Bonds of Matrimony

by A C J McKechnie

  The man had only had Ellie in mind throughout this whole thing. She thought she’d married Zach for her father, and she had, but her father had forced her to do so for her own good.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Ellie looked up at her door and couldn’t help the sigh that escaped. After their confrontation last night she hadn’t thought that she’d see the man again tonight, but apparently he was keeping to his original plan of maintaining appearances between them for the benefit of the staff.

  “Mr McCormack,” she greeted frostily before concentrating on her project in her hands.

  “Go get changed, Ellie,” he said, and she looked up at him with a frown.

  “What?”

  “Get changed,” he repeated, and she looked at his own attire before raising a brow.

  “Clearly we’re not going out anywhere judging by your pajamas, so why would I need to change?”

  “For appearances,” he said, and she suddenly noted the absence of anger and domination in his tone. In fact, looking more closely at her husband, she noted that he seemed to be more weary than domineering for a change.

  “Appearances?” she queried then indicated the rest of the empty room. “There isn’t anyone in here but you and me.”

  “No, but if for some reason someone decides to enter or we need to leave hurriedly it wouldn’t do for you to be in your daytime clothing,” he explained, and Ellie frowned but couldn’t argue with the logic. With a sigh of resignation she put her crochet supplies to the side before standing up and going to her dresser for her pajama sets that she kept there.

  “Not those,” he said and stepped in her way. “These,” he added and held out a box that he’d been carrying. When she’d initially seen the box she’d presumed that he’d remembered the previous evening and had brought something to entertain himself, wrapped in the guise of a present. She hadn’t really considered the fact that he might have brought something for her.

  “What are they?”

  “More appropriate,” he said succinctly, and she looked up warily into his eyes to try to figure out what the man was thinking. Surprised at what she saw, Ellie realized that for once he wasn’t staring at her through orbs of ice and found herself feeling even more off-kilter at the change in him. There was something soft there, almost understanding, and, dare she say, compassionate.

  Shaking her head, she instead focused on the box in her hands and pulled off the lid to see what was inside. When she did she found herself blushing brightly before slamming the lid back on.

  “I’m not wearing that in front of you,” she said quickly and looked up when she heard him sigh.

  “Ellie, you’re my wife. You can’t keep wearing the stuff that you have been,” he said, and she found herself getting angry at his condescending tone.

  “There’s nothing wrong with my clothing.”

  “For a college student,” he retorted. “You’re a married woman now, honey. A woman married to a wealthy man, and people are going to expect you to dress like it. Just put the stuff on, Ellie,” he instructed again before turning to sit down on the couch at the side of the room.

  “I don’t want to,” she said mutinously and watched as he just sighed again before shaking his head. When he remained silent and didn’t argue with her anymore Ellie found herself floundering. Did his silence mean that he’d accepted her decision? Or did it mean that he was thinking of some other argument, or maybe some other way to get her to agree with him? She didn’t know and she found herself getting nervous as the silence stretched between them.

  Shifting on her feet, she noticed that his gaze hadn’t wavered as he studied her and she suddenly wanted to get out of his presence. As she started to turn back to her dresser she found herself stopping when he spoke softly, yet firmly.

  “Don’t. Wear one of the items that’s in the box,” was all he said, and she chanced a glance over her shoulder at him, noticing when she did so that he looked incredibly determined. As much as she’d made up her mind to no longer follow his dictates she found herself unprepared to battle with such a strong man.

  Did it really matter what she wore? Was it worth the confrontation?

  He must have seen the internal war waging in her because all he said was, “It’s just a nightgown, Ellie.”

  Without any further acknowledgement of her husband, Ellie silently made her way into her bathroom to get changed into one of the pieces of silky lingerie. As she looked over them all she had to admire the garments. They really were beautiful, and so soft and luxurious feeling in her hands. Rummaging through the assortment of nightwear, she finally decided on a pale apple green set that complimented her coloring without overshadowing it or being too loud.

  As opposed as she’d been to wearing any of the pieces, she realized that compared to her usual pajamas she’d actually be more covered with the new set of clothing. The nightgown that she’d selected was full length with lace trim overlaying the silk material. With it was a matching peignoir which didn’t conceal much, but at least covered her arms and added an extra layer to her meagre ensemble.

  Tying the outer covering, she quickly unfastened it when she realized that doing so only succeeded in showcasing her chest, and Ellie blushed when she realized that the cut and drape of the clothing did tend to cling to every curve that she had.

  Feeling self-conscious about her body, she folded her arms around herself and over her chest before inhaling deeply and cautiously opening the bathroom door. Peeking around the corner of it, she breathed a sigh of relief when she noticed that her husband wasn’t looking in her direction, in fact, he seemed to be completely lost in his own thoughts.

  Scurrying quickly and quietly back to her bed, she settled onto it and studiously got back to her work.

  “Why didn’t you tell me?” he said suddenly, and Ellie jumped at the sound of his voice before processing the question.

  “Tell you what?” she asked in bafflement.

