by Lucy Monroe
The doorbell pealed again. Carter grabbed his borrowed t-shirt, saw it was a dead loss and figured her brother had probably left more than one shirt behind. He went looking. He found the guest room in the first room he tried. He’d like to see where she slept, but that would have to wait.
Sure enough, there were some more clothes in the top drawer of a tall-boy dresser standing against one wall. He found a plain white t-shirt and pulled it on. It fit a little more loosely than the first one.
***
Daisy breathed a sigh of relief that Carter had decided to make himself scarce and save her awkward explanations with her sister and brother-in-law. Not that explaining a runaway marriage was going to be easy, but that was later, not now, when she was still reeling from shock and unfulfilled sexual desire.
Bella handed Daisy the diaper bag while her husband laid the baby in the portable crib they’d brought along. “She should sleep the whole time we’re gone, but if she doesn’t there are two bottles in the diaper bag.” She pulled two short, plastic baby bottles out of one of the cavernous side pockets to the bag. “They should probably go in the fridge.”
“I’ll take those.”
Daisy and Bella both spun toward the doorway at the sound of Carter’s voice. He’d pitched it low, evidently having heard that her niece was sleeping.
He’d found another shirt, was her first thought on the sight of him. Oh, crap, was her second.
Sure enough, Bella’s mouth formed in a surprised O while Jake came over from tucking his baby girl in to size Carter up.
He put his hand out, “Jake Barton.”
Carter shook the other man’s hand. “Carter Sloane.”
“The Carter Sloane?” Bella asked, her shock obvious.
“I only know of one Carter Sloane,” Daisy answered before Carter could open his mouth.
“What’s your boss doing here?”
“Technically, even though he owns the company I work for, he’s not my boss.”
Bella gave her that, I can’t believe you’d worry about a little thing like that, look. “Regardless, what is he doing here? You said you were taking the night off.”
“I am.”
“My being here has nothing to do with Sloane Electronics,” Carter smoothly inserted.
That wasn’t strictly true either, but this time Daisy kept her mouth shut.
Bella eyed Carter’s clothes with avid interest. “Is this like a date, or something?”
Little sisters could be the very devil. Daisy glared at her willowy sister to absolutely no effect.
Bella was too busy eyeing Carter.
He slid his arm around Daisy’s shoulders. “Or something. We’re engaged.”
Nerves exploded inside her like a bomb detonated by Carter’s admission. She was in for it now.
Bella staggered back a step. “But we didn’t even know she was dating you.” She turned to her husband. “Did we?”
“No.” Jake wore his usual taciturn expression.
It only changed when he looked at his wife. Daisy would give a lot to have that kind of impact on Carter.
Carter kissed the top of Daisy’s head. “It’s all been pretty sudden.”
“It must have been. She doesn’t even have a ring.” Bella sounded scandalized by the fact and it was all Daisy could do not to laugh.
Trust her little sister to worry about something like that in the face of such a shocking revelation.
“She does. I hadn’t given it to her yet because my proposal didn’t exactly go as I’d planned.”
It was Daisy’s turn to be stunned. Her head snapped around to look at him. “I have a ring?”
He smiled indulgently at her, just like a real fiancée. “Oh, yeah.”
He dropped his arm from around her shoulders to take her hand in his and then slid the most gorgeous diamond ring she’d ever seen on her third finger.
“It’s...” She swallowed, inexplicably unable to speak.
“Gorgeous.” Bella managed to infuse her whisper with the sense she had shouted the word. “Wow. You’ve got good taste in jewelry as well as women, Mr. Sloane.”
“Carter. We’re going to be related before long.” The epitome of confident charm, he smiled at Bella.
Daisy didn’t know about her sister, but her own insides were turning to mush from all that male charisma.
“It’s going to be hard not to tell Mom and Dad when we see them at the theater.”
Jake stepped forward and took his wife’s arm. “Speaking of, we’d best be on our way, sweetheart.”
Bella groaned. “I’d rather stay and hear details.”
“Later.”
Bella and Jake left, her sister giving last minute instructions on care for the baby interspersed with exclamations about Daisy’s forthcoming marriage right up until Jake started the car engine.
Daisy walked back into the house with Carter’s arm once again around her. She led him into the kitchen where they stored the baby bottles in the fridge. “Are you hungry? We haven’t had dinner.”
“Are you offering to cook?”
“I made a crock-pot of beef stew yesterday. I can zap some in the microwave and make some toast to go with it. Biscuits would take too long to be worth it this late, I think.”
“I’ll make the toast. You heat the soup.”
She watched in surprise as he went in search of bread. Before long he had four pieces of toast going and she had to remind herself to get a move on with the soup.
“I can’t believe you told my sister.”
“Were you going to try to keep it a secret?”
“No, of course not. I just thought it would be easier to explain a quicky Vegas wedding after the fact, rather than before. Mom is going to kick up a fuss about not being there.”
“Who said anything about Vegas?”
