Total pages in book: 98
Estimated words: 95049 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 475(@200wpm)___ 380(@250wpm)___ 317(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 95049 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 475(@200wpm)___ 380(@250wpm)___ 317(@300wpm)
Suddenly, words aren’t enough, and without thought, I lift onto my tiptoes and wrap my arms around his neck. My mouth connects with his in a desperate attempt to show him how thankful I am. With every curve of my lips and swipe of my tongue, I try to convey how much this means to me. He could’ve walked away after I conned him into marrying me. He could’ve thrown me out of the car when I begged him to take me home with him.
But he didn’t. He let me into his home and his life and his heart. He gave me access to his son and trusted me to take care of him. He’s become so much more than my fake husband. He’s become my friend and my lover.
And I’ve been lying to him.
“Wait, stop,” I say when he lifts me into his arms, no doubt to carry me to the closest surface so he can devour me. “The night we got married, I lied.”
He jerks his head back in confusion. “What do you mean, you lied? I saw the marriage certificate. We’re legally married.”
“No,” I choke out, trying to get down.
Only he tightens his hold on me, refusing to let me go.
“Not the marriage. We’re married. I …” I swallow thickly. “Can you put me down, please?”
It’s not that I want space from him, but once I tell him the whole truth, I imagine he’ll want space from me.
“No, baby,” he says, setting me on the measuring table. “Whatever you need to say, say it.”
Shit, okay.
“The night of Bri’s wedding … the reason why you don’t remember anything that happened is because I’d drugged you with my anxiety pills.”
“I figured as much,” he says. “But we’ve gotten past that.” He runs his fingers through my hair and tips my face, giving me a soft kiss. “You did what you had to do, Vanessa. I’d like to think if you’d told me what was going on, I would’ve gone along with it. But I didn’t know you back then, and after Hillary conned me, there’s a chance I would’ve hung you out to dry.”
I don’t for a second believe Lorenzo would’ve let a woman get taken, but I understand the point he’s making. However, that doesn’t change the fact that I lied.
“Nicole said that anyone linked to you would be protected, so when you refused to hook up with me so I could get rid of my virginity, I came up with the plan to marry you. But I was scared that if anyone knew I was still a virgin, Eric would come after me. So, I lied about us having sex.”
It takes Lorenzo a moment to wrap his brain around what I just admitted, but once he does, his brows kiss his forehead.
“Wild Card …” He chuckles. “Are you saying that you’re still a virgin?”
“Drugging and conning you into marrying me were fucked up enough,” I say with a mirthless laugh. “I would never rape you. And to be honest, I preferred the idea of faking it to actually having sex.”
Lorenzo chuckles. “The thought of having sex with me was that appalling?”
“No!” I scrub my hands down my face. “That didn’t come out right. My mom has always used her body to get male attention, and I never wanted to be like that, so I was waiting for marriage to have sex. I wanted to be in love with the man I gave myself to.”
I frame Lorenzo’s face with my hands and look into his bright blue eyes. “I wanted it to mean something and be special. At the time, I didn’t know you the way I do now. So, I pretended we had sex to save my life. And I’m glad I did because had we had sex that night, it wouldn’t have meant anything to either of us. Not that it would’ve happened once I spiked your drink … I had to pay a guy to help me get you up to your room.”
Lorenzo huffs a laugh.
“And now?” he asks, his features turning serious.
“And now I know that being with you would be meaningful. Maybe we won’t be together forever, and once I’m no longer in danger, we’ll divorce. I’ll move back to Seattle to finish my degree, and you’ll stay here with your adorable son, ruling the real estate world …”
I smirk playfully, but he doesn’t crack a smile.
“Maybe I should wait for whoever it is that I’ll one day marry for real, but right now, being with you feels right.”
Lorenzo nods and lifts me into his arms.
Wordlessly, he carries me downstairs and into his bedroom, laying me in the center of his king-size bed.
“There’s so much I want to say”—he reaches down and yanks his shirt over his head—“and I’m going to say it all, but right now, the only thing I want to do is make love to my wife.”