“You look as though you are about to drop,” he said, crossing his arms and standing in front of her with his legs spread.
“A little drained is all,” she responded.
He frowned. “Let’s go, Sierra.”
“But I’m not finished here.”
“You’re finished.” Eve appeared from the back room and he turned to her. “I’m taking your cousin home. And she won’t be in tomorrow.”
“Fine with me.”
Anger simmered like a pot on low heat. “I’m not going anywhere,” Sierra retorted.
“On your own legs or in my arms. Choice is yours. But you’re leaving now.”
She gasped. “You can’t be serious.”
“Try me.”
Eve tried to hide her smile behind her hand. “I’ll stay here until closing,” she offered. “Just go home with your husband.”
Kaden held the door open.
Sierra fumed. Not wanting to have an argument in public, she reached for her purse and stomped to the truck, her footsteps reverberating on the wooden planks.
“Anyone ever tell you you’re the most hard-headed, determined person in the world?” he asked, sliding in beside her and turning his heated gaze toward her.
“Me?” she replied. “You’ve got no room to talk.”
“And we will—talk.”
“You’re right,” she shouted. “It’s time we got a few things straight, Kaden Stasso.”
Tension hung in the air thick as mud, churning her insides.
At home, she didn’t wait for him to come around and open the car door.
He walked into the house behind her and tossed his hat on the counter. She had an unobstructed view of the angry throb in his temple, and she saw the tight line his mouth formed.
Her stomach muscles clenched. This argument had been a long time coming. And one thing was certain. She couldn’t allow Kaden to control her life.
“Have a seat,” he snapped.
“I think I’ll stand.”
“And I think you should sit. Now. Before you fall down.”
She remained standing.
He paced the kitchen floor with fixed, authoritative steps. Each step increased her inner battle until it simmered just below the surface.
“You can work half days” he said, stopping only inches from her. His scent, that of the outdoors and man, surrounded them like a plume of smoke. “No more.”
She stiffened. “Half days?” she managed to force out. “And who in the heck do you think you are?”
“Your husband—a man who’s willing to give and take. I really don’t want you working at all.”
“Forget it, Kaden.”
He grasped her shoulders. “I will not have my wife working herself into the ground to prove some stupid point.”
She pushed him away and walked over to the other side of the room.
“You want to prove you can handle it, that you’re not a sloth, that you’re some sort of super being. Let me tell you, Sierra Stasso, you’re married now. To me. You don’t have superpowers. You don’t have to be that with me.”
“I am not giving up my job.”
“I didn’t ask you to,” he said in a short tone. “But anyone with eyes can see you’re beyond a little drained, have been ever since we got back from our honeymoon. You’ve got shadows beneath your eyes. Your forehead was covered with perspiration when I arrived at the shop. You are wearing yourself out, and I won’t tolerate. Lady, you’ve reached the end of my patience.”
“And you’ve reached the end of mine,” she replied. “You want me here because you think it’s best. You’re telling me it’s for my own good, and next you’ll have me to believe that I’d be better off not working at all. You want me completely dependent upon you.” She pinned him with a defiant stare. “Forget it. Not a chance.”
In that moment, his temper flared. She saw the blaze burn in his eyes.
“How dare you compare me to that bastard you married. This isn’t about domination. You have your own money, your own bank account, and you’re an authorized signer on every single one of mine.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “This is about you—the way you’re working so hard when you should be taking care of yourself.”
“This is about your child,” she responded. “You refuse to lose another baby, and you’re taking it out on me.”
He walked across the kitchen and placed his hands on her shoulders. “Damn it, Sierra, is it so hard for you to accept that I care about you?”
“Use all the sappy words you want, Kaden. I know the truth. You’ll say anything—do anything—as long as you come out the victor.” Her insides twisted. Somewhere along the way, she’d started to care for the rough and gentle Kaden. She didn’t want this to be about their baby, but she would be stupid if she believed it could be about anything else. Loving Kaden would be difficult. He’d never return the emotion, and he’d use it against her, like Tim had. The result of that fallout had settled like shards of glass, most of it implanted in her heart.
Then quietly, but with the force of an explosion from a bomb, he said, “Maybe this marriage started out because you’re carrying my baby, but are you going to refute the physical attraction that resulted in our child?”
“Kaden—”
“And what about the way we make love? You cried out my name last night, and I spilled myself deep inside you, against your womb. Did you forget that?”
She trembled.
“This is only about the baby, right?” he asked softly. “So why did you reach for my belt the night after my ride? Are you claiming that I can’t make you sexually aroused?”
A dark blush crept up her neck.
“And what about the way we talk about our day after I pick you up from work? No friendship has evolved between us?”
“I have a lot of friends.”
“But only one lover.”
She struggled to think, to breathe.
He was right. She only had one lover, him. No other man had the same influence over her that Kaden did. No other man could coerce her. Make her crave things she’d promised she’d never crave again.
No other man had taken possession of her heart.
