Every time I close my eyes, I’m back in that damn hotel bathroom as the echo of Kieran’s words ricochet around in my head like a bullet I didn’t see coming.
I swallow hard as I stare out of the window, trying my hardest not to cry.
Once we land, I follow silently beside Kieran as we head toward the airport parking lot where his car is being kept.
His eyes weigh on me, but I avoid his gaze because I know looking into his eyes will only break me more.
With every step I take comes the lingering evidence of Kieran’s touch.
He’s branded me in more ways than one, and that realization makes my stomach sink.
I thought sleeping with Kieran would make me feel liberated and give me a sense of control over my own body that I haven’t felt since I learned of my uncle’s plan to marry me off.
But I only feel numb.
The drive from the airport is more of the same as quiet tension lingers between the two of us, though it seems Kieran is determined to break through it.
“You okay?” he asks for the hundredth time as he turns on the engine, and the car roars to life.
I nod, even though it’s clear that I’m not. “Just tired,” I mutter as I look out of the window. “And…nervous, I guess.”
“About what?”
“About how people are going to react to our marriage.” I fiddle with the ring on my finger.
I can’t wait to get back to Kieran’s apartment so I can take the damn thing off.
“This will all blow over eventually.” Kieran backs the car out of the space and makes his way toward the exit.
“The only way this will blow over is when either you or Sean are dead.”
“Not worried about me, are you?” Kieran teases, but I’m not in the mood to play games with him.
I might have been last night, but that was before I was reminded of the fact that I am nothing more than a pawn to him.
“Sean isn’t going to just forget about this betrayal.”
“I know that.” Kieran’s tone comes harder now.
“Do you?” I sneak a glance at him, but his eyes are fixed on the road ahead.
And yet, the way he’s white-knuckling the steering wheel lets me know I’ve touched a nerve.
“Is that all that’s bothering you?” He glances at me.
“Why? Should something else be bothering me?”
I wait for the flash of guilt in his eyes, but it never comes, and somehow that’s worse.
“Sean will get what’s coming to him. My brothers and I will make sure of it.”
I should find comfort in his confidence, but the pit in my stomach only seems to be growing larger.
If there’s one thing I’ve learned about Kieran, it’s that he doesn’t bluff,especiallywhen it comes to his family. Somethingthat I was starting to think extended to me, but now I’m not so sure.
I can’t help but wonder, how far is he willing to go to play the part of the doting husband?
I pull one of my textbooks out of my bag and start flipping through the pages to try and distract myself, but the words make no sense when all I can focus on is Kieran. Every slight shift of his thighs has me squeezing my own, remembering what it felt like to have my body intertwined with his. When he tightens his hold on the steering wheel, I think of his calloused fingers squeezing my breasts and stroking my inner thigh…