Or maybe I really did feel something for Nash Bell.
But no, that couldn’t be the case. I wouldn’t let it be the case at least. This whole thing was a business transaction, and Nash was not the type of man you wanted to get attached to.
He was a player, an asshole, a gruff son of a bitch.
No, I was in this for my family. I needed that money, and that was the end of it. So what if I couldn’t help but look at his chiseled jaw, his intense green eyes, his enormous grin, his ripped body? So what if he made me squirm every time he said something so inappropriately dirty?
It didn’t matter. We were in a business transaction, and that was that.
So what if that kiss made me so absolutely soaking wet?
“What are you thinking about?”
I looked over at him. He was staring at me with that look again, the one that made me feel like we were somehow alone in a crowd.
“Nothing,” I lied.
“Thinking about me?” he asked. “Probably wondering what it would feel like to get fucked in that bathroom.”
“Far from it,” I said, though he actually was pretty close.
“Admit it, Selena. That kiss still has you soaking wet. You’re probably just counting the minutes until we can consummate this marriage.”
“The only thing I’m going to consummate is my fist in your face,” I said.
He laughed, smirking. “God, I love it when you talk dirty to me.”
“If you’re done, I’m going to try to get some more sleep before we land.”
“There’s actually one more thing,” he said. “I got you something.”
“What now?”
He grinned as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a small box. “Here," he said.
I took it. “You didn’t.”
“Open it.”
My heart practically leapt out of my chest as I opened the box. Inside was a gorgeous ring with one of the biggest diamonds I had ever seen. “Holy shit,” I said. “What is this?”
“Your engagement ring.”
“No,” I said quickly. “No way.”
“Look, it’s the best I could do. They didn’t have much to choose from at the Airport Plaza Jewelers.”
“This thing is so gaudy,” I hissed at him.
He laughed. “If you don’t like it, we can get you another one.”
“No, it’s not that. It’s just, I can’t wear this. It’s so expensive.”
“This is part of the game, wife,” he said, smiling at me. “We need to sell this thing.”
I sighed, looking at the ring. “What if it doesn’t fit?”
“We’ll size it. But I think it will.”
I took it out of the box and slipped it onto my ring finger. It was a little big, but it fit well enough.
“Perfect,” he said. He looked at his own hand. “Feels fucking weird wearing a wedding band.”
“Yeah,” I said absently. I was staring at the ring on my finger, not really sure what I was feeling.
An engagement ring. I’d always wanted one, but I’d never imagined I’d get one while sitting on a cross-country flight with a strange man I’d just married for money.
What the hell was happening in my life right now?
He turned away. “Go ahead and get some sleep,” he said. “You’re going to need it. I’ll be working you pretty hard soon.”
“Sure,” I said absently. I slipped headphones over my head and closed my eyes.
But I wasn’t sleeping. I was thinking about that kiss, about the ring on my finger.
I was thinking about Nash working my body nice and hard in the cramped bathroom, his hands roaming my breasts, feeling my swollen, soaked clit, his cock slamming into me again and again.
I crossed my legs and tried to fall asleep, though sleep wasn’t coming any time soon.
We slowly climbed up the long ramp from the plane. My back was aching from sitting so long, though I only had one tiny bag filled with clothes I’d bought in Las Vegas.
I was going to need to get new stuff soon. Or maybe we could stop back in Philly and grab some of my own clothes.
I was lost in the logistics of our trip and barely noticed Nash as he stopped walking.
“Prepare yourself,” he muttered to me.
“What?” I asked, looking up at him uncertainly. He was frowning and looking dead ahead.
An attractive woman, all angles and with a very serious expression, approached us. She looked like she belonged working as a senator or a museum curator or something like that.
“Hi, Livy,” Nash said. “Fancy meeting you here.”
“Nash.” She looked at me. “Selena Wood, I presume.”
“Hi,” I said, looking at Nash.
“Selena, this is my publicist and all-around pain in my ass, Livy.”
I shook her hand and she gave me a quick, pained smile.
“What are you doing here?” Nash asked. “Couldn’t wait to meet us outside?”
“No,” she said. “The publisher bought me the cheapest ticket available just so I could come in here and meet you personally.”
“They think I’m going to run?”
“They don’t know what to think, Nash.” She paused, frowning. “You disappeared to Las Vegas, and now you’re married apparently. What the hell were you thinking?”
“Love makes a man do crazy things,” Nash said.
“Apparently it also makes you do very stupid things,” she said. “What were you thinking? The publisher is on edge as it is, and you’re running off to marry some random woman?” Livy glanced at me. “No offense.”
“None taken,” I muttered.
“Not a random woman,” Nash said. “We’ve been seeing each other for a while now.”
Livy raised an eyebrow. “Really? And I never noticed?”
“I am trained in deception, Livy. If I wanted to hide something from you, I could.”
“Okay,” she said. “What about all the women you’ve been sleeping with?”
Nash paused, and I saw anger flicker across his face. I knew that if I were really Nash’s wife, I should probably feel a little angry and jealous in that moment.
And truthfully, I basically did. It annoyed me that he was such a manwhore. I didn’t want to be married to someone who thought more with his dick than with his brain, but there I was.
“That’s part of why we got married,” Nash said, recovering himself. “Our relationship was open for a while, but we’ve committed ourselves to this now.”
Livy looked at me. “Is this true, or is this some sort of bullshit stunt he’s pulling?”
“It’s true,” I said.
My first lie. The first of many to come, I assumed.
“What’s he offering you?” Livy went one. “We can match it.”
“I’m not offering her shit,” Nash said. “Are we going to stand around here getting interrogated, or are we going to get out of here?”
Livy stared at me for another second before turning back to Nash. “First interview is early tomorrow morning. The schedule is on your phone.”
Nash nodded. “Great.”
“Car is waiting. Come on.” Livy turned and set out.
Nash looked at me. “Good job,” he said softly.
“Thanks.”
We quickly walked behind Livy, trying to catch up.
I didn’t think for a second that Livy bought our story, but it was plausible. If Nash and I had been in an open relationship, that would explain all of his whoring around. And if we were committing to each other, getting married the way we did also made sense.
I memorized that story, prepared to repeat it over and over for journalists until I got sick of saying it.
We hustled through the terminal, heading toward the baggage claim. Livy led the way, not slowing down or looking back. I glanced at Nash and could see the tension on his normally cocky face.
This was probably becoming pretty real for him, too. It wasn’t just a thing between him and me anymore. Now we were going to be lying to the world. I was sure that Nash was capable of lying to everyone, considering the sort of training he must have had from the SEALs. But now we were really doing it, and there was no going back.
We moved out of the terminal and toward the baggage claim. As soon as we got near the carousels, aiming to head outside, people began to come closer to us.
“Nash Bell,” one man yelled out. “Why did you go to Las Vegas?”
“Nash, this is another one of your girlfriends?”
“Nash, is your story true? How much of it did you have to make up?”
We kept moving, but the people swamped us. They had cameras and the flashes were going off, and I could tell that people were beginning to stare. Nash looked straight ahead and kept moving behind Livy. He glanced at me.
“Just keep moving,” he said.
I nodded, but the paparazzi weren’t stopping.
“Nash, does she know about all the others? Are you drunk right now?”
Flash after flash, they just kept taking pictures. I was amazed that Nash could keep his cool, especially since they were calling him a manwhore and a liar right to his face.
It was totally overwhelming and a huge shock to hear the way they talked to him. Some reporters jostled into me, but we just kept going, eventually getting outside.
“Nash, do you think your behavior is a stain on our country?”
“Nash, how many sexually transmitted diseases have you caught? Five? Ten?”