The Feisty One: A Billionaire Bride Pact Romance

by Checketts, Cami

  “It is,” he murmured, his breath brushing against her neck.

  Maryn shivered.

  “I’m sorry. Am I too close?”

  “Not possible,” Maryn said then bit her lip. Why did everything she think have to escape?

  “Are you always this flirtatious?” Tuck’s low voice rumbled across her skin again.

  “Only with you,” she murmured back.

  Tuck’s breath shortened. Maryn clamped her lips together to keep from saying anything that might make this awkward. His body next to hers was going to make it hard to sleep. She knew tomorrow she’d have to take a look at reality again, but for tonight she was going to savor his closeness.

  Maryn awoke as the sky gradually lightened outside. The snow on the trees and the river was so beautiful. She felt an arm around her waist and Tucker’s upper body cuddled up to hers. Inhaling, she smiled. Tuck smelled so good. She sighed and nestled a bit deeper against him. The stitches and cuts didn’t hurt if she didn’t move wrong and she was going to enjoy every second of his touch. When he awakened, would he want to stay close or would he be embarrassed about what had transpired last night? She’d slept peacefully and absolutely loved the way this man sheltered and protected her. Could she ever be afraid of anything with him by her side?

  “Oh, my, heavens!” Mama Porter’s shriek came from the doorway.

  Tuck jumped in response and the movement brought the pain she’d been fearing as her body was jostled. Maryn cried out then bit her lip to try to hide the fact she was hurting. She hauled herself to a seated position and looked at Mama in the doorway and Tuck sitting up in bed next to her.

  “Oh, Maryn, I hurt you. I’m sorry.”

  “I’m okay,” she reassured him, loving that his first thought was of her.

  “Tucker Shaffer! What are you doing?”

  “Mama.” Tuck looked boyish and absolutely adorable with his hair mussed and his dark eyes unable to meet either of theirs. “I was just… taking care of her.”

  “I’ll bet you were! And the poor dear injured like she is. Now you get out of that bed and let me help her get ready.”

  Tucker stood and took his lashing with a half-grin on his face.

  “Don’t you smile at me!” She swatted at him, but Tuck dodged it easily. “Grab your clothes and toiletries and go shower in one of the guest baths. Now, go on, get out of here.”

  Tucker gave her half a bow, hurried past her, and grabbed some things from his bathroom and walk-in closet. Maryn climbed out of bed, wishing she could shower too, but realizing it probably wasn’t to be with all the stitches.

  Tucker walked boldly to her and murmured in her ear, “No matter how mad Mama is, that was the best night’s sleep I’ve had in a long time.”

  “Me too.” She winked up at him.

  His dark eyes shadowed by even darker lashes and his face covered in stubble made her a bit weak. She swayed and he held her elbows to steady her then escorted her into the bathroom with Mama Porter following and tsking the entire way.

  “I’ll see you at breakfast,” he said before finally listening to Mama and heading for the stairs.

  “That boy,” Mama said in exasperation, but she had a twinkle in her eyes. “Did he just climb on up in bed with you?”

  “Yes. But I didn’t mind.” Maryn had to laugh at the shock on Mama’s face. “We didn’t do anything inappropriate.” She hastened to reassure the sweet woman. “If you noticed, he was above the covers. He simply held me so I wouldn’t roll onto my back and hurt myself.”

  “Okay.” Mama shook her head and sighed heavily. “Now, can I help you get ready?”

  “I think if you’ll just help me get this tank top off, I can give myself a sponge bath and get ready.” Maryn sorted through the clothes in her bag, nothing comfortable or practical but the tank top and pajama bottoms. “Dang. I haven’t got anything that I should probably wear with these stupid stitches.”

  Mama thought for a minute then bustled into the walk-in closet. She returned with a huge long-sleeved t-shirt. “This will be like a nightdress on you.”

  “Thank you. That will work great.”

