The Beast’s Fake Marriage Read online

  Her heart picked up speed. Oh, she wished she could kiss him. “Charmer,” she said as she gently bumped his shoulder.

  He shook his head. “We’ve talked about this. I’m not charming.”

  “Yeah, we talked, but I disagree.”

  The corners of his eyes crinkled as his smile reached his eyes. “Do people ever win arguments when you’re the opponent?”

  She grinned. “Sure, but only when I’m wrong.”

  “You don’t admit you’re wrong much, do you?”

  She pulled her bottom lip in between her teeth. “No. Because I’m not.”

  “I see,” he said as he held her gaze and stepped closer. “I’ll remember that for the future.”

  Oh, he was making it so hard. Being this close and smelling amazing. One little lift on her toes, and she’d be kissing him. No. She wasn’t doing that again. She liked how their relationship was currently, and she wasn’t going to ruin it again.

  Izzy stepped back. “So, what next?”

  And like a spell being broken, he cleared his throat as he put even more distance between them. “These need to a cook a bit. We’ll go ahead and measure out the cornstarch and sugar. That way, we can add it as soon as they’re done.”

  Whew. That had been so close. If she’d kissed him again after promising not to, there was no telling how he’d have reacted. Would he have just flat-out kicked her out of his home? He would have had every reason to, and it would have crushed her. Just thinking about leaving him when the year was up was causing all sorts of havoc on her emotions.

  The longer she was around him, the more of him she wanted. If all she was going to get was a year, she didn’t want to do anything that might jeopardize her time with him. She’d cross her t’s and dot her i’s and make sure she got to stay as long as possible.

  Chapter 16

  Sweat dripped from Rowan’s forehead as he pushed himself harder on the treadmill. Every time Isabeau’s face came to mind, he worked to shake it away. Two days ago, he’d nearly kissed her, and since then, he’d hardly been able to keep his mind off her and her perfect lips.

  It didn’t help that she’d taken a step back, like she knew he was about to kiss her and wanted to save him the embarrassment it would have caused. So not only was he analyzing the situation and his actions, but he was picking to pieces her reaction.

  A knock came from the door, and he slowed his treadmill and jumped off. Usually, Ulysses showed up on Thanksgiving to work out with him. It was his uncle’s way of excusing the disgraceful amount of food he would eat.

  Rowan opened the door, and his eyes went wide. “Isabeau.” He’d not worn a shirt, and now she had a full view of how badly he’d been burned. What was she doing in the east wing?

  Her eyes were wide, and her cheeks blushed pink as she took in his bare torso. “Hi, I hope you aren’t upset that I came into the east wing,” she said. She slowly lifted her gaze, and her eyes locked with his. She smiled so warmly that his pulse ticked higher. “I thought maybe I could start my mornings by exercising with you. Maybe getting some energy out will help me sleep at night. Ulysses said he thought it might be good for me too and suggested I start today.” She beamed.

  He was going to kill Ulysses. “I see. And you decided to start Thanksgiving Day?”

  “No time like the present, right?”

  “I guess.” He looked away. “Go ahead and say something.”

  “Say what, exactly?”

  “We’ve established that you aren’t blind. This is why I asked that you stay out of the east wing.”

  “We’ve also established that I think you’re gorgeous.”

  He jerked his gaze to hers. “How can you say that?” His torso looked as though it had been eaten and spit back out.

  “Because I think you are, and there’s more to you than how you look. Yes, you are scarred, and yes, it is hard to see, but not because it’s difficult to look at, but because it breaks my heart to know you suffered something so awful.” She lowered her gaze, reached her fingers out, and brushed them across the scars running around his ribs and across his chest. “I can’t imagine the pain you were in. How agonizing it must have been.” She lifted her gaze to his, and her eyes were glassy. “I hate that you went through this.”

  “I don’t know how you do that.”

  She sighed. “I care about you. I have more scars than that one I showed you. Would you think less of me if you saw them? You call me lovely every day. Would that change if you knew what’s hidden beneath my clothing?”

