Chapter Seven
“Why did I hear a rumor that you’re leaving?”
A crack radiated up my left leg as Noah pushed my knee up to my chest. The pain was manageable compared to the past. Minor discomfort for long-term success, Noah described it. Easy for him to say when he didn’t have the growing ache that I knew would hit me like a freight train after he worked my leg like dough.
I gritted my teeth, pushing my calf back into his hand. “Moving to New York. Nothing exciting.” I cursed when he pressed his thumbs into the scar tissue with a smile.
Sadistic batard.
“Nothing overly exciting?” Noah scoffed. “Your brother said you got married, and you’re moving to America to live with your new wife. Last time I checked, you didn’t do the whole long-term, serious commitment thing. Now, suddenly, you’re married and about to abandon your home.”
It was agreed with Evelyn and her father that we would keep the news of our sudden marriage under wraps until the party. Lexington wanted to do things properly. The fact we married in private was not the thing to do, but Lexington assured us that he would handle it.
I suspected he likely wanted to use the party to announce Evelyn’s ascension to interim CEO.
It didn’t come as a surprise that Noah already knew. He and Frederic attended the same private club, where the rich and elite came together to play golf, drink expensive whiskey, talk utter shit about their businesses, and avoid their wives.
My brother was likely jumping with childish glee when he received a copy of my marriage certificate.
On the outside, it looked as if we simply wished to expand our company and take it to the highest level we could by aligning ourselves with Reynolds.
If only they knew the truth.
“Things move quickly.” Another curse slipped out. “It’s not abandoning. I can still do all my work from New York. It’s amazing what the power of technology can do these days.”
“Whatever happened to never getting married? From what I recall, you said that Frederic could shove any ideas of trying to get you to marry some heiress up his ass? That you didn’t need to tie yourself to some spoiled brat for her money.”
“Things change. Being a bachelor in our world isn’t as simple as I originally planned out.” I swung my legs off the table. “Evelyn helps rectify the constant bombardment of proposals.”
“Evelyn Reynolds, huh?” Noah whistled. “Pretty girl with a pretty fortune behind her.”
“You know her?”
Noah shook his head. “Barely. She attended a charity auction where we were raising money for the clinic. She was very friendly and offered to help in any way she could. You definitely got yourself a real winner with her.”
“Our marriage is mutually beneficial.”
“A simple business transaction?”
It was far from simple. Evelyn was only a stepping stool to letting me reach for what I wanted—what I deserved. Her at my side was about to give me ultimate access to the Reynolds company, and I couldn’t wait to dive in and start ripping it apart from the inside.
“Why not bring Evelyn to live here with you? You and I both know you’re going to hate it there. New York is too busy for someone like you.”
“Her father is soon to announce that she is stepping in for him and becoming the acting CEO until her brother is ready to do the job,” I said flatly. “She needs to remain near work and near to her sick father.”
“I’m sure that must be nerve-wracking for her.”
“Wouldn’t know.”
“Ah, because that would mean actually talking to your wife and not treating her like a stock or bond,” Noah snickered. “I’m guessing that this is the sort of charm you’re hoping to woo dear Evelyn with, huh?”
Each time her name left his mouth, it was like dulled nails on a chalkboard. I was getting pretty sick of hearing him talk about her, of his tongue and lips sounding out her name.
I grabbed my trousers. “Can we talk about what I pay you for?”
“Have you been taking your prescriptions?”
“Don’t need them.”
“What about your exercises? You know that you need to be doing them nightly.”
“I do them when I remember.”
Noah grabbed his glasses and jotted a couple things down in his notepad. “Your leg is healing fine. Nothing I can see or feel that would be a red flag.” His face transformed from the man I called a friend to the serious private physiotherapist. “However, you can think twice if you think I’m going to sign you off to get back on that death trap.”
“You make it sound barbaric. It’s only a motorbike.”
