Tate's POV:

What kind of stupid, idiotic, shit-filled scam did I get myself into!? My night out at the bar talking to, what I thought was a woman who knew my pain, ended up being a fucking scam artist. And now?! I'm married to her!

"Who are you really!?" I had demanded her to answer earlier this morning. I wasn't someone to be toyed with and I was going to make sure she knew it. Had she never heard of the name 'Tate Anderson' before!?

"I told you already! My name is Amilee Hunt! I'm not some low scam artist! You are! You told me lies to get into my pants! And now look! I have this on my finger!" She held up her ring finger and I saw the simple ring that it was. A plain white gold ring. No large rock, no little diamonds around it. So not something I would ever pick out for my betrothed. She had to be lying!

I hate to admit it but, her tears threw me off. Her distress threw me off. I had a hard time not believing her. She was good at her job, that was for sure. Yet, something inside of me was telling me that she was telling the truth about who she was.

Crazy, I know.

That didn't stop me from collecting her things and throwing her out. Like hell I would sit back and let her take control over me. Not happening.

Now, even though my office was supposed to be closed, I was at work, typing away and making sure everything was up to date and good to go for the next week. I needed to do something to get my mind off of things until I figured out what happened and what I needed to do from here.

The door opened to my office and Ryan stood in the doorway, arms crossing over his chest. He leaned against the frame. "What do you want?"

"Why are you working right now?" he asked me, his brows furrowed.

"Because there are things to be done." I told him, growing bitter. He shouldn't be standing there questioning me. I was his boss, I could do whatever the hell I wanted. "Why are you here!?" I didn't even look up from my work as I questioned him.

"Because you're notorious for working and I wouldn't want you to be working hard the day after your wedding."

My body went stiff. I looked up at him, his face was serious and I felt my stomach sink. He knew!? "You know?"

"About the girl you up and married last night? Of course. I was your best man." A small smirk started to form on his lips. I couldn't believe it!

"You didn't think to stop me!?" I growled, standing to my feet in a rage. "She's a scam artist!"

"Amilee is?" he raised a brow. "I don't think so. I checked into her earlier today. She's clean."

This all didn't make sense. "Explain." was all I demanded. Damn him and his CIA back round. I guess it came in handy for times like this, but that still didn't lighten the blow.

Sighing, he walked over and sat in one of the nice chairs I had set up for clients. Crossing his legs he leaned back and got comfortable. "Last night, we all got trashed. You know that. When you went off and started talking to that woman, you had one too many drinks. Of course, we loved seeing you like that, and we couldn't make smart choices either so we encouraged it. You guys talked for hours upon hours. Finally we had to leave, you guys pulled me aside and said you had some "special" plan. Then I vaguely remember going with you and being a witness to you both eloping."

I groaned and ran my hand through my slicked back hair. "You've got to be kidding me."

"Nope. Sorry, boss." He chuckled lightly. "It's pretty crazy, but I checked into her. You'll never believe who you just got hitched with."

"Can't be any worse than a scam artist." I snorted, agitated about the whole scenario. I sat back down in my chair and rubbed my eyes with my hand.

"Yes it can." He smirked. "She's the personal assistant to none other than David Ashbur."

XxX

Amilee's POV:

I buried my face into my worn couch pillow in my small apartment. It smelled old, but clean. I made sure everything in my apartment was spick and span clean. I hated things being dirty.

Just like I hated myself for being dirty.

I had been used and I couldn't shake the horrible darkness that was slowly taking over my soul. First David and him getting married, and then me being a complete idiot and sleeping with a stranger.. no wait.. I mean marrying a complete stranger.

I lifted my hand and studied the simple but beautiful ring that was still on my finger. I already screwed my life over so I couldn't help but keep it on and stare at it. The ring was actually exactly my style. Simple. Beautiful. And elegant. I wasn't much for the big diamond type of ring, which seemed to be Tate's style. I was surprised to find this of all rings on me.

Wait, what the hell was I saying!? I quickly pulled off the ring and got up. Walking over I opened a drawer in the kitchen and shoved it into it. I slamming the door shut, I glared at it. After the way he treated me this morning!? How could I be complementing his choice!? Let alone thinking about him!?

