The next couple of hours passed surprisingly well, Jane thought. Harry took to Savannah immediately, but George was somewhat more distant, focused on his notebook whenever possible, but even he couldn’t deny that the food she served them all was wonderful. It was clear that Savannah wasn’t interested in prying for the details on how they met—she was very much a woman of the present, and the wedding discussion dominated the dinner conversation that night.
“Anyway, you two get settled in John’s room,” said Savannah eventually, breaking from her wedding planning frenzy. “I’ll keep these two busy putting some meat on their bones—I’ve got a special dessert in mind just for them.”
Harry looked positively euphoric. He had a chronic sweet tooth.
“She means that,” John said. “Come on, honey. I’ll show you where our room is.”
John’s room was exactly what Jane had expected. Some memorabilia was showcased on one wall. A wide curio cabinet held his many awards. The window panes took up most of the far wall, giving them a gorgeous view of the city. She looked around, taking it all in. It still felt surreal.
Is this really happening?
They started putting away their belongings. Jane wondered how long they’d be staying here. “John,” she said as she finished folding the few clothes she’d brought with her into a drawer. John had just tossed most of his into the closet after slipping his shoes off. He wasn’t terribly domestic.
He raised an eyebrow at her.
“John, I... if your mom’s anything to go by, your family seems really very nice. And welcoming—I’d never have thought a Vegas wedding could be so well-received by an in-law.”
“Mom takes care of us,” John said with a smile as he unbuttoned his shirt. Jane tried not to stare at the rippling abs that were revealed beneath. Despite his job not being particularly intensive, John’s body was impeccable. Every one of those muscles she’d felt underneath his clothes was even more impressive in person. “Like I said, we’re a close-knit family, and you’re part of that now.”
“That’s the thing,” Jane said, biting her lip a moment. “I love how she gets along with the twins, and this place is absolutely wonderful, but…” Jane couldn’t help but feel utterly wretched over what she’d done. Her plan had seemed so necessary, so bulletproof when she devised it, but now that everyone was playing along with it so well, that John’s family was being so welcoming, she felt like the worst person in the world.
All that and more was written on her face, and Jane knew John could read it as plain as day, but she couldn’t bring herself to form the words.
“I just want you to know that this doesn’t need to be permanent. I mean, look at me,” she gestured to herself, “At the end of the day, I’m just an ordinary waitress, and you’re…” she gestured to John’s godlike body as he crossed his arms, his unbuttoned shirt hanging loosely off his bulging muscles and dark skin. “You’re John Alexander,” she half-laughed-half-breathed. “And you’re a good person. I can tell. You don’t deserve this. And I know I don’t deserve you,” she added, then lowered her eyes, as she was sitting on the bed. “John... you can end this. The wedding might be enough of a public display to keep my uncle at bay. Afterwards, you can say I cheated on you on the honeymoon. Drop me and the twins off somewhere and you’ll never hear from us again. It could be a quiet, uncontested divorce, and—”
John raised her chin to meet his face as he pressed his lips into her, silencing her. She inhaled sharply at the interruption, but her hand met his side as he flattened himself into her, pushing her gently down onto the bed behind them.
Jane was totally caught off-guard, but her body had been screaming for this from the moment they’d been pressed together in the cramped taxi. God, did she want this. But she also felt so guilty for going through with it. John’s tongue dove into her mouth and explored her, and she couldn’t help but allow it, greedily.
There was a hardness between his legs that Jane felt pressing against her. All of this felt so wrong. So why did she want it so badly? Her mother had tried so hard to impress upon her those Bronte novels, full of chaste romances and confessions of affection. She’d always loathed them, but they held fast in her conscience, and to have this man she’d blackmailed pinning her to the bed, his animalistic desires rumbling in his chest, just barely held back by the stunning man that he was... it was too much.
“Jane,” he whispered in a husky voice, “I meant it when I said that when I marry, I marry for life. Maybe you don’t believe me, but I want to prove that to you,” he said as his hand trailed down to her pants, his strong finger stroking dangerously close to her pussy. “But am I right in thinking you want to believe me?” He moved his mouth to Jane’s ear and growled softly, “I can make that happen. Right here. Right now.”
He could smell her arousal, Jane knew. He was a shifter. A tiger. Thanks to her time working underground, living out of the public eye, she knew all about the world of men who could become beasts. They had heightened senses, even in their human forms. He knew Jane’s body wanted this.
But body and mind are totally different things. He was just waiting, waiting for those words she so desperately wanted to let spill out of her mouth. Fuck, her hips were already unconsciously pushing up against that huge, hard bulge she felt in his pants.
“John, I—”
A creak at the door interrupted her, and both of them snapped their attention to the entrance, where a pair of identical faces had just appeared.
Damnit, Harry!
Immediately, she pushed on John’s chest to get him off her, and he rolled to the side in compliance.
“Hey, look George,” said Harry innocently. “Janey and John are wrestling.”
George pushed his glasses up, correcting. “No, I believe they are about to attempt what adults call sexual intercourse.”
“What’s that?” Harry turned back to John. “You’re not hurting my sister, are you?”
John looked as if he was about to laugh but resisted at the very last second. “Just a little, but she’s going to love it.“ He
winked.
“Out! All of you.” Jane shoved her brothers out of the room. “You too.” She pulled John off the bed and pushed him to the door.
“Why me? What did I do?” her new husband protested.