Talon (Ashes & Embers Book 4) by Carian Cole

quickly shoves them into the suitcase. "This just feels so…"
    "Strange?" I offer.
    "Yes."
    "Fucked up?"
    "Yeah, that too."
    "Awkward?"
    "Yup." She zips up the suitcase.
    "Fake?" I add.
    "Yeah…"
    "Like a dream?"
    She tilts her head and then nods. "Yeah."
    "Well, of course. You're married to a rock star, baby. It's every girl's dream."
    She sighs heavily. "Can you be serious?"
    "I am serious."
    "Okay, it wasn't my dream to be married to a rock star. You're out of my league. I wanted someone normal."
    "That's fuckin' boring." I scoff, taking her suitcase from her. "Think of it as an adventure. That's what I'm doing."
    "It kinda seems like you got the sucky end of the deal," she says, moving toward the door. "There is no adventure in being with me."
    I block her from leaving the room. "I wouldn't mind having the sucky end of the deal at all, baby. In fact, that would totally make up for all the shit the team has messed up. I'd be willing to forget about all the other things I asked for if I could get a blow job every morning and every night. That's an adventure you can give me."
    She punches me in the gut. "You're a pig," she says, pushing past me.
    I clutch my stomach and watch her walk away, grinning to myself.
    I deserved that.
    And I kind of like that she put me in my place.
    My girl's not a wuss. She's a little shy, maybe. A little sheltered. But she's got some bite in her.
    You know what that means?
    We're going to have some fucking awesome fight-sex someday.
    I can't wait.
    I give her a few minutes to calm down and then saunter back into the kitchen where she's now putting tiny cat stuff together into a box.
    "Do you think you can get a house quickly? I thought it took weeks or months?" she asks suddenly.
    "We'll be in our own place in a few days, even if we have to rent it for a few weeks first until we close. Don't worry."
    She blinks at me as she absorbs what I'm saying. "So you're planning on actually buying a house for us to live in?"
    "Yeah. Don't you want our own house?"
    "Of course…but I don't have any money to contribute to a down payment. Or a mortgage, for that matter. I really don't make much with my sales. The clothing and soaps I make aren't in any stores or anything. I make just enough to pay my bills."
    "Don't you have a website? To sell and advertise online?"
    She shakes her head. "No, I can't afford that. I just use social media sites and word of mouth."
    "I'll have our web guy build you a killer site."
    She puts her hands up in front of her like she's stopping traffic. "Whoa. Talon, I can't let you do all this. And am I supposed to leave my apartment permanently? What if things don't work out? I may not be able to find a place I can afford again. I know this place isn't much, but it's all I can afford, and the landlord hasn't raised my rent in over three years."
    A little vein in her temple is throbbing and her eyes are getting even bigger as her stress level ramps up. I really wasn't expecting to be the calm, rational one in this partnership, but it looks like, for the time being, that role is mine, whether I want it or not.
    "Asia, take a deep breath. First, you need a good website if you want to sell your products. The guy who does our band site is great. Second, we can't go into every decision saying, 'What if it doesn't work?' Didn't you listen at all during any of the sessions with Dr. Hollister? We have to treat this like a real marriage."
    "Of course I listened, but—"
    I touch her lips with my finger. "No buts. I'm just as nervous as you are, trust me. I've been wanting to buy a house for a while, so now is the perfect time. I don't expect you to pay for half or any of it."
    She looks up at the ceiling and blinks back what looks like the start of tears. "That's not fair for you. I don't feel good about that at all."
    Crossing my arms and leaning back against her kitchen counter, I nail her down with my eyes. "Look, this isn't up for debate. If we had fallen in love and gotten married in