Page 44 of A Corruption Dark & Deadly

Chapter 11

The honeymoon was in Hawaii. Naturally. Annie had never even been out of Washington so it was a whole new experience for her. She held his hand as he led her through the airport to his private jet. Was it wrong that she didn’t even know he had had a private jet before they went away on their honeymoon together? Possibly. The old Annie would never have entertained the idea of marriage to Jericho – Jericho of all people – much less gone away with him for an entire two weeks, just the two of them.

It was one hell of an experience, however. They decided to go to Kona, on the Big Island of Hawaii, rather than a typical destination of Maui or Kauai, based on Jericho’s recommendation. The island was quiet and not too busy but with enough activity to keep things interesting. Not that Hawaii could ever not be interesting. If it had been up to her, they would hang out by the pool and read all day. Instead, Jericho had one thing planned each day. From luau’s to parasailing, from Elvis impersonator dinner shows to swimming with dolphins, from helicopter rides that toured the island to hiking volcanic rock, Jericho had it all planned. However, he never overdid it and every day they were either at the pool – the hotel had three pools; one specifically for children, one for everyone with a water slide, and a third for adults only – or at the hotel’s private beach, reading. Jericho didn’t work at all, even though Annie knew he got tons of emails and phone calls every few minutes.

They also had lots of sex. Sex in the morning, sex at night, sex in the afternoon, just before falling asleep for a nap. Sex in the bathtub – which was not as sexy as it sounded – sex in the shower, sex against the desk, sex in the kitchen, sex on the couch, sex on the floor. Sex everywhere. If she wasn’t pregnant by the end of these two weeks, she had infertility problems.

They weren’t wearing protection. Not that they had before. She was still on birth control, however, so at least there was some protection against unwanted pregnancy. She didn’t think she was quite ready for a baby yet. Maybe Jericho would be happy.

No. Scratch that. He would be over the moon. But truthfully, Annie wanted to enjoy the time they had just the two of them for now. It had only been a couple of months, after all. There was plenty of time for a child.

The honeymoon was the best two weeks of her life. Jericho had somehow turned into her best friend and lover. Exactly the way she thought a husband was supposed to be. They could be reading side by side for hours without saying a word to one another and there would be no uncomfortable tension hanging in the air between them. It made her feel more confident in her decision to marry him. Not only was he well-versed in literature, especially nonfiction books relating to finances and business, but he didn’t need to fill the silence simply so he could hear himself speak. She had dated a guy like that in college and he annoyed the crap out of her.

. When they weren’t eating, they were going on various activities on the island. Jericho had the enthusiasm of a child. His eyes were always grass-green and a boyish smile always tickled his lips even though Annie knew he had experienced all of this before.

“Well, yeah,” he said with a shrug when she pointed it out to him one night at dinner. They were currently eating the freshest sushi she had ever tried and she couldn’t get over how amazing the rolls were. “But I’ve never shared this with someone before. Not even my parents were as enthusiastic for this kind of stuff.”

Annie’s heart warmed at the sentiment and she blushed, looking down at her rolls of such.

Jericho was both fearless and enthusiastic, which made him the perfect travel companion. He was willing to try new things and he always had a positive attitude. Even during their couple’s massage, he was still talkative and romantic. He was… amazing.

Annie knew they would grow comfortable with each other, which meant things wouldn’t be as exciting and they would both calm down a bit, but she hoped that didn’t happen anytime soon. She loved the look currently occupying Jericho’s face – one of complete and utter happiness. In all the pictures and interviews she had seen of Jericho, she had never seen him so deliriously happy. And a lot of that came from her.

It was hard for her to wrap her head around it, but Annie was the reason for this new-found happiness. Besides the fact that he told her this on a constant basis, she felt it, too. At first, she thought this was all bullshit. That Jericho was too nice, too perfect, too sweet, to even be real. But the truth of the matter was she had been conditioned by society where if a guy was nice, he wanted something. That she wasn’t worthy of having a nice guy. That nice guys didn’t exist.

Except they did.

One was standing in front of her, claiming to love her with every fiber of his being.

Her. Annie.

When they finally had to leave Hawaii, Annie felt her heart sink. She had never had two blissful weeks with a guy before. They hadn’t fought, they hadn’t argued, they had simply had fun. They couldn’t keep their hands off of each other. Annie always had her phone on her so she could take as many pictures as she could so she would always remember this.

“Maybe once I retire, we could move to Kona,” he suggested as he hefted one of his suitcases in the overhead bin. “We could even buy a little place for your brother, too.”

Annie threw her head back and laughed. “You know,” she told him as she slid into her window seat. Jericho insisted she sit by the window. He preferred the aisle anyway. “I’ve always wanted to go to Ireland.”

“We should go to Europe in the spring,” Jericho murmured. “Can you take off a few weeks?”

Annie shook her head, laughing. She could not believe he was willing to take her to Europe in the spring. Like this was no big deal. Like they could wait last minute, head to the airport, close their eyes, and pick a destination completely at random.

The flight was long but it didn’t feel that way. Annie and Jericho both read their Kindles and Annie was actually able to nap for some of the flight despite how uncomfortable she was on planes. Jericho’s shoulder was sturdy but it felt like a pillow.

Jericho also insisted that they join the mile-high club before they started to descend into the Seattle Airport. He took her to the bathroom, pulled down her black leggings and fucked her in the tight, cramped room against the plastic wall. It was uncomfortable and sweaty, the mirror fogging up before she realized it, but God, it was fun and amazing. The feel of his cock in her at such an odd angle left her panting and wanting more. She was certain she had left marks on his clothed back from how hard she was clawing at him. He didn’t seem to mind, however.

By the time they touched down, Annie was exhausted. She wanted nothing more than the comfort of her bed. Their bed now.

Holy crap, she was married.

She couldn’t believe that she was actually married. And to Jericho Steel, Seattle’s resident bachelor and wealthiest man in Seattle.

Annie wasn’t quite sure why it hit her now rather than during or even right after her wedding. It hadn’t even hit her on their honeymoon. But as she got into the town car that would drive them back to their place, she caught sight of the princess-cut five-karat diamond ring and her breath caught in her throat. She was married to a wonderful man and they were going to spend their entire life together. People dreamed about things like this their whole life. People killed for this. And somehow, this fell into her lap.

Because of Bruce.

If Bruce hadn’t borrowed money from Jericho, if Jericho hadn’t called an impromptu meeting, if Bruce hadn’t already been taking Annie to dinner, if Bruce hadn’t insisted on meeting with Jericho while Annie was still with him, she never would have met Jericho. Maybe fate really did exist.

“Did you take tomorrow off?” Jericho asked, cocking his head to the side.