Chapter 6
SIX
FOSTER
Present
I listened to the elevator doors slide open. Someone exhaled, then their footsteps moved down the hall. I leaned back in my seat at the kitchen table and waited.
I’d been looking forward to this evening all day long.
Even more so after I’d found the little surprises she’d left for me in my bathroom.
“What did you do?”
Shock and vitriol dripped from Aurora’s words.
Satisfaction filled my chest.
She stomped through the apartment, going room to room until she found me.
Her cheeks were pink from the cold. Whether it was from the cold outside, or the cold frustration pumping through her veins, I couldn’t say.
Either way I loved the way the blush carried down her neck.
I couldn’t see much more of her skin beneath her coat, even though it was unbuttoned. But I could see that she was wearing more vibrant, flowing clothing.
This time it was two matching pieces, a shirt and skirt the color of pine needles in a winter forest. In contrast, her pale skin looked white as snow.
She clenched her jaw so tightly that I caught a twitch near her temple. Her nostrils flared.
She was positively irate.
Then, she noticed the dinner I’d prepared.
I watched as her expression transformed from fury to confusion.
She blinked and sucked in a breath.
Observing her mood was my new favorite hobby. She made every thought obvious. She was an open book.
She crossed her arms and glared. “Where’s my bedroom door?”
“You mean my bedroom door? I removed it.”
“That’s….”
I waited as she sputtered and searched for words.
“Idiotic,” she said. “Why would you do that?”
“You locked me out of my own bedroom. Now that can’t happen again.”
She took a breath and a moment before responding.
“Now neither of us can get dressed in there.” Her voice came out higher. Her words dragged longer with exasperation.
“I plan to.”
“You wouldn’t. I could watch you. You’ve completely removed all privacy from this apartment. Don’t you care that a stranger could watch you get naked?”
I knew I shouldn’t say it.
I knew I shouldn’t behave like this.
But Aurora brought out a side of me I hadn’t felt in a long time.
“You’re not a stranger,” I said. “You’re my wife.”
She shook her head and threw her hands up. “I can’t believe this. You trick me into marrying you, then force me to live here, and now you plan to expose yourself to me on a regular basis.”
“First, I didn’t trick you into marrying me. You’re the one who decided we should finish the scavenger hunt.”
She dropped her arms to her sides and stilled.
“That’s how it happened?” she asked, more softly. “The song and the garland?”
“Mistletoe, yes. I looked into it. Second, I’m not forcing you to do anything. You can choose to leave any time you want.”
“I can’t. Not with marriage hanging over me.”
“That’s a choice,” I said. “Third, if you don’t want to see me naked, you’re free to take the guest bedroom.”
She stared at me.
She said nothing.
I’d won this round of our little game.
Victory should have filled me with glee. But when Aurora twisted her lips and cast her gaze away from me, the ache in my chest didn’t feel like glee at all.
“Sit,” I told her. “It’s time for dinner.”
She slipped her coat off and hung it on the back of the closest chair, revealing her bare shoulders. Then, she took a seat.
I spooned salad onto her plate. It was hearty, with whole grain croutons, steak, blue cheese, and a rainbow of vegetables.
“How was your day?”
“Great while you were gone.” She frowned. Her stomach growled. Then more softly she said, “Not really. It actually sucked. My job hunt is not going well.”
It would be easy to blame Bertram.
This entire situation was his fault.
But it was mine, too.
I was the one who’d received the credit for her show. She’d been counting on the exhibit to springboard her career.
I knew all of this and I didn’t tell her.
Never say more than you need to. The rule had served me well my whole life. It had kept me safe, yet now….
The ache in my chest grew and sharpened until it felt like I’d swallowed the spiked ball at the end of a medieval mace.
“Have you talked to your mentor about the exhibition?” I asked.
“I wish. I can’t reach him.”
Unfortunate. I’d hoped he would answer her calls even though he hadn’t answered mine.
It needed to be Bertram who explained the truth to her, not me.
She considered him her ally.
She considered me her enemy.
“But that’s not surprising,” she said. “He’s prone to disappearing for long periods of time.”
I was doing what I could to fix her situation while I waited for Bertram to talk to her.
I’d made calls and set up the first date I could for an interview.
Aurora took a bite of salad, and her face lit up. Clearly she was pleased with the taste, but she looked down at the table, probably hoping I wouldn’t notice.
After she swallowed, she looked at me and said, “How was your day?”
That was a surprise. I hadn’t expected her to ask.
I said, “Productive.”
She nodded knowingly. “Put a bunch of innocent people in jail?”
Is that really what she thought of me?
I said, “I’m not that kind of lawyer.”
“Steal homes from the elderly then?”
There was a glimmer of mischief in her big blue eyes. She was teasing, but only partly. She was also sniping, searching for weakness.
“I’m a corporate lawyer,” I said.
She scrunched her nose. “Making evil…mergers?”
“I work with startups. Filing paperwork is a large part. I also help with perfecting pitches to interest investors.”
“Tell me at least the inventions are evil, like squeaky shoe inserts or a machine that can make any soft sweater instantly itchy.”
She certainly didn’t lack creativity.
“Sounds like the kinds of things you’d use on me if you could,” I said.
Her eyes lit up in delight. She pressed her lips together so she wouldn’t laugh.
I said, “More like eco-friendly spoons.”
“Huh. So your deviousness has to be more hidden in that kind of work. Market them as birthday cake flavored, when really they taste like anchovies.”
“That’s good, actually,” I said.
“So you admit to being evil.”
I chuckled. “No. Flavoring the spoons to make them stand out in the market. It could be exactly what we’re looking for. You should work for me.”
