by Kiru Taye
Groaning, she tipped her head forward into her hands bent at the elbows on the dresser and sucked in two ragged breaths.
“Mum deserves some happiness.”
After the scandal and disappointment from Ebony’s last unfruitful engagement, to have an actual wedding take place would be an awesome outcome.
Another long intake of breath and she lifted her head, her mind made up. Over at the closet, she withdrew two dresses.
Holding the ruffled, red, sleeveless dress against her body, she stared into the mirror.
No. A little over the top for this occasion. I don’t want Felix thinking I’m coming on to him.
She flipped the dresses over, holding the black, square-neck cocktail dress up this time.
Tilting her head to one side, she frowned.
Not this one. Too conservative. I don’t want him changing his mind, either.
A smile tugged at the corner of her mouth.
The sound of a car pulling into the gravel driveway caught her attention. Felix is here already? She glanced at her watch. Yep, he’s early!
Stomach churning with excitement, she settled for the halter-neck, coral print dress with a waterfall hem. Feminine but understated. She slipped it on as her phone beeped with a text message.
I’m downstairs.
Felix.
Grinning and almost bouncing on her toes, she sent him a quick reply.
I’ll be down soon.
Not wanting to appear too keen, she would take her time.
Staring at her well-dressed appearance in the full-length mirror sobered her up.
What am I about to do?
Fretful, she combed her fingers through her thick tresses as nervous heat enveloped her body.
Of all the impulsive things I’ve done in my life, this is the craziest. And I’ve done some rash stuff in my time.
Mangled bodies covered in dried blood floated into her mind’s eye.
Panic rose, clenching her throat tight, cutting off her breathing. She slumped against the glass and fought the terror, gasping for breath. With luck, she didn’t pass out as it happened sometimes when she had a panic attack.
After she regained her composure, she slipped her feet into high-heeled, snakeskin sandals, picked up her purse, and left the room.
I’m going to tell Mum the truth and call the whole thing off.
Downstairs, she walked into the formal sitting room, ready to spill the beans, and froze.
The scene displayed in front of her made her think again. Felix sat next her mother on the sofa, his back towards her. They both laughed heartily, heads tilted towards each other almost like they conspired about something. Hearing the joy in her mother’s voice lifted Ebony’s spirit and lips into a smile.
The first time she’d seen her laughing in a very long time. Maybe since the accident. Depression wasn’t something they discussed in the open. But they’d both lived with it in varying degrees since Chidi and Dad died. She knew because her counsellor had told her years ago in her sessions.
How can I tell her the truth? It would break her heart and wipe the joy off her face. I can’t do it to her.
“Oh, there you are,” her mother said cheerily when she turned and noticed Ebony. “You look lovely.”
“Thank you, Mum.” Ebony walked over and kissed her on the cheek.
Straightening, she stepped back and her breath caught in her throat.
Felix stood tall and ah-ma-zing in a white linen shirt, a brilliant contrast with his dark skin, while black linen trousers clung on taut thigh muscles. The sexy dip in his cheek and gleaming eyes sent heat rushing all over her.
In two casual strides, his warm hands settled on her bare shoulders. Masculine spice cocooned her as she took a deep breath. Soft lips brushed her right cheek. Tingles skittered from the contact point, spreading south.
“Beautiful,” he whispered into her ear in a low husky voice that sent lava pooling low in her body again.
She clenched her hands on her sides to stop herself from leaning into him and touching him.
Stepping back, he turned to her mum. “We have to go now, Mum. I have enjoyed our chat.”
“So did I, my dear. We’ll have to do it again soon. Enjoy yourselves.” Her mother beamed a happy smile at them.
Ebony didn’t know why but seeing the easy rapport between Felix and her mother annoyed her. Not that she didn’t want him to get on with her mum. Of course, she did. It was just that she didn’t want her only surviving close relative to get too close to a man who would only be a temporary fixture in their lives. If they got married and split up, it would break her mother’s heart.
Felix put his arm on the curve of her back. She stiffened her spine as they walked outside in silence. His touch felt possessive, branding her skin. Would she ever get used to it?
The sun had already started on its descent into the horizon, leaving the evening sky with an eerie, orange hue. When he opened the door to his low, sleek sports car and waited for her to sit down, she couldn’t help thinking about his chivalry. A smile tugged at her cheek but she determinedly banked it down. Allowing herself to get sucked into Felix’s overpowering charm would be definitely a bad idea.
“What was all that about back there?” Ebony asked tartly as soon as he got into the car. She needed to keep a handle on things before they ran away from her.
“What?” Felix replied, his lips lifted at the corners with indulgent amusement. He kept his hands in a loose grip on the steering wheel as he stared out of the windshield.
Ebony crossed her arms over her chest, not amused.
Doing this whole thing is difficult enough without him joking about it. We staked my mother’s happiness on this little charade, not to mention mine.
“You know what I mean...the kiss...the whole joking with my mum thing? You do realise she’s going to be deeply hurt when you are no longer around.” She took her seatbelt off so she could turn to face him fully, her chin raised and lips pursed in defiance.
