Hunter seemed to take a special interest in that before they went through the kitchen, with its work island and granite countertops, to a flagstone patio, double-car garage and laundry room. Upstairs, the master suite and bath were spacious. Two other bedrooms completed the tour.
The real estate agent’s pager went off, and she said, “I’ll take this outside. You wander around. Take as long as you like.”
“What do you think?” Hunter asked as they walked back to the master suite.
“I like it very much,” Eve said. “It looks new, yet the drapes and blinds already make it seem like a home.”
“The family who owned it only lived here a year. They built it, and then the husband was transferred. It’s reasonably priced because they don’t want to carry a double mortgage.”
“It really does seem perfect. Unless you think it’s too big.”
“Too big? Not at all. Not if we’re going to start a family.” The look he gave her said that had been the deal.
“I suppose children would fill it up quickly.” The thought pleased her.
“We could put your father’s art collection in that suite downstairs and have some work done so that it’s climate controlled. I could use the sitting room adjacent to it for my office.”
Looking around the master suite again and at the dormered window with its window seat, Eve imagined Hunter’s huge bed here…the two of them sharing it. A thrill of excitement sizzled through her and when she turned to Hunter, he was watching her. “I really do like the house, Hunter. I think we could turn it into a home.”
He came over to the center of the room then, where she was standing. “If we can settle on it quickly, we could move in when we get back from Savannah.”
“Don’t you have to get a loan approved, have a title search done?”
“I know someone who can speed up the title search. And I don’t need a loan. After I sell the condo, we’ll have a college fund for at least one child.”
Again she thought of telling him about the miscarriage. But the time didn’t seem right, not with them standing in the middle of an empty room, the real estate agent outside.
He was standing close to her, towering over her, and seemed to expect a response from her, some sign that she wanted the same things from their marriage that he did.
“Do you have a college picked out, too?” she teased.
“Harvard.”
When he suppressed a grin, she laughed and shook her head. “I should have known.”
As they gazed at each other, the attraction that had always been there between them seemed to vibrate in the empty house. A bit nervous with it, not sure how to act even though they were going to be married, Eve told him, “I bought my wedding gown today. I was concerned it was too…elaborate, but your mother didn’t seem to think so. I know we’re just having a small wedding—”
“You have excellent taste, Eve. I’m sure what you’ve chosen will be fine. I do have a tux,” he said with a slight smile.
“I didn’t know how formal you’d want it to be.”
“We’ll have to go to the courthouse tomorrow for the marriage certificate. I made arrangements for the honeymoon suite at the hotel. Is there anything we haven’t covered?”
Her mind and world were spinning with the speed of how her life was changing. It was hard to believe that in less than a week she’d be married to this man who had invaded her dreams for five years. “You’ve thought of everything.”
“Maybe we should seal our decision to take the house.”
“With a handshake?” she asked, wanting his kiss, wanting the silver desire in his eyes.
“I think we can do better than a handshake.”
When his arms came around her, the new life they were going to embark on didn’t seem quite as daunting. And when his lips came down on hers, she reached up to twine her arms around his neck. As Hunter kissed her, passion sparkled in a way she’d never known it. He’d been her first lover. Their passion had been so all-consuming that one night that he’d never guessed. A fall from a horse in her teens had claimed her clinical virginity. Nothing else had mattered that night except the two of them being as close as they could get. As before, his desire uncapped the well of passion that she’d protected all these years.
Eve’s response to Hunter’s kiss made him shudder. What was it about this woman? How could she make him need so desperately? Why did she make his sexual hunger come alive in a way he’d never experienced with anyone else? The kiss wasn’t enough, and the thought of not going any further was dismissed with a recklessness he’d forgotten he’d possessed.
One hand slid to the base of her neck as he took the kiss deeper. His other slipped between them, going to the buttons on her dress. He remembered the look and feel and touch of Eve’s body. He remembered how the sight of her had aroused him then and how the thought of it aroused him now. He undid the first shiny gold button easily and then the second and the third. Forays of his tongue were met with fervent ones by hers. The bra she wore fastened in the front, and quickly he unfastened it.
