Page 23 of Temporary Wife Temptation

Garrett didn’t know what to say, so he pulled her close and held her against his chest. What can I say? Enjoy it while it lasts? Things were getting a hell of a lot more complicated than he’d anticipated, and he had a sick feeling in his stomach that hearts would be broken before this was over.

And he hated himself for praying his heart wouldn’t be one of them.

Eight

Garrett pressed her against him, and Natalie forgot everything—the lies, the uncertainty, the guilt. The warmth of his embrace and the sweet strains of the ballad gradually eased the tension from her shoulders.

“Kiss, kiss, kiss!”

Natalie jolted back to reality at the thundering chant of the tipsy wedding guests and the sharp chiming of forks striking wineglasses. She peeked over Garrett’s shoulder to see they were surrounded by his champagne-chugging buddies. She buried her face into his chest again and groaned.

“Let’s give them the kiss, then we can leave,” he said, lifting her chin with the crook of his finger.

Natalie looked up at him with an exasperated sigh. By the grim line of Garrett’s mouth, he wasn’t too thrilled about it, either. He lowered his head slowly, brushed her lips with the softest of touches and began to draw away, but the gentleness of his kiss knocked down her defenses. Too tired to fight, she pressed herself against him and pulled his mouth back with greedy fingers tangled in his hair.

Garrett stilled for a moment, but with a moan, he took control of the kiss. Nipping and tasting her bottom lip, he sought entry with the tip of his tongue. She complied and he deepened the kiss, his fingers digging into her hips. The slick slide of his tongue against hers as they tangled and danced made her light-headed, and she slid her hands down his arms and spread her fingers across the shifting muscles of his back.

Garrett’s breath caught sharply in his throat, then he pressed his hand against her back and pulled her flush against his body. Catcalls, shouts and applause rang far off in the distance, but Natalie was too busy to acknowledge the sound. An unmistakable hardness pressed against her stomach through the soft material of her dress, and she whimpered, rising on tiptoes to get closer to him.

Then she was rudely torn from him and held at arm’s length. Garrett stared at her with an unreadable expression on his face, his hands gripping her shoulders. They stood silently, both breathing hard.

She’d forgotten where they were and why they were kissing in the first place. She might not have stopped if Garrett hadn’t pushed her away.

Natalie wanted to become a little rodent so she could scurry into the nearest mouse hole. Not only was the situation mortifying, but she also couldn’t let this happen again if she wanted an easy-peasy annulment.

Tonight had to be a fluke. They’d kissed plenty of times since their engagement. Yet she’d successfully resisted the temptation to tangle tongues with him. The wedding wasn’t real—at least not for the bride and groom—but she was only human. How could she help but notice how beautiful and romantic everything was and get a little carried away?

“Let’s go.” Garrett’s voice was gruff but his expression was impassive.

He had put their kiss behind him. And why not? It was just another kiss to him. Not just that, but it was a fake kiss. He couldn’t help that he was an excellent kisser and his fake bride couldn’t take the heat.

In a blur of smiling faces and well wishes, they bid their guests and family a hasty goodbye and headed for the Ritz-Carlton. Since it was only a marriage of convenience, they’d agreed a honeymoon was unnecessary. Besides, she had a baby to adopt and he had a partnership and a CEO seat to secure. It was time they focused on the important goals.

“Here we are.” Garrett waved away the valet as they arrived and opened her car door for her.

He put his hand on the small of her back and led her into the hotel lobby. Once the elevator door closed behind them, he dropped his hand and stepped aside, putting some space between them. Natalie annoyed herself by missing the heat of his body next to hers. As soon as they reached the penthouse, Garrett headed to the foot of the stairs.

“You did well today,” he said, loosening his tie and the top buttons of his shirt. Her eyes were riveted to the hollow at the base of his throat, which had been revealed by his unintentional striptease.

“Thanks?” Natalie said, bemused by his review of her wedding performance. “Good night.”

Garrett stalked off without a backward glance. She blinked. What the heck just happened? She stood alone in the vast emptiness of the living room and looked around. The city lights twinkled, taunting her that the people out there were actually living their lives, while she was putting hers on hold for months.

Natalie sighed, bone-deep tired from being lonely. This had to be the most unromantic wedding night in the history of contract marriages. In the romance novels she read, the fake couples at least played chess or watched Die Hard together.

Her husband watched her descend the staircase with hooded eyes. Natalie was wearing a floor-length column dress in emerald silk with a sweetheart neckline that lovingly cradled her breasts. Her hair fell down her back with a single barrette sweeping to keep the curls out of her eyes. Gold shadow dusted her lids and her lips were painted Old-Hollywood red. She looked damn good and hoped to find at least a spark of appreciation in Garrett’s gaze.

“Hey,” she said, joining him at the foot of the stairs.

He wore a tailored tuxedo that emphasized his broad shoulders, narrow hips and long, muscular legs. Pure female appreciation fluttered in her chest, then died at his next words.

“We’re late.”

Right. There was no time to waste on complimenting his wife.

“Of course,” she said with sweet sarcasm. She was exactly four minutes late. “Sorry for holding you up.”

Garrett raised his eyebrows in response, and Natalie fumed inside. They’d been married for thirteen days and twenty-one hours, and she was beyond tired of her husband’s cool apathy toward her. They were going to a charity ball that Clark Nobu and Sebastian Diaz were attending, and she wanted to help Garrett make a good impression.

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