Katharina

 

I barely slept that night. Kenny had taken me to Jace’s place—it was cleaner and nicer than I’d expected—and I’d settled into a bedroom on one side of the house. Even though I was dying to know what he got up to when no one else was around, I didn’t snoop.

 

The room I picked had a queen-sized bed and an empty bureau. When Kenny took me by the apartment, I was surprised to realize I didn’t actually care about most of my stuff. I didn’t really want to take it with me. The memories of the clothes I had reminded me of Troy, and I wanted to get rid of them.

 

When I called Becky and told her what I was doing, she’d flipped out. “You can’t be serious, Kate,” she said, snapping her gum. “I mean, you barely know this guy!”

 

I winced. I hadn’t even told her about the marriage plan yet, just about the “temporary” living arrangement. Even though I wasn’t sure what would happen in the future, I doubted Jace would let me move out of his house. If there were any chance Troy was still out looking for me, I had a feeling I wouldn’t even want to leave. After all, I’d turned to Jace for protection; I didn’t even think I’d had any other options.

 

“You can’t do this,” Becky whined. “I mean, he could be a psycho!”

 

“I have to do this,” I argued, already feeling worn down from Jace’s arguments. I felt irritated with Becky, too. She knew how badly Troy had treated me and, yet, she still never insisted I stay with her or anything like that. “I don’t have any other choice.”

 

“Katharina, that makes you sound like a hooker,” Becky snapped.

 

“Whatever,” I said. “I have to go.”

 

Kenny had been a perfect gentleman the whole time, even if I’d caught him checking out my ass every time I bent over. He carried my bags into the room I chose and then parked himself in the living room, in front of the television. Before Jace got home, I went to the kitchen and made myself a snack—a glass of water and a ham sandwich.

 

Then I went back to “my” room and tried to sleep.

 

By the time Jace got home, I was in bed, halfway there. He knocked on my door and asked if I wanted pizza. I should have given him some snappy comeback about how no self-respecting woman would eat pizza the day before her wedding, but I winced when I remembered no self-respecting woman would marry someone she didn’t love.

 

That whole night I had nightmares about Troy. They were awful. Troy breaking into Jace’s house and kidnapping me, Troy ruining our wedding, Troy showing up with a gun and putting a bullet in Jace’s skull.

 

The last one kept me awake for a long time. It made me think of how my dad died. He was found with a bullet in the brain. Someone had just shot him and left him to die like an animal.

 

The sun was coming up by the time I fell asleep again.

 

In the morning, someone knocked on my door. I tensed, thinking it was Jace, but a few seconds later, I heard a soft voice, lightly accented in Spanish.

 

“Hello, Miss Katharina?”

 

“It’s Katie,” I called back through the door. “What is it?”

 

“I am here to help you get ready, ma’am.”

 

Puzzled, I got to my feet and opened the door. Standing in front of me was an aging Hispanic woman, wearing a crisp white uniform and orthopedic shoes. She had a friendly smile and she was carrying some bags.

 

“Mr. Jace thought you might want to wear one of these,” she said softly as she slipped the bags into my hands.

 

I frowned. “What are these?”

 

The woman smiled at me. “I don’t know, ma’am,” she said softly. “Would you like some breakfast? Toast? Eggs? A croissant?”

 

I wasn’t hungry, but my stomach rumbled. The woman must have taken that as a yes, because when I looked up, she’d completely disappeared.

 

Frowning, I put the bags down on the bed and opened them up. There, in front of me, I saw a couple of white and cream dresses. They were all informal, and looked like they might fit me if I sucked in my stomach and had someone else zip me up. But I didn’t like the idea of wearing something borrowed; after all, I didn’t exactly know where they came from. Maybe Jace had a stash of female clothes in his closet? I giggled loudly. I knew I was nervous, but this was a little too much.

 

The maid returned with a breakfast tray just as I was getting dressed. I chose an old outfit of mine, something Troy had hated. It wasn’t the infamous red dress, but it was close: a navy lace dress with a pencil skirt and a bodice that nipped in my waist and made my breasts look bigger than they really were. It was one of the only things I owned that gave me actual cleavage. If I was being completely honest, part of me wanted to look really nice for Jace. After all, he was doing me a huge favor here.

 

Part of me wanted to run. Katie, don’t be ridiculous, I thought. Jace isn’t going to hurt you. Even though he’d argued with me yesterday about my father, I wondered if he knew something he wasn’t spilling. After all, he was a secretive man with a past. He had to have something.

 

But I knew I couldn’t run. I’d agreed to marry him, and that’s what I was going to have to do. The maid waited patiently for me to finish dressing, then she looked at me.

 

“Ma’am, would you like me to do your hair?” She held out her hands. “I’m used to doing hair,” she added. “I can do it up, if you’d like.”