  She helped Maryn pull off the tank top and pajama bottoms then left her alone. Maryn quickly washed up with a washcloth, careful not to make any sudden movements. She put on minimal makeup, re-secured her hair in the ponytail, and then picked up the t-shirt. Stretching her arms up to slide it over her head hurt, but the second the shirt slid into place, Maryn sighed. It smelled like Tuck. She rolled the sleeves. “Good choice, Mama Porter,” she murmured. The woman may have acted shocked by the sleeping arrangement, but she was definitely a little matchmaker.

  Maryn slowly walked out of the bathroom and down the stairs. The pain wasn’t too bad today. She was going to insist on something low key like ibuprofen or Tylenol instead of OxyContin to take the edge off. She wanted to think clearly and enjoy each moment with Tucker today. Who knew how long she’d have before she had to return to real life?

  As she entered the kitchen Mama, Johnson, Braxton, and Tuck all looked up. All Maryn could focus on was Tuck and the look of appreciation that filled his eyes.

  “I like your shirt,” he said, coming to her side and taking her elbow.

  “Thanks. It smells like someone I know.”

  He winked and escorted her to the dining table. Maryn forced herself to break from his gaze and acknowledge the others in the room. Their mouths were slightly open and she wondered if they were all speculating on their boss’s actions. “Good morning,” she said.

  Braxton sprang into action. “Good morning. How are you feeling today?”

  “As good as peach pie. Thank you.”

  “I don’t think peach pie ever looked that good,” Johnson muttered.

  Tucker shot him a dark look. Johnson grinned innocently, his dimples deepening.

  “You watch that tongue,” Mama Porter pointed a spatula at Johnson.

  Braxton cleared his throat. “The sky is clear today so rather than check your sutures, I think we should get you into the medical center in West Yellowstone.”

  “Okay. After breakfast?”

  “Whenever you feel up to it, ma’am.”

  “Thanks.”

  Everyone dished up their breakfast and then after a quick prayer by Johnson, they all disappeared, even Mama Porter. Tucker brought Maryn a plate loaded with pancakes, sausage, and eggs. There was no way she could eat half of it. She was hungry today though so that was good. “Could I bug you for some ibuprofen?”

  Tucker jumped up. “Of course, but do you want something stronger? The doctor left Lortab if you don’t want any more OxyContin.”

  “No thank you on either, I’m afraid I probably said enough things I shouldn’t in my drug-induced coma.”

  Tucker grinned. “Nothing that bothered me.” He rushed to a medicine cabinet and came back with a bottle of ibuprofen. Maryn took two with a swig of orange juice.

  “Now why did everyone disappear?” she asked as she forked a bite of eggs. She couldn’t believe how much better she felt as she sat normally in her chair, her back not fully pressed against the cushion but in contact with it.

  “They all have stuff to do this morning,” Tucker said.

  Maryn didn’t believe him for a minute, but she liked having him to herself. It was still kind of odd to her these four adults living together, but they were more like a family than she’d ever been around and all seemed to be productive and normal.

  She swallowed her eggs and drizzled some strawberry syrup onto her pancake then took a bite. “Oh, these are heavenly.”

  “Braxton’s specialty. He likes to cook breakfast.”

  “Nice.” Maryn drank a sip of juice then asked, “So, I’ve heard about how you and Johnson met and Braxton was your foster grandfather that you loved and brought with you, but what’s Mama Porter’s story?”

  Tucker chewed a bite of sausage and swallowed before saying, “It’s kind of a sad story.”

  “I don’t like those
kind. Happy ending?”

  “Sure, because Mama makes it happy.”

  “She’s a sweetheart.”

  He ate some pancakes and then set his fork down. “Mama lost her husband and two teenaged sons in a horrible car accident. She didn’t have any insurance or marketable skills so she lost her house as well. Her neighbors and church friends loved her and her next door neighbor took her in, but she always felt like a burden. She finally couldn’t take it anymore so she left.”

  “Wait, where was this?”

  “Boise, Idaho. She took a bus to Southern California and lived and cooked at a homeless shelter there. Have you heard of the Friendship Shelter?”

  “Yes. It’s a nicer one.”

  “She loved it there. Johnson and I met her while we were doing some volunteer work—painting buildings and fixing things around the place. She adopted us like we were her own and when we were ready to move to Grand Cayman, like we usually do the end of February, we forced her to come with us.”

