That’s all the world needs. More Nathan Rudolphs running around. She shuddered and pulled her robe up to her shoulders. One was bad enough. More than one and who knew how much damage they could cause?
She closed her eyes and rolled onto her side. She bent her knees so that her bare feet were under the bathrobe. At least the pillow was soft. She released a long breath, assuring herself that soon enough morning would come and... And what? She’d have to pretend that she was happy with Nathan who would, undoubtedly, find reasons to hold her hand, put his arm around her shoulders, or bump his knee against hers again?
She didn’t know what was worse. The big show she had to put on for her parents, being trapped in this whole catastrophe, or liking the physical contact. She grimaced. No, I don’t like it. I don’t like anything he does. That’s all part of his brilliant, sneaky and deceptive plan.
As she drifted off to sleep, she brainstormed more ideas on how she might get out of this marriage with her parents’ blessing. Nothing came to mind though. Her ace in the hole had been the whole adultery thing, but that didn’t work. It was the only thing she could fathom that her parents would accept as grounds for divorce. Well, that and abuse, and Nathan didn’t strike her as the abusive type, unless one could consider a forced marriage abuse? Probably not, when he didn’t physically hold her to it. With a miserable sigh, she finally fell asleep.
It was in the middle of the night when she woke up with a stiff neck and a shooting pain in her hip. Wincing, she rolled over and cried out when she pulled a muscle in her leg. She hadn’t slept on a hard surface since she was a kid, but wasn’t she still too young to notice this kind of thing hurt?
Opening her eyes, she realized that Nathan had turned off the lights at some point. In the dark, she made out the shape of the bed and looked at it with longing. It had to be comfortable.
No! This was all a part of his plan. He wanted her to go to bed with him. That’s why he gave her no option but the bed or floor to sleep on. She wondered if she could sleep in another bedroom. Did he even have beds in all of them? She hadn’t thought to check before when he was giving her parents the “grand tour”. Her dad had been so tickled when Nathan called it that. Nathan had even turned to her and asked if she wanted to do it or if he should.
Despite her body’s protests, she scrambled off the floor, picked up the robe and pillow and tiptoed to the door. After a glance back to make sure Nathan was still asleep, she turned the doorknob and gasped when it moved. She thought he might stoop to locking her in here with him, but he hadn’t so that was good. Yes, it was definitely good. Now she could find a bed or couch or something to sleep on.
She crept past her parents’ bedroom, noting that when it was dead quiet in a house, everything sounded abnormally loud. She made her way to the next bedroom as fast as she dared. When she reached the door, she turned the knob. It was locked. Her head hung low and she shook her head. Of course. She should have known. He wouldn’t lock her in the same room with him, but he’d make sure she had no other bedroom to seek refuge in.
She glanced at the other closed doors on the second floor. She didn’t even have to try them to know they’d be locked too. Weighing her options, she went to the staircase that led to the first floor and stared down the darkness that marked the bottom of it. She shivered. Even if she didn’t make it a habit of reading horror stories, she imagined all types of ominous things lurking in the shadows down there.
Giving a resigned groan, she trudged back to Nathan’s bedroom and quietly shut the door behind her. She stood there for a moment, with her back against the door, and tried to determine the best course of action. She could sleep on the floor again, but her body still ached. Her gaze drifted to the bed. Did she dare?
She stared long and hard at Nathan who was still lying on his back with his arms neatly folded over his chest and the blanket halfway up to his chest. It was a little creepy, she had to admit, but he was as immaculate as the rest of the room. She watched him for a good two minutes, monitoring his breathing. It was deep and steady. Okay. So he was asleep. He wasn’t pretending.
If she didn’t disturb him, then maybe he wouldn’t wake up. She gingerly made her way across the room and set her robe and pillow down. With great care, she peeled back the comforter and blanket, pausing for a moment to look at him. He was still breathing nice and slow. Good. This might work.
She eased onto the bed and shot a quick look in his direction. He still slept. Swallowing the nervous lump in her throat, she slid her legs under the covers and cautiously settled into a fetal position. She decided to face him so she could make sure she didn’t wake him up, and to her relief, she didn’t.
He still slept, as immaculate and perfect as ever. Assured that he wouldn’t try anything with her, she closed her eyes. Her body sank into the bed, and she felt her aches already departing. Thankfully, this was a king-size bed, so she didn’t have to be close to him. With a contented sigh, she drifted off to sleep.
Chapter Seven
Amy’s first thought when she woke up the next morning was that she couldn’t remember a time when she felt more comfortable. She was warm and cozy and snuggled against something solid. Sighing in contentment, she smiled and savored the last remaining moments where a part of her still enjoyed the relaxing feeling of sleep. She inhaled, noting a pleasant scent. It wasn’t common, though it struck her as familiar. She took another deep breath and tried to place it. It was clean and somewhat spicy. She found she liked it.
Then an image flashed in her mind. Nathan Rudolph was shaking her hand and congratulating her because he chose her, of all women, to marry. And that’s when she realized where the familiar smell came from. She also realized that her arm was draped over something warm and solid—in other words, something that was alive.
