Chapter 2 · The Quiet Husband Had a Wild Side

My mind went completely blank.

[OMG. That pose. That voice. Mr. Mitchell, stop holding back and just kiss her already!]

[Relax, Natalie. He's all bark, no bite. Touch him, and he'll go soft. Not that kind of soft!]

The bullet comments kept flooding my vision, but none of them registered.

He took over all my senses. Every part of me was locked on him.

He was so hot, like a human furnace.

"I... I thought I heard something outside," I mumbled, grasping for any excuse. My voice was so quiet it was barely a whisper.

"You're lying." Nathan leaned in, his nose almost brushing mine, his hot breath fanning across my skin. "It's just me here."

His gaze was so predatory that it made my knees buckle.

He was not lacking down there. He got too much. He was scared he'd break me.

Once that crazy idea took hold, it just kept spiraling out of control.

I looked at his tense jaw, at the slight flush at the corner of his eyes from holding back. Suddenly, an insanely bold idea popped into my mind.

I had to find out if those bullet comments were real.

With Nathan's shocked eyes on me, I shook as I raised my hand. I used my finest finger to gently, almost tentatively, touch the second button on his shirt.

It was an obsidian button, icy and solid.

The instant my fingertip brushed it, he jerked as if a surge of electricity shot through him.

He jerked back like he'd seen a ghost, putting three whole steps between us.

His breathing was fast. All the color drained from his handsome face. All that was left was a tortured kind of pale.

He stared at me, his eyes wide with shock and confusion. And was that a hint of... pleading in his gaze?

"Don't touch me." He forced out through clenched teeth, his voice shaking.

[OMG! She barely even grazed Mr. Mitchell's button, and he almost lost it. The possessiveness is insane.]

[Aww. He doesn't hate her touching him. He's just terrified he'll completely lose control if she does.]

The bullet comments kept flooding in.

I just stood there, frozen, watching him.

I watched his hands curl into fists so tight that the veins bulged.

I watched him turn and practically run from my room, as if he couldn't escape fast enough.

The guest room door slammed shut, completely cutting him off from me.

I slumped against the door, sinking slowly to the floor.

My heart was still pounding wildly. My fingertips still tingled with the memory of his burning heat.

So it was all true. Every bullet comment.

My husband, who seemed cold and completely uninterested in me, was actually so obsessed with me that he couldn't even bring himself to touch me.

That realization totally knocked me sideways.

*****

The next morning, I dragged myself downstairs, sporting two huge dark circles under my eyes.

Last night was just too much. I barely slept. Nathan's eyes, that desperate, out of control, yet still somehow restrained look, kept replaying in my head all night.

Nathan was already in the dining room, looking polished and sharp, reading the business newspaper.

He was back to that cool, aristocratic version of himself. Aloof and untouchable, as if the wild, barely restrained man from last night had been nothing but a hallucination.

I pulled out a chair and sat. The butler set breakfast in front of me immediately.

The usual silence filled the room.

[Tsk tsk, look at him acting all cool again. Like we don't know who was in the guest room, taking cold showers all night, trying to cool off.]

[LOL. Take it easy. Let the man keep a little face.]

[Natalie, look at his left wrist. He was so desperate to chill out that he iced it so much it's got a red ring around it now.]

Instinctively, my eyes drifted to his left hand, the one holding the paper.

Sure enough, just below his luxury Patek Philippe watch, there was a ring of unnaturally red skin around his wrist.

I felt like something gave a little sting in my chest, faint and fleeting.

Such a dummy.

I cleared my throat, trying to break the silence. "You..."

Nathan glanced up at my voice. His calm eyes settled on my face, lingering for just a second on my slightly tired appearance.

"Didn't sleep well last night?" he asked, sounding like a routine checklist item.

"Yeah, I had a bad dream," I mumbled into my oatmeal.

[Yep, and guess who was the star of that dream? You.]

[Natalie: I dreamed a big bad wolf was after me. Mr. Mitchell: Guilty as charged.]

[Just tell him. Say you dreamed of him. Watch what happens.]

Spurred on by the bullet comments, I somehow looked up and met his gaze. "I dreamed about you," I whispered.

His silver knife slipped from his fingers, hitting the plate with a crisp sound.

He just froze up, completely still.

After a solid five seconds, he moved like a robot, slowly bending to pick up the knife and wiping it with stiff motions.

He kept his eyes down, but I could see it clearly. The tips of his ears were turning red.

[Oh my god, he's blushing! The cold CEO has such a pure side to him. I'm dying.]

[One sentence. That's all it took to short-circuit Mr. Mitchell's entire brain.]

I looked at his reddening ears and couldn't help but laugh, yet my heart ached for him a little, too.

Really, how much was he holding in?

"I'm done. I'm heading to the office," he said, suddenly standing up like he was trying to cover something up. He grabbed his suit jacket and practically bolted out, nearly stumbling in his haste.

I watched him go. My grin just kept getting wider.

Nathan, underneath that cold front, you're such a secretly passionate guy.

Looks like I had you all wrong.

If you're not going to make a move, then I'll just have to do it myself.

Honestly, who in their right mind would say no to a husband who was devilishly handsome, built like a dream with a body like a stud's, and was crazy about her?

