by Sam Crescent
Tess listened to Grace talk.
“Duncan isn’t a bad man. I know he has his faults. Who doesn’t? There is something between you two. I don’t think you should leave him alone, yet.”
“I don’t know what you want me to do?” Tess handed over the carrot.
“Be yourself, and don’t change who you are. Duncan may not know it yet, but you’re different. How long have you known him?”
“Two weeks.”
“In the last two weeks he’s been different. Think about that. Now, would you like some pancakes to put you on ‘til dinner?”
Tess nodded.
Could Duncan really care about her? The way Grace spoke it seemed he did. Was she getting mixed messages?
Tess mentally shook herself. This had nothing to do with caring and everything to do with the fact that she’d been a virgin and he didn’t like it. Regardless of what he said, she’d seen the truth that night.
She recalled how humiliated she felt last night at his horrible words and actions. She cut off her thoughts trying to concentrate on what Grace was saying and doing.
Any misguided thoughts about her husband caring about her welfare needed to be crushed. Otherwise that is exactly how she’d end up if she was to start caring for her husband, crushed.
Chapter Thirteen
Later that day, Duncan was looking out of his study window to see Tess walking round the grounds with his head man, Gerald. The couple were laughing and pointing to certain plants or flowers around his garden. She looked happier than the last time he’d seen her. Gerald bent down and picked up a flower. He handed it to Tess. She smiled at the older man, ad then they carried on walking.
He knew Gerald was smitten with Tess. The older man was easily charmed. If she knew anything about flowers or gardening she’d be his new best friend. Grace and Gerald had really taken to her, and it had only been a day.
Last night kept running through his mind. Even as he was finishing up a few bits of work she kept invading his mind.
How did she do it? What was it about her that captured him?
She seemed to be this little angel whom everyone adored. He couldn’t find a fault with her. Everything about her was hard to believe. He’d really spent too much time being cynical. The only reason she’d agreed to be his wife was to protect her father.
To think they’d never have met if it hadn’t been for her father’s greed. Duncan didn’t know whether to send him a gift basket or curse the man. Until she entered his life everything was neat and organised. Now, he didn’t know what to do with his own life.
She truly surprised him in everything she did. Her stunning looks continued to blow him away, and to think that with all that beauty she had still been a virgin. It was an unbelievable combination. The more he thought about her innocence the easier it was for him to accept it. After the shock of last night Duncan had found himself liking the fact Tess had been a virgin. He’d been her first, and if it was left to him he’d be her only lover. He needed to make a more stable position for himself in her life. Duncan needed to make her love him. For her to depend on him.
Ever since his parents’ marriage had fallen apart he’d made sure he was in control of everything.
He glanced over at his beautiful wife as she walked through the gardens and vowed she’d have all the romance she needed to make her love him. She’d never be able to walk away from him. Tess would have a wedding night to remember if it was the last thing he did. All of his good intentions and he’d screwed up last night. Duncan knew what his mistakes had been. He knew how to make them right. Soon, she’d be carrying his heir and the final condition of his father’s will would be complete.
Duncan turned away for a split second at the thought of his father’s will. Was it even worth his time and effort?
Getting revenge had been on his mind for so long it felt part of him. He stared at Tess as she leaned down to run her fingers through the flowers.
Grace came through into his study. Duncan turned and gave her a smile. “She came out of her room.”
The older woman sent him a glare.
“What?”
“You know what.” She put down his coffee with a plate of biscuits. Grace stood giving him her full attention. “That girl has been through enough. I can see it in her eyes. Whatever you’re planning, make sure to keep her out of it.”
“Nothing is going to happen.”
“I know you, Duncan James. You’re up to something. Please, don’t let that girl get hurt any more than she has.” Grace stood pleading with him.
“I’d never hurt Tess. She’s safe with me.”
Grace stared at him a few moments longer before leaving him alone in his office. He glanced out of the window, but Gerald and Tess were nowhere to be seen.
Tess didn’t need to know his plans. She just needed to be part of the solution. Duncan stepped away from the window then went back to his desk.
Duncan picked up the phone and dialled his secretary. He made the necessary arrangements to take his wife on a vacation. He prepared everything with his secretary, so all he’d need to take with him was his laptop and phone. Being in charge of so many companies meant vacations couldn’t be without technology. As long as he had a way of communicating if something went wrong then he’d be fine.
He couldn’t run his business and plan the romance of the century without being present. Duncan hung up when he’d settled the final detail of his arrangements. In no time at all Tess would be all his, and she didn’t need to know how he used her.
Duncan opened the file he’d obtained of his father’s Italian villa. It looked exactly how he remembered from his childhood. His heart ached when he thought of everything he’d lost. He hadn’t been able to say goodbye to his father.
You don’t need that. You need to put your mother in her rightful place. Miranda is the woman who ruined everything.
