Before Daylight. Andie J. Christopher

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СКАЧАТЬ her to the prom, rehearsal. She hadn’t even gone to a normal school, with days filled with academic classes. Academics were crammed in between rehearsals and performances, on road trips, and away from her parents and brothers.

      Laura hadn’t even realized that she was on her first date until one of the members of the company tried to kiss her after they’d shared salads after yet another rehearsal.

      The idea of going to dinner with Charlie—a nice guy even if he weren’t her husband—was so appealing to her that it had crawled into her bones. Which was why she had to shut it down and say no.

      Ballet was the only thing she was good at. Outside of her family, it was the only thing she had. They had sacrificed too much for her to jeopardize it because she wanted something as silly as going on a date. Maybe getting to know Charlie Laughlin, a man who had gotten drunk with her and swept her off of her feet when she wasn’t feeling like herself. A part of her she didn’t let out very often, a part of her that she didn’t know very well wanted to remember the full impact of kissing Charlie Laughlin. That part of her wanted to grab onto the one crazy thing she’d ever done in her life and never let go.

      “I can’t. We shouldn’t.” There. She didn’t sound very strong, but she’d shut him down. She turned around to leave, not saying goodbye. She knew that if she said anything else, her no would turn into a yes in less than the space of a “see you around.”

      “I won’t sign any annulment papers unless you go out with me.”

      * * * *

      Charlie hadn’t said a lot of stupid shit over the course of his life. He’d negotiated a whole hell of a lot, too. He was the guy his friends and his brothers called when they were in a tight spot because they knew he could bullshit them out of any hidey hole of trouble with his charm and quick words. And, if there was a woman involved, they called him with the quickness.

      Still, when Laura had turned around and tried to leave, his wit failed him. Any other girl he would have been able to talk her into dinner after one of her rehearsals, but he’d smelled that for exactly what it was—an excuse. And he didn’t know why it bothered him so much that she’d seemed to dismiss him after she’d gotten what she wanted.

      He just knew that his gut twisted at the idea of never seeing the lovely ballerina again.

      The idea that she’d walk out the door, file some paperwork, and be able to pretend that she wasn’t the wild sort of thing he’d seen on screen a few minutes ago? That she wasn’t the desirous and giddy woman he’d kissed and touched and held for one night?

      Unacceptable.

      Despite the reputation that he’d earned in the aftermath of marriage, he didn’t make a habit of lying. But, as soon as she’d offered to get her family involved with getting this whole “oops we got married” thing fixed, he’d panicked a little, and a fib came out.

      “We can’t have sex, though.” Her words were slow, as though she were talking to a small child. Funny how her mind went straight to sex when he’d been careful only to mention dinner.

      “Why not?” He smiled, enough so that she would know he was teasing. If they had dinner, it would surely lead to the sex they hadn’t had in Bali. There was too much—something—between them for it not to happen. He’d settle for a quickie with Laura if that was the only thing her schedule allowed. A hot, quick screw against the door of her apartment when he dropped her off after dinner probably wasn’t as romantic as what would have happened on his ideal wedding night, but it got him excited almost as much.

      “If we have sex, we can’t get an annulment and we’ll have to get a divorce, which will take longer and be more likely to go public.”

      “And that would be a bad thing.” It definitely would be bad for him, and he would make sure it was good before. His ex-wife had lied about him five years ago. Sparring with her was giving him the idea that maybe an annulment was hasty. Perhaps he could convince her to give their marriage as shot. And, if she insisted on ending it, he at least wanted to enjoy his conjugal rights if his relationship record suffered another black mark.

      For a few seconds, a moment ago, he’d thought that she was hurt by the idea of him not wanting his mom to find out they were temporarily married. Just a flash of something across her face that had hit him wrong.

      “Yes.” She crossed her arms over her chest, pushing her dainty breasts up. He couldn’t not look. There wasn’t much about her that he didn’t want to look at.

      “Why is it a bad thing? For you, I mean? My mother will lose her mind and light St. Patrick’s on fire with the number of candles it will take to save my soul if we get divorced.” Not to mention what he’d have to deal with from his father. He hated the sting of rebuke he felt from the man. His father was a lion of the business world. But, like male lions in the wild who killed their young, he only respected strength. Two divorces would stink of weakness all the way to Chicago.

      Even more than he wanted to avoid censure from his parents, he wanted to know why she was so freaked out by the idea of marrying him. He stepped closer to her and her breath caught, making his dick go more than half-hard.

      “Do you have any idea how competitive the world of ballet is?”

      He’d thrown in the money for a web series on the American Ballet Theatre School in New York last year, so he had a fleeting understanding.

      “A vague one.”

      She nodded and her lips turned into a thin line. “If word gets out that I’ve run off and gotten married, the piranhas will start circling.”

      “Who are the piranhas?”

      “The corps de ballet.”

      “Aren’t they—like—your backup dancers?”

      She let out a short laugh. “No, they’re the enemy.”

      Charlie couldn’t help but smile at the militant set to her jaw. Seeing her so worked up and passionate had him even more determined to get some time with her, to touch her velvet-soft skin and make her grit her teeth with pleasure. He rubbed the back of his neck, hoping to get ahold of himself. “I’ve gotta admit, your military metaphor kind of has me even more turned on.”

      She blushed and let out a huff of breath. “Of course, you don’t understand.”

      “I understand, but there’s no reason anyone has to find out that we got married.”

      “We don’t even know how many people already know.” The panic in her voice decidedly did not turn him on—in fact, he’d do just about anything to assuage it.

      “We’re connected through your cousin and my best friend. If we go out to dinner and someone”—he stepped closer to her—“sees us, they’ll probably just assume that we’re dating. You know? Like real people.”

      “I’m not real people.” Again, with the school teacher voice that got him hard.

      “Sure felt real to me at the wedding.” He ran one finger over her forearm, and the electricity between them nearly set him on his heels.

      The flush underneath her olive skin travelled all the way to her hairline when he said that, and he knew she was remembering what they’d done to each СКАЧАТЬ