No other man exuded the risk Kaden did.
Kaden had delved in a pit of emotion deep within her. If she let him stay long, she’d never persevere without his love.
That fear eating at her, she shrugged from underneath his hold.
“Sierra, wait!”
Running from him in distress—and from herself—she ran across the land, needing space, needing air, needing to be away from him.
Her tears obstructing her line of sight, Sierra didn’t see the large rock until it was too late.
Chapter Twelve
Kaden raced to Sierra’s side and dropped to his knees. “Are you all right?”
Sierra cried uncontrollably, grabbing for him and encircling her arms around his neck. She hadn’t anticipated for him to respond with anything but fury.
Instead, she found his kindness.
He held her, swearing that everything would be okay, vows she clung to through her fear.
“I’m sorry,” she murmured.
Panic numbed her body. What if she lost the baby? She’d never thought she would be a mother; now her own stupidity might cost her that opportunity.
Sobs shook her body. What if she lost Kaden, too? Self-defense instincts had blinded her to the reality of what she had—Kaden. She loved him, but instead of finding that reassuring, she’d let it cripple her. Now, faced with the potential of losing everything, she realized how significant it all was. Reaching toward his bunched up brow, she whispered, “I’m so, so sorry.”
“I know, Sierra, I know.”
In that instant, she believed he did.
“Where are you injured?”
“I just feel jolted” she responded.
“We’ve still got to get you to the doctor.”
She agreed, needing his comfort.
“It’ll be okay,” he said.
She held onto those words, as well as his lucky button, through the worrisome long drive into town. When they arrived, Kaden carried her into the office, the antiseptic smell stinging her nose and tightening her stomach. Kaden didn’t break his pace. He gave a brisk order to the nurse, telling her to get the doctor immediately.
They were escorted into an examination room, and Kaden helped Sierra change into the gown. Less than a minute later, Dr. Askew rushed in, asking Kaden to wait outside. She swallowed deeply, needing, wanting Kaden’s soothing presence.
He held her hand for a few more seconds, squeezing it before tucking her hair behind her ear. “It’ll be all right,” he promised again.
“Outside, Mr. Stasso,” Dr. Askew reiterated.
* * * *
Until that exact moment, Kaden had never known gut-wrenching fear.
The doctor closed the door, blocking off Sierra—and her wide-eyed terror—from his view. He paced the waiting area, his boots scraping against the floor as anxiety swept through him.
Several moments later, he stopped and slapped his palm against the wall, cursing silently. A million thoughts raced through his mind. He didn’t want to lose the baby—God knew he wouldn’t survive it.
But more so, he didn’t want to lose Sierra. The thought of life without her floated as dark as a storm cloud overhead.
When his first marriage ended and a judge had ruled against him, Kaden had sworn to never give his heart away ever again. But Sierra, with all her spunk, had managed sneak inside without him even realizing it.
He’d meant it when he informed her that the request he made was about her and not just their child. He’d been battling it for days, if not weeks.
There was something about Sierra, with her smile, her sensual response and empathetic nature, that bulldozed by all his self-preservation. A perfect combination of chastity and eroticism, she turned him on.
He slammed his hand on the wall again, not paying any attention to the looks from a nurse and the receptionist. He loved Sierra.
No doubt about it, and complex as hell, he loved her.
The thought was as strange as it was not wanted. But the more he shoved it away, the more powerful it became. He was kidding himself when he said he only cared for her. He admitted that her as a person, her commitment to their child, her job, even the things that drove him mad, he cherished. “I love her,” he said aloud.
“Of course you do, Mr. Stasso,” the nurse said.
Why hadn’t he seen it before now?
He’d been attracted to her at Andy and Hillary’s anniversary party, and now, knowing Sierra, he had no doubt she honestly believed he didn’t want to be a father. Open and truthful, she didn’t have a deceitful bone in her body.
In comparing her to the dishonest, disloyal Leah, he’d come to the wrong judgment. Having an affair would be as farfetched to Sierra’s nature as it would be to his. She hadn’t wanted their marriage, but she’d made the best of it, doing what was right.
This was a woman who could love and be loved, a woman who still carried his lucky button, and who hadn’t laughed in his face when he’d given it to her. This was a woman who put others first, who cared that he didn’t believe in the spirit of Christmas, and wanted their baby to always believe.
Kaden had been so blinded by his own past he hadn’t seen that their ethical standards pointed in the same direction.
He released a pent up breath, settling into one of the uncomfortable waiting room chairs, feet planted square on the floor. She’d be correct to accuse him of trying to boss her. He was so set on making sure he didn’t lose another baby, he’d threatened Sierra with the most dangerous weapon in his arsenal, a custody battle.
From the beginning, he’d been desperate to have it his way. Caught up on that, he hadn’t even owned up to the truth to himself—that even before their wedding, Sierra mattered to him every bit as much as their child.
