Page 85 of The Devil's Pawn

I stretch out beside her, and she curls into me, resting her palm on my abdomen. As much as I yearn to fuck her, once again, luck isn’t on my side. First Consortium business, and now Imogen’s accident. If I believed in fate, I’d say there was a hidden message in there somewhere.

“Things are different, aren’t they?” she murmurs, her eyes closed. “Between us,I mean.”

“Yeah,” I rasp. “They’re different.”

“I’m glad. I got so tired of fighting with you.”

“No more fighting.” I kiss her forehead and stroke her hair. “Now, go to sleep.”

It isn’t long before her breathing changes. I should leave now—my father will expect a briefing from my trip—but as I look at my wife, sleeping so peacefully beside me, I can’t seem to tear myself away.

Chapter Twenty-Nine

IMOGEN

When I try to open my eyes, it’s like they have tiny weights on them. It’s dark outside, which I guess means I’ve been asleep for a while. I stay still, assessing how I feel after the fall. My head is more fuzzy than achy, and my chin doesn’t feel too sore. No doubt as the bruise develops, though, it’ll hurt for a while.

An ache in my lower back forces me to shift my position, and as I do, my butt connects with something hard. I glance over my shoulder. Alexander’s amber eyes stare back at me, his hand tightening on my hip.

“You stayed.” Talk about stating the obvious. Maybe that bang on the head is worse than the doctor first thought.

“You asked me to stay.”

“Only until I fell asleep.”

“Are you saying you wish I wasn’t here?” His voice is sleepy, as though he’s taken a nap, too.

“No.”

“Good. How do you feel?”

“Okay. No lasting damage.”

“Any headaches?”

“No, doctor.”

He chuckles, the vibration rippling against my back. His hand snakes from my hip to my belly, and he burrows underneath my T-shirt, cupping my breast through my cotton bra.

My stomach tilts, low-lying muscles tightening as he brushes my nipple. “Alexander?”

“Yes, wife.”

A shudder runs through me. There’s something about the possessiveness in his voice when he calls me his wife that does funny things to me. Nice things. Exciting things. But I can’t let myself fall for him. Not until he holds up his end of the bargain. It’s not in my nature to only be a wife. Plenty do it, and I’m not yukking on someone else’s yum, but I know that’s not the life I want for myself.

“Did you talk to Christian about the job?”

“I mentioned it, yes. He’s looking into it. I haven’t had the chance to speak with him yet.”

“But you will?”

He nuzzles my neck. “Yes, wife, I will.”

“Okay.” I close my eyes, my skin tingling from his attention. “Can I ask you something else?”

“Go for it.”

“Am I… I mean… Are you… Are you ever going to…?” The words crawl to the tip of my tongue, but they won’t come out. It’s so annoying. I hope to God that once we’ve done it, this stupid embarrassment disappears.

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