But where? How? They had Alesha, and if Jasmine was to be believed, they’d go after Aunt Maya too. This was my punishment for being wanton. I should’ve had a three-date rule like other women. Then I wouldn’t be in this mess.
Finishing my business, I headed to the basin to wash my hands and splash water over my face. My eyes were puffy from crying. I looked awful.
“I don’t want you to hate me,” Nate whispered, appearing behind me and moving my hair over my shoulder, pressing his lips to the back of my neck. Instantly, my skin felt alive and my breathing quickened. Traitorous body.
“Then don’t force me to marry you.”
“What would you have me do instead? You’re aware of the ultimatum I was given.”
“I know the options, Nate. Marry or die. It’s so fucking ominous and stupid at the same time. Can’t you just, I don’t know… threaten my life so I don’t talk and then send me on my way?”
His breath washed over my back as he let out a sigh. “You don’t think I suggested that?” He slid his hands around my middle and pulled me to him, his eyes meeting mine in the mirror. “I suggested about ten different scenarios before this became an option. I know it’s not ideal, but it’s the best I’ve got.”
“Making me a member of the family that wants me dead is the best you have?” I actually laughed.
“Well it worked in Outlander.”
My heart jolted a little and I met his eyes in the mirror. “You watch that show?”
“I read the books.”
He watches Pitch Perfect. He reads romance. He’s marrying me to save my life.
That little voice in my head was at it again.
Not to mention he’s amazing in bed. Maybe I could learn to love him in time.
Turning in his arms, I studied his face: merry blue eyes, strong straight nose, full lips and solid jaw. I couldn’t have imagined a more beautiful man if I tried. And as luck would have it, this man was willing to offer his hand in order to save me.
Perhaps there really is honour among thieves.
“You really suggested the whole marriage thing to keep me safe?”
He clenched his jaw, then nodded and lowered his forehead until it touched against mine.
“What happens if it doesn’t work out? What happens when you don’t want me anymore?”
“Then we go to a fucking marriage counsellor and work our shit out like everyone else. You are my duchess—my queen. I’ve never wanted a woman more than I want you.”
Grabbing my hands, he took a knee, his eyes on mine. “I know this isn’t anything like either of us imagined, but I’d still like to do it right.” He held up a ring, an emerald-cut diamond of at least a carat, surrounded by smaller brilliant-cut diamonds set in a rose gold band. It was beautiful—and probably stolen. “Will you marry me, duchess?”
I didn’t have any real choice in the matter, but the sentiment touched my heart nonetheless. On his knees before me, with a serious look in his eyes, I couldn’t deny him. He was beautiful. And he wanted me.
“Yes, Nate, I’ll marry you,” I whispered, emotion overwhelming me as he slid the ring on my left hand and smiled up at me.
Placing my hands on either side of his face, I ran my thumbs against the stubble on his jaw, then lowered mine to his. For the first time in our short courtship, I kissed him. Sweet, soft, and sensual.
“I do need to know one thing though,” I whispered as our lips parted but our noses still touched.
“What’s that?”
I moved back until his features came into focus. “Where the hell were you hiding that ring just now? You’re completely naked.”
With that boyish grin that had been the reason I was drawn to him in the first place, he winked at me, then stood and lifted me off the ground. “Sleight of hand, duchess. I’ll teach you sometime, but first, let me show you how we play hide the salami.”
The next morning brought with it a flurry of packing before our journey to the Cook Islands commenced that evening. Alesha was the happiest I’d seen her in years, and when I managed to get a moment with her alone, she assured me that she was fine. “It’s kind of like an arranged marriage. Statistically they work out way better than love matches do, you know.” Was it possible that the stress of the situation had broken her mind? I knew Alesha was a romantic at heart, but how could she possibly be OK with marrying into a family of thieves? I was so confused by her happy acceptance. The nervous and cautious woman I knew seemed to have slid off her body like a mask that didn’t belong. It didn’t make sense.
Everyone in the Cartwright family was joining us on our trip. All except for Toby, who was staying behind to watch the dog and ‘keep an eye on things’—whatever that meant. I just thought he was so angry about not getting to kill us that he couldn’t stand to bear witness to our impromptu nuptials. His death stares across the room were enough to make me sure that I was right. His cold eyes as he looked between Nate and me sent shivers down my spine.
Laughter erupted as Kristian and Abbot burst into the living area, half wrestling, half racing to do God only knew what. Their mannerisms, voice and expressions were exactly the same; Abbot’s cropped hair and Kristian’s golden locks were the only things keeping me from mixing them up.
“Take it outside,” Jasmine yelled, shooing them away as she shook her head, then gave Nate a meaningful look. “We’re leaving in thirty minutes. Toby, there’s food in the fridge. Don’t order in every night.” You could be forgiven for thinking this was any other family preparing to go overseas. There was crazy commotion, suitcases lined up at the door and instructions being yelled.