  Not in the least. Her sunshine, incredible smile, and the joy that radiated off her everywhere she went wouldn’t be changed by anything, including scars. He shook his head. “No, scars or not, you are lovely, and you are lovely every day.”

  “How do you do that?”

  He lowered his gaze and smiled. “Your point is made,” he said as he stepped aside, waving her in. “I have an elliptical, treadmill, and recumbent bike. You may take your choice.”

  “Thank you.” She strode past him and stopped in front of the bike next to the treadmill. “I think this will be good. I liked biking before…I got sick.”

  “You’ve never explained how they figured out what was wrong.” He snatched the shirt off the handle of the treadmill. Typically, he’d start with one on and take it off after he got warmed up, but if Isabeau was going to be working out with him, he didn’t feel comfortable leaving it off. As he pulled on his shirt, he stepped on the treadmill and started it up again.

  Isabeau slid onto the bike seat. “It was just an immunity thing. A few tests while I stayed in the hospital, and I was fine.”

  By the way she said it, the tremble in her voice, he knew there was more to it. She said she’d been attacked, that she had more scars hidden beneath her clothing. He wondered if maybe that attack is what landed her in the hospital, but he wouldn’t push it. When she was ready to tell him, she would. Or at least he hoped to gain enough of her trust that she’d open up.

  “I guess it’s good they were able to treat it, then.”

  She nodded. “Yeah,” she said, grunting as she tried to pedal. “Do you actually ride this thing? I can barely move the pedals.”

  He laughed. “Yes, but I’ve had a lot of years riding it.”

  “I can tell. How do I ease the tension?” She glanced around the bike.

  Pausing his workout, he jumped off the treadmill and kneeled next to the bike so he could change the tension to make it easier for her. “Try that.”

  Isabeau pushed the pedals with her feet and smiled. “That works. Thank you.”

  “You’re welcome,” he said as he went back to his workout.

  “You never did answer me. Do you mind if I work out with you of a morning from now on? That is, if it helps me sleep.”

  He shook his head. “No, I don’t mind.” But he’d be wearing a shirt from now on, which he didn’t like. The fabric rubbed against his scars and made them hurt.

  Her smile widened. “Thank you.”

  The next hour, they exercised in companionable silence, and he found that he liked having her with him. No, they weren’t having a conversation, but having her close was nice. He could see himself getting used to having her around during his workout and then missing her when the year was up.

  When he’d run as far as he could, he slowed the treadmill and swiped his arm across his forehead.

  “Do you always run that hard and fast?” Isabeau asked.

  “Typically.”

  “I think I’d pass out.” She stopped pedaling and stood, her knees buckling as she did.

  He caught her around the waist and pulled her to him. “Are you okay?”

  She laid her hands on his biceps and nodded. “Yeah, but I might die of embarrassment. I haven’t worked out in a long time.”

  “You’ll need to take it easier tomorrow. Maybe fifteen minutes instead of an hour.”

  “I think you’re probably right.” Just as she lifted her head, her eyes locked with his, an
d if air could sizzle, it would have. The little lift of her lips in a smile, the way her eyes twinkled, and the blanket of pink on her cheeks—she was joy in female form, and he was a moth in her flame.

  Before he could stop himself, he said, “I want to ask you something, but I’m afraid to. The risk…I…I can’t go another two months without your sunshine.”

  Her eyebrows knitted together. “You won’t. No matter what it is, I won’t do that again. Ask me whatever you need to ask, and I’ll do my best to answer.”

  In an instant, a bubble formed around them. The world fell away, and it was just them. His heart pounded in his ears, and just when he thought he’d lose his courage, the words tumbled out. “I want to kiss you. I’ve never wanted to kiss anyone as much as I want to kiss you. Would you…would you let me kiss you?”

  Isabeau blinked a few times and nodded. “Yes.”

  Why did he feel like he was in high school again, crushing on a girl? But he did. It had been so long since he’d felt anything for anyone that he wasn’t even sure how to start a kiss. Yes, he’d kissed her, but she’d instigated it. This was different.

