Art of War (A Stern Family Saga Book 3)

by Monique Orgeron

“Oh, you will, Murphy. Catherine will let you keep fifty-one percent of the casino. You will remain in control of it. They will also offer you protection from whoever comes after you. In return, you will marry Zander and raise your child as a Stern.”

  I see Zander's face lighten up, he looks happy. But I’m pissed. How could she do this to me?

  “I won’t do it.”

  Mom walks straight to me. She leans down and whispers in my ear, “You will do this, Murphy. In life, we sometimes do not have an option to do what we want. This is the only way, Murphy, don’t you see? I am protecting you, like I have always done. Now it’s your turn to protect your child.”

  I look at her and know she means it. My mother has never been a stupid or a rash woman. So, if she believes this is necessary, then it is.

  I say in a low voice, “Fine, I’ll do it.”

  Catherine says, “Good, now we need to prepare for a wedding.”

  I practically shout, “NO! You want me to marry him, then fine, I’ll marry him, but I’m not pretending for a bunch of people I don’t know. You want this to happen? Okay, but I will do it here, right now, and I will not waver on this.”

  I look at Zander. “Take it or leave it. But I will not pretend we don’t know what this marriage is for. I will be your wife, but in name only.”

  Zander swallows his drink in one swallow, then fixes another. Then he tells his mother, “Make it happen.”

  45

  Zander

  I don’t think I have ever been so hurt as much as Murphy just hurt me. If she weren’t pregnant with my child, I would have walked out. But I won’t, I won’t leave her or my child. I have to just push through. I pour another drink, I’m going to need it if this is how she wants to play. Mom comes over to me and asks if she wants me to call Baxter for a ring. I can’t answer, I just nod. She rubs my shoulder and walks away. I down my drink and turn around to see Murphy watching me. I grab the bottle and walk outside to the veranda.

  Theo comes to join me. I don’t want to talk, so he just sits there. After a few minutes, he grabs the bottle and takes a swig. “You’re getting what you want. Quit pouting!”

  I chuckle. “What I want, but not what she wants.”

  “Do you love her?”

  I look at him, pissed. Why the fuck does it matter to him or anyone how I feel?

  “Does it matter? You heard her, she’s going through with it in name only.”

  “It does matter, son. I have loved your mother for so long that I would have been willing to take her any way I could’ve had her. Even if it was in name only. Even if it were just to give you my name.”

  “How do you love a woman like that?”

  He stands and says, “With everything you have. With no question, and you pray that one day she will love you back the way you deserve.”

  He walks back inside the house. I finish my bottle, then Avery comes outside and tells me that Baxter is here. I stand and follow her in. Murphy is sitting with everyone in the living room. Baxter stands, shakes my hand and congratulates me. He then asks where I want him to set up. Before I can answer, Mom tells him to go to her office.

  I look at Murphy. “Would you like to help pick the ring?”

  She shakes her head and remains sitting.

  I lead Baxter to the office. He opens his case and sets up on Mom’s desk. He then motions me over once he has all the rings set up. He brought so many that I’m not sure where to start. He starts showing me different shapes and styles and says that when Mom called, he brought everything he had in my fiancée's size. I see a ring towards the back that captures my eye. I point, and Baxter smiles.

  “I see you have excellent taste. I wasn’t sure because most women like clear diamonds, but this is something different. It’s a cushion cut five-carat light canary diamond surrounded by two carats of diamonds. The setting is vintage.”

  He says it’s different from the rest, and it makes me think of Murphy; she’s different from all the women I know. “I’ll take it.”

  Once the transaction is finished I walk Baxter out, thanking him for coming so quick. I return to the living room to make myself another drink. Mom says that she called City Hall and sped up the process for a marriage license. All we have to do is wait for it to be delivered with Judge Lirette.

  Murphy stands and asks Mom if she can be seen to a room to relax before the ceremony. Mom has Jeffery show her and Cherry where they will be staying. The rest of the family disperses until it’s time. I’m left with my thoughts, my whiskey in hand, and a ring burning a hole in my pocket.

