by SUE FINEMAN
He took her into her bedroom and locked the door. “This isn’t a good idea, Blade. I don’t know you well enough to sleep with you and I certainly don’t know you well enough to marry you.”
He straightened her clothes and buttoned her blouse, and without another word, he left the room. She couldn’t hear his thoughts, but she knew she’d hurt his feelings. Instead of bringing her here, he should have been looking for another woman.
Did she want him to find another woman?
Maria ran a hot bath and sank into the bubbles, soaking away the tiredness from the trip and the feel of Blade’s big, rough hands on her body. If he loved her, her decision would be an easy one, but Blade didn’t love her. He wanted to use her to accomplish a goal.
She could use him the same way. She could live in a nice house, Robbie could go to a private school where bright children were challenged, and Molly could have a bathroom she didn’t have to share with her brothers. If they had a prenuptial agreement with a specified amount going to her if the marriage failed, she’d never have to worry about paying the bills again.
A slight breeze stirred the bubbles in the tub, and Blade stood in her bathroom doorway. With a slight smile, he walked over and sat on the side of the tub. Reaching through the bubbles, he ran his hand over her breasts and then leaned down to kiss her.
“The cook is bringing dinner up in a half-hour. She said she’d speak with you in the morning about the menu for the week.” I told her we were getting married.
“Don’t do that.”
Do what?
“Get into my head.”
He dipped his head for another kiss. “Honey, I want to get into more than your head.” Marriage to you would be heaven. Let’s make a baby. Let’s make five babies.
“Five?”
“How about two?”
“I’m not even sure I can make one, Blade. I’ve had four miscarriages. If you want children of your own, you should look for another woman. Find someone to build a family with.”
“I have found someone, Maria.” I found you.
He kept talking about marriage, but he’d never once mentioned love, not even in his thoughts. Maria gazed into his blue eyes and wanted to tell him she’d marry him, but she couldn’t. Maybe it was selfish of her to deprive her kids of the stability that money would bring, but she wanted more. She wanted love, the deep, passionate, soul mates kind of love her parents had.
“What’s this?” Blade wiped a tear off her cheek, and she hadn’t even realized she was crying.
“I’m just tired.”
“Nah. You’re afraid you’ll pass up the chance of a lifetime and I’ll marry a hooker or a bag lady. You don’t want to lose me, do you?”
“No.”
Then marry me.
“I can’t, Blade.” She wanted to tell him what he wanted to hear, but marriage was hard enough when people started out loving each other. She wouldn’t set herself up for another failed marriage.
You don’t love me, Blade.
“Oh, my God,” Blade whispered. “I heard that.”
“Heard what?”
“That I don’t love you. Maria, I care for you more than I’ve ever cared for anyone. I admire you and respect you, I lust after your gorgeous body, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. If that’s love, then I love you. I need you, honey. I don’t have time to find another woman, and I don’t want to find another one. I want you.”
Maria stood and let the bubbles slide off her body. She couldn’t listen to this without doing something she knew she’d regret in the morning. Why had she agreed to come here? It was foolish to be in this house with him when she was so confused about her feelings.
Blade wrapped one towel around her shoulders and wiped her breasts with another. She closed her eyes and felt every gentle stroke, and then she felt his mouth tug at her left nipple. Running her fingers through his hair, she held his head there, while he stroked her hot body with the towel.
Could she love Blade if he didn’t love her back? She couldn’t control how she felt, but she could control what she did about it. There wasn’t enough money in the world to marry a man who didn’t love her. Still, she could give the kids a better life and a full-time father. Blade wouldn’t beat them down like Fred always had.
Had she gone crazy? She couldn’t consider marriage now. Jumping into a marriage when you were nineteen and naïve was one thing. Doing it with kids, knowing what could happen if things didn’t work out, wouldn’t just be risky. It would be foolish.
She gazed into Blade’s eyes and asked a question without words. Would you marry me without the inheritance?
I don’t know, Maria.
“This is the weirdest conversation I’ve ever had,” said Blade. “Can you do it with anyone else?”
“With my mother sometimes, but until now, she was the only one.”
He grinned. “There’s a message in that. It means we were made for each other.”
You’re crazy.
I want to make love to you, Maria. Give us one night together, honey, and I’ll show you how good it can be.
Don’t hurt me, Blade.
I don’t want to hurt you, honey. I want to make love to you.
But you don’t love me.
I don’t know what love is. Will you teach me, Maria?
Someone tapped on the bedroom door, and Blade pulled the bathroom door closed so Maria could get dressed.
He needed a wife, and with five weeks until his birthday, he was running out of time. If he couldn’t convince Maria to marry him, he could kiss the rest of his inheritance goodbye, including a place on the board of his grandfather’s company.
The cook wheeled in a cart with their dinner. Blade breathed deeply. “It smells wonderful, Bridget.”
“Thank you, Mr. Banner.”
“I thought you’d found a job elsewhere.”
“It didn’t work out. If the new people don’t want me I’ll have to find a new place to live and work.” She cocked her head. “You wouldn’t happen to need someone out your way, would you?”