  As his pulse raced higher, he touched his lips to hers, and the same zaps of electricity coursed through him as the last time. With the next brush of his lips across hers, he deepened the kiss and lifted her off the floor. She circled her arms around his neck, threading her fingers in his hair, and a soft moan escaped.

  He loved the feel of her in his arms, the way her body molded against his, and how soft she was. Holding her with one arm, he slid his other hand up her back, letting it come to rest on her cheek. The more he kissed her, the faster he barreled down the cliff. If he did fall for her…how would he survive without her? Would she want to stay with him?

  He pulled back, gulping air, and set his forehead against hers. “We should probably get ready for lunch.”

  “Mmmhmm,” she murmured as she touched her lips to his, and he was lost again.

  He shouldn’t be kissing her. What he should be doing was keeping his distance so he didn’t get his heart broken, but she felt so good in his arms, and her lips were so sweet. Everything about her called to him. He felt whole when she was with him.

  When she broke the kiss her gaze locked with his, and she pushed his hair back from his face. “I guess I’ll go get ready for lunch now. See you in a little while?”

  He nodded as he set her feet on the floor. “Kelsey is coming, right?”

  “Yes.” She smiled. “Thank you for letting her eat with us. I know it’s not easy for you to let someone you don’t know come over.”

  “As long as you’re happy, I’ll be fine.”

  Her eyes twinkled like he’d given her a gift, and she said, “I won’t be long.”

  Rowan walked to the door with her and shut it as she left. If he wasn’t confused before, he was now. She wasn’t staying, so why had he kissed her? Why was he making this worse on himself? Then again, what if Ulysses was right? She did kiss him back. What if that meant there was a chance she wouldn’t want to leave when the year was up?

  No, he was letting his mind run down a rabbit hole of what-ifs. She was…well, he didn’t know why she would kiss him back. Maybe she was lonely, and he was available. It wasn’t like she had her choice of guys now that she was stuck with him.

  He pulled his shirt off as he walked to the bathroom and turned the shower on. There was no point in dwelling on any of it at the moment. Her friend Kelsey would be arriving soon, and he needed to be preparing himself for that.

  The last time he’d had anyone over as a guest was right after his accident. His father and uncle had talked him into having a party. It was meant to celebrate him surviving the crash, but it had turned out a disaster.

  What his family didn’t know was that not only had he found out his girlfriend was seeing his best friend, but he’d overheard them talking and found out they’d been going behind his back long before the accident. When he confronted them, not only were they not sorry, but Cora laughed in his face. As if I’d be seen with you now. Those words haunted him for years. They were the reason he’d hidden away. If his high school sweetheart thought of him that way, what would a random stranger think?

  But hadn’t Isabeau proved she was different? From the second she walked into his office, there had been something different about her. The way she looked at him, talked to him…touched him. All of it pointed to her, at least, caring for him. If nothing else, they had a friendship, and he wanted to protect it. Kissing her, developing feelings beyond what was already there, would be a good way to ruin what they had. He needed to back away slowly and not kiss her again. It wasn’t what he wanted, but it was what he should do if he wanted to keep her in his life beyond the year.

  Chapter 17

  Touching her fingers to her lips, Izzy paused inside her bedroom door after getting ready. Rowan had kissed her. Not just kissed her—lifting her off her feet in a fairy tale romance kissed her. It was magical and wonderful, and she could live on those kisses. Just thinking about it made her lips tingle and her pulse race.

  Would he do it again? Oh, she hoped so. What she wouldn’t give to feel his lips against hers again. She was falling for him so hard she was going to be broken and bruised by the time she got to the bottom, especially if he didn’t feel the same. He had kissed her. Did that mean he felt something for her?

  She shook her head. That could wait until later. Kelsey would arrive any minute, and it had been forever since they’d seen each other. They’d talked during those couple of months when she’d felt like she could splinter. Kelsey had offered to let her move back into the apartment, but Izzy hadn’t wanted to be a burden on her again.

