STOLEN SMILE

CATERINA

"If I'm honest I have to tell you I still read fairy-tales and I like them best of all."

-Audrey Hepburn

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THE QUIET ON THE WAY home could be chipped at with an ice pick. Luca drove himself, so it was only Jenn and me, wife and wife, engulfed in a plague of thoughtful silence.

I was desperate to know what she was thinking. Did she regret today? I'd experienced many feelings across the board, but I couldn't say I would take it back. Maybe, at first, marriage was a high like a drug, because even within the turmoil, I felt revived, unbreakable. Was this how it felt to be a Melgren?

Jenn had one hand on the wheel, and the sun glinted off her silver wedding band. I guessed she would carry around a reminder of me on her finger everywhere she went. I hadn't realized she would be marrying me as much as I would be her. I might not be able to control her like she could me, but in a way, I owned an important piece of Jennifer Melgren.

As soon as we got home, Jenn headed straight for the minibar. She had a drink at lunch too, and I was beginning to think she needed alcohol to deal with marrying me. What a confidence boost. Though, I couldn't exactly talk when I'd acted like I was stuck in a cloud of terror. To be honest, I was glad I got another wedding because I'd really screwed the first one up.

Bracing a hand on the door, I slipped my heels off. "I've never been married before."

Jenn pulled the top off a whiskey decanter. "Me neither."

"Really?" I asked with mock surprise. "I was sure with your reputation you'd have a harem of wives you killed off one by one when you got bored."

She turned around, a smile pulling on her lips. "Nah, I got men to do my dirty work for me."

I nodded like I understood. "Killing wives is dirty business." Grabbing a hair tie from the island, I pulled my long strands up and off my neck. "Well, I hope when you get bored of me, you'll give me a head start."

She slipped a hand into her pocket, watching me. Her gaze burned like a lit match, just as it had days ago when she'd said: There's nowhere you could go that I couldn't find you. A shiver, equal parts hot and cold, ran down my back. It suddenly felt like I was in a twisted fairy-tale where the princess becomes infatuated with the evil king, and she chooses to stay in her tower even though the door is never locked.

I'd been right from the beginning. I'd never survive this woman.... but it was too late now. I would just have to enjoy my time while it lasted.

Goose bumps trailed down my arms as I padded toward her on bare feet. It was too damn cold in this house, and Jenn was always as hot as a furnace. She could share some of her warmth.

"You're not bored with me yet, are you?"

She ran a hand across her jaw. "I think you've got a few days, give or take."

Stepping into her space, I gripped the end of her tie. "Only a few days?" I inhaled a deep breath of her. "I guess I better make them last then." Rising to my tiptoes, I tried to kiss her, but she turned her head.

Maybe I would've been dismayed by her reaction not long ago, but I knew her better now. It also helped that she had a hard-on I could feel against my stomach. So I ignored her rejection and pressed my lips to her jawline instead. I kissed a line down her throat, growing dizzy from her taste and smell.

She brought the tumbler to her mouth like I wasn't making out with her neck. "Thought you'd rather jump off the Brooklyn Bridge than go through with it today."