“What’s going on between Faye and you?” Zane asks as Lexington pours me a whiskey. I look up in surprise, and both of my brothers smile knowingly.
The three of us are hidden away in Lex’s room, trying our best to evade Sierra. My sister has taken it upon herself to plan Val’s dream wedding here, since Luca and Val eloped and never got to have a real wedding of their own. It’s turned her into even more of a tyrant than usual.
“Nothing,” I murmur, lying. It isn’t just Sierra I’m avoiding. It’s Faye too. Overhearing that phone call fucked with me, and I keep wondering whether she truly was thinking of Eric that morning. Did she think I was him? Is that why she climbed on top of me like that?
Every night since, she’s stayed on her own side of the bed, the two of us having gone back to being polite and distant with each other. It’s weird because I barely even know her, but I miss her. I hate that vacant look in her eyes, like she’s just going through the motions, wary of me. This time, I only have myself to blame for it. I shouldn’t have snapped at her like that, but fuck, hearing her tell Eric that she’s being forced to marry me after the way I had her in my lap the night before? It fucking wrecked me.
“So there’s no story behind this?” Lex asks as he holds up a box with his company’s latest phone in it. It isn’t even coming out yet for another few months, and maybe, just maybe, it’ll temper Faye’s anger a little.
He pushes it toward me, and I swirl the whiskey in my glass. “I threw her phone in the ocean.”
Zane’s eyes widen, and Lex bursts out laughing. “What the fuck happened to the plan?” Lex asks. “Weren’t you supposed to be nice and win her over? This environment is literally perfect for seduction, and you go and throw her phone into the fucking ocean?”
I shrug. “I had a diver retrieve it. I didn’t litter.”
Zane shakes his head. “I think you’re missing the point here,” he tells me.
“I wish I had the Lex-Board,” Lex muses.
“We’re not calling it that,” Zane snaps, rolling his eyes.
I grab the phone box and stare at it for a moment, sighing. Luca and Val’s wedding prep has given both Faye and me an excuse to ignore each other, even when we’re in the same space. We’re only ever really alone at night, and she just goes straight to bed, pretending to be asleep whenever I try to talk to her.
I shouldn’t have gotten so angry at her. It was never my intention to intimidate her, but fuck, I need her to know she can’t fuck around on me. The mere thought of her with Eric makes my fucking blood boil. I wasn’t joking when I said I’d make her forget about him.
I always hated the idea of having to marry her, but somehow, I now find myself counting down the days. 74 days until I officially get to call her mine. That’s all the time I’m giving her to get over him.
I empty my glass and rise to my feet, Faye’s new phone in my hands. I owe her an apology, and a new phone.
“Dion,” Zane calls when I reach the door. I look over my shoulder to find both of my brothers staring at me with blatant concern in their eyes. “Please don’t fuck this up any further, hmm? Faye is a nice girl, and it can’t be easy for her being forced into this. You got to spend your twenties fucking around, but she never got to live a life that isn’t tied to you. Just… just keep that in mind, okay?”
I nod and walk out, feeling conflicted. Fuck. Of course I fucking know that. I’ve always known this marriage will cost her more than it will me. I never intended to be selfish with her, because I know I’m the last person that deserves her, but all of my plans went down the drain the moment she smiled at me wearing that sexy blue dress. Until then, I was convinced marrying her would be simple, that it’d be easy to keep my distance and do the bare minimum to comply with my grandmother’s terms — but that isn’t enough for me anymore. I want all of her. I want to make her mine, truly, selfishly.
The shower is running when I walk into our room, and I lean back against the wall, my eyes on the round lounge bed outside. Our first night here was fucking perfect. How do we go back to that?
Faye walks out of the bathroom wrapped in a fluffy towel, a gasp escaping those beautiful lips of hers when she sees me. “I thought you said you’d be back late,” she says, her cheeks flushing as she clutches her towel.
“You’re really fucking beautiful, you know that?” I murmur thoughtlessly.
Her eyes widen, and her cheeks get redder. She looks away, but I see the way the edges of her lips tip into a small smile. It’s crazy, but making her smile truly has become one of my favorite hobbies.
“I… I didn’t think… I didn’t think you ever noticed me that way,” she admits, her voice conveying her confusion. I suppose I’ve been sending her contrasting signals — for years I ignored her, so now she must find it hard to believe that I truly want her.
