If they decided to give their marriage another try, there would only be one of two possible endings: they would either move forward together, or they would allow the pain from the past to consume them, and their marriage would become a living hell, one they would both come to regret.
Chapter 6
Caitlin regarded both men through lowered lashes. Clayton was sitting across from her in what used to be her father’s favorite recliner. Dex stood gazing out the living room window. However, his expression was a dead giveaway that any objects outside the window were not where his concerns were. She was more than sure that like her, he was very interested in what Clayton had to say.
Nervously, she locked her fingers together and rested her hands in her lap. Jordan was spending some time with Ms. Logan and her granddaughter, so there were only the three of them in the quiet house. Except for the shuffling of the papers Clayton was studying, and for the ticking of the grandfather clock across the room, no noise broke the strained silence.
Clayton looked up and met Caitlin’s worried expression with a reassuring one. “We might as well get this over with,” he said, smiling. “As much as I have enjoyed all of your company, especially that of my darling niece, I do have a job to return to. My plane leaves this afternoon.” He gave her a wink. “Don’t look so nervous, Caitlin. This is all very informal. I’m merely here as a neutral party.”
Dex made a loud noise that sounded suspiciously like a snort.
Clayton laughed. “It seems my brother obviously thinks otherwise. Dex, how about joining us,” he called over his shoulder.
Caitlin watched Dex turn from the window and walk toward them. Surprise flickered in her eyes when instead of taking the chair not far from where Clayton was sitting, he came and sat next to her on the sofa.
He sat so close, the material of his jeans pressed against her thighs not covered by her shorts. Her heart skipped a beat. His nearness was having an arousing effect on her. The palms of her hands were damp and a tingling sensation began spreading throughout her entire body.
“Now then,” Clayton said, eyeing them both speculatively. “Your father was right, Caitlin. Legally, you and Dex are still married. Therefore, to deal with your situation the two of you can either continue on with your marriage by picking up where you left off four years ago, or contact your own attorneys and file for a divorce. However, if you do decide to file for a divorce it won’t be as cut and dried as the last time because of Jordan. There will be the issues of child support and custody rights to deal with.”
Caitlin spoke softly. “I don’t want to cause any unnecessary problems. There’s no need for much child support. The sale of Dad’s printing shop should bring in enough money for me and Jordan to live comfortably. And I do have a job in Fort Worth to return to in the fall.”
She shifted nervously in her seat. “And as far as custody rights, I’ll agree to whatever visitation privileges Dex wants. I’d never do anything to deliberately keep him and Jordan apart.”
Clayton nodded. He then fixed his gaze on his brother. “And just what is it that you want, Dex?” he asked.
Dex stood slowly and walked back to the window. Caitlin had addressed the issues that would only be pertinent if they chose to get a divorce. “It would probably be a lot simpler if you were to ask me what I didn’t want, Clayton.”
Clayton rolled his brown eyes to the ceiling. “Very well, what is it you don’t want?”
Dex turned. His gaze held Caitlin within its dark scope. He couldn’t help noticing a slight shiver pass through her body with his close scrutiny. She looked as beautiful and radiant as the morning sun. The velvety softness of her cheeks reminded him of an African violet. The lips that he had so thoroughly kissed last night were now parted slightly as if in an open invitation for him to do so again. Her hair hung loose about her shoulders, and she looked incredibly sexy in the outfit she was wearing. He walked toward her slowly, coming to a stop directly in front of her.
When he finally spoke, his words came out clear and firm. “What I don’t want is a divorce.”
Shocked into silence, Caitlin’s eyes widened. “B-but why? What possible reason could there be for you to not want a divorce? Just last night you said our marriage was beyond repair.”
Dex’s gaze slid from Caitlin to his brother. “If you don’t mind, Clayton, I’d like a few words alone with my wife.”
Caitlin was stunned at the possessive tone of Dex’s voice when he referred to her as his wife. Although it appeared that legally she was, she never expected him to ever say it like he didn’t mind it. She thought he would be upset upon finding out they were still actually married.
“In other words, Dex—” Clayton chuckled, breaking into Caitlin’s thoughts “—you want me to get lost for a while.”
A smile curved Dex’s lips. “Your ability to figure things out amazes me.”
A few minutes later Clayton had left them alone to go upstairs to pack. Caitlin watched as Dex sat in the chair his brother had vacated minutes earlier. He stretched his long legs out in front of him, and leisurely crossed them at the booted ankles.
“Now to answer your question, Caitlin, there’re numerous reasons why we shouldn’t get a divorce, and the foremost one should be obvious, our daughter. Staying together wouldn’t be for either one of us, it would be for Jordan. I think we owe her that. She’s too young to understand what’s going on. All she knows at the moment is that I’m here. In her mind, my appearance into her life is permanent. She doesn’t have the faintest idea what a divorce means. But we do, don’t we? Although neither of us came from broken homes, we’ve heard numerous stories about the scarring of children that do. I don’t want that for our daughter. Do you?”
Caitlin shook her head as her hope sank dejectedly. Dex didn’t want them to continue their marriage because of any feelings he still had for her, but because of their daughter. “A child is no reason for two people to remain married if they don’t love each other, Dex.”
