Free Let Us Prey: BBW Military Paranormal Romance (Wild Operatives, #2) by Vivienne Savage Page B

everyone?” To keep from meeting his gaze, I smoothed the skirt of my dress and picked at a minute speck of lint.
    “We certainly won’t have to worry about anyone questioning the validity of our marriage now, will we?” he countered.
    “Point.”
    “Photo time,” Dani called out.
    I liked Russ and Dani. They were the perfect couple, polar opposites in appearance and completely adorable. I envied her confidence as much as I was jealous of her big breasts. She’d lucked out in the curvaceous figure department with striking, proportionate measurements all around.
    “You both look so cute together,” Betty said.
    “I—we do?” I asked, startled.
    “My dear, you are always beautiful, but even my failing eyes can see you and my grandson look marvelous together.”
    Betty remained clueless. I had to wonder if his plan was for her benefit as much as it was to help me. At her age, she didn’t have much longer to see her grandson happily married, and in a way, this made Sophia her great-granddaughter.
    Prior to the wedding, I’d signed something drawn up by Ian’s lawyer and faxed to us, forfeiting any and all rights to his pension, properties, and holdings. I didn’t want those, and even if I did, how much of a bitch would I look for trying to steal a veteran’s hard-earned savings?
    At the end of the evening, after a restaurant dinner with Russ, Dani, and Betty, we all went our separate ways. I hugged Dani and Russ in the parking lot outside the restaurant then Ian and I drove Betty home.
    By the time Ian had pulled into his driveway, I could barely breathe. My vision swam a little as I crossed the threshold into my new home.
    “What’s wrong?” Ian asked.
    “Nothing. It’s still hard for me to believe your living room is as big as my whole house,” I confessed. The whole floor plan of my former home could be shoved into the room he dedicated to his big screen television and social furnishings. The bedrooms were as generous, providing more space than I even needed.
    Ian’s personal bathroom had a shower worthy of my dreams. I’d nearly chosen the downstairs bedroom by the kitchen for its personal bathroom, until Ian coaxed me to check out the entire house. I didn’t regret it. It was worth sharing a restroom with the man for the umbrella shaped shower fixture. I soaked beneath it for a half hour, enjoying the luxurious spray, unrushed and without fear of the water heater crapping out.
    I found Ian on the couch with his laptop and a beer in front of a movie. According to Betty, he liked to watch action flicks for background noise while working on government projects.
    “Hey, finally settled?”
    “I think so,” I replied. Taking the seat beside him, I nestled into the couch corner and brushed out my damp hair while he fetched me a beer and snacks, too.
    Some wedding night. Bride and groom retire to their honeymoon to chastely watch Liam Neeson films all night with bowls of popcorn and a goodie bag from their friends.
    A wicked part of me wanted to test the boundaries of our new marriage by offering my body. I had trouble reconciling that he came into this deal without expectations of benefitting from our arrangement.
    I mulled it over until the credits rolled an hour later.
    “Well, I’m going to bed. G’night, Leigh.”
    “Night, Ian.”
    And then my chance was gone. The whole town probably thought we were wrapped naked around each other by now.
    I stole a peek at his retreating shape when he left the room. Ian was an excellent example of a man for his age. I still couldn’t believe he was fifty-three. Hell, I hadn’t wanted to believe he was out of his thirties yet. He must have belonged to the same vampire club as Brad Pitt, Johnny Depp, and Keanu Reeves. In each of his pictures — there were many framed photographs of him receiving some medal or another — he looked exactly the same except touches of silver in his dark hair grew more prominent over the years.
    My own personal Dorian Grey,