She shook her head. "I trust you." It was a strange thing for her to say. She'd known him for thirty-six hours, but she did trust him. She surprised even herself with that information.
He got out of the tub and sat next to her on the side. His arm went around her waist. "So you trust me, do you? Does that mean I can drag you upstairs and have my way with you?"
She froze at his words. Looking up at him, she wasn't sure she could even speak. "You're not serious, are you?"
He sighed. "I would be if I thought I could get away with it. But I know you're not ready. We'll work on that when I get back from my trip." He stroked his hand up and down her arm. "We could do some old-fashioned making out tonight, if you're up for it."
She felt like she could breathe again. "That I can do." She wrapped both arms around his neck and pulled his head down to hers for a kiss. "I kind of like kissing you."
"Kind of? You are not good for my ego, woman!"
She laughed. "Good. No woman wants a man who's full of himself."
He just shook his head as he stroked her cheek. "Not even sure why I like you."
"Good taste?"
He leaned down and kissed her again, taking her breath away. His kiss was needy and full of passion. His hands roamed over her back as he nipped her bottom lip, moving his tongue into her mouth. He pressed her firmly against him, feeling her hard nipples through her bathing suit as they pressed into his chest. "Are you cold?" he asked softly.
She shook her head. The night air was chilly, but his arms were keeping her warm. "I'm good."
He lowered his head again, his hands exploring her back. He moved one around to cup her breast, moving her suit down and touching her bare skin. When she didn't protest, he slid the strap off her shoulder, baring her to him. "You're beautiful," he whispered as he lowered his lips to the skin he'd bared. She tasted of chlorine, but he had no complaints.
Brenda thrust her fingers into his hair, holding his mouth against her. His tongue felt so good against her bare skin. She moaned softly, feeling the tingling from his lips going straight to her core.
He pulled the strap on her other shoulder down, giving her second breast the same attention as the first. Finally, his lips met hers again, and hers were needy this time. "I want you," he whispered against her lips.
She hated to tell him no, but she wasn't ready. She tore her lips from his, resting her forehead against his bare shoulder. "I'm sorry."
"No, don't be. I'm not angry. I just need you to know that I want you. Soon, we'll make love. When it's right for both of us." As much as he wanted to throw her over his shoulder and carry her up the stairs to his bed, he knew she wasn't ready.
"Thank you."
He shook his head. "There's no need to thank me. It's what we agreed to." He got to his feet, reaching his hand down to help her up. "Let's go inside. We both have early mornings tomorrow."
Seven
When Brenda got upstairs, she went into her bathroom and showered, blow-dried her hair and put on her favorite pair of pajamas. They had been a Christmas gift the previous year and had penguins all over them, covering her from her calves to her collarbone. There was nothing sexy about them, but she didn't care. It wasn't like Daniel was going to see her in them. He'd gone to his own room to shower.
When she opened the door to her bedroom, the first thing she saw was her new husband lounging on her bed as if he owned the place, probably because he did. He reminded her of pictures she'd seen of Roman Emperors lying on their sides while some concubine fed them grapes.
Before she could stop herself the words popped out of her mouth. "I'm not going to run around scantily clad, feeding you grapes. You can forget it."
"Scantily clad, I would like. Grapes are okay, but I prefer Rolos."
"Rolos? What emperor in his right mind would want a concubine to feed him Rolos?" She climbed onto the bed beside him, assuming his position with her head propped on her fist, facing him.
"One who swims laps for an hour every morning. I need to keep my energy up."
Her hand went to his flat stomach, stroking him. "You definitely have a swimmer's body, Rolos or no Rolos."
He closed his eyes, feeling his body jumping at her touch. "You're playing with fire, my dear." He'd never called anyone dear before, because he wasn't given to pet names. It just rolled off his tongue with her though. After less than two days' acquaintance, he felt as if he'd known her for a long time.
She snatched her hand back, immediately contrite. "Sorry."
"Don't be. Just be prepared for consequences if you touch me that way." His voice lowered to a whisper. "I like it."
"I'll remember that for the future when I want you to like how I'm touching you." She leaned forward and touched her lips softly to his, amazed at how easily she'd gotten used to touching this man.
"I'm not going to stay long, but I wanted to come and say goodnight. What man in his right mind doesn't kiss his beautiful bride goodnight before bed?"
"Not my husband, thankfully!" She'd never thought of herself as beautiful, but the more often he said it, the more she believed it. "You're starting to spoil me."
"I plan on doing it until we're old." His words surprised him. He was really starting to believe their marriage would be a good one, and he wasn't just thinking with his joystick when he said it. He pressed her lips with one last kiss. "I'll see you at breakfast. What time will you leave for work?"
"Eight. And I'll be getting the last of my things ready in the evenings, I think."
"Okay." He rolled from her bed and walked to the connecting door. "I'll be up at seven for breakfast with you."
Brenda watched as he closed the door behind him, reaching over to turn off the light. It had been a rocky day, but when all was said and done, she believed they would have a strong marriage. They were going to make it through. She was convinced of it.
