“Hey, no hugging,” she scolded as she pulled away. “You didn’t tell me that you were having a guest, and your room was such a disaster today!”
The elderly woman was small, but she had the vocal cords of an angry child. Wincing as she yelled, I tried to give her a charming smile. “Jillian is not really a guest. She’s my wife, and it’s complicated, and I’m not going into it. And does it matter that my room was a disaster? We pay you to clean.”
“No. No, sir.” She wagged a finger at me. “I told you that I would do the laundry and change your sheets and vacuum and dust, but I will not pick up after you. You are not a child. You are an adult, but from the looks of that room, you wouldn’t know it!”
“I will do better,” I promised, but it was an old argument.
She gave me an angry look, but she did soften a little. “Do not add ranch to those mashed potatoes. They are perfect just the way they are. I’ll see you tomorrow.” Removing the kitchen towel from her shoulder, she hung it over the stove handle and grabbed her purse. As she walked out, Kim walked in. From the look on my sister’s face, I could tell that Janice was giving her the same look.
“You didn’t clean up your room? It’s laundry day.”
“I’m guessing you didn’t either.” I grabbed a beer from the fridge and opened it. “Where’s Jillian?”
“Oh, goodie. Is your wife joining us?” Kim said sarcastically as she grabbed her own beer. “I’m not sure I can stomach dinner if I have to sit across from her.”
“So sit next to her. Kim, you’ve only just met her. If anyone should be upset, then it should be me.”
“So why aren’t you?” Walking over to the table, she popped a piece of roll in her mouth and leaned against the wall. “I get that Blackwell’s land is important, but—”
“Swallow please.”
Immediately, she opened her mouth to show me her chewed up roll. Jillian walked in at that moment and cleared her throat. “Am I interrupting some sibling bonding time?”
“No. I was just leaving.” Loading up her plate, Kim glared at me as she marched out and left Jillian and me alone.
“I can see that your sister and I are going to get along famously. Why does she hate me anyway?” Jillian sat down at the table, and I pulled a beer out for her. She eyed it when I sat in front of her, and I watched her carefully. We used to drink the cheapest stuff that we could find. Maybe now that she was older, beer wasn’t her thing anymore.
“Kim is just difficult in general.” I sat down and reached for the potatoes as she sipped at the beer and cringed a little. I made a mental note to add some wine to the list. She always did like wine, and now I could afford to give her the good stuff.
“This looks good, but then, I remember that you were always a good cook.”
“Actually, we have a woman who makes dinner for us a few nights a week. Kim and I struggle on her days off.” I smiled a little, remembering the romantic candlelight dinner we’d made when the electricity had gone out.
Such a long time ago.
“The ranch keeps you busy,” she commented. “I can sort of see why you ran away. I had no idea that you’d pull off a cowboy hat so well.”
I immediately bristled. The ranch might not have been part of my future then, but it was who I was now, and I didn’t like her making light of things. “Actually, now that you’re here, I won’t be so busy.”
She blinked. “I’m sorry? Now that I’m here? How am I supposed to help your workload? I’m going to be working on my dissertation.”
“You can work on your dissertation.” I grinned at her as I cut into my porkchop. “But you’re also going to pull your weight around here. Harry isn’t going to believe that we’re really working on our marriage unless he believes that you’re okay being at the ranch. And you can show that by helping me out.”
She opened her mouth to argue, and I put my finger up to stop her. “Before you say anything, I promise it won’t be anything that you can’t handle. Now, Harry did say that he would be dropping by to check in on our progress, so we just need to spend every moment like things are working. And the sooner that he believes it, the sooner you can head back to the city.”
“Brendan, I don’t know the first thing about horses or ranch work. Exactly what do you expect me to do? And don’t you even think about asking me to muck out the stalls, because I will shove this roll so far down your throat that you’ll discover what it’s really like to get a yeast infection.”
“That’s the Jillian that I know and love,” I murmured with a smile. “As tempting as that sounds, I have something else in mind. We’ll chat about it in the morning. How’s your room?”