When her breath caught, he felt male satisfaction that he could take her breath away. She certainly took his. He let his hand lie between her breasts for a few moments, taunting them both, but then he captured her, pressed his palm against her, savoring the satin softness, the roundness. As he brushed his thumb over her nipple, she gasped, and he broke the kiss. The overhead light in the room was bright, and he leaned away slightly to look at her. Her cheeks were flushed, her lips were pink, her eyes were shining, sparkling with a passion he’d aroused. He scooped her into his arms and carried her over to the window seat, kneeling before her and bending his head to her nipple. When his tongue rasped over it, she moaned and he did it again.
“It’s going to be good between us, Eve, so very good.”
He wanted her to anticipate their wedding night. He wanted her to tremble with excitement when she thought about it. He wanted her to come to their marriage with as much need for him as he had for her. If he could tie her to him with passion, they might have a chance.
She only needed his name to claim her father’s inheritance. He needed her body for the satisfaction he yearned for, for the child he dreamed of fathering. His need was greater than hers and he couldn’t let her see that. All his life he’d learned that needing a family didn’t make him part of one. He’d learned that seeking approval didn’t mean earning it. He’d learned that giving could be met with rebuff and rivalry. Somehow he had to tie Eve to him, and if it took pleasure to do it, then that’s what he’d use.
Molding his hands to both of her breasts, he circled them temptingly, teasing her and himself, bringing soft pants from her lips. He kissed each one of them with tiny, fluttering kisses that made her say his name. The sound of it on her lips was a husky temptation in itself. He took one nipple into his mouth, rimming it, toying with it, finally suckling it, and she cried out.
This is what they’d do in this room.
He felt his own hands shaking, and groaned. That’s the power she had over him…the power he wanted over her. The best way to keep power was to wield it carefully.
At this moment Eve wanted him. He intended to keep her wanting him.
When he took his hands from her breasts, she protested. He held her head between his palms and kissed her thoroughly and deeply, letting it last until he thought he’d burst from his own needs.
But then he withdrew, dropped his hands and stood, looking down at her.
Eve’s gaze was questioning and a bit lost. “Hunter?”
“I don’t think we want to christen the bedroom quite yet. Sheila could walk back in here at any minute.”
Eve looked mortified that she’d forgotten, and when she looked down at her open dress and bra, her cheeks blazed even brighter. “You’re right, of course.”
He noted with satisfaction that her fingers trembled when she fastened her bra. After she closed her dress, she stood looking uncertainly at him.
Try
ing to hide his desire for her, trying to appear unaffected by what had just happened, he asked, “So are we ready to clinch the deal on the house?”
Her fingers ran through her hair. “If it’s what you want.”
“It’s what I want.” Hunter realized he couldn’t let Eve see just how badly he wanted her.
Because five years ago he’d shown her how desperately he’d needed her, and she’d walked away.
Chapter Four
The bubbles in the champagne tickled Eve’s nose as she took a sip. This was the night before her wedding to Hunter. Martha had invited them to a prewedding celebration so that she could meet the rest of Hunter’s family. So far the conversation had been limited to the heaviness of the traffic and the weather. Hunter’s presence as he sat casually on the arm of her chair, handsomely dressed in a navy blazer, slacks and a white collarless shirt, was disturbing yet welcome, too, as she looked across the room at Larry Morgan and his wife, Midge. Hunter’s sister, Jolene, sat beside Midge on the sofa. A few minutes ago John had excused himself, and Martha had gone to the kitchen to check on dinner.
Eve took another appraising look at Larry. He was good-looking in an average sort of way. His blond hair was slicked back with styling gel or hair spray, and his brown eyes were lighter than John’s and Martha’s. He was wearing a black suit, double-breasted, with a gray-and-black tie. Midge had blond hair that, by the darkness of the roots, Eve could tell wasn’t natural. She was almost as tall as her husband and gestured quite a bit when she talked.
