Read Online The Royal’s Pretend Wife by Sophia Lynn - Free Book Online Page B

think it will come naturally,” she said at last. “We…we have a lot of natural rapport with one another. It's something they would look for if they were casting us as husband and wife.”
    He tilted his head to one side, studying her with a kind of predatory patience.
    “Rapport…That sounds very much like something an actress would say, little gata.”
    “I am an actress,” she said, refusing to allow him to cow her. “That is what I am here for. I cannot help it if I am good at my job.”
    There was a faint scrim of ice over his features, but he nodded at her politely enough.
    “Then will say that I am pleased for the rapport that we have, and I hope it will allow us to be successful.”
    She bit her lip. When he stood up to go, it took everything she had to call him on the distance he put between them.
    “Don't do that,” she said, and he turned to look at her. His eyes were cool, and he looked at her as if she was some secretary or aide who had made a minor mistake. Trinity knew that was wrong, and she knew that she had to fix it if they stood a chance.
    “Okay. Listen. You hired me for my skills and my expertise, is that correct?”
    “Yes, that's correct.”
    “Then you can't get angry at me for being good at the thing that I do. Don't get cold like that. Don't hold me in contempt because I am being a good wife. It's not very fair to me, and if you don't care about that, then at least care about the fact that it will transfer over very, very quickly when it comes time to be ourselves in front of the camera.”
    She had kept her voice level throughout the speech, but there was a part of her that wanted to make a much more impassioned plea. She stomped on it quickly, because no matter what her heart had to say, there was no room for it in this conversation.
    There was a fire in Apolo's eye. For a moment, she thought that he would simply dismiss her out of hand. Then, to Trinity's relief, he nodded reluctantly.
    “You're right,” he said. “I'll admit, I am in over my head. I had not expected it to be so. We are performing, and sometimes I am entirely swept up in it. Other times, I remember that it is just a performance, and that I am alone with these feelings.”
    “Not alone,” Trinity said, pleased to be back on familiar ground. “Every good performer feels what they are doing. It is not a cold thing. The connection is real, believe me. The only issue is when we take it for more than it is.”
    Apolo winced, ever so slightly, but he nodded. “Very well. How can we maintain the connection without fooling ourselves into mistaking it for more?”
    Trinity thought for a moment. “I can think of one way,” she offered. “To maintain our connection, we could sleep together. To make sure we don't read more into it, we can keep it at sleeping together.”
    It was only her extensive training that allowed her to make the offer as serenely as she did. Inside were a dozen voices, all shouting at her for different reasons. She shouldn't get so close. That wasn't close enough. She was shooting them in the foot. She was doing something terrible.
    Apolo didn't have her training. A number of different emotions flickered over his face, too fast for her to read. Finally, he nodded.
    “Very well. That sounds sensible enough to me.”
    That was where they left it, and Trinity was proud of herself for such a clever compromise until it came time to go to bed.
    She had a long sleeveless cotton nightgown that went right down to her knees. It was a prim thing, comfortable but hardly sexy. When Apolo came into the master bedroom, she was pleased to see that he wore a pair of soft sleep pant. It was normal. There was nothing too difficult or sexual about it.
    “Good night, Apolo,” she whispered into the dark.
    The bed shifted under his weight. The bed was huge. They could have slept sprawled without touching each other. Then she felt him gather her towards him, holding her close as if they had slept together for