Page 35 of Meant for Mayhem

Mikko’s hand left my thigh and grabbed my chin instead until my gaze met his.

Breath whooshed out of me as his thumb grazed my jaw, rough from years of hockey tape and calluses. I should have pushed back, slapped his hand away, but the intensity in his eyes was so vulnerable, I leaned in.

Absolutely not.

“Don’t misunderstand me,” he said. “I am your husband, and I intend to be a good one. Whether or not you need something is irrelevant. I want you to have it, not because I need the world to know you’re unavailable, to know you’re mine. But because I want you to be happy, and I chose it for you.”

The hand not gripping my chin flipped open the box and pulled the ring out, pinching it between two fingers. I finally came to my senses enough to pull my face out of his hold, pulse racing under my skin. But it was nothing compared to the feeling that swept through me when I looked down at the emerald-cut stone set on a diamond-encrusted gold band. It wasn’t overly large, but the gem in the middle wasn’t your typical diamond—it was black, maybe a sapphire or moissanite. I wasn’t sure.

But I was sure that Mikko hadn’t just bought a wedding ring…

He’d bought one for me.

My hand shook as I reached forward before I could scream that this didn’t feel temporary. But the ring was shiny, and beautiful, and damn my superficial self, I wanted it.

“I don’t hate it.” My voice sounded rougher than I was proud of.

Mikko took my left hand and slid it onto my ring finger, the metal cold against my clammy skin. It wasn’t until that moment that I realized he also wore a simple gold band on his left hand, too.

“Why are you wearing a ring?” I asked, my chin raised to meet his eyes. “Because you wanted one?”

“Because I’m yours, rakas.”

My breath caught, and the little sound that escaped me drew his eyes down to my mouth.

Mine betrayed me by doing the same.

Neither of us moved, the heavy tension hanging in the air with only inches between us.

It would have taken nothing to seal the deal with a kiss. To make this real.

An absolutely insane part of me wanted that.

The look in his eyes made me wonder if he wanted it too.

Everything about this moment felt far more intense than the legal speak we’d promised each other at the courthouse. In fact, the longer he looked at me, I almost believed all of Mikko’s pretty words.

He chose me, not because I was the first person who came to mind.

He trusted me, even though he barely knew me.

He belonged to me, at least legally.

My. Husband.

My hand tingled the longer he held it until I finally pulled it free, then slid back next to Leena’s car seat. No way did I trust myself to sit in the front with him, not when my brain was this confused.

“Let’s drive before we’re stuck in evening traffic,” I said, unable to meet his eyes.

Mikko stood in the doorway for another second, then closed the door. He got back in the car and put it in drive.

I focused on Leena, reminding myself that she was why I’d agreed to this marriage.

Not because Mikko had any effect on me. And certainly not because for a moment I thought he was going to kiss me.

“Where am I sleeping?” I asked, far too late into this conversation, but feeling the weight of what I’d agreed to. “At your house, I mean.”

Mikko cleared his throat, looking at me in the rearview mirror as he pulled onto the interstate, leading back to Denver. “About that.”