Page 85 of Sweet Wicked Vows

Pairs. Barcelona. Amsterdam. Rome.

Each one of them was as beautiful and breathtaking as the next.

Sitting in the back of the car and watching the streets go by, I was awe-struck by it all. Old buildings, crystal blue ocean filled with expensive boats, and glimpses of the Rock of Monaco—pictures that plagued my social media only showed half of its true beauty.

Jaxon and I may not have been on the best of terms for some reason unbeknownst to me, but damn, it was hard to be unhappy in such a place.

Benny drove us through winding roads while Jaxon’s knee started to bounce the closer we got to his family home. His demeanor hadn’t changed since the dinner. He had an invisible barrier around him, shutting down all his emotions, and making him a stranger once again.

It was killing me.

I thought I would be able to rely on him.

My entire world was falling in around me. My dad was dying. Flynn was still ignoring me. The company I was trying to keep afloat kept trying to drown. And now my husband had done a complete U-turn on our relationship.

Whatever I thought was happening between us was nothing more than an error of judgment on my part.

All I needed to do was focus on getting through to August. Then, I could get at least two of my problems dealt with.

Bye-bye Reynolds Regality Jewels and bye-bye Jaxon.

Bile scorched my throat at the thought of one of those disappearing from my life.

Jaxon’s fingers tapped repetitively on his twitching leg. He didn’t want to be here, and he definitely didn’t want to be here with me. Despite my own personal advice to draw a long and blunt line in our relationship, I reached over and took his hand in mine.

“Did you live here your whole childhood?” I asked.

His whole body seized tighter than a coiled spring. “Pretty much.”

“I can just imagine a little version of you, spending your summer holidays on the beach and burying your little brothersin the sand.”

“I hate the beach.”

I sighed.

Of course he did.

“Just the sand part,” he continued. “It gets everywhere. Days and several showers later, you still find the stuff between your toes.”

“That’s why I never understood sex on the beach.” I laughed as his eyebrows shot up. “Like you said, sand gets everywhere.Everywhere.Think about it. Who wants to get grains of sand all up in their vagina? No, thank you.”

“Talking from experience?”

“Hell, no. I get nervous enough that something is going to swim up into my vagina when I am swimming in the ocean, never mind sand.”

“I never thought about it.”

“About sex on the beach or turning a vagina into living sandpaper?”

A faint chuckle escaped as his body loosened. “Both, I guess. I hate sand, so the thought of doing anything on it never crossed my mind.”

“For the health of all parties involved, I suggest you keep it that way.”

His thumb stroked the back of my hand. “How very considerate of you.”

I smiled at him. “You stick with me, and I’ll keep you right.”

“Promise?”