  I call my men and ask if there has been any news on Judith’s whereabouts. They tell me they still have nothing. I lay my head back on the sofa in frustration. I must have passed out because Jeffery is waking me up, saying that everyone is seated in the dining room for supper.

  I walk into the dining room to see everyone looking at me. Everyone except Murphy. She hasn’t looked at me since she agreed to marry me. I sit down, and the supper remains quiet.

  As soon as we are finished, the doorbell rings. It’s Judge Lirette.

  Murphy stands and says, “Let’s get this over with.” She hasn’t even changed; she’s still wearing the dress she’s had on all day.

  I take another drink and stand by the judge who is now positioned in front of the fireplace. I start to laugh, thinking about the mockery we are making of this marriage. I mean, come on, this is not the way I saw my wedding day. Not that I ever really gave it much thought. I just always thought the woman I would be marrying would be much more thrilled at the idea. She doesn’t even try to pretend to enjoy any part of this.

  All my brothers stand next to me, and Fallon and Avery stand next to Murphy. They weren’t asked to, but I guess they are trying to make this seem a little more normal. She still hasn’t looked at me. The judge starts; it's short but efficient in the scheme of things. He asks if I have the ring. I reach for my pocket, take the ring out of the box and throw the box over my shoulder. She extends her hand, and I put the ring on. It’s a perfect fit. She finally looks down at it and immediately looks up at me in shock. I think she likes it, but right now I don’t give a fuck. I just drop her hand. When the judge says you may now kiss the bride, I turn, bending to give her a kiss. She turns her face, trying to give me her cheek. Bullshit, that is where I draw the line.

  I stand to my full height, looking down at her. Without any warning, I grab her around the waist, pulling her tight to my chest, and I kiss her hard right on her mouth. I don’t give a fuck who’s watching or that she didn’t want me to kiss her. She has had her way about everything else, and I’ll be damned if I am not going to kiss my bride. She tries not to open her mouth as she tries to push against me to get away. But I pinch her ass hard, making her yelp. When she does, I slip my tongue inside and start devouring her mouth. When I finally release her, she slaps me hard across the face.

  She then turns and walks off. I yell at her, “I’ll give you a real reason to slap my face later, sweet cheeks.”

  She doesn’t even stop. She just keeps walking away. Fuck!

  Everyone’s trying to contain their laughter. “All right, show’s over, people, fuck off.”

  I grab a bottle and walk back outside.

  Murphy

  How fucking dare he? I cannot believe he’s kissing me like this and in front of everyone. I told him this marriage was in name only. He still married me anyway, so he should know I am not kissing or sleeping with him. I slap him and walk off as fast as I can. I need to get away from all of them. Do they not care that I didn’t want to do this? That I don’t want to be here?

  Once I’m in the room, I close the door and lock it. If he tries to come in here tonight, he will find a locked door. That should be enough to let him know that he is not welcome here.

  I sit on the bed and start crying. I can’t believe I’m pregnant and now married to this family. The family I have tried hard to get out of my life. I look down at the ring Zander put on my finger. It’s bea
utiful, probably the prettiest ring I have ever seen. How did he know that if I had a choice, this would have been the one? I hate the normal style wedding rings, this one is so unique and different. I will never tell him, but I love it.

  I lay back in bed, trying to figure out my life and what went wrong and how I got here. What am I going to do now? I should be happy. After all, I got majority shares in my casino, it’s still mine. I even get to have control over it, and the debt vanishes. But it’s not the casino I worry about now, it’s Zander. What do I do about him? He got what he wanted, me. What about what I want? And do I even know what that is? No matter how much I want to deny it, I do have feelings for him. Stronger feelings than I have ever had for a man. Mom’s right, though, that’s why I am so scared of him. He will hurt me in the long run. Just like all the other men in my life, starting with my father. If I allow him to continue to dig deeper into my heart, he will shatter it beyond recognition. Then I will be no use to my child or myself. No, I must keep my guard up. I can’t allow Zander to break through my barrier again.

