The Highest Bidder Read Online Free PDF Page B

punishment. I am not that type of husband, despite what you may have heard about me.” He knew rumors were out there about him regarding Macie, rumors that had been twisted and brutalized until he was painted as some kind of monster.
    Veronica was silent for several long minutes, and he gave her that time to process what he said. He wanted her to really understand what their relationship meant to him, that he wanted an equal partner and not some mindless droid that only knew how to speak when spoken to. It wasn’t lost on him that she was finding small things to do that would keep her occupied. Smoothing her hands down her robe, picking invisible lint from the material––all stalling tactics, which he let her have.
      “How old are you?” That certainly hadn’t been what he expected her to say, but at least it was something. Placing his hand behind his head, he let his eyes travel to the ceiling.
    “Thirty-eight.” Cutting his eyes to her, he smiled. Before she could ask him anything else, he decided to give her a piece of him a little bit at a time. “I have two brothers, Nikolas and Griffin. They live about thirty miles from here in the city of Hawkson.” She didn’t respond and so he continued giving her a little glimpse into his life. It was strange that they may have only been husband and wife for less than a day, but he hoped giving himself up to her little by little would make her share a piece of herself with him –– something that a file couldn’t tell him.
     
     

 
    Chapter Four
     
    “Am I your first wife?” The words tumbled out of her, and he shifted on the bed. Obviously he knew this was coming, especially when he saw her looking at Macie’s picture.
    He glanced at the picture in question and then looked back at her, telling her what she wanted to hear. “No. I was married for five years.” He got off the bed and walked over to the bookshelf, grabbing the photo of Macie. When he was on the bed again he turned toward her and held the picture out for her to take. “That was Macie.” She took the picture and he noted her fingers shook as she wrapped them around the metal and glass. She stared at it for several long minutes and he wondered what she was thinking.
      “I’m so sorry. When did she die?” Her voice was soft, distant. She was observant, because he may not have told her Macie died, but she clearly picked up on the past tense he used. Besides, one didn’t divorce a wife, not in this day and age. If a husband grew bored with a purchased wife, they simply bought another one, or so he was told.
    It was hard talking about Macie, but he knew it had to be done sooner or later. It had been two long years and it was finally time to let go of the past and embrace his future. “Two years ago.”
    Wide blue eyes lifted to meet his. “Can I ask how she died?”
    He reached across the mattress and took her hand. “You are my wife now, Veronica. I told you to speak freely to me. I have nothing to hide.” And he didn’t. Their marriage would start out with honesty, even if the truth had her shying away from him, he wouldn’t lie about anything. “I didn’t have Macie on a leash like many of the husbands that purchase a wife do. I wanted her to have freedom, to explore the world.” God, was he really going to spill what haunted him to this innocent young woman on the first day they met? Yes, because he needed to. “Out back there is a garden, one that she planted and grew. She used to love going out there, especially in the evening when the night blooming jasmines were in season.” Her hand was so small in his and the skin so soft, like silk beneath his touch. Glancing down at their conjoined hands he drew lazy circles on her flesh.
    “I was working late when I received the phone call. They found her body by the creek that runs parallel to the property through the woods. By the time I got there she had already been pronounced dead. They said she tripped on the slippery rocks