Chapter 22
The following morning, I woke to the gentle sway of the boat, and anempty bed. An array of feelings hit me like a tsunami as I looked around the room, memories of the night before crashing into me.
After last night, I felt closer to Nash. Something had shifted betweenus, something that felt very much like I was starting to develop feelings for him.
Like serious feelings.
Yet, I couldn’t let myself forget the reason I was in his bed with awedding ring on my finger, and the longer I stayed in bed replaying our night, the more conflicted I felt, and a heavy weight settled in my chest.
Feeling like the cabin was closing in on me, I jumped out ofbed, and forgoing a shower, I changed into the jeans and vest top I’d packed in my overnight bag before going on the hunt for Nash.
Maybe I could talk to him. Explain how I was feeling, and see if wecould work together to figure our marriage out.
Following the sound of his gravelly voice, I found him on the top deckwhich looked vastly different from the romantic setting we had during dinner. Gone were the candles and twinkling lights. Even the piano was nowhere to be seen.
As I walked toward Nash, the morning sun beamed down, and backat the marina, the sound of people coming to life ready for a day on the water echoed around us.
Nash had his back to me, his phone to his ear as he spoke, and Itook a minute to admire him.
He was missing his suit jacket, and the crisp white shirt was tautacross his broad back and shoulders, and through the material, I could make out the dark swirls of his tattoos. Tattoos I’d spent ages examining last night, right before he fucked me a second time.
My eyes dropped to his ass, the tight pants showcasing howtoned it was, and I sucked my bottom lip into my mouth to stop from groaning with want.
It was funny, or sad, depending on how you looked at it, but I’d neverhad the same reaction to Liam as what I did toward Nash.
As if he could feel my presence, Nash turned to face me. Continuinghis call, his eyes raked over my body, but unlike last night when they were filled with nothing but a dark desire, there was nothing but coldness.
“I’ll be in shortly,” he said, ending the call before stalking toward me,his face devoid of any emotion, making trepidation pool in my belly. “Good, you’re awake. We need to go,” he said impassively, making no attempt to give me a morning kiss.
“Okay, I’ll get my bag,” I replied, wondering who had pissed in hiscornflakes. Maybe something bad had happened at one of his resorts, but if it had, he didn’t need to be an ass to me.
He grunted at me before heading down the stairs. Following himsheepishly, I detoured into the bedroom to grab my bag. As soon as I was in the room, the smell of Nash and sex hit me, and the image of me sitting on his face flashed to mind.
Oh god.
Was he regretting last night? Was that why he was being so cold?
Shaking the image, and trying not to let insecurities take hold, Igrabbed my bag and made my way back upstairs. Nash was waiting at the front of the boat by the gangway, tapping his foot impatiently. When I reached him, he lowered himself into the waiting speed boat, not bothering to help me in.
I clambered in after him, ignoring the pang of hurt as the man who’dtaken us to the boat last night took us back to the marina. The ride didn’t take long, but the entire time Nash busied himself with his phone, not looking my way once.
I stared out at the horizon as we got further away from the yacht andcloser to the shoreline. The feeling that Nash was regretting last night grew deeper, and fuck, did that hurt me right down to my bones.
When the speedboat docked, the man who’d brought us back helpedme out after Nash stormed off. Meekly, I followed him to the waiting car where Brian stood with the doors open. I slid into the back while Nash got into the seat next to Brian, his face stoic and not giving anything away.
The ride home was silent, a thick tension growing in the car withevery passing second. I gazed out the window, not seeing the sights of Vegas because all I could worry about was what in the heck I had done to upset Nash.
I churned over everything that had happened last night in my head,trying to find the moment I might have done something to upset him. But after he fucked me a second time, we fell asleep with me wrapped in his arms, and before I fell asleep, I felt him kiss the top of my head and sigh in contentment.
So god only knew what had crawled up his ass this morning.
Surely it was a good thing he was pissed off with me. That was whatI’d wanted all along, right?
Only now, now that I was on the receiving end of his hate, when lastnight I’d been on the receiving end of his affection, I didn’t want to be there.
Brian eventually pulled the car to a stop outside the house, and as wegot out of the car, Nash handed me the key.
“Go in, I’ll be in in a second,” he said, his tone still void of anyemotion.
Ignoring the stab of tears in my eyes, I did what he said, letting myselfin, and leaving the door open for him.
I didn’t notice anything was amiss until I passed the doorway to thelounge, my eyes flicking into the room. Not believing what I’d just seen, I paused and took a step back, freezing when I took in the room.
It was as if nothing had changed.
Gone was the vile lime green couch, and in its place was Nash’soriginal huge leather couch. The hot pink hand chair had vanished, replaced with the soft cream recliner that Nash seemed to favor. Even the queen goose picture had gone, replaced with the picture of a Mediterranean city at sunset that had been hanging there before I took it down.