Her eyes flew open and she gasped. At some point in the middle of the night, she had rolled over to his side of the bed and snuggled against him. His arm was wrapped around her shoulders, and her arm was over his waist. Bolting up, she gave a slight yelp as she squirmed back to her side of the bed and drew the sheets up to her neck. Not that she wasn’t wearing pajamas that were buttoned all the way to top...but still...
“Good morning, honey,” Nathan said with a happy grin on his face.
“We didn’t do anything,” she snapped.
“Sure we did. We slept together. It was nice. You’re soft and curvy. I love the way you feel when you’re pressed right up against me. You’re better than that teddy bear I had when I was a kid.”
“Well, don’t get used to it.”
She threw the covers off of her and ran to retrieve her clothes from the closet. He had a lot of nerve! Muttering under her breath about her ill luck, she grabbed a light white sweater, jeans, her underwear, and socks and headed for the bathroom.
But he was already in the shower, humming a cheerful tune as if they were truly newlyweds who had enjoyed more than a good night’s sleep in bed. She grumbled and turned on her heel to leave.
He opened the shower door and said, “The water’s great. I warmed it up for you.”
Without commenting, she set her clothes on the shelf above the towels and left the bathroom. She went to the chair in front of the desk and sat down. There had to be some way she could convince Nathan to give up on this marriage thing. If she could figure out what that something was, then it’d be his idea to end the marriage. There was no sense in trying to talk sense into him; he’d have to come to the conclusion that the marriage was wrong on his own. Only then would she be able to get out of it.
As she brainstormed possible ways to turn him off from marriage, the water stopped running in the shower. She waited for him to shave and wasn’t surprised when he walked out of the bathroom with one of his white towels wrapped around his waist. The man had no sense of decency. Well, it was better than if he came out wearing nothing, so she decided not to say anything.
“All yours,” he nonchalantly stated. “Don’t worry about there not being enough hot
water for you. I’ve got a great energy system.”
She expected nothing less from a man who owned as much as he did. She took a shower, grudgingly admitting that the water pressure and temperature made for the best shower she’d ever had in her life. After she finished and got dressed, she placed her folded pajamas onto the closet shelf and dumped her underwear into the hamper.
He entered the closet wearing black slacks and a white undershirt and smelling even better than he had in bed. “What color shirt would you like me to wear today?” He motioned to an assortment of colors hanging from his side of the closet.
“I don’t care,” she replied as she tried to step past him.
He stepped to the side, expertly blocking her escape. “Don’t wives like to tell their husbands what to wear?” he asked in an amused tone.
“You’re an adult. You can figure out what to wear.” When she realized he wasn’t going to get out of her way, she groaned. “What do you want from me?”
“Your love, your body, and your child. It doesn’t have to be in that order, though it’d be nice if it was.”
“That’ll happen when pigs fly.”
“I can arrange that, you know.”
She smirked. Cute. But even he wasn’t that powerful. She inched toward him and, as she feared, he remained still. Just as she was about to back up, he put his hands on her shoulders and shook his head.
“You’re too tense. Why didn’t you take that day at the spa like I suggested?”
His touch was firm but gentle, and she cursed her body for enjoying the thrill that shot through her. “I don’t plan to do anything you suggest.”
“Really? What if I said you should enjoy your parents’ visit?”
She sighed, and she couldn’t determine if it was because she was annoyed by his persistence or impressed by the way he massaged her shoulders. She might not have wanted to relax from what he was doing, but he seemed to have the magic touch. I am not enjoying this!
“I was thinking of wearing the white shirt with blue stripes,” he whispered. He leaned forward and kissed her cheek. “I think the shirt will match your clothes the best.”
Then he released her, and though she knew she should be relieved, she was disappointed. She reasoned that it was because she was, indeed, stressed and needed a soothing massage to help her cope.
He moved aside, so she took that as her cue and headed on out of the closet before he touched her again. The man was much too brilliant.
A few seconds passed before he walked out of the closet, buttoning his shirt. He glanced at her. “I guess since this is a casual occasion, I’ll disregard the tie.”
She didn’t know if he expected her approval or not so she shrugged. What did she care? Knowing her parents would be waiting for her...and him, she followed him out of the room in time for her father to open his door.
“Good morning,” her father called out with a wide smile. “That is the most comfortable bed I’ve ever slept on. I slept just like a baby.”
Her mother exited the room with him and patted his shoulder. “And he snored like one too.”
“Now, hush. You know we don’t talk like that in front of mixed company. We’re apt to embarrass our little girl.”
“Oh, sure. You wear that bright yellow shirt and you think the conversation will embarrass her?”
Amy felt a smile tug at her lips. She’d forgotten how playful her parents were. All this time, she thought if she saw them, she’d have to remember Sean’s funeral all over again, but it wasn’t turning out to be the sad trip down memory lane she feared. Instead, she was reminded of happier days when she was a child. Her dad had always been kooky, but her mom leveled him out. Together, they made a good match. Funny how she was beginning to see them as a couple, rather than her parents.
