“I’m not willing to take that chance.” She glanced away and he watched as she took a deep breath and then lifted her head to look at him. “I know you’ve been nice to me. There are plenty of men who would have made my life a living hell. Might have even given me to their father as a peace offering or something. You’ve been good to me, and being married to you hasn’t been as terrible as I thought it would be.”

“I am going to take that as a compliment,” he said, although he couldn’t help but frown.

“I know I’ve not been the best wife.”

“Tamsin, don’t.”

“Let me finish. I know I’ve not been the best wife. I try, but it has been hard. I always thought I would be normal. Go to school, college, get a job, and maybe even create my own business. Have my father walk me down the aisle … but my dreams were shattered. Nothing worked out the way I hoped it would.” She lifted her hand and placed it across the table. “And maybe, what I need to do is just accept what has happened, and we should try to make the most of what we’ve got.”

He wrapped his hand around hers and stroked his thumb across her hand.

“I intend to keep my promise, Tamsin.”

“I know. I believe you, but … I don’t know if you have other women, or if you have kids with other women.”

“I don’t. I’ve not been with anyone else since you were promised to me.”

Tamsin frowned and tilted her head to the side, watching him. “My mom always said that men have needs. That you would probably take a mistress or have whores to satisfy you.”

“I don’t know who your mother was talking about. I’m not one of them.”

“Oh,” she said.

“I’m not saying I haven’t been with women in the past, before I met you. From the moment I saw you, I haven’t been with anyone else.”

He was pretty sure he saw a smile on her lips.

“Tamsin, are you sure about this?”

“Yes, unless you don’t want me.”

She went to pull her hand away from him, but he held onto her, not allowing her a chance to let go.

“I want you,” he said.

It was scary how much he did want her. He had a feeling if she knew, it would also terrify her, as it startled him. He didn’t say as much.

They also didn’t get a chance to say anything more as the waiter brought their food over. It all looked delicious and smelled so tasty.

He picked up his knife and fork, while watching Tamsin. She sliced into her chicken and took a bite. She closed her eyes, and he heard her moan.

Mason wanted to make love to her. He wanted to be close to his wife, and he would gladly do anything to tie them closer together. Sex with his wife sounded perfect. He was a patient man. He would gladly wait for Tamsin to be ready. He was not going to pressure her into anything. Regardless of how they came to be married, Mason did have a little secret—he loved being married to her. No one else knew the truth.

He acted like it was a great burden to him to be tied to her, but it gave him peace. Being near Tamsin filled a void that had always been there. And he would do anything to keep her by his side.

Chapter Four

Arriving home, Tamsin took her leave and made her way toward her room. She didn’t look back toward Mason. When she was out of sight, she rushed to her bedroom and made a mad dash to the bathroom. Stripping out of the dress, she took another shower, washing all the makeup off her face, taking care of her hair and cleaning her body.

She couldn’t believe how nervous she was, and excited.

Outside of the shower, she dried her body, rushed through her hair, getting it as dry as possible. She even cursed her thick length for being impossible to dry.

She walked into the bedroom, found a silk negligee she had purchased, and quickly put it on. To finish, she donned a robe and then looked at the bed, where the book lay that had filled her head with so many ideas.

Picking it up, she glared at it. “This is all your fault.” She opened the bedside drawer, threw the book inside, and slammed it closed.

She had tried to ignore her curiosity for so long, as well as her attraction toward her husband. In the beginning it had felt easy to do. She had so much animosity inside her, thinking of Mason as attractive was the last thing on her mind. Every opportunity presented to him and even to herself, she could label him a monster or an asshole. Then of course, once the anger started to melt away, she realized he was anything but.