Page 38 of Impending Consent

He fucking smiled. And shit, I hated how appealing this man was. It wasn’t fair the way his presence filled a room without him having to try. It wasn’t just physical. It was the way he looked at me like he saw the parts I kept hidden from everyone else and that terrified me.

"You make the strongest, most intelligent and tactical men in this city cry while facing off with them in court, Sail. Why the hell are you stressed about talking to me?”

He had a point. I was undefeated in the courtroom. A gotdamn legend but those men didn’t have a personal connection to me or the power to totally destroy my world.

The scariest part of all was that I cared about the idea of this marriage more than I should and also caring about the way myname sounded attached to his was abso-fucking-lutley insane.I’m someone’s wife.

I wasn’t ready to admit that to him and damn sure not even to myself. I was beginning to entertain what this could be if I stopped fighting him.

I steeled my expression and slipped into the role I knew best—controlled, calculated, and guarded. "Acknowledging the obvious, I was more concerned about you than myself. I’m fully capable of engaging in relationship talk.”

His eyes remained locked on mine. "I’m sure you are, but this is more of a Sailor and Rival talk. We know the bare minimum about each other. I figure we need to explore more than just how easily it is for me to make that pussy wet, Sail. Let’s start with some questions."

Pussy currently wet from the reminder…

"Questions?"

"Yes, questions, like normal human beings getting to know each other outside of the physical. You do know how that works, right?" He grinned and I resisted the urge to throw something at him.

"I'm well versed in normal human interactions, asshole."

"Good, then this should be painless." He studied me with those eyes, exposing me.

"Fine. What kind of questions?"

"The basics. Favorite color, food, hobby, first pet's name, that kind of shit."

I arched my brow. "Are you trying to steal my identity through security questions?"

"I already stole your last name, Sailor Hassan. What more could I possibly want?"

"Blue, sushi but also breakfast foods at any hour of the day, reading legal briefs for fun because I'm a masochist, and I neverhad pets because my father wouldn’t allow it. Pets would distract us from investing in our greatness. Your turn."

Rival grinned at my rapid-fire response. "I was thinking we would take turns, but I should have fucking known you would bulldoze through things your way."

"Efficiency is key."

"Also skipping vulnerability. The color gray, anything grilled, and I'm serious, anything, woodworking beyond what I do for clients, and a lab named Max."

"You had a dog named Max? That's disgustingly wholesome."

"Not all of us spent our childhoods plotting courtroom domination, Sail."

I smirked. "You say that like it's a bad thing."

He shifted and moved closer, which made the bed dip slightly. "It's not. It's just very you and very Addison. Next question: biggest fear?"

"We're jumping from favorite colors to biggest fears? That's a big ass escalation."

"Are you dodging?"

"Yes."

He laughed, and fuck, it was infuriatingly appealing. "At least you're honest about your evasion tactics."

"Fine. Biggest fear..." I paused, because shit, this was hard. "Failing. Not being good enough."

The words left my mouth before I could filter them and I immediately regretted being honest. Damnit, I should have said something casual like spiders or heights.

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