by Lynda Chance
Jesus Christ, this was going to be even more difficult than he’d thought.
Chapter Nine
Nick knew exactly when Courtney would be back and he had everything planned out perfectly. The weeks she’d been gone had been hell and right now, if she wouldn’t wear his ring, then he had one mission in mind: seducing her into consummating their marriage vows. His cock hardened as he thought back to their last time together. Seduction had worked before, it had to work again.
He couldn’t stand it any longer. Their marriage had to be consummated.
When the elevator opened into the penthouse and Courtney walked through the door, Nick felt the atmosphere ignite. He’d been sitting on the sofa like a caged tiger, deliberately barefoot and wearing only jeans, listening to the droning sound of the television while watching the door for her arrival.
As she entered the room, she glanced at him, her eyes taking in his bare chest, before quickly looking away again. “Hey,” she mumbled.
Feeling tension so strong it was about to snap, Nick stood to his feet and walked over to her, collecting her suitcase and taking it straight through to his suite of rooms.
“Nick—”
“Yeah?” he asked with a hint of challenge, knowing she was trailing slowing behind him. Moving just inside the room, he dropped the case inside his door and turning, he grabbed her hand and pulled her in with him, pinning her up against the wall.
****
Courtney tried to breathe evenly and remain in control, but it was impossible when Nick was her competition.
He was physically stronger than she was, possibly smarter than she was, he was definitely more skilled at this cat and mouse game they seemed to be playing. As he held her pinned to the wall, the weeks of separation they’d suffered through didn’t help the situation. She wanted him. She needed him. She was still utterly confused, but there was one thing she wasn’t confused about. She wanted him as badly as he wanted her. She always would.
His hands released her from their hold, but only to strip the clothes from her body with rough, agitated movements. Panting softly, she let him have his way because it was what she wanted too. When she was completely naked, his mouth reached down for hers and his hand landed on her breast with complete possession. Kissing her with a ruthless intent that she never tried to fight, his hands ran up and down her naked body. His masculinity was an addiction she couldn’t fight; she began to sink under his spell.
His hand slid from her breast but his mouth stayed on hers, and she barely had enough sense to realize that he was shoving his jeans down and off. He came back to her, spreading her legs, but then suddenly changed direction and picked her up, carried her to his bed and dropped her to the center. Following her down, he pushed between her thighs. Her hands slid over his torso, feeling his washboard abs. Anticipation slithered down her spine and she felt damp heat pool between her thighs.
His touch was intoxicating, an enticing compulsion she knew she’d never learn to overcome, no matter what happened between them. She pushed every unnecessary thought from her mind as she kissed him back. Her hand slid down and found his erection, harder and stronger than she’d ever known it to be. Was that just her imagination?
He lifted his mouth away and she opened her eyes to find him looking at her with unapologetic, masculine demand. His legs forced hers wider. “I want inside you. Right now, right this instant, my gorgeous little wife.”
Courtney sucked in a breath and froze underneath him. It was ‘my wife’ that did it. Damn it, why the reminder now? She couldn’t be his wife, could she? “Nick … I … I’m not your wife,” she whispered.
“What?” He made a grab at her hands and pulled them over her head. Holding them with one of his, he reached down and brought the head of his erection to her wet opening.
He held still there, and at her silence, he demanded, “Explain that.”
God, he felt so good. Fighting herself was so much harder than fighting him. “I think we should get it annulled—”
He let out a bitter laugh. “You’re asking me to stop again? I’m not buying it this time.” With the tip of his penis exactly where it was supposed to go, he reached down and began stroking her clit. “I guess you don’t want me to do this either, right?”
Courtney’s eyes rolled to the back of her head as he massaged her in the one place she needed it the most. When she focused again, she could clearly see the look of restraint on his face and how much it was costing him. She tried to ignore his magical fingers and whispered, “If we have sex, we can’t get an annulment.”
“We aren’t getting a fucking annulment,” he hissed. “That’s ridiculous and archaic.”
“Maybe so. But it’s true. If we have sex, the marriage can’t be annulled.”
As he continued to hold himself over her, a drop of sweat slid down his temple. “I don’t want an annulment.” He paused for a moment and Courtney had to wonder what he was thinking. When he spoke, he said the last thing she expected. “If you want out, we’ll have to get a divorce, okay?”
Courtney worked her bottom lip between her teeth.
When she didn’t answer, he continued to touch her with his maddening, skilful fingers. “Deal, baby?” he asked, as if he were dying to be inside of her.
His fingers became unrelenting and she needed him inside, so very desperately. She took a deep breath. “Deal.”
The very second she said the word, he slammed inside her.
Courtney sucked in a breath and felt the reverberations all along her spine. God, it had been so long. She’d missed this so much. He pulled out, made an adjustment to her thighs and surged back inside. Stars hit her from all sides. He stared into her eyes as he continued to thrust. It had been good before; it had been good every time between them. But there was something about this time, something that made it special, and then Courtney realized that they were consummating their marriage.
She was his wife now. For real and for true.
Maybe not forever, but for right now at least.
