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I don’t know how I get through the rest of the ceremony, but I do, although I stare athimthe entire time. My lips parted in awe and shame—in embarrassment. I want to curl into a ball and cry right this second. I don’t do that, though. Instead, I push through it, and when he lifts my veil, his gaze focuses on mine and his lips twitch into a smirk.
Sucking in a breath, I hold it as his mouth touches mine. “Hey, hummingbird,” he murmurs against my lips before he presses against me in a hard kiss.
The small audience begins to clap as he straightens, and then the priest announces us husband and wife before we turn toward the aisle and walk away from them to the waiting limo. I don’t even notice what kind it is as the door is opened and I bend down to move inside.
Sinking down to the seat, trying not to wrinkle my dress overly much, I stare straight ahead, frozen in shock as this man climbs in behind me. When he sinks down next to me, his warm thigh pressing against mine, he clears his throat. Only then am I broken away from my thoughts and turn to face him.
“Coleman,” I whisper. “You knew the whole time.”
“I did,” he mutters.
“You stalked me?”
He chuckles. “I did.”
I’m not sure how I feel about that. He stalked me. He watched me. He fucked me. We sit in silence for a moment, and then I press my lips together and roll them once before I open my mouth to speak.
“Why?” I ask.
He arches a brow. “Because you walked into a sex club to give your virginity away.”
“But you were watching me before that,” I point out.
He hums. “I wanted to see you in person. When you walked into that club, I had to know what you were doing there.”
“You wanted to know if I was a virgin,” I state.
Coleman watches me, his gaze focused on mine without speaking. I don’t know what he’s thinking, but I can’t believe I married my midnight stalker. I should have realized who he was when he showed up in Texas.
None of it made any sense, and I’m smart enough to question that. But I didn’t. I didn’t want to question anything. I wanted to have my cake and eat it, too. I wanted to be in control of myself, my body, my life. I wanted my freedom.
And what I got was not what I thought I wanted.
“Maybe it’s what you need, though. What we both need, hummingbird.”
I cover my lips with my fingers. I can’t believe I said that aloud. He chuckles, then reaches out, wrapping his fingers around my wrist before he turns my hand and touches his lips to the center of my palm.
“Do you hate me so much that you still wish to leave?” he asks.
“I don’t know you,” I exhale.
He hums and lifts his lips from my hand before he leans toward me, his lips brushing the skin right below my ear. “But you do know me,” he rasps as he shifts my hand down to his lap. He places my palm against the bulge against his crotch, and I suck in a breath.
“Coleman,” I whisper.
“You do know me,” he states. “And Iknowyou.”
He does know me better than anyone else. Nobody has seen all of me the way he has—at least physically. I bite the inside of my cheek, then look up into his eyes. I cannot believe I’m here with him. That he’s here with me. That he’s my husband. That I’m his wife.
“Coleman,” I breathe.
His mouth shifts forward again, his lips at my neck, then I feel his tongue against my skin. A thrill of desire slides down my spine. This feels wrong. Except it’s right because we’re literally married to one another now, whereas before, I didn’t even know his name.
The car stops, and he moves away from me, his eyes searching mine again. “Are you ready to begin this life with me, Claire?”
I don’t know why, but the way he says my name, it causes my skin to break out in goose bumps. I didn’t hear it at the altar, the blood was rushing through my ears and I couldn’t hear anything at all. This is the first time I’m actually hearing it clearly, and there is something sexy about it. I’m not sure what I imagined when my husband said my name, but it wasn’t this at all.
My belly tingles and my breath begins to come out in pants as I stare at him. “Claire,” he repeats my name.
