Marriage of Convenience

Chapter 18

Caroline wasn't herself.

Ever since she got to Venice, she knew something was off about her.

She feared that Klaus brought the animal out in her. Caroline became a girl who could say no and demand things for herself.

It was odd because she found herself able to stand up to a man who was feared by most. Maybe it was because of the leverage they held against one another.

He wants something from her and she agreed to give it to him. If she didn't abide by his rules, then she would never be able to get a job anywhere –ever.

It was going to take a few self-administered pep talks to convince herself that she truly wore the pants in their marriage. What she achieved alone in such a short amount of time was already ground breaking.

The awkwardness from the night before still hadn't faded. They never talked about it and Caroline didn't want to be the one to bring it up.

A part of her hoped Klaus had no recollection of the night, but the fact that she did left a dark cloud in her mind.

"You signed a contract." He reminded her for the second time that day. "If you want to have sex with any man, you come to me, Caroline. Only me."

Recalling his words accelerated her heart rate. Caroline was torn between her attraction to his caveman-like tendencies and being an advocate for women's rights. Her body craved the caveman, but her mind didn't want anything to do with it.

She looked over at Klaus who was fast asleep. The flight from Venice to Rome was only about an hour and so far he'd been asleep for half the trip. She was sad to leave Venice so suddenly, but was excited to see what Rome had to offer.

She was happy when Klaus told her they would be staying there for four days. After that, their final destination would be Paris where they would stay for an entire week.

Klaus told Caroline that a 'two week' honeymoon was the standard among newlyweds of their social stature. She tried her best not to roll her eyes at his aristocratic behavior.

She would've been just as happy if she went to Ocean City, Maryland for a week. A honeymoon was a honeymoon. It didn't matter where they went.

Caroline was growing entirely too bored. She had finished her book faster than she intended and it wasn't exactly entertaining to watch Klaus sleep.

Only a half hour, Caroline.

Reaching into her bag, she pulled out a deck of cards.

She began shuffling them and was startled by the sound of Klaus' voice.

"Can I play?" He asked with a mischievous look on his face. A nice Klaus was always a suspicious one.

"Sure." What was she going to say no?

"What are we playing?" He asked taking the seat across from her.

"I'm not sure yet, I haven't decided." She took the cards in both hands and shuffled them a few times.

"I have an idea." He said suddenly.

"I'm not playing strip poker." She told him as if she read his mind.

"Well then I'm all out of ideas." He held his hands up.

Pervert.

"Let's play Go Fish," She proposed. "And every time someone says 'Go Fish', you have tell the other person a piece of information about yourself."