And now he loved her, would do anything to keep her. He promised to tell her as soon as he could hold her, uncertainty be damned. Kaden wanted her as his wife, in an emotional as well as physical way—till death do they part.
“You can come in now, Kaden,” Dr. Askew said.
Kaden raced through the door, walking to where she sat on the table. He took her hand in his. “I love you, Sierra,” he said, the words filled with pure honesty. “Tell me you’re all right.”
“You—I—”
“Both mother and baby are okay,” the doctor said, clearing her throat. “I’ll leave all three of you alone now.”
The doctor left, and a grin spread across Kaden’s face. The news that they were both fine poured light into his core.
“I’m sorry,” she said, eyes wide, sparkling with unshed tears, “for frightening you, for running off.”
He placed his index finger on her lips and shook his head. “You were right.”
With a shaky hand, she pushed wild strands of hair back out of her face.
“I was wrong,” he continued.
“No.”
“You can continue to work full-time, and I’ll do what I can to support that in every way. You don’t have to give up anything. I’ll hire extra workers, a nanny if you want me to. Whatever you want, I’ll support you fully. As long as you’ll come home to me at the end of every day.”
“You still want me to?”
He frowned. “Of course I want you to.”
“You’re not mad at me?”
He squeezed her hand and looked deeply into her eyes. “I’m mad at myself.”
“I don’t understand.”
“You were right when you said I wanted to have complete control. I wanted you home, taking care of yourself and the baby, relaxing. It was about what I wanted, not what was best for you.”
She sighed deeply. “I thought I might lose the baby,” she murmured hoarsely. Bright tears hid the sparks of green in her eyes, leaving them hazel. “And if I lost the baby, I might lose you, too.”
“You wouldn’t have,” Kaden reassured her.
“What are you saying?”
“I want our marriage to be forever.”
“Even if—”
“Even if there wasn’t going to be a baby, I’d want us to stay together.”
* * * *
She was afraid to hope. “Did you mean it, that—”
“Yes. I love you, Sierra. I’m willing to change, be the sort of husband you want.”
Shaking her head, she whispered, “I don’t want you to change.” Tears shimmered in her eyes, but this time, they were tears of joy. “You love me?” she murmured dubiously.
“Yes. With all my heart and soul.”
He loved her.
Her.
Sierra was so certain she’d never be loved, positive she’d live the rest of her life as a foreigner in her own marriage. She had battled hard, determined not to fall in love. Then, when it was too late and she’d already given up her heart, she’d tried to hide her weakness where he’d never see it.
A tear fell, splashing on his hand.
“It was me who was blinded,” she said, her voice trembling. “I let the wounds that Tim left behind deter me.”
The two men couldn’t have been more dissimilar. Kaden didn’t want her to wait on him like an indentured servant, never even asked her to quit work. Instead, he’d asked her to consider cutting back on her hours, so she could rest more.
He never demanded she fix his dinner; in fact, most nights he cooked for her. He quit work early every day to pick her up at the shop, turn his dream over to someone else in order to care for her.
“You were right when you said there’s a huge difference between control and caring.”
And now she saw where that line was drawn—down the middle of his heart.
She didn’t have anything to prove. Kaden would never try to turn her into the image of someone he thought she should be. She could achieve her dreams of being a mother, knowing her husband supported h
er wholeheartedly.
“Earlier, you said I could work for you. Does the offer still stand?”
“With your assistance, the ranch will be more profitable.”
“And it’s okay if I want to work part-time at the store?”
“As long I get to dote on you when you’re home.”
Her heart soared.
With a slight pause between every word, he asked her, “Do you love me?”
She met the fervor in his eyes, responding to it deep within her soul. “Yes, Kaden. I love you. I’ve loved you since our honeymoon, from the instant you allowed me to set the tempo.”
“I promise to love, adore, protect, spoil, trust, and more than anything else, honor you,” he said, raising her hand and resting it over his heart. “Will you be my wife till death do us part?”
Trembling with the significance of her commitment, she responded, “Yes.”
Drawing her into his arms and holding her close, he validated the agreement with a kiss that set fire to every nerve ending in her. She responded with everything she had to offer—her passion, her honesty, her love.
His dark eyes were sparkling when he drew back and said, “I want to take my wife home.”
“I want that, too.”
“Your wish is my command,” he said, lifting her from the table and holding her snuggly against his chest.
After she dressed, they left the room, his fingers resting possessively against the small of her back.
“We’re in love,” he told Dr. Askew on their way out of the office.
“I don’t think anyone would doubt it,” the woman retorted, smiling.
“You’re incorrigible, Mr. Stasso,” Sierra said as he assisted her into the SUV.
“You have a lifetime to rectify that, Mrs. Stasso.”
“I have a feeling one lifetime might not be enough.”
“Sierra, you can have as long you desire.”
Then, clearly not caring who was looking, Kaden tilted her chin up with his index finger, then lowered his mouth to hers, whispering words of love.
The Price of Passion Page 15
