Read Online Chayton by Danielle Bourdon - Free Book Online Page A

annulment a few months later? I worry about tarnishing your name,” she said, fidgeting with the hem of the shirt.
    He rumbled a laugh. “Don't worry. I'm not concerned what others will think of a quick marriage and annulment. It serves a purpose—hopefully without bloodshed—and that's the best outcome we can want.”
    A thought seemed to strike Kate. She frowned. “You don't have a girlfriend or someone you're dating who will mind?”
    “I wouldn't have offered if I did.” Chayton hadn't been in a binding relationship in several years. With the pick up in activity with the Royal Elite, he found it easier to remain unattached.
    “Oh. Okay then.” Kate's gaze skipped from his face to the window, then to his clothes sitting in the chair. “I can help you pack, if you'd like.”
    She reminded him of a doe on the edge of the woods, ready to dart under cover at the slightest provocation. He supposed he couldn't blame her. Before he could answer, a hard trio of knocks interrupted the conversation.
    Kate jerked in surprise, gasped, and clapped a hand over her heart. Her body tensed and she darted a look from the door to Chayton. “Oh god, have they found us already? Where should we go?”
    “Shh.” Chayton pushed off, dropping his arms to his sides. When he reached her, he set a hand on her shoulder to soothe her. She really was on edge. “I ordered you some clothes. Like I said I would, remember? Just to get you through until we get back to the states.”
    “How can you be sure it's them and not the others?” she asked, staring up at his eyes.
    He had the urge to cup the fine line of her jaw and cradle it in his palm. “I can't be positive, but I'll check before I open the door. All right?”
    Chayton stepped away and went to the door, glancing through the speakeasy before swinging it open. A hotel employee stood there with several glossy pink boxes in his arms. Behind him sat a trolley with two garment bags hanging from the rack.
    “Sir, your order from the boutique.”
    “Thanks.” Chayton accepted the boxes and put them aside on a small table, then hooked his fingers through the hangers of the bags when the attendant passed them across next. Fishing money from his pocket, he tipped the employee and closed the door. He glanced at Kate to assess her mood. The intense fear was gone from her face, replaced by relief.
    “That's all for me?” she asked.
    “It's not as much as it looks like, probably. But it'll get you through the next two days while we travel back to the states. See if everything is all right. I can have something else brought up if not.” Chayton laid the garment bags neatly on the bed, then pulled his phone out while Kate came over to inspect everything.
    “Thank you,” Kate said.
    “Of course.” Chayton turned away and shot a text off to Mattias. “Did you decide where you want to do this? One of my homes, or at one of my acquaintance's?”
    Kate paused her examination of the clothing. “Your home, I think. Montana, right?”
    “That's one. We can do it there.” He smiled over his shoulder, then said, “We should be ready to depart for the airport in two to three hours.”
    Kate exhaled and arched her brows as if to say, whew, this is a big step.
    He said, “It's just marriage. An exchange of I Dos. Do you think you can get through without stuttering?”
    “I...I...I don't know,” Kate said, suddenly stuttering—and grinning.
    Caught completely off guard, Chayton laughed. Maybe this fake marriage thing wouldn't be that bad after all.

Chapter Six
    Fifteen hours after departing Singapore on a private jet, Kate arrived at the place she would say vows she didn't mean to a man she didn't love. The Mediterranean style home nestled against a backdrop of forest and surrounded by rural flats of Montana had more than just size going for it. As the waning minutes of dusk started to give way to a darker gray, she studied the sprawling, blocky structure. Set off by encroaching shadows,