“I want you to act as a wife would act. I want to live as a married couple for three months, supporting each other and all that entails,” he replies, his eyes dipping to my mouth.
I don’t say anything. I don't think I even blink as I just stare at this slightly unhinged man who looks like my continued silence is making him want to crawl out of his skin.
“Fucking hell, I’m going to need something stronger than coffee to get me through this conversation,” I finally answer, and when I do, a sexy grin spreads across his face.
Oh boy. I’m in so much trouble.
Eleven
Asher
“If I agree to this, and I’m not saying I will, then I want to add a stipulation,” she hedges searching my face for something.
At this point, I’ll give her whatever she wants.
“I want to stay here.”
Except that.
“No, that’s not going to work. This place isn’t safe,” I tense just thinking about it.
“This is my home, Asher. What happens if after a week you change your mind and kick me out?” She frowns and tries to reason with me
“That’s not going to happen,” I tell her adamantly.
“Asher, you don’t know that.” She sighs, exasperated.
“Do you seriously think I tracked you down and pushed myself into your life just so I could change my mind a week down the line?”
She doesn’t respond, so I lean closer and tuck a loose strand of hair behind her ear.
“I know you don’t know me well enough yet to trust me, and Christ knows I’ve given you a million reasons not to, but on this, I swear to you I won't leave you high and dry. And it's fair to mention, we didn’t sign a prenup, so you could cause me far more issues than I could cause you,” I point out, feeling more thankful than I can put into words that I didn't wake up married to a gold digger.
Linda knew who I was all along. If she had wanted my money, she would have tracked me down immediately.
“I don’t want your money, Asher,” she insists as I place a finger over her lips.
“I know you don’t. I’m telling you I trust you, knowing you could do me dirty. I’m asking you to trust me.” A stab of guilt washes over me, but I brush it off.
I might have started this out with one thing in mind, but things have changed now. If I tell her I tracked her down because of a deal, she will slam the door in my face and the marriage will be over before it's even begun.
“Okay,” she whispers, making her decision.
“Okay,” I reply just as softly, as my whole body relaxes.
“I’m probably going to regret this, but let's give this a go.”
“All in?” I clarify.
“Define all in.”
“It means neither of us holds back. We throw everything into this marriage and see if we sink or swim.”
She shakes her head, but her lips tip up into a smile. “Fine, you win. I’m all in.”
The smile is nowhere to be seen now as she sits with her head turned away from me, a scowl likely still on her face as she gazes out of the passenger side window of my car. I’m the one that’s smiling now, and I don’t even try to hide it.
I always like winning in life. Who doesn’t? But nothing has been sweeter than getting my way today.
Of course, when she agreed to go all in, she didn’t realize I would want to start immediately or that in deciding to give this marriage a shot, I expected her to move in with me. Today.
I don’t force her to make idle chit chat, sensing that she needs a minute to herself. I leave her to watch the world whizz by, the houses morphing from rundown and shabby to large and exclusive. When I pull up to my apartment building and park out front, I look over at her.
If I was expecting her to be impressed, I would have been severely disappointed.
“You live here?” she questions quietly, looking up at the impressive building before us.
I nod, wondering what she thinks.
Any other woman would be ready to jump on my dick at this point, but this one looks more likely to jump on the nearest train away from here.
“Is this going to work for you?” I tease with a grin, knowing it's a damn sight better than the shithole she’s being dragged out of.
“I guess so,” she answers before climbing out of the car.
Sighing, I climb out myself, making a note to talk to her about staying seated next time until I get her door.
One of the younger new valets— Karl or Kyle or something—appears in front of me with a polite smile on his boyish face.
“Hi,” Linda greets him with a sweet smile.
A flush of red stains his cheeks as he takes her in and checks her out. The little shit better take his eyes off her before I remove them from his face.
With a growl, I toss him the keys. “There are some bags in the back that need bringing upstairs,” I snap at him. I place my hand on the small of Linda’s back, urging her inside and away from the valet who is one step away from getting an ass kicking.
“Morning, Mr. Sloan,” Sam, the tall, aging doorman, greets me as we make our way inside.
Linda smiles, taking in his navy-blue uniform and his short salt and pepper colored hair.
“Sam, this is Linda. My wife,” I add as he holds his hand out, making Linda freeze.
“Well, I’ll be damned. Congratulations, Mr. and Mrs. Sloan.”
He shakes Linda’s hand and before she can interject, I thank him and steer us away to the elevators. We wait in silence until the door opens, then Linda heads to the corner, about as far away from me as she can get. I press for the top floor, scanning my security card on the panel above it before turning to face her. She stares at me, her face alarmingly pale.
“You okay?” I question, wondering why she’s freaking out all of a sudden. “Are you having second thoughts?” I hedge, walking closer to her even as she attempts to back up farther. Unlucky for her, there is nowhere else to go.
“I… No. I’m not backing out. It's just a lot. And new. I…have no freaking clue what I’m doing,” she admits quietly.
“We’ll figure it out together, I promise,” I tell her softly, not wanting to spook her any more than she already is as I come to a stop directly in front of her. Our bodies are so close that if she takes a deep breath, her breasts will brush against my chest, and damn, the thought alone makes my dick twitch.
She looks up at me and nods, offering me a shaky smile.
The doors slide open behind us, so I reach my hand for her and wait. She stares at it for a moment before looking up into my eyes once more, her gaze searching for something. Whatever it is, she must find it as she reaches out tentatively and slides her much smaller hand into mine. I draw her out of the elevator and walk us down the corridor until we get to my door and key us in.
“I’ll get you a keycard tomorrow from Sam. Nobody gets up here unless they are on the list downstairs, so you don't have to worry about any unexpected visitors,” I explain, swinging the door open.
She walks through the small hall that leads to the enormous open plan living room with sunken floors and floor to ceiling windows.