Page 50 of Perfectly Wedded

“Jaz?!” I say ripping my lips away from Vale’s. His hands stay locked around me, reluctant to let this moment go.

“Your sister is here?” he mutters under his breath, scraping a hand across his jaw.

“In Cancun?”

“Unless it’s someone impersonating my sister who just happens to know our names.” I wiggle out of his arms and rush to the door, barely able to contain my ragged breathing—or the relief flooding my body.What in the world was I thinking in there?I was just about to give in to Vale... in return for setting an end date to our marriage.

And he refused.

But why?

I don’t have time to answer that question, and Vale’s face doesn’t offer any answers. The dark desire in his eyes is gone, replaced by something that shakes me more:what almost happened.

Vale is back to playing the part of my dutiful husband to a tee.

“Are we still following the rules?” he asks, his face unreadable.I can hardly stand not seeing the same man who was just with me in the bedroom, the one who looked like he wanted to shower me with kisses.

“What rules?” I say breathlessly, my body still flushed from our encounter. I can barely think, let alone remember any silly rules I might have agreed to.

“The ones we created before we came home from Vegas.”

“Oh, those rules about touching all the time and making our marriage look believable?”And no sex. Let’s not forget that one.

“We agreed we’d do whatever it takes,” he says. “Is that still the case?”

“Sure, fine. Whatever.” I turn back to finish my trek to the door. The tension is so thick in here, I could cut it with a knife.

“Good,” he says, nodding. “I just wanted to be sure.”

I wheel around to open the door, and then spin back. “Why do you ask?”

My sister pounds harder. “Sloan, what’s taking so long?”

“One minute!” I call to her.

He pulls me away from the door, so Jaz won’t hear. “Because Istronglyfeel we should keep those rules. Personally, I didn’t do a very good job back at the house. I think there may have been some doubts about our relationship.”

“Doubts?”

“Yes. So in full disclosure, I plan on making our relationship even more believable.”

“More believable?” I say, my voice an octave higher.

“One hundred percent more believable,” he says, his eyes sparking, a vivid reminder of what almost happened a minute ago. “I plan on making it so believable, we might not be able to tell the difference between what is real and fake.”

“You can’t do that,” I say, shaking my head, remembering the no-sex rule. But even without that rule, there’s still a lot we can do. And Vale’s the type to push the boundaries of all those rules.

“I most certainly can.And will.”

The air sizzles between us. I want him to make it more believableright now, by finishing what we started in the bedroom. But I hold back, mostly because my sister won’t stop knocking.

“Sloan!” Jaz calls.

“Coming!” I say, dragging my hand through my hair. I point to Vale and whisper loudly, “Don’t you dare use those rules against me.”

“Against you?Never,” he promises. “But I will use them to fully convince you that you’re my wife. Whatever it takes.”

EIGHTEEN

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