Page 19 of Bound by a One-Night Vow

‘You’re too hard on yourself.’ His voice had a softer note that glided along her skin like a caress.

Izzy forced a smile. ‘I’ll leave you to it, then. I’m feeling pretty tired. It’s been a big day.’

She was almost at the door of the bedroom when his voice stalled her. ‘Were you disappointed we didn’t have a more formal church wedding?’

Izzy turned to look at him but there was nothing in his expression she could read, other than mild interest. ‘I never intended getting married in a church or otherwise so how could I be disappointed?’

He gave a slight nod as if her answer made perfect sense, but there was a shadow in the back of his gaze that made her wonder if he would ever take what she said at face value again. It unnerved her to think she had revealed so much to him in so short a time. Impersonal or not, their wedding ceremony had shifted something in their relationship. It was not the same as before. She was finding it harder and harder to see him as the enemy, especially when his touch made her feel so alive. She needed to keep him at a distance—an emotional distance—if she were to get out of this six-month marriage without getting hurt.

* * *

Izzy somehow managed to sleep in spite of her worries about the new shape of her relationship with Andrea. But it appeared the same couldn’t be said of him when she came out of the suite the next morning. He looked like he’d been awake all night. Dark stubble peppered his jaw and his eyes were drawn and his hair looked like it had suffered the repeated shove of his fingers. He unfolded himself from the sofa and rubbed the back of his neck. ‘How did you sleep?’ he asked, wincing against the sunlight when she drew back the curtains.

‘Clearly a whole lot better than you,’ Izzy said, picking up the throw rug that had fallen to the floor and folding it neatly into a square. She hugged it against her body. ‘Shall I make you some coffee?’

‘You don’t have to wait on me, Isabella.’ The gruff note in his voice nicked at her fraught nerves.

She placed the throw rug over the end of the sofa and straightened. ‘Are you usually this grumpy in the mornings?’

‘Grumpier.’

She raised her brows. ‘Even after a night of hot sex?’ You should not have asked that.

Something darkened in his gaze. ‘There’s not usually someone around in the morning to witness my mood.’

Izzy frowned. ‘You mean you don’t allow sleepovers?’

‘No.’ There was an emphatic tone to the word that made her wonder what made him insist on such a rule.

‘Is that in the playboy’s rulebook? No emotional entanglements, no cosy pillow talk?’

His mouth moved in a wry smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes. ‘I don’t like giving mixed signals. Sex is sex. It’s not a promise of forever.’

‘But what if you see the same person for a few weeks or even months? You’ve had such relationships, surely?’

‘Occasionally.’

‘And?’

‘I don’t like morning-after-the-night-before scenes,’ he said. ‘It’s much simpler to make sure they don’t happen in the first place. Then no expectations get raised. No one gets hurt.’

Izzy studied him for a moment. ‘It kind of makes me wonder what sort of women you’ve dated. I wouldn’t be too keen on a man who didn’t want to see me wake up beside him the next morning. I’d find it insulting if he asked me to leave once the deed was done.’

‘I make sure they’re more than adequately compensated.’

‘What with? Flowers, chocolates or designer jewellery delivered to their door the next day?’

‘No jewellery.’

‘Why?’

‘It’s too...personal.’

Izzy moved across to the tea and coffee making area in the suite, busying herself with the task of making herself a cup of tea. She didn’t want to think about the women he’d dated. Or the fact that he’d bought her a gorgeous diamond and sapphire ring and wedding ring. What did that mean? But the voice of reason came down hard on her silly romantic musing. It meant he wanted everyone to think this was a real marriage and not a six months sham. She turned to glance at him over her shoulder. ‘Are you sure about that cup of coffee?’

‘Quite sure.’

Izzy reached for a luxury muslin teabag and dropped it into her cup. ‘I guess I should congratulate myself on being the first woman you’ve bought jewellery for.’ She turned and looked at him again. ‘Or do you want me to give the rings back when we annul this marriage?’

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