And then there was that last night.
He came home later than usual, a tension in his shoulders I recognized but didn’t know the cause. I watched him pour himself a drink—another familiar sight—and I went to him, ran my hand over the small of his back.
“Talk to me,” I said.
Instead, he grabbed me and pressed me against the wall, his expression unreadable as he stared at me. Just as suddenly as he grabbed me, he kissed me, his hands tearing at my clothing as though he had to be inside of me before any more time passed. There was a desperation to his touch that was almost violent. It was not like anything we’d done before, but it had its own sort of excitement about it. He didn’t slow until my first orgasm slashed through my body, until I buried my nails in his shoulders and left raw marks in his flesh. Only then did he carry me to the couch and allow the tenderness back in. We made love there for hours, every touch, every breath a shared experience. He seemed insatiable, and I wanted to keep up with him, but he pushed me to my limits. I finally fell asleep as he peppered my shoulders with soft, endearing kisses.
When I woke the next morning, he was dressed in his customary work clothes—muddy jeans, heavy work boots, and a vintage t-shirt that had seen better days—sitting on the edge of the coffee table in front of me. He pressed a sealed envelope into my hands.
“There’s the title to the car in there with a couple of companies I had Joan set up interviews for you at. And a passbook to the bank account I set up in your name.”
“What?” I sat up, refusing to take the envelope, watching instead as it fell to the floor. “What are you talking about?”
“I bought you a car. I thought it was the least I could do.”
“The least…” I was so confused, my head was spinning. I reached for his hand, but he stood—standing so quickly he nearly knocked the table over.
“The divorce papers will be delivered to you in a few days.”
“Divorce? You’re divorcing me?”
“That was our deal, wasn’t it? You marry me until I don’t need you anymore.” He glanced at me, a mask that I thought was something of the past now covering his handsome features. “I don’t need you anymore.”
“Just like that?”
He stared at me for a long second. “I thought you’d be relieved. Now you take my money, my family name, and make a life for yourself.”
“I thought I was making a life here.”
“It was always a temporary situation, Riley. You knew that from the beginning.”
“But these past few weeks—”
“I let things get a little out of control. I apologize for that, but it doesn’t change anything.”
“Out of control.” I repeated his words because I was so stunned that he would say it that I had to repeat them. I sat up, tugging the thin blanket he must have laid over me around my shoulders, looking almost frantically around for my clothes. But they were all across the room, scattered in front of the bar.
“Riley,” he said, his voice softening slightly. Yet, when our eyes met, he turned away.
“Were you just using me the whole time?” I asked. “Was all this…was last night just you using me?”
He made a sound, something like a groan. But then he strode toward the door, pausing only long enough to say, “You knew what you were getting into from the beginning. You shouldn’t be surprised to see it end this way.”
And then he was gone. And I was completely destroyed.
Chapter 17
Present Day…
“What do you mean, ‘We’re still married’?”
Miles shrugged. “I mean, we’re still married. How many ways are there to interpret that statement?”
“I signed the papers.”
“I did, too. But they don’t do much of anything sitting in a drawer in my desk.”
“You didn’t send them to the lawyers?”
“No.”
“Why the hell not?”
An amused smile slipped over his full lips. “My little wife has developed quite the foul mouth, hasn’t she?”
“I’m not your wife. I don’t care what anyone says.” I brushed past him as I stormed back to the bedroom. “And I’m not staying here. There must be another room on this damn ship where I can wait out the next three days.”
“Nope. We’re completely booked up.”
“How would you know?”
“I own the cruise line.”
I spun around, my anger threatening to choke me. “You what?”
That smile again. “You heard me.”
“You own this ship?”
“And everything associated with it. Why do you think we have the best cabin on the ship?”
I resisted the instinct to look around. Instead, I returned to my original path, which was to redress and take myself somewhere else. I tugged at my bra again, a little more successful in getting it back on. Then shrugged out of the robe and pulled my t-shirt on over my head.
“That’s not really suitable attire to wear to dine with the captain.”
“I’m not dining with the captain. I’m going to find a place that is as far from you as possible.”
“And make everyone think there’s trouble in paradise? I don’t think so.”
“We’ve been separated for six months. I’m sure everyone is well aware of the trouble in our marriage.”
“Not really. I don’t know if you noticed, but word of our…separation…never hit the papers.”
I picked up my suitcase and lugged it across the room, pausing only because he was blocking the doorway.
“Move.”
“We have a prenup, Riley. I don’t know if you remember the details, but it states that as long as we are married, you have to perform whatever wifely duties I ask of you.”
“But you already paid me. You don’t have anything to hold over my head anymore.”
“Sure I do. Do you remember when I paid off your aunts’ house?”
A cold hand suddenly wrapped itself around my heart. “Yes.”
