She started to shake her head but noticed his warning look and stopped. “Zeke, how do you know everything will be okay? We barely know each other.”
“You trusted me last night. And look how that turned out.” He looked down at her with arrogance and complete confidence that there would be a repeat of last night.
He would have to bring that up, wouldn’t he? She blushed and tried to pull her hand away. “That was different…”
He wouldn’t release her hand, but kept it firmly in both of his. “That proved that we’re compatible.”
“Only…” she glanced self-consciously at the three others who were avidly listening to the conversation. Knowing there was no way around it, she just spat it out. “That only proves that we’re sexually compatible. It doesn’t mean we should be married.”
“That’s more than half the battle,” he argued with a raunchy grin. “Would you just say the words and we can get out of here and I can explain everything?”
“No.”
He sighed and turned to her. “You leave me no choice then.” Without warning, he pulled her into his arms and kissed her, his hands holding her against him, pressing her softness against his body and showing her how compatible they really were. He felt her resistance for only a moment before she gave in to the passion that was always just under the surface.
When she was gripping his shoulders, willingly kissing him back with all the latent passion he knew was within her, he lifted his head, still holding her close. “Just say ‘I do’,” he coaxed softly with that husky voice that never failed to send exciting shivers throughout her body.
With a shuddering breath, she said, “I do.”
Zeke bent down and kissed her one more time, gently, but the caress still made her shudder with anticipation. He felt it and almost groaned with the need to possess her, protect her. But he had to get her married to him first. This woman would be his and he needed his stamp on her. It was such an odd sensation for him and he was having trouble dealing with his first bout of protectiveness. And a raging surge of jealousy and protectiveness each time he thought about her father’s plans. He silently prayed she didn’t know anything about her father’s attempts to marry her off to his brutish lieutenant or the alternative plans that had been discussed. When Zeke had heard the news, he’d been livid at the idea.
But here she was, and he couldn’t help the possessiveness that shone through his eyes after her declaration. She was his and he wouldn’t let anything happen to her.
“It’s about time,” he teased before tucking her hand in his and turning back to his friend. “We’re good to go.”
Matt rolled his eyes, but he accepted her answer. “Zeke Raphael Vaughn, do you take Marissa Desiree Berutelli, to have and to hold…”
Marissa heard the words but her mind couldn’t comprehend their meaning. Was this really happening? She turned and peeked behind her. Sure enough, bodyguards were still watching the doorway. One of them even whispered something into a hidden microphone just like the secret service people do on television.
The deep voice of Zeke talking caught her attention and she turned back to the judge. “I now pronounce you husband and wife,” he was saying. Marissa’s stomach just about dropped out of her body and she placed a hand on her abdomen, trying not to hyperventilate at all that was going on around her.
Zeke put a warm, reassuring hand around her tiny waist as he shook everyone’s hand, obvious relief rushing through him that they were finally wed. Knowing that Marissa was still in shock, he carefully placed a pen in her hand and told her to sign something and she suspected that she’d done so, but had no idea what he’d had her sign. She trusted him, but it really would be nice to have some sort of memory of what she’d just agreed to, she thought with rising hysteria.
The entire event took probably less than fifteen minutes. She was being hustled out of the judge’s office and back down the dim hallway so she couldn’t really let herself enjoy a full blown panic attack. It too much effort just to put one foot in front of the other with Zeke’s arm around her waist. When they were safely back in the limousine and the driver had pulled away, Zeke didn’t hesitated to pull her onto his lap and kiss her. His large, strong hands held her head while his mouth smothered her protests, his lips ridding her of resistance as he coaxed a response out of her numb mind and body.
Just as before, it didn’t take long before she was a full partner in the kiss, her hands reaching up so her fingers could tangle in his short hair but it was the way her body curled towards him that gave him hope that this was going to be okay…that he hadn’t completely terrified this young beauty beyond anything she’d experienced before.
“You’re mine now,” he said with grim satisfaction.
“I am?” she asked, still looking dazed and not quite sure what was going on.
“Absolutely.”
“What are you going to do with me now?” she asked, slumping against his chest, weary and still confused.
“I’m taking you out to lunch, we’re going to have a calm conversation and you’re going to tell me what’s going on.”
Her eyebrows went up with that. Shouldn’t it be the other way around? “And if I don’t?”
He laughed softly, shaking his head as his hand reached inside his jacket. He pulled out his phone and pressed a button.
Marissa took that moment to look down at her hand. The cold metal around her ring finger startled her. Zeke was wearing a wedding band as well? When had she placed that on his finger? When had he put the ring on her finger?
She looked down and was surprised at how much she liked the ring. It wasn’t just a plain, gold band but had scroll work and small, gold flowers etched into the sides. It was lovely and romantic. His was just a simple, gold band though. She’d always thought she’d want matching wedding bands with her husband, but seeing this elaborate, detailed wedding band, she knew that Zeke had chosen this band himself. And she thought it was very sweet that he’d selected something so romantic looking.
She was so confused and she couldn’t seem to make sense of anything. This whole day, from the moment she’d woken up in Zeke’s bed to the present moment seemed like she was an actress playing some fanciful part. A part she wasn’t really sure how to follow, create or improvise.