“Doesn’t matter. You snapped your ankle in two places and broke four ribs falling off that thing. You are to stay the hell away from it. Drive a car like a normal person.”
“Is this because that woman you refuse to break things off with won’t let you buy one?” I toyed despite the throbbing starting to gnaw at my leg. “Grow a set of balls already and end things with her.”
“No motorbikes,” Noah said firmly. “And if you can pull yourself away from your new life in New York, I’d like to see you again in six months.”
He handed me the card with the appointment date and time.
“We’ll see each other before then,” I said. “The Reynolds are throwing a celebratory wedding party. You’ll be there.”
He took off his glasses, reverting back into the Noah I met when I first moved to Ontario. I found myself sitting in a random bar, drinking bourbon after bourbon by myself, after a heated argument with all three of my brothers. Noah sat himself down beside me and started to talk to me as if we were long-lost friends.
Usually that shit irritated me, but it must have been my wallowing in self-loathing that gave me the ability to tolerate it. A somewhat friendship came from that one time, mainly based on drinking at the start, but it grew into something more functional.
“Are you sure this is the right decision?” Noah asked. “I get that marrying for this sort of thing happens all the time. Success, power, money, is it really worth it?”
“Yes.”
“Seems like an awfully big price to pay, in my opinion.” Noah’s lips thinned. “Call it corny or whatever, but isn’t the foundation of a healthy marriage love?”
Then the foundations of our marriage were about to crumble beneath us.
“Marriage is only a piece of paper,” I said. “Love is for the weak. It makes a fool out of the strongest of men.”
I half-expected Evelyn to have sent me the wrong address in an act of defiance.
Relief bloomed when spice-tinged sweetness greeted me once the door finally opened. Evelyn stood barefoot, vibrant red hair gathered on top of her head and cheeks flushed. Every time I saw her, I was struck by her raw beauty. But it was her legs that my eyes were drawn to this time.
She wore a pair of skin-tight cycling shorts.
They were so tight that the curves of her thighs and her cunt were staring me straight in the face, begging me to reach out and touch them.
Aie pitié. It shouldn’t be legal for her to look that good in a pair of simple shorts.
“Good to see you, douceur,” I said, dragging my gaze slowly back to her narrowed eyes. “Is this the part where I scoop you up and carry you through the front door?”
“Didn’t I tell you to stop calling me that?”
A smirk played on my lips. “Did you? I don’t recall.”
She turned on her heel. The curve of her full ass in those fucking shorts was nearly enough to bring me to my knees. “Your boxes arrived this morning. I had the guys put them in the bedroom.”
Inside, the home smelt like Evelyn and fresh brewing coffee. Not lingering in the hallway or staring at the ass of the woman I married, I followed the scent of coffee into the kitchen.
It was a typical kitchen plucked straight out of a home magazine. Marble countertops, an island with a working gas stove, and a dining table long enough to feed all my brothers and hers.
“I’ve ordered some things.” She waved at the emptiness. “The essentials, mainly. Toaster, pots and pans, and cutlery. They should arrive today or tomorrow.”
I said nothing, hovering over the coffee and grabbing the only two mugs in the kitchen.
“There’s a food order coming, too. I grabbed a couple things last night before I arrived. Just the basics,” she continued talking. “I’m not sure about you, but I am a lousy chef. So, it might be worth looking into getting a cook, and maybe someone to help with the housework.”
She opened the fridge, standing on her tip-toes to reach for the carton of creamer, causing the baggy NYU T-shirt to ride up and reveal her stomach. A spark ignited within me, burning a heat that didn’t make sense. Her skin looked soft and perfect like it was waiting for someone to mark it, sink their teeth in and take a bite.
Someone like me.
I busied myself with pouring the coffee in an attempt to dampen the growing flames.
“Do you want me to show you around the place?” Evelyn said, pouring sweetened creamer into her mug. “There’s the basic furniture. We’ll definitely need more as time goes on. Something we could look at together?”
