Page 99 of Dex

“You’re being unusually cold towards me,” I murmur.“I thought we would be closer, given that I rescued you earlier.”

That was my dick talking just now.Idon’t know why I said that.Daniela doesn’t flinch, nor does she pull away.She stares at me as if she’s trying to figure out what I’m thinking.

I want so badly to kiss her.Maybe just a peck on the cheek, maybe something more.Something like the melting, scorching fuck-me kiss we shared earlier.The type of kiss that moves onto something more.

“Goodnight, Dexter.Sleep wherever you want.This is your honeymoon as well.”She disappears towards the bedroom, no doubt to read on her fucking Kindle.

I let her go and head over to the bar where I pour myself a drink, and try to figure out how I’ll get through this night.

***

Daniela is cool towards me the next morning, as we’re having breakfast on the terrace.

A few guests mill about in the infinity pool, and beyond that, a few of them are swimming in the shimmering, turquoise blue ocean.

The day is bright, the sun bearable, with the threat of getting stronger.“Sleep well?”Daniela asks, a cold edge to her voice.

I sip my coffee before answering, because I quite like the idea that she might be pissed.That she might have wanted me beside her in bed last night.That she might have missed me.

I wanted to be there with her, but for the sake of my sanity, I slept alone.Butt naked, restless as hell, tossing and turning like a fish on a hook, knowing that she lay in the next room.“Like a baby.You?”

“Out like a light.”She shrugs, then stirs her coffee.“There could’ve been fireworks outside, and I wouldn’t have heard.”

I refill our glasses of fresh-squeezed juice.The day has barely started and already I feel the oppressive weight of our alliance.

“I have more work to do,” I announce, not because Iwantto work, hell, I’d rather do anything else but that, but because Ineedto.My father is still in São Paulo, undoubtedly sniffing around my father-in-law’s business, and I need to stay ahead of him.

Daniela lifts her glass, and eyes me casually.“I expect nothing less from you, Dexter.Just because we’re married doesn’t mean our lives have to change.”She says the words easily, but a stupid part of me wonders if she means them.Or if she also wonders if things could be different between us.

“Good to know,” I say, my voice even.

She sets her juice down and glances at me, her gaze deceptively casual.“We’ll have separate bedrooms back in New York, won’t we?”

That sounds like a plea.I lean back in my chair.“For sure.There’s no way we could…” I gesture between us.“This is … not that.”

Her lips press together, and she looks uneasy.“You don’t have to spell it out every time.I know our agreement.What this is and what it isn’t.I have no illusions.”

When she leans back, the sunlight catches the subtle bursts of gold in her green eyes.Today, she’s not in some sheer cover-up that lets me see things I shouldn’t.Instead, her outfit is soft, patterned and opaque.Still, the way it hangs loosely over her skin, makes my imagination go haywire.

I can’t seem to get a break.Will our entire year be like this?If so, I’m going to be a wreck.I push my chair back and set my napkin down.“I should get to work.”

She looks at me as if she’s about to say something and I wait expectantly.

“Have a good day at work, darling.”It’s mock exaggeration.A casual turn of phrase from a doting wife.She’s playing a role.That’s all.

“Don’t strain yourself too much on the recliner,” I quip.

I step into the cool interior of the villa’s study.The ceiling fans hum lazily above me, circulating the crisp air.The French doors open to a perfect view of the terrace.

And her.

Daniela tugs off the cover-up, letting it slip from her shoulders like silk, revealing a bikini that’s just … fucking illegal.Then she sits beneath an oversized umbrella, leisurely slathering sunscreen over her smooth skin before picking up a book.

Just like that I imagine my hands slipping and sliding over her body.My hands smoothing that lotion over her body.Spreading it out, rubbing it gently.Feeling her under my fingers, touching her, and … having an effect on her.As expected, my cock jumps to life, and I drop my head in my hands.

Wrong thought.Wrong visual.

What the hell am I doing?If this were real, we’d be in bed right now, fucking like feral animals, tearing into each other the way I know we could.I exhale sharply and pull my laptop closer.I need to focus.I need to dosomething.

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