“You’re going to be my white knight?”
“I’ll be anything you need.”
The intimate atmosphere could be cut with a knife. Lily smiled and instinctively kissed his palm. “I need to sleep.”
They’d both showered earlier, and Lily wanted to do nothing more than collapse in the large bed.
“Go and sleep.” Lily didn’t need to be told twice. She picked up her water and left him.
In no time at all, she lay on the large bed surrounded by silk sheets. She wore an old shirt she’d found in his wardrobe.
What seemed like a lifetime, she heard him enter, gather his clothing, and leave again. Lily relaxed and sighed, until seconds later, he walked back in and moved straight for the opposite side of the bed.
“What are you doing?” she asked, sitting up.
“I need to sleep as well.” Her eyes widened as he opened his dressing gown. Lily slapped a hand over her eyes she tried to cover him from sight.
“You’re naked.”
“Lily, drop your hand.”
She shook her head. Behind her hand, her eyes were closed, and they’d remain closed until he either left the room or covered up.
“Why are you hiding?”
“Would you please put some clothes on?” she asked. Her body flushed.
“No.”
“Please.” Lily heard some shuffling, and then his hand was removed her own from her face. Refusing to give in, she kept her eyes closed she turned away, scrambling on the sheets, and trying to move away.
He caught her leg and pulled her back to the edge of the bed. Lily fell, and he grabbed her bringing her against his body. She gasped, shocked, and opened her eyes looking down his body. Wayne stood in front of her naked.
“You’ve never seen a na**d man before?”
Lily didn’t bother to answer. She couldn’t tear her gaze away from him. Swallowed past the lump in her mouth, she continued to plead with him some more.
“No.” Wayne was firm.
“A gentleman would.”
“I never said I was a gentleman.”
His fingers slid to the hem of her shirt. “You can see me, and now I want to see you.” In one movement, the shirt was up and over her head leaving her exposed to his eyes. She covered her br**sts, and he pulled the hands down at her side.
“You’re beautiful, Lily. Never let anyone tell you differently.”
Instead of touching or doing anything, he took her hand and brought her to the bed. Turning out the light, he pulled the silk sheets around them. His arm curved round her waist, spooning.
“See, no problem at all,” he said.
Lily slowly relaxed against his hold and fell asleep. His throbbing erection pressed between the cheeks of her ass.
Strange, she was comfortable sleeping with a man she barely knew, na**d in the same bed, but she wasn’t in a house surrounded by her family.
Chapter Eight
The following weeks went by pretty much uneventful. Wayne and Lily searched for a house together. All of the styles Wayne picked, Lily hated. While he continued with his never-ending workload, Lily went shopping and tried on wedding dress after wedding dress.
She thought plenty of other brides had a long array of bridesmaids. Stephanie refused when she asked to be her bridesmaid, and so Lily would attend her wedding with the planner as her maid of honour.
In the meantime, they filled their time like any other couple, eating meals in and out. The celebrity world adored Wayne Brown, and Lily had been subjected to an ambush of paparazzi wherever she went.
Her attire always seemed to make some gossip cover somewhere, and questions of Wayne's past conquests was getting tiring. The amount of time she’d heard how she wasn’t good enough started to take its toll.
Wayne always insisted they sleep together, and for the most part, he demanded they were both naked.
Her pu**y would flood with warmth, and her cheeks would heat with shame. No woman should respond in such a way to man she barely knew.
After a hiatus of civility, Wayne and Lily came to blows over the arrangements of the prenuptial agreement.
Both stood in Richard’s office, the document heavy to lift.
“What do you want me to do with it?” she asked. Lily didn’t care one iota about the money. As far as she was concerned, when they divorced she wouldn’t want a single penny from him or his family.
“You need to read through carefully. If you’re not happy with it then let me know so we can organize and change bits.”
“I need a lawyer for that?”
“It’s all necessary.”
“But not completely.” Lily turned to Wayne as he said something.
“Why do you want me to sign this?”
Her heart ached. One week left until the wedding. No run through. There'd be a quick church wedding—her dress had been picked, and the flowers sorted.
The ring on her finger was heavy. It hurt to lift the damn engagement ring.
“Can we just get it over and done with?” she asked. Lily rubbed her aching temples.
Richard glanced at Wayne. “What am I missing here?”
“You can sign the document. Just put your trust in me, Lily,” Wayne said.
She nibbled her lip and picked up the heavy bundle. Words she never even heard of threw-up all over the page. She couldn’t afford a lawyer and didn’t want to spend the excess time in another office, waiting for some outcome or another.
Lily took a chance on his good graces. He wanted her to be his wife after all. How bad could it be?
She signed her name along the dotted line, not having the first clue to what she just gave of herself.
Chapter Nine
One week later...
Wayne Brown and Lily Jones’s wedding day.
The wedding went off without a hitch—the flowers, the photographer, and cake. Everything was beautiful and sparkling. Wayne stood with one of his friends. He twirled the gold band on his finger, loving the weight and feel of the simple cut piece. A symbol binding him to Lily. Taking another leisurely sip of champagne, his gaze drifted through the crowd searching for her.
Wayne watched her talk with his friends and family, her natural caring nature coming forward and embracing them all.
“I have to say, my friend. You’ve got a great woman. A little full for my tastes but great nonetheless.” Wayne glanced at his lifelong friend and smiled. Tony wasn’t known for having any taste in women. If they could spread their legs and get wet, he’d screw them.
“She really is.”
“What I don’t get is how you managed to get a woman who is still kind and not been jaded by the world. Does she even know your reputation, Beast?”