My jaw dropped open as I scanned the room. How the hell did Nashget his furniture back? Come to think of it, how did he know where I’d stashed it in the first place?
Suddenly, a set of arms wrapped around my waist, and Nash’sdelicious scent smothered me, his hot breath whispering against my ear.
“Next time you want to play games with me, sweetheart, you mightwant to think twice. I will always be one step ahead.”
A surge of anger seared through me as realization dawned.
He’d played me.
He’d wined and dined me, opened up to me, and treated me like aqueen. Showed me what life could be like, and got me to willingly open my legs for him, when the whole time he wanted me out of the house so he could get his damn furniture back.
I shrugged out of his arms and spun to face him, finding him with atriumphant grin spread over his mouth.
“How?” I spluttered. “How did you know where your furniture was?”
“Because there isn’t a single thing you can do that I won’t knowabout,” he replied, lowering his face so it was only an inch away from mine.
He chuckled at my lack of response, and like the patronizing assholehe was, he flicked underneath my chin before turning away and giving me his back.
“Have a good day, sweetheart,” he said, heading toward the frontdoor, only to pause and look back at me over his shoulder. “Oh, and just so you know, I’ve had your credit card blocked, and from now on Brian will be the only one driving you anywhere.”
With that, he walked out the door leaving me to stare after him,quietly seething.
Well played, Nash.
Well played.
For the next few days, Nash and I lived like strangers. When he camehome from work, usually well after night had fallen, we barely spoke. If I asked him a question, he’d answer with as few words as possible.
He refused to eat anything I made. Instead, he’d bring home a takeout or claim he’d eaten at work. At night, we still slept in the same bed, but he wouldn’t touch me or give me a kiss goodnight.
I hated every second of it.
Yeah, it was what I wanted, but after that amazing night with him, Iwasn’t so sure it was. Even if that amazing night had been orchestrated to get me out of the house so he could get one up on me. It didn’t change how I felt about him, and the longer he gave me the cold shoulder, the more I had no choice but to accept the truth.
I missed him.
Even his controlling ways, and every part of me wanted to get downon my knees and tell him he could take what he wanted from me, that I was surrendering to him, just so I could bathe in his affection again.
Did that make me a fool for giving in to him so easily, especially aftereverything he had done to get me to this point? Probably. But there wasn’t a single part of me that cared. I wanted Nash, just the way he was.
I spent the first day trying to occupy myself around the house, butwith no one to talk to, and nothing to do, I was bored. It wasn’t as if I could go shopping, not without a cent to my name, and the only person to talk to aside from Nash was Brian, and I still hadn’t forgiven him for drugging me.
After Nash left for work, I grabbed my phone, intent on doing someresearch on Nash to see what else I could find out about him, but as I typed in his name, a thought popped into my head, and I quickly closed the internet down.
He must have found where I’d moved his furniture to through myphone. What was the betting he had access to my call records? And if he did, then he’d no doubt be able to see what I’d been googling.
I hadn’t picked up the phone since.
Without the internet to keep me busy, I wandered aimlessly aroundthe house until I found an old copy of War and Peace in one of the spare rooms. It was the only book I could find in the entirety of the house, and with nothing else to do, I thought I’d give it a go to pass some time.
By the time I was halfway through, I was invested, and at some pointit, occurred to me that I couldn’t remember the last time I sat and read.
Growing up, I loved to read. I’d always choose a book over watchingTV or going out with friends. It used to drive Liam mad, and there were more times than I cared to remember when he’d snatch the book from my hands or hide it, before begging me to give him some attention.
After my mom got ill, I didn’t have the time to relax and enjoy reading,and then after she passed away, I was too focused on college and starting a career in the fashion industry, that again, I didn’t have time to pick up a book.
But thanks to Nash and his cold-shoulder treatment, I had nothing todo but read and rediscover the love for an old passion.
The strange thing was, when he got home from work, I was sodesperate to tell him how much I’d enjoyed my day of reading only to be met with a stony silence, and that hurt more than finding out Liam had betrayed me.
On day three of Nash’s cold treatment, I was lying in Nash’s recliner,engrossed in the final chapters of the book, when in my periphery, I saw Brian appear in the doorway.
Of course, I ignored him.
“Mrs. Carson, I apologize for disturbing you,” he said politely. “But I’mhere to take you shopping.”
It took everything in me to not react. Shopping was one of my favoritethings in the world to do. Not because I was materialistic and liked spending money, but rather, I would spend hours looking at different clothes, feeling the material, examining the lines, deciding what tops went with what skirts, and what belts matched shoes.
But I wasn’t going to give in to Brian. Or Nash.
Not that easily anyway.
“And what if I don’t want to go shopping,” I replied, not pulling myattention away from the page.
“Mr. Carson would really like it if you did.”
I snorted. The man had some nerve. He ignored me for threedays straight, and then thought he could butter me up by sending me shopping?
