Kat
We pull into a huge cabin on the mountain and I can’t stop staring, my mouth hanging open.
“What?” he asks.
I wave my hand at the house. “Seriously? That’s the biggest building I’ve ever seen in my life!” I eye him suspiciously. “Do you have another family hidden away in there? Because there’s no way that that space is just for one person.”
He avoids my eyes and little alarm bells clang in my head. “I have my offices here too. For work. I have to go in to the main office every week or so and do some catch-up work and stuff but most of my work now is done from home.”
“Humph!” I snort. “Must be nice.”
“I’d say so.” His charming smile slips a little bit and I see worry behind his dark eyes.
“Is there something wrong? Something you’re not telling me?”
He shakes his head and I swear the surprise in his eyes is real. “No. Absolutely nothing.”
I start to open the door and step out but he grabs my arm and holds on. I glance down and his fingers feel like fire on my skin, electric sparks shooting all over my body.
“Just wait. I’ll come get you in a moment. I know I kind of put you on the spot before. I need to make sure that you’re on board with this. That you want….this.”
I suck in a breath, careful to keep it quiet although it seems like he can read me like a book. It sounds like he’s asking if I want him. Not if I want this situation.
And the only answer to that is a resounding hell yeah!
I can’t let him know that though. If you give a man, any man, the power over you, you’ve lost. Him and your own future. That’s one lesson that I learned the hard way. John took my heart, my soul and then decimated me in the eyes of our hometown. I’m not about to let any man do that to me again.
“I’m good with what you want.”
“Good.” He pushes the door open and comes around, lifting me easily out of the seat, not even huffing out a breath.
“Whoa! What the hell are you doing?”
“Carrying my bride into her new home.” He smirks and hefts me up, his fingers digging into my thighs and shoulder.
“That’s not necessary. Trust me. I can walk. And this isn’t our wedding day.”
“Close enough. I’ve already talked to the minister and gotten all the paperwork done. We’re getting married tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow?” I squeak, stalling for time.
“Yep. No time like the present, I always say.”
“I thought we’d have a few weeks to get used to each other. Test the waters out.”
“I told you. I don’t have that kind of time.”
“Are you dying or something? Because that is something you should definitely tell me if you are.”
“I’m not dying. I’m healthy as a horse in fact. I just don’t have a lot of time usually and I marked time off on the calendar right now.”
“Okay. I guess that’s all right.”
“Good. I think getting all of this out of the way is for the best so we can settle into our married life.”
“Right.” He steps onto the huge wrap-around porch built with big, dark logs and then shifts to open the door with one hand.
“Damn,” I whimper under my breath.