* * *
Brenda was dressed for work and downstairs by seven the following morning. She went into the kitchen to say good morning to Mrs. Brinkley, and told her that she had used her kitchen. "I hope I didn't use anything that you were planning on using for a meal, but I wasn't sure what I should use and what I shouldn't."
Mrs. Brinkley shook her head. "It's your house now. You use whatever you want to use."
"Thank you. I will."
"What time will you be getting home from work this evening? I'd like to have dinner prepared." Mrs. Brinkley took the bacon off the stove, and put them on a plate lined with paper towels.
"Probably not until seven-thirty or eight. I need to go by my old apartment and get everything settled there. You really don't have to cook for just me though. I can fend for myself when I get back."
Mrs. Brinkley smiled. "It's my job, and I'm happy to do it. Food will be waiting for you when you arrive home."
"Are you going to try and force me to have breakfast in the kitchen again?" Daniel asked from the doorway.
"No, we can eat in the dining room, if you feel the need." Brenda looked at Mrs. Brinkley. "It just doesn't make sense to me for us to eat in the dining room when it's just the two of us."
"You're determined to shake things up around here, are you?" Mrs. Brinkley made a shooing motion with her hand toward the dining room. "I'll bring breakfast in within the next five minutes. You go talk to your new husband."
Brenda walked toward the dining room, stopping to kiss Daniel on the cheek on the way. He grabbed her in an embrace. "Don't kiss me like that in front of Mrs. Brinkley."
"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't realize that would bother you."
"Kiss me like this in front of other people." He pulled her to him, his mouth coming down on hers passionately. When he lifted his head a minute later, she looked slightly dazed. "Why kiss in public if you're not going to put on a show?"
Brenda shook her head, and moved to sit at the long table. "I never would've expected a husband who acts like you."
"How do I act?" Daniel asked.
She shrugged. "Sometimes I'm convince
d you don't like me at all. You abandon me and go off and work, leaving me to my own devices. And sometimes, you're the most attentive husband I've ever seen. I never know what to expect."
"Wouldn't life be boring if you always knew what to expect?"
Mrs. Brinkley came through then, saving Brenda from answering. She put the food on the table, leaving them to serve themselves. "When will your flight land in Dallas?"
"Around two," he said. "I'll go straight to work there. I won't even check into my hotel until around nine central time tonight."
"And you'll call around ten-thirty our time?" she asked. She needed to know when she'd hear his voice again. She was afraid it made her sound clingy, and she didn't want that, but she wanted him to know she cared.
"Yes. Do you have Skype set up on your phone? Or on a laptop? I'd rather be able to see you." He lowered his voice. "Wear something sexy for me."
She blushed and sputtered. "You've already seen the sexiest thing I own."
"That thing you wore for our wedding night? That was nice. Nothing would be nicer." He waggled his brows at her, leaving her with no doubt of his meaning.
"I'm not going to Skype with you with no clothes on. There's no way." She shook her head. "I would be so embarrassed."
"I'm your husband! I'll see you that way soon enough anyway. At least, I'd better!"
She finished her breakfast and pushed away from the table. "I need to go to work."
He stood, pulling her to him and kissing her softly. "Don't forget to give your notice today."
She shook her head. "I won't. Have your secretary call me when she has the movers set up."
"I will." He stroked her cheek with the back of his fingers. "I'm going to miss you while I'm gone."
"I'll miss you too!" She stood on tiptoe to kiss him once more, before heading out the door.
As soon as she got to work that morning, Brenda talked to her supervisor, explaining the situation. "What do you need from me?" she asked. "Is an email sufficient for written notice? Or do I need to print something off?"
Jason, her supervisor, frowned at her. "Are you sure you can make ends meet without working? Not many women quit their job as soon as they marry."
"Trust me. We can make ends meet. Daniel would prefer that I stopped working immediately, so I need to give my two weeks' notice today."
"Would it be better for you if you didn't have to finish out the week?" he asked. "We have a new training class on the floor today, and we're in the middle of our end of year lull anyway. It wouldn't hurt anything if you packed up your desk and left right away."
Brenda frowned at that. She wished she'd had time to leave with Daniel. "That would help me out a lot if I wouldn't be leaving you in the lurch. I've never not served a full notice before."
"Oh, I know that without you telling me. You're not the type to leave a job without notice." He shrugged. "Go ahead and pack up your desk. Your employment record won't be hurt at all by this."
"Oh, thank you. It will be so much easier for me."
Jason got to his feet, holding out his hand to shake hers. "I hope you're happy. If not, you'll be welcome to come back here."
She smiled. "I will be." She hurried from the conference room where they'd had their talk to her desk, pulling things out of her drawers.
Janelle stood up and looked over the edge of the cube at her. "Are you quitting?"
Brenda nodded. "I am. Jason told me not to bother to serve my notice, because there's a new class on the floor. We're slow anyway." She pulled things out of her drawer and nodded when Jason brought her a box. "Thank you."
"I can't believe you're leaving me! I like you!" Janelle frowned at Brenda.
