Free Fraternization Rule (Risqué Contracts Book 3) by Fiona Davenport

for three days. And I can’t help but think the only reason he popped the question is because he doesn’t want me to go to Berkley in the fall.”
    “I’m the last person to judge you for the speed of your relationship, Charlotte. Remember me? You’ve known Gabe for about four times as long as I knew Brysen before I married him—married, not just accepted his proposal. And that was three days into our actual relationship.”
    I thought about how perfect Elisa and Brysen were together, how I’d seen it for myself from the moment I brought our mom’s wedding dress to her in Lake Tahoe. They were proof that whirlwind romances could work, but their story was different from mine and Gabe’s. “Brysen didn’t have any ulterior motives when it came to asking you to marry him that weekend. Nothing other than wanting you to be his wife right away.”
    “The best advice I can give you is to talk to Gabe about your worries. Let him know what’s in your heart. The only way to build a solid relationship is to communicate with each other, even when it’s hard.” She paused for a moment. “Actually, scratch that. Especially when it’s hard.”
    I knew she was right. I needed to talk to Gabe when he got home tonight. I gulped down my bloody mary and reached for the pitcher on the coffee table to refill my glass. I needed some more alcohol to settle my nerves.
    ***
    I was sitting and waiting for Gabe in his dining room when he got home, dinner on the table. It seemed to be our thing, and I wanted our conversation to go as smoothly as possible. Although Gabe was an excellent cook, my skills in the kitchen were lacking so I’d ordered take-out and picked it up on my way back from my sister’s house.
    Gabe’s gaze swept over me, lingering on my legs as I uncrossed them before standing next to the candlelit table. “Aren’t you just a sight for sore eyes?” He dropped a quick kiss on my lips and then settled into the chair next to me. “But you didn’t have to make dinner. I would have done it. I like feeding you.”
    “And I like being fed by you.”
    His eyes heated at my response, his gaze dropping to my lips and I knew he wasn’t thinking about watching me eat but seeing something else slide into my mouth instead. I licked my lips at the thought of tasting his cock and then shook my head, trying to fight the sensuous fog I quickly fell into when I was around him. He was too damn sexy for my own good. The food would get cold, but I knew if I didn’t start this conversation now, the odds were good I’d forget what I wanted to say and we’d end up in bed together without talking at all.
    I took one deep breath to settle my nerves and then dove right into the heart of the matter. “We kind of got sidetracked last night and didn’t talk about the timing of our engagement and what you see happening next.”
    “The timing of our engagement? What’s there to talk about? I asked, you said yes. It’s done. My ring is on your finger.” He tugged my hand into his. “And that’s where it’s going to stay forever.”
    “But we didn’t really talk about why you asked me now instead of later.”
    His fingers tightened around me. “I thought we moved past this last night?”
    “You kind of avoided the question and distracted me.”
    “There was a chance you were going to leave. I didn’t want that to happen. Getting married solves this problem. I admitted then that asking you to marry me was influenced by my desire to keep you here. You still said yes. End of story.”
    His tone was harsh and I hesitated to push forward, but I kept my sister’s advice in mind. “You can’t just make decisions like this for both of us without talking things through with me first, Gabe.”
    “I know, sweetheart.”
    I narrowed my eyes at his placating tone. “No, I don’t think you do. Don’t try to feed me some macho bullshit about how you’ll talk to me about this later, not until you actually stop and think about this. We