A Bride's Tangled Vows

by Dani Wade

  She managed a weak smile, then chastised herself for glancing at her father for his reaction.

  “And again I ask, what good has that done her?” George didn’t slow down even though Christina could feel anger spark in the men around the table. “Years spent at an invalid’s bedside, when she could have been earning her place in South Carolina society. But that’s where she’ll be in the end, thanks to her bloodline and now her marriage. In time, people will forget her common laborer background and see her as they should, as the wife of the Blackstone heir.”

  Christina gasped, his expectations cutting through the hard-earned self-respect of taking care of herself and others since college.

  Before she could gather herself, Aiden was around the table and towering over her father. “All that hard work did gain her something—a family that cares about her, unlike the people who donated the sperm and the egg. You aren’t a father—it’s a father’s job to protect his children, not tear them down.”

  Unused to being dominated, George opened his mouth. But Aiden didn’t give him a chance to speak. His mouth split into a predatory grin as he stared her father down. “So run on about your business. Christina is well taken care of, all without any effort on your part. And don’t expect any invitations to the manor. We prefer to keep our environment...pleasant.”

  The roar in her ears covered up George’s response, though it must have been weak considering the grins shared between the brothers. Aiden had defended her with a knight’s loyalty. As the Blackstone men surrounded her, tears welled for the first time since she’d seen her father across the room.

  Her defenders. Her protectors. Her comrades. Finally, family had found her.

  * * *

  Christina flopped onto her empty bed, stretching out as far as her body would let her. Nicole had a few night shifts for the next few days, allowing Christina the luxury of sleeping uninterrupted. She planned to enjoy it, no matter how lonely it might be. Curling over onto her side, she lay quietly in the glow of her bedside lamp. Though her mind craved rest, her body wouldn’t shut down, even after the hot bath she’d taken.

  The gentle drip of the soft rain outside should have calmed her, but instead, her mind spun. She wasn’t even sure what it was about Aiden that made her crave him so much. Those rare times when they worked together to solve a problem made her mind sing. His confession about his father and his attempt at reaching his mother made her heart ache. Even arguing with him had her adrenaline humming. More than anything, his smile, his touch, made her heart come alive. And his defense of her against her father’s criticism—she’d never forget it.

  Thoughts of him were always there, like a lingering presence at the back of her mind. But she’d distracted herself all afternoon by planning for the upcoming fair. She’d roped in some women to help her, made tons of phone calls, lists and plans, and then saw Jacob and Luke to the door when Aiden took them to the airport.

  He’d watched her all day, his gaze stroking her body as if his hands wished to do the same. He didn’t touch her, and he hadn’t since that last time. Yet she’d known his focus on her was carnal. He wanted her. Her body knew it and that knowledge left her tingly and aching. What would she do if he joined her in this bed once more, if he reached out for her?

  The response of her body was answer enough. If he came to her, she would take whatever he was willing to give. He was an addiction. As much as she wished he could love her, she would settle for less, just to have him one more time.

  Sad as that might be, it was the truth.

  From the time she was young, she’d dreamed of having someone who would want her for herself. Not because she fulfilled a role as their daughter. Not because of the money she could provide. Not because of the services she had to offer. Someone who wanted Christina, well, just because.

  Aiden wanted her for a lot of reasons. But when he held her in his arms, she felt as if he wanted her for herself. She simply wanted to feel that one more time. There were too many reasons why she couldn’t have him forever.

  A knock sounded on the door to the outer hallway. Christina stared at it for a moment, a feeling of inevitability settling over her. Just as she rose up on her elbows, the door opened. Aiden stepped inside, then closed the door with a firm click.

  His posture looked relaxed, his unbuttoned dress shirt showcasing the tight muscles along his abdomen and the rise and fall of his chest from his rapid breathing. Then he stalked forward, one slow step at a time. His hooded eyes bored into her, leaving her breathless and shaking.

  “What are you doing here?” she asked, jumping to her feet.

  “Don’t you know?”

  Forcing herself to push out her arm, she stopped him at arm’s length. “Aiden, we need to talk about this. I can’t—” she swallowed hard “—I can’t go back and forth. I need to know what we’re doing here.”

  Reaching out, he brushed her thick hair behind her ear, caressing his finger over the skin. A shiver worked its way over her neck and down her arms.

  “I’m not playing games, Christina. We both want each other. I, for one, cannot ignore it anymore.”

  She stared at his face, straining to see something, some answer to what was driving his passion. “So I’m just convenient. Is that it?”

  “Far from it, sweetheart. The way you make me feel isn’t convenient at all.”

  His glittering black eyes didn’t falter. Christina had a choice: she could take a risk or play it safe. With slow steps, she skirted the bed until she stood before him. Lifting to her tiptoes, she brushed her lips across his. Her sighing breath mingled with his.

  “I want you, Aiden,” she whispered, tucking her fear deep down inside where no one could see. Not even her.

  “And I want you, Christina. More than I ever thought possible.” He gently pushed her back onto the cool cotton of the comforter and crouched over her. “Remember, we’re in this together.”

