Page 17 of The Marriage

Roman threw his head back and laughed. Hard. “Do you really think I’m going to stand back and watch you being pushed off a fucking cliff? Honest question.”

She rolled her eyes. “Okay, so what kind of an adventure are you talking about?”

“How about a spa day?”

It was Karine’s turn to laugh now.

“You’re not serious.”

“What’s wrong with that?” he asked.

“A spa day is Roman Avdonin’s idea of a big adventure?”

Her giggles had his face darkening just enough to make her wink. He shrugged back. It wasn’t often Karine got a rise out of Roman, and she enjoyed it.

Very much.

“It’s not like we’ll have the opportunity to keep doing shit like this—spending the day together at a spa, relaxing. Not when we have to go back soo—”

She cut him off, pressing her palm brutishly to his mouth to keep him from finishing that sentence.

Karine didn’t want to hear it.

That made it real.

“Okay, yes, let’s go. It’ll be fun,” she said quickly.

Roman sighed as he took her hand away with two kisses to her palm. “I really just want you to have a nice day, Karine.”

She smiled as she took the bottle of bodywash from his hand. “I always have a nice day when I’m with you, Roman.”

*

The private property where they had to travel outside of the city to reach looked like a resort, but Karine hadn’t seen any large signage on the outside of the gates as they’d driven through. The small plaque was too small for her to discern the writing when Roman pulled beyond security. She didn’t know where they were but the weaving, long driveway that led to the welcoming lobby style entrance was a beautiful distraction.

Karine didn’t mind the long drive. There was nowhere else in the world she’d rather be than with Roman, the top down and wind in her hair. If she closed her eyes, it was almost like she was flying.

Free.

Roman had watched her closely during the drive, smiling the whole time. He even joined in when she started singing to a song on the radio that she had heard enough times to at least know most of the verses. He had a good singing voice. Deep and sexy.

Unsurprisingly, he ignored her compliment when she told him so.

His only comment had been a teasing, growled threat of, “If you mention this to anyone...”

All it took to quiet his grumbling was Karine leaning into him, pressing her red lipstick-painted mouth to the shell of his ear while her hands wandered over his muscular thighs, asking. “What Roman? What will you do to me if I tell the world about your secret musical talents?”

He’d taken his eyes off the road to stare at her, a sinfully dark promise at the ready to make her shiver.

“If you want it to hurt—I can do that. And you’ll like it. Test me.”

She bit down on her lip at that, and he had turned away with a smile. The urge to do just that—test him—teased her self-control, but she had to quell it. They’d arrived at that point.

Roman parked right at the front door’s steps, under the large carport. A valet appeared, offering to take the car to a designated parking spot as Karine stared through the wall-to-wall glass that looked into a modernly designed black, white and navy-blue lobby. A uniformed man helped Karine out of the car with a smile and a hello—he also used her first name, but she didn’t think much of it. This felt like exactly the kind of place that would want those details ahead of time for guests to be welcomed.

The sprawling grounds featured white pebble walkways, and water features with designated sitting areas at each, and left its guests soothed by the quiet, calm atmosphere.

The place was as impressive—and likely as expensive—as their hotel suite back in the city.