He shook off his concerns slamming the file closed. Vengeance would be his in a matter of weeks. He smiled to himself, pleased that there was no way that this could fail. He shut his computer down, switched off the power, and went looking for the woman he was about to dedicate all of his time to making fall in love with him.
****
Tess sat at the kitchen counter enjoying a delicious bowl of tomato soup. She’d spent most of the afternoon listening to Gerald discuss his garden. The older man had a passion for flowers and the earth. She loved hearing him talk. He held so much knowledge. Tess listened to Gerald and Grace banter about their youth. Grace handed her some bread to dip in her soup. The tomato and garlic flavour worked really well. She watched the couple smile at each other sharing small touches. The love between them was clearly seen just by looking at them. Tess smiled when they told something funny about their life. They were wonderful people. There must be a side to Duncan she’d never seen because this couple had been with him for some time.
“He went and knocked the man out because he’d said hello to me,” Grace said.
“Why did you hit him?” Tess asked.
“No one says a word to my woman.” Gerald kissed Grace on the head.
They were still so much in love. Time hadn’t changed their feelings for one another.
It made Tess’s heart ache. She’d never have that with Duncan. He wouldn’t allow her to get that close. What she witnessed with the older couple was the same thing she wanted to feel with her own man one day. A love more powerful than anything else. She’d only read it in books, but now she was witnessing it for the first time.
Her time with Duncan would be short. He wasn’t the type of man to settle for one woman for any length of time. She had no plans to marry again. The only way she’d marry would be for love, nothing else.
At that moment Duncan walked in as if her thoughts alone had made him appear.
She saw him stop while processing the scene in front of him as if it was a spreadsheet filled with numbers.
Everything was a plan to him. Something to take charge of and control. Di
dn’t he ever want to see beyond control?
People were not numbers. Not everything in his life could be organised to fit into a neat little box.
Tess ignored him and dunked more crusty bread into her soup. She closed her eyes enjoying the best tomato soup she’d ever tasted. Tess was taken aback when Duncan took the seat next to her at the counter. There were at least four other seats available to him. He was close to her. She smelt the scent of his cologne.
She breathed deeply, loving the way the smell seemed to consume her. His closeness made her nipples harden and her pussy grow wet. Even after everything that had happened between them she was still turned on by him.
His arm brushed hers as she picked up some more bread to dip into the soup. Her hands shook, but she ignored him. Or ignored him as best as she could with his body in such close proximity.
She noticed him making a circle with his finger against the counter, his large fingers gentle on the surface. Watching his hand reminded her of the way he’d touched her clit the night before, with the gentleness that had threatened to send her over the edge. What would it have felt like if they’d gotten the chance to go further?
The pain of his penetration had wiped all pleasure from the equation. Surely pain wouldn’t happen during every sexual interlude, otherwise women wouldn’t love sex. She knew they did. Some of the women who worked at the library talked about it constantly. Her nipples grew harder as her thoughts went deeper. In her mind she saw him sucking on her body, his tongue lathering down the valley between her breasts, over her tummy to her clit.
She bit her lip squeezing her thighs together as cream leaked out of her cunt.
“Is the soup good?” Tess turned abruptly as his words filled her mind. She pulled out of her fantasy feeling the blush spread up her neck and into her cheeks.
“Y-yes, it tastes really good.” She cleared her throat trying to rid all of her thoughts of his tongue and body from her mind. “It’s the best I’ve ever tasted,” she said. It was then she noticed that Gerald and Grace had left them alone together at the kitchen counter, sipping soup.
Duncan tore off a piece of bread and dipped it into her bowl. He took a bite then moaned. “You’re right. It tastes good.”
“Where have Gerald and Grace gone?” she asked.
“They’ve gone to take a walk in the garden. They think we need to spend more time together. You don’t have to be afraid of me, Tess. I want you as much as you want me.”
“What are you talking about?” She hunched over her bowl hoping not to look at him.
“Your flushed cheeks. Your nipples are rock hard like bullets. I bet your pussy is soaking wet with your cream.”
How did he always know what she was thinking? They’d barely known each other, and he read her like an open book.
“How do you know what I’m thinking?”
“Because I feel it, too.” She dropped her spoon then turned to stare at him.
He took her hand to press against his crotch. “No matter what happened between us. You still affect me.”
She felt his cock pressing hard and thick against his pants. “But you hated me because of my, well, erm—”
“Your virginity?”
Tess nodded unable to say the word. She removed her hand from him, but the heat of him still burned her palm.
Duncan got up from his seat. She watched as he grabbed a bowl then ladled himself some soup before joining her again.
“I was surprised. Like I said earlier I reacted appallingly, and I won’t let it affect me again. I want us to put this behind us.”
Tess thought about what he said and agreed with him. They were married. She might as well make the most of it. She wasn’t going anywhere else. Tess sipped the last of her soup wiping up the last remnants around the edges with her last crusty bread. When she was done she moved away to wash her pieces of cutlery. She didn’t like the thought of leaving it for Grace, even though the other woman had said she should. As she went to leave the kitchen, passing Duncan in the process, and his hand caught her around her wrist imprisoning her. Tess stopped waiting for him to let her go.