  “About your dad, Ellie. Why didn’t you tell me that he’d died?” he asked and finally looked over at where she was sitting on the bed. She did notice his eyes taking in her appearance, but he quickly snapped them back up to her face.

  Shrugging, and lowering her head again, she just replied, “I didn’t think it would matter.”

  “Don’t be ridiculous,” he said firmly, and she looked up at him again. “You’re my wife, he was your father, of course it matters.”

  “Fine, then I didn’t think you’d care,” she said with a heavy sigh.

  “A man has died, Ellie. A man that I’m related to. A man who you’re related to. Would you really think that it wouldn’t mean anything to me?” he asked, and she thought he almost sounded hurt at her accusation.

  “No. I knew that it would mean something. Of course it would, the man had tried to blackmail you, the man had wronged you. Of course I thought you’d care!”

  “You thought I’d relish in it, didn’t you?” he asked with narrowed eyes, and she locked her own onto his. “You said as much the morning after. You said that I’d be glad if you were dead. You honestly and truly believe that I’d take pleasure in the fact that your father is no longer alive, don’t you?” he asked angrily, and she swallowed hard but didn’t deny it.

  “Don’t you?” she asked pointedly and watched as he studied her with a look of almost disgust on his face before shaking his head and standing up.

  “When’s the funeral?” he asked tightly, and she looked up at him in confusion.

  “What?”

  “The funeral, when is it, Ellie? You’re not going to push me away from all of this. You’ve cut me out enough as it is. When’s the funeral?”

  “I … I don’t know,” she said, and he looked at her with narrowed eyes again.

  “I’ll find out. You can’t hide something –”

  “I don’t know! Alright?! I can’t plan anything until the police release his body!” she cried in frustration and tried to blink back the tears. Abruptly averting her face from him,
she didn’t notice that he’d moved until she felt the bed dip under his weight.

  Jumping slightly when she felt his hand under her chin, she didn’t even resist when he turned her face to look at him.

  “They still haven’t released it?” he asked tenderly, and she shook her head. “Why not?” he asked gently and in confusion, and she swallowed back her tears again.

  “Last time they spoke to me they said that they needed to confirm the cause of death.”

  “It’s been a week, honey, it doesn’t take that long.”

  Shrugging, all Ellie could reply was, “I don’t know anything else. All I know was that it was the holiday, then they were looking into something, but they didn’t really tell me anything. Or maybe they did and I just didn’t take it all in. I don’t know.”

  “I’ll call them,” he said, and she shook her head.

  “You don’t need to –”

  “Honey, you need this settled. You need to know,” he said, and she looked back into his eyes to see him studying her in concern. “They should never have let it take this long in the first place.”

  “They’re busy,” she defended weakly but couldn’t help but feel a modicum of relief at knowing that Zachary was about to use all of his influence to help her with this.

  “What happened? What did they tell you about it all?” he prodded, and she inhaled deeply before telling him about her late night phone call and Detective Jackson being on the doorstep.

  “You should have woken me,” he said with tender reproach, and she shook her head.

  “You were busy with work. And … and I didn’t want to –”

  “You didn’t want me around with you. I know,” he said with a sigh. “We’ll talk about that in a minute. First tell me everything else that you know. What do they think happened?”

  “When they broke in, they found Papa in his armchair in the lounge with the TV on. He was just sitting there, and they said that it didn’t take them long to realize that he was dead.”

  “Must have been peaceful then,” Zachary comforted, and she found herself thinking on that. She hadn’t considered that before and was grateful to the man for pointing it out to her. “What else?”

  “They asked me about his health. Apart from the cold that he’d been struggling to rid himself of he was in perfect health. Nothing wrong with him. Never had anything wrong with him in all his life. He was strong and fit and healthy.”

  “Maybe he hid something from you. Maybe there was something that he hadn’t told you,” Zachary suggested, and Ellie looked in his eyes, wondering why he’d made the suggestion.

  Shaking her head, she replied, “No. Papa wouldn’t lie to me about something like that. He’d want me to be prepared. We had no secrets, none whatsoever. He wouldn’t have hid it from me if he were sick.”

  “He might have if he thought it was for your best,” he suggested, and she just shook her head again.

  “No. I know him, he wouldn’t have done that. Not to me. Not for any reason.”

  “So if he wasn’t sick …,” he prodded, and she inhaled a shuddering breath.

  “Then there was something else that killed him,” she said in conclusion of his thought. “They found … heck, Zachary, they found prescription painkillers. Bottles and bottles of the things. I have no idea where he’d have gotten them or even how he’d have paid for them. I cleaned the house and I never saw any pills apart from the generic cold and flu remedies or over the counter analgesics. I was only gone for two weeks and yet he somehow managed to get in enough medication that there’s a good chance that he overdosed on them.”

  “You don’t need much to overdose, Ellie,” Zachary comforted while tentatively putting an arm around her shoulder. Leaning into his embrace, Ellie sighed into his shoulder.

  “I know. But, Zachary, there were just so many.”

  “So they suspect suicide then,” he surmised.

  “I don’t know. They never said that. They just said that the circumstances mean that they’d have to investigate it.”

  “And you haven’t heard anything else?”