“My room is fine. Actually, it’s gorgeous. The whole house is gorgeous.” That mask slipped back over her face. “It could use a little work. Maybe I could do some work around here instead.”
“You? Do housework? I remember all too well what our apartment looked like. You don’t clean.”
Slowly, she put her fork down and jutted her chin out. “That was a long time ago. Now, I clean.”
“You’re angry.”
“You promised that you wouldn’t do the walk down memory lane.”
I wanted to point out that it was impossible for us to be together and keep the memories from bubbling to the surface. I had a feeling she was having the same problem.
“You were a big part of my life,” I reminded her softly. “It’s hard to just pretend that didn’t happen.”
“I love you, Jillian. I know we haven’t been together long, but I can’t imagine my life without you.” The sheets were tangled around us, and even though I was exhausted from the hours we’d just spent together, I couldn’t stop the way my heart sped up. I was so sure that this woman was meant for me, and I was just as nervous that if I made the wrong move, I’d lose her forever.
“I love you too,” she whispered and leaned over and kissed me gently.
I put my hand on her stomach, splaying my fingers over the life growing beneath my palm.
“What if I told you that I wanted to marry you. Not in the future but right now. I want you in my life, permanently. I want you to carry my name. I want the world to know just how much I love you.”
Holding my breath, I waited. Her eyes widened slightly, but she didn’t pull away. Seconds ticked by, but they felt like hours. I told myself that if she laughed at me, I’d just try again until she took me seriously.
“I’d tell you that I don’t have any plans next weekend,” she said with a slow smile. “And that I’ve never have any visions of a fancy wedding.”
With a growl, I rolled over on top of her and framed her beautiful face with my hands. How did I get so lucky to have such a creature in my life? “I’m yours, forever.” I had no ring for her, but I sealed that promise with a kiss.
“You don’t have to pretend it didn’t happen.” She deliberately avoided looking at me, and I wondered if she’d been feeling the same nostalgia as me. “You just don’t need to discuss it.”
There was no point in arguing with her. She might soften over time, but tonight, I let her have her peace. I could practically see the wheels in her head turning.
Things used to be so easy between us. We were never without something to talk about or laugh about. I never kept anything from her. I never lied to her.
Now, as we sat here in silence, I could only feel the tension grow.
“Thank you for dinner. It was lovely. I guess I can thank your cook tomorrow.” Clearing her throat, she pushed back her chair and stood. “I’ll be happy to help with the dishes.”
“Go to bed, Jillian. You’ve had a long day.”
She narrowed her lovely eyes. “I can do dishes. You wanted me to be helpful? Let me be helpful!” She reached for the plate, and I sprang up to stop her, grabbing her arm.
“We are not going to fight over the damn dishes. When I tell you to do something, just do it.”
Fuck. I sounded just like my father.
Her whole bo
dy tensed. “I didn’t do what you told me when we were married. What makes you think I’m going to follow your orders during this farce?”
“That marriage failed, Jillian. Remember?”
“How could I forget?” She tried to jerk away from me, and I realized that I didn’t want her to go to bed angry. Instead, I yanked her up against me and pressed my lips to hers. I needed to see that tenderness in her again. I needed to feel that fire of passion.
At first, she was rigid, but I coaxed her lips apart and stroked her body. As she softened against me, I slowly backed her up against the table and lifted her shirt. I wanted to feel her warm supple skin beneath my fingers.
“No.” With a gasp, she pushed away. “This is not part of the deal. When no one is around, you don’t get to do that.”
“So, I get to do this when other people are around?” I asked as I slowly lowered her shirt and stepped back. God, I ached for her, but it was good that she stopped me. Anyone could have walked in on us at any minute.
“Good night, Brendan.” Biting her lower lip, she hopped off the table and scurried away. I had a feeling that I wasn’t going to get any sleep tonight.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Jillian
“Good morning, beautiful.”
