dinner?”
Suddenly, she was ravenous. “What’s on the menu?”
He flicked her under the chin. “I’ll go see.”
She watched him disappear into the sitting area, his muscular legs
eating up the distance while the silky skin of his broad back glistened in the
glow of the soft lighting. Well, she might not have the most conventional of
weddings, but she sure as hell was looking forward to the wedding night. And
where was the harm in indulging herself?
They both knew the score. They were healthy, consenting adults who
enjoyed having sex. And plenty of it. Being married didn’t have to change any
of that.
Spouses with benefits
, Lissa thought as she grabbed her
wash bag and went into the bathroom. No harm in enjoying those
benefits
for as long as they were on
offer.
She plonked her bag down next to Reed’s on the marble stand and looked
at herself in the mirror. Did she look married? Was there any outward change?
Reed didn’t look any different. He looked as devastatingly gorgeous as
he always did.
She thought of all that solid muscle, the big hands, long adept fingers.
The way he could drive her insane with just a touch. How he held her close
after they’d had sex. The way they talked into the night as she lay in his
arms, before it inevitably led to sex again.
She caught herself smiling. If she was going to have a temporary
marriage, she could do a whole lot worse that Reed.
Seconds later, determined to push away any thoughts of weirdness, she
unpacked her toiletry bag and headed for the shower.
****
Seated on the sofa, Reed stared unseeing at the glossy menu. Right up
until that morning, he’d thought Lissa was okay with the whole deal, but she’d
begun to get shaky when he produced the ring. She’d looked at him with those
big hazel eyes like the proverbial rabbit caught in the headlights. He’d bought
the damn thing as a kind of token bonus for her, thinking she could keep it or
sell it after their divorce. Whatever she liked. But it had backfired and if
anything it only seemed to upset her.
Then he’d gone and sprung for their wedding night here. Seeing as when
they were together they were rarely out of the sack, he’d deemed it an
appropriate thing to do. Lissa was pretty adventurous, so he’d assumed she’d
love it. But now that she’d admitted to feeling weird about the whole thing,
maybe he should have kept it low key.
As far as his problem went, the flack from Cynthia had disappeared.
Rather than let Jack deal with it, as his friend had wanted to do, Reed had thought
it best to let her hear it straight from the horse’s mouth. He’d arranged to
meet her at Papa Niko’s earlier that week, where he’d broken the news that he’d
fallen hard for a woman and they were to be married that weekend.