  “Forced her?”

  “She loved her purpose there, helping everyone. It took her mind off of things. But we make sure wherever we are to help out those around us so she gets a chance to cook and love. It’s a bit harder to find opportunities here in Island Park, but sometimes I think she needs that break too.”

  “Wow, Tucker Shaffer. I knew you were charitably-minded, but this is a bit above and beyond. You’d love my friends Alyssa and Beck.”

  “What do they do?” Tuck blushed at the compliment and shoveled some pancakes in his mouth.

  “Beck has a charity called Jordan’s Buds that he uses to help children around the world.”

  “That’s great. I would love to meet them someday.” His eyes caught hers and held.

  “I’d love for you to meet them someday… soon.”

  Tuck smiled at her and Maryn had to force herself to keep eating her breakfast and not climb onto his lap and see if those nice-looking lips tasted as good as she’d dreamed about from his brief kiss last night.

  After breakfast, they checked on Max again. She was rambunctious and obviously healing a lot quicker than Maryn, though Maryn really couldn’t complain. She wanted to take a shower, but besides that, the pain was minimal and if she wasn’t injured she wouldn’t be spending all this uninterrupted time with Tucker, so there was definitely a silver lining.

  They climbed all the way back upstairs and relaxed in Tucker’s sitting room while they waited for Braxton and Johnson to clear the driveway so they could take Maryn to the doctor in the Range Rover instead of on a snowmobile.

  “I could’ve ridden the snowmobile,” Maryn said, sitting next to Tucker on the leather sofa. The picture was just so perfect she was gazing at—this beautiful room with the fireplace, the sun sparkling off the snow in the trees outside the window, and Tucker. She wondered if she’d ever get tired of looking at his face, which seemed to grow more handsome to her every hour, framed by his dark hair.

  “I’m sure you could, but I would never do that to you.”

  “You just seem to want to protect me.”

  He reached over and squeezed her hand. “I do, plus I really like you wearing my shirt.”

  She blushed. “What does that have to do with anything?”

  “Nothing. I just wanted to make sure you knew how good you looked in it before you change to go to the doctor.”

  Maryn couldn’t help but smile. “Thank you.” She leaned against the left side of the comfortable leather sofa and savored his hand holding hers and the warmth of the fire. “I wish I could just stay here all day.”

  “You could. UPS delivered a huge shipment of books the day before you came. We could read together and sit by the fire.”

  Maryn loved the image he was painting.

  He exhaled slowly. “But we did promise the doctor we’d bring you in today and I want to make sure you heal properly.” His voice dropped. “Can’t stand the thought of scars on that beautiful back.”

  Maryn hadn’t even thought about scarring. The cuts were low enough if the scars didn’t fade very few people would ever see them except for maybe in a swimsuit. She wondered what her husband would think of the scars someday. She studied Tucker as that thought rolled around in her head.

  He returned her gaze and gave her a smile that had her sweating. Maybe they should turn the fireplace off. He dropped his gaze and cleared his throat. “I forgot to tell you, Johnson found the paperwork for your rental when he cleaned out your car for you. He got a hold of them this morning and they’ll come soon and take care of the car. The rental’s insurance will cover everything.”

  Maryn smiled at him. “Thank you. That’s nice to not worry about. So what do we do after we visit the doc and read to our heart’s content by the fireplace?” Maryn looked at him from beneath lowered lashes. She should’ve been back in California by now. She needed to go home and write Tucker’s story, which she now had plenty of information for, but for the first time in her adult life the story wasn’t the motivation. There was something about this house, these people, and especially Tuck that made her reluctant to leave. Crazy that a couple of days ago she’d run for her life and now she had no desire to leave.

  “Well.” Tuck smiled at her. “I’m hoping we could talk you into staying with us for a few more days. You wouldn’t want to make me drive in all this snow to the airport.” He winked.

  She smiled, certain driving in the snow didn’t bother him and thrilled that he was willing to drive her to the airport when that time came. “No, I wouldn’t want to do that.” She met his gaze and made sure he knew through her look exactly why she wanted more time with him.