 

I sighed. I wasn’t particularly in the mood to argue, and I hated having someone’s hands prickling my scalp. But I could tell she was already going out on a limb just from offering her services to me, and I didn’t want to be rude. “Sure,” I said, trying to force a smile on my face. “That would be great.”

 

An hour later, I barely recognized myself. The maid had pinned up my hair in an elegant, sweeping updo held by thousands of pins that I could feel pricking my scalp, but none of them were visible. I was astounded at how I looked.

 

“Thank you,” I said softly. “This is really lovely.”

 

She nodded. “I got practice from my daughter,” she said, failing to conceal a smile. “For her quinceañera. She was so picky!”

 

“Your practice paid off,” I replied, admiring the back of my hair in the mirrored glass. “Thank you again.”

 

“Of course.” She nodded. “Will there be anything else?”

 

I bit my lip. Part of me was dying to ask her if Jace was there, if I would be able to run away without getting caught. It would be so easy. Just slip out the door, run down the driveway, go back to my old life.

 

I closed my eyes and thought about it. For a moment, it was incredibly tempting. But then I remembered Troy, and all the other kinds of trouble that were waiting for me back at my apartment. I was trading my freedom for protection, and part of me still wasn’t sure that it was a good idea.

 

But before I had time to speak, Jace burst into the room, deflating my bubble. The maid smiled with a knowing look on her face as she bowed to Jace and showed herself out of the room.

 

“Hey,” Jace said shortly. He was wearing a clean button-down shirt and dark jeans. “You ready?”

 

The vision of my running away burst like a balloon in my head. No matter what I thought when he wasn’t around, I knew that I couldn’t lie to Jace. And I couldn’t hide from him, and I most certainly couldn’t run from him. “Yeah,” I said softly. “I’m ready.”

 

To my surprise, Jace looked me up and down. “You’re gorgeous,” he said after a moment.

 

My heart melted a little. “Thanks,” I replied. “You don’t look so bad yourself.”

 

Jace grinned. It was a grin that didn’t exactly suit him—both boyish and charming. It intrigued me; I started wondering just what other qualities Jace had that I’d never laid eyes on.

 

As he herded me out of the room and into his car, I felt myself sinking into a warm place of surprising contentment. Despite whatever happened with my father’s death, part of me wanted to trust Jace. Part of me wanted to stick around, even though I had no idea what was going to happen between us. Part of me wanted to find out.

 

“You nervous?” Jace winked at me and I felt my heart flutter in my chest.

 

It had never been like this with Troy. I had a feeling if Jace caught me on a hormonal day, I’d start crying at his niceties just because. He was so nice to me, and he didn’t have to be nice to me at all. After all, he was the leader of The Silent Havoc. Bikers aren’t exactly known for their kindness and goodwill towards others. But Jace was really proving himself, and I couldn’t wait to see what the future would hold.

 

“A little,” I said. A blush came over my face. Jace looked deep into my eyes before he started the car. I giggled.

 

“What’s so funny?”

 

I shrugged. “Nothing,” I said after a beat. “I just realized I’ve never seen you behind the wheel of a car before. You’re always on a bike.”

 

Jace laughed. “That’s true,” he said, nodding his head.

 

We didn’t talk for the rest of the ride downtown. The Marquette City Hall building was nicer than I’d expected, done up in marble with gold trim. It looked like it was trying too hard to be Boston, but I didn’t mind. I didn’t always like living in Marquette, but I appreciated that we weren’t stuck out in the country. At least there was always something going on, at least there was always life.

 

“Check out the crowd,” Jace said under his breath. We parked the car in a garage across the street and I gaped. There was a line of couples stretching outside the door. It was funny to realize that all of these people were getting married, too, that all of them would have the same wedding anniversary date as Jace and me. That is, if you stay married, I thought to myself. You might wind up getting divorced. He did offer.

 

That thought troubled me. I hadn’t really taken into consideration just what Jace and I were doing together. We were both giving up a measure of freedom. This meant neither one of us would be able to date other people, or have serious relationships. This wasn’t the natural way to get married. It was shocking to me to realize everyone else was there because they loved each other.

 

“You’re being quiet,” Jace observed. “What happened to Katie the Chatterbox?”

 

I blushed. When I was little, my dad always called me a chatterbox because I couldn’t ever stop talking. I’d never been self-conscious about it until I grew up and went to college. Troy told me he thought it was unattractive when women babbled all the time without actually saying anything. Now, I wondered if he’d changed me for good.

 

“It’s just weird,” I said finally. “All these people are getting married, too, but they’re doing it the real way.”

 

Jace shook his head. “You don’t know that,” he said. “Some of these women could be pregnant, and the guy’s just trying to do the right thing. Or maybe they’re in a situation more like ours.” He winked at me.