The sun from the window warmed me as I rolled toward the sound of his husky voice. Opening my eyes, I smiled at him. Slowly, reality filtered through the haze of my sleep, and I inhaled sharply. He immediately reached over to stroke my cheek.
“Easy,” he whispered. “Don’t panic.”
“I’m not panicked.” Smiling, I leaned over and kissed him. “I’m just still trying to get used to the idea. You’re someone’s husband.”
“And you’re someone’s wife. My wife.” Wrapping his arms around me, he pulled me over until I straddled him. “My beautiful wife.”
Giggling, I sat up and dropped the sheet covering my breasts, settling just behind his cock. Lightly stroking it, I stared at my new husband. It was a strange sensation. Twelve hours ago, I’d pledged to love this man, to support him and be by his side for the rest of our lives, and I was blissfully happy about it.
“Now you have to live by the adage of happy wife, happy life,” I teased as I squeezed him.
Grunting, he bucked his hips, and as I fell forward, he grabbed me and flipped us both over. “I think I know what will make my wife very happy, and I plan to do it all week long.”
As he slithered down my body, I closed my eyes and opened myself to him. His lips settled on my center, and his tongue darted out to taste me. “As wo… oh…” I clutched the sheets and tried again. “As wonderful as that sounds, it can’t be all week… oh, yes. Just like that. We have… um… we have exams at the end of the weeeeeek,” I moaned as his tongue slid over my clit.
“I think we can incorporate it into our studying,” he teased as he lightly bit my inner thigh and moved back up my body. He slid into me in one long, slow motion, and I wrapped my legs around his waist and squeezed my muscles around him. He filled me, pleasured me, loved me like no one else had. “Practice questions, and for every ten that you get right, I’ll lick you until you moan.”
“That does sound motivating,” I whimpered as he thrust into me. “I bet we could work that out into your favor too.” He began to move faster, deeper, and it took a few moments before I could continue. “For every question that you get right, you can have one minute inside my mouth.”
“Damn, baby,” he whispered as he lowered his head to mine and moved again. “I do love your mouth. And your pussy. And every other inch of your body. You feel so good, Jillian. So damn good.”
“Harder baby. Make me scream.” After an open and wet kiss, I scored my nails up his back and reached for the headboard. With a chuckle, he gripped my hips and pistoned inside of me until I didn’t think about anything but him and the way he made me feel.
So very loved.
And he was mine for the rest of our lives.
I woke up with my heart racing and my body aching in places it had no business to be aching. The sheets twisted around my body, I buried my head in the pillow and willed the memory away.
Brendan’s kiss last night had turned me on, and I hadn’t been able to turn it off. I’d tossed and turned all night long with erotic dreams, but the memories were worse. They were the reminder of how much power he once had over me.
How much power he still had over me.
Pushing my hair out of my face, I sat up and glanced at the clock. If I got up now, I’d still get breakfast, but I didn’t want to see Brendan right now. The memory of his kiss still lingered, and I obviously didn’t have as much self-control around him as I wanted.
This was such a terrible idea.
Slipping out of bed, I checked my phone. Danielle had sent me ten texts complaining about the lawyer that had visited her on Brendan’s behalf. There was also an email from my advisor, but I’d look at that later.
After splashing cold water on my face, I ran a brush through my hair and tied it back. Despite everyone teasing me yesterday, I really had packed for a ranch. I wasn’t a complete idiot. Slipping into a pair of jeans, a tank top, and a pair of tennis shoes, I peered out the window. Brendan was already walking down the dirt path toward the pastures, and I waited until he was out of sight before I headed to the kitchen.
There was a note on the counter leading me to a couple of boiled eggs and an orange in the refrigerator. My heart skipped a beat. He remembered my favorite breakfast.
The man was going to drive me insane.
My stomach was too twisted for the eggs, so I grabbed the orange. Brendan had also instructed me to find Debra. He apparently didn’t seem to care that I had no idea who Debra was or where I would find her.