I jumped as my phone began to ring. Who was calling me now? It was saturday, the office was closed. I sighed and walked over to it and froze as I read the words on the screen.

David.

Of all people to be calling me right now. I swallowed hard and went to reach for it when suddenly there was a knock at my door. I cursed and looked between the two areas. The door? Or David? Sighing I decided to leave my phone and answer the door.

Opening it I found a large, intimidating man that I didn't know standing there. He was wearing all black and had a frown on his face. "May I help you?" I asked, a bit concerned.

"Are you Amilee Hunt? Brad Hunt's daughter?"

My stomach seemed to turn at the mention of my father. I swallowed hard and tried not to show my nervousness. "Yes, that's me."

"May I come in?" he asked suddenly. "This is regarding the debt he left."

Still feeling uneasy, I opened the door a bit wider against my better judgement. "Sure, if it won't take long. I was actually going out to meet with my boss for work." I lied.

"It won't take long." his deep voice made chills run up my spine.

Nodding I let him in and I watched him walk in and scan my apartment. I closed the door behind me, feeling like something bad was about to happen. Anytime my father was mentioned, it never ended well. I stayed close to the front door though. Just in case. "My boss is worried that you won't be able to make the payments." he told me.

"Oh, I'm still making them. I'll be sure they are paid." I swallowed hard.

"Is that so?" he turned and looked at me and I nodded. "Well, I'm glad you are on board. My boss is requiring that you put a down payment on the debt your father owed in order to give him the confidence that things will be taken care of."

My eyes went wide and I took a step back towards the door behind me. "A down payment? Doesn't my word mean anything?"

"No, not after your father promised us the world and gave us nothing." his dark eyes glared.

"How much then?" he took a step closer. I took a step back.

"50,000 dollars."

I lost my breath. "50- I don't have that right now! I'm barely able to make the payments each month at what you have set!"

"Oh, that's too bad." he came closer and I found myself against the door. He towered over me. My heart raced and I felt so scared. This wasn't good. "He needs his money, doll."

"I-I told you I don't have-"

His hand instantly made contact with my face and I bit back a yelp. The pain hit me quick and hard when his thick hand grabbed my chin and yanked it towards him, a click of a gun was heard then against my throat. Fear filled my senses and I thought I was about to die. Was this really how I was going to spend my last moments? In fear and with a horrible man I didn't even know? Tate was starting to look better and better. "You have one month to put that down payment in my hands, or else. Understood?"

I tried to not allow my tears to fall, but they started to despite my demands. I could feel his rough hands creating more bruises and the barrel of the gun pressed against my throat was more than I could handle. I didn't want to die... not yet... I wanted to tell David how I really felt... wanted to... "Y-yes." I whispered.

"Good. Have a good evening, doll." With that, he released me and I fell to the floor, holding my chest and face as he exited my apartment. I began to sob. I could feel the relief yet the cloud of terror still held me. This was wrong, oh so wrong. Why was this happening to me!? Couldn't I just have a good happy life!? Was I doomed to die?

Not knowing what to do, and being scared for my life, I got up, ran to the drawer in my kitchen and pulled out my ring. I grabbed my purse and my picture frame and quickly left my apartment without looking back.

XxX

Tate's POV:

This was stupid. I can't believe that the woman I supposedly married last night was the assistant to David Ashbur. I hated that man. He was the pebble in my shoe and I still hadn't gotten rid of it yet.

On top of that, I can't believe I actually married her and Ryan actually got me to leave the office to go home. I've never been pushed out of my office so fast before. He was lucky he was my friend, otherwise he would have been fired years ago.

Taking a moment to think, I sighed and grabbed my umbrella before getting out of the car. I had parked across the street from my place and earlier it had started raining and it was showing no signs of stopping. I hated the rain. It always made me feel dreary and bitter. As I got out I lifted the large tent like umbrella and opened it up.

As soon as I did, I looked up at my front door and froze.

There standing in the pouring rain, soaking wet, was my wife. Amilee.

