Page 29 of Broken

What the fuck? He’s already calling her Mel?

He says goodbye to us both and walks out of my office, but not before he gives me a thumbs-up behind her back. I roll my eyes. My older brother’s approval means that my fate is sealed. There aren’t many people who can win him over in a matter of minutes, but then I guess there is something truly remarkable about Melanie Edison, although I can’t quite figure out what that is. Nor do I want to admit that fact to anyone, myself included.

After Helen bringsus coffee and a selection of donuts, Mel sits back in one of the comfortable leather chairs, chewing on her jelly donut and staring at my mother’s painting while I grab the prenup contract for her to look over.

When I sit down, I bite back a grin at the blob of jelly stuck to her bottom lip. “You have…” Instinctively, I lean forward and swipe it off her lip with the pad of my thumb and immediately regret it. Her pupils blow wide at my touch, and now I have jellyon my hand and no idea what to do with it other than push my thumb into her sweet mouth and have her suck it off.

I shake my head, trying to dislodge the image, but my cock is already jerking to attention at the mere thought of her tongue swiping over my skin. Instead I suck the jelly off my own thumb, and that doesn’t make things any less awkward.

She bites down on her bottom lip, staring at me with those piercing green eyes, and now all I can think about is bending her over my desk and fucking her. What in the actual fuck is wrong with me?

I rock my head back and forth on my shoulders and blow out a breath. “You like the painting?” I ask, desperate to alleviate the mounting tension.

Her eyes crinkle at the corners when she smiles. “Yes, it’s stunning. Did your mom paint it?”

“How’d you know?”

She rolls her eyes. “It’s signed Verona James. Right there in the corner.”

“People don’t usually notice.”

She shrugs. “Well, I have an eye for detail.”

“Then maybe we should go over the details of this prenup,” I suggest, sliding a copy across the table. “A copy has been sent to your lawyer too. And to Bryce.”

I don’t miss the subtle shift in her demeanor at the mention of her brother’s name. “I don’t need to see it. I don’t really understand the legal jargon, and I trust our family’s lawyer to look it over and let me know if I should sign.”

I frown at her. “But this is your life, Mel, you should know what you’re agreeing to.”

“I do know. I’m marrying you. We’re going to have two kids, or we’re going to try to, anyway. That’s the only part I’m concerned about.”

I run my tongue over my teeth. “This is for your protection as well as mine.”

“What do I need protecting from?” She snorts a laugh. “I have nothing to offer other than what’s sitting right in front of you.”

And that is all I fucking want.

“So I have nothing to lose,” she adds.

“This details how the custody arrangement would look if we divorce after we have children. How you and our children would be provided for.”

She sits up straight. “But why would we get divorced? If this is a business arrangement like you say it is, why would that change?”

Is she really this naive? “Nobody knows what the future holds. I doubt many people go into marriage planning for a divorce, but we don’t know how this thing is going to turn out. This is just like an insurance policy.”

She licks her lips, her eyes darting between the papers and my face. “I want this to work out, Nathan.”

“So do I, Mel. Let me talk you through the papers, then we can go get some dinner.”

She looks down at her navy scrubs. “I’m not really dressed for one of your fancy restaurants.”

She looks effortlessly stunning in anything she wears, and I would take her anywhere she wanted right now, but I don’t say that. “Then we’ll go somewhere unfancy then.”

Her smile reappears, and whatever worries that were triggered by the prenup seem to have been appeased for now. We go through the document together. She’ll get alimony if we separate, but it’s not generous by any stretch. She doesn’t get a claim to my penthouse, my business, or anything else, no matter how many kids we have or how long we’re together, and she doesn’t question any of it. I read through the morality clausethat was added by her lawyer one more time—if she cheats, she doesn’t get alimony, and if I cheat, I’ll owe her fifty million dollars. Satisfied with the verbiage and the knowledge that I’m no cheat—never had to be and never will—I sign next to my name and watch as she does the same.

Mel takesa huge bite from her first slice of pepperoni pizza and licks the grease from her chin before flashing me a wicked grin that travels straight to my dick. Fuck me. It’s been a while since I’ve gone so long without sex, and that must be the reason I’m constantly horny. But I swear this woman could make getting an enema look sexy. Now that I think about it…

“I guess this isn’t the type of place you usually eat?” she says, interrupting my thoughts about her ass.

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