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Isabella
It’sbeentwoweekssince my wedding night, and I’ve not seen much of my husband. Despite us kissing and him making me see stars with just his hand, he seems distant again. Maybe I pushed too hard to see a tender side of him when he made it clear that this was a business arrangement.
And my end of the bargain is to give him an heir. Only, I don’t know how or when to tell him I’m not ready to be a mother. I want to finish school and be something first, have a man look at me with some modicum of respect for being my own person. What is this? The dark ages?
I sleep in Shea’s room, and Kieran sleeps in his bedroom. Every night. I almost wish he wouldn’t come home. Ignoring me while under the same roof hurts worse.
When I do see him, he smiles politely, but he’s always on the phone.
Sitting on my bed with the laptop and a cup of Kieran’s favorite tea, lemon ginger, I log into the college portal to work on my independent project.
Balor helped me find all my previous schoolwork from the cloud and downloaded it to the new laptop he gave me. He’s very nice. Geeky. And Kieran’s most lethal weapon, since he could hack into everyone’s bank accounts and empty them.
At the bottom of one of the portal pages, there’s a link to hook up with local students to alleviate feeling so alone while doing online coursework. No way will Kieran let me go sit in a coffee shop all day with strangers.
Still, I click on the link and put in my zip code. I suck in a breath when I see there’re two students, a girl and a guy, who meet regularly in Manhattan every day at two p.m.
Tomorrow night is Samantha’s party. My friends have not heard from me. The last they knew, I was a day away from going back to school. I never told them about Ivan. I have to find a way to go to that party. I can explain everything in person and not worry if someone is listening to me.
Kieran mentioned going to a fundraiser tomorrow night but didn’t say anything about me going with him. Meeting those other students gives me the perfect excuse to go into Manhattan during the day. I’ll just stop by the club after. I’m entitled to a night of fun. I want to see my friends and tell them what’s going on.
Dressed in a pair of terrycloth sleep shorts and a tank top, I amble down the hallway to Kieran’s bedroom. The door is closed. It’salwaysclosed.
I lift my hand to knock but stop. He deserves to be walked in on. Only… What if something is going on in that bedroom I don’t want to see?
Figuring we’re still newly married, and I just moved in, I give him the courtesy and knock. A few breaths later, the door flies open, and Kieran stands there in a towel slung low on his hips, so low it might fall off.
I’m paralyzed, staring at his cut, muscular chest dotted with water droplets, planes of abs, and sculpted biceps.
He leans against the door and says, “Can I help you?”
Like I’m a door-to-door salesperson.
“Am I interrupting anything?”
His lips form a smile, and he steps back, inviting me into his room. Is that all it took? For me to knock on his door? “I have a meeting with Ewan Quinlan this morning.” He turns to a lighted mirror over his dresser. “What do you need?”
Looking at him, the first thought that screams at me is sex. Ineedsex. I’ve been married for over two weeks, and I’m still a virgin.
“I was checking my school’s website.”
He blinks a few times, and I wonder if he’s picturing me in a schoolgirl’s uniform. “And?”
“There’re a couple of students who meet—”
“No.”
My shoulders slump. “You didn’t let me finish.”
He crosses his arms over his broad inked-up chest. “Finish.”
“Can I meet some students in the city at a coffee bar who are also doing online classes? You know, just to share our experiences. So we don’t feel so alone.”
He blinks, taking in my words, but utters, “No.”
“Why not?”
“It’s not safe.” He goes back to the mirror.
