His chest clenched at how beautiful she was. Desire was there--he already knew it would never be far from the surface between them--but it was another emotion entirely that had him unable to take his eyes off her. More than appreciation, stronger than respect.
He wanted to cherish her, wanted to devote himself to making her happy, to seeing her smile.
A car honked behind him and Cole stomped his foot down on the gas pedal, shooting them away from the light like it was a high-speed roller coaster ride. Anna stirred, but didn't wake up.
Twenty-four hours. He'd known her twenty-four hours.
It made sense that he'd like her. That he'd lust for her.
But all this cherishing and devotion crap? Hell, that didn't make a lick of sense.
Thirty minutes later, when Cole pulled into his garage, he had his head back on straight.
No question about it, he'd lucked out by picking Anna as his temporary wife. But that's all their relationship was. Just a brief union that was never meant to be anything more. Sure, Anna had said she didn't want anything from him, that she would play her part solely for his grandmother's sake, but Cole was going to find a way to pay her back. In a big enough way to make sure they could both move on with their lives as they'd been before Vegas. No regrets for either of them.
He lifted her, soft and warm, out of the car, and even though she was still asleep, her arms went around his neck and she laid her cheek against his chest. Completely trusting, just as she'd been the previous night in his bed.
He carried her inside, up the stairs to his bedroom, kicked the covers open on his bed with one leg, then gently laid her on a pillow. She immediately curled up on her side and he had to smile as he looked down at her. The first time a woman entered his bedroom, she didn't usually just go to sleep.
Her mother was right--Anna was definitely different from every other woman Cole had ever known.
Sitting at the edge of the bed, he slipped off her shoes and pulled the covers over her. Ten minutes later, he slid under the covers naked. Reaching for his wife, he tucked her small body into his and fell asleep.
That damn smile still on his lips.
Chapter Eleven
"You need anything, sweetheart, let Veronica know, okay?"
Anna nodded at the woman, and forced a smile. "I'll be fine, Cole."
He was giving her one of those looks she was starting to recognize, the one that said he knew she was anything but fine. But the truth was, she was less freaked out by being in the family VIP box before Cole's game than she'd been earlier that morning when she'd woken up in his bed, fully clothed, after dreaming of being held in his strong arms all night long. He could have easily woken her up by undressing her for bed. And if he had, well, there was no doubt in her mind that they would have made love again.
Instead, he'd made sure not to wake her, had simply climbed into his big bed and held her.
He'd acted like a man who cared.
Her chest still felt tight whenever she looked at him. Not wanting to make a complete fool of herself in front of a bunch of strangers, she brightened her smile. "Have a great game!"
She leaned over to give him a quick peck and he said in a low voice against her lips,
"We're newlyweds, remember," then slid his hands into her hair and kissed her.
Any embarrassment she might have felt at his very public display of affection was quickly lost in the pent-up desire from the previous afternoon in his kitchen. Without realizing it, her hands went around his neck, her pelvis pushed against his, and she whimpered softly into his mouth.
Finally, he pulled back enough to gaze down at her. She tried to catch her breath, but she was a long way from being able to control her response to his kisses. After he'd pressed one more sweet kiss against her lips, she gratefully sank into the chair behind her and stared out at the football field.
* * *
"Honestly, I didn't expect this from you, Cole." Out in the hall, Cole nearly walked into his agent, Melissa, who was holding her phone up and shaking it in his face.
"Not only married, but your phone is clearly broken too, huh?"
Okay, so he'd ignored the half-dozen messages she'd left him since the news broke yesterday. Sue him. He'd been busy.
With his sweet wife.
"You were on my list."
"Sure I was." She rolled her eyes. "You should have given me a heads-up on this, Cole."
"How is my marriage any of my agent's business?" He crossed his arms over his chest.
"Last I saw you, I thought we were friends, too. I would have liked to meet the woman you're planning on spending the rest of your life with for that reason alone. I would have liked to have a chance to congratulate you rather than ream you for keeping secrets." Her expression hardened. "But if you just want to talk business, fine. As your agent, we both know that everything you do is my business."
As if on cue, Julie appeared in the corridor. Unlike Melissa, she hugged him.
"Congratulations, stud." A bemused grin on her lips, she added, "Got quite a situation with the press going on outside there. All over little ol' you." She pulled a handful of clippings from her shoulder bag, a dozen different pictures of him and Anna. "She'd different from your previous girlfriends. Really cute." She raised an eyebrow, still smiling. "How'd you two meet, anyway?"
Cole looked over the two women's heads for their husbands, Dominic and Ty, but the hall was empty except for the three of them.
Fuck.
"I've got to get down to the field."
Melissa's eyes narrowed as Julie said, "Just be sure to come right back here after the game, Cole, so that we can work out our PR plan on this."
He stared at his team's PR rep--and one-time friend--with a look that would have had most people running. "She's my wife. I'm her husband. Our relationship is private. We don't need a plan."
Instead of looking scared, Julie simply shot one of her sassy little looks at Melissa, who suddenly looked less pissed off and more intrigued.
"Have a great game," they said in unison as they walked away, their heads tucked together as they conferred with one another.
Well, he'd f**ked that one up royally. He wanted to follow them back into the VIP box and protect Anna. He wanted to make sure they didn't completely freak her out. But he was pushing it with his team as it was, should have been down on the field thirty minutes ago.