  She was half-prepared for him to change his mind and pull away. He always pulled back from her, always found a way to distance himself. He would this time, too, somehow. But she was done holding back.

  “Please,” she whispered, giving herself permission to reach for him. “You are what I need.”

  With a growl, he drove forward, taking her mouth once more, sinking his tongue deep. He went from zero to sixty in a few seconds, as if he’d thrown off restraint along with his shirt. She could fight no more. Need was all-consuming. She had to have him, no matter what the aftermath.

  Aiden devoured her mouth with skill and devastation. First he rimmed her lips with his tongue, then delved deep to explore. He didn’t rush like the last time they were together. Instead, he lingered at her mouth, his body crowding over hers, his fists digging into the mattress on each side of her head. Like a gentle trap, his hold left her little freedom, but all the sustenance her soul could possibly need.

  He nibbled her lower lip, moaning low in his throat. Christina’s entire body came to attention, instantly taut from her chest to the soles of her feet. The ache to once more feel his hands on her skin was overwhelming.

  She returned his kiss with all the intensity building inside her. When that wasn’t enough, she arched her back, her body meeting his inch for inch. After long minutes he pulled back until they were barely touching, yet close enough for their breath to mingle.

  “I’m going to take you so, so slow, Christina, until I touch every part of you.” His breath brushed along her cheek. Though fear lingered, she forced herself to look him in the eye. She found his complete and total focus on her, as if whatever barrier he’d been holding up between them had been shattered.

  Excitement locked her breath in her throat for a moment, then it rushed back as her barriers completely collapsed. With both hands, she tunneled into his thick, brown hair and pulled his mouth back down to hers. If this was the only place he would touc
h her, that’s what she would take.

  Giving in to her demands, Aiden’s hands glided along her bare arms, savoring her skin in long strokes. He touched her over and over, as if he couldn’t get enough. Moving his hands up and along her neck to cup her jaw, he cradled her face once more for his kiss.

  “I have to feel you, Christina. I have to feel more of you,” he said, reaching for the hem of her tank top. Impatient, he pulled it over her head in one swipe, leaving her torso naked beneath his hot stare. She stretched, shamelessly offering herself to him, desperate for his touch.

  He gave it to her. His large hands cupped and shaped her breasts, teasing her nipples unmercifully. Stroking from her ribs up to the tips, she felt them tighten just for him. He rewarded her with licks and gentle bites until she couldn’t hold back the cries building in her throat. She craved warm skin and soft hair. Every touch filled the empty well inside her, the space that had been abandoned for so very long. Her hands weren’t enough. With no more inhibitions, she circled his lower back with her legs, trying to pull him down.

  As if their minds were linked, he bent to rub his bare chest along hers. She cried out in pleasure, arching in an attempt to keep contact with as much of him as possible. Her hands clutched at his back, savoring the feel of flexing muscles and hard ribs.

  With a growl, he stood. His gaze held hers as his hands moved to the zipper of his pants. She wanted to look as he revealed himself, eager to enjoy his body in all its glory, but she couldn’t tear her gaze from his. All that intensity, all that focus, for her.

  Rising to her knees, she sealed her mouth once more to his. He pulled her close while his hot hands caressed her back, traveling down to slip beneath the waistband of her pajama pants. The feel of him cupping and shaping her melted her all the way to her core. Before there had been fire; now she was an inferno.

  With a soft push, he tossed her back onto the bed and stripped off her pants. Her thighs spread wide, eager for attention. She thought he would enter her quickly, but that would have been too easy. Bending at the waist, he once more buried his face against her core to wreak havoc.

  Obliterating what little control she had left.

  Tongue and fingers played with devastating skill, driving her to the brink before Aiden pulled back. Her face burned as he reached for the little foil packet from his pants pocket, sheathing himself with ease.

  No family, no matter how much she might dream.

  Flexing his leanly muscled arms, he hooked his hands underneath her knees and pulled, dragging her to the edge of the bed, positioning her perfectly for his entry. His strength left her at once vulnerable and powerful. His urgency spoke of a desperate need. For her. For Christina. For the satisfaction her body could bring him.

  A satisfaction she was more than willing to give.

  For once uninhibited, she opened her legs wide, bending her knees to rest her heels on the edge of the bed. He leaned forward, guiding his hardness to her liquid heat. Eager, she lifted her hips, anxious for that first touch.

  It came too soon and not soon enough. He hissed as his flesh met hers, clenching his teeth. He pushed slowly inside, an inch in, then out again. Feeling every bit of pressure and fullness as he stretched her, Christina struggled to remain still. She wanted to feel every inch. But her core wouldn’t listen. Her inner muscles clenched around his invading length, stroking it with welcome.

  Aiden’s breath changed. He panted out her name, lungs struggling to keep up. Christina’s control shattered. Within minutes, her head thrashed from side to side, her hands grasping the sheets beneath her.

  Aiden’s lower body rocketed into overdrive, thrusting heavily within her, setting off explosion after explosion as sensation built to a fever pitch. All the while his lips clung to her nipples, multiplying the riot along her nerves a thousandfold.

