The Marriage Clause

I blushed at her assumption, biting my lip at the wild thrill of being called Mrs. Donato, but Luca corrected her with a coy “She’s not mine yet, but hopefully someday.” I wanted to pinch him playfully. Of course, I would marry him at twenty-three, after I graduated college, but no one knew that.

“Young lovebirds.” She sighed as if remembering her own youth. “Well, I’m Mrs. Ellering, but you can call me Iris. Welcome to Knucklebocker Sanctuary. We’ve prepared a special day for you and your sweetheart. Just follow me.”

Oh, that sneaky devil had prepared everything in advance, and I loved it.

“I heard someone is an animal lover?” Iris prompted as she led us to the large redwood barn.

“That’s me,” I piped up, squeezing Luca’s hand as I beamed. “I hope to work with animals someday. Maybe go to veterinary school.”

“That’s a noble profession,” Iris said, pushing open the barn doors. The scents of barn wood, hay and horse poop immediately assaulted my nose, but I liked it. It was so earthy and unlike the city that I drank in the ambience. Plus, the fact that Luca had arranged everything made it extra special.

“Harvard,” Iris called out, “we have guests.”

A bald, wiry man in faded overalls and a full white beard appeared from a stall where a horse nickered. “You them fancy folk from the city that’s bought us out for the day?” he asked.

I tried not to blush, but Luca answered for us both, saying good-naturedly, “What gave it away? My soft hands?”

“Oh, go on now, be nice.” Iris waved at her husband with mock disapproval, but it was easy to see they were both playing around. My heart melted a little at how easily the older couple flowed together, an obvious by-product of a long, happy marriage. I tightened my grip on Luca with a wistful sigh. That will be us, someday...

I awoke with a start, realizing that I’d been dreaming and we were landing. Luca was already awake, his attention focused on his phone.

What a difference from then to now. Gone were the smiles, the laughter...the sweet, good-natured Luca who went out of his way to make me happy with an over-the-top gesture, replaced by this manipulative caricature dressed in a ten-thousand-dollar suit.

I absently rubbed at the dismal chord that twanged in my chest. If I cared, I might’ve mourned the loss of the man I used to know, but I didn’t care. Disdain had replaced any pain that lingered, and I was grateful. Just as Luca wasn’t the man he used to be, I wasn’t the girl he used to know, either.

If Luca thought he could persuade me to forget the past with this phony seduction act, he didn’t know how much I’d truly changed. Of course, Luca probably felt secure in the idea that he could win this little wager; otherwise he wouldn’t have extended the offer.

Time to negotiate. “I want our deal in writing,” I said.

“You don’t trust me?” He tsked as if I were being unfair. When I didn’t budge, he relented. “Fine. Anything else?”

“Yes, I will give you seven days, but at the end of those seven days, when I haven’t changed my mind, you will not only agree to end my contract, but you will not seek any damages from the breach and you will leave me to live in peace. I never want to see you or another Donato again. Clear?”

“If I can’t change your mind,” he repeated, but there was something about his tone that sent a warning chill dancing along my skin. “But I will change your mind, Katherine. I have no doubt that by the end of the week, possibly sooner, I’ll be between your legs and you’ll be gasping my name.”

I sucked in an embarrassed breath, glancing around quickly to see if anyone had caught what he’d said. “I said no sex,” I said with a sharp hiss. “Absolutely no sex. No touching, no sucking, kissing or licking...nothing.”

His knowing chuckle undid me, and I suffered an intense need to run far and fast. It was as if he could sense that my heart rate tripled when he was around, that my skin heated and my toes curled inside my shoes against my will.

My attraction to him was mortifying. My dignity cringed and wailed, Remember how he destroyed you without skipping a beat? Do you want to be tied to him for the rest of your life? Afraid of when he’ll, no doubt, do it again?