Knowing she wasn't a scam artist made things a bit better, and I didn't feel as much anger towards her as I did this morning. Of course it didn't help that I had a horrible hang over as well earlier. I shut my car door and locked it, looked both ways and then walked across the street to her, quickly putting the umbrella above both of us. Her grey eyes lifted to meet my own. I was shocked to see that her eyes shown fear. "What are you doing here?"

"How is this supposed to work?" her shaky voice came out, sounding scared and desperate. Completely different than the woman I remembered from this morning. Something was wrong.

"Our marriage?" I asked. She nodded. I sighed and looked at her face. The rain had poured down it, but from the looks of her nose and eyes, she had been crying. I couldn't tell what were tears and what were raindrops- Wait... what was that on her... "What happened?" I asked nodding towards her face, my voice becoming dark and serious. She quickly turned away, not allowing me to see the bruise on her jaw.

I instantly reached out and took her chin in my hand and turned her face. She winced and I eased up a bit. Her grey eyes avoided looking in my direction as I looked it over. Yes, there was a fresh bruise on her jaw. Anger filled my chest and I narrowed my eyes. "Inside. Now." I demanded. She moved and let me unlock the door and as I opened it, I allowed her to walk in first. She sniffed and hugged herself as we made it out of the rain. The cold water clung to her clothes and skin. It wasn't long before she began to shiver.

A small puddle was forming around her feet. I closed the door behind us and locked it, taking off my jacket and throwing it up onto a wall hang I had by the door. I looked over at her again and swallowed hard.

"You don't have a change of clothes with you, do you?" She shook her head. I withheld a sigh and pointed in the direction of the bedroom. "Go back into the bedroom and find the closet. In there you can pick out a shirt of mine and some shorts or something. There are towels in the master bathroom as well, so you can dry off."

Without a word, she listened and obeyed. Well at least she had that going for her. I guess being someone's personal assistant she was used to taking orders. Yet, I still hated knowing she took orders from Ashbur.

I decided to walk over and pulled out two beers from the fridge. Hmm.. did she even like beer? I know Brittany hated beer. She only wanted to drink the expensive wines that came with special dinners. Me? Well I loved me some whiskey, but good ole' corona was all I needed on a night like this.

I pulled one out for her anyways and sat in on the counter. This was just not my day. First I wake up to having a wife I don't remember marrying, then I kick her out, and now she was back under my roof and someone had touched her. I don't know why, since I really didn't know her, but I felt guilty for sending her away. Thoughts began to race through my mind.

Wasn't a husband supposed to protect his wife? Did she expect me to solve all her problems? Was I supposed to? Brittany kind of always did her own thing, never really bothering with me unless I took her out to a party or something. Yes, we slept together as well, but it wasn't above and beyond. But here was Amilee and she was coming to me when she was scared and had been attacked... I had to do something. I mean... I know I didn't really mean to marry her and that I didn't love her of course, but... I still felt as if I should have been able to do something.

Damn I wasn't good with dealing with women.

Honestly, most found me scary and rough. I didn't really shave much and I always seemed to have a scowl on my face... so Ryan has told me. I kept the shorter beard though to try and cover the scar that ran across my cheek. It was a horrible reminder of what happened so long ago, and I really didn't want to show it off and see it everyday. Plus Brittany hated seeing it.

Footsteps from the hallway snapped me out of my thought process as I watched Amilee emerge.

I hadn't really noticed until now, but Amilee was so small compared to me. My shirt was huge on her and my boxers were as well. She found a way to keep them on though, so it was better than her being wet. I studied how her long auburn hair was down and fell across her shoulders. She was actually pretty attractive...

What surprised me though was the shirt she was wearing.

"What? Is something wrong?" she asked, not meeting my eyes, feeling the heat of my gaze. I cleared my throat and shook my head.

"No." I told her. She was wearing the most worn out, grubby t-shirt of mine. I could have sworn I had that laying on the floor too. I remember Brittany always finding the most crisp, clean button up shirt to put on and wouldn't even dare to put on that shirt of mine. Interesting. "Come here." I tried to speak nicely, but it came out more like an order. She didn't seem to mind though and came over anyways. "Drink this." I gave her the beer.