The illusion was quickly realigned when Nate moved to stand in front of me, holding out my phone. “Call your aunt,” he said. It was the last thing I had to do. We’d already emailed our employers telling them we were taking extended leave. That had been easy, now we needed to inform our families. The Cartwrights wanted to make sure no one would come looking for us.
Glancing between the phone and Nate, I swallowed hard. He was wearing a pair of worn-looking jeans and a T-shirt that hugged his chest like a lover. We’d had sex half a dozen times the night before, but I was jealous of that T-shirt. I’d much rather be hugging his chest than contemplating the call I was about to make.
“She’ll know I’m lying,” I told him honestly, taking the phone.
“Then you’d better use your acting abilities to convince her it’s the truth.”
“You know full well there’s a very good reason why I’m a high school drama teacher and not a highly paid actress.”
He grinned, then leaned down and bit the end of my nose playfully. I laughed with surprise, then rubbed were his teeth had been. “Then tell her the truth. Tell her you’ve met the man of your dreams, and you’re going to run away and marry him.”
“Man of my dreams?”
“You telling me you haven’t been dreaming about me since that first night?”
The blush in my cheeks answered for me.
“Me too, duchess. Every fucking night.” He reached down and adjusted his cock.
I licked my lips, wondering if it was possible to fit that thing in my mouth. I was planning on finding out soon.
“I’ll tell her you’re whisking me away. But I can’t tell her about the wedding or she’ll want to come. And she’ll be hurt when I say no.”
“Whatever works.”
Unlocking my screen, I pulled up Aunt Maya’s number, then waited for the call to connect. When I put the phone against my ear, Nate looked at me and shook his head. A quick glance around the room told me I had an audience, so I put it on speaker so they didn’t think I was sending some secret code.
“What are you doing in Torquay?” Aunt Maya asked by way of greeting.
I couldn’t help but laugh. “Tracking my whereabouts, Aunty?”
“I haven’t heard from you in days. Of course I’m checking up on you. What are you doing down there?”
“Last-minute getaway. It’s kind of wh
at I called to talk to you about.”
“Oh yeah? Want your aunt to come and join you? I still look pretty good in a bikini, I might say.”
“I wouldn’t doubt it, but no, that’s not what I was calling about. Alesha and I, we’ve met some, uh, brothers down here.”
“I’m interested. Keep talking.”
“Well, they’re really nice….”
“Are they hot? Good in bed?”
I met Nate’s eyes. He was smiling.
“You taught me not to kiss and tell, Aunty.”
“To others, not me.”
I chuckled. “Yes to everything.”
“Ohhh, I want details.”
“Another time. Perhaps when I get back.”
“Come for dinner tomorrow night. I’ll make chicken provençale.”
“I can’t tomorrow, Aunty. I… I’m going away for like a whole week?” I frowned because I had no idea how long I should tell her or how long it would be before I would see her again.
“You are away.”
“I know, and this is the crazy part. We’ve all decided to fly to the Cook Islands to bask in the sunshine and drink too many cocktails.”
“Are you high?” She tittered like an old lady pulling uncomfortably on her pearls.
“No.” I laughed. “I’m just doing something crazy before I get too old to do it.”
“Who are you and what have you done with my niece?”
Jasmine and Nate shifted on their feet. Toby had his hands on his hips and shook his head. Nate turned his finger in the air, signalling for me to wrap it up.
I laughed her comment off. “I’m just finally taking your advice, Aunty. I thought you’d be happy.”
“Oh, sweetheart, of course I’m happy. Go, have fun. Oh, and have lots of sex. Don’t forget your birth control.”
Tears sprang to my eyes as my love for this woman and the sadness I felt from misleading her descended on my shoulders. “I will, I promise. I’ll call you when I get back, OK?” My voice cracked.
“I can’t wait for all the juicy details. Have a wonderful time, my love.”
“I will,” I whispered. “Love you, Aunty.”
“Love you too.”
Jasmine reached out and disconnected the call, removing the phone from my grip. I hadn’t even noticed her move so close. I squeezed my eyes shut and wiped at them, looking around the room to find wary faces on the brothers but a smile from my friend. Alesha gave me a thumbs up, and I nodded my thanks.
“It’s your turn now,” Jasmine said, directing Alesha into the next room. The brothers followed, as did that evil little dog.
“You did good, duchess,” Nate said when they left, wrapping an arm around my neck and pulling me against him. “Oscar-winning performance.”
It didn’t feel good. It felt like lying.
I hated lying.
Chapter Thirteen
Air to Breathe
“Are you nervous?” I asked Nate as we sat beside each other before take-off. We were sitting in business class, which was just as well because there was no way men the size of the Cartwright brothers could fit in economy seating. As it was, Nate’s knees jutted out into the aisle, and he looked almost too big for his seat. On the other hand, I was comfortable in my window seat with my extra legroom and soft blanket.
“Not really. I’ve already done the hard part.”
“Oh yeah? What part was that?”
“Getting you here.”
