Page 155 of Unleashed

I shoot him with a dark look, wishing I had a gun to do it. I slide my hands to Simone’s ass and pull her against me. “I want to make love to my wife. Why is that a problem for you?” Today’s the last day she’ll be my fake wife.

Simone bends to kiss my cheek, but I turn, and she kisses my lips. The kiss lasts three seconds before she jerks away from me like I scorched her. Her dazed eyes match mine. I want to kiss her more so fucking much.

What head injury do I have?

Visibly shaken, Simone squeezes past me. Voldemort asks, “I assume you’ll be driving your car since mine is a rental, and I’ll be leaving for the airport after the ceremony?”

I sigh. “Yep.”

“Okay, then. Simone, I’d like you to ride with me. Your husband can drive you home afterward.”

She grabs her purse and the plastic-covered black cap and gown hanging in the closet, and follows him to the door. But she stops and glances over her shoulder at me. Simone’s eyes drop to my lips and she licks hers, but she seems off. Is she that upset about what her father said? He’s a dirty asshole.

Everything I told her in the past few minutes is valid, making it much harder to live this lie.

I FOLLOW HER FATHER’S car into the parking lot. As expected, it’s crowded, and the cocksucker grabs the first empty spot, leaving me to circle around until I find one in West Virginia. Such bullshit. Surprising the shit out of me, they wait for me in front of the school. Her father leads the way and I walk next to Simone. She angles her head, studying my shirt. “You look handsome. This tie is killer.”

Picking it up, I smile as I let the green-and-blue plaid silky tie run through my fingers. “Thanks. Eden gave it to me for Christmas one year.”

“She had fabulous taste.”

I shrug. “Not really. She thought it looked like a tie a farmer would wear in a casket.”

Simone giggles and I find her hand and slide my fingers between hers. When something scrapes me, I pull our hands up and notice her wedding ring. Dropping our clasped hands, I look at her face but don’t comment about it. Instead, I run my fingertip over the ring, letting her know I know. She frowns and leans closer to whisper, “I didn’t mean to kiss you earlier.”

“It wasn’t your fault. I moved.” On purpose.

“I won’t do that again.” I wish she would. Maybe if we make out for ten minutes, it would drain the urge from my system. But that can’t be true since every time we fuck, it only makes me want her a thousand times more.

She says in the crowded area in front of the gym, “I have a surprise for you later.”

I let go of her hand and laugh. “For me? You’re the one graduating.”

“But it’s for me too.” How in the hell will I make it through this goddamn ceremony knowing that shit? She turns to her father. “Can you find a seat? I want you to sit on that side of the gym,” she instructs, pointing beyond people buzzing around us. “You each have your ticket. I’m going to find Mom.”

He nods, not arguing, but he glares at me. I bet it ticks off the worm I haven’t answered him about the money yet. Simone walks, but notices I’m following and frowns. Still, her blue eyes twinkle. “You don’t have to come with me.”

“I enjoy coming with you.” I smirk, and she licks her lips before staring ahead. “I spend too much time with your father.”

“Sorry about that. You could’ve said you had to work instead of being here.”

“I want to be here.” I go for her hand again as we walk, but she stops short before I’m able to touch her. “We need to remove our rings. Mom doesn’t know about me keeping up the charade for my father. They don’t speak unless absolutely necessary. But you’ll need to put it back on when you’re with him.”

“Okay.” I pull it off and watch Simone remove hers. It aches to watch her switch it to the other hand. I push mine into my pocket, but hold on to it.

“Mom said they’ll wait near the gym. I don’t see her yet.”

I watch Simone as she watches for her mother. Simone’s berry-colored lips mesmerize me, and the overwhelming need to taste her lips hits me, so I cross my arms. “So, uh...what did you do last night?”

She looks at me with a confused frown. “For what?”

I shrug and hope I don’t sound desperate. “Did you go out or stay home?”

“I went out. Why?”

“You still seeing Junior or Mud Hut?”

“Not lately.”

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