She couldn’t claim she didn’t love him, and he wouldn’t claim he didn’t love her. Forgetting for the moment the angst she knew wasn’t behind them yet, she let herself go and reveled in her need for him.
Nick was her perfect lover. He knew her body and he knew the exact spot she needed him to hit. He went for it, pushing all the way inside and holding himself there. He brought one hand down and found her clit again, and with a surge of delight, she rocked against him as his strokes became more powerful by the second.
He surged to his knees and brought her with him, forcing her to sink onto him, impaling her so deeply that she gasped. Nothing had every felt better. He lifted her at the buttocks, and she held him at the shoulders. He stroked into her again, three, four, five times until with a great roar from his throat, he began to come.
She slid into ecstasy and followed him over the edge.
****
Courtney woke up slowly the next morning, having slept deeply, her mind and body replete. The night before came back to her and she let the memory of their lovemaking sink in as she came fully awake, wondering if Nick was in the bed with her. She opened her eyes and tried to focus. Her arms were wrapped tightly around a pillow and she was lying on her stomach.
Lifting her torso up and looking around, she found herself alone, Nick obviously missing from the room. She sighed, tossed the pillow aside and did a double take when she noticed her left hand.
Her wedding band and engagement ring were once again on her finger.
She hadn’t felt him put them there, and she didn’t know how she felt about him taking the liberty. But the fact that what they’d done last night had made her his wife? Nothing but tingles all over.
She sighed again. If only she could just go with the flow.
And then it kind of hit her. Why couldn’t she go with the flow? The marriage was consummated now; there was no question of an annulment. Granted, there were a few other reasons in the twenty-first centu
ry where an annulment was allowed; and although Courtney certainly agreed that Nick’s touch made her insane, she didn’t think an insanity plea would fly.
Getting out of bed, she peeled off the rings and carefully placed them on the bedside table. She wasn’t going to give in that easily; Nick still deserved everything she couldn’t give him; thinking about children was like an open would in her heart, and she for sure wasn’t ready to tell the family yet. Going through to the shower, she wondered what the day would bring.
****
Nick glanced inside his—their bedroom when he heard the shower running. Walking fully into the room, he stood still and inhaled the sweet, lingering scent of Courtney. His wife. He let the inner peace of knowing she was here, at least for now, travel down and settle in his system.
He took a breath and looked at the mussed-up bed where so many of his deepest fantasies had come to life during the dark of the night. He couldn’t contain a wicked, pleased smile.
And then his eyes fell to the bedside table and he saw the gleaming bands of gold that once again, she’d tossed aside.
His mood deflated, irritation in its purest form gripping him by the throat and bleeding down his spine. He felt a maddening rush of resentment rise up and seize him, threatening to break down the last bit of discipline and patience he’d tried so hard to maintain.
Being considerate and gentle only got a man so far.
Fuck this shit.
She wanted to do battle?
He’d give her a war.
****
The following week was hell on Nick’s nerves. Every night after they’d eaten the evening meal where they had no meaningful conversation, he picked Courtney up and carried her through to his suite and made love to her.
Making love to her was the only way he knew how to communicate with her these days. He tried to get it to sink into her head. He loved her. He wanted her. He needed her, not just today, but forever.
Although he didn’t say those exact words, he thought his feelings had to be clear.
Damn straight, he knew his feelings were clear to her.
But it never fucking failed. He’d slip his rings onto her finger after she’d fallen asleep, but every morning, he’d find them on the bedside table.
The situation was slowly driving him out of his fucking mind.
****
When Saturday came, Courtney sat in a booth beside Nick at a small bistro on the west side of town. They were trying to have a leisurely lunch, but it was obvious that they were both stiff and unhappy.
She knew none of this could be easy for him, but this afternoon, he seemed more upset than usual. Was it because she’d taken her rings off again this morning? He had to know that it was her one rebellion that said she hadn’t settled into this marriage of theirs.
Last night, he’d been so content and she understood why. She’d told him she loved him twice during the night. She hadn’t been able to help herself, he’d made love to her with an adoration she’d felt clear to her bones. But that hadn’t stopped her from removing her rings this morning. Stupid, confused woman. She couldn’t blame him for being upset with her. She was upset with herself.
And now, although he tried to contain it, there was no question that Nick was pissed.
She looked across the restaurant where a young couple with two little kids were being seated. The children were loud and boisterous and when she glanced back at Nick, he was contemplating the family with a pensive, almost wistful expression on his face.
Courtney’s insides clenched with pain. As she reached for her glass of Diet Coke, what she saw in his expression was so upsetting to her that her fingers began trembling. A second later, the glass slipped from her hand and ice and cola spilt all over the table and then, to her horror, all over Nick.
He looked back to her, undoubtedly reading the emotion on her face that she couldn’t conceal.
Ignoring the sticky liquid running down his shirt and seeping into his jeans, his eyes grew dark and stormy. “I don’t need children,” he hissed as he downed the last of the water in his glass.