Her eyes darted up towards mine and she narrowed them. "Don't you remember what happened last time you gave me a drink? You're not trying to-"

"This is one, and the only one I'll give you. It's for your nerves. Because you're going to tell me what happened." I tried not to growl at her accusations.

Amilee looked down instantly at her beer and grew quiet. I'm pretty sure she hoped I had forgotten all about it. But how could I when I could now see that bruise better than ever?

And it was pissing me off.

XxX

Amilee's POV:

I was hoping he would forget. Stupid, really. But I guess it was too much to hide anymore. I felt sick to my stomach just remembering what happened as I pulled up my beer and took a big swig. The cold liquid ran over my tongue and down my throat. Man, that tasted amazing.

I loved beer.

Sighing I took a deep breath and tried to figure out where to begin. "My father died not too long ago." I told him, slowly finding the strength to tell the story. I guess I had been wanting to tell someone for a while now that it was a bit of a relief getting to speak it out loud. "I haven't seen him since he left my mother and I when I was little. Apparently he wasn't in the best of circumstances and owed a lot of debt." I hated this part. "The debt was then transferred to me to take care of once he died. I am living paycheck to paycheck trying to pay off this horrible debt he left. The man he owed money to sent his assistant to give me a message." I cleared my throat, not looking at him as I pointed to the bruise on my jaw. "He wants a down payment, and of course I don't have it. So he uh..." I stopped. Maybe this part wasn't a good part to tell him. He might want to call the police or something and get me more in trouble.

"What did he say, Amilee?"

His deep voice was surprisingly comforting, even with his demanding tone. I felt a bit at ease. Protected, even. "He wants a lot of money within a month, or else." I swallowed hard, hating how I sounded so weak. I have recently found out just how weak and stupid I was. It is very humbling, I must admit.

"There must be more, considering he gave you that bruise. Or are you just clumsy as well?"

I crossed my arms and finally looked at him, giving him a confused look. Was he trying to be nice or mean? If I wanted to be scolded, I could do that to myself. I didn't need him to stand there and give me a lecture. "If you must know, he smacked me and grabbed me. Even held a gun to my throat. That enough information? Happy now?"

I watched his eyes grow dark and he went silent. He looked everything but happy. Maybe that wasn't the best way to tell him. "So you need a place to stay." he stated and didn't really ask.

I hated myself for this, but I nodded. "I was going to go to Da-... I mean... a friend's place but I found myself here instead."

"You'll stay here until I know you're safe." He spoke without hesitation.

I eyed him carefully, meeting his crazy blue eyes. He was so rough around the edges, so distant, yet he was kind underneath. I could just tell. It was as if he didn't know that the way he acted deterred people away. It was cute in a way. I mean, here was a man, who I married while drunk and only after knowing him for almost two days he's trying to keep me safe.

I guess he wasn't so bad. If only he would shave off that scruff and not look down on so many people, he would be somewhat attractive.

But he still wasn't my type.

"Thank you. I can just sleep on the couch."

"That's fine." he nodded.

I frowned. "Are you serious?" I asked him.

He raised a brow. "Serious about what?"

"You really expect me to sleep on the couch?" I asked him. Where were his manners? I guess he wasn't as kind as I thought.

He took a long drink of his beer, practically finishing it off. Then he looked over at his couch and shrugged. "Looks good to me. So yes."

"Everyone knows you're supposed to offer the bed to the woman."

He frowned at me. "Not happening."

"Why not!?"

"I'm not sleeping on the couch! This is my home! I'll sleep in my own bed!"

"But I'm your wife! You should be thoughtful and kind and self-sacrificing and offer me the bed!"

He chuckled and grinned. "Obviously, you don't know your husband too well."

I crossed my arms and pouted. "The bed is so comfy though..."

"Nice try, but I have a bad back. I'm not sleeping anywhere but my own bed."

My jaw almost fell to the floor. "What the hell do you mean!? You are a freaking body builder! You got muscles on your muscles! Your back is stronger than mine!"

