Page 293 of The First Taste

Her words are certainly a dig at me. But I don’t even care. I slowly nod my head, smoothing down the front of my suit jacket.

"I don’t think I knew that that dress was so short. But it looks fantastic on you." I squint. "Why would you ever cover yourself up when you look like this?"

Her cheeks redden. But before she can say whatever catty thing comes to her, I hold up a hand. "Wait. Don’t answer that. Let’s just say that I feel much more comfortable presenting you to people as my wife-to-be. But more importantly, here’s the question. Will the glam squad pick out a whole wardrobe for you?"

She rolls her eyes but nods. "Yeah. They’ve already started to fill the closets here, and they’re ready to fill the closets back home too."

My gaze slips down to her breasts, which are accentuated by her tightly crossed arms. She notices my gaze and snaps her fingers, her voice sounding angry. "Hey. I’m up here."

I snort. "Am I not supposed to look? Because damn. If not, it’s going to be a very hard time. And I do mean hard."

I flick my gaze to hers, smirking just a little. She flushes and pulls up the material at her cleavage, looking away. "Get over yourself."

"What, I’m not allowed to compliment you?"

She gives a tiny laugh. "No. That’s not the deal. And I would know because you just made me sign it."

My eyes wander back to her tits and then to her hips.

"Listen, darling girl. My preference is that I usually date the heiresses and models that are looking for a man to spoil them in exchange for my quote, ‘unusual’ sexual needs."

Silently, she shakes her head. "No, no. I don’t want to know. Let’s just skip over that part. I am not the most experienced girl, but I know that I don’t ever want to be one of those women. Just forget it."

I cock my brow. "You know, I sleep naked. And you are going to share my bed. What are you going to do when I undress myself?"

Her chin juts out, and she has that spark in her eyes, rebellious and resistant as ever. "You have to be kidding me. I’m sure you have plenty of bedrooms everywhere you go."

"Yeah, I do. But I expect you to fully commit to the fraud that we are a real couple. I won’t force myself upon you, but if anyone goes sniffing around, they’re going to find us sleeping in the same bed together every night. Once more, we are going to spend the rest of the weekend getting used to touching each other. We’re going to rub each other and grope each other, because I want to prove to everyone in my family that you and I are in love with each other and obsessed with each other.”

She gives a surprised laugh.

I glare at her. "Laugh all you like. But we are going to touch, kiss, and sleep in the same bed. Hell, we might even have sex... As long as you can keep your feelings for me from getting messy and entangled."

"That’s crazy." She shakes her head and turns toward the doorway, moving past me.

I grab her, my hand moving as quick as lightning to grab her wrist. Hauling her around to face me, I grip her arm and pinch her chin between my fingers.

"Where are you going?" I grit out. "We are talking here."

"Having sex is what got me into this whole mess. I don’t ever intend to confuse things between us by having sex with you. No thanks."

I look deep into her eyes, loving the passion and fire that I see. "Okay, let me ask you a question." I raise a brow. "Do you intend to be celibate for our entire relationship?"

She shrugs, trying to slip out of my grip. I refuse to move or let go.

"I don’t know. But I do know one thing: having an affair is explicitly forbidden for both of us in our marriage contract. So, you had better figure something out or you are going to get really lonely."

I release her suddenly, and I glare at her. "What do you mean?"

She gives me a hearty smile. "If you had read the contract before you had me sign it, you would’ve seen that clause. It’s written there in pretty cut-and-dry language. Infidelity is a no-no. It’s one of the only reasons that I can pull out of our marriage without facing financial ruin.”

I sneer. "You know what I hate? Your know-it-all attitude."

"Oh, go ahead. Avoid the question entirely. But let’s not forget that I am carrying the child that will be the golden goose."

Damn. For a minute, I was so wrapped up in arguing with her that I forgot the whole reason we were here in the first place.

Talia is pregnant. I know it intellectually. But now this child, this unknown and unseen figment of my imagination, rises between us.