  Within seconds, her orgasm burst through her, captivating her body and roaring through her mind. His hands clamped onto her shoulders and he buried himself as far as he could, then froze with an expression of stunned ecstasy. His groan drowned out her heartbeat as she savored every breath, every touch.

  Pride and satisfaction drifted through her euphoric state. Aiden collapsed across her stomach. Her fingers trailed along the heaving muscles of his back as she counted his heartbeats. Here was what she had craved for so long: this man, this moment, this passion.

  All had been more than she’d ever hoped for.

  Thirteen

  Aiden lay spooned around Christina’s back. He had never been the cuddling type. But he’d been drawn here with no other explanation than that...it felt right. The whole time they’d lain together, his hands had been moving like a slow, lazy river, stroking over whatever skin was within reach—her arms, back, hips, thighs, even demanding access to her breasts and stomach. He couldn’t stop.

  Beneath his touch, a fine tremble ran through Christina. Like a purring kitten, her body showed its appreciation, maybe even without her permission.

  He shouldn’t be lying here with her. Hell, he should never have come to her room. There was a certain practicality in his argument, but the bare truth? He couldn’t control himself. He’d never run into that with another woman. He’d always been able to walk away the day after. But now that he’d told himself he could have her, there was no going back. Despite the circumstances, he couldn’t wait to have her again.

  Her softly spoken words distracted him from the surges of lust in his veins.

  “What changed your mind?” she asked.

  “About what?” The deep notes of satisfaction in his voice were unfamiliar.

  “About being with me?”

  He could tell from her hesitation that she didn’t really want to pursue this line of conversation, so he admired her for sticking to her guns. If they were going to be intimate with each other, she deserved to know some of what he was thinking. Better to know the why of it and that it would end, than to get her heart all tangled up in something that wouldn’t last.

  He sighed, his long fingers squeezing her hip before moving up to rest at her waist. “Haven’t you learned anything about me yet, Christina?”

  “What do you mean?” she asked, stiffening against him.

  Not that he blamed her. “I’m one of those unpredictable types who flies off the handle and lives to regret it later.” Like the first time they’d been together. “What happened between us last time wasn’t your fault and wasn’t my fault. It was a product of this attraction between us.”

  As if eager to demonstrate, his hips surged against her, making very clear that the attraction he referred to hadn’t diminished in the slightest. If anything, he felt hungrier than he had half an hour ago.

  Lifting up, he let her fall to her back so that he crouched over her upper body. She bravely met his gaze, turbulent eyes looking both afraid and exhilarated. Aiden didn’t do things by half measures. He could be controlled, as in his dealings with Balcher, but he wouldn’t apologize for the passions constantly churning beneath the surface, just waiting for an opening to burst free.

  “We’re going to be here, in this house, together, for a while yet. Despite how this all came about, we have the same goals—to take care of Lily and make sure the mill remains viable. There’s no way I can ignore the way I feel around you in the meantime. So unless you tell me this isn’t what you want, I think we should just accept this as a connection we both can benefit from in a bad situation.”

  Breath catching in her throat, Christina went very still for long moments. Aiden was being honest, something that wasn’t always appreciated. They were both eager to protect themselves, but there was no reason why they couldn’t enjoy the desire between them while it lasted.

  He would just have to keep it from going any deeper than that.

  * * *

  Christina jerked awake from a deep sleep, her heart racing, body po
ised to run. The suspicion that she’d forgotten something important pounded through her brain. What was it? What was the matter?

  She glanced toward the clock, only to find the view blocked by a bare chest with a sprinkling of hair. As she watched, Aiden rolled to his side, his dark eyes blinking languidly in her direction. “Morning, beautiful,” he murmured.

  Was it the sleep-roughened voice or the morning stubble that melted her all the way to her core? Or simply the fact that it was morning and he was still within touching distance? What a way to wake up—

  Morning! Sitting up, Christina spied the late hour on the bedside clock and shot out of bed.

  “Christina, where are you going?”

  “I’m late,” she said as she closed herself in the bathroom. She didn’t allow herself more than a quick swipe of the brush through her hair and use of her toothbrush before she was back out again.

  Aiden had migrated to the edge of the bed as she swept past. She thought he would ignore her in favor of lying back down. Instead, he followed her to the dressing room. Besides a cabinet of gowns and bedding for Lily, the dressing room now served as Christina’s closet. She pulled out a set of scrubs and struggled not to blush as she changed her panties.

  “I can’t believe I slept so late,” she said, trying to take the focus off what she was doing. Which was very difficult, considering she’d never had a man watch her dress, much less one who stared with the intensity of a painter memorizing her curves.

  “It isn’t surprising,” Aiden said. Just as she turned to ask why, he teased, “After all, I did keep you up pretty late.”

  That was an understatement. He’d come to her room after ten last night, and had woken her up twice more after they’d turned out the lights. Not that his insatiability bothered her. She’d been willing and just as eager.

  No, every bit of tiredness was worth the incredible experience of last night. Except now her blush suffused not only her cheeks but her entire body, as well. But really, was there any point in being shy about it? What had happened between them in her bed wasn’t something she’d willingly give up.