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I took another forkful and then another, annoyed at how delicious the food was. My hunger continued to grow as the flavors burst on my tongue, and before I knew what was going on, I was shoveling in bite after bite, moaning as the taste of the burger filled my mouth.
“Good?” I glanced up at Chris and saw that he’d stopped eating. His dark gaze fixed on me, something seductive slithering in them.
At his piercing look, a response rolled through my body.
“Yes,” I answered as impassively as I could, happy that desire didn’t show in my voice at least. It was bad enough that I was still attracted to him despite everything.
And it was definitely odd that I was.
Even odder was the fact that I was sitting here with him and eating as though we weren’t captives and captors.
But hey,I told myself.A girl has to eat.I needed to keep my strength up and my wits about me if I had any hope of getting out of this alive.
After we were done, Chris paid for the meal, leaving the waitress a very hefty tip, might I add. Then, we headed out.
As we sat in the car, the feeling of doom once again loomed over me, but while taking steadying breaths, I gave myself a little pep talk.
You’rejust buying yourself time.I told myself.It’s not forever. Every dragon has a weakness. I just have to find his weakness, and that will be my key to freedom.
Because I didn’t trust that all I would have to do was marry him for a year, and he would take care of my Morano problems. I didn’t trust him that much.Plus, why did he want to marry me in the first place? He could have chosen just about anyone for the role. Why me?
Something else was going on here, and I needed to figure out what it was.
But that would come after my marriage because pretty soon, we were standing in front of the clerk with a wedding certificate and our two witnesses.
Chris signed first before shooting me an annoying wink. He knew he had me trapped.
I hesitated a little before signing but ultimately decided to go through with it, telling myself the same mantra as I did in the beginning.This meant nothing.I was just buying time. I would escape from this. I would survive.
And then it was done.
“I won’t let you down.” Those were the first words on his lips after we were legally married and as we sat in the car in uncomfortable silence. “I know you don’t believe that now, and I don’t expect you to, especially with how everything went down. But trust me when I say I’m going to protect you with my life. No one will ever touch you, not while I’m around.”
I let the words sink in even as I thought about my reply. I thought about saying something, detailing to him how much I loathed the idea of being married to him and how much I didn’t trust him.
But none of that would do me any good right now.
So, instead, I said, “Fine. But if you want me to believe you, then you have to start earning my trust, which means we have to have some rules of engagement.”
“What do you mean?” he asked.
“No touching,” I said firmly. “In any sexual way for the duration of our marriage. And no kissing, no groping, no sex.”
I thought it would be an instant denial, but he didn’t look surprised by my request at all. He seemed to think about it for a minute, and then he nodded.
“I’m serious,” I enunciated to make sure he got it.
“Don’t insult me,” he responded, and there was a sharp note in his voice. “I’m not a rapist, and I have never in my life forced an unwilling woman into my bed. So rest assured that I don’t plan on doing anything to you that you don’t ask for.”
I analyzed his indignant expression for a bit, then I nodded.
I believed him. Perhaps it was stupid of me, but I did.
It allowed me to relax a little, but I knew I could never let my guard down around him.
Ever.
* * *