Dex’s eyes narrowed. “I disagree. If both individuals want what’s best for their child, they’ll be willing to sacrifice just about anything. Even their own happiness.”
Caitlin sighed. He was admitting that he was willing to sacrifice his happiness by remaining married to her for Jordan’s sake. “It won’t work.”
“It’ll work, if we make it work. You’ve had Jordan for three years. All I’m asking is a chance to be a part of her life. Maybe four years ago we did act hasty and rushed into things, but now the situation is different. We have a child, Caitlin, a child that, one way or another, I’m going to be a father to. I don’t want to be a part-time dad, but a full-time one, and I won’t settle for anything less.”
Gazing directly into his eyes, Caitlin drew a deep breath and asked, “And just what are you proposing?”
When he spoke, Dex’s voice was deeper and huskier than before. “What I propose is that starting today we put the past behind us and start over. There’s no way we can pretend that part of our life didn’t happen, but we can move on and not look back.”
Stunned dark eyes held Dex’s gaze. “That’s impossible! You hate me.”
A deep scowl settled over Dex’s features. “That’s not true. I don’t hate you.”
Caitlin stood. Placing hands on her hips, she glared at him. “You may as well. You still harbor resentment for what I did. How can you expect me to give our marriage another try when I know how you feel? No matter what you say, Dex, I know the anger and hurt is still there. Those feelings couldn’t have dissolved overnight.”
Dex sighed, rubbing his fingers to his temple. “My feelings are something I have to deal with. In time, I’ll come to terms with what happened between us.”
“And what if you can’t? You said I’m the woman who betrayed you, remember? As far as you’re concerned, I’m the one you feel rejected you, and the one who made promises of love and commitments, then broke them all. I’m also the woman who had your child and, according to what you believe, did
n’t have the decency to contact you to let you know I was pregnant. Knowing what you think of me, how can you expect me to live with you again as your wife?”
Dex pushed himself to a standing position and faced her. “I’m not promising miracles, Caitlin. But I am willing to give our marriage another chance, if you are. I can honestly admit the blame of our breakup wasn’t entirely your fault. I’ve been too hurt and angry to realize that I, in part, was responsible for what happened between us. We had met less than two weeks before we married. There were a number of things that I could’ve done, like being more supportive and less pushy. I could’ve weathered your father’s disapproval of me more diplomatically by understanding you were his only child, and that his life had been centered around you. I could have taken it less personal.”
He pushed his hands deep into his pockets. “We can both look back and say if only we had handled things differently, but doing so won’t turn back the hands of time. I believe we can make another go at things because we have something very special going for us. We both love our daughter very much and want what’s best for her. And we can use our time together to get to know each other without feeling rushed.” Dex hesitated, then smiled smoothly. “That kiss last night proves we’re still attracted to each other. So what do we have to lose?”
Caitlin shook her head, fighting the urge to grab Dex and shake him. Didn’t he know that sexual attraction was no basis to continue their marriage? A marriage had to be based on love. A lot of marriages failed when held together merely for the sake of a child. And to make matters worse, she knew at that very moment she still loved Dex, and had never stopped loving him.
When she’d decided to end their marriage, she’d also ended her only chance at happiness, because he was the only man she could and would ever love.
Pain darkened her expression. Telling him how she felt was the last thing she would do. Doing so would have her heart at his mercy, and she didn’t want that. It hurt her to know he was only willing to continue their marriage because he felt an obligation to see that Jordan got a normal family life.
“Well, what’s it going to be, Caitlin?”
She frowned. “If I agree to continue our marriage, just what will you expect from me?”
Dex’s eyes continued to hold hers. “I’ll expect no more from you than I’ll expect from myself. Marriage is like a partnership. The both of us should give everything we have to make it work.”
“Will it be a marriage in name only?”
“No. I want you to be a wife to me in every way, and that includes sharing my bed. We should resume our marriage with the full intentions of things working out. Therefore, neither of us should hold back on anything. We’re both adults, with normal, healthy physical appetites.”
Caitlin’s stomach began doing somersaults. Their steamy kiss last night had made her realize just how much she ached for Dex. Long after she had gone up to bed, her body still longed for his touch. He had stirred up memories inside of her. Now the thought that he wanted them to plunge head-on into physical intimacy made the ache inside of her that much more urgent and made her doubts and fears that much more acute. There would be passion in their marriage, but not love. Could she live with him from day to day, sharing his bed, knowing how he really felt about her? And that the only reason he remained married to her was because of their child?
Caitlin released a heavy sigh. What choice did she have? By being Jordan’s father, Dex had certain rights. He had made it clear that he intended to become deeply involved in his daughter’s life, which meant, technically, he would also be involved in hers. If she refused to go along with what he was proposing, would he take her to court to gain custody of Jordan? Could she risk the chance of him doing that? Besides, wasn’t it time for Jordan to have her father in her life?
“All right, Dex,” she said, meeting his gaze. “I’m willing to give our marriage another try.”
Dex nodded. “You do understand that we’ll both have to make concessions, especially about where we’ll live. I’m willing to move to Fort Worth if living there is important to you.”
