Married to Krampus - Marina Simcoe Page 0,34

some point in my life. “He hasn’t fucked you, has he? After all this time having you in his house, he hasn’t touched you.” A crooked smile of satisfaction spread on her face. “He didn’t find you to his taste, after all.”

She’d guessed correctly. There hadn’t been any true intimacy between the Colonel and I, and now there was never going to be since I was leaving him soon. This was a bitter reminder of what a sham my marriage had turned out to be.

Shula’s obvious delight hurt, and it proved to be the last straw for me.

My anger boiled over.

“Oh, we’ve fucked,” I said, loud and clear, for all the women around us to hear. “We’ve fucked so much and so hard, I had no energy left to even leave the house all this time—the glorified sex doll that I am as you said. He is a wild beast, indeed, definitely worth pining over for years. And trust me,” I leaned forward as if about to reveal a secret. “As great as he might’ve been before, he’s only gotten better—rough, wild, insatiable, and still very much untamed.”

Shula narrowed her eyes at me, pressing her mouth together so tight, her lips all but disappeared. Then her gaze darted up over my shoulders, and her expression softened.

“Is everything okay, Daisy?” I felt the Colonel’s hand on the small of my back.

“Hi.” I glanced up at him. For once, his sudden appearance brought relief instead of tension. I was genuinely glad to see him, though he looked as grumpy as ever.

His brows knitted into a frown, he moved his stare from me to Shula, and I wondered if he’d heard any of my lies. Mortification spread hot through me at the thought.

“Grevar,” Shula murmured breathlessly, betraying how much she still wanted him. “How so very nice to see you again. Madam Colonel was just telling us how deeply you’ve fallen in love in just a few days. I’m so happy for you.”

His hand on my back jerked slightly, and I stiffened waiting for him to speak and expose me.

“Thank you.” His arm slid around my waist as he drew me into his side. “Daisy proved irresistible, I stood no chance.”

He leaned over, unexpectedly placing a kiss on my temple.

“Ladies.” The Colonel tipped his head in a bow to the women. “Madam Governor.” He turned to Shula who stood there, speechless. “I’m afraid I’ll have to steal my wife from you. The Governor insists on seeing her again before we leave tonight.”

A flock of warm tingles danced wildly inside me as he led me away.

Chapter 10

“GRAB A SHAWL!” THE Colonel shouted from the bottom of the stairs. “It’s snowing outside.”

“Colonel Kyradus would like you to wear a shawl,” Omni forwarded to me in the bedroom.

“I heard him.” I dashed to the closet and grabbed a white fuzzy wrap from one of the shelves. “The whole Voran must’ve heard him yelling, with that booming voice of his,” I muttered, trotting down the stairs.

“Ready?” The Colonel took the shawl from my hands and wrapped it around my shoulders.

It’d been a week since my arrival in Voran. My first follow-up meeting with the Liaison Committee was scheduled for this morning.

The Colonel volunteered to come with me, possibly just to make sure I wasn’t going to blabber something about our arrangement to anyone. Even so, I was glad to have him with me for support. Being questioned about my personal life wouldn’t be fun, even if not much personal had happened to speak of.

“Let’s go.” His hand on the small of my back, he led me out to the landing platform.

“Oh, it’s so beautiful!” I tilted my head back, watching the big, fluffy snowflakes flutter to the glass of the dome above us. Rushing around while getting ready upstairs earlier this morning, I had no chance to admire it.

“You’ve never seen snow before?” the Colonel asked, watching me while I was watching the leisurely snowfall.

“I have. But isn’t it always so mesmerizing? Almost magical, like in a fairy tale?”

“Beautiful,” he agreed, still gazing at me, not the snow.

The warm expression in his eyes wasn’t entirely new. I’d caught him glancing at me with similar interest and awareness on one or two occasions lately. This time, however, it wasn’t a mere glance. He stared at me openly, and I had no idea what to do about the warm, fuzzy feeling unfurling in my chest in response.

“Well, we’d better go,” I mumbled, heading for the aircraft. “We don’t want