When they got on the plane and she saw him pouring another drink, she couldn’t help but speak out. “Haven’t you had enough to drink?”
Popping the ice cubes into the glass and pouring the scotch over them, Noah lifted it to his lips and smiled at her. “Don’t tell me you’re going to be one of those nagging wives.”
She gave him a dirty look. “I really don’t care what you do. It’s just that you’re already drunk. I’ve been around enough drunks to know what can happen.
“I’m warning you now, don’t even try to touch me.”
He started laughing. “Oh sweetheart, I have no intentions of touching you. Now or ever, for that matter.”
She turned her back to him and sat down. Even though it was dark and there was nothing to be seen, she stared out the window.
A single tear trickled down her face. Her heart felt heavy and she was scared of what her future held. It did scare her to see him drinking so much.
She remembered an incident from a couple of years ago. It was at one of her parents’ parties. A middle-aged man had tried to attack her.
He was drunk and had stumbled into the kitchen, where she was getting herself a glass of milk. When she went to leave, he grabbed her. He’d tried to kiss her as he grabbed her breast.
She was glad that she had been given private lessons in self-defense, which enabled her to fight him off. After kneeing him in the balls, she gave him a shove back and ran out of the room.
She did tell her parents, but they didn’t do anything about it, except to tell the man to never go near her again.
From the reflection in the window, she could see Noah removing his tie before sitting down in a seat opposite her.
Noah sat down with the drink in his hand, looking down at the brown liquid inside the glass. Yes, he was drunk. But who could blame him?
Anyone who was forced into a loveless marriage would want to get loaded. He glanced over at Cora. She had her forehead resting against the window and her eyes were closed.
He took this opportunity to check her out. She had such soft-looking skin. Her body was perfect, slender with breasts just the right size.
He also noticed that she had an angelic face. Her hair was dark and long, just the way he liked it. He knew he would have to be careful around her.
He could easily get wrapped up in her beauty and forget his vow not to touch her. He closed his eyes and prayed for the flight to end soon.
When the plane landed, he had to wake her up to let her know they had arrived in Spain. He thought she looked cute when she stretched her arms before opening her eyes.
There was a car waiting for them that took them straight to the villa. Paying the driver, he grabbed the bags and started walking her up to the door.
“I guess it’s tradition to carry the bride over the threshold,” he said, a little on the sarcastic side.
She turned her nose up at him. “Don’t bother,” she replied. She walked in and just stood there looking around, not knowing what to do.
He closed the door behind him. With the suitcases in his hands, he started walking up the stairs. “Just follow me,” he said as he continued up the stairs.
When he got inside the bedroom, he laid the suitcases down on the floor. He walked over to the bar and poured himself another drink. By this time, he was wasted.
Cora swallowed the little lump that formed in her throat when she saw the bed. “Is there another bedroom?” she asked quietly.
Finishing off his drink, he walked over to her and put one hand on her waist and the other one on the side of her neck.
“You don’t need another bedroom. We’re married, so we will be sleeping together. How about we start our honeymoon off under the covers while we explore each other’s bodies?”
Even though he had said he wasn’t going to make love to her, he was drunk enough to forget what he had promised himself.
When he went to kiss her, she placed her hands on his chest and turned her cheek, stopping him.
“No, please don’t do this,” she said, and started to cry.
He looked down at her face and removed his hands from her. “Don’t cry, I was only having some fun with you. I’m not going to make love to you. Even if I wanted to, I couldn’t.
“I’m way too drunk for that. The bathroom is over there. You can change and get ready for bed,” he said as he started removing his clothes.
When she saw him taking off his clothes, she grabbed her small overnight bag and rushed into the bathroom, locking the door behind her.
Looking in the mirror, she saw how red and wet her eyes were. She was scared to death at the thought of sleeping in the same bed with him.
If he wasn’t planning on touching her, then why did they have to sleep in the same bed?
She took her time changing into her nightgown, hoping that he had changed his mind and gone into one of the other bedrooms.
When she was finished, she slowly unlocked the door and quietly stepped out of the bathroom. Looking over at the bed, she saw Noah fast asleep, lying on his back.
Removing her robe, she slipped into bed and under the covers, lying as far from him as she could get. She lay on her side with her back facing him, praying for sleep to take her.
He woke up just as the sun was rising. Running his hand over his face, he looked over. When he saw Cora, he quickly got out of bed.
She was still asleep, so he went into the bathroom and showered. As he let the water flow over his body, he tried to remember what happened last night.
He’d had too much to drink and his head was pounding, but he knew they hadn’t done anything. It did come to him that when he tried to kiss her, she started crying. He felt terrible.
Stepping out of the shower, he dried off and wrapped a towel around his waist and entered the bedroom. She was standing by the bed with a suitcase open.
Their eyes locked, but not before her eyes moved down his body and back up again. He hid the smile that was threatening to come out when he saw how red her face had turned.
She wasn’t expecting to see him come out wearing only a towel and it came as a bit of a shock. But she could not stop her eyes from taking all of him in.