God, no. Then suck it up, buttercup, and get ready to win at all costs. I swallowed the lump stuck in my throat but held my ground. “No sex,” I growled.

“Fine.” He sighed but then added with a silky whisper against the shell of my ear, “But I promise I won’t think less of you in the morning if you change your mind.”

A tremble rattled my knees. Was I afraid that he was right? That it wouldn’t take much for me to crumple beneath his touch if I so much as gave him one single opportunity? That if I did let him in, I’d willingly bare my neck for the slaughter as I sank into the pleasure that I knew he could wring from my body? Okay, maybe that part was a little dramatic, but my life was on the line. And as much as I hated to admit it, sex with Luca had been pretty good. Okay, spectacular.

True story—after one particularly long and exquisite orgasm, I temporarily went deaf. Yeah, that had done wonders for Luca’s already healthy ego when I’d shared that phenomenon with him.

But no one had been able to deliver that kind of pleasure since, so I knew Luca had some skill.

Immaterial, I reminded myself when I started to drift. I didn’t want to live my life as a Donato Stepford wife. I knew that for certain, and no amount of stellar sex was going to change that fact.

I just had to keep my eye on the prize—my freedom—and everything would work out in my favor.

I could handle seven days.

Lifting my chin, I held Luca’s stare, reiterating my terms. “In writing, please.”

There went that damnable smile again as he said, “I’ll have my lawyer draft something immediately.”

And I wasn’t sure if I’d just made a very big mistake.

CHAPTER FOUR (#u36704d03-5952-5d74-ac3b-a1fcfd0985ea)

Luca

TRUE TO MY WORD, I had a draft contract, simple and concise, emailed to me within an hour of checking into the roach motel passing itself off as a hostel. As Katherine perused the wording with the diligence of a woman signing away her soul to the devil, I wondered how quickly she would notice that the single bed in the room was quite small.

If she thought I was going to sleep on the floor, she was nuts. I’d seen toilets in third-world countries cleaner than this dingy, faded linoleum, and I wasn’t touching it with my bare feet, much less my backside.

“Everything in order?” I asked.

A subtle frown pulled on her forehead as she double-checked everything. Her frown deepened as she regarded me with irritation. “The bedroom clause? I told you no sex.”

“Are you saying you can’t sleep beside me without tearing off my clothes and having your wicked way with me?”

“Please—” she rolled her eyes “—you know I won’t have a problem, but you, on the other hand... I don’t believe you can keep your hands to yourself.”

Oh, sweet Katherine, you’re going to beg for my hands—and tongue—by the time I’m through with you. “I guess we’ll have to see,” I said with a small shrug. “Anything else?”

The indecision as she vacillated between refusing to sign and going forward was intriguing. I think of the many things I enjoyed about Katherine, it was her stubborn refusal to simply do as she was told. Maybe I was tired of people always jumping when I barked. I wouldn’t put it past Katherine to rip up the contract out of spite.

Finally, she signed her name with flourish, chewing her plump bottom lip as she finished. “There. Done. You get one week and then I’m gone.”

“So the contract says,” I agreed, causing her to cast a suspicious look my way. I smiled. “Now that the legalities are out of the way...shall we discuss the schedule?”

Katherine drew a deep breath and exhaled with a nod. “Might as well.”

“We can do this one of two ways. You can take all your days consecutively or we can trade off. Which do you prefer?”

“I prefer not having you in my space at all,” she answered with a perfunctory smile. “But seeing as I just agreed to this ridiculous game, we’ll switch off.”

“Excellent,” I said, already ready to vacate this trash bin. I would have the penthouse suite booked at the most exclusive hotel in the city for tomorrow. At the very least, I’d get a decent shower, which I knew wasn’t going to happen here. “On to the second order of business...as you can see, the bed is quite small.”

“I wasn’t counting on company,” Katherine said, but she could already see where I was heading. “I guess you’ll have to sleep on the floor.”

“You and I both know that’s not going to happen.”