A blush crept into my cheeks. This man had really been turning on the charm since his naked proposal in the early hours of the morning. Maybe this whole marriage thing wasn’t going to be so awful after all. I mean, people got drunk and married strangers in Vegas all the time. Sure, most were annulled fairly quickly, but the rest of them figured their shit out and made it work. Nate and I could do that. There would be a lot to work out, but we had that spark that people would sell a kidney for the chance to experience. So we were ahead of the curve in that respect, I supposed—or at least that’s what I was telling myself to keep from throwing up. I was nervous as fuck.
“How about you?” he asked after watching me fidget. We’d begun to taxi along the runway and I’d checked my seatbelt about five times, read the emergency card and fiddled with the air vent, all the while bouncing my knee.
“Nope. I’m just fine.” I nodded, trying to convince myself more than anything. I wished I had Alesha’s blissful outlook. She seemed so at peace sitting next to Sam and talking quietly—giggling, even. And Alesha didn’t giggle. I needed some of whatever she was on.
Adjusting in his seat slightly, Nate sat back and chuckled. “You’re shitting your pants.”
“No. I’m possibly a bit nervous about flying, but that’s only because I’ve never flown any farther than Sydney.” That flight was only an hour and a half, and I’d done it when I was twelve and Aunt Maya had to attend a conference. We’d gone to see the ballet at the Opera House and ridden the ferry to the zoo. I’d thrown up over the side and she’d laughed it off, telling me the fish would be grateful for the extra treat. I’d cried harder because we’d been eating fish and chips. I didn’t want the fish to be cannibals.
I wished she was here now. She’d help me reason this out—or she’d convince me it was crazy.
“I know a way to take your mind off things.” Nate smirked, a lascivious glint in his eyes as he reached over to take my hand, bringing my fingers to his lips. He nibbled lightly on them one by one, my breath quickening.
“Oh yeah? Does it have the words ‘mile’ and ‘high’ in the title?”
“No. I’d thank you to get your mind out of the gutter, duchess. This is a reputable airline.” With a cheeky grin, he leaned a little closer and wrapped our fingers together so our fists were joined side by side.
“You kind of baited me with the way you said it,” I argued, watching as he positioned my thumb so it was lying next to his.
“I know.” He smiled and met my eyes. “I like it when you’re thinking dirty things. Makes your cheeks pink.”
“They do not go pink,” I retorted, knowing full well they did, if the burn on my face was anything to go by.
Seeming happy with our hand placement, he said, “OK, do you know how to thumb war?”
“Uh, can’t say I do.”
“So you start with your thumb up like this.” He lifted his thumb straight into the air. “Then you move it side to side.” He tapped it on my hand and then his, adding, “One, two, three, four, I declare a thumb war. Then you try to capture the other person’s thumb and hold it for the count of three to win.”
“You have enormous hands. I feel like you have the advantage.”
“You wanna play or not?”
“I’ll play.”
We tapped our thumbs four times, saying the little rhyme before wrestling with our hands to be the one to catch the other’s thumb. He won almost every time, but there were a couple of times that I beat him—although I was fairly sure he let me. Still, with all the laughter and focus on competition, I didn’t even realise we were in the air until it was announced that we could take our seatbelts off.
“Huh,” I said, looking around the cabin as the flight attendants started moving around and offering refreshments. “That’s a pretty neat trick.”
“You know what else is a neat trick?”
I grinned. “What’s that?”
“Fucking in an airplane cubicle.”
“I take it you’d like to give it a try?”
“Hell yeah,” he nodded.
With a smile, I stood up and slowly climbed over him, pausing a moment so I could lean close to his ear. “You know what else would be a neat trick?” He shook his head and waited for my answer. “Fitting that whopper cock of yours in my mouth and swallowing it down to the base.”
I felt the cock in question stand to attention immediately. “Can you do that?”
“I have no idea, but it’ll be fun trying to find out.”
So it turns out I can�
�t deep throat. I read about these women being able to control their breathing and take a man down their throat to give him the best blow job there is, but my gag reflex was just too strong; I couldn’t even get the damn thing deeper than a couple of inches without dry retching. Not my sexiest moment.
Nate had found the whole experience absolutely hilarious and was crying with laughter after the fifth attempt, pulling me to my feet and kissing me as best he could through his mirth. “I love that you tried, duchess. That was fucking brilliant.”
I felt like a total disappointment, but when he sent me soaring way higher than a simple mile, I wasn’t thinking about anything inadequate.
“I’ve got to tell you, duchess, this pussy is my favourite place to put my cock,” he rasped, driving into me against the wall as I moaned uncontrollably. With the amount of time he liked to spend in there, I was inclined to believe him.
I know what you’ve been doing, Alesha teased, sending a message via the plane’s entertainment hub once we’d returned to our seats.
Wouldn’t have a clue what you’re talking about, I returned.
Her: Mile high, mile high! That glow on your face tells me you’re a card-carrying member. Plus, we could kind of hear the banging. Well done.
Fool Me Twice_a Cartwright Brother Romance Page 12