The Marriage Contract (15 page)

              Though I tried not to dwell on his blank reaction, I couldn’t help my curiosity ringing in my head like wind chimes.

              As I dragged my luggage to a room near the one James had entered, I realized that he was in the shower, for the sound of rushing water echoed through the door.

              Twisting the knob of the room next to the bathroom, I opened the door, my hand searching for the light against the wall. Finding the switch, I flipped it up- my eyes squinting as the bright, white light burst through.

              The room was half the size of my apartment, and I presumed it was the master bedroom. Strangely enough, there was a king sized bed at the center of the room, against the white wall. But other than the bed, the room was an empty, luxurious cave.

              Pulling the black luggage near the bed, I sat, unzipping it. It was a long day, and all I wanted was a nice shower, along with a peaceful night’s sleep.

              As I dug out a pair of peach striped pajamas, the fresh fragrance of soap hit my senses, causing me to sigh.

              I loved the smell of soap.

              My ears perked to the sound of footsteps, as I stared at a pair of pale, bare feet- wet against the wooden floor. My eyes travelled up, along lean, muscular legs, and then stopped, for a moment, on the powder blue towel wrapped around a slim, athletic waist.

              I gulped.

              He chuckled.

              Oh, crap. I was staring at him.

              Dropping my eyes to the luggage, I pretended to rummage through it, but then forgot what I had been looking for. My mind was stuck in a dreamy haze, as my heart thumped loudly in my chest, hearing his footsteps near.

              Wait. Why was he here? He wasn’t going to undress in this room was he?

              “You can’t undress here!” I whipped my head around, my eyes meeting his.

              Whoa.

              James sat near the headboard on the bed, his tall, muscular physique, sprinkled with light droplets of water. His raven brown hair, swept over his head, as that soapy fragrance swirled towards me once more.

              I blinked slowly, feeling my mouth dry.

              And then, as though I’d been stirred from a deep sleep, his finger snapped towards me, and I gasped.

              Oh, crap. Crap, crap, crap!

              How long was I staring at him?

              He laughed, as I turned, diverting my gaze to the peach pajama set draped over my open luggage.

              “Like what you see?” He sounded amused, but there was a challenge in his voice, as though daring me to do something.

              I shook my head.

              “Don’t flatter yourself! I’m…um…I’m going to shower,” I muttered.

              “I feel violated,” he said. “You assaulted me with your eyes you know.”

              I scoffed, standing to my feet. Turning around, I shot him a glare. But there he sat, indecently exposed, making my heart race. I turned once more, facing my back to him, and again, he laughed.

              “I did no such thing,” I said. “You’re imaging things!”

              As I walked towards the door, unable to stop the rapidity of my heart, the tapping of his footsteps made me freeze.

I stood by the open door, staring at his shadow that loomed over me. A shiver passed through me, and though I couldn’t see him, I felt the curve of his smile, as he traced an arm over my shoulder.

He was touching me.

Wait, no. He wasn’t touching me.

What he was doing, at that moment, was much, much worse.

His hand traced an inch over my arm, hovering down, as though he were pretending to rub my arm.

I clamped my lips shut, refusing to let out that sigh that I knew was urging to come out. I couldn’t let him hear me make weird noises. I was horrified enough.

But why was I still standing there? Leave, you idiot! Walk away! Be cool!

“I didn’t know innocence still existed,” James whispered, the wind from hips blowing against my neck.

              He had me trapped, and though my mind was screaming at me to get the hell out of that room, my body was utterly hypnotized by his charm.

              No. Snap out of it, Dorothy. Snap out of it!

              Taking a deep breath, I decided to do the only thing I could do to force my body away from him.

              “Mustard and mayonnaise on carrots, dipped with a can of grape juice, topped with a giant layer of burnt onions. Yum!”

              When I was a child, my uncle once told me that whenever I felt nervous, or afraid, or frozen, I should just recite that horrible recipe, and everything would feel okay.

              It worked.

              My heart stopped accelerating its beats, and I took that moment, to jog towards the bathroom, rushing inside, and locking the door.

              My hands shook, as I stepped inside the wide, luxurious bathroom, which had two sinks against the side of the wall. I placed my clothes against the golden railing against the bathtub, before stripping off my clothes, and stepping inside the shower.

              The image of James drenched in the blue towel flashed across my mind, and so, for the entirety of the shower, I repeated my uncle’s phrase, willing the inappropriate image of him to disappear from my mind forever.

              As I shampooed my hair, lathering my hands over my wet locks, I realized that there was something wrong with the picture.

              James stated in his rules that we must never fall in love, and I happily agreed to that rule. But if he didn’t want anything to do with me, then why did he try to seduce me?

              Wait. No…it couldn’t be.

              I lathered my hair a bit harder, as I realized something else.

              I had stated in my rules that we are not allowed to touch. But he hadn’t touched me though…he had merely traced his skin over mine, only pretending to touch me.

              But…could that possibly mean that he was trying to challenge my “no touching” rule?

              Was he trying to seduce me into breaking that rule so we could have some kind of no strings attached relationship?