His smirk stayed in place and he looked down at his own arms. "Nice of you to notice, but it's not working. If you don't want to sleep on the couch, then just sleep in the bed as well-"

"I will not sleep with you." I narrowed my eyes at him. He shrugged once again and yawned.

"Your loss. Have a good night, and don't forget to clean up after yourself."

I watched him walk off towards his bedroom and I couldn't believe how he just acted. Making me sleep on the couch? Sure, I could do that, but he wasn't showing any proper manners! I'll show him.

XxX

Tate's POV:

Ahh, finally peace and quiet. Now I was finally all settled and comfortable in my bed. It had been too long of a day. Hopefully it was going to calm down, and maybe I could figure out something to do about all this in the morning.

I rolled over on my bed and onto my stomach. Positioning my arms under my pillow closed my eyes and quickly felt myself drifting off.

That was until I felt someone climbing into my bed.

I wanted to growl, wanted to kick her out again just for being so disruptive. But I did tell her to sleep there earlier so I guess I didn't have anyone else to blame but myself.

I should have told her to sleep outside.

I held back a chuckle from the thought and stayed still, acting as if I was already asleep. It didn't take long though, for me to frown and grow annoyed as I began to feel something being shoved against me repeatedly. After a few seconds I allowed a low growl to come out and I lifted myself up onto my elbows and glared at her.

"What the hell are you doing!?" I demanded to know. Amilee was on her knees beside me, shoving a huge blanket from my couch against me. It was all rolled up against her hands as she met my gaze with those grey eyes.

"It's a barrier. Don't cross it." she demanded back.

"Why in the world would I cross it?" When I watched her glare at me it all made sense. I allowed a grin grow on my lips. "You really think I want to have sex with you? Sober?"

Her jaw dropped and she looked at me with surprise and unbelief. "I didn't realize you were that much of an asshole." she frowned after collecting herself from her shock. I waited for her to turn and storm off as Brittany always did after she called me an asshole.

But I admit I was surprised when she turned only her head in defiance, but still pulled back the covers and climbed in. Sighing, I just laid back down and closed my eyes again. If she was really that stubborn, she could sleep there, I didn't care. I left the 'barrier' she put in place and just tried to drift off again to sleep.

"Tate?" I heard her soft voice whisper. I groaned lightly.

"Hm?"

It was silent for a moment, then I finally heard her voice once again. "Thank you."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever." She was ridiculous.

"Night, Tate."

XxX

Morning came faster than I wanted, but I looked at my alarm clock and saw that I had actually slept in. How long had it been since I slept in till 09:00? I felt pretty good considering I slept in the same bed as Amilee did. I was happy to find that she was a sound sleeper... until she started talking in her sleep.

Ah yes, now I remembered why I felt so annoyed this morning.

I looked over and was surprised to find that Amilee was gone and no where in the bedroom. When had she left? I shook it off. No reason to think about it too much. I lifted myself to the side of the bed and rubbed the sleep from my eyes. Standing up I walked straight into my bathroom and shut the door.

I took a quick shower, got myself all clean and ready to for the day and then threw on some comfortable clothes. It was sunday after all, and Ryan had already warned me about coming out to the office. I wasn't going to throw on a suit to wear around the house.

After finishing up I went to head towards the door, when my cell rang. I went to collect it from my dresser and saw that it was actually Ryan calling me. Strange. I swiped my finger.

"Yes?"

"Did you see the paper yet?!" his voice sounded a bit nervous.

I frowned. "No. Should I?"

"Shit. Um, well, I bought a paper and threw it in your mailbox this morning... Wait... did you just wake up!?"

"Yes, got a problem with that?"

"Wow. That's different. I can't remember the last time you slept in... that's a good thing, Tate."

I felt a low rumble in my throat, getting a bit impatient. "Why are you calling me!?"

"Oh right. So, I guess word travels fast when it comes to you. Your marriage is on the front page."

My stomach sank. "You got to be fucking kidding me."

"Sorry boss, it's true. I'm holding one right now with your face on it. It's all about you and Amilee."

I groaned and scratched the back of my head. "I fucking hate reporters."

