7. Wyatt
7
WYATT
“What have you been doing?” Matthias asks me, finding me in the library, hiding away among all the books. Books, I might add, that are all about history and law. Nothing else, it seems.
I may have to find some porn and stick it between the stacks—let him or his guests find it and be appalled.
The thought makes me giddy as I hear the man himself approach. Rain hits the window outside and my gaze turns from the gray sky to the man in a gray suit stopping in front of me. His hands are in his pockets, his head cocked slightly to the right.
I could tell him about my exploits around the outside of the house, about the muddy footprint I put right on his pillow.
But I don’t. I’ll let him find out on his own. Maybe he’ll sleep on it out of pure stubbornness. But knowing him, he probably won’t ever notice.
It’s not like he seemed to notice me disappearing from his life all those years ago.
“Nothing,” I reply finally. “This house is a mausoleum.”
“What a compliment,” he murmurs, and I feel my fists tightening near my sides.
“Everything is dead and dreary, just like you.”
His lips twitch and then he’s before me, his hand against my neck, holding me firmly. “And yet, I’m your husband. So you better get used to pretending to like me.”
I wet my lips as my pulse thrums under my skin, right against his thumb.
“I’ll do what I have to,” I hiss and then glance away when his finger brushes my skin softly before pulling away.
“Good. And we can start by you joining me for dinner.”
“I’m not hungry.”
“You will eat,” he bites out and then turns on his heel, just expecting that I’ll follow him. I don’t. He asked for a husband, not a dog. I just stand there until he finally turns around, his lips in a straight line, dark eyes flashing.
“If you don’t join me, I’ll make you. And you won’t like how I accomplish it.”
My heart thuds in my chest and I feel my jaw tick in annoyance. Still, I don’t move.
“Come on, Wy. Don’t make me tie you to a chair and feed you myself.” He pauses and his lips quirk. “Although, I don’t think that would be so bad.”
Of course he’d think that. He’d probably enjoy the humiliation that it would bring me. Fucker.
My stomach grumbles, so I reluctantly put one foot in front of the other, and let him lead me to the dining room. Starving myself isn’t going to change anything. That’s the only reason I’m following him. Not because of what he threatened.
When we step inside the dining room, I don’t even attempt to hide my eye roll. Of course it’s opulent. I already knew this, having walked around this space just hours ago. My eyes roamed over the fine china in the cabinets lining the wall, the large windows overlooking the grounds and the large acacia wood table with six chairs on either side and one on each end. It looks like it was taken right out of a period piece. He probably sits at the end like some kind of king while his staff waits on him.
Still, I let him see my reaction. Let him see how ridiculous I think this way of life is. Even when I had money, I never lived like this.
Not that I was ever in the same tax bracket as Matthias. The Buckinghams come from old money. Given what Matthias said about needing to marry for his inheritance, it’s likely a fortune he’ll be acquiring soon.
Figures. Rich people always want more. What they have is never enough.
He pulls out a chair right next to the head of the table, just to the side of him, but I ignore it, strolling to the seat on the opposite side, as far away from him as possible. He says nothing about it, just takes his seat and folds his hands before him.
This is so fucking weird. As much as I want to sit in silence, I’ll take anything over this stilted awkwardness.
“Is this how dinners were growing up?” I ask. My words are supposed to cut him, but instead, he just shrugs.
“Of course. When you grow up like I did, everything is done properly.”
I bristle at that. I know I wasn’t raised like that. What’s more, he knows that. Does that mean he looked down on me the entire time we were friends? Did he secretly mock me when I wasn’t around?
The thought worsens my already dark mood and I find myself shifting anxiously on the cushion.
Maybe I should spill something. Make him have to pay to get it cleaned.
“Well, I feel sorry for you,” I spit out and then turn my gaze away from him, staring at the grain of the wood beneath my hands.
Matthias says nothing as the food is wheeled in by Jules and another waiter. This time, I hold back my eye roll. I don’t want to offend them, it’s not their fault they work for Matthias. God, how is this my life?
Oh right. I left a note under a fucking brick.
Jackson.
I take a steadying breath, focusing on that. My brother. He’s getting the care he needs. When he’s out, he will have a safe, warm place to sleep and food in his belly.
His messages today have been brimming with excitement. Hope. Like he can finally see a future for himself.
That’s all that matters. If I just remember him, I can make this work. I can fulfill my part of the bargain, and then I can put this behind me entirely.
Like it never even happened.
“For the appetizer,” Jules says as he sweeps the lid off a plate and then sighs when he sees how far apart we are.
Part of me feels bad for making his job harder, but that’s not my fault. This is Matthias’s. He put me in this position. He insisted that we marry, despite knowing it was me wearing his ring. Jules is going to have to get used to this.
“Goat cheese and salami stuffed dates,” Jules says and then peers over at Matthias, who makes no attempt to move closer to me. Well, I refuse to be the one to cave.
Jules leaves it alone, saying nothing as he sets a cup of water near me and the other server sets one next to Matthias.
“Would you like a drink other than water?” Jules asks, and I see Matthias watching me closely.
“How about something strong,” I say as I pick up a date and set it on my plate.
“Right, any preference?” Jules asks, and I shake my head.
“Just the most expensive.”
He grins at me, and I see Matthias’s lips tremble across the table. I hope they fall off. I hope he wakes up and they’re no longer on his face. Damn man, always smirking like he’s making fun of me.
Well, he can fuck off.
I watch Jules and the other man leave, and I’m left alone with him once more.