Over my dead body.
“Yeah, well. Mr. Carson can kiss my ass,” I replied, still refusing tolook his way.
“Very well.”
He disappeared, and I tried to refocus on the page I’d been readingbefore he interrupted me, only I couldn’t concentrate. I had a horrible feeling I could expect my next dose of Nash’s sleep juice injected into me at any minute.
When a few more minutes passed, and Brian hadn’t reappeared witha syringe in hand, I managed to read the same paragraph three times before my phone dinged from the side table with an incoming message.
I ignored it for all of ten seconds when curiosity got the better of me.
I’ll happily kiss your ass if you’re offering?
I scowled at my phone. Someone had changed their tune.
Oh, look! He speaks….
Technically, I didn’t speak. I texted.I see you’re still being defiant.
I rolled my eyes, putting the book down having forgotten what hadhappened in the paragraph I’d just read. I tapped out a reply telling him to shove his shopping trip up his ass, only to realize that all I was doing was proving that I was indeed being defiant.
I deleted the message before tapping out a new one.
How can I serve you, oh Holy one?
That’s a much better response, although Holy one isn’t necessary.You can refer to me as Master of Orgasms.
I rolled my eyes again, only this time I couldn’t help my lips twitchingin amusement. I liked playful Nash.
Why would I call you that? I wouldn’t want to give your enormous ego a bigger boost. Especially, when I faked EVERY orgasm.
The smile grew bigger knowing that my message would rattle him.There was nothing fake about any of the orgasms he’d given me, but it didn’t hurt to deflate his ego a little bit.
I stared at the phone, awaiting his reply, but when a few minutespassed, and there was no response, a pang of anxiety hit me which grew more intense with the longer he took to reply.
He knew I was joking, right? Surely his male pride could take a joke?
Oh, fuck.
Had I just ruined the opportunity to make things right with him?
When the phone suddenly vibrated in my hand, and the shrill tonesounded, I almost jumped out of my skin.
The screen indicated an incoming call from none other than theMaster of Orgasms himself. I hesitated about answering, but when I figured that if I had to face the music, it would be better to do it over the phone than in person, I clicked the answer button.
“Hey,” I said, trying to sound nonchalant.
“Faked them orgasms did you, sweetheart? They sounded pretty realto me, especially when you were begging me to make you come after the party,” Nash replied, his tone filled with mirth.
I breathed a sigh of relief. “Guess I’m a good actress.”
“Oh really? What say I come home right this second and we see justhow good of an actress you are?”
At the hint of threat in his words, a thrill of excitement shot throughme, and my mouth went dry. Even if there was a little bit of me still pissed at how he’d acted these last few days, I couldn’t stop the way my body responded to him.
His deep chuckle reverberated down the phone at my lack ofresponse.
“That’s what I thought,” he said, his voice oozing smugness at callingmy bluff. “So if you don’t want me to come home and prove you wrong, I suggest you get that gorgeous ass in the car and let Brian take you shopping.”
I’d be lying if I said there wasn’t a part of me that wanted to call himout. Get him to come home and make up for being an ass these last few days with multiple orgasms, but his insistence for me to go shopping made me curious.
“Why do I need to go shopping?”
“Because I said so.”
“And what if I don’t want to go?” I challenged, unable to stop thestreak of defiance from creeping out.
This time when he spoke, his voice had taken on the authoritativetone he used when giving orders. “Then you’ll wear whatever I pick out for you, and you’ll wear it tonight whether you like it or not. But I should probably warn you, I’ve got my eye on a fetching Princess Leia outfit that I would kill to see you in.”
Unable to stop the giggle from bursting free, I stood from the reclinerand walked over to the window, looking out into the beautiful garden. “I wouldn’t have guessed you were a secret Star Wars nerd, Mr. Carson.”
“Patience you must have my young Padawan,” he replied, his voicealight with humor.
“Wow, you really are a nerd,” I said, grinning from ear to ear. Everytime I discovered something new about Nash, I melted that little bit more.
“Now you know my secret, so it really is in your best interest to goshopping or I promise you, you will end up dressed like my favorite princess.”
“Where are we going tonight?” I asked, ignoring the image I’dconjured of me wearing a gold bikini for Nash.
He sighed. “Do you always have to ask so many questions? Just takemy word for it that not only will it be a night you’ll remember for the rest of your life, but you’ll want to be dressed in your best.”
His words did nothing to curb the growing curiosity, only now it wasjoined with a tinge of excitement. He’d said on the boat that he would control me, but it would be with my best interests at heart.
“Okay,” I said, finally letting myself take a huge step in putting my trust in Nash.
“Thank you,” he replied with genuine gratitude. “I’ll see you later.”
Hanging up, I went to find Brian with a new spring in my step,wondering if there was a store somewhere in the city where I could buy a Princess Leia costume.