I push off the wall and walk toward her, making her take a step back, until she’s pressed against the closed bathroom door, her eyes filled with something that makes my cock painfully hard. Seventy-four days. The wait might just kill me.
“Did you not hear me when I said I’ll fuck you so good you won’t be able to think of anyone but me?” I lean in, placing my forearms on either side of her head and caging her in.
Faye’s breathing quickens, and she places her hands palms flat against my chest. For a moment, I think she’ll push me away, but she doesn’t. She just looks into my eyes, the blues in them brighter than usual. “Or did you miss the part where I told you I’ll make you beg for more?” I murmur, bending down a little to bring my face closer to hers. Her breath hitches, and her lips part a little. “I’m counting down the days, baby. Seventy-four days until you’re mine. I can’t wait to make you come all over my cock, Faye. I’m going to tease you until your pussy is dripping for me and desperation flickers through those beautiful eyes of yours.”
My hands move to her waist, and she gasps when I lift her up against the wall, her legs wrapping around my hips instinctively. Once again, she doesn’t protest. She just stares at me, spellbound, her breath coming out in little pants. “You’re so fucking tiny, beautiful girl. Do you think you’ll be able to take my cock?”
I grind my hips into her, settling my rock-hard cock right between her legs. She gasps, her tongue darting out to wet her lips. Fuck. How the fuck am I supposed to survive the next few months?
She slides her hands up until she’s got her arms wrapped around my neck. Her towel comes undone, and the top of her breasts comes into view. It’s unfortunate that the rest of it is wedged between us, secured into place. I need more, and I think she does too.
“Faye,” I whisper, half delirious. What is it about her that makes me lose control? She drives me fucking crazy. “You have no idea how much I want you,” I murmur, tilting my head until my lips brush against hers.
She gasps and averts her face, denying me a kiss. Fuck. I sigh and press my lips just below her ear, kissing her where I know she’s sensitive. “Seventy-four days,” I whisper, and she nods, the tips of her fingers brushing over the back of my neck. “That’s all the time you have left, baby.”
I pull away a little to look at her, both of us breathing hard. “This isn’t what I came here to do,” I admit. “But one look at you, and I lose all reason.”
“W-what did you come for then?” she asks, her voice husky. She’s so fucking sexy, it’s unreal.
“I came to apologize,” I murmur, dropping my forehead to hers. I breathe her in, loving the scent of my body wash on her. “I shouldn’t have gotten mad at you, and I definitely shouldn’t have thrown away your phone. I’m sorry, Faye.”
She tightens her grip on me and inhales shakily. “I’m sorry too,” she whispers. “I broke my promise, and there’s no excuse for that. I truly only picked up because I wanted to explain myself after the article The Herald posted, but I shouldn’t have. I… I let you down, and I’m sorry. We might not be married yet, but we will be, and I know that. I know the past has to stay where it belongs. This won’t happen again.”
I pull back a little to look into her eyes, taking in her sincerity. “It better not,” I murmur, the underlying warning clear. “You won’t like the consequences if you ever break my trust again. I’ll walk away from everything I have before I let you cheat on me. I won’t share you.”
She nods, surprise flickering through her eyes, as though she can’t believe that I truly do want her, that I care whether or not she’s mine, and mine alone. “You have my word,” she whispers.
I nod and carefully let her down, my heart pounding wildly. Faye clutches her towel and leans back against the wall, as though she’s unsteady on her feet, and I can’t help but smirk. She might not let me kiss her again, but she wants me to. That’s enough for me, for now.
I feel her gaze on me as I walk back toward our bed, hesitating for a moment before I grab the phone I had flown in for her. “Here,” I tell her. “To replace your old one.”
She takes it from me with trembling hands, her brows rising. “This isn’t out yet,” she murmurs. “Even the design hasn’t been confirmed.”
I nod. “Yeah, probably best not to get photographed with it for now. I already set it up for you.” I don’t mention that I blocked Eric’s number and saved my own number as Husband. She’ll figure it out herself, eventually.
I smile as I imagine her eyes when the phone screen lights up with an incoming call from me. Would she be dismayed, embarrassed, excited? Either way, it’s bound to make that fire dance in her eyes, and I’m sad I’ll miss seeing it.
“Thank you,” she tells me, clutching her new phone to her chest.
I nod at her and head toward the bathroom to get ready for bed. There’s no way I’m going to get any sleep with this hard-on. I suppose my hand is going to get plenty of action as I count down the days.
