Temporary Marriage (Complete MATCHMAKER BOOK 3)

Chapter 5

“ NATHALIE POV ” 

Old ball and chain.

Had I really just called myself that? Out loud?

To my new, incredibly sexy husband?

It was probably a good thing we hadn’t met in person before the ceremony or else he would have called the whole thing off because

I had the annoying habit of blurting out everything that popped into my head when I was nervous.

My dad had tried to break me of the tendency when he first got into politics, and I thought I had it mostly under control.

Until now.

With Garrett Hendricks.

My husband!

I didn’t blame myself. Considering the situation, it was bound to happen.

As insane as it sounded, I hadn’t bothered to ask to see a photo before agreeing to marry him.

I probably should have, and under different circumstances I absolutely would have.

But as soon as Jane told me she had the perfect match for me—a guy who was looking for a temporary arrangement,

In name only, for a year—I’d jumped at the opportunity and hadn’t asked too many questions.

Not having to worry about sleeping with a virtual stranger or tying myself to him forever eased the worst of my concerns.

Then she had confirmed that he was wealthy and attractive enough

That the press would consider it a perfect match, so I figured if the media was satisfied, then my dad would be, too.

I was more than happy with the results.

But that was before I set eyes on the six foot, two inches of muscled yumminess currently sitting next to me.

I finally understood the twinkle in Jane’s eyes when she’d said he was “attractive enough”

That reporters wouldn’t second-guess me falling for him.

With his blond hair and hazel eyes, Garret was drop-dead gorgeous.

Any woman with halfway decent vision would find him wildly attractive, and mine was twenty-twenty.

If my runaway mouth and the condition of my panties were any indication,

I wasn’t the only woman in the world who wouldn’t be able to resist him.

If only I had asked to see his picture first…maybe I would’ve made some changes to the terms of our contract—specifically the part about our marriage being in name only.

Because holy heck, how was I going to be able to stand living with him for a whole year without climbing his tall body like a spider monkey?

“A year,” he echoed.

It doubled the number of words I’d heard him say so far.

At least he’d chosen to repeat the least embarrassing part of what I’d said.

Although I was beginning to worry that maybe it was a good thing he was pretty—I was starting to doubt his intelligence, since he wasn’t too verbal.

Not to mention dragging me into the courthouse and back out again. It was total caveman behavior.

Don’t get me wrong—he was super-hot while hauling me around.

But I wasn’t sure if he had the brains to go with the looks—or if I even wanted him to be smart, because that would only increase his hotness factor.

“Yeah, a year,” I drawled.

“As in, the amount of time you specified you wanted a wife? It was right there, written in black and white on the contract we both signed less than forty-eight hours ago. And it was in there because it’s what you told Jane you wanted. She said it had something to do with needing to be married in order to fulfill the terms of a will?”

“I’m aware of what the contract said and the reasons behind that clause.”

His muscular thigh was flush against my leg, and the heat from his body burned through our layers of clothes.

My reaction to him caused my voice to sound breathy when I asked,

“Then why did you repeat it?”

“Because one thing I’ve learned in business is that just because you’ve signed on the dotted line doesn’t mean the terms of a contract are necessarily final.”

“Um,” I stammered.

“Isn’t that exactly what signing a contract means? That you have a written agreement which both parties have accepted?”

He trailed his fingers along the material covering my thigh before wrapping his hand around mine.

My panties practically combusted at the feel of his warm skin touching me.

My hand clenched reflexively, and he threaded his fingers through mine to loosen my fist. My body clenched.

Then the edges of his lips kicked up in a smug grin that made it clear he knew exactly how I was reacting to his touch.

As impossible as it was to believe, it gave him even more notches on the hotness scale.

“The negotiations don’t have to be over, Nathalie.”

The way he said my name caused a tingling in very private places.

“There are always amendments that can be made as long as everyone agrees to them.”

“What happens if both parties break a clause of the contract? Together? But without putting anything in writing about it first?”

I asked cautiously. Like the one that said our marriage was in name only?

Because with the way his thumb was brushing across my knuckles and how he was crowding me on

The more-than-ample backseat of the car, I had the impression I wasn’t the only one considering sex.

If he wanted to renegotiate that portion of our deal, I was more than willing to do so. Immediately. While naked.

Naked negotiation.

It had a certain ring to it.

His gaze zeroed in on my face, and it seemed as though he’d just read my mind and knew all the dirty thoughts I had floating around inside it.

Judging by the wicked glint in his hazel eyes, he was willing to give them all a try, and I was pretty sure he’d add some of his own ideas to the list.

“Well”

—his raspy voice sent shivers down my spine as he flipped my hand over to run his thumb across my palm—

“It doesn’t count as breach of contract when there’s mutual consent by both parties.”

“Oh realy.”