Felix turned to her, this time his expression unreadable. He just watched her, silent, for a long moment. It seemed his eyes stripped away her veneer, looking into her soul.
“Who says I’m going anywhere?” he said at last, in a casual tone.
Their gazes locked, intense. Midnight black eyes held hers, reading her confusion. Electricity sparked between them, heating up the atmosphere. Warmth spread through her body
Snap out of it.
She shook her head and looked away, breaking the spell.
“Felix, this is hard enough as it is.” He couldn’t mean what she thought he meant.
He shrugged and looked out of the windscreen again. “Your mother told me about her friendship with my mother. They’d been very close.” His voice sounded pensive.
“Oh, I—I d...didn’t realise,” she stuttered, flushed with sudden guilt.
Clenching her fist to stop from smacking her head for being selfish, she stared out of the window instead.
Mum is probably his only link to his mother outside of his family. If the two of them interacting would help Felix make peace with his mother’s death, then she couldn’t stop it. She had to encourage it.
We all need to make peace with our pasts. Our demons.
I care about him that much. Though, I don’t want to care. Not again.
There. I admit it.
“About the kiss.... We are supposed to be engaged, right? I was just keeping up appearances,” he said dismissively as he reached for the ignition.
“We are engaged? I haven’t agreed to anything yet, you...you arrogant man.” She gasped, furious at him.
“Isn’t that what all this is about? Why you called me to meet up? You told your mum we were engaged, right?” His calm voice didn’t hide the ticking muscle on his temple.
“H...how did you know?” Baffled, her mouth hung agape. She hadn’t said anything to him on the phone except that she wanted to meet up. Did her mother ask him? Her mother wouldn’t have said anything to him.
&
nbsp; He raised his brow. “Do you have to ask?”
His hard gaze locked onto her bold one. She refused to back down, though she could have sworn he could see straight through her. His eyes softened, acquiring a glint of humour. He relented.
“The moment you called me, I knew something had happened. I’d decided not to call you but to allow you to come to your own decision. You wouldn’t have called me except to agree to the deal, right?”
Dread tightened her chest, making it hard to breath.
This man could read her like a takeaway menu, easy to assimilate and discard. And he saw this only as a deal—a business transaction. It would come to an end one day. The heavy thought weighed on her mind, depressing her.
“Right,” she replied with as much coolness as she could muster, though disappointed. She put her seat belt back on, leaning back into the soft, plush, cream leather bucket seat. Felix gave her one quick, curious glance before driving the car through the opened gates.
They sat upstairs in Reams Restaurant at a private corner right next to the glass, floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the hanging gardens below that were lit by spotlights. The ambiance proved relaxing, the decor elegant, with a soft jazzy music number playing through the speakers.
Apart from the waiter, there was no one else up here, though the downstairs restaurant heaved with diners. Ebony assumed Felix had arranged it so they could have some privacy. She would be horrified if anyone else overhead their discussion. He had his own worries, too. Considering his recent history with the press, preventing their conversation from being overheard and getting into the papers would be high on his list.
The waiter brought their meal and poured the champagne into their glasses, putting the bottle back in the ice bucket before leaving. They ate their meal in silence, only talking about the delicious food. She waited for Felix to bring up the topic of their fake marriage. He didn’t. He studied her underneath his long, dark lashes, instead.
Steeling her body, she decided to broach the subject. She needed to talk about it before she lost her nerve. She’d spent the drive to the restaurant psyching up her mind.
“I will marry you but I have some conditions,” she started, and paused for his reaction.
“What are they?”
His expression didn’t change. She learned that Felix took things in easy strides. She had yet to see him riled.
“One, we remain married for two years. I can arrange to have my leave of absence extended, but two years is the maximum allowed.”
He nodded in response but maintained close eye contact.
“Two, we have separate rooms during that time.”
If they were going to part afterward, then there would be no point in an emotional and physical relationship, if such a thing was possible. She needed to safeguard her heart from being broken again.
At her words, something flickered in his rugged face, amusement dancing in his eyes.
“Married people make love. Why should we be any different?”
Black eyes scanned her body, trailing heat through her veins in its wake. Holding her breath, she averted her gaze so he couldn’t see how he affected her.
“It will be a sham marriage. Anyway, no one will know what happens behind closed doors.”
At that, he laughed, for the first time that evening; the same deep and rich laughter that always rumbled through her. Tonight, though, it didn’t uplift her spirit as usual. Frustration coursed in her veins at his apparent ease with the subject of making love.
“Ima-mmi, remember, newlyweds are supposed to be in love. What do you think the domestic staff or worse still, the media, will make of it when they find out I haven’t touched you? Because find out they surely will.... A woman who is being loved glows with that love. Haven’t you ever heard that saying?”
Annoyed, she had to agree with him. Their body language would give them away. Moreover, what would the domestic staff think when they noticed she slept in separate rooms from her husband?
Tell me why this is a good idea?
“Ok, maybe not separate rooms, but separate beds in one room.”
“No, that won’t work, either.... What are you so afraid of? Is the idea of sharing my bed so abhorrent?”