“Do you clean or just cook?”
“Oh, I help Margaret out with the cleaning all the time.”
Blade told her what she wanted to hear. “I’ll talk it over with Maria.” If Maria didn’t want a full-time cook and housekeeper, Cara might be able to use her. Bridget was a nice woman who’d probably fit in quite well with the other members of Cara’s staff.
Bridget beamed. “Thank you, sir.”
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Sophia spoke with Maria on the phone and assured her that everything was fine at home. Molly could be a handful, but she never gave her grandmother any trouble.
Daisy stretched out on the back of the sofa, watching out the window for her boys. She was a cute little dog, and she’d helped the boys get through the hard times.
Maria worried her the most. She’d gone off with this man. Blade was hiding something from her, and Sophia didn’t like secrets. He wasn’t what he seemed. At one time she thought of him as simply another rough biker, but there were deeper layers to the man, layers of pain and loneliness, of striving for something just out of his reach.
Angelo and Teresa came down for dinner, but the house felt empty without Maria and the boys. They’d all be leaving her soon. She felt it in the air.
But she couldn’t change the future.
<>
Maria crawled between the softest sheets imaginable, but she couldn’t sleep. Hearing her children’s thoughts was one thing, and communicating with her mother was as natural as breathing, but she’d never had that kind of connection with a man. She wanted to take what he was offering, but she’d only known this guy for a few days. What if he wasn’t what he seemed? Rushing into another marriage at this point in her life would be as foolish as letting herself fall in love.
Even as the thought came to her, she knew it was too late. She already loved him. The first time she saw Blade up close, trying to wash the oil out of Daisy’s fur, ther
e was an instant connection, and every day she spent with him gave her an insight into what her life could be like with him. It would be heaven to be married to a man who treated her kids like interesting people, who made her mother feel special, who made her heart pound with joy every time she saw his handsome face.
How could she give him to another woman?
You can’t, came the reply from the doorway. Blade stood there in his pajama bottoms and T-shirt, and the nightlight showed the hopeful look on his face.
Maria scooted over and turned the covers down, an open invitation if he ever saw one. Blade closed and locked the door. Are you sure?
Will you shut up and get in here.
I thought you’d never ask.
You badgered me into it.
Blade smiled. Is that what I did?
He slid onto the sheets, still warm from her body, and she drifted into his arms. You got the warm spot.
Honey, the whole bed will be warm in no time.
They didn’t need words from that point on—spoken or unspoken. He brushed his lips over hers and she opened slightly. Blade’s body sprang to attention and he grew hard in seconds. He knew how to please a woman, but this was the first time he’d been with Maria, and he wanted to make their first time together something to remember. She pushed his shirt up a little and ran her hands around his waist to his back. Holding her face, he made slow, sweet love to her mouth.
Her nightgown untied in the front, and his mouth closed over one aroused nipple. She pulled her gown off her shoulders, and he pushed it down, out of his way. She was beautiful, built like a goddess, round and soft in all the right places, and tonight she belonged to him. If he had his way, she’d be his for the rest of their lives. But she’d been deeply hurt not just by her divorce, but by her husband’s infidelity, and marriage scared her. And he didn’t know the first thing about being a good husband and father.
He sat up and stripped off his T-shirt and then pushed his pajama pants off and rolled on the condom. He knew without asking that she wouldn’t let him touch her without one. If they married, he’d throw the damn things away and give her the baby she wanted.
As his hands skimmed her smooth skin and explored her lush body, she ran her fingers through his hair and stroked his body. He pulled her nightgown down over her hips and tossed it across the room. Blade wanted nothing between their naked bodies except the condom. Her skin felt warm and silky and alive, her nipples peaked with desire, and he knew before he touched her there that she was already wet and ready for him.
He took it slow and easy, feathering light kisses over her breasts and belly, sticking his tongue in her cute little belly button, until her breaths came quick and uneven. Then he pulled her hands over her head and held them there while he pushed his knee against the hot, wet spot between her legs and gave her a raunchy, open mouthed kiss. She writhed and moaned as he replaced his knee with his hand.
Maria’s body burned and tingled from Blade’s big, rough hands and his amazing mouth. Fred had always been in a hurry to please him himself, but this wasn’t Fred. This was Blade, and she’d never felt so alive, as if he’d awakened every cell in her body. When she thought she’d die from wanting, he plunged inside her, filling her completely. It had been so long since she’d been with a man and years since she’d felt like a desirable woman. He moved inside her, pounding into her until she felt like screaming from the strong orgasm. One more deep thrust and she felt his release.
Still buried deep inside her, he whispered, “You’re incredible, Maria.”
“So are you, Blade,” she whispered back. And he was. Fred had never made her feel so alive or given her such satisfaction in the bedroom. Neither had Roberto. She always thought it was her fault, and now she knew better. She’d been with the wrong men before.