The words came out before I could think them over, or the implications.
She barked a laugh, heavy and with her whole body.
She needed work.
This was about helping her.
This was about helping me meet my client’s needs.
This had nothing to do with me wanting to spend more time with her.
“Tie myself more deeply to you? No thanks. You have enough power in this dynamic.” A smile curled over her lips, a smile that definitely meant trouble. “That doesn’t mean I’m powerless, so don’t get the wrong impression.”
“You mean the toothpaste on my sink? I already cleaned it up.”
Her smile didn’t lessen. If anything it grew wider.
“That’s not power. That’s a bonus,” she said. “What I mean is if I turn you in to the authorities, this whole marriage bargain is over.”
I had no idea what she was talking about. “Turn me in for what?”
“I know what you do during those late nights when you can’t sleep.”
My muscles tensed.
She couldn’t know.
I felt a faint twitch in my eyelid, a tiny, betraying movement.
I forced a smile, hoping it didn't look as strained as it felt.
“You do?” I asked in an even tone.
“I found the bag in the back of your closet.” She leaned forward, eyes lit up like a Christmas tree. “All those little disguises.”
Why was she in my closet?
Still calm, I asked, “What exactly do you think I use them for?”
“It’s not what I think. It’s what the police will think.”
Did she believe the art I created would get me arrested? If so, she was mistaken.
I said, “I don’t do anything illegal.”
“That’s not what your victims say,” she said.
Victims? As in the people who owned the buildings I’d painted?
“You’ve spoken to these supposed victims?” I asked.
“Well.” She licked her lips and leaned back.
She was bluffing.
She had no idea who I was or what I did at night.
The tension in my chest released with my exhale.
“I’ll tell you what,” I said, “if we make it through Christmas, I’ll show you.”
She shook her head. “No way.”
She was so emphatic. It made me curious.
“What is it you think I do?” I asked.
She shifted in her seat. “Bank robberies, probably.”
I barked a laugh. “It’s nothing like that.”
She watched me as she ate her salad. “What’s it like, then?”
“I’ll tell you when the time comes.”
After the interview.
After I made everything right.
She finished her food, slowly wiped her face with her napkin, then her expression hardened into determination.
Whatever it was she’d decided while eating, it hadn’t brought us closer together.
“This isn’t some old-timey marriage between us,” she said. “It’s a modern, fake marriage, and I have just as much power as you do.”
If anything, she had more.
“It’s not fake,” I said.
“Isn’t it though? If what you said is true, and you really had no idea that we were getting married, same as me, then neither of us signed on for this.”
“It’s still real,” I said, because for some reason I needed this. I was holding onto that legal technicality, and to our bond, because I liked her. It was utterly ridiculous.
“No qualms with me claiming to be in charge?” She raised a brow and rose from her seat.
None at all.
Still, I pressed, unable to help myself. “You can claim anything you like.”
She blinked, batting her thick eyelashes in surprise.
“I’ll prove that I have the power,” she said. “Me. I’m in charge.”
“To what end, Aurora?”
She pressed her lips together, like she wasn’t exactly sure.
Maybe neither of us knew what we were doing, or why we were clashing so hard or holding so tightly to each other. If she walked out that door, it would hurt me. If she genuinely asked me again now to sign the annulment, I might just do it.
But she didn’t.
Instead, she crossed over to my side of the table, pushed my plate away, and hopped up on the edge.
She gripped the edge of the table and leaned forward, bringing her face inches from mine.
She smelled like blueberries and chaos—absolutely intoxicating.
Her closeness flooded my senses, clouding rational thought.
Memories replayed through my head. I’d never forget how good it felt to be inside her or the sound of her moaning my name.
“Maybe I need this,” she said softly. “Maybe with my life spinning out of control, I need to prove to myself that I can take charge of this one thing.”
I wanted to grab onto her. I wanted to promise that everything would be all right. I wanted to flip her over on the edge of the table and make her come until she forgot every one of her worries.
“What are you taking command of?” I asked.
She reached forward to unbutton my shirt. I let her.
Each brush of her knuckles against my chest sent a pleasant zing across my skin. She leaned in closer, until there was only a twitch’s space between our lips.
Her breaths came fast. Her pupils dilated.
She said, “You.”
With that, she shot up from the table and strutted down the hall away from me.
Before I could think through any of what just happened, I chased after her.
I caught her in one quick motion, and gently pinned her to the wall.
I should let her go.
I should stop this before I crossed a line I couldn’t uncross.
“You think you’re in charge?” I asked.
Her irises seared me, taunted me. “Yes.”
She tilted her hips forward, rocking against my thigh.
I ran a finger down her cheek, barely holding her wrists in my other hand.
She could pull away if she wanted.
She could tell me to stop.
I ran my finger down her neck, down the front of her, between her breasts.
She gasped as I lowered my hand to her stomach. She was so soft there. She was soft everywhere.
I toyed with the elastic waistband of her skirt, just one finger slowly moving left to right against the top band of her panties.
“Do it,” she said, breathless. “Touch me.”
I wanted to. For her. For me.
She needed a win. She needed control.
I needed to remember that if she knew the truth, she’d hate me. If I let her in, she’d destroy me.
I couldn’t do it.
I released her and turned before I could see her expression.
My cock pressed hard against my fly.
My chest ached.
My hands shook.
I went to my bedroom, putting much needed space between us.
“Are you too chicken to take what you want?” she called after me, her tone bitter.
Yes. Because I’d tasted her once, and if I did it again now, I knew I’d be as lost as she was. There would be no turning back.