I stare at the date and then purse my lips. I could let it go to waste, but my stomach rumbles and I know I have to eat. I can’t just wither away to nothing. Jackson needs me.
He needs me to survive this.
It’s the only reason I’m able to bring this food to my lips and take a bite, knowing that Matthias is watching me intently the entire time. Flavor explodes on my tongue and I swallow a moan. Fuck, this is good. I get why he hired Jules.
“Have more,” Matthias says, and that just makes me not want to, but my hand reaches for them nonetheless, putting two more on my plate. Matthias pushes his chair back and stalks toward me, filling his own plate and making his way back to the opposite end of the table. He takes small dainty bites as his eyes flick up to meet mine.
“What do you think? Or do you suddenly hate cheese now too?”
My jaw works back and forth as I put more of the date into my mouth, not responding. Asshole.
Jules reappears, setting down my drink and a bowl of French onion soup before me, and my stomach rumbles in excitement. I haven’t had food like this in ages. Not that I show it to Matthias. I just school my face as I take a sip, trying to play it cool.
The rest of dinner proceeds the same way.
Salad, main course, and dessert. I eat more in one meal than in the previous week combined.
By the time dinner is over, I’m stuffed, my head swimming slightly from the two drinks I consumed. I couldn’t afford alcohol when everything went to shit, so my tolerance for it has dissipated.
“Seems you enjoyed dinner,” Matthias says from across the table.
I try not to lick the plate that’s before me. Whatever dessert that was, it was to die for. I feel slightly nauseated as my stomach tries to adjust to the sheer amount of food. “It was passable.”
Matthias lounges back in his chair, his smirk reappearing like he sees my bullshit and enjoys it. “I’ll make sure you’re fed like this every day.”
“Great,” I say sarcastically. “You better have a gym then.”
His smirk deepens. “You didn’t find it in your wanderings earlier? I thought you explored everywhere. Everywhere except where I was, obviously.”
My fingers dig into the table as I fight my temper. Has the fucker been watching me?
I raise my chin, refusing to let him get the upper hand. “Actually, I think I’ll get a membership somewhere else. Assuming I’m allowed to leave the house, that is.”
“You’re not a prisoner, Wy,” he drawls, getting to his feet. His back is to me as he pours a glass of whiskey. I hear the ice clink in the glass and I’m tempted to ask for one. But my still-swimming head suggests that’s not a good idea. “You’re free to come and go as much as you choose. You can even come back to work at Lawson and Buckingham if you want.”
I ignore the casual invitation, as though he wasn’t behind my firing in the first place. Like fuck am I going back there as his husband.
I know what they’ll assume—that I earned the job on my knees. Fuck that.
I direct my ire in another direction. “So long as I come back at the end of the night.”
It’s not a question.
“Yes.” Matthias’s eyes are dark as he turns to face me, leaning back against the sideboard. “Like I said before, you’re to share a bed with me. That requires you to be here to sleep. And, in case you need a reminder, this will be a monogamous marriage.”
I hate the amusement in his eyes, the fact that he knows that it bothers me to share a bed with him. He’s playing with me, and here I am, dancing to his tune.
Well, two can play at this game.
Getting to my feet, I stretch, noting how Matthias’s eyes linger on the sliver of skin revealed at the bottom of my shirt.
Not attracted to me, my ass.
With a self-satisfied smirk, I stroll over to him until my shoes are on either side of his. I’m so close to him that I may as well be straddling him.
Matthias goes deathly still, the only sign of surprise a slight widening of his eyes.
Taking the glass from his hand, I take a healthy glug of his whiskey. A few drops slip free, running down my lip. I make a great show of licking them away, noting how Matthias’s gaze hungrily tracks the movement of my tongue.
I lean into him as I put the glass down next to him, letting our chests brush for a moment. I don’t know if it’s the fury he’s raised in me, or the alcohol I’ve consumed, but something makes me brave. It makes me want to taunt him.
Bracing my hand on his shoulder, I bring my mouth close to his ear. “Oh, I’ll sleep with you, Matthias. But that’s all that’s going to be happening—sleeping. You can close your eyes every night, knowing that I’m beside you. Knowing that it’s as close as you’ll ever be to me, that you can be as hard as you like, but you won’t get any relief. Not from me.”
Matthias inhales sharply, but I continue before he can speak. “This will be a monogamous marriage, husband , but it’ll also be a sexless one. Remember that as I go to sleep beside you. As you wake up to see me every morning. As you hear me jerk off in your bathroom. You can look, Matthias. But you can’t touch.”
His breathing is ragged now, his pulse jumping in his neck.
Finally. I’ve gotten to him.
Stepping back, I shoot him a wink. “It’s going to be a long year, Matthias. Good thing we’re used to playing together. Try to keep up. I dare you.”
The words slip from my mouth before I realize what I’m saying. The phrase that once chased us through woods and over hills.
Simple words, but they mean more than they should. They always have.
I swallow, refusing to look at Matthias, refusing to let him see that the turn of phrase has had any effect on me.
Pushing it to the back of my mind, I walk away, not looking back at him, but knowing he’s staring at me. Is it because of what I said? Is he too trying not to remember what we once were? Before the reality of the world cut our friendship off at the knees?
The world didn’t do that. Matthias did.
That’s right. I can’t let myself forget it.
I stiffen my spine, adding a sway into my hips as I walk. I can almost feel his gaze burning into my ass, the knowledge making me smirk.
Matthias might think he holds the upper hand, but he’s forgotten who he’s playing with. I might’ve lost my spirit, but the more time I spend around him, the more it returns.
And I’m not here to fuck around.
I’m here to win.