The Billionaire's Reluctant Bride (The Blushing Brides Series Book 3)

by Elle E Kay

  He hopped onto the quad and she followed suit holding onto his waist. Zach made haste back toward the main house.

  He’d barely stopped the ATV before he was running to the door.

  “You’re keeping something from me.”

  The wind picked up, and she heard the shutters banging.

  He rubbed his brow. “The hurricane is coming. I feel it. It's not supposed to hit us, but I think it must’ve veered this way. I should’ve double-checked before we left the house this morning.”

  “We’re stuck on this island in a hurricane?” She gnawed on her bottom lip.

  “Let’s check the radar and see what the experts are saying. My gut instinct could be wrong.”

  She gave him a skeptical look as the lights flickered when they entered the kitchen.

  “Don’t worry we have an emergency generator.”

  “It’s not the power I’m worried about.” She twisted her rings.

  He hurried to his office, opened the door, and sat down at his desk, surrounded by half a dozen computer monitors. “We’re safe here. I’ll keep you safe.”

  “Okay.” She glanced around the room, eyes widening. “You didn’t show me this room during the tour.”

  “I rarely share it. Like the tree house, it’s my space. Completely, as in I let no one in it, except you now that you’re my wife. Nobody can come in here. Not even to clean. It must stay locked at all times. Same with my home and work offices in California.” He raked his fingers through his hair. “It’ll take a moment to get these back up and running after that power blip.”

  “Why so much secrecy?”

  “Company secrets.”

  “The infamous Fractal algorithms?”

  “Among other things.”

  “We’re powered up. Let me see here.” He focused on the screen as he opened the NOAA website. “The good news is that Florida may be spared a direct hit, but the bad news is we’re getting it instead. We only have a few hours to prepare.”

  “You loaded that website quick. I think you have better internet here than I have at home.”

  “The fiber optics cost an arm and a leg, but it’s worth it for me considering my profession. We don’t have time to chat about connection speeds though. How are you with a screw gun?”

  “Terrible. I thought you said we were safe here.”

  “We will be once we board up the windows.”

  “Do we have what we need for that?”

  “I’m a boy scout. Always prepared.”

  “You forget who you’re talking to. You were never a boy scout. Show me how to work the screw gun, and I’ll help you.”

  He got a screw gun from the garage and carried out the plywood two boards at a time. He kept it on hand for storm preparations, but this would be the first time he needed to board the place up himself. Considering he’d sent the staff away, it was the only option available. Once he had boards set out around the house, he set the torque on the screw gun and showed Addison how to use it. Then he set up two ladders side by side, it wasn’t an ideal way to accomplish the task, but they didn’t have a lot of time to do things properly. He held the boards while she screwed them in. He hadn’t planned to spend their honeymoon on storm prep, but at least his bride wasn’t whining like a child. He thought about Nikki and a deep sigh escaped.

  “What was that for?” She stopped what she was doing, glared at him, and cleared her throat.

  “What was what for?”

  “That exasperated sigh. I’m doing my best. I don’t need the attitude.”

  “It had nothing to do with you.”

  “Sure, it didn’t.”

  He groaned. “I was thinking of someone else.”

  “Whatever.”

  “I was wrong anyway.” His words had a bite.

  “About?”

  “I was thinking how different you were from Nikki. How she’d be acting like a child. I guess you aren’t so different.”

  “So, now I’m a child?” She climbed down the ladder. “Wait one minute, Zachary. Who is Nikki and how did she enter this conversation?”

  “Nikki is my ex-fiancée.”

  “You were planning to marry someone else?” She set the screw gun on the top of the ladder with a little too much force, and her eyes flashed. “This didn’t seem worth mentioning before the wedding?”

  “I thought you knew. It was public knowledge.”

  “It might come as a surprise to you, mister big shot, but not everyone follows the news of your exploits in the media. I had a life of my own.”

  “I didn’t mean it like that.” He approached her, but she turned away from him. He spoke to her back. “Please, Addison, I apologize, but we need to get this done. If we don’t, we won’t have a safe place to ride out the storm.” He glanced out over the ocean at the waves now beating the shoreline with a force he’d never seen on the tiny cay.

  She turned to face him. “We’ll continue this conversation after we finish getting the house ready.” She climbed the ladder and looked down at him. “You’re not off-the-hook yet.”

  “Thank you for helping.” He forced a smile. “You’re the best.”

  “Don’t suck up. I’m a long way from forgiving you.”

  They sat on opposite sides of the room. He played with his weather radio while she played a game of solitaire.

  “The house has been through hurricanes before. It’s only a category two, so it shouldn’t be too terrible.”

  “The ocean could swallow up the whole island.”

  “It’s not a tsunami, sweetie.”

  “My name is Addison.”

  “I’m sorry. Let’s talk about this thing between us, okay?”

  “I’m not ready to talk.”

  “Please, Addy.”

  A tear slid down her cheek, and he had enough. He took her hands and pulled her out of the chair. “Talk to me. I can’t take this.”

  She tugged her hands free from him. “Why didn’t you tell me about this Nikki girl? How long ago did the two of you break-up?”

  “The answer will sound bad.”