She swallowed but didn’t answer, and as they’d already finished their meal, Nick paid the bill and began to escort her out. As they passed through the vestibule of the restaurant before hitting the main doors, Courtney glanced at the rack of newspapers and flyers that were grouped together. One rack held free copies of a real-estate magazine that featured apartments for lease, and she made a mental note of it, knowing that if she intended to make a move out of the marriage, it would undoubtedly be easier sooner rather than later.
As she glanced back up, Nick was watching her carefully, a mask of fury on his features. As she continued to walk, she knew it wasn’t her imagination that the hand he held at her spine seemed to become more controlling.
When they got back home and walked inside the penthouse, Nick’s keys hit the table beside the door and his fingers clenched around her wrist. “I’m going to go take a quick shower and when I get back, you better be ready to talk. Understand?”
Courtney took a deep breath and could do the only thing she was capable of at that moment. She nodded her head.
****
Five minutes later, Nick walked out of the bathroom, barefoot, dressed in jeans and nothing else. Running a towel through his hair, he left the bedroom, intent on a showdown with Courtney.
He was so pissed, he could taste it.
They had shit that needed settling between them, and it was happening now, this instant. As he walked through the apartment, it hit him immediately.
She’d left.
Cursing several saints, God, and his mother, Nick picked up his phone and tried Courtney’s cell. She didn’t answer.
Motherfucker.
He was completely dressed and had his keys in his hands not three minutes later. Trying his best not to panic or to be pissed at himself for pushing her too far and too fast, he went down to the parking garage and found that her car was missing from its usual space.
Cursing under his breath, he took a wild guess and drove to his mother’s house. When he saw Courtney’s little red Volvo sitting in the circular driveway, he couldn’t contain the feeling of relief that bled through his system. Relief, blending with raw, territorial anger.
He walked inside on silent feet and found both his mother and Courtney in the living room. Courtney’s back was to him, but his mother spied him and she gave him a smile that seemed to be trying to communicate something to him, but he didn’t understand what it was. “Nick, sweetheart.” She began patting the seat next to her on the sofa, which was across from the chair where Courtney sat. “Come join us.”
“Sure,” he tossed out, but walked to the sideboard first. He didn’t really need a drink, didn’t want one even, what he needed was a moment to survey the room and get a grip on his temper and a handle on Courtney’s mood. Under the guise of mixing a drink, he was able to do that, at least enough to breath evenly. As he prepared a very weak bourbon and water, he asked, “Anybody want a drink?”
Both women declined, so he strolled to the sofa and kissed his mother on the cheek. “What’s going on?” he asked as normally as possible, his gaze trailing over to Courtney, who turned ashen as he sat down. His lips flattened as his mood deflated another notch.
“Nothing much, darling,” Justine answered. “Courtney’s tired of running back and forth between here and the penthouse and she’s trying to decide where to live,” his mother told him with what seemed to be a forced nonchalance.
“Is she now?” Nick lifted a single eyebrow and stared across the coffee table at his intended target. Moving out of the penthouse? Oh, that shit was so not happening. From his position on the sofa, he could stare all he wanted at his wife, without his mother noticing, and he did so now. As he kept Courtney within his sights, he took a healthy drink, and then balanced the glass on his knee. “Obviously there’s plenty of room for both of us at the penthouse.”
“That’s exactly what I told her,” his
mother replied. “And since she’s working in the tower, why in the world would she want to drive way over here just to sleep at night?” After his mother said those words, she turned to Courtney. “Darling, you don’t have to worry about me. I learned how to enjoy living on my own during your years at college. I’ve been doing it quite a while now. Of course, you can live here if you want, I’d love to have you, but don’t you think it would be inconvenient to have to make the drive twice a day?”
As Nick listened to his mother’s spiel and waited for Courtney to respond, it occurred to him that he’d been right in his previous assessment a few months back. His mother knew about them. Obviously, she didn’t know about their marriage, but she knew there was something going on between the two of them. And because she was trying to talk Courtney into staying at the penthouse, Nick also could see that his mother approved. So for that reason, he’d forgive her for her machinations. Poor Damian, he’d been caught in the middle of all of this. His mother’s ploy had been only that, a ploy designed to make Nick jealous. But now he had to wonder, was Courtney finally getting it too? She had to realize that his mother was actually trying to push the two of them together, and not Damian and Courtney, as she’d pretended before that damn party several months ago.
That was certainly going to work in his favor tonight.
Watching Courtney now, sitting demurely in her seat trying her damn best not to meet his eyes, Nick felt his aggression rise. But being the considerate husband that he was, he decided to spare her any more grief in front of his mother. Besides, he’d had enough; he needed to get her alone.
Setting his drink on the glass-topped coffee table, he stood to his feet. Not caring what his mother would think, in fact knowing she would only approve his move, he walked to Courtney and snagged her hand, pulling her from her seat. “Let’s go take a look at your bedroom and see if the idea of you living here is even feasible. You need a workstation now, and a bigger closet.” His mother’s home was so massive that he knew his words were ludicrous, but he didn’t really give a shit, they were only an excuse, and with that, he pulled Courtney from the room and dragged her all the way up the stairs and into the bedroom she’d always used.
