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Taste her, taste her, taste her…
He lowered his head to hers, grasping her chin gently with his hand so he could tip her head back just enough. As he closed his lips over hers, she gasped, and the small sound was like a single firework igniting his soul. She responded as though they were more than signatures on a form, more than two people who were only together because they’d messed up.
Marianna kissed with a passion that terrified him. Her lips were pliable under his, soft and giving and willing. Her hand came to his chest, not grabbing or tugging, but resting. Reassuring. She anchored herself to him with that soft, tender touch, and it almost split him open. He wasn’t used to kisses like that. Nico pulled back quickly, not wanting to know how his body would respond if he dared slip his tongue into her mouth. Besides, this wasn’t the appropriate place for such a display. They were married, yes. But this was still a work function.
When he drew back, covering his discomfort by clearing his throat, she snatched her hand back as if she’d touched something unbearably hot.
“Wow.” The word was so soft he could barely hear it, but he had…unfortunately.
“I’m sorry to abandon the party, everyone, but Marianna and I should be going,” he said to the crowd. “Thank you all for coming, I know Dion appreciates it as much as I do.”
He steered his wife into the house, his arms still tight around her waist. It hadn’t escaped him that Alethea had made a quick exit when it became clear a kiss was about to happen. It was awkward, but at this point, the most important thing was keeping up appearances.
“Well, for someone who seems determined to ignore me most of the time, you sure do kiss like you mean it.” Her cheeks were as pink as the last breath of a sunset.
“I don’t mean it.”
Liar.
“No?”
“No.”
She folded her arms under her bust. Lord help him. All the action did was push her breasts up higher and harder against the neckline of the dress. They were bigger than he remembered, no doubt a change in preparation for the baby. “Yeah, I’m not buying that. Guess I should add ‘bullshit’ to my list of fluent languages.”
“It wasn’t like you held back yourself, little koala.”
She smirked. “Deflection, interesting.”
“You’ll have to forgive me,” he drawled. “I don’t have much experience in knowing where to draw the line while pretending to be in love with someone.”
“You might not love me, but you could have easily gotten away with a peck.”
She was trying to rile him up. Of course he knew that. But for some reason her words made a stone settle in the pit of his stomach. “Maybe I’m simply good at pretending.”
After all, you spent years pretending you didn’t care that no one loved you. This is exactly the same.
“Well, you’re good at lying,” she said. “I know that.”
“Excuse me?”
Marianna’s full lips curved into a smile. “You said you stayed up late to work and only came in to use the bathroom. You didn’t go near the bathroom.”
Dammit. “You were pretending to be asleep?”
“Not pretending, just hovering in that space between being awake and being asleep.” Her expression softened. “I felt you pull the blanket over me.”
He cleared his throat, suddenly feeling like she was inspecting him through a microscope. “I don’t want you catching a cold while you’re carrying the baby.”
“A person’s character is most revealed when they think nobody is watching,” she said. “My mother used to say that to me.”
He didn’t like this at all. Marianna was far more observant than he’d given her credit for, and if there was anything Nico hated, it was being watched. Being known.
“What does that say about you, then?” he asked, dodging her observation. “That you’re moving my things around even after I asked you not to.”
She bit down on her lip, as if stifling a laugh. “The cat? I thought it might want a change of scenery.”
“Real cats need a change of scenery, not toys,” he said. “Don’t do it again.”
Why had she even been looking at that damn thing, anyway? The ornament was hideous. Broken and chipped and cheap. Worthless. But Sister Iva had given it to him when he was a young boy, crying at being rejected by yet another family. He couldn’t bring himself to throw it away.
But for some reason the thought of being able to pass it down to his son or daughter made him feel something, an emotion he didn’t quite know how to label but which gave him a warm, satisfied feeling in his chest. And that scared the crap out of him.
Chapter Eleven
Marianna had been looking forward to the “honeymoon at home” all week. After the cocktail party, Nico had been more attentive. They’d eaten dinner together and gone for a swim one night when he’d decided not to retire to his office. He’d even started sleeping in the bed next to her, though he’d made no move to get close. The damn thing was the biggest bed she’d ever seen, so they could have had an elephant in there with them and still not been cramped. But she was happy for the progress nonetheless.