She closed the microwave door on a bowl with enough soup to feed her and Carter and turned the appliance on before turning to face him. He leaned against the counter with an air of relaxation she was far from feeling.
“I didn’t mean Vegas literally. It’s just that we’re not going to have a regular wedding.”
“Why not?”
Was he serious?
“For one, I don’t want one. I have no desire to be the center of attention with a bunch of rich people trying to mingle with my friends and family. I still remember Bella’s wedding and it was awful.”
“Jake’s friends overwhelmed you, I take it?”
She nodded, feeling stupid. “I don’t like big gatherings like that. Is that going to be a problem for you?”
Carter hadn’t done a lot of socializing since coming back from New York, but maybe he wanted to.
“No. I don’t like big groups either. Sometimes a man in my position can’t avoid them, but I have no problem with having a small wedding. Just my family and yours.”
“You want your mother there?”
The toaster popped open and Carter turned away to butter the bread. “Sure. Don’t you want your family there?”
“I guess, but that would mean Bella coming back for it.”
“Or we could get married before she leaves.”
“But that’s next week.” Shock upon shock coursed through her and he stood there slicing toast like they were discussing the weather.
“We can file for the marriage license tomorrow and pick it up on Monday. We can get married Tuesday.”
“You want to get married in four days?”
He laid the toast on two small plates she’d pulled from the cupboard. “I’d rather get married tonight, but I can wait four days.”
They weren’t exactly marrying for normal reasons, even if he did want the marriage to be a regular one. There was no reason for a long engagement, and for all she knew, the will had some sort of stipulation on how long he had to be married before the five year anniversary.
When she asked about it, Carter shook his head. “No. Nothing liked that, but, honey, I want you and four days is going to feel
like four years as it is.”
“But you don’t have to wait. We could buy condoms tonight and after my sister picks up the baby...” She let her voice trail off when he shook his head.
“You’ve gone without sex for six years. That’s got to mean something.”
“I told you. I didn’t really mind about that.” She’d wanted only one man in six years, but he’d been completely out of her league. Carter Sloane. Now she got to have him and she didn’t want to wait four hours, much less four days.
“Daisy, did you have sex before you were married?”
Heat scorched into her cheeks. “What difference does that make?”
“Honey, I’m going to be your husband. You can tell me intimate stuff like this without blushing.”
Right. “You didn’t answer me.”
“It matters. Now tell me.”
“No.” The microwave dinged and she pulled the soup out. “I didn’t have a lover before I got married.”
And what she’d had after marriage had been really dismal. If she and Carter hadn’t shared such an amazingly passionate kiss in her office and later on her couch, she would be really worried about this marriage for the sake of sex and fulfilling a will thing.
“So, basically, you’ve made love with one man and he was a dud, or you wouldn’t have been so convinced you weren’t all that sexual, right?”
She grit her teeth and nodded. He didn’t have to put it like that, truth or not.
“So, you deserve a wedding night to end all wedding nights and I’m just the man to give it to you.”
She would have accused him of gross arrogance if she hadn’t been a second away from melting to the kitchen floor in a puddle from the sensual promise in his eyes.
***
The next three days were torture for Daisy. Carter insisted on taking her to meet his mother. Mrs. Sloane had been accepting of her son’s marriage plans, but by no means warm toward her daughter-in-law to be. Since she knew about the will and the implications of Carter remaining unmarried, that made sense, but it had been very uncomfortable for Daisy.
If that wasn’t bad enough, Daisy’s own mother and her sister insisted on helping her pick out her wedding gown. They’d argued over the color until they found a tea-length gown in antique lace that fit her like a dream. Both women thought it was beautiful and gave it thumbs-up. Daisy felt naked from the waist up wearing it.
At least she had more cleavage showing than with any other dress or shirt she owned. She’d even been forced to buy a new bra because of the low cut bodice.
She’d only agreed to it because one more hour of shopping with two women who were intent on prizing the details of Daisy’s supposed secret courtship with Carter out of her would have driven her stark raving bonkers
She refused to lie to her mother and sister and told them as much of the truth as she could.
She’d loved Carter for years, and when he started showing an interest in her, she’d gone under without taking an extra breath of air.
Bella understood because she’d married Jake very soon after meeting him.
Daisy’s mother had been more skeptical, but she wanted her daughter’s happiness and a person would have to be blind not to realize Daisy was happy.
Carter seemed pretty pleased with the deal himself and that added to Daisy’s sense of joy.
He wanted to marry her.
He really did.
Even if it was just to get her into bed and keep her there, at least it was personal and he wasn’t looking to get something from her like her first husband. He wanted her.
He could have married anyone and he’d chosen her. She couldn’t quite figure out why yet, but his ardor was unquestionable. Why he wanted plain Daisy Jackson to the exclusion of all other women, she didn’t know, but she didn’t care either.
It was a reality she was more than happy to live with.
***
She was organizing her closet to make room for Carter’s things when the doorbell rang.
She jogged down the stairs to answer it. Carter waited on her front porch, a wolfish expression in his eyes that was beginning to make her nervous.