 

I was dying to ask him just exactly what that meant, but I didn’t get the chance. A stern-looking female guard with close-cropped hair stepped in front of us.

 

“Get in the back of the line,” she ordered brusquely. “I don’t have time for people who cut today.”

 

I giggled again. It sounded absurdly loud, but to my pleasure, Jace joined in. By the time we were at the back of the line, I realized we were probably going to be there for a while.

 

An hour later, the same woman, looking even more irritable, was pulling us into a small, windowless room. No matter how nice the Marquette City Hall looked from the outside, the inside looked like a Soviet-era bunker. Everything was painted cinder block and utilitarian wood furniture.

 

A large judge in black robes stood up. He smiled at me. “That’s a nice looking couple,” he said to the guard. She rolled her eyes and left.

 

“Thanks,” Jace said to the judge. He reached into his pocket and handed over a slip of paper. “This is our license.”

 

I frowned. I didn’t know how he’d managed to get that taken care of without me, but I wasn’t going to ask any questions now.

 

“Good,” the judge replied. He looked from Jace to me and back again. “Y’all ready to do this?”

 

“Ready as ever,” I said under my breath.

 

The judge had us move to the center of the room and hold hands. When I touched Jace’s skin, sparks jumped between us. I looked into his eyes, which were wide with surprise, and found myself blushing. The skin of his hands was rough but calming to the touch, and I realized, finally, I was starting to relax.

 

I wished I could have remembered anything the judge said. He kept telling us not to let anything come between us, and then finally he asked Jace if he had the rings. He nodded and handed over two yellow gold bands.

 

I raised my eyebrows, but I knew I couldn’t ask. What the hell was Jace Carver doing with a couple of wedding bands? We’d just decided on this yesterday. Had he gone out somehow and bought them? Were they heirlooms?

 

I didn’t have time to think about it anymore; Jace was slipping the ring onto my left hand. It fit perfectly, and I looked down, staring at the band of gold. “Wow,” I said softly.

 

“It’s a big deal, honey,” the judge said with a grin, misinterpreting my shock. “Congratulations, y’all.”

 

“Thanks,” Jace and I echoed. The guard came to show us out.

 

“We’re married,” I said softly as soon as we’d left City Hall. We were standing on the grand front steps. The line had disappeared; marriage court hours were almost over for the day. “I can’t believe it.”

 

Jace grinned at me. “So, what do you wanna do?”

 

“What do you mean?”

 

“Let’s just go home,” Jace said. “Come on.”

 

In the car back to his house, the atmosphere was different between us. It felt changed somehow, like getting married had somehow put another spark there. Or maybe it’s not that, I thought. Maybe you’re just not nervous anymore, and you’re actually able to enjoy his company.

 

I shook my head. I didn’t know exactly what was going on, but I was determined not to keep any preconceived notions in my head. If this was married life, I knew I had to try to adjust. My life was going to be completely different than it had been before, and it wasn’t going to return to normal. No matter what I did, this was how things were now.

 

“How are you feeling?” Jace reached across the seat and slid his hand between my thighs.

 

It sent an unexpected shock of pleasure through my body and I fought a blush. “I’m fine,” I said. My voice sounded strange and husky. When I swallowed, I realized I could feel myself getting wet between the legs. All the feelings from the day before suddenly came rushing back to me in an instant: the lust, the passion, the desire for Jace to grab me and make me his. I shuddered.

 

“You okay?” Jace raised his eyebrows. “You’re squirming a little.”

 

I bit my lip. “Yeah,” I said. “I’m nervous.”

 

“Don’t be nervous.” He slid his hand higher on my leg and I felt another chill of lust. “Everything’s going to be fine, Katie.”

 

When we pulled into the driveway, I kept waiting for him to lean over and kiss me. For a second, I thought he was going to do just that; he twisted in his seat, leaned over, and put a hand close to my face. But then I realized he was just unhooking my seatbelt.

 

“Come inside,” Jace said with a twinkle in his eye.

 

The tension between us was mounting, and I could feel my breath coming faster and faster. “Okay,” I managed to say in a small voice.

 

In the foyer, Jace grabbed me and pulled me close to his muscular body. He leaned down and held his lips mere inches away from mine. I struggled upwards in vain, desperate to kiss him.

 

Jace grinned at me. “You want this?”

 

I nodded. Before I could reply, Jace savagely pressed his lips to mine. Tension flooded my body and I moaned softly into his mouth as Jace parted my lips with his tongue. Arousal flared in my lower belly as Jace wrapped his arms around me and pulled me close in his muscular arms. Shivering at his touch, I managed to arch my back and press my breasts against Jace’s chest.

 

“You wanna go upstairs?” He broke the kiss and looked down at me with a playful, lustful expression on his face.

 

All I could do was nod.