Extraordinary times required extraordinary deception…but I couldn’t let my Sophie marry that cheating bastard of a fiancé. Before she sat beside me on the bed, I felt her presence, smelled her shampoo—the one my very frugal best friend bought in the dollar aisle at the local big box store. Even on a budget, she was almonds and honey and perfection all in one little bundle of energy. Right now, that energy appeared focused on killing me, but she had her fists clenched at her side rather than in the vicinity of my face, so the danger wasn’t duck-and-cover imminent.

I pointed to the screen where the TV version of her stood in front of the TV version of me with Michael Jackson singing “I’ll be There” between us.

“Where did you find that?” Her voice was scratchy, and her eyes were saucers, but there was nothing in there that said she knew what I’d done. If Sophie Jean Madden had a clue, she would have been elbow deep in kicking my ass and all my fancy FBI training would have been wasted.

“With this.” I handed her the marriage certificate, signed and apparently sealed. If she looked closely enough the jig was up, but as nicely as I handed it to her, I took it back and set it to the side.

“So, we were drunk?” This seemed to make her happy. She breathed out a very audible sigh of relief anyway. “An annulment then. That should fix this.”

I knew the exact moment she decided she wouldn’t have to tell him what she’d done. Every part of her I could see relaxed. Her shoulders slouched, and her back curled. Her face lost the lines in her forehead and around her mouth, and she flexed her fingers, as though fighting the stiffness of her fists. She was beautiful in ways I couldn’t begin to describe.

I swallowed hard against guilt and shame. If this worked, I was going to deserve an Oscar at next year’s ceremonies. “We could.” There was just enough sadness in my voice that Sophie looked up. At least, I thought that was why she turned to gaze at me with a new frown and another set of lines bracketing her lips.

“You don’t want to?” The incredulity straining her voice was something I could have done without, but I shrugged. “Are you out of your freaking mind?” She folded her hands in front of her mouth—probably praying for my long and painful death.

As far as her question…I couldn’t answer it just yet. I hadn’t thought so far ahead as to consider my notions more carefully than to get her out of a situation she couldn’t see was bad. I gave her another jerk of my shoulders and turned away. If there was one thing I couldn’t afford, it was for her to use her eagle eye honesty regulator to spot my mistruth—and yeah, that’s what I was calling it.

“Harley, I have a fiancé. And you have…you have…your own harem waiting for you at home. We”—she waved a hand back and forth between us—“cannot be married.” I took her sputter as a sign of indecision. And that made what I’d done not so bad. In my mind, anyway.

I looked away because if I had to see the passion sparking behind those emeralds she called eyes, I was going to throw her back onto the bed and finish what we’d started before that asshole rudely interrupted with his “good morning, baby” call.

After a determined sigh, a muttered curse and another sigh, Sophie sat beside me and dropped her hand on my shoulder. “Look, I don’t know what happened last night. I wish I did because I have a feeling it’s a memory I would enjoy.” She smiled and the light in the room grew brighter. “But you don’t want to be married to me.” I didn’t answer because all I could think to do was scream how badly I did want to be her husband. “Remember when we camped out a few summers ago?”

By far, the best weekend of my life. I nodded and continued staring at the floor so she couldn’t see my smile.

“And remember how I hogged all the tent space and you had to sleep outside? I wouldn’t eat beans and franks. We cut the trip short because I was so horrible.” I agreed to cut the trip short because I couldn’t keep my dick from getting hard when she so much as smiled at me. I suffered the same affliction to the point of pain since that trip. I focused on her words midsentence. “…still the same. If I don’t get my way, I pout. If I don’t want to do something, I just don’t do it. I can’t keep house. I eat out of to-go boxes and paper plates because I hate doing dishes. I buy new clothes rather than do laundry and…”

She couldn’t tell me anything I don’t know, anything I don’t love. “Soph—”

With an exasperated huff, she stood and planted both fists at her hips. “I won’t be married to you, Harley. I can’t. Andrew…”

Hearing her use that that son of bitch’s name was enough to make me see red and decide this was the right thing. “Well, we are married.”

“And I didn’t spend all those years in law school to not get this undone before it causes us both some serious problems.” Her skin blazed under her anger, her passionate words nothing more than a baseless denial.

I had to cool this down and fast before she stomped out and hopped the first plane back home. We had a lot of things to work through before I could let her walk out. “Soph, I’m not saying we should stay married.” All I had to work with was attraction—hers to me was the only one that mattered. I stood and took both her hands in mine. Touch seemed to work for us as well as words, and I stroked my thumbs over her fingers. “But we have a few days before we have to worry about it, right? If we file in Nevada, we have to come back here to finish it up. So, let’s wait for the trip home and then we can get it done, quick and quiet before Andrew”—I almost choked on his name—“finds out a single detail.”

“You’re right, but we should head back tomorrow.” There was no conviction in the idea, not in the tone or the body language that had her leaning in, licking her lips, gazing at my mouth.

“We have flights booked on Wednesday. So…let’s ride this out.” My voice was hoarse, lined with desperation I hoped she didn’t notice.

After a second, she shook her head and pulled back to her own bubble of space. “I’m not sleeping with you.”

I shrugged as if she could stop destiny. “Okay. I’ll get a different room.” Not if my life depended on it.

She rolled her eyes. “Don’t be dumb. I meant no sex. We’ve slept in the same bed a thousand times.”

I didn’t tell her the secrets she’d told me as she stripped us both naked immediately before she passed out with her head on my shoulder. I also didn’t mention that I knew what tripped her horny switch or the secret she told me would keep her fire stoked for days. But because I didn’t spring forth with my wealth of knowledge didn’t mean I wouldn’t lean hard on those facts to keep her and lover boy apart.