She gave a slight pull on her wrist to try to release his hold, but he held on. She huffed in frustration then looked at him. She shot him a glare hoping he’d let her go.
“Please, let me go.”
“I want you to stay.”
“Why?”
“I like your company.”
Tess turned to the door yearning to leave. Duncan did too much to her body for her to be comfortable. He made her want things she couldn’t have. Love, life, and a family. He didn’t know how much she craved them.
“Sit with me while I finish.” His voice made it more of a statement than a question. He didn’t let her go.
“Why should I?”She heard the hard edge to her question even though she didn’t feel angry any more. Duncan was working his way under her skin making her feel things she didn’t want to acknowledge. Not only did he make her wants things, Duncan made her want those things with him. She was beginning to like and hate him all at the same time. Grace spoke very fondly of him. There had to be more to him than the corrupt businessman, surely.
“You’re my wife, Tess,” he said.
“That does not require me to sit with you. Besides this marriage is not a real one.” She gave another tug on her wrist, but still he did not release her.
She watched him tense at her words. Why did she have to be a bitch? It wasn’t in her nature to be mean. She cursed at her own lack of control. He cut her off before she got a chance to apologise to him.
“Then consider it the underlining print in the contract. While we’re married I still expect us to be civil to each other. This is a proper marriage, and you’ll behave accordingly.”
She sucked in her breath. “You expect me to behave like the proper, obedient, little wife, and you still get to live your life as if you don’t have a wife?”
“I will not behave like you don’t exist unless you don’t start to behave like a wife should. Now, sit with me. I want to talk to you. Regardless of what you think, I don’t want to argue with you.”
Tess wanted to go back to the confines of her own bedroom. When he was near she couldn’t control herself. She felt unsure around him. His blunt manner and actions always had her heart racing. She could still feel the heat of his cock against her palm. Tess feared the more time she spent with him the more she’d want him.
He gave her such a pleading look with his dark gaze that she found it hard to resist him. Instead of leaving him, she moved to sit beside him. She began to turn her engagement and wedding band to try to distract herself. It would be so easy for her to reach out and touch him.
Would their relationship ever get past arguing? She really hoped so. When she didn’t hate him, she liked him and vice versa. Her emotions confused her.
“Do you like my staff, Gerald and Grace?” he asked. His own thoughts were cut off. She didn’t have a clue what he was thinking.
Duncan was an enigma to her.
“They’re wonderful people,” she said and meant the words. She refused to lie even to Duncan. Grace and Gerald were two of the nicest people she’d ever had the pleasure of meeting. She looked forward to spending more time with each of them, in the kitchen eating meals or in the garden talking about all the wonderful flowers in full bloom.
They’d make this period of her life with Duncan James bearable. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. Her wild locks still refused to be tamed after all this time.
“I’m pleased you like them. Gerald and Grace have been with me for years. They have helped me through some serious hardships. It’s why I’ve decided to give them some time off. I figured as we won’t be here for some time it would give them some quality time away.”
His words made her giggle. Only moments before she’d thought they’d be able to help her during her marriage with Duncan. Now, he had other plans. Her life couldn’t get any stranger.
Life was
moving too fast, and Tess was struggling to keep up.
“Why? Where are you going?” she asked him.
“Where are we going?” He stared at her with a smile. It was one of the first real smiles she’d seen him give. She relished the look on his face. He looked so at ease with everything around him. She licked her lips to try to think. His smile was infectious to her.
“All right, where are we going?” She repeated the question so he was satisfied with a smile of her own.
“I’d like us to have a honeymoon. I know you don’t consider this a real marriage, but I do. I want you to have everything a marriage should have. A honeymoon is part of it. I wanted you to have your dream wedding. I’ve made arrangements to have us flown out to my family villa in Italy tomorrow morning, so we can start our honeymoon and begin our marriage properly.”
He took her hand, running his thumb over her two rings. Duncan had picked out his own ring, and she stared at the simple gold band decorating his finger.
“Why are we going to Italy?” She could have kicked herself. She’d always wanted to go to Italy. It was one of the places she’d dreamt about visiting. She felt so happy. The desire to hug him was strong. Her heart began to beat rapidly in her chest. He wanted to make this marriage between them real. Could this be the beginning of something special?
Don’t get too far ahead of yourself, Tess. This is only the beginning.
“I thought it’d be a nice change. I think we need to talk about our marriage, Tess,” he said.
She nodded her head, her excitement hard to contain.
“I know we’ve never really discussed what would happen during our marriage, and I think we need to take care of it now. What do you think of our marriage?” he asked.
She stared at him opening and closing her mouth a few times. “I don’t know what to think, Duncan. You requested this, and it’s sort of blown up in our faces already.”