“It was actually a little more complicated than I led you to believe. You see, the bank had already done the foreclosure paperwork, they were just giving your aunts a little more time to get out. So, in order to pay it off, I had to actually purchase the house. I was going to have it transferred into your name and give you the deed when the divorce was final, but since we’re not yet divorced, the deed is still in my name.”
I glared at him through narrowed eyes. “What are you saying?”
“I’m saying if you don’t cooperate, I’ll kick your aunts out of their home and turn it into a parking lot.”
“You wouldn’t.”
“Try me.”
There was a hardness to his voice that actually dared me to argue with him. And I wanted to. I so wanted to. But I didn’t.
I dropped my suitcase close enough to his bare feet that he had to jump back to keep it from landing on his toes.
“Tell me what I have to do.”
“Don’t sound so defeated, my love,” he said, brushing his hand against my jaw. I moved back, leaving his hand hoovering in midair. He dropped it to his side, his eyes drifting over me for a long second. “This,” he finally said, “is the maiden voyage of the revamped cruise line. It had been plagued with problems, but my team has worked to fix the source of most of those problems. I’m here to prove to the public that those things won’t happen under the leadership of LMR, Inc.”
“LMR, Inc.? Isn’t that part of Thorn Financial? You’re working with your father?”
Miles inclined his head slightly, the first touch of humility I’d seen igniting a slight blush across his cheeks.
“Why? What about Thorn Construction?”
“My construction company is still flourishing.”
“But you’re working for Jackson.”
“I’m fulfilling an obligation.”
“But you’re not going to tell me why.” I turned away, crossing the room in just a few strides as frustr
ation again built inside of me. “Why am I surprised? You never really told me anything. You refused to explain why you needed to get married, never told me why you needed someone like me, and never explained why you ended things so abruptly.”
“I will. Someday. But right now I need your help.”
“Again.”
“Again. I know you’re angry with me…”
“Angry?” I turned to look at him, standing there with shaving cream drying on his cheeks and nothing but a towel around his waist. He should have looked vulnerable in such a state of undress, but there had never been anything vulnerable about Miles. He almost looked more masculine than he had in the tuxedo he wore the night of the Waco Chamber of Commerce gala.
I shook my head, unable to stop the flow of words that slipped from my lips.
“I was in love with you. I thought all that bull about a marriage of convenience was in our past, that we’d connected on a new level the night your mother died. I thought you returned my feelings. All those nights…but clearly I was wrong.”
I waited for him to say something. Waited for him to admit how wrong he’d been. Or maybe tell me I’d been wrong. But he didn’t say anything.
I went to the bed and unzipped my suit bag, pulling out a silky red dress Lisa encouraged me to buy in the weeks after our split, during the spat of blind dates she forced me to go on.
“I hope you were done in the bathroom,” I said over my shoulder as I went inside and locked the door behind me.
The strength poured out of me as I leaned against the door, but I managed to keep it in until I was standing under the heavy spray of water. And then I collapsed against the wall, sobs tearing me apart as all the grief I’d thought I’d finally put behind me returned with a vengeance.
I couldn’t do this. I couldn’t be near him and not want it all back, all the tenderness and the intimacy, the emotions I’d thought we shared and the future I’d taken for granted. I couldn’t pretend to be his contented young wife and not cross over that line that I’d so willingly jumped over all those months ago.
But I had no choice, did I?
Chapter 18
When I came out of the bathroom a little less than an hour later, Miles was sitting on the couch in the sitting room, scrolling through the channels on the television. I hadn’t even realized there was a television, let alone that you could get television reception out in the middle of the ocean. Technology wasn’t my thing.
Miles looked up, his eyes moving over me just like they had that night at the gala. If I was the same person I had been then, I would have blushed with pleasure. But I wasn’t that girl anymore.
I brushed past him as I finished stowing the bare necessities in my clutch—lipstick, small bills, my ID—and pulled the door open like I intended to go with or without him. But he was behind me before I expected him to be, his hand on the small of my back, his presence a heat that was unavoidable. I walked quickly, hoping to put a little space between us, but he kept up without even breathing hard. It took until we were at the stairs that led up to the main deck before I realized how futile this stupid game was.
“I think you’ll enjoy yourself tonight,” Miles said close to my ear.
The last time I heard that, Lisa had set me up with a friend of a friend of one of her brothers. It was the last date I let her set me up on. After six disasters, I was done.
The first was an accountant Lisa thought I would like because accounting is business, right? No. He was so in love with numbers that was all he talked about. He spent so much time on imaginary numbers that I actually learned some stuff I hadn’t in my college calculus class. But there was nothing romantic about that date.
The second was a relief bartender she met at the bar where she works. He was gorgeous—hmm, the abs on this guy were Hollywood inspired!—but the only thing he seemed interested in talking about was his high score on some game called Age of Mythology.
The third was one of Lisa’s brothers, Ryan. That wasn’t really her set up, it was more me going to her house to cry on her shoulder and discovering that the only one home was her oldest brother who was visiting while the school where he teaches in San Antonio was on spring break. And that was a really nice date. Only going out with Lisa’s brother was like going out with my own brother, so it was vaguely incestuous.