"Me too. Just wanted to give you a heads up. You might be getting some other calls tomorrow."

"Right. Thanks."

"Now go enjoy your day with your wife."

"Shut up, Ryan."

I only heard his chuckle over the phone before I hung up on him. Damn, this wasn't something I wanted to deal with. Any thoughts I might have had about fixing this situation just went straight out the window. Taking a deep breath, I walked out of the bedroom only to be hit with the aroma of a fresh cooked meal. I followed my nose until I spotted Amilee setting my small table.

I cleared my throat.

Her grey eyes met mine instantly. "Oh- Good morning, Tate."

"What the hell is all this?" I asked, confused. I rarely ever ate a cooked meal at home. I usually always went out and dined, especially since Brittany never cooked. She refused to. Said I should just hire a maid or something to do all the work.

What was the point of that? Even though I found it stupid, I was willing to do that for her. Until she stabbed me in the back and broke off our engagement. Damn her.

I saw Amilee flinch slightly and I realized that the thoughts of Brittany was making me look scarier. I quickly shoved the thoughts away and tried to make my expression more gentle. "I thought we could talk over breakfast." her voice came out nice and sweet.

"You made this?" I raised a brow.

"Yes." She looked at me, confused as to why I would ask that. "Do you see anyone else here?"

I frowned. "I'm not used to a cooked meal when I wake up in the morning." Damn, did she always have to question my motives?

Her expression softened and she nodded in understanding. "Well I hope you enjoy this then." Amilee motioned towards the seat across from where she stood and I decided to just take it. But before I actually sat down, I remembered what Ryan had told me.

"Just a moment." I went to the front door and got the newspaper out of the mailbox and came back in, finally taking my seat. Amilee instantly grabbed my plate and began to scoop up some eggs.

"You like eggs and bacon?"

"Yes."

She smiled and added that to my plate along with a fresh cut up apple and some orange juice. She even was thoughtful enough and brought me a small cup of coffee. "Do you like it black?" she asked, looking towards me before she left it. I was still uneasy about how she was waiting on me right now.

Did she see herself as a waitress?

"No, I like a little bit of cream."

"Okay." With that she went over and grabbed a bit of my creamer from the fridge and added a bit to my coffee. When all was settled for me, she got her own plate and sat across from me. I watched her closely as she lowered her head and closed her eyes, I guess saying a prayer or something. Then she popped up and smiled, grabbing her fork and began to eat.

I sat the paper down, afraid it would ruin my appetite. So I decided to eat something first and then break the news to her then. I picked up my own fork and began to eat the food that she had prepared. I accidentally let a moan lightly as the savory food melted against my taste buds. The food was perfect.

I waited for her to say something as I felt embarrassed by the sound I just made, but she seemed to ignore it. Except for the small smile that formed on her face as she ate. But she never said a word about it.

We ended up finishing the breakfast in silence, until she finally spoke up. "So, what are we going to do about this?" she asked as she grabbed our plates and took it to the sink not too far from where I sat.

This is the part I didn't want to get to. Sighing, I grabbed the paper and opened it up to see a big picture of myself on the front page. "Nothing."

"Nothing?" she questioned in surprise. "I don't follow. We can just go get this whole marriage annulled, right?" I shook my head at her question and handed the paper out towards her to come and get. Amilee's brows furrowed as she walked back over to me and took it into her small hands.

"We can't. I don't know if you know this, but I'm pretty well known in the public's eyes. My engagement being broken off has already been spreading like wild fire, and apparently our marriage is now out in the open."

Amilee looked at me with concern, then looked down to the black and white print. A gasp escaped her lips as she saw the picture of myself. Luckily though, they didn't know the bride was her yet, so she was spared that much.

But it wasn't going to be long before that happened.

Author's Note:

Ask and you shall receive! Yay! I'm glad you all liked it! :D Makes me a happy camper! :D I made a longer chapter for you all because of the reviews! Thank you so much!

All reviews are welcome! So if ya want to tell me how this one was in the review box below, that would be okay! ;) Wink wink! Hint Hint! Haha

Off to the next chapter I go! Until next time!

LeRato