Silently, I followed her from the kitchen and let her show me the way up the stairs to the first floor. It was a form of torture walking behind her. Her ass in those stupid shorts was hypnotic. I wanted to rip them off her and see what other treats lay underneath while simultaneously wanting to set fire to them to ensure that no other man got to lay eyes on her wearing them.
She pointed to some of the rooms on the way. The entire place was the exact opposite of my apartment back in Ontario. Color infiltrated the walls and carpets, and Evelyn had already placed photo frames and pieces of art on the walls.
There was too much going on, too much to take in at once.
I liked things that were simple.
No mess. No fuss.
“This is your room.” We stopped at the last bedroom. “All your boxes should be in there. Poppy has offered to come and help us unpack tomorrow.”
“That won’t be necessary,” I said. “I’ll look into hiring someone for the house.”
She pursed her lips, sending a shock wave down into my cock. “Fine.”
“Separate rooms,” I smirked. “I thought it usually took a couple of years before married couples started sleeping in different rooms.”
Her cheeks pinkened. “I didn’t realize you wanted us to share a bedroom.”
“I don’t,” I said, matter-of-fact. “After all, this—” I motioned between us. “—is a fa?ade. A business arrangement. For all those on the outside, we will be the perfectly matched couple. We will play the part for your father’s sake and all those spectating, but in the privacy of our home, we will be nothing more than cohabiting people.”
“How romantic.”
“If romance is what you want, douceur, then I suggest you find a way to turn back time and wed some nobody that will never be your equal.” I sipped my coffee. “This marriage is based on practicality. I can offer you support and strength during your year as CEO. They’ll be watching every move you make. No one thinks you’re capable of pulling this off. My name and presence will offer protection from that.”
“And what exactly do you get out of this practical marriage?” she challenged. “Or are you just being a good boy and doing exactly what your big brother Frederic tells you to do?”
I grinned at her fraying temper. Below that perfect exterior was something darker, something more devastatingly beautiful and demanding. “Your company opening its iron grip on the European market is too lucrative to turn my nose up at. Lexington would have never considered working with his competitor, but you are desperate enough to agree to it.”
Pretty little flickers of anger resonated on her picture-perfect face. She was trying to control herself, to keep her temper in tow.
Let it out, show me your claws.
“You realize I saw through the charade you all put on at dinner last week?”
Her brow creased. “Is that so?”
“Evelyn, you think me stupid, non? I saw your father with my own eyes. He is dying, no matter how much you try to convince the world and yourself he isn’t.”
She opened her mouth, the lie ready to come out, but she opted to remain silent.
Good girl.
“And when the time finally comes, and he passes, you will be completely on your own. With us being bound by marriage for the next year, I will help you.”
“That’s all this is for you? Just money?”
“It’s always about money. That and it keeps the wolf at bay,” I said. “Being a bachelor in our circles does get tiring.”
She rolled her eyes. “I’m sure it must be sooo exhausting for you chasing away all those offers of marriage.”
“Now, I will finally get a good night’s sleep.”
Her face twisted with disgust. “Is this how you charm all the girls?”
“I’m not trying to charm you, Evelyn. I am being honest,” I said. “Make no mistake, douceur, that whatever little daydreams you have about us falling madly in love during our year together—they are fantasy and nothing else. I see no reason why we can’t face our reality head-on.” I drained my coffee. “If we both remember this is a business arrangement and nothing more, then we will get on just fine.”
Her slender throat bobbed, calling out to be touched. I bet she’d look delicious wearing my hand for a necklace. “Suits me perfectly. But when we are in public, especially around my father, you will act like a loving husband. Do you think you are capable of that?”
Reaching toward her, I ran the back of my hand lazily down her cheek. She stiffened instantly. I watched her fight every natural instinct to move away. I craved for her to lash out, to see the inferno behind those pretty green eyes, but she was like a deer caught in the headlights.
My cock twitched when my knuckle brushed the corner of her parted lips. “You have no idea what I am capable of, Evelyn.”