Chapter 1
On our wedding night, my husband, Nathan Mitchell, and I slept in separate rooms. Three months into the marriage, I still hadn't even come close to touching him.
I was starting to wonder if the rumors about him being sick were true.
Right when I was about to write up divorce papers and cut my losses, a bunch of weird floating comments popped up in front of me.
[Girl, are you clueless? With a body like a stud's, does that look sick to you?]
[He's crazy about you. He's so afraid of losing control and hurting you that he's forcing himself to sleep apart. It's torture for him.]
[Stop it, you guys. Just wait. Later, when she makes the first move, he'll totally lose it. He'll pin her against the wall and kiss her like crazy. Damn, that scene is wild!]
*****
We'd been married for three months, but I'd barely said ten words to my new husband, Nathan.
We still slept in different rooms.
I lay alone on the cold, empty master bed. I stared up at the ceiling. For the hundred and eighth time, I asked myself what I was doing with my life.
Ugh, I married a robot. My life's pretty much over.
People said Nathan, the ruthless heir to Mitchell Enterprises who kept his distance from all women, was secretly sick.
At first, I didn't believe it.
Come on. His face looked like it was chiseled by a god. He had broad shoulders, a trim waist, and those long, straight legs. Just standing there, he gave off pure masculine energy.
Still, I couldn't ignore the facts.
We hadn't even kissed, let alone slept together.
Forget it, I'd find a lawyer tomorrow and get the divorce papers drawn up.
I was still young. I should just bail now. My happiness down the road was all that mattered.
Just as I finally made up my mind, a few lines of shimmering, see-through text suddenly floated across my vision out of nowhere.
[Ahhh! Here comes that classic moment. Natalie is finally getting divorced over the misunderstanding.]
[Relax, this is just a little hiccup. Mr. Mitchell is crazy about his wife. No way he'd actually let her go.]
[Exactly. He's right outside your door, standing there like a statue. Totally lovesick. He's holding back so hard that his eyes are getting red.]
I shot up in bed, my heart pounding like crazy.
What was that?
Was I seeing things?
I rubbed my eyes hard, but the words were still there, floating in the air, clear as day, like something straight out of another dimension.
[Wait, can she see us? She just sat up.]
[Don't freak out, Natalie. We're just spectators from a higher dimension, watching your story. We mean you no harm.]
Higher dimension? Spectators?
My mind went completely blank. I couldn't wrap my head around this crazy supernatural moment.
The bullet comments kept coming.
[Don't just stand there. Go open the door. Your husband really is outside. He just finished cleaning up the mess from the company, and he's exhausted. He wants to see you, but he doesn't want to bother you.]
Wait, what mess? I'd been keeping my head down. I hadn't even left the house lately. How could I have caused any mess?
[It was your cousin, Olivia. She went to one of Mitchell Enterprises' malls, used your name to throw her weight around, and tried to get a 7,000-dollar bag for free. The manager stopped her.]
[When Mr. Mitchell found out, he made one phone call and had the manager kicked out, then banned Olivia from every Mitchell property. He didn't want you to be bothered by that kind of petty stuff, so he handled it quietly.]
My breath caught.
Olivia? The same cousin who'd been taking my stuff and messing with me at every turn since we were kids?
I had no idea any of this was even happening.
And Nathan... he really did all that for me?
I threw off the covers and walked barefoot to the door, one step at a time.
My hand rested on the cold doorknob for a long moment, but I couldn't bring myself to turn it.
[Hurry up and open the door. This is killing me. Mr. Mitchell can barely hold himself together.]
[His pheromones are practically solid by now. That fancy cedar scent. Pure alpha vibes.]
My heart was slamming against my chest so hard that I thought it might jump right out of my throat.
A mix of fear, surrealness, and a strange curiosity I couldn't explain pushed me forward.
I took a deep breath, like someone about to walk the plank, and yanked the doorknob.
With a quiet click, I pulled the door open just a crack.
In the dim light from the hallway, a tall figure stood there, striking.
It was Nathan.
He was really there.
He wasn't wearing a jacket, just a thin white shirt with the top two buttons undone, revealing his defined collarbones. His hair, usually neat, was now a bit tousled, with a few stray strands falling over his forehead, partially obscuring his deep eyes.
He looked completely caught off guard by me suddenly opening the door. He just stood frozen, one hand still raised like he was about to knock.
Our eyes met.
I saw a flash of shock in his gaze, but it quickly got swallowed up by something even more intense. Something scorching.
It was a look I'd never seen before, laced with aggression and hungry desire, like a wild beast locked in a cage for ages, finally catching sight of its one and only prey.
His Adam's apple bobbed involuntarily.
Before I could even react, he stepped inside and slammed the door shut behind him.
The whole room instantly filled with his scent. Strong. Smoldering pine beneath a layer of ice and snow.
His tall frame loomed over me, my back pressed against the cold door. I was trapped, with no way out.
He didn't touch me. But his hands were planted on both sides, flat against the door, totally caging me in.
We were so close that I could feel the burning heat coming off his body. His breathing was heavy, restrained, brushing against my skin.
"Natalie." His voice was really hoarse, like sandpaper. Every word was barely contained, strained to the breaking point. "Who told you to open the door?"