by Joanna Blake
I watched as he unbuttoned my blouse. Then he kissed my chest, thumbing my nipples through my lace bra. They stood up for him immediately. He pulled one into his mouth and flicked his tongue against it, making me moan in pleasure. He pressed my legs apart, rubbing me through my riding pants. I moaned, feeling myself get instantly wet.
He didn't do anything else for the longest time. Just rubbed me softly through my clothes. I wanted more pressure. I wanted him. I was already on the edge as he kissed my throat and breasts, suckling my hard nipples again and again.
"Anything you want to tell me?"
I moaned and he laughed, pulling my bra down to feast on my breasts. He kept the same maddeningly slow pace as he stroked me between my legs. I was rocking my hips against his hand but it was futile. He was going to keep me on the edge like this for hours. He was going to make me say it.
It was going to be a very, very long night.
Two Weeks Later
Daniel
Francesca stood in my bedroom in an ivory silk dress, looking like a statue. Her golden hair was loose, her tawny skin glowing, her deep blue eyes subtly lined, and her lips a dark red. She looked good enough to eat. In fact, I'd been trying to take her to bed and gobble her up. But she wanted to talk.
Now of all times, she wanted to talk.
"It's been four weeks. Hand it over."
I grumbled as I pulled the chain over my head. Francesca may have admitted she loved me that night two weeks ago, but she was still a flight risk. The girl was as skittish as a foal.
The past few weeks had been bliss. We rode together. Read the paper in bed. Argued and discussed things. And had mind boggling sex. Lots and lots of sex.
I did not want the four weeks to be up. I did not want to give her the key. I wanted to marry her and make a baby with her. I still needed time to convince her. Or knock her up, whichever came first.
But a deal was a deal.
I dropped the key and the chain into her hands. She smiled at me coyly before walking to the door. I thought she was going to leave. Instead she bent over. It took me a moment to realize she had used the key to lock it.
My mouth was open as she turned to face me. She slipped the chain over her neck as she started to pull her clothes off. My jaw dropped as she stripped for me, making me hard in an instant.
"Now it's my turn to keep you locked inside."
Relief flooded my chest.
"You aren't leaving?"
She shook her head slowly.
"For how long?"
She shrugged.
"As long as you keep me satisfied."
I grinned.
"Woman, that is not going to be a problem."
"If you say so."
"I damn well do."
She walked past me and lay down on the bed. I was still frozen in place as she crooked her finger at me.
"Prove it Cowboy."
I growled and climbed on top of her. I didn't need to be told twice. Like I said, I was not a stupid man.
<<<<>>>>
Pheonyx Rising - One Year Later
Pheonyx
I stared at myself in the mirror while my mother held the necklace against my throat.
"Really, mom? I can wear this?"
She nodded and clasped the gold chain behind my neck. A dazzling heart studded with diamonds nestled just above my cleavage. This was a special necklace to her. I even remembered the Christmas morning that my daddy had given it to her.
"It's just a loan. Something borrowed. But I think someone else sent you something blue…"
She handed me a box and I smiled. I knew it was from Clint. There was a little card on top that just said 'Can't wait to make you mine.' I opened the box and gasped.
A pair of stunning earrings sat on a bed of black velvet. They were big diamond studs with detachable sparkling sapphire teardrops, encrusted with smaller diamonds.
My cowboy had gone all out with his wedding gift.
"These must have cost more than his truck!"
My mother's eyes twinkled as she helped me put them on.
"That man loves you something awful, Phee."
My eyes were watering up as I stared at the earrings in the mirror. They matched the color of my eyes exactly. I wondered how he had pulled that off?
My man was a miracle worker.
"You ready, sweetheart?"
I nodded and my mom checked the hallway. "All clear. Your escort awaits." She laughed, shaking her head as she picked up her shawl and headed out. "All three of them!"
I picked up my bouquet of white roses and daisies, stepping out into the hallway. There stood three of the best-looking men in Tenessee, or Texas.
Minus one of course.
All three of my cousins had insisted on walking me down the aisle. And all three of them were wearing custom fit suits in a dark gray, with blue ties. I knew Clint had one too. I'd picked them out myself.
I smiled happily, not sure whose arm to take. Jake and Daniel rolled their eyes as Jackson shoved his elbow out.
"Age before beauty?"
Daniel laughed at Jake's joke. I offered him my other arm. Jake shook his head and stepped behind me.
"That's alright. I can bring up the rear."
Daniel nudged me and whispered "That's what Elle said!" I snorted as we stepped into the church doorway. The crowd turned and saw a cackling bride and three massive galloots walking her down the aisle.
What nobody knew, other than my mother and Clint, was that there was a fifth Delancey walking down that aisle with us.
The bride had a bun in the oven.
Clint was beaming with pride as my cousins placed my hand in his. I noticed that Jackson glared at the groom as he handed me over. I bit my lip, hiding a smile.
The preacher kept the ceremony light. Clint squeezed my hand now and then, as we stole glances at each other. My whole family had been around all week so we hadn't had more than a few moments together.
