by Thayer King
“But you want children someday?”
“Yes.”
He sighed. “Good. Me too.”
She grinned. “Any other life-altering changes we should discuss?”
“Yes.”
“I was joking,” she said, worried about what he might reveal.
He kissed her temple. “Relax. It’s nothing major. I volunteered with a local kid’s group to coach tennis. I start next month.”
“That’s wonderful and so sweet of you.”
“It doesn’t come with a paycheck.”
“Do you need a paycheck?”
“Not really, no.”
“Then it doesn’t matter. Even if you did, it would just mean you needed to get a job, also.” She sat up so that she could see his face. “But with bedroom skills like yours, I’d be willing to keep you as my mistress.”
Jakob laughed. “Good to know that I still have some marketable skills.” He stroked her cheek with the back of his hand. “I didn’t…I didn’t hurt you? If I was too rough, you can tell me.”
She shook her head. She was surprised that he couldn’t tell from her reaction, but she was glad that he wasn’t so cocky as to make assumptions and that he was sensitive enough to ask to make sure. “No, it was perfect.”
Chapter Eight
Day 4 of Cohabitation
Jakob groaned and his arms tightened around her middle. “Where are you going? We just went to sleep.”
Sienna rolled over so that she was facing him. “I have to go to work.”
“Call in sick,” him implored. “I never would have kept you up all night if I thought you were going to get up at…” He craned his neck to see the time on the illuminated clock on the nightstand. “Four a.m.”
“I’m a co-owner. I don’t have that luxury.”
“Mika did it yesterday.”
“Yeah, and I don’t want her to suspect what we’ve been up to.”
“As soon as she sees your wedding ban, she’s going to know anyway.” He drew her down for a kiss. “Besides, you weren’t so shy about what we were up to last night on the bathroom counter or when I had your legs draped over my shoulders.”
A quiver of arousal snaked through her belly at the erotic reminders. Unfortunately she was too tired and too sore to act on it at the moment.
“Why don’t you at least call in and say that you’ll be late? Mika will understand.”
She nibbled her lip. In her current sleepy state, she was more likely to be a hindrance rather than a source of help at work. Finally, she agreed, “Okay.” She reached for her communications slate and used it to make a voice only call to Mika. When the call went straight to voicemail, she left a brief message explaining that she wouldn’t be in until noon.
She was immediately seized by guilt. “This is how we behaved when The Honey Bun was first opened. It was a recipe for failure.”
“Come here.” Jakob pulled her into an embrace. “This is a special time for both of you. Am I going to want to make love to you into the wee hours of the morning again? Certainly. But I think I can schedule my libido to perform earlier in the evening.”
“Thank you for being so understanding.”
“What’s to understand? You’re a responsible business owner. I love that about you.”
She forced herself not to get too excited about his use of the “L” word. But it was nice that he appreciated the very trait about her that had made dating an impossibility for her for the last two years. She set the alarm on her communications slate to wake her in five hours. Maybe she could make it into the bakery before noon.
They were both startled awake at six when her slate rang. Sienna would have ignored it, but she recognized the obnoxious ringtone Mika had installed. Mika would only continue to call if she didn’t answer.
She grabbed the slate off the nightstand and pressed it to her ear. “Hello?”
Mika laughed. “I’m calling with congratulations if you’re not coming in for the reason I think.”
“And what reason have you deduced?”
“That you finally consummated your marriage.”
“I guess three days can seem like a long time to someone who consummates theirs within three hours of meeting her husband,” she said drily.
Mika’s unrepentant laughter told her that her friend was not in the least bit ashamed, much as Sienna knew she wouldn’t be. “More like an hour. Anyway, I’ll let you get back to your naughty fun.”
“You do recall that I’m married to your brother?”
“And for that reason, and that reason alone, I shall not require details.”
Sienna shook her head. “I’ll see you later, Mika.”
“Don’t bother coming in. Take the day off. Enjoy yourself. Tell Jakob he owes me. Congrats again. Love ya. Bye.”
Sienna put the slate down and snuggled back into the warmth of Jakob’s embrace. “Mika said I should take the day off.”
“Smart girl.”
***
After lying around in bed and snuggling for the majority of the morning, they went shopping for living room furniture. They were tired of sitting on the floor while watching television. In the third store they entered, they found what they were looking for. They were fortunate that the manager was a huge tennis fan and agreed to have the furniture delivered on the same day.
As soon as the delivery men left, Jakob dropped down in the middle of the couch and propped his feet up on the glass coffee table. It was as comfy as it had been in the furniture showroom. The couch was made of dark chocolate leather and had ornate arms. They’d also purchased matching side chairs. He stretched out his arm and pretended to turn on the television. “Yeah, this is the perfect spot.”
Sienna crossed her arms over her chest and shook her head but an indulgent smile curled her lips. “I hope I don’t have to dust you off when I come home from work.”