  Her phone rang, and she answered it. “Kelsey!”

  “Hey, you’re chipper.”

  “I’m excited you get to have Thanksgiving with me and that you finally get to meet Rowan,” she said as she opened her door and made her way to the stairs. “He’s so sweet.”

  “Well, how about you let me in, and I will.”

  “You’re here?” Izzy bounded down the steps to the door and flung it open. She ended the call and hugged her friend. “Oh, I’m so glad to see you.”

  “I’m glad to see you too. It’s been too long.” Kelsey pulled back. “Iz, you look great. It’s like I’m seeing you for the first time since…”

  Izzy nodded, pulling Kelsey inside and shutting the door. “I know. I feel like me again.”

  Kelsey linked her arm in Izzy’s, and they walked to the sitting room to the left of the entrance. Ulysses must have opened the drapes, because normally they were shut. Now, Izzy could see the front lawn and the trees that filled the space.

  Her friend smiled as they sat on the large couch facing the window. “I can see that. You’re practically glowing. I was really worried when you decided to do this, and talking to you those couple of months, that bothered me too. I’m glad you worked it out with him. This has been good for you.”

  “I feel safe here, but it’s more than that. It’s given me a chance to put my energy and thoughts into someone else. I think more than anything that’s helped. Rowan hid in this house for twelve years because he was afraid. I don’t want to hide from the world, and I don’t want him hiding either. Kelsey, he’s…the world needs him. His kindness, his gentleness, his smile.”

  Kelsey narrowed her eyes.

  Izzy knew that look. That was the look Kelsey gave her when Izzy liked someone. “We’re friends.”

  “Right. Because you’re not floating on air when you talk about him.”

  Izzy’s cheeks warmed. “Stop it.”

  “And you’re blushing? Oh, you’ve got it bad,” Kelsey said and pulled her into a hug. “I’m so happy for you.” She leaned back. “See? There is life after Steven. He was just one bad guy, and your heart is too big not to share it with someone.”

  “I don’t know about that.”

  “I do. When Steven attacked you, he did so much more than hurt you. He stole your spirit.
But I can see it in your eyes. You’ve regained what he took, or at least a good bit of it.” Kelsey smiled as she dropped her arms from around Izzy.

  Izzy nodded as she considered Kelsey’s words. “He’s so ugly. I don’t know how anyone can be like that and expect someone to care about them. I don’t think I’ll ever understand why he is the way he is, but I know I can’t dwell on it. I have to live in the here and now.”

  “And as your not-official therapist, I agree,” she said and bumped Izzy with her shoulder. “Have you told Rowan?”

  “No. I think that’s a secret I need to keep for now.”

  “Isabeau?” Rowan called from the hallway.

  Izzy stood. “In here.”

  Rowan walked in, and butterflies fluttered in her stomach. He looked incredible in his dress slacks, button-up, and with his hair pulled back, which surprised her but also tickled her pink.

  “I see your friend has arrived.” His voice was tight.

  Kelsey stood and turned. “Hi.”

  For a moment, he stared and then stuck his hand out. “It’s nice to meet you.”

  “She didn’t tell you I lost my hand, did she?”

  He shook his head. “No, she didn’t mention that. My apologies for staring. I wasn’t—”

  Kelsey eyed Izzy. “She has a habit of doing that.”

  Izzy pulled her shoulders back and held her head high. “She’s a therapist who works with others who have lost limbs in accidents. It’s much easier to talk to someone when you know they understand, and Kelsey is the best.” She smiled. “Just because you’ve been through something doesn’t mean that one thing has to define you for the rest of your life. Kelsey is perfect just the way she is.”

  Rowan held up his hand. “You don’t have to convince me. Kelsey, you look lovely.”

  That he used lovely with Kelsey made Izzy’s insides turn gooey. She left Kelsey to stand next to him. “Red is her color.”

  “And teal is yours. You look lovely as well,” he said as his jaw clenched. Something was off, but Izzy had no idea what. Maybe he was just nervous to be meeting someone new.