"Hey," I said.
A beat.
His eyes moved over me—not slow, not obvious, just a flicker, down and back up—and something shifted in his jaw.
"You look nice," he said.
Three words. Completely even. And yet.
"Thanks," I said. "Come in."
He came in.
I stepped aside, and he moved close enough to brush past me. It made every single nerve in my body light up; for god’s sake, I couldfeelmy thighs tense, my pussy clench. I bit my lip hard, trying to calm myself down, wondering if I should even be calm or if it was better to get excited, let myself give into it.
He set the food down on the kitchen table, focused intently on that paper bag.
“Marlena makes a mean burger,” he said. “Figured you might want one and some fries…didn’t know what you liked, but I should have asked—sorry about that.”
He wasn’t looking at me. And for me…my fingers were on the buttons of my dress, popping them open one by one like a crazy lady. I was anxious. I wasthrilled. I needed to get naked before I lost my nerve, and?—
The dress dropped to the floor just as he turned to look over his shoulder.
His eyes went wide.
His jaw dropped.
He turned to face me fully.
“You…” he started.
I felt ridiculous. Like I should cover up. It suddenly occurred to me that it was stupid for me to have put on nice lingerie whenthis was just a legal arrangement, not a honeymoon. Did he think I was stupid for being like this? That I was too fat to wear something like this? The pink floral had been Daniela’s idea, and Daniela was athletic and perfect and?—
I crossed my arms over my chest.
Gage took a step toward me, extending his hand.
“Don’t do that,” he rasped, voice low.
Confirmation.
Shit.
I closed my eyes. “Sorry—I guess…it was stupid—” I started to put the dress back on.
Gage crossed the room and caught my chin in his hands, lifting my face.
“Don’t you dare cover up,” he growled.
I froze.
His hands were warm on my face and he was close—really close, close enough that I could smell him, cedar and something underneath it, and his eyes were on me in a way that made my brain go completely offline.
"Look at me," he said.
I looked at him.
"You are not stupid," he said. "And you are not covering up." His thumb brushed my jaw, just once. "You understand me?"