              Oh, that sly jerk.

              Dropping my hands to the side, I glared at the shower wall, my chest rising and falling. My hands closed into fists, as I realized that James was playing a game with me. A very twisted, wicked game.

              Unfortunately for him, I knew how to play as well, and I would not, under any circumstances, let him win.

Chapter Eleven

              James rested on the bed, a hard cover book lazily held in one hand, shielding his face, as his long legs crossed at the ankles- wrinkling the pristine white comforter. A plain white t-shirt covered his wide chest, as he rested a free hand on top of his thigh, over navy blue shorts.

              Standing by the door, I cleared my throat, watching as he closed the book, dropping it beside his hip. He looked at me- his eyes glimmering in amusement, and for a moment, the image of his towel clad form clouded my mind. My vision burned, as I shook my head, trying to rid my mind of the vulgar picture. 

              “What the hell are you wearing?” He laughed, sitting up- his brown irises lit with mirth.

              I frowned, staring down at my peach pajama set that had red tulips printed on each of the long sleeves. April had gifted it to me last year for my birthday, and though I wasn’t fond of the strange patterns at first, as the year went by, I had acquired a liking for it.

              “It’s comfy,” I replied, shrugging. “Besides, what do you know about women’s style—”             

              He grinned. “I know that no woman in the world would choose that extremely unsexy disaster you’re wearing—“

              “I’m not trying to look good for you, so it doesn’t matter to me what you think. Besides, the tern “sexy” is relative. I don’t care what you think.”

              I tilted my chin upwards in the way I do when I think I’m right, narrowing my eyes at him. But as his gaze raked over my pajama clad form- his golden brown eyes, slowly tracing over the lines of my body, I gulped.

              He noticed.

              His eyes flashed to mine, as I dropped my hands to the side, fiddling them against the cotton fabric of my thighs.

              His full lips pressed together in a stiff line, as he straightened against the headboard. A ghost of a smile placed at the edge of his mouth, and I didn’t know why, but I had the terrible urge to throw something at him.

              I couldn’t stand the way he looked at me as though I was a doll, presented to amuse and entertain him.

              “Oh, I think you do care.” A light musical tone drifted from his lips, as he stood; swinging his long legs off the bed.

              “I don’t,” I said.

              James took slow, predatory steps towards me, as though challenging me to step back. There was a hungry look in his eyes, as though he were desperately longing for water, and in me, he’d found his well.

              I refused to be his well.

              Though my heart pounded so loud I was sure it would rip out my chest, splatter on the ground, and scream, “save me!”- I refused to look away. There was an undefinable desire lurking in his golden brown orbs, sending me a thousand warnings, that if I did not step back, he would lunge.

              We were an inch apart, as he raised an eyebrow, impressed by my refusal to step back. My chest rose and fell, and the only sounds that came, were from the poundings of my heart.

              Not wanting to be a pawn in his seduction game, I decided that I should try to play along, and possibly confuse him in the process.

              I smiled. “You like me.”

              His brows furrowed in confusion, as his eyes dropped to the ground for a millisecond, then returned to mine. James took a step back- discomfort clouding his handsome face.

              “You’re mistaken,” he said, taking another step back.

              I took a step forward, grinning.

              I knew that whatever I was about to do, could either be in my favor, or make me look like an irrevocable fool, but I was ready to take the risk. After all, I would not let him get away with the whole seduction act from earlier, because that would give him the upper hand in this marriage, and that is something I could not let him have.

              I placed my hair over my shoulder, giving him a sly smile. His gaze dropped to my mouth, as he shook his head, as though trying to rid himself of indecent thoughts.

              “I think you want me.” I spoke slowly, with a soft lull dripping over my tongue, as I took another step towards him. “You know…that thing you did after you came out the shower?”

              His eyes darkened with desire, as he ran a hand through his sandy brown locks.

              “Yeah?” he asked, speaking softly. “What about it?”

              I shot him a coy look, before taking three quick steps towards him. He took another three steps back, before slipping on the bed- falling. Like a great tide, his chest rose, and then fell, as he eyed me with a look of pure longing. I licked my bottom lip, leaning above him on the bed, and placing a hand against the bed, beside his neck.

              “The thing is James,” I began, speaking slowly.

              “Yeah?” he asked, his eyes locked on mine.

              For a moment, I was surprised that his focus was so intently placed over me, for he did not notice when my other hand reached over his head, grabbing hold of a plump, white pillow.

              “When you tried to seduce me earlier,” I continued, dipping my head towards him, so that our lips were only inches apart.

              “Go on,” he whispered.

              A lavender scent radiated off his skin, and it was almost intoxicating, as we gazed deeply into each other’s eyes, as I noticed my haunted reflection through his irises. I blinked- then shook my head, trying not to lose focus.

              “Well, basically,” I went on. “I thought...”

              “You thought?” His voice whispered, as desperation dripped from his tongue.

              I shot him a cheeky grin, sticking my tongue out. It took two seconds for him to realize what I was about to do, but before he could dodge- I swung the pillow at him, hitting him repeatedly in the head with it.