The fourth…well, that one was actually kind of nice, too. It was a guy named Dominic whom Lisa and I met while we were having lunch during a shopping spree. He was handsome and smart and charming. He took me to an expensive restaurant and then a play in Dallas. We even laughed, something I felt I hadn’t done much of up to that point. I really thought we hit it off, but I didn’t hear from him again after that night, so I guess we didn’t.
Five was a doctor who turned out to have a wife and kids at home.
The sixth was…well, that date lasted all of fifteen minutes, so he’s not even worth mentioning. Thanks a lot, Ryan. I kind of think he might have suggested this guy to Lisa to get revenge on me for refusing to go out with him again.
So, when someone said, I know you’ll have a good time, I tended to be skeptical.
But then we turned into the dining room and familiar faces seemed to be all around me. Joan was standing just inside the room. She held out her hands to me and smiled.
“Hello, Riley,” she said. “It’s lovely to see you.”
“You too, Joan,” I said most sincerely.
And then I heard a squeal and Lisa was suddenly in front of me. She threw her arms around me and rocked me back and forth.
“Happy birthday, kiddo,” she said in my ear. “I can’t tell you how happy I am that the two of you are getting back together. You were so miserable.”
I stepped back and stared at her. “What are you doing here?”
“That would be my doing,” Miles said, touching the back of my neck as he slid up behind me again.
“And mine.”
Colin moved up behind Lisa, sliding a possessive arm around her waist. My eyebrows rose as I stared at Lisa.
“It’s a long story,” she said. “It’s part of the reason I set you up on so many dates. I felt so bad being this happy while you were so miserable.”
“Dates?” Miles asked. “I don’t think we talked about that.”
“You didn’t need to know,” Lisa said with a teasing smile.
Colin shrugged. “I do what she tells me to do.”
“Very obedient,” Miles said, laughter in his voice. I glanced at him, caught a little off-guard by that easy tone. I hadn’t heard it in so long, except in my dreams. Yet, it still had this power over me that made my bones melt and filled me with a rage that made my fingers curl into claws.
Colin turned Lisa and led the way to the main table where each night the captain would invite a selection of guests to join him. Tonight Miles, Joan, Colin, Lisa, and I were the chosen ones. The captain stood as we approached and shook Miles’ hand. Miles introduced the rest of us, and the captain did the same with his staff. Then we settled down to a decadent meal of salmon, asparagus, and a lovely chocolate mousse.
Lisa sat beside me, stealing my hand with an excited squeeze. “Can you believe we’re here? When Miles suggested it, I was so excited I almost texted you until I remembered I wasn’t supposed to tell you.”
“How long have you been talking to Miles?”
She shrugged, the movement lacking the tension that came into her expression when she caught the look on my face.
“It’s only been a few weeks. Three at the most.”
“And my aunts?”
“He met with them at my mom’s house two weeks ago.”
All this time everyone in my life was lying to me. I knew they thought they were doing a good thing, but the sense of betrayal was very real.
“My mom flew in to be with your aunts. They are well taken care. In fact, I got a text just a little while ago. They were walking on the beach, having the time of their lives.”
I just nodded.
A
plate of food was laid in front of me, but I had no appetite for it. I picked up my fork and dragged it through the salmon, separating the various layers but not lifting any to my lips. I didn’t think Miles noticed—I didn’t think anyone really noticed—because everyone seemed to be deep in conversation about one thing or another. The most popular topic of conversation was how great the renovations LMR, Inc. did to the ship were. Apparently, everyone else had been on the ship most of the day. I had no comment because I hadn’t seen anything more than the suite I was being forced to share with Miles.
But then Miles leaned close and whispered, “You should eat.”
“Not hungry.”
“It’s going to be a long night.”
“It already has been.”
Miles studied my face for a second, but he didn’t say anything else. I almost wished he had. A part of me wanted him to say something offensive, something that would give me cause to turn on him, to say some of the hurtful things that were still burning inside of me. Yet, a part of me was glad he hadn’t said anything more. I had to live with this man for the next three days. We had to be nice if we were going to survive this. However, the moment we docked in Spain, all gloves were off.
I needed some air. The moment dinner was over and everyone began to leave their seats, I slipped out a side door. I didn’t know where I was going, but I needed to get outside. Luckily, I turned the right way in the corridor and found myself on the main deck. I went to the rail and leaned over, gaining a little relief as the breeze of the ship’s movement forced itself against my burning cheeks. I closed my eyes and sighed.
“A little stuffy in there, wasn’t it?”
I turned around and tripped over my toes, nearly falling into the arms of a stranger. But then I stepped back and realized he wasn’t a complete stranger.
“Dominic?”
“Hello, Riley.”
“What are you doing here?”
LUCIEN: A Standalone Romance Page 71
