Behind Palace Doors (Hollywood 3)

Never had he experienced anything like this before. But he knew that the next several months with his best friend-turned-wife would be nothing if not life-altering.

And that epiphany scared the hell out of him.

* * *

Victoria sat in the oversize cozy leather chair in the palace theater waiting for the movie to start and eating from a tub of popcorn. Only moments ago the man beside her rocked her world in a way she hadn’t known possible, and now he pretended as if their giant step beyond friendship were perfectly normal.

After they’d nearly killed each other in a bout of heated, frenzied sex, she’d thrown on his tux shirt instead of her gown. He’d slipped back into his pants, leaving his gloriously tanned and tattooed chest bare. He nearly had a whole sleeve of tats on one sculpted arm. The swirls slid over his shoulder and stretched from his back over his pecs. And Victoria wanted to trace every line, every detail with her fingertip, then follow with her tongue.

God, he’d turned her into a sex fiend. Knowing Stefan, that had been his goal all along.

Who knew he had such...skills. Well, given the amount of women the paparazzi put him with over the years, she should’ve known, but she’d not thought of his hidden talents before. Shame that.

But she’d be thinking of them now. She had a feeling they would be in the forefront of her mind for quite some time. Would she ever get used to seeing, touching her best friend in such a way?

“So do we talk about this or just watch the movie?” she asked, reaching into the giant tub of popcorn he’d prepared.

He propped his feet upon the footrest of his own oversized leather chair and threw her a smile. “I knew you wouldn’t be able to just relax and watch the movie.”

Relax? After what had just happened? Her body was still trembling and her orgasm had stopped twenty minutes ago. Yeah, definite skills. But even through the climax-induced haze, she had to know what he was thinking. She didn’t care if that was too girly and mushy for him, she couldn’t just pretend this moment hadn’t changed her life.

“Do you feel different?” she asked, turning in her chair to face him.

A wicked grin spread across his handsome, devilish face. “Oh, yeah.”

With a playful swat on his arm, she laughed. “Stefan, be serious. We’re married and we just had sex.”

“Just sex?” he asked, quirking one black brow.

Images of how they must’ve looked slammed into her. His golden, toned body plastering hers against the wall as she arched into his touch. Her glorious Greek prince staking his claim, dominating her.

“Okay, so it was amazing sex,” she admitted as tingles continued to spread through her. “This isn’t going to be weird now, is it? Because I really can’t handle weird.”

“The way you were groaning earlier and the way you’re smiling now, I’d say you feel anything but weird.”

Victoria rolled her eyes. “You’re begging for compliments, aren’t you? I already said it was great sex. I just don’t want this to get uncomfortable between us.”

He reached out, grabbed her hand and squeezed. “I care for you just as much as I always have,” he assured her, all joking gone from his face. “You’re still my best friend, but I’ve discovered that my best friend has a kick-ass body that I can’t wait to take my time in savoring and getting to know better.”

Chills and excitement coursed through her at his promise. If he was this confident, than why was she letting fear spread through her? Why borrow trouble when she’d just had the most incredible sexual experience of her life?

“I think this marriage is going to be one of the wisest decisions we ever made,” she told him.

As the movie started on the screen, Stefan held on to her hand, occasionally stroking his thumb across her skin. The man had a tender side, and he wasn’t afraid to express himself. They’d held hands before, but holding them after being so intimate took on a whole new meaning.

If the next six months of their marriage were anything like tonight, she’d certainly think twice about walking away. She may just be queen of Galini Isle forever.

“You picked my favorite movie,” she told him as the title popped up on the screen. “You had this whole night planned, didn’t you?”

He shrugged and grinned. “I actually had the movie planned because I thought you’d want to get back some sense of normalcy after the circus today. The sex was just a major added bonus.”

“Oh, you have such pretty words,” she mocked with a heavy sigh. “Watch it, Stefan, I may not find it in my heart to leave you after six months.”