“I have a surprise for you,” Nathan told them. “Will you come with me?”
“Sure,” her father agreed. “I’d hate to miss a surprise.”
Nathan waved them toward the bedroom that she had tried to enter but couldn’t. He opened the door, and she surmised that he took it upon himself to unlock all the doors on this level when she was in the shower. She crossed her arms. What she needed was to find out where he hid the keys to these rooms.
Her parents entered the room, and he looked expectantly at her. Rolling her eyes, she trudged forward. Her jaw dropped as soon as she saw what was in it.
“Come along, honey,” Nathan cheerfully said as he took her hand and urged her inside.
The room was a baby’s room. He had already selected the crib, the dresser, the bassinet, a rocking chair, and the changing table. The wallpaper featured baby animals.
Nathan put his arm around Amy’s shoulders but directed his attention to her parents. “Now, we aren’t expecting yet, but we’re working on having a baby. We decided on the Noah’s Ark theme because whether we have a girl or a boy, it won’t matter.”
Amy scowled at him, but he didn’t bother looking in her direction. Instead, he motioned to the mobile above the crib. He wound it up and let it play the lullaby song. She peeked at her parents and saw her mother smile widely at her father, mouth the words, “a grandchild”, and knew there was no way she’d ever convince her parents that Nathan was bad news. If her parents hadn’t loved him before, they definitely did now.
“We’re excited about having a baby,” Nathan continued.
Amy rubbed her eyes, trying to convince herself this was still a bad dream.
“I realize that we’re jumping the gun a bit on decorating this room, but I’m pretty sure that a year from now we’ll have a need for it.”
The man was relentless. He was pulling out all the stops. And wasn’t it just great that he selected her to be his brooding mare? The notion was so repulsive that she almost smashed everything in her sight. It wasn’t bad enough that he forced her into this marriage, but he had every intention of getting a child out of her? A new source of aggravation rose up in her. She was merely a means to an end. He didn’t want to be married. He wanted a child. The whole marriage thing was a formality.
Well, he had another thing coming if he thought she was going to have sex with him. Maybe that was her out. All she had to do was keep saying no, he’d give up, and then move on to his next victim. She’d heard he was divorced. Maybe he did this to his first wife and she refused to have his child so he sought another one out.
Nathan continued to speak as if he was
the happiest man in the world. “The big thing right now is coming up with a suitable name. We brainstorm from time to time, but so far, nothing’s clicked.”
“If Amy had been a boy, we would have named her Chad,” her father said.
“It was either Chad or Lyle,” her mother added, still grinning from ear to ear. “And if she had a sister, we thought Laura would be a nice name.”
“Those are good names,” Nathan replied. “What do you think, honey?”
Amy refused to look at him. If she did, she might strangle him, and that wouldn’t be something her parents would understand. She didn’t need any reasons right now to upset them because if she did, they’d sympathize with him and spend their time trying to get her to be “reasonable”. She knew how things looked to them. Nathan appeared as if he was a caring and loving husband, and all she could do was stand here and watch the whole sickening act play out in front of her.
“I think we’re embarrassing her,” her mother told Nathan. “Amy’s always been a little superstitious, so I’m sure she’d rather not speak about babies and names until she’s pregnant.”
Nathan chuckled. “That must be why she insisted I take care of the room.”
Amy gritted her teeth as he squeezed her shoulders.
“Fortunately, I’m an optimist. I find that planning things out in advance ensures that they happen.” He kissed her on the cheek and released her. “It’s okay. I enjoyed decorating the room.”
Hooray for me, Amy sourly thought.
“I don’t know about the rest of
you, but I’m famished.” Nathan patted his stomach. “Anyone up for breakfast? I know a great place that makes the best omelets in the world. Afterwards, I thought we’d go golfing,” he told her dad. Then he looked between her and her mother. “I hope you don’t mind if I snag Terry for a few hours today. You may take Old Snoopy anywhere you want or take one of my other three cars.”
“I’ll go for one of the other three cars,” her mother said. “I’m sorry, Amy, but I don’t want to chance it with that old car of yours.”
“Yeah,” her father agreed. “No sense in taking a risk on stalling out if you don’t have to.”
She decided not to comment. She knew arguing on behalf of her car was pointless.
Nathan smiled at her. “I hope you take time to splurge on yourself for once. Take in a movie, do some shopping, go to a spa.” He shifted his gaze to her mother. “Ever since we got married, she’s refused to spend a single dime of my money. I don’t see what good it is to have the money on hand if I can’t spoil her.”
“She’s always been a frugal girl,” her mother replied. “Don’t worry. I’m sure I can get her to buy something for herself.” She gave Amy’s arm a slight squeeze. “It’s okay for you to enjoy yourself once in awhile.”
Amy kept quiet but followed her very happy parents out of the room, blandly noting that they took one look back and giggled to each other, obviously anticipating the grandchild Amy was determined would never come.
Chapter Eight
Despite her mother’s reluctance, Amy picked up Danielle. Amy owed her friend a huge shopping spree after what happened with the make-up.
What Nathan Wants Page 6
