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“Come with me, Roisin,” he grunts.
I can’t resist.
His thumb touches me once, and I shatter.
I gasp, falling forward onto Marco’s strong shoulders. He jerks, pulsing up into me, and I can feel him inside me as he tucks me tightly against him.
I can feel his heart beating in his chest…
And I can feel my own heart echoing his.
We sit like that, for what feels like an eternity, until I shiver.
Gently, Marco untangles us. He cleans me up with a towel from the bathroom, and then tucks me into the sheets next to him.
I’m drowsy, but more than that, I don’t know what to do with myself, so I shut my eyes and even my breathing.
That was the most intimate sex I’ve ever had. And it’s all fake.
Because Marco and I were just pretending.
I can’t even pretend that my heart isn’t aching right now. There’s nothing more in the world that I want right now than to be Marco’s wife for real. Than to have him love me, fully, and have all of this bereal.
But it’s not.
My heart feels like it’s skipping every fourth beat, and my head is swirling. I’m doing my best to make it seem like I’m asleep, but inside, I feel like I’m being torn apart.
Marco stirs. “Roisin?”
I don’t answer.I’m asleep.
He waits a second, then I feel him press a kiss to my shoulder.
“I’m not pretending,” he whispers.
Thank God he thinks I’m asleep.
Because if I had to face that?
I’m not sure what I would do.
22
MARCO
Wakingup with Roisin in my arms, I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that I love this woman.
And I need to divorce her as soon as possible.
What Roisin and I did last night wasn’t okay.
And that makes it dangerous, not only for her, but for me.
I’m not built to have a wife. Not like my brothers and sister. I’m not like them.
My role is to make sure everyone is safe. That they have the lives they want, that they’re happy and fulfilled.
And Roisin isn’t safe if she’s attached to me.