Read Online Marriage Made on Paper by Maisey Yates - Free Book Online Page B

it asked of you. It wasn’t anything she wanted a part of.
    She followed him the rest of the way, more slowly and more carefully, until they reached the house. It was set up on stilts and made from solid dark teakwood with the traditional curves of Thai architecture, mixed with a modern sensibility. The large, covered outdoor living area that wrapped around the house made the most of the natural environment and the view. It appeared rustic in a sense, but she knew that inside it would have every modern convenience available, and even some that weren’t available. Not to mere mortals anyway.
    “I love it,” she said, meaning it.
    “I like it, too,” he said. “I designed it, actually.”
    “You did?”
    He shrugged. “That was how I got into property development. Architecture has always interested me. I like building resorts that are functional and beautiful, and blend in with the natural culture and landscape.”
    “You really have to start saying these things in public,” she said.
    Now she knew something about Gage, she realized. And he knew something about her. That caused strange tightening sensation in her chest.
    “Why? Then your job would be easy.”
    She rolled her eyes, ignoring the persistent roll of her stomach. “Can’t have that.” She walked up the exterior stairs of the house without waiting for him and went inside.
    It was gorgeous, the décor simple and traditional, a muted color palette that caused all attention to be drawnto the view outside, to the vivid colors of the beach that could never be rivaled by anything man-made.
    She moved through the open living room and into the kitchen, which was outfitted, as she’d predicted, with top-of-the-line equipment. Stainless steel appliances and granite countertops. The kitchen flowed seamlessly into the dining room, which went back around into the living room.
    “Where’s my room?” she asked, starting to feel desperate for a little bit of space. He was making her whole body feel restless and jittery and she needed a break.
    “Just through here,” he said and gestured to another open doorway just off of the living room.
    There was no door, just a cleverly angled wall that kept the bed from view. The bedroom was open to a massive bathroom that was, again, only private in part.
    “Are there no interior doors in this house?” she asked, feeling panic start to pick at her calm, fraying the edges a bit.
    “No. I thought it would compromise the integrity of the design.”
    “It compromises common decency. That’s what it does. That’s … that’s my concern,” she said, feeling her heart rate rise.
    “I promise I’ll keep to my quarters.”
    She hated that she couldn’t play like she was fine with it. Another thing she was revealing about herself, which was one reason she valued her privacy so much. How many other twenty-seven-year-old women had such a hang-up about sharing space? Especially with a man. Most women her age shared space with men frequently and happily.
    “I just … I live by myself for a reason.”
    “Really?” he asked, genuine interest in his voice.
    Crap. She was sharing again. “I like privacy.”
    “I understand that.”
    Gage fully understood the need for privacy. Having a child—his sister—live with him for eight years had severely limited his privacy, dictating who he could have over and when. What sort of activities he could indulge in. Of course, now that Maddy was on her own, he could have women over if he chose to, but he’d gotten so used to going to hotels when he wanted sex that he’d never really adapted back.
    And now that he had the privacy he wanted, the house felt empty sometimes. He still didn’t want to share it with any of his mistresses. He didn’t need women leaving toothbrushes on his sink. It was a level of commitment he had no desire to pursue. He had nothing to offer a woman beyond a little mutual fun in the bedroom, and he didn’t see the point in making her believe otherwise. That