The Billionaire's Bought Bride and Instant Mom Chapter 142

Aveline

The wind whipped through my hair as I glanced over at his tense expression, and I couldn't resist calling out with a laugh, "Mr. Blackwell, you really don't need to worry about my communication with your horse! As you can see, we're cooperating perfectly!"

He pulled alongside me, his stallion matching my mare's pace stride for stride. "Miss Aveline, I'm not worried about you!" he shouted over the thunder of hooves. "But you're riding my horse on my property! If something happens, I'm legally responsible!"

I threw back my head and laughed, the sound sharp in the morning air. "Oh right, of course! You must protect your precious *guests*!" The professional distance he'd been maintaining since yesterday suddenly struck me as absurd. "You're so concerned about liability and responsibility, aren't you? Always calculating the risks." I shot him a pointed look. "That's your problem, you know—you overthink absolutely everything! Me? When I do something, I just do it. No endless analysis required."

The implication hung between us like a challenge, and I watched something flicker across his face—surprise, then something darker.

"How refreshing," he said, his voice taking on an edge. "I appreciate a woman who doesn't complicate things unnecessarily."

I expected him to get flustered, maybe defensive about my jab. Instead, his easy agreement felt... wrong somehow.

"Exactly," I said, still confident in my ability to provoke him. "Simple and straightforward. No drama."

"Perfect," Orion replied, and there was something in his tone that made me glance at him more sharply. Was that... relief? "Because drama is the last thing I need in my life."

*Wait.* Something about his easy agreement was starting to feel off. I'd been trying to get a rise out of him, to make him uncomfortable about yesterday, but he seemed almost... pleased with my attitude?

"Good that we're on the same page," I said, though I was beginning to feel like we were reading from completely different books. "Though I have to say, for someone who claims to like things simple, you certainly have interesting timing with your declarations."

His jaw tightened. "Meaning?"

"Oh, you know," I said airily, though my heart was pounding, "most people don't feel the need to confess their undying love during... intimate moments."

The words hung in the air like a gauntlet thrown down. Orion's face went completely still for a moment, then his expression shifted into something I couldn't quite read.

"You're right," he said quietly, and his agreement sent an unexpected chill through me. "That was... poor timing on my part."

*Poor timing?* That's what he called it?

"I mean," he continued, his voice growing more confident, "it's not like those words meant anything anyway. Heat of the moment and all that."

Each casual word felt like a small slap. I'd been trying to embarrass him, to make him uncomfortable, but instead he was dismantling the entire encounter like it had been meaningless.

"Of course," I said tightly. "Heat of the moment. People say all sorts of things."

"Exactly." He was looking at me now with an expression that was almost... calculating. "Good sex can make people temporarily irrational."

*Good sex.* That's all it was to him. Good sex.

"Right," I managed. "Temporary irrationality."

"I'm glad you understand," he said, and now there was definitely something predatory in his smile. "It's rare to meet a woman who's so... pragmatic about these things."

The way he said 'pragmatic' made it sound almost clinical, and I felt my temper starting to flare again.

"Well, I've always been practical," I shot back. "I don't let emotions cloud my judgment when it comes to physical attraction."

"How admirably modern of you," Orion murmured, and I couldn't tell if he was mocking me or genuinely impressed. "So you'd say you're someone who can separate physical needs from emotional ones?"

Something in his tone made me wary, but I'd backed myself into this corner. "Absolutely. I'm not some romantic teenager who confuses good chemistry with love."

"Interesting." He was watching me intently now, like a chess player considering his next move. "And you did mention that my body was being... what was the phrase... 'wasted'?"

Heat flooded my cheeks as my own words came back to haunt me. "I may have said something like that."

"And you've been quite vocal about your... appreciation for my physical attributes?"

*Where is he going with this?*

"I suppose I have," I admitted reluctantly.

"And you've made it clear that emotional complications are the last thing you want?"

"Yes, but—"

"Then I have a proposition for you," he said, pulling his horse so close to mine that our legs were almost touching. "Since you're so beautifully practical about these things, and since you seem to have such a high opinion of my... physical offerings, why don't we make this arrangement official?"

My heart was starting to pound, though I wasn't sure if it was from anticipation or dread. "What kind of arrangement?"

His smile was sharp enough to cut glass. "The kind where we both get what we want. You get access to this allegedly wasted body of mine, and I get a woman who won't bore me with declarations of love afterward."

The crude implication hit me like a physical blow. My hands jerked on the reins so hard that my mare came to an abrupt halt, nearly sending me flying over her head.

"Are you—" I started, then stopped, too shocked to finish the sentence.

Orion had already dismounted and was standing beside his stallion, watching me with that same calculating expression.

I slid down from my horse with shaking hands, hastily tying her reins to a nearby tree. When I turned to face him, he was closer than I'd expected, close enough that I had to tilt my head back to meet his eyes.

"What exactly are you suggesting?" I demanded, though I was pretty sure I already knew.

"I think you know exactly what I'm suggesting," he said, his voice dropping to that low, dangerous register that did terrible things to my self-control. "You want simple and straightforward? Fine. You want to keep emotions out of it? Perfect. Why don't we just be fuck buddies?"

The words hit me like a bucket of ice water, and I stared at him in complete shock.

"You want me to be your..." I couldn't even finish the sentence.

"My what?" he prompted, his expression annoyingly composed. "My casual hookup? My friends-with-benefits arrangement? My no-strings-attached physical relationship?" His smile was razor-sharp. "I believe the technical term is exactly what I said—fuck buddies. Isn't that what a practical, modern woman like you would prefer?"