Paper Marriage Proposition

Thirteen

Something accompanied them home.

    Something searing and undeniable. Electricity leapt from him to her, her to him, charging Lisa's nerve endings as they entered the quiet house.

    They took the stairs side by side.

    Expectation tickled inside of her as she reached her bedroom door.

    She half hoped Frederic would draw up behind her, half expected for him to turn her around and claim a heated kiss. He didn't.

    Startled when he said good-night, Lisa heard his footsteps, muffled on the carpet as he made his way down the hall.

    With an awful disappointment, she slipped into her spacious lonely bedroom, then surveyed the contents of her closet. 

She had to do something, wouldn't forgive herself if his kind actions went unrewarded, if her wanting continued to be unappeased. She wasn't sure where this determination, this courage or this desperate want had come from; she only knew she needed her husband. She needed to show him her loyalties were with him, her gratitude, her respect and desire. Her trust.

    Were with him.

Dragging in a breath, she eased into a little number she'd never worn before, and then without thinking about it too much, quietly made her way to Frederic's bedroom.

    The door stood partway open.

    Her blood rushed so fast and heady in her veins it deafened her to the single word she spoke. "Frederic."

    His head shot up at the sound of his name.

    They stared in the quiet, sizing each other up. Lisa in the threshold to his bedroom, Frederic in bed with the covers to his waist, bare-chested and bronzed, already with a book in his hands.

    Her eyes hurt, he was so compelling. Hard, bulging muscles stretched taut across his broad shoulders. She could see his biceps and the defined bands of his abs before they disappeared under the crisp white sheets.

    Nervously, she wet her lips and forced herself to shut the door behind her. "Did you have a nice birthday?"

    Clenching his jaw, Frederic set his reading material aside. "Thank you, yes. Did you need anything?"

    His clipped tone hinted that he wanted her to go, and for three long heartbeats, Lisa considered it.

    But she remained, struggling for the words. Love me.

    Frederic waited in silence, then let out a sigh. "Lalisa, I'm hanging by a thread in more ways than you can imagine. If it's nothing urgent, I suggest you go back to your room now."

    She did not know what to say. She'd been so insistent they keep a healthy distance, she now realized it would be a struggle to let him know that things...had changed. Everything. Had changed.

    Breathing deeply, she brought her hand to the tie of her silk robe around her neck and fiddled with it. "I'd like to sleep here," she said.

    Frowning, Frederic sat up, looking all gorgeous and puzzled and frustrated. "Is there something wrong with your bed?"

    Don't say no, please don't send me away.

    She'd never seduced a man, and the thought of being rejected made her cheeks heat up and her legs want to aim in another direction.

    "It's empty."

    With a low groan, he banged the back of his head against the headrest and closed his eyes. "Ah, Lisa. How can I say this..." His Adam's apple bobbed as he swallowed.