To make it worse, my cousin's had insisted he stay in a hotel. They kept saying it was only proper. The truth was, I was pretty sure they just wanted to torture him.
Clint told me he was going to burst into flames if he didn't get under my dress right after the ceremony. I had laughed, thinking it was a joke. But I stole a glance down to the front of his jacket, where there was an oversized bulge.
My eyes widened just as the preacher asked me if I took Clint to be my lawfully wedded husband. I'd gotten distracted at the pivotal moment! I sputtered out a yes and Clint rolled his eyes heavenward. He was loud and sure as he said his 'I do's'. The preacher pronounced us man and wife as the crowd hooted and hollered. Then we were kissing before I knew what happened.
I felt his hardness against my belly while he kissed me long and hard. I had a feeling he hadn't been joking about getting busy after the ceremony. We were going to have to wait to join our guests for cocktails and dancing. Not that I could drink with my tiny passenger on board. My thoughtful groom had taken care of that too, making sure there were plenty of bottles of sparkling apple cider on hand so I could look like I was having champagne with everyone else.
And just like that, it was over.
Clint lifted me up and carried me out of the church and into the limo outside. We didn't even throw the confetti.
It was a short drive to the reception hall but Clint told the driver to take the scenic route. He spent the whole ride buried between my thighs. First with his tongue and then with his manhood.
"Sweet Jesus wife, you feel good!"
I cried out in ecstasy, unable to form words. He was doing things to me with his manly parts that would make a body weep with pleasure. He pumped in and out of me relentlessly until he tensed up, calling out my name.
My married name.
"Good lord, Mrs. McRae!"
It was the first time I'd ever been called by it, and damn if it didn't push me over the edge again. I convulsed against him as he brought me to another orgasm, just by holding still inside me. He kissed me as I shook all o
ver his cock. He whispered over and over again that he loved me. That I was his wife.
His wife. That was me.
Pheonyx Delancey McRae.
BRANDED
Joanna Blake
TOC Instructions
Please use the TOC (located in the upper left hand of your screen) to navigate this book. If you're zoomed out, please tap the center of the screen to ensure you are out of page flip mode.
Chapter One
Jackson
“You look awfully preoccupied for a cowboy.”
I glanced to the side. A woman was leaning against the bar next to me. She was attractive in the way that most of the rich women were around here. Polished to a dull shine.
I grunted and went back to my drink, not in the mood for small talk.
I was having a real bad day.
Usually I didn’t drink to excess. Today was an exception. Once a year on this day, I almost always tied one on. It was barely 5 pm at the club and I was already three or four drinks in. I thought for a minute.
Nope, it was five.
“It’s Jackson, right? I’m Nancy.”
I couldn’t ignore her completely. If she was here, she was a club member or the guest of one. She did look vaguely familiar…
“Nice to meet you.”
I didn’t hold out my hand, or turn towards her. That didn’t stop her from settling onto the stool beside me. She ordered a drink, her body language letting me know that she was more than just interested.
She was determined.
She stirred her drink with a tiny straw, pulling it into her lips seductively. The effort was wasted on me. I was not the right fish for that sort of bait.
“Actually, we’ve already met.”
I glanced at her again. Like I said, she did look familiar. But I couldn’t place her. Hell, I could barely tell how old she was. All I knew was that she was on the prowl.
I didn’t want to get laid. I wanted to get drunk. There was only one woman on my mind tonight. Today was the anniversary of the day my mother died.
My brothers and I had been young men when we lost her. I was already working for our dad at the estate, Daniel was still in college, and Jake had run off to God knows where.
It was the worst day of my life. It was the first time I had ever seen my father cry. He was always a strong, silent man. A disciplinarian.
Not that I ever needed to be disciplined. My brothers on the other hand… Daniel had his moments of misbehavior growing up, but Jake had been a full out rebel. I never did anything bad, other than laying far too many of the local girls.
I never got caught though.
Nancy put her hand on my arm, yanking me back to the present.
“It was about a year ago actually.”
She smiled at me, her overly bright smile suggesting we’d done more than just meet.
“Exactly a year ago…”
Now she had my attention. I’d been at the club last year as well, at least for part of the evening. Then I’d gone bar hopping with a lanky brunette. I glanced at her again.
“Your hair is different.”
She smiled at me, flashing her overly white teeth.
“So you do remember.”
I grunted, shrugging. What difference did it make? I remembered having a terrible time but it was a little bit choppy. Like I said, I didn’t drink often, but when I did, I was a professional.
Go big or go home.
Nancy sipped her drink and watched me drink mine. I didn’t encourage her or dissuade her. It was a free country after all. She could stare at me all night.
It made no difference to me one way or the other.
“You were pretty hammered, though it took me awhile to figure that out. The big ones don’t show it as fast.”
I nodded. I had been drunk. And she was right, I always hid it well. Another famous Delancey trait. The men anyway. My mother had been a lightweight. It always made us try to goad her into another glass of wine at holiday dinners. She would giggle like a schoolgirl.