  I wipe my tears away, deciding I need to take a hot bath and dress for bed. I’m so glad they brought all my things from the hotel. Sleep is what I need now. Nothing else matters.

  Hours later, I’m wakened by a low sounding knock on the door. I choose to ignore it. I know it’s Zander. A few minutes later, the knocking gets louder. Then louder. I yell out, “Go away!” The knocking seems to stop. I try to lay back down, but then the door swings open with a loud thud. Zander kicked the door in. He slams the door, staring at me with rage.

  “Zander!”

  He says nothing. He walks to the bed and starts removing his clothes. “What the hell are you doing?” He continues to strip down to nothing, standing there in all his naked glory. He is an amazing looking man. I have to divert my eyes to not want him as badly as I do. He pulls the sheets down and sees me in my bra and panties. He growls and gets in the bed. Before I know it, he has my wrist in his grasp.

  “There will be no closed door between us. Do you hear me? You are my wife.”

  “You’re drunk! Let me go, Zander! I told you, I may be your wife, but in name only.”

  He laughs. “Do you think I would force myself on you, Red? I have never forced a woman in my life, and I sure in the hell am not starting now with my wife.”

  He then pulls me by the arm and kisses me hard. It doesn’t last long, and he doesn’t try to go any further. He kisses me and releases my arm and says, “Goodnight, wife.”

  I watch as he lays down and passes out. What do I do? I wait a few minutes then try to make an escape. I’m slowly trying to move out of the bed when I hear him say, “Don’t try it, Red. This is our bed and this is where you will stay. Leave and I will just drag your ass back.”

  Damn him! I throw myself back down. Trying to fall asleep next to this sexy man every night is going to kill me.

  46

  Murphy

  The next morning, I find myself wrapped in a cocoon of Zander. He has his arm around my waist and his legs thrown over mine. I slept well but I don’t remember when he wrapped himself around me. Suddenly the urge to vomit hits me like a brick. I try to get out from under him, but the man is heavy.

  “Zander, Zander, let me up!”

  He moans and starts to move but not fast enough. “Zander I’m going to be sick, get off!”

  He jumps and I run to the bathroom. Morning sickness is beginning to be a major bitch. My stomach is empty when I look up and see a hard dick almost in my face.

  “Do you mind?”

  “Are you okay?”

  “I would be better if you pointed that thing somewhere else.”

  He turns and gets me a cold, wet towel. He hands it to me and bends down in front of me.

  “You better get used to it, Red. I’m afraid I wake up every morning like this and sleeping next to you all night won’t help it to go away.”

  “I can arrange to fix that problem.”

  “I told you last night, Red, I might put up with most of your bullshit, but this is something I am not going to let you get away with. That is our bed and you and I will be in it every night.”

  He stands back up and turns the bathtub water on. “What are you doing?”

  “I’m running some water for you to bathe. I know you’re not feeling well. I thought maybe this would help.”

  I’m thrown off for a minute. He’s this big giant of a man, but he’s being gentle with me. I didn’t expect him to worry like this. To prove my case, I hear him say, “I called Jeffery, he should be here any minute with some lemons and peppermint tea. It seemed to help you yesterday.”

  He reaches down and pulls me off the floor. I stare into his eyes then I feel his hands go to my back as he starts to remove my bra. I quickly move, shaking off my desire.

  “I can do it.”

  He smiles and then leaves the room. I undress and wrap my hair in a top knot. I wash my face off and brush my teeth. I then look at myself in the mirror and see my freckles on full display. I look pale but not as bad as I thought I would be. I turn the water off once the tub is filled and sit down, it’s the perfect temperature. The bathroom door opens and in comes Zander wearing a pair of low lying sweatpants, holding a tray with my lemons and tea. He brings the tray over and sets it down on a table next to the tub.

