The Billionaire’s Blind Wife

Chapter 17

Matias

The water taxi ride back across the East River was a blur of dark, glistening waves and the brilliant, scattered jewel tones of the Manhattan skyline. Juniper had fallen quiet, her head resting heavily against my shoulder. My arm was wrapped around her waist, keeping the silk clad warmth of her body pressed firmly to my side while the cool river breeze whipped through her hair. Her hand small and delicate, yet so incredibly strong when she held a microphone or gestured to make a point was tucked into my own, her fingers occasionally giving a lazy, rhythmic squeeze against my palm. By the time we stepped out of the private elevator and into the warmth of our penthouse, the silence of the city’s upper atmosphere had swallowed us whole.The foyer was bathed in the soft, warm glow of a single lamp. Right there, in the middle of the dark concrete entryway, lay the thick, unapologetically yellow rug we had struggled with just days before. Barney didn’t even bother to lift his head from the sofa. He merely gave a single, muffled boof of greeting before rolling over to expose his belly to the ceiling. "Home sweet home," Juniper murmured softly, her voice thick with a delicious, sleepy weight as she stepped out of her red dress's companion cashmere coat, letting it slide into my already waiting hands."Tired?" I asked, hanging the coat in the closet and stepping behind her to nuzzle her neck. "Exhausted," she lied, a slow, wicked grin spreading across her face as she turned to face me. "Dressing me, feeding me, and making me dance barefoot in Brooklyn has Been quite a lot of sensory input, husband. I think my brain is short circuiting." She says taking a step closer, her bare feet silent on the yellow wool. The red silk of her dress clung to her hips, moving like water with every shift of her weight. She reached out, her hands finding my lapels, her fingers sliding beneath the fabric of my suit jacket to rest flat against my chest. "Though," she whispered leaning closer, her head tilting up, her amber eyes wide and bright in the dim light, "my heart seems to be working just fine. Can you feel it?" I didn't answer. I couldn't.

I reached down, catching her by the waist and lifting her effortlessly off the floor and into my arms. Juniper let out a soft, surprised gasp that was quickly swallowed as I carried her down the dark hallway and into our bedroom. I set her down on the edge of the mattress, but before she could slide away or throw a sarcastic remark to break the tension, I came down with her. My hands framed her hips, pinning the silk of her dress against the sheets.

The room was dark, lit only by the distant, pale glow of the city through the floor to ceiling windows. The silence between us grew thick and heavy with a sudden, suffocating desire that had been building since I first watched her slide that red silk over her head in the closet. "Matias," she breathed, her hands rising to rest on my chest, her fingers curling into the fabric of my shirt. "You're doing that thing iagain."

"Doing what?" I asked, my voice a low, rough growl. I leaned down, my lips brushing the sensitive hollow beneath her ear, making her body shudder against the mattress. "Staring," she whispered, her breath hitching as my hand slid slowly up her smooth thigh, the silk of her dress gathering in my palm. "I can't see it, but I can feel it. It feels like... like you're trying to memorize me."

"I am," I murmured, my lips tracing the elegant line of her jaw up to the corner of her mouth. "I want to know every single inch of you, wife. I want to know exactly how you feel when I do this." I said pressing my lips to hers, the kiss slow, deep, and utterly possessive and I couldn’t get enough. The cold, serious CEO who controlled shipping lanes and dictated corporate mergers was completely and entirely gone and forgotten. In his place was a man who was completely, hopelessly at the mercy of the girl beneath him.

Juniper

I woke up to the smell of fresh cedar and the steady, heavy weight of Matias’s arm draped over my waist. The bedroom was quiet, the pale morning light filtering through the sheer curtains and warming the dark wood of the floorboards. I lay still for a long moment, simply listening. His breathing was slow and deep, a soothing rhythm that I had come to associate with safety, warmth, and a sense of belonging.We really did it, I thought, a soft, breathless smile tugging at my lips. We turned an arranged marriage into a sanctuary.I shifted slightly, trying to slide out from under his arm without waking him, but the moment I moved, his grip tightened. He pulled me back against his chest, his face burying into the crook of my neck, his stubble scratching pleasantly against my skin."Where do you think you're going?" he mumbled, his voice thick with sleep."I have to practice," I whispered, though I didn't make any effort to pull away. "My throat is dry. I need to run my scales before the sun gets too high, or my high C will sound like a dying cat.""That can wait," he grumbled, his lips pressing a soft, lazy kiss to my shoulder. "Stay. The Tokyo office can wait. Your vocal scales can wait. The entire world can f*****g wait."

I turned, my nose brushing against his temple. "Are you telling me the great Matias is playing hooky? What would your father say?" "My father," he murmured, his hand sliding down to interlace his fingers with mine, "doesn't have a wife who sings Puccini in her pajamas. He’s missing out."

I let out a bright, musical laugh that echoed in the quiet room. "You are terribly spoiled, husband."

"Only by you, wife," he whispered, his eyes openingI could feel the sudden, intense focus of his gaze on my face. "Only by you."

I leaned down, pressing a soft, sweet kiss to his lips, the easy intimacy between us flowing like a quiet river.