I closed my eyes, wishing she was still here with us for the thousandth time.
“Care for a do over?”
I shook my head.
“Not this year honey.”
“This year? What the hell is that supposed to mean?”
“Forget it.”
She glared at me for a second then leaned in close.
“Your loss.”
I snorted. I highly doubted it. I tossed back the rest of my drink and signaled the bartender for another.
Angelina
“You are absolutely sure you are going to be okay?”
Casey nodded, smiling at me. But I could see the exhaustion in her eyes. My little sister was tough, but she’d been through hell and back.
We both had.
It was pure hell to watch someone you loved get poisoned by a pharmaceutical company. Probably not as terrifying as it had been for her, but still, harder than anything I’d ever been through.
I’d quit my high paying job in advertising to take Casey on an endless round of doctor appointments. We’d had to pare down, cook all our meals, and sell off a bunch of our possessions to afford the copays and supplements. Never mind the cost of alternative therapy in the city. Massages, acupuncture, naturopaths. They were all double the price here, if not triple.
And now we were leaving.
After five years I’d had enough of the rat race in New York City. And we needed space and clean air for Casey to get better. Which she would.
She had to.
Two years ago, at only 18 years old, my sister had been given a round of antibiotics for a sinus infection while she was staying with me in lower Manhattan. Almost immediately we had known something was wrong. After just two days her whole body had started aching. I’d pulled out the pamphlet from the drug store, and read the black box warning.
The risks were horrifying. It seemed insane to risk all of those horrifying side effects for a simple sinus infection. But we’d dutifully called the doctor who told us in no certain terms that it was more dangerous not to finish the round of drugs. She’d said the side effects were rare and would end when she finished the pills.
She was so, so wrong. So willfully ignorant. But we didn’t know that until much later.
When it was too late.
At the time we’d talked about it and then gone ahead with the doctor’s advice. It was the worst decision either one of us had ever made. And I blamed myself. With our parents gone, I was all she had.
I was supposed to be the voice of reason.
My bright and beautiful sister was poisoned. Disabled and in pain for no good God damn reason.
An avid runner, Casey had always been fit and strong. Within a month she had wasted away to a shell of her former self.
And that was the tip of the iceberg. Trouble thinking, anxiety, pain, chemical sensitivity, ringing in her ears, blurry vision, dizziness, sores all over her body, headaches. And the effect on her poor tendons and joints had her walking slowly and carefully, bent over like an old woman.
All that from an antibiotic. Something that was supposed to help her feel better. Instead it had damaged her mitochondria and DNA. It was pure poison.
We tried everything. We ate organic, meatless diets. We juiced. We gave her supplements and did a comprehensive detox.
It had helped. Just not enough. And not fast enough.
I had learned a lot in the process about the big pharma companies.
Too much.
I’d fought them, hired a lawyer, joined advocacy groups, written to my senator and the FDA. We’d even gone to a hearing in Washington D.C. to stop them from giving the drugs to other people. So far, the jury was still out. Even worse, very few doctors even considered the drug remotely dangerous.
Never mind that it had actually killed people.
In a strange way, Casey was one of the lucky people.
And there were plenty of people who healed completely, or nearly so. We held ont
o hope that she would be one of them. And when she got tired of hoping, I did it for both of us.
So we were leaving. We were starting over. Fresh. In the countryside. I’d bought a plot of land with a big old farmhouse smack in the middle, surrounded by an orchard and empty fields. They’d been fallow long enough to start growing crops without the concern of chemical pesticides or fungicides.
That’s right. This former high maintenance, highly ambitious, successful advertising executive career woman was going to be an organic farmer.
My friends had laughed when I told them. But they didn’t understand. They didn’t think about pesticides or toxic fumes. They hadn’t seen what the same company that made those nasty pesticides had also done to my sweet, brilliant sister.
I was damned if I wasn’t going to do everything I could to save her.
Chapter Two
Jackson
I groaned, covering my eyes as Jake opened the blinds in the dining room. The sun was too damn bright and it was too damn early. I was sitting in the dining room alone, nursing a black cup of coffee.
I’d tied one on last night, and then some.
In fact, I was pretty sure I was still a little bit drunk.
If anyone understood how that felt, it was my reformed brother Jake. He’d been the family black sheep for most of his life. That’s why he was grinning at me with a look of superiority. It wasn’t often I wasn’t at my best and he was going to enjoy every moment of it.
“More coffee?”
I mumbled my agreement and he laughed. The sound was loud, echoing around the dining room. I was sitting as far away from the breakfast buffet as possible.
The smell was doing strange things to my insides. Horrible, stomach flipping things. Basically I was trying not to throw up.
Mrs. Garritty wouldn’t like that.
I didn’t even look up as Jake set down a cup of coffee and slid a plate of food under my nose. I flinched at the strong smell of eggs and toast. I actually heard my stomach protest with a loud rumble.
