Temptations

22. THE MORNING AFTER

NATHAN

Even with the closed eyes, I could feel the faint sunlight enter the room through the window. My mind nudged me to wake up but my body was too tired to do that. I snuggled into the warmth surrounding me and the sweet feminine scent that encircled me.

Feminine?

I opened my eyes and looked at Ellie facing me in her sleep. Both of us had shifted to the middle of the bed somehow and were just a few inches away from each other. Honestly, I had forgotten that I got married last night and it came as a shock all of sudden. Looks like it would take a few days to adjust to this huge change in my life.

Ellie looked quite peaceful in her sleep. She had a cute button nose and heart shaped rosy lips that made me want to touch them. A part of me wondered if they would be as soft as they looked.

Last night when I saw her in the wedding dress, she nearly stole my breath. It was very difficult for me to hide my awe at her beauty and poise. Then afterwards, I had to share a room with her which made things even more awkward. I had slept around a lot since Serena but I always avoided sharing a room with those girls as it felt too intimate. But now, I was stuck sharing a room with this woman that I found immensely attractive. God, help me.

I was about to go back to sleep when there was a knock on the door. The maid was here with my coffee. I didn't want her to see us fully clothed and sleeping afar so I hurriedly pulled Ellie towards me and buried our very clothed bodies under the blanket.

"Come in." I said and the door opened.

Ellie seemed to have woken up by the sudden jolt. Her eyes widened in alert and she opened her mouth to say something but I put my finger on her lips, silencing her.

"Put it on the table and go." I said to the maid.

Realizing what was happening, she took a deep breath and her expressions visibly relaxed. While the maid set the table, we stared into each other's eyes reluctantly. Our bodies were molded together and I could feel her soft curvaceous body pressing against my rugged hard contours. That position was definitely not good for my restraint.

"She has left." She whispered as she struggled against me. Unknowingly, her pelvis ground against mine, awakening Nathan Junior in the process.

"Fuck." I muttered under my breath and pulled apart before she could feel me.

"You are not going to do this daily, are you?" She said, yawning.

"No. Just as long as we aren't actually naked in the morning." I sarcastically said and she rolled her eyes.

Once she went back to sleep, I went to the bathroom to take a cold shower. Life felt pretty useless when there was no work to go to. Mom had forced me to take one week off to make our marriage seem more realistic and I was hating every minute of it. We are leaving for our honeymoon tomorrow morning and hopefully once we are there, we could stop pretending to be a happily married couple for a few days.

•••••••••

"Where is your wife?" Mom said as soon as she entered the dining room.

“She is taking a shower.” I replied and poured some porridge on my plate.

Mom walked over to me and took the plate from in front of me. “You are going to act like a gentleman and wait for her. Don’t make me dictate everything.” She sat down.

I heaved a sigh and sat there idly. About fifteen minutes passed but there was no sign of her. What kind of shower took that long?

When Ellie came, she wasn’t alone. Instead, she had her hand clasped around Aria’s finger, who looked like a happy puppy. “I thought I would wake her up.” Ellie said. She had changed Aria’s clothes and tied her hair in a cute ponytail.

“Daddy look, Mama brushed my teeth.” She opened her mouth, showing me her pearly smile.

Ellie tucked a loose strand of Aria’s hair behind her ear and lifted her so she could sit. Then she took the seat between Aria and me, her fruity scent once again filling my nostrils. Damn, what shampoo did she use?

“You don’t need to do all this. She has a nanny.” I whispered to Ellie.

“I don’t mind. I actually enjoy taking care of her.” She replied.

Ellie had also changed into a new dress. She was wearing a bright pink flowy dress that suited her complexion. Now that her cupboard was sponsored by Mom, she had many new fancy outfits that made her look like other women of our status. But still, there was something about her that made her overall persona warm and homely, unlike other cold rich women of the Upper East side.

Mom gave me my plate back while Ellie served the eggs in her plate. She also filled Aria’s little plate with pancake, egg salad and fruits.

“Aria only eats pancakes at breakfast.” I said to her.

“She can have that too, but she also needs some protein and fibre. Can you do that, sweetheart?” She asked Aria. My daughter, who was quite smitten with her, probably didn't have the heart to refuse her.

“Okay, Mama.” She nodded and stabbed the mango with her fork.

“Interesting.” I said in a low voice. “You are a positive influence on her.”

“She is not the one in dire need of a positive influence.” She whispered back, keeping a sweet smile on her face.

“Elizabeth, have you done your packing yet?” Mom barged in while we were giving each other deadly stares.

“Huh?”

“For your honeymoon.” She cleared and Ellie exchanged a look with me. When I told her we had to go on a honeymoon, she was hesitant and was hoping to postpone it until it wasn’t in discussion anymore. What I hadn’t told her was that I was too scared of my Mom to do that.

“I… Ummm…”

“We’ll do it today.” I said and Ellie cast an angry glare towards me.

The rest of the breakfast went in silence. After breakfast, Mom left for her salon appointment, our nanny took Aria for her class while Ellie and I retired to our room. As soon as we entered the room, she began her rant. “I am not going on a honeymoon.”

“Relax, we aren’t going there to make sweet,  passionate love.” I said and her cheeks got redder. “Just think of it as a vacation.”

“A vacation where I’ll be sharing a room with you.” She grunted.

“Don’t tell me you don’t like that.” I smirked but her expression told me now was not the time for a joke. She stomped towards the bed and sat down with her back towards me. Real mature!

“We don’t have to share a room. We don’t even have to see each other’s face once we are there. We can enjoy it separately.” I offered and she stared at me with a tell-me-more kind of look. It’s not like people in Maldives care about us or our honeymoon. We can live separate lives there.”

“That does sound like a good plan.” She said. “I can go snorkeling, sit by the beach the whole day and catch up on reading. All we have to do is bear each other on the plane.”

“Yes.” I replied, a little hurt over the fact that living with me was such a pain in her ass. Was I that bad of a company that she wanted to avoid me altogether?

“Great. Let’s do that packing.” She said and hopped over her suitcase.

I heaved a sigh and sat down, watching her pack everything with an excited look on her face.

………