His throat choked as he pulled away from the brief kiss.
Eve, his lying ex-mistress, his hated enemy, was now his wife.
Her big blue eyes shone up at him with such hope and joy, the color of bluebells and violets. He could almost feel the sunlight when he touched her. His longing for her was no longer just about lust, but something more. He longed for her warmth. He could almost hear the laughter of children—his children—bounding through a brightly lit meadow amid cascading sunlight in her innocent promise of happiness.
Lies, he told himself harshly. The woman in front of him, the woman he’d just married, did not really exist.
His hands clenched into fists. She made him want something more. She made him want things he’d never had.
A family.
A home.
This was even more insidious than her earlier betrayal. This kind, loving version of Eve was just an illusion. If he ever allowed himself to care for her, if he ever allowed himself to trust, he would be the biggest fool to walk the earth.
Because as soon as she regained her memory, this woman would disappear. And any day now, she would become the treacherous, selfish woman he remembered.
During the wedding dinner after the ceremony, he watched Eve as she held the baby and entertained three-year-old Ruby. Talos couldn’t take his eyes off his bride’s radiant beauty—or stop wondering at her generous spirit. The dinner was deliberately simple, homemade pasta and wine from the Navarres’ own vintage.
Toward the end of the dinner, Roark and Lia toasted their anniversary with champagne in a private moment, while Eve, still dressed in her simple wedding gown, cuddled their sleeping baby and kept the little girl entertained with charming fairy tales made up out of the air.
What a mother she would make, Talos found himself thinking as he watched her. What a wife she would make.
Against his will, his gaze fell upon the neckline and bodice of her gown. His eyes traced her creamy skin, the lush breasts plumped forward as she leaned over to pick a toy from the stone floor.
He wanted Eve so much it hurt. He ached to caress h
er. His body tightened painfully, his hand gripping the crystal goblet of red wine.
“Talos?” With a questioning look, Eve placed her small, slender hand over his. Her caress and the tender expression of her impossibly beautiful shining face caused a shock wave to go through him.
And he suddenly realized that this sweetly loving woman was more dangerous than the seductive, sexy mistress had ever been.
He wanted her. All of her.
In his bed.
In his life.
He hungered for the dream she offered him. Hungered for her illusion to be true. Most of all, he hungered for the bedroom he knew awaited them in the guest wing of the castle, festooned with rose petals, candles and soft sheets.
No, he told himself furiously. He couldn’t give in!
Ripping his hand away from Eve’s, he crashed the crystal goblet down so hard on the table that it cracked, exploding red wine all over the wood like blood.
Three-year-old Ruby cried out in shock.
Roark and Lia, who’d been cuddled at the other end of the table with intimate, private laughter, looked up with a gasp.
“Sorry,” Talos muttered. He rose to his feet. “Sorry.”
Staring at their faces, he backed away.
“What is it?” Eve whispered. “What’s wrong?”
He had the sudden image of her pale, frightened face.
“We have to go,” he ground out. He focused on his friends behind her. Roark and Lia had gone far beyond the call of duty to create a fairytale wedding for them with only a few hours’ notice, though they had their own responsibilities with their young children; though they had their own anniversary to celebrate. “Thanks for arranging our wedding.”