  “I phoned for an update on Monday, and the detective said that they were still waiting for the lab results, but they have a heavy case load right now. Apparently their resources are stretched at the moment.”

  “There was an article in the paper about some sort of –”

  “Yes, I know. Some sick killer is out there.”

  “The labs will be busy dealing with trying to catch him and using all of their resources to focus on that,” he said, and she nodded. “But that doesn’t mean that your dad is any less important.”

  “I know,” she said with a sigh as she burrowed into his warm and firm chest a bit more. She was so drained, so tired with it all. She’d been dealing with it on her own. Apart from her breakdown yesterday with the landscaper, she hadn’t spoken to anyone about it. At the time she’d been so emotional that all she’d wanted to do was cry. Now she wanted somebody to talk to about it. And surprisingly, she found herself glad that it was her husband that she was doing that with.

  “What was the detective’s name again? And do you have a number for him?” he asked.

  “I have his card somewhere. His name was Detective Jackson. He was very nice,” she added in the man’s defense.

  “I don’t doubt it. But I’ll call tomorrow for an update on it all. We’ll see if we can speed things along if I put a bug in his ear.”

  “Let’s hope that he has all the information already. I’m so tired of being on edge with it all.”

  “Josh said something about you blaming yourself and feeling guilty,” he said tentatively, and she looked up at him in surprise.

  “Josh?”

  “The landscaper. A good friend of mine,” he answered with a tight smile, and she blushed as she remembered the position that he’d found her in the day before.

  “Nothing happened,” she quickly said and watched as he raised a brow at her.

  “I know. Of course, if I hadn’t already realized as much your quick denial just then would have had me doubting your claim, but as it is I have eyes and I know you well enough to know that you’re loyal, Ellie. I also know Josh well enough to know that he’d never betray a friend like that,” he said, and she blushed even harder.

  “I just didn’t want you thinking –”

  “I know,” he said before gently pulling her head back into his chest. “But do you want to tell me what had you blaming yourself?”

  “I feel like I should have been there with him. If he did … well if he did end it all himself,” she said hesitantly, loath to even consider the possibility, “then maybe he wouldn’t have if I hadn’t left. Or if I’d insisted that he come here. I don’t know. I just feel like I should have known, or done something, or just, well, something,” she said in frustration then sighed.

  As he continued to rub her back her frustration dissipated and she instead found herself melting against him as he started that erotic thumb stroke on her lower back.

  “You can’t blame yourself. No matter what the outcome is. It’s not constructive or healthy. You can’t change the past,” he said, and she almost purred as his thumb continued that maddening pattern on her. “Ellie?” he asked when she didn’t reply and instead did everything she could not to make a sound. “Are you listening?” he asked, and she just nodded with a weak ‘uh huh’ as his hands stopped their motion.

  Relaxing again after her admission, he started up that same motion, and Ellie couldn’t hold back any longer.

  “Did you just purr?” he whispered in her ear, and all Ellie could do was repeat the sound in the back of her throat.

  “You need to stop doing that,” she finally managed to get out breathlessly.

  “Doing what?” he asked in a whisper.

  “That thing you do on my back,” she said as she burrowed in closer to him. “You need to stop doing that,” she repeated and closed her eyes to try to control herself. This man was some sort of sorcerer
. He was completely unravelling her with one thumb, and if he didn’t stop soon he’d finally get his wish and have her in his bed.

  Staring down onto the top of his wife’s head where she was breathing heavily while clenching her hands in his dressing gown, Zach realized that she wasn’t kidding. He really did need to stop it, because she was melting into him. He’d thought that she’d been relaxing because she’d been opening up about her father and sharing the strain that she’d been feeling, and she might have been at first, but now she was definitely melting into him for another reason.

  The woman was actually purring. He’d never known anything like it and he realized that he’d have to gather his own self-control at the moment. A difficult thing to do when the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen was half in his lap and dressed in the sexiest outfit he’d ever seen as well.

  When he’d sent Pauline to buy his wife new lingerie he should have realized that he’d be tempting himself once she was in it. He’d purposefully avoided staring at the bathroom door, waiting for her to emerge, but when he’d finally looked at her his breath had caught in his throat at the vision she made.

  And now that vision was draped half across him and telling him that he need to stop doing whatever he’d been subconsciously doing to her that had caused her to purr in satisfaction. It was so incredibly tempting to ignore her advice and see where things led between them if he kept it up, but he realized that firstly, she was vulnerable, and secondly, she didn’t even like him. So instead, he mustered every bit of willpower he had and slowly removed his hands from her until they were curled around her in a comforting hug instead.

  Feeling her sigh against his chest, he knew that he’d made the right call and kept holding her until he felt her shift in his hold again.

  “Alright?” he asked and watched as she pulled back and nodded while sporting a bright red blush.

  “I’m sorry,” she said as she straightened herself upright. “I appreciate you looking into this for me,” she added, and he nodded at her.

  “It’s not a problem, Ellie. You’re my wife,” he said, and she nodded at that. “And speaking of which,” he hazarded, “there is something else that we need to talk about.”