Blade buried his face in her neck and his breath tickled her ear. She sighed deeply. This was how a woman was supposed to feel after making love. The man she’d once thought of as a crude biker had turned out to be a magnificent lover. The way he touched her, she wanted to cry with happiness, but what they had here in New York had nothing to do with her life back home.
Another marriage was out of the question.
Wasn’t it?
Chapter Nine
Maria woke alone the next morning, but Blade’s side of the bed still felt warm. He hadn’t been gone long. She stretched and smiled. They’d made love three times last night, and each time was better than the last. And she’d actually set him up with another woman. She should have her head examined.
After a quick shower, she walked downstairs and found a pot of coffee on the sideboard in the breakfast room. She helped herself to a cup and examined the dishes in the china cabinet. They were white, with a pink rose pattern. Pretty. Some pieces were displayed and others were stacked in the lower part of the cabinet. Silverware and table linen filled the drawer.
Blade walked into the room and gave her a good morning kiss. “Those are only used for breakfast. There are more dishes in the kitchen and more in the china cabinets in the dining room.”
Maria’s first thought was that her mother would love this set, and there were enough place settings for the entire family. And Mom would use them for more than breakfast.
<>
Work began in earnest after breakfast. They began on the main floor, with the library. The room was lined in bookshelves and furnished with comfortable leather furniture—a sofa, club chairs, ottomans, and a round table with four chairs. “This was my grandfather’s favorite room,” Blade said, “and I want to keep it all, including the books.”
“Oh, look.” Maria pulled a book off the shelf. “This is about Leonardo de Vinci, Robbie’s hero. He said the man was a genius.”
“He was.” Blade examined the book. “This is very old.”
They walked through the living room next. Blade consulted a list. “The buyers want the furniture in this room.” The delicate, formal furniture was definitely not his style.
“I can’t see kids in this room. I can’t even see you in this room.”
“The buyers can have it. We’ll take the dining room furniture, including the cart.”
“Okay.” Maria walked into the solarium and sighed. “I love this chintz.”
Blade sat in one of the overstuffed chairs. “Comfortable. Shall we keep it?” There were two big sofas and four chairs, coordinating tables and lamps, and plenty of throw pillows. He wasn’t crazy about the flowered pattern, but he could picture it in the living room Al had designed. It would brighten the house on a gloomy day, and there were plenty of gloomy days in Western Washington. The kids would wear out the fabric in no time, but they could always have covers made.
They spent the entire day going through the first two floors, figuring out which furniture to keep for Blade’s new house and which to give to Angelo and Teresa. Blade took pictures, and before dinner, he loaded the pictures on his computer. He emailed the pictures of the furniture they’d chosen for Angelo and Teresa to Nick. There were two bedroom sets, sitting room furniture that would go well in an informal living room, and the dining set from the solarium. He added a note that Maria was also putting aside linens and dishes and other kitchen items for Angelo and Teresa.
After dinner, while Blade worked in the basement, Maria went up to the second floor. The housekeeper had stripped the beds in several rooms and stacked the linens on the beds, ready to be packed. Maria emptied drawers and bathrooms and closets and left notes on the dressers how the contents of those rooms were to be labeled and where they were to be sent. As she finished each room, she pulled the doors closed. She didn’t finish until nearly two in the morning, but Maria was quite pleased with what she’d accomplished.
Blade was already in bed, sound asleep. They had nine bedrooms in this house, and he’d moved his things into her room. They couldn’t sleep together at home, but they could share a bed here and no one back home would ever know.
As soon as she got into bed, he rolled over and p
ut his hand on her breast. “Blade, I thought you were asleep.”
“I was, but a part of my anatomy woke up when you got in bed. Want to see?” He trapped her legs between his and she felt his erection pressed against her hip.
“Aren’t you out of condoms?”
“No, but I could throw the rest of them out and we could start working on our first baby. Or maybe we’ll have twins, beautiful baby girls who look just like their mother.”
She snuggled in. “Have you ever been around babies?”
“No, but I’m a fast learner.”
Blade, if we married—
When we marry.
“If we married, how long would you expect it to last? I mean, how long do you have to be married to get your inheritance?”
He stiffened. “Are you saying you don’t want a real marriage?”
“Do you? Do you even know what a real marriage is supposed to be like?”
He rolled away before answering. “No. I’ve never known anyone who had a happy marriage.” He drew in a deep breath and blew it out. “I want to promise you a happily-ever-after, but I’ve never had a loving, long-term relationship, and I’ve never been around kids for any length of time. I’ve been on my own for most of my life, Maria. As a potential husband and father, I’m a lousy risk.”
“Yet you’re asking me to marry you.”
“Yes, I’m asking you to marry me. We get along okay, I like your kids and the rest of your family, and—”
“And it’s the only way to get your hands on your grandfather’s estate.”
“Yes.”
As tired as she was, Maria lay awake for quite some time, thinking about what to do. He’d give anything to get her name on a marriage certificate. With her, marriage was about building a life with someone you loved.
With him, it was about money and business.
She fell asleep with a heavy heart.
<>
Early the next morning, Blade went looking for the butler. “Would you order two dozen roses for Maria?”