  “How long?”

  “About two months ago.”

  “I’m the rebound girl. You married your rebound.”

  “That’s not fair. You know I don’t think of you that way.”

  “I know nothing about you, Zach. We haven’t spoken since high school except the occasional email or social media posts.”

  “Would you believe me if I said I don’t have feelings for her anymore?”

  “No.”

  “I caught her with Greg. He was my lawyer. They were fooling around in my conference room.”

  Her face was streaked with tears. “It’s still not all right that you didn’t tell me about her.”

  He didn’t know how to make the situation better. He’d hurt her, and he was at a loss for how to fix it. “I didn’t think she was important.” Once again he tried to touch her, but she pulled away and stalked across the room.

  “How can I make things better?”

  “You can’t fix this. I need time.”

  He groaned. “Whatever you need. If you want time, I’ll give you time.” The wind whistled louder, and the lights flickered again. He rose to his feet and ambled over to where she sat. “I know I should’ve told you. I’m sorry.”

  A loud bang made her jump before the house went dark. “That was probably the power station.” He rummaged in a cabinet for some candles, lit one, and placed it on a table nearby. Then he held his arms open, fearful of further rejection, but wanting to offer Addison comfort as the storm bore down on them. He could see her reluctance, but she came to him and he held her near, not wanting the storm to end for fear she would no longer need him. “The lights should come back on soon if the generator kicks on as it’s designed to do.” He placed a kiss on the top of her head and guided her over to the couch. “If this gets much worse, we might need to use the storm shelter.”

  She sat up straight and met his gaze. “You have one, and
we’re not using it?”

  “I hoped we wouldn’t need it.” He pointed to an area rug. “There are steps under there.”

  She hurried to the rug and pulled it out of the way. “I think we should go down there now.”

  He bent down beside her, unhooked the latch, released the stairs, and then walked back over to blow out the candle. “After you, my dear.”

  “Shouldn’t you go first?” She didn’t complain about his use of an endearment, so he knew she must be terrified.

  “No. I have to put the stairs back and close the latch to keep the storm from being able to pull us out of the shelter.”

  “You’re not making me feel any safer.”

  Chapter 8

  T he hours ticked by slowly as she stared at the ceiling of the storm shelter. “This space is too small. I’m getting claustrophobic.”

  “You’re the one who wanted to come down here.”

  “Fine. Blame me. You’re the one who built it this small.”

  “Are you nearly through berating me?”

  She closed her eyes and clenched her fists. Was she being unfair? Was it unreasonable to expect that he would disclose his previous engagement before they married? She didn’t think so, but it wouldn‘t help their marriage for her to stay angry. “I’m sorry. I may be blowing this out of proportion, but I need some time to get over it, okay?”

  “It wasn’t intentional, Addison. Maybe I should’ve known to mention her, but I didn’t. The omission wasn’t meant to cause you pain.”

  Was that what she was feeling, pain? Yes. It hurt, but if she was completely honest, what she felt was envy. He’d chosen the other woman first. If his ex-fiancée hadn’t messed up, Addison wouldn’t be here now with these rings on her finger. She had no right to be envious when they hadn’t spoken in years. It wasn’t as if she’d had a claim on him. Even now, she refused to let him touch her. Despite all that, she was the one sulking. How must he feel?

  “You should’ve told me, but I know I’m overreacting. I can’t seem to help it.”

  “Please sit with me.”

  She sat up and scooted over to him. His arm wrapped around her automatically, and she found his closeness comforting despite her emotional turmoil.

  She hadn’t meant to fall asleep, but she awakened to Zach stroking her hair. The sensations his touch provoked were pleasant, so she didn’t want him to stop. “How long was I out?”

  “About an hour.”

  She sat up. “I’m sorry.”

  “Don’t be. It’s been a hectic week. You must’ve needed the rest.”

  “I couldn’t sleep last night.”

  He cocked an eyebrow, but she didn’t elaborate. There was no reason to burden him with her fears of inadequacy.

  “I’m going upstairs to check the radar to see how much of the storm has passed. Wait down here.”

  “I want to come up, too.”

  “I’d prefer you didn’t, but if you must, stay in the house. Do not, under any circumstances, venture outside.”

  She saluted him and followed him up the stairs.

  Addison watched as Zach hauled the air-mattress down the stairs into the storm shelter.

  She shifted her weight from one foot to the other as he inflated it. “We can’t fit two of those down here. Shouldn’t we sleep upstairs in our bedrooms?”

  “No. We shouldn’t. The storm won’t be easing up for hours yet, so it’s best for us to be down here until it does.”

  “Are we going to sleep in shifts?”

  “No, darling. This mattress is plenty large enough for us to share. I think we’ve established that I will not force myself on you, so you might as well get a full night’s rest.”

  “Okay.” There was no way she’d get any restful sleep with him inches away, but arguing over it was pointless.

  Zach removed the backpack he’d slung over his shoulder and reached inside, pulling out a worn leather Bible. “I thought you might want this.”

  “Is this yours?”

  “It is, but it’s not the one I use every day, so you can keep it if you want.”

