Xander huffed, wrapping his bleeding knuckles in his cloak as he turned back to me.
“Listen, Ana,” he snapped. His tone was dripping with barely contained violence and anger. “I am not old enough to be your father. Nor could we pass as siblings. We look nothing alike, and I’m much bigger than you.”
I nodded, pursing my lips as I tried to follow his train of thought. Avoiding his gaze, I studiously ignored the small trail of blood running down his right hand. It dripped onto the leafy floor, the blood bright red against the green leaves.
After a moment, I said, “I agree. Neither of those options is plausible.”
The infuriating male in front of me just stared at me until I raised my gaze to his. He lifted a brow. “Since I am accompanying you, but I cannot be your father or your brother that leaves…” He smirked, his voice trailing off as he waited for me to fill in the blank.
When I finally realized what he was saying, I raised my chin and met his eyes.
Curling my fists at my side, I stepped closer to him. When we were standing a mere foot from each other, I breathed, “You knew about this all along, didn’t you?”
He tilted his head. “Honestly, Sunshine, I thought it was obvious.”
“Not. To. Me.” I ground out through clenched teeth. “If I thought for a second that you and I would have to… to…”
“Pretend to put up with each other?” he supplied unhelpfully.
“Pretend to be married,” I hissed, watching as his mouth twitched in amusement. Huffing, I crossed my arms. “If I had known, I wouldn’t have agreed to your deal.”
“Is the idea of pretending to be my wife so reprehensible to you?”
Reprehensible? What kind of person uses words like that in real life?
I pursed my lips, but before I could say anything, Xander stepped even closer to me. “Am I really so terrible?” he asked. His eyes flashed and for a moment, his icy exterior cracked. I could have sworn a flash of pain appeared in his eyes as his mouth tightened in a firm line. Just as quickly as it had appeared, it was gone.
My stomach twisted as I stared at him. “You’re not… terrible to look at.” I conceded, waving at his body. “The goddess obviously blessed you physically.”
A noise that sounded like a cross between a choke and a cough came from him. “Not terrible to look at. I think you might have just given me a compliment, Sunshine.”
I huffed, crossing my arms as I leaned against a tree. “Don’t get used to it.”
“Oh, believe me, I won’t.” Xander moved toward me and I sucked in a breath. His eyes flashed as he glared at me. “If there’s one thing I know, it’s that the two of us are not suited. I could have told you that the moment you stabbed me.”
“On that, we can agree,” I said, blowing out a long breath. “And my problem… it’s not you.”
“Then what is it?”
Behind us, the sounds of conversation were growing louder as more and more people flooded the road.
“It’s just…” I threw my hands in the air. “Never mind. I don’t know how to explain it.”
“Try,” he ground out. His chest heaved, and we were so close… my heart was racing in my chest.
I sighed. “It’s not really…”
“Give me a reason, Ana,” he growled. He raised his hands, boxing me against the tree. I felt the rough bark against my back as he stared at me. He was so close, I could reach up and touch his face if I wanted to. Thinking became far more difficult than I’d ever thought it could be.
“I…” my voice trailed off.
“Tell me,” he breathed, a note of pleading in his voice. “Make me understand.”
My breath caught as my mind raced. How exactly did one explain an aversion to the entire institution of marriage? Xander had no way of knowing what I had just escaped from, and I wasn’t keen on telling him.
Gnawing on my lip, I considered the situation. His gaze was locked on the movement, and I sucked in a deep breath. “You won’t… make me do anything, right? This is just pretend?”
“Of course.” Xander nodded, his voice gruff. “I would never force you to do anything.” His face grew somber as his eyes took on a far-away look. He grimaced, pushing away from me.