Closing her eyes she counted to ten. She loved her apartment, and with no intention of being with another man she hadn’t thought about finding something bigger. When she’d agreed to marry Michael, he’d paid her a lump sum of money and gave her a monthly allowance. The amount was bigger than anything she ever earned as a dental nurse.
The initial payment she had used to help with her parents’ medical bills. She’d not seen her family in a long time, but she knew they were grateful for the money she gave them to leave them living in peace. Kelsey had lied to Tate the first time they met. Her family life had never been perfect at all, far from it.
“I’m not living in squalor.” She gritted her teeth as he checked out her books.
“I know you used the money I gave you to pay for your parents’ health bills. Since then you’ve been putting the money back. Why?” He turned toward her, holding one of her cookbooks. Michael had sent it to her when they first got married. She’d refused to go on a honeymoon, and they’d never had sex. In fact, they’d never even kissed either. He’d offered to give her the honeymoon, the wedding package. She didn’t want anything from him at all. There was no attraction between them. He didn’t need her for sex as he was more than satisfied in that area. That’s what he had told her all those years ago.
“I married you because you needed me, and I needed a way out from my parents’ debts, Michael. Stop trying to make out we were more than that,” she said.
Ten years ago Michael had been about to take her parents’ home from them. She recalled begging him, offering to do anything. He refused to listen to her. One week into their packing about to leave, Michael appeared once again, offering her a lifeline she didn’t think she’d ever take. If she agreed to be his wife, he’d pay for the house and make sure the deeds were in her parents’ names, and he’d also provide her with enough money to give her a brilliant life. At the time she hadn’t known Killer at all, and no other man was in the picture. With her weight issues she never intended to settle down with any man. They all wanted slender women whereas she had always been big. She didn’t see anything changing in her life. Kelsey had been pretty set in her ways from a young age.
“I was more than willing to make it more. To give you what all girls want.” He shrugged, clearly not caring. “You were the one who wanted nothing to do with me.” He walked up to her where she stood in the kitchen. “When I found out you were no longer living with your parents I was concerned.”
“And it has taken you over five years to come and find out. What do you really want? You made sure I understood you had plenty of women to deal with your needs.” She wasn’t a fool. Michael was a bastard through and through. Kelsey didn’t trust him at all. If it wasn’t for him suddenly wanting a wife, he’d have taken her family home away from her. She didn’t know why the sudden need had arisen, only that Michael needed her. Kelsey hadn’t asked as she was never interested in finding out the truth.
“Why do I have to want something?” he asked.
She felt pushed to her limit. Seeing the hurt on Killer’s face would stay with her forever. Kelsey had f**ked up bad, and she’d be lucky if he even talked to her again. Pushing hair off her face she glared at him. “Are you seriously asking me that?”
Michael raised a brow, staring at her waiting.
Growing annoyed, she faced him completely, folding her arms under her br**sts. “Fine, you want to go all quiet on me then I’ll spell it out to you. In the last eight years of our marriage you haven’t called on me once. I left my family when I was twenty to live my own life. Not once have you pretended to care. Why now? What the hell is going on?”
He took a step closer until nothing separated them. She felt the heat radiating off his clothing. Her thoughts whirled around wondering what the hell she’d stepped into. Michael reached out, pushing a strand of hair off her face.
Kelsey tensed, pulling away. He caught her, stopping her from moving. There was something dangerous about him.
“I’ve got business close by. I thought I’d stop by and see you as I’ve heard a lot of rumors lately. Let’s just say I like being married, Kelsey, and I heard news that may not be the case for much longer, your involvement in The Skulls being one of the reasons why.”
“What?” She couldn’t even think straight. Killer was out there. The one man who made her feel like a sexy woman and she’d hurt him deeply by keeping her married state a secret. There was no way Killer was ever going to forgive her. She tried to pull away from him, but he kept coming back making it hard for her to forget about him. Kelsey loved him. How was she ever going to mend the damage she caused?
“The Skulls are popular, and so is your man, the one lurking about outside. I heard about what was going on down here. For so long you’ve lived the quiet life of a dental nurse. Your excitement level is nil. Then I heard about Killer and your budding relationship. I hate to be ignored, Kelsey. We’ve got a deal, and I expect you to live up to it.” He cupped her cheek, and she pulled away from him and his touch.
“This is why you’ve come? To make sure I don’t find another man to fall for?” Kelsey left the kitchen trying to put as much space between them as possible.
Michael simply followed her, and she wished she’d bought a bigger house. She didn’t know the first clue about the man she married, and she didn’t care about him either. Love or any kind of feeling hadn’t entered their equation.
“I’ve kept an eye on you for a long time, Kelsey. Regardless of what you think I do care about you, in my own way, even if you were a means to an end.”
Shaking her head, she stared at him as he leaned against the wall. “You mean I let you screw whatever you want without causing problems?”
“You were not in any position to cause problems. This is a matter of business, Kelsey. You’ll stay my wife and stick to our contract. I don’t give a f**k about the man in your life, but you won’t be together,” Michael said.
His response angered her.
“What do you know about The Skulls? Why are you here?”
“You’re not wearing your ring,” he said, pointing at her hand.
“I never wear it.” Fisting her palm, she thought about the last time she had worn the wedding band. They’d gotten married and he offered to take her away on a honeymoon, which she declined. When she got home, she stored the ring away in her jewelry box. She’d not taken it out since, not even to sell the damn thing.