A strange feeling shot through her lower region when she saw his muscular chest, his flat stomach, and the perfect V-lines that led down to what was hidden beneath the towel.
“I-I was just getting some clothes to put on,” she said, turning her head so as not to look at him.
“The shower is free if you need to use it. Once you’re ready, I’ll take you out for breakfast and then maybe we can go do some sightseeing. Unless you’d rather spend the day here, in bed.”
He chuckled to himself when her face turned a brighter red. Scooping up her clothes, she ran to the bathroom.
They took the short walk into town and stopped at one of the diners. After ordering their breakfast, he sat back with his coffee in his hands and looked at her.
“So, tell me a little bit about yourself.”
She didn’t bother to look back at him. “There’s not much to tell.”
“Tell me about your life back in Greece. Your friends, your hobbies, and what you like to do.”
She told him about her life. How she’d never dated or gone anywhere. How she had people come in to teach her how to dance, defend herself, and whatever else she wanted to learn.
“My God, are you seriously telling me you’ve never been on a date?”
This time she did look at him with scorn on her face. “My father was saving me for you. Now, tell me about you.”
“I would, but it might shock you.”
“I’ve been forced to marry a stranger and move away from my home, so I doubt that whatever you tell me will shock me.” Boy, was she ever wrong.
He told her everything: all the women he’d been with and all the other things he had done in his life. “So being married is going to cramp your style,” she replied sarcastically.
She couldn’t believe how blunt he was. It turned her stomach.
He liked watching her squirm and seeing how red her face got when he went into details. Okay, he knew he was being a jerk, but he was still angry that he had to marry her.
“I still can’t believe that you’ve never been kissed before.”
“Well I haven’t. You were the first man to ever kiss me.”
“Tell me, wifey, did you enjoy the kiss?”
“No, not in the slightest.”
He couldn’t help but laugh. “You’re lying. I know you enjoyed it.”
Over the next few days, he took her sightseeing. They went on a boat trip and to a few plays. They dined out at the best restaurants and when they were at the house, he kept busy on his laptop.
She would read, and they avoided each other as much as possible. They continued to sleep in the same bed together. For him, it was becoming increasingly difficult.
He wasn’t used to sleeping with a woman and not having sex, and she was a very beautiful woman. It drove him nuts lying next to her, smelling her scent and knowing her warm body was right next to his.
At times, he felt himself getting horny as hell.
After another day of boating, they came home and got into bed. He grabbed a tube of lotion. His muscles were aching and he needed help putting the lotion on his back and shoulders.
Holding up the tube, he smiled at her. “I don’t suppose you would like to rub this on me?”
“Not a chance,” she replied, and continued reading her book. After a couple of minutes, she looked up and saw how he was struggling to apply it.
Letting out a sigh, she grabbed it from his hand and got on her knees behind him.
“I thought you said no.”
“I can see you’re in a lot of pain. Obviously you can’t reach the spots you need to.” She squirted some of the lotion on his back and shoulders and began massaging it into his skin.
This was the first time she had ever touched a man’s body. He was so toned, and his muscles felt amazing against her skin. Was it her imagination or were her panties actually getting wet?
He closed his eyes and let out a moan when he felt her dainty hands massaging his back and shoulders. He could smell her minty breath on his neck.
Damn, without her knowing it, she was making him hard. When her hand went back up to his shoulder, he placed his over it. Holding on to it, he turned around to face her.
He looked at her face. Her eyes were lowered, staring at his chest. “That felt really good. Thank you for doing it for me.”
She finally looked up and into his eyes. Her breathing hitched in her throat and her heart was beating fast.
She was feeling something that she never thought she would, not with him anyway. But she wasn’t sure exactly what it meant. “You’re welcome. I hope it helped get rid of the pain.”
“The pain is all gone,” he said, still holding on to her hand. “You have magic fingers. Maybe someday I can return the favor. You smell so good. What is that perfume you’re wearing?”
She looked at him, her cheeks a rosy pink. “I’m not wearing any. It could be my shampoo. Herbal Essences, April Spring,” she replied, looking down at his hand that was still holding hers.
“It smells amazing. God, you’re so beautiful.” His eyes moved down to look at her lips. They were perfect lips, luscious and soft-looking.
He wanted to kiss them, he needed to kiss them. Just as he was making his move, he felt her hand pulling away from his. The small movement was enough to break the trance that he was in.
He swallowed hard and moved away from her. “It’s getting late and we have to be up early in the morning to catch our flight home. We’d better get some sleep.
“Good night,” he said, getting under the covers. He turned his back to her. His cock was hard and it took all of his willpower not to jump her bones right there and then.
He must surely have blue balls by now.
She got under the covers, her back facing his back. They’d had a moment between them. She thought for sure he was going to kiss her. To be honest, she wanted him to.
She wasn’t sure if she was happy or disappointed that he’d stopped. It would only have complicated things. For him, it would have just been about sex.
She didn’t want to be used in that way. It was just a moment of weakness between them. She was sure it would never happen again.
