Chapter Two

By the time we were done dancing and settled on one of the couches beside the open bar, my legs were barely supporting my body and my mind was all fuzzy. It wasn't just the impact of three solid glasses of champagne I drank, rather it was the thrill of being in sync with my husband on something.

"You aren't so bad at dancing, little brat." My husband breathed near my cheek, his face all sweaty and irresistibly gentle against mine. I looked up at him through my eyelashes, my heart still thudding wildly inside my chest.

"Thank you," I said, a little breathless. My fingers curled tightly in the ruffles of my white wedding dress as his eyes followed the trembling of my lips.

He sighed heavily and looked away, snatched a glass of amber liquid from the server passing by and started drinking like a madman.

I had the privilege of watching the veins lining his smooth neck. I wondered how it would feel if I touched them with my fingertips. I can blame it all on alcohol but I wanted to feel it, so I traced them with my index finger, sliding myself closer to his side.

"What the hell are you doing?" He snapped at me, his voice deep with something more than annoyance and his fingers vise around my wrist. His anger, I could take in but the intense distaste he radiated towards me was simply unbearable. "I understand that you're dying to go to bed, but we still need to be here for the reception photos. They might end up in the local magazines and newspapers and I don't want them to see you behaving like a whore instead of a wife."

His words felt like a double edged knife, twisting inside my guts. "It's not like I'm touching someone else's husband. How does that make me a whore?"

He drank from his glass, his eyes unblinking on me. "My father thinks sharing a bed with a woman is what makes marriage work, that I will grow to love you and get attached to you if we play husband and wife." His words were deep and growly and so very cruel, his eyes equally squared on me. "I will never love someone like you. Marriage  requires honesty and that's all I can give you. I will be your husband in name and in your bed but not beyond that. This is the life you chose and I had been forced into. Always remember that."

I felt my nerves spiking up but I didn't have words to counter him. He was indeed right. I had made the choice to trade my soul and body for money. Even though our bond was holy, its base was set on benefits and convenience. So, I kept my mouth shut and my heart open for his razor sharp words. Each of them cut deep wounds that would take a lifetime to heal.

The reception was closing in and a huge garden area was starting to filter out guests. I decided to look past my sour new beginning as a married woman and take in the sight of the beautiful starry night. There were no falling stars to wish upon and what would I have wished for anyway. My wish to save my father's life was granted by a rich billionaire and in return I just had to give away my choice of falling in love.

He suddenly rose up from beside me, his hand at my elbow as he pulled me with him. With a swift he turned me around so that we were facing each other, his tall frame towering over me. His harsh breaths caressed my face in a way I knew was a necessity that called for closeness and not the desire. But I found my body weirdly reacting to the close proximity. It was a strange feeling, from shock to discomfort to unwinding pleasure. 

It was simulating my senses down to my very core and I had never been this close to any man before. His domineering frame radiated a control and power over me that I felt stupid. One moment he was saying demeaning things to me and the very next moment he was holding me so close to his body that I could feel his heart beating against my chest. And to my utter horror, I liked the way his hands held my hips firmly as if branding me with his touch.

And then my world turned upside down when his lips fell on my trembling ones, soft at first but turned wild in no time. I was shocked how sweet his lips were even though the words they spoke were venomous.

It took me a second to get used to his sudden need to kiss my mouth, but once I got the hang of it, I found myself reacting to it. As naïve as I was in kissing, his guidance was all I needed to unleash my confusing emotions towards my husband. My hands dived into the silkiness of his black hair, keeping his mouth just where they were, sucking my breath intently and stroking my tongue in a way only he could do.

A small voice formed inside my throat, my inexperienced self whining to contain its hunger and a part of me regretting it. What if it put my husband off of whatever daze he was kissing me in? It didn't though. He did not stop. Instead, he gripped me closer, one hand moving along my side, grazing the side of my breast, my collarbone before sliding behind my neck, making me purr like a kitten in his arms.

All the while, his mouth kept eating at mine, pulling me flush against his body, so close that I felt his hardness digging into me and that's what alerted me. A rumble vibrated inside his chest as I broke away from the kiss.

I was still catching my breath when he pinched my chin, ran his thumb to wipe away the moisture from tingling lips and tilted my head towards the cause of his sudden affection.

My heart dropped to my stomach and shrank into a far corner. It was all for the show, for the paparazzies and I had shown him my vulnerable side. His face dipped down to place a torturous sweet kiss on my cheek before he moved his lips to my ear and cursed under his breath. "Let's retire from this dumb charade. I'm positively done pretending like this is the best day of my life when it's actually the worst."

Of all the words he said so far those hurt the most.