His Paradise Wife by Tina Martin

Women can hold
out longer. We’re looking for true love and romance.”
    “ As am I. Hopefully now that
we’re married, I’ve finally found what I’ve been desiring for the
last three years.”
    “ I’m curious about
something,” Emily said. “Exactly why did you go through all of this
just to end up with me?”
    “ You don’t listen much, do
you?” he asked with a smirk on his face.
    “ I do listen.”
    “ No, because if you were,
you would already know the answer because I told you
why.”
    “ Well, tell me
again.”
    “ Because I want you, and
before you think too much into this, me wanting you has nothing to
do with sex. With that being said, I would like very much to make
love to my wife, but since that’s not something you want, I’ll try
to be on my best behavior.” A sly smile came to his lips. He knew
he could seduce her at any time and any place, but what he wanted
even more than that was for her to want him equally.
    “ There’s something I’ve been
meaning to ask you,” she said.
    “ Shoot.”
    “ What did you do with all
those necklaces you bought from my boutique?”
    He laughed. “I donated them to a women’s
shelter.”
    “ And I thought you were
giving them to your niece...”
    “ Yeah, I don’t have a
niece...I sort of made that part up just to have an excuse to be in
your company.”
    Emily blushed. “I figured as much.”
    “ Did you?”
    She nodded. “Yep. That’s sweet of you,
though...to donate those necklaces.”
    “ Wow. My first compliment
from Emily...hope it won’t be my last.”
    She held his gaze, then looked away. There
was something about the heat in his eyes that made her insides
weak. Maybe she had missed being with a man moreso than she
thought...more than she would admit to. Dante was oozing sex appeal
out of his pores. He was extremely good-looking and could
definitely get any woman he desired.
    “ Let’s take a walk,” he
suggested.
    “ Okay.”
    They strolled along the beach at night.
There were a lot of people out, no doubt enjoying the night in such
a beautiful place.
    “ So where is your family?”
Dante asked, walking side-by-side with her watching the light
breeze blow her hair away from her ear.
    “ My parents live in
Jacksonville, Florida.”
    “ Retired?”
    “ Yes. They retired there. My
mother was a school teacher and my father worked for the postal
service.”
    “ I noticed, when we were
messaging each other, you didn’t mention them much.”
    “ That’s because I don’t talk
to them as much as I used to.”
    “ Why not?”
    “ Um...” Emily sighed. “It’s
just that every single time I call them, they ask me how I’m coping
and if I need to see a therapist.”
    Dante nodded. He could understand why they
would ask the question, especially after the loss she had
experienced.
    Emily interrupted his thoughts and said,
“After getting that out of the way, then comes the dialogue about
when I’m going to get married again and have some babies.”
    “ Wow.”
    “ Exactly. Now you see why I
don’t talk to them a lot.”
    “ Well, to be honest, my
parents were the same way when Anita died. They were always on my
back about remarrying. My mother used to tell me that I needed
someone to cook for me...told me I was getting skinny and needed
some meat on my bones.”
    Emily smiled and looked him up and down
inconspicuously. He wasn’t skinny in her book. Skinny men were just
that – straight up and down flimsy with no muscle definition. Dante
was more of the athletic type and everywhere her eyes roamed on his
body, she could see muscle definition from the firm ropes in his
calves to his neck, forearms and biceps.
    “ The real reason she wanted
me to marry was because, since I’m the oldest, she said my brothers
looked up to me and they would do what I did.”
    “ You believe
that?”
    “ To a certain degree, but my
brothers are their own men, and being such, they make their own
decisions.”
    Emily nodded in agreement.
    “