Tossing the orange up in the air and catching it, I considered ignoring his request. The idea of me working on a ranch was ridiculous, but he had remembered my favorite breakfast. I’d at least see what he wanted from me.
Plus, the day was going to be gorgeous, and I could use the fresh air.
Walking along the dirt path, I saw quite a few workers, but none of them would meet my eye, and I didn’t interrupt them. Finally, I saw a familiar face.
“Ben?” I asked tentatively. The older man was rubbing down a really large horse.
Really big. My eyes widened when the dark horse swung his head around and snorted, and I took a step back.
“Ignore him. He’s just upset because we took his favorite mare away. I see that you and Brendan didn’t kill each other last night.”
“We’re not that bad,” I laughed awkwardly. “Dinner was fine, I guess.”
“Kim join you?”
“Uh, no. I get the feeling that she’d be perfectly happy avoiding me while I’m here. Any tips on getting on her good side?” I tried to move around the horse so it couldn’t look at me anymore, but the horse just moved, and Ben let it.
“I wouldn’t worry about Kim. She’s stubborn, but she’s a good soul. Are you looking for Brendan?”
“No. Actually, I’m looking for someone named Debra.”
“Debra?” The amused smile slipped right off his face, and he immediately looked down. His face was an open book, and suddenly, I couldn’t wait to meet the woman who made this man blush. “What do you want with Debra?”
“I have no idea. Brendan apparently wants me to work with her this morning. Do you know where I might find her?”
He cocked his head and stared at me quizzically, but he pointed to the pasture off in the distance behind him. “She’s down at the training ring.”
“Great. Thanks.” With a careful eye on where I stepped, I followed the direction of his finger. An auburn-haired beauty was rubbing the muzzle of an intimidating black horse. I stayed to the outside of the ring. The woman was petite, short in stature with the tiniest waist and a big mess of curls, but the horse listened to her every word.
“You’re going to have a hard time working on a ranch if you’re afraid of horses,” she said wit
hout turning around.
I stiffened. “What makes you think that I’m afraid of horses?” I’d wondered how she knew that I was here except that the horse was staring at me, and just like the other, he looked like he hated me.
“I can practically smell your fear, and what’s worse, so can they.” She turned around and studied me intently. “Brendan is usually pretty smart, but I’m definitely questioning his sanity.”
Narrowing my eyes, I climbed over the fence and hopped down. I wasn’t about to let some woman who didn’t even know me judge me. “Better?”
“Am I supposed to be impressed?”
“No, you’re supposed to tell me what my husband wants me to do.” I assumed her issues with me were personal, and I thought she’d flinch at my words, but she just laughed.
“Down girl. You have plenty of competition but not from me. I’m just not sure you’re the girl to help Silva.” Patting her horse’s flank, she released him, and he immediately trotted over to a bale of hay on the other side. “Come with me.”
“What exactly do you train them to do?”
“It depends. Brendan and Kim breed racehorses, show horses, and workhorses. I’ve even had the pleasure of training a police horse and a miniature service pony.”
A miniature service pony? I tried to imagine someone walking a small pony on Rodeo Drive while they shopped. “What determines what they do?”
“First, it’s bloodlines. Champion racehorses are meant to breed other champion racehorses. With Brendan’s father, it was all about bloodlines, but I like to take personality and natural talent into consideration. In some cases, the foals are sold before I can train them, but things are changing around here. It’s becoming more about the horses than the money, and that’s thanks to Brendan.”
“You really admire him.” I followed behind her as she opened the gate and locked it behind her.
She stopped and looked me straight in the eye. “He’s a good man.”
The accusation was in her eyes, and I bristled. “I never said that he wasn’t.”
“Your leaving him says it for you.”
Anger mixed with hurt, and my initial reaction was to lash out. But I didn’t. Although this woman clearly didn’t like me, I appreciated her honesty. “There are a million reasons for relationships to not work out, and they don’t all center around disrespect or hatred.”
Reclaiming My Wife Page 10