  I grab a lemon and start sniffing. I then notice Zander stripping his pants off.

  “What are you doing?”

  “I’m taking a bath with you, silly.”

  “Oh no, you’re not! Zander, stop!”

  “What are you going to do to stop me, love?”

  The bastard! He knows I can’t physically stop him and I have a feeling if I yell out, no one will come.

  He slowly gets into the tub. “You want to try to yell? Go for it. The walls are soundproof, no one will hear you.”

  “Soundproof why?”

  “Let’s just say that I am not the only Stern capable of making a woman scream out.”

  I try to kick him with my foot, but he grabs it. Now he won’t let go. He laughs and starts rubbing the arch of my foot. I can’t help letting out a moan, which pisses me off. I try to pull away, but he won’t let me.

  “Play nice, Red. I told you I won’t force myself on you. I see how high your heels are, I figure this might help. They say a pregnant woman’s feet ache pretty bad. You should really consider wearing flats now.”

  “What? No! Zander, what do you want?”

  “I figure this is the perfect time to talk. I want to know all about the baby, I want to know how you’ve been feeling, too. Like, how far along are you now? I figure the last time was…”

  “I’m eight weeks, the last time was the one.”

  “I thought you were on the pill?”

  I pull my foot from him. “So, you’re blaming me? I had no intention of getting pregnant. I was on the pill, but I forgot to take one or two here and there. I was stressed, okay? I tried to go away, you were never obligated to do anything.”

  He moves fast, sitting up now, he grabs ahold of me. Holding my face close to his.

  “Listen to me, Red, I never blamed you for anything. It was a question. And I don’t feel obligated. This is my baby. I put him inside you and he took root. He is mine and so are you. You better get used to it because there is nothing you or anyone can do about it. From now on you’re stuck with me. Try to leave me again and I will find you, always.”

  He releases me and I’m stunned as he lays back against the tub and grabs my foot again. He is a mystery to me. One minute he’s kind and gentle, and the next he’s a brute.

  “Zander, do you even care if I don’t love you?”

  He chuckles. “Of course I do. I know you have feelings for me…”

  I go to say something, but he stops me by putting his hand up. “Let me finish, I know you have feelings for me. The night we made our baby, I felt your heart, I saw your vulnerable side. You might have tried to fight it, but you were bare to me. I mad
e love to you that night and you made love to me. That doesn’t happen when you don’t care for someone. Now that a part of me is growing inside you, I think that one day you will show me that side again and when that happens, you will be in love with me.”

  He stands and starts drying off. “I want to know when your next doctor appointment is, I’m going with you from now on.”

  He leaves the room. Is he right? Will I be able to keep fighting him, or now that I’m carrying his child, will I fall for him even more?

  Zander

  I leave the bathroom. She makes it so hard for me to show her I care, but I don’t want to be the one to say I love you first. I won’t be a sap for her. I might love her, but she has to show me she loves me too before I make myself more vulnerable to her.

  I dress and make my way downstairs for breakfast. When I reach the last step the doorbell rings. I beat Jeffery to the door. Standing there is Forrest, he’s still covered in some bruises, but he looks well enough.

  “May I see your mother?”

  “I don’t know, Forrest; do you think that’s the best thing for your health?”

  From behind me, I hear my mother. “Let him in, I would love to hear what he has to say for himself.”

  I wave for him to enter at his own risk. The man cowers and walks in, following my mother to the living room. I follow behind. Theo is sitting down drinking coffee. He raises a brow but doesn’t say anything.

  Mom makes herself a cup of coffee and then sits. “All right, Forrest, what do you have to say?”

  “Catherine, I meant no disrespect, I promise you. I thought I would be helping. When Judith came to me to help her get rid of the girl, all I thought was that it would make me look good in your eyes if I did. I knew you had your heart set on getting the casino. It never occurred to me that you would disapprove. I had no idea at the time that Zander was interested in the woman.”