He’d worn that exact expression every single time they’d seen each other in the past three days, and that had been quite often. Not only had there been dinner with his mother, but he dropped into her office several times throughout the day. She would have thought he would be too busy, but he made the time to see her. He also insisted on eating every meal with her and would have gone shopping with them for the wedding dress if her mother hadn’t thrown a hissy fit.
“You going to let me in?”
She stepped back. “Sure, but why are you here?”
There wedding was the next day and he’d said nothing about coming over tonight.
He came inside and shut the door. “I brought you a present.”
“Oh, no...I don’t want...” She didn’t know what she wanted to say. They’d seen the lawyer earlier today and Carter had transferred the five-hundred thousand dollars into an account with an investment firm in her name.
They’d also signed pre-nups and she was feeling sort of weird about all the money stuff.
“It’s really a present for me.” He took her arm. “Come on. You can open it in the living room.”
He pulled her to sit beside him on the couch and then dropped a gift bag from Victoria Secret in her lap.
She could feel the blush already starting and she hadn’t even removed the pink tissue yet.
“I want you to wear this under your wedding dress tomorrow. I want to think of it on you.”
She stared at him. His eyes were the color of the sky at midnight and they mesmerized her with their intensity.
“What is it?”
He leaned forward and kissed her. Just once, but with enough impact to steal her breath. He’d done a lot of that in the past three days, but he never let it go beyond a casual kiss. No inferno kisses burning up their bodies with need.
“Open it and find out.”
So she did, pulling the tissue out and dropping it on the floor. Then she pulled out a bra that made the one she’d bought to wear under her dress look like it should belong to her grandmother. This one was a demi-bra made of off-white satin with just enough boning and padding that she knew it would push her cleavage up to a whole new level.
“I don’t wear push-up bras. I’m too big.”
“Wear it, just this once for me.”
She swallowed and made no promises. Then she pulled out a pair of panties that looked like a triangle of satin and some ribbon. “It’s a thong.”
Oh, my goodness. Nice women raised in New Hope did not go around wearing thongs.
He winked. “They’re going to look great on you.”
She bit her lip and pulled the remaining item out of the bag, wondering what it would be. It was a pair of stay-ups. Thigh high stockings with rubberized lace to make them stay up.
She fingered the sheer, silky fabric.
“You want me to wear all this under my wedding dress?”
He brushed her hair back from her neck and rested his warm hand there. “And nothing else. Will you do that for me, honey?”
She lifted her gaze from the lingerie to his face. His features were rigid with an emotion that left her feeling breathless. “I’ve never worn stuff like that. I’ll feel silly.”
“No you won’t. You’ll feel sexy knowing you’re wearing it just for me and that I know too. You’ll get hot thinking about me trying to undress you in my mind.”
“During my wedding ceremony?” She was doing that Minnie Mouse thing again.
He leaned forward and kissed her again, lingering in a way he hadn’t done in three days. “Yeah,” he said against her lips.
Then he kissed her like he meant it and she lost track of where she was, or anything else. When he stopped kissing her, she was in his lap with her hands buried deep in his hair and the press of his erection against her hip.
“So, are you
going to do it?”
“Yes.”
“Good.” He kissed her on the tip of her nose. “I like it that you’re so shy. You’re practically a virgin.”
“You can’t be practically a virgin.” And he didn’t need to rub in how much more experience he had than her. “You are, or you aren’t, and I’m not.” Despite the fact it had been so long since she’d last made love.
No way would Carter ever have gone six years without sex. She doubted he could go more than a few weeks.
“Aw, honey, you’re so cute when you get all offended and bristly.”
“Did you want me to wear those scraps of silk, or not?”
He kissed her again in answer and this time when they came up for air, she collapsed against him. “I want you.”
“I want you too and tomorrow night I’ll have you.”
It sounded like a threat as much as a promise and she shivered.
He smiled that wolf’s smile again and stood up, setting her gently on the sofa. “I better leave now, or I won’t leave at all.”
“It was your idea to wait until tomorrow night,” she reminded him.
“Yes it was. You may not know the power of anticipation, little innocent, but I do.”
“If you’d wanted a more experienced woman, I’m sure you could have gotten one and could have paid a whole lot less than half a million dollars for the privilege,” she said, feeling stung by his teasing.
She was too sexually frustrated to find much of anything amusing at the moment.
It was his turn to look frustrated. “I’m not paying you to go to bed with me.”
“Whatever.” Which told him he could think what he liked, but she knew the truth.
“Watch it, sweetheart. I’m on a hair trigger and I don’t think you want to deal with the consequences if I go off.”
She stood up, ignoring the lingerie scattered around her and put her hands on her hips. “Are you sure about that?”
He laughed. “Wait until tomorrow night and find out.”
“If you’re so worried I can’t handle you—“ She didn’t get the chance to finish.
He’d crossed the room in three long strides and put one arm around her and the other hand over her mouth. “You’re going to handle me all right. Just the way I want. And for the record, I don’t want a woman who is more experienced. I want you.”