In contrast, Jolene Morgan had her father’s dark brown hair and her mother’s wide-set, dark brown eyes. She was slender and delicate and smiled shyly at Eve often.
No one seemed to know exactly what to say.
“This wedding is awfully sudden, isn’t it?” Larry asked anyone in general.
Hunter shrugged. “We couldn’t find a good reason to wait.”
Larry’s eyes narrowed. “Just a couple of weeks ago you had a blonde on your arm in the newspaper. Were you in Georgia then, Eve?”
Eve herself had worried about that blonde too many times to count.
Over the weekend, she and Hunter had been busy with shopping for furniture for the house, generally making sure everything was set for the wedding tomorrow evening, as well as getting ready for the trip to Savannah. Hunter had spent time on and off at his office and, for the most part, they hadn’t had much chance to be alone. Eve had felt embarrassed by her abandoned response to him Thursday evening in the house they were going to buy, and his casual attitude afterward. She knew he was a lot more experienced in sexual matters than she was, but she wished their kisses could rock him half as much as they rocked her.
“Yes. I was in Georgia then.”
Hunter dropped his arm casually across her shoulders. “That photograph in the paper was taken after a business dinner. Barbara Kellogg is a client.”
“I see.” There was implied criticism in Larry’s tone.
Jolene moved forward on the sofa. “Mom and Dad told me that you settle on a house tomorrow morning. Where’s the property?”
After explaining the location, Hunter took a sip of his champagne.
“That’s a wonderful area,” Jolene said. “I understand the architect worked with the trees and the natural elements already there instead of tearing everything out.”
Larry addressed Eve. “You’ll be spending a lot of time there alone, I suppose. I was surprised Hunter found someone who could put up with his work hours and his traveling.”
Straightening in her chair, Eve felt her temper spark. In spite of the opinion she’d started to form about Larry from Hunter and Martha, she’d nevertheless decided to meet him tonight with a clean slate. Yet his comments made it hard for her to remain objective. “It’s all in your perspective,” she said sweetly. “Hunter’s hours will provide us with lots of opportunities for late-night dinners. And the traveling? Well, it will be a terrific opportunity for me to do some sight-seeing while he works, I imagine.” Though Hunter had never said he’d take her with him.
“I’d like to see more than the outskirts of Denver,” Midge complained. “But Larry’s always too busy with work or softball.”
Her husband frowned. “I promised you a trip to Europe later in the year.”
“You did?”
“You mustn’t have been listening,” he said smoothly.
“If you’re serious, I’ll have to stop at the travel agent’s and get all kinds of brochures. Then we can really plan where we are going. Hunter’s been everywhere. I’m sure he can recommend the best places to see.”
Before Hunter could comment, Larry offered, “If you’re going to settle on the house tomorrow morning, that means you’ll see each other before the wedding. Bad luck.”
“We don’t believe in superstitions,” Hunter replied in a firm voice.
A beeping came from Hunter’s pager. When he checked the number, he said, “It’s Slade. I’ll call from the kitchen.”
“Your cell phone died?” Larry gibed.
“It’s in the car. I didn’t want business to interfere tonight unless it was absolutely necessary.” With that, he stood and went to the kitchen.
“So…you’re from the South,” Midge said to Eve.
Larry picked up the conversational ball, such as it was. “Sweet Southern charm seems to be alive and well if Eve is any indication.” He gave her a smile she supposed was intended to be ingratiating.
“Thank you, but I’m not sure Southern women are different from other women.”
“Oh, they must be,” Larry protested. “I don’t know many women from around here who would want their husbands tending to some of the beauties Hunter has as clients.”
Eve couldn’t decide if Larry was nasty by nature or had to work at it. “I suppose the trick is not seeing Hunter’s clients as rivals. I’ll be his wife, Larry. I’ll be the woman he comes home to.”
