Wicked As He Comes (Tiger in Her Bed)

The wedding was short and sweet. The little musty room everyone crammed into was hardly what Jane had imagined for her special day, but it suited their purposes just fine.

The twins served in their roles as ring-bearers wonderfully. Harry might have been more enthusiastic, but Jane realized that he’d picked up on her awkwardness around John, and he must have thought it meant she was not happy with him.

In truth, she didn’t know what to feel about all this. She was in too deep, far too deep—that much was as plain as day. However, it hadn’t exactly been a terrible arrangement thus far, and she looked better than she’d felt in months in the gown he’d bought for her.

And she had to admit, she thought as she looked at the tall, dark man standing opposite her in front of the ordained minister, looking like an exotic god in his casual yet cutting-edge suit, there were some aspects of the wedding she couldn’t complain about.

“Do you, Jane Sinclair, take John Alexander as your lawfully wedded husband?”

“I do,” Jane said, allowing herself to enjoy the moment, temporarily at least.

“And do you, John Alexander, take Jane Sinclair to be your lawfully wedded wife?”

“Absolutely,” he said in a low, husky voice that seemed to hit Jane in the gut with soothing warmth. She was embarrassed to feel her cheeks flushing, to John’s apparent delight.

“Then by the power vested in me, I now pronounce you man and wife. You may now kiss the bride.”

Jane felt like she was gliding through a dream as John stepped forward without hesitation, wrapping a hand around her hips and pulling her forward into him. She yielded to him totally as she saw him bringing those perfect lips of his down towards hers, and for a brief instant, she forgot that this was an arrangement, that she was blackmailing him, and her lips parted to make way for him as their mouths pressed together.

Warmth shot through her body with alarming energy, and she wrapped her arms around him as the scattered crowd, mostly strangers, clapped for the two of them.

But as soon as it had come, the moment disappeared as John pulled away, smiling at her. There was something animalistic to that look, a glimmer of hunger in his eyes.

Through the clapping, John leaned in to whisper into Jane’s ear…

“Now if we want to make this really official, there’s one more thing to do,” he said as he gave her hand a meaningful squeeze.

Jane’s face flushed. “Wh- what? I mean, um, I—”

“You’re my wife, Jane,” said John, and even though Jane was fighting to maintain her distance mentally, the words spilling out of that stupidly handsome mouth of his made her heart beat all the faster. “And I’m going to give you everything a loving husband ought to give his bride, and more.”

She gave her head a light shake, as if trying to wake herself up. “N-no, not yet. I don’t know if I…” She bit her lip. “I’m sorry.”

Nevertheless, he gave a kind smile. “No? And here I was thinking you wanted a marriage with all the perks. But like I said,” he added, his fingers playing at her hips, increasingly inappropriate, given that they were the center of attention right now. “Now that you’re my wife, I’m all yours. Every part of me.”

Jane swallowed, trying to ignore the rising feeling in her chest. “Well... now that this is done, I wanted to tell you... this is mostly a formality. I... I won’t make you keep this up forever. Just until the twins turn eighteen. Just until I know they’re safe.”

“What? Oh no, darling,” said John, turning to walk with her down the aisle with his arm wrapped around her waist, “I’m afraid I don’t do formalities.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, Mrs. Jane Alexander,” he said with emphasis and a playful smile, “when an Alexander marries, it’s for life.”

Two

“I hope it isn’t a bad sign that she isn’t meeting us at the airport,” Jane said as the four of them rolled their meager luggage out the airport doors. “I know these aren’t the ideal circumstances to meet her under, but I’d hate to make a bad impression…”

John smiled as he raised a hand to hail a cab, after checking to make sure the twins were close by their side. “No, you don’t have to worry about that. Trust me, if mother doesn’t like you, she’ll let you know.”

That didn’t seem to comfort Jane very much, and she gave a half-smile as a cab pulled over, and the driver got out to help them load everything into the trunk. As they did, she gave her new husband a once-over, head to toe. “And I suppose just about everyone in your family is as... nice as you? I think I saw Quinn in the newspaper on one or two occasions. He looks formidable.”

Despite traveling across the country on a plane, John managed to look so effortlessly hot. His hair was tied back in a messy ponytail, springs of it breaking free here and there, and stubble scattered across his chin. He’d rolled up his sleeves and put away his blazer for the trip, but despite the messy look, he never seemed to be lacking in energy, acting as bright and affable as he had when they were having breakfast.

“You could say that,” John said. There was that fierce glint in his emerald eyes again. He couldn’t possibly know that she knew his secret, but that didn’t stop him from holding back his predatory instincts. “You’ll see for yourself, don’t worry.”

“That’s exactly what I’m worried about,” Jane said with a deep breath.

One taxi ride later, Jane could hardly believe her eyes when the car came to a stop at a ritzy apartment building on 5th Avenue. “You’re kidding me,” she breathed as the group clambered out of the car.