Abhorrent? No. The image of the two of them tangled in bed sheets flashed in her head. As always, desire made her breath quicken as she pictured Felix touching her, kissing her. Her body had no problems with sharing a bed with him. It welcomed the pleasurable idea.
The thought racked her mind with dismay, while her heart feared the implications.
I’ve only every made love to one man in my life and I loved him with my whole being. If she surrendered her body to Felix, her heart would follow suit. Where would this leave her in two years when he walked away?
He’ll take a piece of me with him. I can’t let that happen.
“If it’s your wish that we don’t have any intimacy through our marriage, then I won’t force the issue. Nevertheless, remember this. I find you very desirable. If you change your mind, you know where I’ll be.”
His lips lifted in a teasing smile. He held her hand, using his thumb to slowly caress her knuckles.
Felix desired her? That knowledge spread more warmth through her body, converging low in her belly. The thing he did on her hand wasn’t helping, either. He left the choice of whether they slept together to her but truthfully, she’d have to call on her reserves of strength if she were to withstand him whilst sleeping in the same bed. She pulled her hand and he let it go. Ebony leaned back into her chair, putting some distance between them.
“Where will that be?” she asked curiously.
“Right next to you, in our bed, of course.”
His seductive smile told her about all the possibilities entailed within that promise.
“Fine. Same room, same bed, but pillows between us, and you keep to your side.” She would keep her body as far away from him as possible.
“Fine.” His smile lost some of its sparkle. He waved his hand in the air, leaning back into his chair. Could he be angry she wouldn’t give in to making love?
“Any other conditions?” he asked, lifted his hand in a languid wave.
“Yes. Whatever we tell my mother when we break up, I want to tell her myself. I know she will be upset, but I want to speak to her privately first to prepare her for the actual break up when the time comes.... That’s it.”
She bit her lower lip, self-consciously looking away from Felix as she tried to gather her thoughts. He wasn’t happy to meet her conditions. Where did that leave them? They were now automatically engaged? She turned back to ask him but stopped when Felix stood. Without saying anything, he came round to her and pulled her up into his arms.
As she gasped with shock, her pulse raced off on an unexpected sprint. Mesmerised, she watched him lower his head, then his lips brushed hers in a slow, sensual kiss. His tongue slid around the edges of her lips before probing for entry.
Without reservation, she opened up, welcoming him. Sighing, she gave herself to the kiss, moving her hand up his chest. She stepped closer to him, her soft body flush against his hard frame. She felt his groan as he deepened the kiss, taking her tongue on an exhilarating tango. Tingles of heat skittered across her skin. Her knees buckled, and she clutched his taut, muscular arms for balance.
Felix lifted his head, his ragged breath fanning her face. She noted the pulse at the base of his neck beating frantically. She certainly wasn’t the only one affected by the overwhelming kiss.
“I did promise.”
The huskiness of his voice sent shivers down her spine. Desire-filled midnight eyes watched her lips with hunger. His hand, still tangled in her hair, caressed her nape gently.
Her forehead furrowed in confusion. Her brain must be frazzled from the kiss because she didn’t understand his words. “You promised?”
With his other hand, he ran his index finger across her lower lip like he was soothing it. “To kiss your lips better each time you
bit them.” He smiled with arrogance. “I keep my promises.”
Her mind became awash with the naughty possibilities. She hadn’t realised he meant it. That he would carry out his sweet threat—his promise.
“You do realise I bite my lips a lot, especially when I’m nervous or thinking,” she said, out of breath.
“In which case, I’ll be spending a lot of time kissing your sweet lips better.”
Pure masculine enjoyment played on sensuous lips. Deep longing unfurled within her.
“We’ll never get anything done.” Her smile widened at the thought of Felix interrupting his planned activities just to kiss her each time she bit her lips.
“On the contrary, I can think of wonderful and pleasurable things we could accomplish together.” He leaned back to sweep his gaze over her body, leaving a trail of heat behind. “The lips are only the start. The rest of you will need attention, too.”
Her mouth formed an O in astonishment. Surely, he wasn’t serious. As if reading her mind, he winked naughtily and sat her back on the chair before taking his seat.
“So here’s to us.” He lifted his glass of champagne. “And a happy married life.”
“To us,” Ebony said soberly, hoping she wasn’t making the worst mistake of her life—that her marriage to Felix would be happy.
Chapter Eight
“So you see? This is all staged,” Ebony told Faith as tears pooled in her eyes, blurring her vision.
Her friend came over and hugged her.
“Are you not mad at me for keeping the secret from you?” She eyed her friend.
“Of course, I’m disappointed you didn’t tell me this earlier.” Faith leaned back to stared at her face. “But I understand the need for secrecy with something like this. If it gets out, it’ll be bad all round. And moreover, we’ve all got secrets. So I can’t hold it against you.”
Momentary relief flooded Ebony. She couldn’t afford to lose her best friend when she needed her most.
“I wish Felix would be as forgiving when he finds out the truth.” She reached for her glass of water.
“Your relationship may have started out as business arrangement. But it can change,” her friend said in a matter-of-fact tone.
