24. Chapter 24
Chapter 24
-Kace-
I t was not my fault that my wife’s breasts were such an invitation or that she wore clothes that definitely made them the sole focus for anyone. I mean, could she really blame me for looking?
They were right there, and she had attacked me this time, getting me worked up. Of course, I was not focused anymore. But I hadn’t minded the distraction.
“Just because they are at eye level, I still need your focus,” she told me.
“You kissed me,” I argued.
“Yes, so we wouldn’t argue.”
“Oh, so from now on, when we argue, you will kiss me?” I teased.
“Why not? It works when we are in disagreement,” she pointed out.
“It won’t really fix anything, will it?” I pointed out.
She sighed and began shaking her head. “No, I guess you’re right about that.”
“I'm trying to be supportive,” I said, squeezing her hip a little and bringing her closer, hearing the little gasp that left her lips. “But you asked me to be prepared for this dinner. I'm trying to help.”
“You shouldn’t be mean about it,” she scolded.
“I'm not. Just honest.”
“Your honesty can hurt, but I will try to sit straighter. Satisfied?”
“It was for your sake that I said it as well,” I told her.
“I know why you said it. Can’t have a wife that doesn’t look perfect,” she mocked, and I squeezed her hip harder this time, making her hiss as it hurt a little. “Ouch! What was that for?”
“Don’t do that. Don’t turn this against me or act like I'm asking you to be some superwife who does everything perfectly and looks flawless. I'm not your family, so don’t compare me to them,” he reminded me.
Annabella looked shocked, not expecting the commanding tone I would use on her, but I didn’t want to be compared to the likes of her family.
“Sorry,” she whispered. “You’re right. I shouldn’t have done that.”
“We will be fine at the dinner,” I told her. “We just need to prove we have made this work in a short matter of time, yes?”
She nodded.
“Maybe you should even sit on my lap,” I suggested.
She began laughing, shaking her head, but a nicer energy spread throughout the room. I leaned closer, kissing her neck lightly, before pulling back and bringing her lips to mine.
“That would definitely make them believe us,” I whispered before kissing her again, feeling how warm it made me, and hearing the soft whimper leave her. “We should practice looking in love, right?”
“What?” she asked, pulling back. “In love?”
“Making it look like it.”
“That’s a bit over the top. No one is going to buy that!”
“Some people fall that fast, but you’re probably right. We just shouldn’t be scared to touch,” I murmured, running my fingers through her hair and feeling how soft it was.
“Oh, in front of my family?”
“Why not?” I asked. “Are you scared of making them see how your husband makes your cheeks pink?”
Right on cue, her cheeks turned pinker as I spoke in that lower, seductive voice.
“I… I…” she stammered.
I moved to her ear. “Or how wet he makes you?”
“Kace!” She pushed me back, making me laugh. She was still not quite ready to go there, but I knew I had turned her on. “Focus!”
“I’m very focused. We are practicing, right?” I teased.
“Practicing? This is practicing?”
“Yes, getting you comfortable with my touch,” I explained, placing my hand on her thigh and sliding it higher so it disappeared under her dress. She grabbed my hand and looked at me scoldingly.
“You’re not putting your hands on me like that in front of my parents.”
“Why not? You said your sister would take a swing at our intimacy. Should I not prove I can satisfy my wife?”
Annabella went completely red and then hurried off my lap, making me laugh. It seemed like the daring Annabella from last night had gone to sleep because now I barely had to say anything, and she would grow embarrassed. It was adorable, though.
“Maybe… Maybe don’t be that obvious in front of my parents. I don’t need them to wonder if we’ve already had sex!” she exclaimed.
“You just said your sister would come after us,” I countered as she sat down.
“Yes, but that would be an extreme response. Maybe don’t touch me so intimately during the dinner,” she suggested.
I chuckled a little and nodded. “Very well, I won’t finger my wife while we eat.”
Annabella cleared her throat, growing even redder, but I was having the time of my life. God, I hoped Annabella was real. I hoped this wasn’t the fake side I was seeing or that the materialistic and shallow one would suddenly appear as she distanced herself even more from her family.
“Could you not?” she asked.
“What? It’s what it is called,” I teased.
“But that doesn’t mean you have to say it like that. You could just say touch.”
I chuckled, still having the time of my life, but I knew my wife would be subjected to another test soon. When she suggested we go ring shopping, I immediately grew a little suspicious. Was it only because of her sister, or was Annabella hungry for a big, shiny diamond ring?
“Touch wouldn’t have been so interesting,” I told her.
Annabella rolled her eyes and crossed her arms before focusing on me again. “Anyway, we should just be prepared for insults directed at me.”
“You’re forgetting that I'm not the same person anymore. They will come for me too,” I reminded her.
“I really don’t think you will be their main target. They sent me here for a reason.”
“Yes, to get you stuck with me, who they now look down on.”
“I don’t.”
“I know,” I said, smiling at her. “I know you don’t look down on me, but we have to be prepared for how others will look at me, remember?”
She sighed and nodded, leaning a little to the side and placing her chin in her hand.
“I wish people weren’t so mean,” she whispered.
“I'm sorry you never knew what they thought of you,” I said.
“Do… Do you think I can ever face them?”
She looked down at the rings on her fingers, and I saw she wasn’t wearing the one Zac had given her anymore. She kept spinning them around, that little nervous trait of hers coming back. I understood her fears, but we would have to face them.