Chapter 12
Chapter Twelve
Michael
The woman I loved was now my wife. She had no idea how I felt or what our marriage meant to me. I needed to ramp up the seduction, which included kisses.
I needed Britney to know she’d been The One since the first night she’d brought me home and told me to call her a bad girl.
I’d been hooked, and I refused to live without her from then on.
Currently, dressed in my pajama bottoms and a simple T-shirt, I knocked on the master suite as the sun was going down. The next day, we were going to leave for my old home, and I was stepping up my long game. She opened the door and stared at me.
My cock was hard and ready, but I lifted my chin and asked, “So do you like your room?”
She pointed behind herself at a poster bed with a circular blue-and-white floral design on the comforter. The white sheets and chunky blue cotton overlay could all be tossed out of the way quickly.
She sighed and said, “The bed is right out of a magazine picture.”
If I walked in like I wanted to, I would find a way to forget the deal.
I waved for her to come with me as I said, “Kelly was a big help in knowing what you like.”
She walked back to our grand room, with the teak and bamboo with blue and green color pops all around, and sat in one of the chairs. “She went above and beyond.”
I took the seat beside her. “She wanted you to be happy.”
She curled her legs under herself and stared at me. “What about you? It sounded like the Norouzis were asking a lot of questions and happy to head home with you.”
I wished we’d chosen the couch so we might touch, but staying away was smarter. I swallowed. “Questions from friends are easy to answer, but it’ll be time to set things straight in the morning.”
She jumped up and asked, “Can I see your room?”
I followed her, but if she willingly walked into the guest room I’d changed in, with that queen-size bed, I would think of nothing but taking her clothes off. So I pointed her away and asked, “Have you seen the nursery?”
“No,” she said and bounced, clearly not having the same thoughts.
I reminded my dick to keep it under wraps for a cold shower later then opened the nursery door. “It’s bare right now as I wasn’t sure if you’d want to decorate with neutral or gender colors.”
She reached into the white crib and picked up the one stuffed animal there. “The teddy bear is unique.”
I’d had it made that morning. The red banner with a gold crown on its chest was how I remembered Mr. Stuffings. “It reminded me of mine that I dragged everywhere with me until I was twelve or so, when the nanny tossed it.”
She hugged it and said, “Oh no. She did?”
I nodded, heat rising to my face. “Yeah. She was new and seemed nice enough until I finished my lesson and returned to my room, and it was gone.”
Her eyes widened and she pressed a hand on my arm. “That sucks.”
I shrugged and stood taller. “I just thought my son or daughter might like something like that in their life.”
She put it back and said, “I’m sure he or she will.”
The care she took in that moment with the bear was sweet, and I knew she’d be a great mom.
I stepped back and said, “I don’t want you thinking I’m all soft inside.”
She gazed at me and walked back out with me. “I know you aren’t. How often do you work out?” The fact that she was staring at my ass was why I did more squats.
“About four hours on a normal day.”
Then she headed to the light-brown leather couch and sat. “That’s a lot. How did you keep it up while working?”
If I joined her, I would want to kiss her. So I paced and said, “I like the gym, and I had some secrets. It’s a routine that requires focus.”
“And cooking?”
I turned toward her and gazed down. The moon was shining in, and her face was softer. My heart raced, and I took the seat next to her.
“I learned for you,” I said. “At the beginning, when Hope moved in, I mostly ordered food and served that since Charlie knew I wasn’t a baker or a coffee maker.”
She laughed but then asked, “So you’re still bitter that your life changed suddenly?”
I shook my head. I’d have moved out if Hope hadn’t brought Britney home as I’d never intended to crash whenever Charlie got serious with a woman. I took her hand and wished she felt the same. “Not at all, because then I saw you.”
She gazed at me quizzically. “It sounds like you’re in love or something tonight.”
I took my hand back as heat raced up my spine. Then I shrugged to play it off as I said, “It was our wedding day, which was pretty awesome.”
She crossed her legs. “And we’re probably the only newlyweds in the world not hopping right into bed.”
My pulse pounded like I ached to do to her, but I folded my hands in front of me. “I’m happily getting to know you.”
She mirrored my posture. “I feel like I’ve been on this roller coaster ride since I found out I was pregnant. I was happy, single, and successful at my job.”
I turned to face her. “And inviting me over every night for the past month.”
Her nose curled in a half smile. “That was fun, too, which was how I ended up pregnant.”
I sat back and nodded. “I never thought I’d be in the one-percent club as the box says ninety-nine-percent effective.”
She laughed and nodded. “Right! But now that you took me home, I’m stopping myself from defining my life based on television shows and really starting to figure out who I am.”
Unlike characters on television, she was absolutely three-dimensional and interesting.
“That’s good,” I said. “For me, I’m nervous about flying to London tomorrow.”
She pressed a hand to her heart. “Why?”
I needed to just accept that I couldn’t change anyone and to allow my parents to squander money and pacify my sister as the good son.
I took a deep breath. “I hate confrontations. In my soul, I know I’m going to have all this responsibility placed on my shoulders because my sister can’t take over my life. ”
She took my hand. “You can handle it.”
I had no other choice, really. I shrugged and placed my free hand on her belly. “Our baby is wanted and of my own doing. My parents, though… I promise they won’t warm up like your dad.”
“I’ve met your sister, and my mom is still the same as always. We’ll be fine.”
She was making me share her strongly held beliefs that people could live happily and that wasn’t just a fluke of the Norouzi family, which I’d wanted to be part of since college.
“The lengths people go to, to get money will shock you,” I said.
She waved a hand in the air. “Honey, I help people build wealth for a living. While it wasn’t at your level, I’ve seen plenty.”
That was true, but she’d never experienced the frosty expectations of titled peers who thought the world owed them while they lived on the mortgages of hard-working people instead of helping others, which was what our ancestors had done for a millennium.
My skin buzzed with awareness and need of her. I knew what she tasted like, so denying myself was like stabbing myself in the chest. “Just remember you’re on my side when we get there and you’ve been presented to the queen.”
Her eyes widened. “I don’t know what that means, and I don’t want details on that.” She held my hand to her chest as she said, “I am on your side now, and I was thinking about what you said in the pool about ‘I do’ versus ‘I will.’”
My heart raced. “Yeah?”
She nodded and said, “If we’d have had that conversation before the wedding, I’d have said ‘will.’”
I stood and let go. If I didn’t, I would break our deal and my big plans.
She stood and said, “Wait.”
I faced her, unsure what I’d do or say. I burned to have her.
Then she wrapped her arms around my neck and shoulders, and her eyelashes lowered. When she puckered her lips, I craved another taste of heaven.
We kissed, and our lips met again, sending a thrill through me.
As we stopped for air, I let her go. I needed her to fall in love with me, so I said, “Good night, Britney.”
Her face was bright red, but she stepped back and said, “Right, okay. Good night.”
I headed back to the pool, hoping that some laps might cool me down since every part of my body wanted to go back inside her, the only woman who’d ever truly satisfied me.