Page 57 of Shielded Secrets

Because underneath the unfamiliar thought that I wasn’t alone anymore, I tried to accept that we were now married.

Mr. and Mrs.

Just for the sake of keeping me alive.

Not for the sake of love.

24

RURIK

Kelly blinked up at me after I broke the kiss. The first one of millions we’d share as a married couple. Her wet lip hung open, and even though I was tempted to kiss her again and continue making her look so dazed and needy, I wanted to have her all to myself again.

I hadn’t been lying when I told her we’d pick up where we’d left off in my bed almost an hour ago.

“Congratulations!” Eva cheered behind her.

Just like that, Kelly’s contented expression was shuttered. The reminder that Eva, the bride who’d been obsessed with her wedding plans, was there to witness this shotgun ceremony sobered her. I loathed how Oleg had said we needed to “get it done”. But there was no denying this had been rushed.

My wife was standing here in jeans and a sweater. I wasn’t dressed any better.

“Thanks,” Kelly told her, as though they were talking about the weather or something simple. “Is there any breakfast?”

Eva winced, glancing at me. She’d noticed Kelly’s cool tone too.

“No. No breakfast.” I grabbed her hand. “We’re going to celebrate.”

“Celebrate what?” Kelly challenged. She lifted her hand I’d put a ring on. “I mean, yeah. That changed. But not really, right? It was just a task to get done.”

Oleg closed his mouth, perhaps cut off from giving us congratulations as well. Maybe now he’d realize the callousness of how he’d worded our marriage would impact her. He wasn’t dense, but he thought differently. He focused on war and damage control, not flowers and love.

“Let’s go,” I told her, firmer than what was probably necessary. As I pulled her hand to get her to leave with me, she dug her feet in and resisted.

“No. Please. I’d like to get breakfast with Eva while we’re here. It’s just another day. We can hang out here for a while and—ah!”

I pulled her close and hoisted her over my good shoulder, carrying her out of the house.

“Hey!” She pounded on my back. “Put me down.”

“No. I’m sorry it had to happen that way, but Idowant you to be my wife, Kelly. And we are celebrating that!”

“Oh, so you put a ring on it and then you can just drag me around? Being your wife means you can just kidnap me and tell me how it is now?”

I spanked her ass at the car before I set her down. “Yes,” I replied sternly as I opened her door.

“Ow.” She rubbed her butt and scowled at me.

I hid a smile.

She got in the car, crossed her arms, and stared out the window. I mentally went over every possible way I could explain how this had to happen this way. I rehearsed all the approaches I could try to convince her that I wanted to marry her regardless of the when, how, or why.

Instead, the closer we got to being home, the more I preferred the idea of showing her.

We got inside, still not speaking. But the second the elevator doors slid shut, she turned around and glared at me. “I’m not?—”

I kissed her silent, giving her an unforgiving, harsh press of my lips. Not retreating or letting up once, I kept my mouth on hers until she softened and replied in kind. With sexy mewls and needy moans, she raised her hands to loop her arms around my shoulders.

That was how we spoke. This was how we could always connect. Even when I was struggling with the right words to let her know that I was sorry for how businesslike our wedding had seemed, I cared.

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