He captured one of her hands and dragged her down so that she straddled his lap. Jakob was surprised by how much he enjoyed shopping with Sienna. They had shockingly similar taste which made making their final choices easy. But he’d also enjoyed just being with her, getting to admire her beauty without hiding it. He could touch her, hold her, and love her. She was all his and he was all hers.
“I had fun with you today.”
She placed her hands on his shoulders, her thumbs just touching his neck and sliding into the curls at his nape. “Me, too.” Her eyes were dark and sparkling with passion as she stared down at him.
Jakob smiled. Sienna was as passionate as he. And the more they made love, the bolder she became. He’d worried that he’d been too rough with her last night, but he’d been unable to hold back. He’d missed having passion in his life. Sex with Ella had been fine and she’d never denied him, but he could tell she didn’t really enjoy it. It was more like she tolerated it.
When she lowered her mouth to his, he wrapped his arms around her back and pulled her close. She bit his bottom lip before plunging her tongue in his mouth. Jakob growled and his hips bucked of their own accord. He didn’t know how it was possible, but she seemed capable of taking his lust from zero to sixty with the simplest of actions. He felt like he’d known her all his life. And to think that he may have never known her like this made him extremely grateful for Bioexpa’s interruption of his initial plans. And he’d never been anything but disgruntled to have his plans disrupted.
Sienna’s fingers forked through his hair and tilted his head. He opened to her willingly, groaning when she sucked on his tongue. He gripped her luscious ass and thrust up, letting her feel how turned on he was. She moaned and ground herself against his erection. Even through their jeans, he could feel her heat. He slid lower on the couch to give her the position she needed for maximum pleasure. She didn’t hesitate to take advantage, riding him until he was afraid he was going to spill in his pants.
He slid his hands beneath her shi
rt and he thumbed her nipples through the lace of her bra. When he pinched the taut peaks, she gasped his name against his lips and stiffened. Her thighs closed over his and she arched into him. Jakob grinned, delighted at having brought her to orgasm without removing a stitch of clothing.
Sienna pressed her forehead to his. “I love you so much,” she whispered.
He was too stunned to reply. He felt his chest expand with emotion. Gratitude at having been matched with her, joy at being loved by her, and yes, love for the woman in his arms. He opened his mouth to say so and the doorbell chimed.
“Let’s ignore it,” she said, reaching between them to give his erection a squeeze.
He groaned and was about to agree with her when the person on the other side of the door decided to go old school and began pounding with a fist. “Jakob, it’s me, Ella. Please, let me in.” Jakob felt the blood leaving his face. A bucket of ice water thrown over the two of them couldn’t have more effectively ruined the mood.
Sienna tensed above him and slowly climbed off his lap. “You’d better answer that.” She looked as though she were expecting a catastrophic event.
He wanted to reassure her to take the gloomy expression off her beautiful face, but whatever was about to happen would not be pleasant. He didn’t know why Ella was back, but he was certain it wasn’t to wish them well.
Grimacing as he stood, he adjusted his cock and pulled his shirt down. He placed his hand on the security scanner to open the door. Ella burst into the room and threw her arms around his neck. “Oh, Jakob,” she said in an explosion of tears. “I’m so sorry! I never should have left you!”
He winced at the volume of her voice. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Sienna picking up her purse. He shook his head even as he untangled himself from Ella’s embrace. “Sienna, where are you going?”
“I shouldn’t be here for this.”
“No. Stay.”
Ella dabbed carefully at her face with a tissue. She was the only woman he’d ever met who could cry and not ruin her makeup. “Jakob, if she wants to leave, let her leave. We need to talk.”
Sienna gave him a small smile. “I’ll head down to the bakery. They’re sure to need help with clean up and prepping for the morning. I’ll pick up Chinese on the way home.”
“I’ll walk you out.”
“Jakob, she can surely find her way to her car. It’s not like it’s even dark out.”
“She’s right,” Sienna agreed. “I’ll be fine.” So he watched her leave without further objection. Besides, he could handle Ella on his own. Probably.
“Honestly,” Ella said with an air of impatience, “she’ll be back. Stop staring at the door as though you’re a dog waiting for your master to return. You’d think that you weren’t happy to see-” She stopped speaking abruptly and screamed. She grabbed his left hand, her nails digging into his flesh. Pressing the Bioexpa band into his finger, she gritted out, “You fucked her?”
Jakob ground his teeth together. He wouldn’t refer to what he shared with Sienna in such vulgar or simple terms. And he definitely did not want to discuss this with Ella. But he wouldn’t deny it. Being a very recent ex, Ella deserved some sort of explanation. “We consummated our marriage.”
She made a sound of disgust and threw his hand away from her. “I was barely out of town and you fucked her! This is what you mean by keeping promises?”
That comment hit the mark and he was overcome with guilt. “I’m sorry, Ella. You dumped me and said you were going back to New York. What was I supposed to do?”
“You were supposed to follow me to New York and declare your love for me!”
He frowned. “Was this some sort of game to you?”
“Of course not!” But she turned from him and wouldn’t meet his eyes.
“Oh, my God, it was!”
