AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“My sister-in-law did that. I gave her your sizes, and she got the dress and the shoes. The whole shebang.” I hold up my hand to stop her before she can ask. “I snuck into your home and went through your closet and drawers to find your sizes.”
“You broke into my home?” Her face pales. “Was I there at the time?”
“You were. You were in the shower, singing. You have a great voice, Lisa. And I didn’t break into your home. I came in through a window you forgot to lock. You really should be more careful. Anyone could have gotten in that night.”
“This can’t be real.” She’s dressed now and clearly in shock. “I’m asleep in my bed at home, and any moment now, I’m going to wake up.”
“It’s real, honey. Very real. And we’re about to have what will look like a very real wedding. And afterward, we’re going to the floral shop, and you’re going to see that my things have been moved into your home. Well, our home now, sweetheart.”
“Unless I find a way to pay you not to do this,” she mumbles quietly.
“I know you don’t have enough money to do that.”
Her eyes move to mine. “Did you check my bank accounts?”
“Well, yeah. I had to do my homework on the business before putting all my effort into this plan. See, you have a business that’s barely making ends meet. None of the authorities or the IRS pays any attention to a business like yours. That’s what makes it a perfect cover for what we really do.”
“So, are you planning on bringing people to my home to kill them there?” There’s no fear on her face, and that impresses me.
“No. That’s not how I work. I don’t want you worrying about my business. You take care of the flower shit, and I’ll handle the things you don’t need to worry your pretty little head about.”
Frowning, she seems a little miffed. “I don’t really like the way you talk down to me, Frank. If we’re going to be married—”
“Fake married,” I interject. “And we are. There’s no if in any of this.”
Nodding, she goes on, “Okay then, if we’re going to be fake married, you and I need to get along. Talking to me like I’m some dumb kid doesn’t work for me.”
“You’ll get used to the way I talk.”
“You seriously expect me to just go along with whatever you want?” she says with a sharp tone I don’t care for. “And while I’m at it, I should let you speak to me any way you want?”
“You don’t seem to understand things clearly,” I say. “You’re mine to do whatever the fuck I want with. If I tell you to shut your mouth, you damn well better shut it. If I tell you to do something, you gotta rush to do it. Backtalk isn’t allowed. Got it?”
“So, I’m your prisoner. Is what you’re telling me?” Despondency glazes her eyes. “I have no choice in any of this?”
I don’t want her feeling hopeless. Not that there’s any hope that she can get out of this. “Hey, you do have choices. You can pay me, or you can let me run the show.”
“But I don’t have enough money to pay you, so that leaves me with no choice.”
I think she might be about to cry.
And I really don’t want that. Wrapping my arm around her shoulders, I pull her close to me and kiss the top of her head. “Hey, we had a good time, didn’t we?”
“Well, yeah. But I didn’t know what you had planned for me when we were having that good time.” Looking up at me with eyes brimming with tears, she sucks in her breath, trying to hold back a sob.
“Don’t take it personally. It’s just business. And we get along pretty damn great, I’d say. It could be so much worse, believe me. At least you and I have chemistry and the sex is outstanding.” She has no idea how good she has it.
She can’t help the smile that curves her pretty, plump lips. “Well, the sex is outstanding.” Then a frown takes over and she adds, “But now that I know that I have to do whatever you want, it might make the sex feel forced. I might not like it at all now that I have to do it.”
“Did I say that you have to have sex with me?” I laugh. “No, I never said that. I said that you have to fake marry me and let me take over your business, but I didn’t say you had to have sex with me. Sex is a bonus, that’s all.”
Shaking her head, she says, “You said I have to do anything you say.”
“Well, I’m not going to tell you that you have to have sex with me. I don’t have to force you to want me, baby—you want me all on your own. And you’ve wanted me from the first time you set eyes on me. I saw the lust in those brown eyes. You can’t fool me.”
Her shy grin tells me I’m right. “Well, I did lust after you from the get-go. But now that I know who you really are . . .”
“You knew I was trouble. You knew I was dangerous. And yet you came to my door anyway. You flirted with me, enticed me, and willingly gave yourself to me. I had no intentions of having sex with you in this hearse. You brought all that on yourself.”