Chapter 2

My mind went completely blank.

[OMG. That pose. That voice. Mr. Mitchell, stop holding back and just kiss her already!]

[Relax, Natalie. He's all bark, no bite. Touch him, and he'll go soft. Not that kind of soft!]

The bullet comments kept flooding my vision, but none of them registered.

He took over all my senses. Every part of me was locked on him.

He was so hot, like a human furnace.

"I... I thought I heard something outside," I mumbled, grasping for any excuse. My voice was so quiet it was barely a whisper.

"You're lying." Nathan leaned in, his nose almost brushing mine, his hot breath fanning across my skin. "It's just me here."

His gaze was so predatory that it made my knees buckle.

He was not lacking down there. He got too much. He was scared he'd break me.

Once that crazy idea took hold, it just kept spiraling out of control.

I looked at his tense jaw, at the slight flush at the corner of his eyes from holding back. Suddenly, an insanely bold idea popped into my mind.

I had to find out if those bullet comments were real.

With Nathan's shocked eyes on me, I shook as I raised my hand. I used my finest finger to gently, almost tentatively, touch the second button on his shirt.

It was an obsidian button, icy and solid.

The instant my fingertip brushed it, he jerked as if a surge of electricity shot through him.

He jerked back like he'd seen a ghost, putting three whole steps between us.

His breathing was fast. All the color drained from his handsome face. All that was left was a tortured kind of pale.

He stared at me, his eyes wide with shock and confusion. And was that a hint of... pleading in his gaze?

"Don't touch me." He forced out through clenched teeth, his voice shaking.

[OMG! She barely even grazed Mr. Mitchell's button, and he almost lost it. The possessiveness is insane.]

[Aww. He doesn't hate her touching him. He's just terrified he'll completely lose control if she does.]

The bullet comments kept flooding in.

I just stood there, frozen, watching him.

I watched his hands curl into fists so tight that the veins bulged.

I watched him turn and practically run from my room, as if he couldn't escape fast enough.

The guest room door slammed shut, completely cutting him off from me.

I slumped against the door, sinking slowly to the floor.

My heart was still pounding wildly. My fingertips still tingled with the memory of his burning heat.

So it was all true. Every bullet comment.

My husband, who seemed cold and completely uninterested in me, was actually so obsessed with me that he couldn't even bring himself to touch me.

That realization totally knocked me sideways.

*****

The next morning, I dragged myself downstairs, sporting two huge dark circles under my eyes.

Last night was just too much. I barely slept. Nathan's eyes, that desperate, out of control, yet still somehow restrained look, kept replaying in my head all night.

Nathan was already in the dining room, looking polished and sharp, reading the business newspaper.

He was back to that cool, aristocratic version of himself. Aloof and untouchable, as if the wild, barely restrained man from last night had been nothing but a hallucination.

I pulled out a chair and sat. The butler set breakfast in front of me immediately.

The usual silence filled the room.

[Tsk tsk, look at him acting all cool again. Like we don't know who was in the guest room, taking cold showers all night, trying to cool off.]

[LOL. Take it easy. Let the man keep a little face.]

[Natalie, look at his left wrist. He was so desperate to chill out that he iced it so much it's got a red ring around it now.]

Instinctively, my eyes drifted to his left hand, the one holding the paper.

Sure enough, just below his luxury Patek Philippe watch, there was a ring of unnaturally red skin around his wrist.

I felt like something gave a little sting in my chest, faint and fleeting.

Such a dummy.

I cleared my throat, trying to break the silence. "You..."

Nathan glanced up at my voice. His calm eyes settled on my face, lingering for just a second on my slightly tired appearance.

"Didn't sleep well last night?" he asked, sounding like a routine checklist item.

"Yeah, I had a bad dream," I mumbled into my oatmeal.

[Yep, and guess who was the star of that dream? You.]

[Natalie: I dreamed a big bad wolf was after me. Mr. Mitchell: Guilty as charged.]

[Just tell him. Say you dreamed of him. Watch what happens.]

Spurred on by the bullet comments, I somehow looked up and met his gaze. "I dreamed about you," I whispered.

His silver knife slipped from his fingers, hitting the plate with a crisp sound.

He just froze up, completely still.

After a solid five seconds, he moved like a robot, slowly bending to pick up the knife and wiping it with stiff motions.

He kept his eyes down, but I could see it clearly. The tips of his ears were turning red.

[Oh my god, he's blushing! The cold CEO has such a pure side to him. I'm dying.]

[One sentence. That's all it took to short-circuit Mr. Mitchell's entire brain.]

I looked at his reddening ears and couldn't help but laugh, yet my heart ached for him a little, too.

Really, how much was he holding in?

"I'm done. I'm heading to the office," he said, suddenly standing up like he was trying to cover something up. He grabbed his suit jacket and practically bolted out, nearly stumbling in his haste.

I watched him go. My grin just kept getting wider.

Nathan, underneath that cold front, you're such a secretly passionate guy.

Looks like I had you all wrong.

If you're not going to make a move, then I'll just have to do it myself.

Honestly, who in their right mind would say no to a husband who was devilishly handsome, built like a dream with a body like a stud's, and was crazy about her?