  “Maybe I’ll hold on to it for a few days. I left my Bible in Pennsylvania.”

  They sat together and took turns reading. Addison marveled at how different things were with Zach than they had been with Seth. It hadn’t occurred to her that she might marry a man who wanted to read God’s word. When the night grew late, Zach extinguished the light and lay beside her on the air-mattress.

  She turned away from her groom and stared at the concrete wall. It was quiet in the shelter, so much so she could barely make out the hum of the generator. Every so often, she would hear the wind whistling as the storm continued to pound the tiny cay, but for the most part Zach’s steady breathing was the only thing she heard. There was a gulf between them on the mattress, and it seemed like a metaphor for the vast chasm separating them. It was her fault, but she was afraid to take the steps to cross the distance and mend the rift.

  Rolling over to face him, she studied his features. To say that he was handsome was an understatement. Any woman in her right mind would be thrilled to trade places with Addison, and none of them would be likely to reject his advances. She wondered if she was too emotionally damaged to be any use as anyone’s wife, let alone Zach’s. Closing her eyes, she once again attempted to let sleep claim her, and she must’ve drifted off since the next time she opened her eyes Zach was watching her with those dreamy blue eyes she adored.

  Mouthwash would’ve been nice to have at that moment, so she could kiss her husband good morning without scaring him off.

  Zach broke eye contact and got to his feet. “I will see if I can make us some coffee.”

  “All right.” She held the sheet to her chest despite being fully dressed.

  “I’ll be back in a minute.”

  “Okay.”

  A few minutes later he returned with coffee and bagels. “The radar shows the storm is still over us, but nearly half of it has passed.”

  “Wow. It must be a large storm if it’s only half over.”

  “As long as it doesn’t slow down, it should be gone within the next sixteen hours or so.”

  “I’d like to go upstairs and brush my teeth if you think it’s safe.”

  “It should be fine. I’ll come with you.”

  He could no longer hear the hum of the generator which meant no internet. Since they didn’t have a cell tower, his mobile phone wasn’t an option. He stood and pushed his chair under the desk with more force than necessary.

  It would only take a minute to inspect the house for damage. Leaving Addison at the kitchen table with a glass of water, he moved quickly. So far, only a small amount of water had trickled in under the backdoor. The garage hadn’t fared as well. The water was knee high, and the equipment had shifted. There wouldn’t be much chance of saving anything.

  Three minutes later, he was searching for Addison who’d disappeared on him. After frantically checking the house, he looked outside and spotted her on the beach. His stomach dropped to the floor. Running to the door, he shouted “Addison!”

  She was sitting in the sand by the edge of the water, too far away to hear him. The wind and waves were picking up again, but she seemed oblivious.

  He ran to her side and fought for control of his racing heart.

  She stood to face him.

  “Addison, we’re in the eye. It isn’t over.”

  As if to punctuate his words, the wind picked up, and she lost her footing. He reached for her arm, but she brushed him away. “I’m fine.” She took a few steps.

  The wind pulled the roof off a shed near the house and spun it in the air. He grabbed her by the waist, tossed her over his shoulder, and ran toward the house. Once inside, he set her down and pinned her between his body and the back door. “I told you to stay inside!”

  “I don’t take orders well.” The glint in her eyes was defiant.

  “Obviously.” He was breathing hard.

  She sucked
in a breath. “You didn’t have to manhandle me.”

  “Were you trying to get yourself killed?”

  “It was beautiful when I went outside. The ocean was calm, and the sun was shining.”

  “You’re not a child. You know how hurricanes work. When you’re in the storm's eye it’s calm, but it doesn’t last and it isn’t safe to venture outside.”

  He could see some of the fire go out of her. She stared sullenly down at the ground.

  “Look at me, Addison.” She did. “Do you hate me that much that you’d rather get yourself killed than be with me?”

  “You know I don’t hate you.”

  “What do you feel for me?”

  “I… I… well… um…”

  “Never mind. Why don’t you show me instead?” He lowered his mouth to hers and kissed her with all the passion he’d been holding back. There was no mistaking her response, she might harbor reservations, but she definitely wasn’t frigid. His lips moved to her neck. Her skin tasted like the sea. The reminder of her risking her life and going out by the ocean brought him back to reality. “Don’t scare me like that again.” His words were spoken quietly, but his irritation couldn’t be disguised. He left her standing there and went to his temporary bedroom.

  His exit was abrupt, but necessary. He sat on the edge of the bed he hadn’t bothered to make. If he was going to keep his promise to give her time, then he had to temper his physical response, and he couldn’t do that with her looking at him like a besotted teenager. The woman was a contradiction. Ice and fire. She’d kissed him back with far greater intensity than he’d expected, proving she was attracted to him. There had to be more behind her request to wait, and he was determined to understand it, but for now, he needed to go back downstairs where he could keep an eye on her, while keeping his hands off her. It was a challenging proposition.

  The storm was picking up in intensity. She wondered if she should return to the storm shelter. Where had Zach gone?

  Her emotions were raging. Everything she’d believed about this marriage was turned on its side with one intense kiss. Her thoughts of a passionless marriage dissipated as he kissed her with an intensity she hadn’t known possible.