Larry looked taken aback, as if he hadn’t expected such a forthright response.
“Eve,” Hunter called from the kitchen. “Come here a minute, will you?”
Grateful for the interruption, Eve stood, and politely excused herself from the living room.
In the kitchen, Martha gave her a smile as Hunter handed her the phone. “It’s Slade. He’d like to say hello to you.”
Eve took the receiver. “Hello?”
“This is Slade Coleburn, Eve. I just wanted to tell you that Emily, Mark, Amanda and I are sorry we can’t come to the wedding.”
“I’m sorry, too. Hunter speaks very highly of you.”
Slade chuckled. “Well, that’s right nice of you to tell me that. We think highly of him. This wedding was pretty sudden.”
“Yes, it was.” She wondered if Hunter had told Slade the truth yet about their upcoming nuptials.
“We’re planning to come to Colorado for a visit once you get back from Savannah and get comfortable in your new house. As long as we know ahead of time, we can take a week or so. That is, if a visit is all right with you. We don’t want to barge in if you’re trying to get your feet on the ground. We can stay in a motel.”
“No, you won’t stay in a motel,” she protested quickly. “We’d like you to stay with us.” She was eager to meet Hunter’s twin. “We’ll call you once we’re back from Georgia.”
“All right. We’ll look forward to it. Now let me put Emily on the line. She wants to say hello, too.”
Hunter watched Eve as she spoke with Slade and then with Emily. She was natural with them as if she’d been talking to them all her life. But then, Slade and Emily invited that kind of response.
When Eve hung up the phone a few minutes later, she smiled at Hunter. “They’re nice people.”
Martha picked up a platter of Cornish hens. “I’ve never met Emily, but Slade stayed here while Hunter was in the hospital.” Martha glanced at Hunter. “He’s a fine man and I wish…” Her words trailed off.
A look passed between Hunter and his adoptive mother and both
their gazes were filled with pain. But neither said anything until Hunter crossed to Martha and took the platter from her hands. “I’ll carry this in for you.”
For the most part, dinner was pleasant. Seated next to Jolene, Eve asked questions about her work. Hunter’s sister was animated when she spoke about it, as if she enjoyed it immensely. Larry took jabs at Hunter whenever he could, but they seemed to roll off Hunter’s back. If this had been the pattern throughout Hunter’s childhood, Larry’s antagonism had to have affected him in some way.
After dessert, John Morgan stood and addressed Eve and Hunter. “We want you to know how happy we are about your wedding tomorrow. We considered what we could get you for a wedding present, and we came up with something a little different.” He held up a small key. “This is for the two of you. In a few minutes I’ll show you what it opens. Larry, do you want to come help me, please? We’ll bring it into the living room.”
Hunter accepted the key for the two of them and held it in his palm.
“Do you have any idea what it is?” Eve asked, leaning close to him.
When he turned to look at her, his lips could have easily brushed her temple, but he just shook his head. “I’ve no idea.”
They waited in the living room, and a few minutes later Larry and John carried in a cedar chest.
“It’s beautiful.” Eve went to the chest and knelt in front of it. It was cherry wood with carvings of roses in the corners and under the lock. Behind her, she was aware of Larry moving over to stand beside Hunter, and she heard his low words.
“They offered it to me when I got married, but Midge wanted all new furniture, so Mom and Dad gave us money instead.”
Eve glanced over her shoulder at Hunter. As a skilled lawyer and negotiator, he must be used to keeping his expression unreadable. It was unfathomable now.
John looked embarrassed by Larry’s comment. “We thought the two of you would appreciate this. I know Hunter is a connoisseur of fine craftsmanship, and Eve told Martha about the furniture she cherishes that belonged to her mother. With your new house, we thought you might be able to find a place for it and eventually hand it down to your children as it was handed down to your mother. But if you’d like a different type of wedding present—”
Just the Husband She Chose Page 5