Fake Marriage (Contemporary Romance Box Set)

An old ballad came on the radio talking about love and I sang along.

Trina looked up at me. “You have a great voice, Ryder.”

I gazed down at her in surprise. “I always thought you hated my singing.”

She gave me a sheepish smile. “Only when you sang my lyrics.”

It was a reminder of how badly I’d hurt her. It had been unintentional, but it happened. “I’m sorry for hurting you.” I kissed her head again. “I didn’t mean to. In fact, I thought it would flatter and impress you. Boy did that backfire.”

“Why would you want to flatter and impress me?”

“Because I had the hots for you.” I grinned.

She gave me a light slap on the chest. “Yeah, right. I remember you in high school. You didn’t have the hots for me.”

“I did too.”

She studied me as if she was looking for the truth. “Why didn't you say anything?”

I shrugged. “You’re Sinclair’s friend. I wasn’t sure how that would go. And then, of course, you started hating my guts. Then again, maybe you always hated my guts.”

She rested her head on my chest. “I didn’t. I used to think you were hot.”

“No, you didn’t.”

“I did.”

“Why didn’t you say anything?” I asked, not sure I believed her.

“Because you’re Sinclair’s brother.”

I laughed. “It’s all Sinclair’s fault.”

“Then you stole my poetry and used it for your own nefarious purposes and you became my mortal enemy.”

I couldn’t believe it. Did she like me too, then? I had wondered a time or two if she had, but since she wasn’t overt in her interest like other girls were, I couldn’t be sure. The only thing I had been sure of was when she decided I was persona non grata.

What really irked was the amount of time I’d lost. Had I known how she felt, I would have done something, Sinclair’s opinion be damned. Maybe if I had shown my hand, Trina and I’d be celebrating ten years of something real instead of one week of something fake.

I turned to her, finishing singing the song, moving closer and closer to her until my lips were a whisper away from hers. Unable to hold back until the end of the song, I pressed my lips to hers. She responded, going pliant against me. It was amazing that this strong woman would give in to me. It was a reminder that I needed to be careful with her. I needed to cherish and care for this trust she’d given me. Right now, it was only her body she was willing to hand over, but if I played my cards right, by the time this fake marriage was over, she’d give me her heart.

I wrapped my arms around her and scooted us down so I could lay against her. “Do you have a problem with making love in the open?”

Her eyes flashed, but I wasn’t sure if it was excitement at having sex or my use of “making love” to describe what we were doing.

“As long as I don’t get bit.”

“Even by me?” I reached back and unzipped her dress, eager to see and touch her magnificent tits.

She gave me a sexy smile. “Well, maybe by you would be all right.”

I kissed her again, as we took our time getting undressed. The bed of my truck wasn’t the most comfortable and we were out in the wild open. At the same time, I felt like we were in an oasis and the only two people in the world. Maybe even the universe.

When she was naked, I took my time running my hand down over her curves and to her pussy. I slipped a finger between her thighs.

“My, how wet you are Mrs. Simms.”

She flinched slightly at my calling her Mrs. Simms, which made my heart clench that she’d reject it. But I needed her to get used to my need to make her mine.