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He caught his response before it revealed his surprise. ‘Go on,’ he invited.
‘We will not have sex for these two weeks.’
He choked, actually choked, on air. ‘No. Emily. Be serious,’ he begged.
‘I am serious,’ she insisted, the blush riding high on her apple-round cheeks.
‘Mi corazón, that is crazy. What is between us is—’
‘Distracting, and always has been. If we have any hope of getting to the root of our marriage problems, you can’t just sex me into forgiving you.’
‘Sex you into... Emily—’
‘No!’ She put up her hand, firm and decisive. ‘You do this, Javi. You come in all handsome and determined and...’ she shook her hand up at him ‘...andthatand you distract me from being mad at you.’
‘Emily, if it’s that easy to make younotmad at me, maybe you weren’t that mad at me in the first place?’
‘That is not a reasonable argument, Javier!’
He shrugged, really not quite sure that it wasn’t. And although Emily had just made it that much harder to get his wife back, she had apparently forgotten that he was most definitely a worthy opponent.
‘Define sex.’
‘Excuse me?’ Emily squeaked, her eyes wide with shock.
He shrugged again, enjoying unsettling his wife a little too much.
‘Define sex,’ he repeated slowly.
‘Well, you know...’
There was absolutely no way in hell he was helping her out of this one. If she wanted to make such a ridiculous stipulation to their agreement, then she was going to have to define her terms. And if it left him any leeway at all, any, he planned to make full use of it.
‘Intercourse,’ she finally said, the word erupting from her mouth as if she’d held her breath around it.
‘Agreed,’ he replied swiftly before she realised how much room to manoeuvre she’d allowed him, ‘but I have a condition of my own.’ Her eyes narrowed, expecting him to be up to something. Good. She would need her wits about her. ‘You will share my bed.’
‘But we’re not having sex.’
‘No,’ he agreed, wondering why she thought that the two were mutually exclusive. Yes, he’d always made love to his wife every chance he got, but... He clenched his jaw against the shockingly soft turn of his heart when he remembered what it had been like to wake up with her head on his arm, the curve of her body fitting so perfectly against his, the scent of her hair on the pillow. And now he was wondering whether he should take it back.
‘You want to share a bed with me even though I will not sleep with you?’
He nodded, not quite trusting himself to speak or what else he might end up saying.
‘Okay,’ she agreed hesitantly, gingerly stretching out her hand for him to shake.
He nearly laughed, feeling almost guilty for something that would be so easy for him to achieve. He took her small palm into his hand, ignoring the warning sizzle and heat and spark.
‘It is a deal,mi reina.’
Javier got up from the table, startling her.
‘Where are you going?’ Emily asked, somewhat dazed by the events of the past hour.
‘I’m going to move your things.’
She opened her mouth to argue but nothing came out. She had—undeniably—agreed to share his bed, just as he had agreed—undeniably—not to sleep with her. And only now was she realising the torment she had just consigned herself to. She dropped her forehead to the table the moment he left the room.