“So what if it was! You should have come after me. You said you wanted to marry me but the second I’m not around you slept with the first woman available.”
“She’s not just any woman. She’s my wife.”
“I was supposed to be your wife!”
He was still reeling from the fact that she had been playing a game with his emotions. The guilt he’d felt a moment ago evaporated. Clenching his jaw, he asked, “Was registering with Bioexpa another part of your plan? You had to have known that there was a possibility that we wouldn’t be paired with each other?”
She pressed her lips together. “No. That was me caving to family pressure. They threatened to cut me off if I didn’t have you register.”
“And what did they say when I was matched with Sienna?”
“They advised me not to marry you.”
He nodded. “Then why are you back here?”
“Because I love you and I think we can make a go of this.”
He released a bark of laughter. “Try again. When you left me, you told me that you were going to sleep with another man.”
“You should know I would have never have done that. That was to give you motivation! How could I have known you’d give up and sleep with her?” She shook her head. “But then I guess I should have known. You’ve always been rather-”
“Don’t say it!” He was not going to listen to her try to make him out as some sort of sex fiend again. He should have dumped her when she opined that he was abnormal for wanting sex more than twice a week.
“Fine. I won’t but you’ve proven my point. How long did it take before you turned to her?”
“I’m not going to discuss my marriage with you. I wouldn’t even be having this discussion with you, but I did make you promises. And I would have stuck to those if you hadn’t thrown them back in my face.”
She threw her arms up. “So we both made mistakes!” She placed a hand on his chest. “But that doesn’t mean we can’t still be together.”
He stepped back. “It’s too late.”
A small flirtatious smile curled her lips. “Are you telling me that you don’t still love me? That you don’t still want me?”
That’s exactly what he wanted to say, but he wouldn’t be cruel. He was happy. He could afford to be magnanimous. “It doesn’t matter what I want. I’m committed to Sienna now.”
“If you explain the situation to her, I’m sure she’d agree to a divorce.”
The thought of severing his connection with Sienna was so distasteful that he made a strangled sound. “No.”
“But she was so agreeable before. It’s more complicated now that the two of you…but she’s going to understand that we have a history and that a few days with her don’t stack up to-”
“I said no. I won’t ask her. I don’t want to. She’s my wife and she will remain my wife.”
“Oh, come on. You can’t be that much of a martyr. You’re going to live your life in misery because of a few stolen moments?”
That was taking it too far. He laughed but it was without humor. “Dear God that was what I was willing to do when I’d vowed to marry you. But not now, not with Sienna. Ella, she is perfect for me. In the four days we’ve been living together, that much has become perfectly clear. She’s quietly confident, selfless, and independent.” He didn’t need to say that she was everything that Ella was not because it was obvious. For most of their relationship, he’d had to constantly reassure her for one reason or another. He didn’t care that Ella didn’t have a career and didn’t want one. As his wife, she didn’t have to work, but he’d thought it might help her self-esteem. When he’d suggested it to Ella, she’d stared at him with cold, unblinking eyes without saying a word. He’d never brought up the subject again. “I’ve never felt the sort of companionship with anyone that I feel with her.”
“Oh, my God, you’re already in love with her.”
“I am. I guess your plan backfired.”
Her face turned red and her green eyes shot fire. “You were in love with me three days ago. I hope that your love for yo
ur wife lasts longer.”
“No, I was never in love with you. I was ensnared by you. I stayed with you because I brought you here and because I felt obligated to keep my word to you. I let you dictate our relationship because I wanted to make you happy.” He closed his mouth because this would most likely be the last time they saw each other. He didn’t want the situation to get any uglier than necessary. “And if you reflect upon it, I’m sure you’ll realize that you don’t love me either.”
“We were good together,” she argued. “I supported you when you needed it. Do you remember how difficult that was for you?”
“And I will always be grateful to you for that.”
“Grateful,” she spat. “I didn’t-” She broke off a screech and stomped her foot. “I’ve invested a lot of time in this relationship. I was going to have the penthouse I wanted. I was going to travel. I was finally going to have something better than my sister Sabrina.”
Because she came from money, he’d thought she was different, that she didn’t care about his bank account. Clearly, he was wrong. He’d just barely escaped a life as her rich trophy husband. The relief he felt almost made him weak in the knees.
He skirted Ella as she continued her rant. Slapping his hand on the security panel to open the door, he said, “You can leave now. We’ve said all there is to say. Have a nice life. I hope that one day you’re paired with the type of man that will meet all your needs.” He ushered her out the door with a polite but firm hand to her back.
***
Mika and Owen were surprised to see her walk into The Honey Bun at the end of the day but they didn’t turn down the help. After Owen left and it was just the two of them, Mika jumped right to the point. “Okay, why are you here? And make it fast, I’ve got a husband at home waiting for me to undress him.”
Sienna laughed. “Less information, please.”
“Judging from the white glow on your wedding band, you should have similar plans.” She arched her brows. “So what did my brother do to screw this up?”