  Tucker scooted a bit closer and wrapped his arm around her shoulder. “Maryn?” his voice dropped low and husky.

  “Yes?” she gazed up at him and moistened her lips.

  His head slowly descended toward hers. Maryn was transfixed by the smoldering look in those dark eyes.

  The doorbell rang and seconds later the front door banged open and shouting could be heard from the foyer.

  Tucker jumped to his feet, looking back at Maryn. “Stay here, please.”

  Maryn nodded. Whatever was going on, she was in no condition to get in the middle of what sounded like a brawl. Footsteps pounded up the grand staircase.

  “Where are you keeping her?” someone yelled.

  Maryn stood too quickly, wincing at the tug to her stitches. “James?” she whispered.

  “She’s upstairs,” Mama said, “but you can’t just go up there.”

  Tuck turned back to her. His brow wrinkling and his jaw set. “James?” he asked.

  Maryn shook her head and walked to Tuck’s side. “Let me talk to him. He’ll listen to me.”

  James stormed into the sitting room, literally dragging Braxton behind him. James shook off the elderly man and slammed a fist into Tuck’s face. Tuck hardly flinched from the blow.

  “How dare you kidnap her?” James screamed, swinging at Tuck again. Tuck was prepared this time and grabbed James’ arm and held it tight.

  “James! You overprotective idiot!” Maryn snapped at James, wishing she felt good enough to smack him. “He didn’t kidnap me.”

  “Sorry,” Braxton said to Tucker. “We had the gate open removing the snow and they came through.”

  “It’s okay,” Tuck muttered.

  James’ gaze swept over Maryn, wearing only Tuck’s over-sized T-shirt and some socks. “Oh. I see how it is.” He wrenched his arm free and backed up several steps. “Always acting like the pure little woman, but all along you’ve been holding out for the billionaire like your stupid friends.”

  Maryn flinched like he’d slapped her. James had never spoken to her like that and always reassured her that he respected her desire to wait for marriage.

  Tuck took a menacing step forward. “You need to apologize. Maryn has done nothing wrong.”

  James sneered at him, but took a large step backward.

  Maryn walked to Tuck’s side and took his hand
in hers. She felt a fierce sense of protection for Tucker and wanted to show James whose side she was on. “I was attacked by a grizzly, you jerk, and Tuck not only saved me but has been taking care of me the past two days.”

  “I’ll bet he has.” James rolled his eyes.

  “You had better back up,” Maryn said. “Tuck has been nothing but a gentleman.” She glanced at Tucker. The look in his eyes was one of protection and jealousy. He wanted her and she loved it. Her face flared as she remembered Tucker climbing into bed with her last night. So something had happened, but not what James was suggesting. “What are you even doing here James? We sent messages to the magazine that I was fine.”

  “Like I’d believe some cryptic message from his crony.” James huffed and folded his arms across his chest. “You haven’t answered a call or text in two days. I’ve been really worried about you.”

  Maryn bit at her lip. She should’ve found some time to call him back after she hung up on him and reassure him that the interview was going well, but she was too absorbed with Tuck and then everything happened. It wasn’t her fault that James had assumed the worst and reacted like this, but she did appreciate that James worried about her and was trying in his own way to show it.

  “I’ve got a camera crew here and made sure to inform a lot of people that I am here rescuing Maryn from you,” he directed at Tucker, “so you’d better not try anything if you don’t want your stock to plummet.”

  Any appreciation flew out the window. “Rescuing? Really James. Tuck is the one who rescued me.” James was just trying to get attention for his beloved magazine. Big surprise.

  “I don’t care about my stock,” Tuck growled. “You’re going to apologize to Maryn for your insinuations then you’re going to get off my property.”

  “Not without Maryn.”

  “She’s not leaving with you.” Tuck stood so strong and bold, but James wasn’t backing down. There was going to be a battle if she didn’t do something about it. Obviously, Tuck would win that battle, but James would resort to ugly tactics. He’d use that camera crew to exploit Tuck and his friends and she couldn’t allow that. She glanced up at this tough man who had been through so much and knew she’d do anything to protect him, even if that meant leaving him.