Page 24 of The Sin

“I know.” I hated the scratch in my voice, because I did know.

“That does not mean there isn’t more,” he said. “That doesn’t mean I don’t have feelings for you. That doesn’t mean you aren’t special to me.”

“As your wife.”

“As the beautiful, spirited woman who stormed into my life and defied me at every turn.” His voice took on a growling quality, deep and husky. The gray in his eyes smelted to molten silver. “As the woman who isn’t afraid to challenge me, my views, and the whole damn world. You crawled beneath my skin and you’ve been an itch ever since.”

I wasn’t sure if I should be charmed or appalled. My nose wrinkled.

“That didn’t come out quite right,” he said.

“Thank goodness.”

Roman’s mouth twitched.

I bit down on a smile, the oppressive weight lifting from my chest. That wasn’t exactly a declaration of…well, anything really, but it told me everything I needed to know for now. We were more than the duty that had thrown us together.

10

After a quick, tepid shower, I dressed in soft cotton shorts and a camisole, ready for bed. The bathroom just off the main room was narrow and cramped with the shower stall on one end, then a toilet and porcelain basin lined up with barely space to move. My backside hit the wall as I bent over the basin. Between the cool shower and obvious lack of heating in the apartment, goosebumps shivered my skin.

If this was the standard of living in The Smoke, it wasn’t great. As I brushed my teeth, I chewed over something Roman had said.

Capra never has shortages of any sort.

The Smoke went without while we had plenty of everything…except any type of autonomy over our lives. Women were subjected to far more restrictions than the men, but only the handful of men in power were really exempt—everyone else, male and female, lived within the strict confines of the council’s rule.

Was the trade-off worth it?

Jenna Simmons hadn’t thought so.“I don’t want to marry a stranger. I’d rather be worked to the bone in The Smoke for measly rations.”She’d refused to graduate from St. Ives, even if it meant being cast out of society, leaving behind her family, friends, everyone and everything she’d even known.

I’d wondered about her many times, wondered if she still felt it was worth it. Now that I was here, I was determined to find out.

When I came out of the bathroom, Roman was at the kitchen counter, eating from a brown paper bag.

He jiggled the bag at me. “I haven’t been here in a while, so I only have dry crackers and bottled jerkins, if you’re hungry.”

“That’s okay.” I’d had dinner before we left and while my stomach felt empty after the long hours of walking, I was too bone-tired (and freezing cold) to care. “I just want to crawl into bed.”

I looked around for my overnight bag, and saw Roman had moved it from the couch to the floor. That’s when I noticed the blanket and pillow he’d piled onto the couch.

“That’s not necessary,” I told him. “The bed’s big enough for both of us.”

“I’m happy on the—”

“Don’t be ridiculous.” My extremities were turning blue from the cold and he planned to curl up on the couch with a single blanket? “This apartment feels like the north pole.”

“You’ve never been to the north pole.”

“I have an imagination.” So far as I was concerned, this conversation was done. I grabbed the bedding from the couch and tossed it onto his side of the bed.

He popped a cracker into his mouth and chewed, watching my antics with a cocky brow.

“If you really want to sleep on the couch, go for it. But seriously, I wouldn’t mind the body heat.” I heard myself and winced. “You know what I mean.”

He didn’t tease me about it. Then again, playful innuendos weren’t really his style. “I have a portable heater, but it’s out of charge. We’ll be more organized tomorrow.”

“I look forward to it.” I climbed into bed and snuggled deep, happy to discover the comforter was down feathers and plump.

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