Caitlin was surprised by his offer. She knew how close he was to his family. He had told her when they’d first met that one of the things he regretted about going to Australia was the time he would be away from them. “No. Living in Fort Worth isn’t important to me. I can find a teaching job just about anywhere.”
“Does that mean you’re willing to move to Houston with me?”
“Yes.”
“And are you willing to be my wife in every way?”
She knew what he was asking. “No.”
Dex’s brows lifted. “No?”
“No. I don’t think we should rush into anything. Especially the part about us sharing a bed. I want the decision of when we resume the intimate part of our marriage to be mine, and not yours.”
Dex stared at her. He started to disagree, then changed his mind. If that was what she wanted, he would go along with it. But after the kiss they had shared last night, he wondered how he would handle being around her and not being able to touch her. “All right, Caitlin. It will be your decision when we sleep together again.”
Caitlin was glad he hadn’t fought her on that. She would need plenty of time to get adjusted to the idea that Dex was still her husband.
“Now that we have all that settled, let’s seal our agreement with a kiss,” Dex said.
Caitlin saw a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth and knew he thought he had her just where he wanted her. But she had news for him. He would soon find out she could play just as hard as he did.
“All right,” she said blandly. She walked up to him, but before he could reach out and touch her, she gave him a chaste peck on the cheek.
Dex grabbed her arm. “Hey, that’s not what I wanted, Caitlin.”
“But that’s all you’re getting, Dex Madaris,” she countered, giving him an all-accusing glare.
Dex’s eyes widened in surprise at how she had just stood up to him again. During the two weeks that they were together at Whispering Pines, she had been accommodating to his every whim. He couldn’t retain the grin touching his features. Sometime during the past four years, Caitlin had grown into a gutsy woman. He had a feeling she wouldn’t be as accommodating as she used to be. He would just have to work on that, and would enjoy every minute breaking down her resistance. He was looking forward to seducing his wife.
“Wrong, Caitlin,” he said, pulling her closer. “That’s not all I’m getting.”
Before she could react, Dex’s mouth covered hers. His kiss was urgent. It was warm and demanding as their tongues met in an exchange so stimulating, so frenzied, Caitlin was immediately consumed with desire. Her lips moved eagerly beneath his and she lifted her arms and encircled his neck. Dex pulled her closer to his hard frame, his hand gently pressing her more intimately to him.
Somewhere in the back of Caitlin’s mind she remembered they still had a guest in the house who, like last night, could pop up anytime. She pushed herself out of Dex’s arms.
Dex lifted his head and looked down at her, his eyes glazed with desire. He shook his head, clearing it. He’d been completely held captive by the sweetness of Caitlin’s mouth. The taste of her would remain with him the rest of the day. Reaching up, he touched her swollen lips with the tip of his finger.
“Your mouth can’t handle too many of my kisses, can it?”
Caitlin’s gaze rested on his lips and, without thinking, she replied saucily, “My mouth can handle as many kisses as you care to give it.”
Dex chuckled at her sassy words of confidence. “You think so? Would you care to prove it?”
Caitlin took a deep breath. She was slightly dismayed at how easily Dex could arouse her to the point of making her forget that besides being physically attracted to each other, they had nothing going for them other than the love of their daughter. That wasn’t completely true. Unknown to him, he still had her love; a love that unlike his, had survived the test
of time.
“Maybe some other time, Dex.”
Dex’s mouth curved upward. “Is that a promise?”
Caitlin stiffened at his words. “Haven’t you learned by now that I break any promises I make?”
The smile on Dex’s face vanished instantly. He cupped her chin roughly with his hand. “Why can’t you just leave well enough alone?” he asked sharply. “There’s nothing wrong with making promises as long as you intend to keep them.”
He quickly released her then regarded her resignedly. “How can you expect me to put the past behind us when you can’t?”
It was only after Caitlin had heard the door slam behind Dex, that she realized she’d screwed up what had started out as a promising new beginning.
Corinthians Avery nervously sat in the plush reception area on the executive floor of Remington Oil. Although she was looking forward to the meeting with the company’s board of directors, she couldn’t stop the butterflies floating around in her stomach.
Her gaze skimmed approvingly over her outfit. Knowing she had this early morning meeting, she had taken the extra time needed to look her best, conveying an aura of total professionalism. She knew the navy-blue tailored suit, with its straight skirt, did wonders, and outlined the slimness of her five-foot, eight-inch figure. Her legs and feet were encased in ultrasheer black hose and navy leather pumps.
Her hairstylist had given her hair a totally new look. Gone was the long thick black hair that she often wore in a French braid. Instead she had a chic short style that was curled around her chocolate-colored face. Her makeup was flawless, thanks to the teachings of her best friend, Brenna, who was a former model.
Satisfied with her appearance, Corinthians slanted the man sitting next to her a sidelong glance, wondering if he shared her nervousness. She inwardly laughed. Adam Flynn, senior exploration manager for Remington Oil, had been in the business much too long to get nervous. It was well known that he had worked for the company a lot longer than her age of twenty-nine years. It was also a known fact that he was a personal friend of S. T. Remington.
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