Brenda laughed. "You've got my number. It's not like we can't talk. You should come over and go for a swim with me."
"Oh, your new apartments have a pool?"
Brenda shook her head, trying not to laugh. "Daniel has a pool in his yard." Janelle would freak out if she realized who Brenda had married.
"Daniel? I finally get to know his name? Wow. I thought you'd never tell me."
"I really wasn't trying to be mysterious. It just worked out better if I didn't talk to people about it." She didn't know why she didn't want her friend to know they'd met through a matchmaker. There was nothing wrong with what she did, but she was a bit embarrassed.
"About what? What's your new last name anyway?"
Brenda wasn't sure if Janelle would know her last name or not. Most people in the area had heard of Daniel Axford. Just because she had didn't mean anything. "Axford."
"Wait… You married Daniel Axford? The billionaire? The guy who started his own Internet dating service in college?"
"That would be Daniel. Now you can understand why I wasn't telling anyone anything before we married."
"Definitely! Oh wow. Where do you live?" Janelle's face revealed her shock.
"He has a house in Weston. You really should come over sometime after work and we'll swim."
"Sounds good to me! He won't mind?"
Brenda sighed. "He's out of town this week. He had to go to Dallas for business." She already missed him. And she hated that she hadn't been able to go with him, when it would've worked out.
"You let your billionaire husband leave town without you when you haven't even been married a week? Are you nuts?"
"He wanted me to go, but Jason wouldn't let me have any time off work. Notice was too little." Brenda shrugged. "Maybe I'll join them." She put the last of her things into a box, hefting it onto one hip. "See you soon."
She left the call center and headed toward the elevators. It felt weird to know she was unemployed, but it felt good. When she got to her car, she put the box in the back seat. She decided then that she'd head to Plymouth and finish moving the rest of her things that day.
When she got to her apartment, she looked down at her phone. It had been silenced so it wouldn't ring in the call center. There were four text messages waiting. The first was from her mother.
Are you still alive? I haven't heard from you. I need to know you're not dead.
Brenda laughed, answering immediately. I'm still kicking.
The next text was from Michaela. Is he perfect? Are you going to keep him?
She texted back. Of course I'm keeping him. I signed a contract that I keep him for a year. He's pretty terrific.
The last two texts were both from Daniel. At the airport already missing you. Think of me while I'm flying.
Do you miss me yet?
Brenda grinned. Oh terribly. Do you miss me? She knew he was probably already on his plane, so she didn't expect an answer back very quickly.
She went up to the apartment, and started carrying boxes of books down to her car. She knew Daniel would tell her to leave them for the movers, but she had time. It wouldn't kill her to do it herself.
She just finished carrying the second load of books to her car when her phone rang. She didn't recognize the number, but she answered anyway. "Hello?"
"Mrs. Axford?" It was a female voice, one she didn't recognize.
Brenda felt strange hearing that name applied to her. "Yes, this is Brenda."
"This is Shelby, Mr. Axford's secretary. I've arranged for the movers to be at your apartment today at three-thirty. I know Daniel said you couldn't get to your apartment until about six or so, but I can come get your keys from you and wait for them."
"Actually, there's no need. I gave my notice this morning, and my supervisor let me go immediately. I'm at the apartment now. I'm going to take a load of stuff to Daniel's house, and then I'll come back here and meet them." She wanted to walk down the waterfront one more time before she moved out of Plymouth anyway. She was going to miss living there.
"All right. That sounds good. You let me know if there's anything I can do for you while Mr. Axford's out of town. I'm at your disposal."
"Thank you, Shelby. I'll let you know." Brenda knew she wouldn't ask for anything though. She had no responsibilities until she found some v
olunteer work, so she wouldn't be adding extra work to the secretary.
She finished loading her car by placing all of her hanging clothes on top of the boxes of books and drove back to Weston, pleased to be getting all of her personal items out of the apartment before the movers arrived.
When she carried her first box into the house, Mrs. Brinkley gaped at her with shock. "Put that box down. I'm calling Mr. Brinkley to finish unloading your car. What are you thinking, girl? Mr. Axford will have our heads if we let you hurt yourself."
"I can do it!" Brenda protested. She'd always done the bulk of her moving on her own. There was no reason for her to call someone to help her.
"Can and should are two very different things. Mr. Axford assigned a room to be your own personal room here on the first floor. There are shelves along one wall, and some comfortable places to sit. If you enjoy crafts, it will be a good place for you."
"I've never had a lot of time for crafts, but maybe I'll take some classes." Brenda set her box down on the counter.
"You just leave that right there. Louis will take care of it."
"So what should I do?"
"Go for a swim. It's a nice day. Or read a book. Or look up volunteer opportunities."
Brenda sighed. "I'll get my laptop and look up volunteer opportunities." She walked back out to her car, and carried in her laptop case. She went up to her room and changed into shorts and a T-shirt. She wasn't going to run around in her uncomfortable work clothes for any longer than she had to.
She carried her laptop to the chair in one corner of the room and plugged her laptop in. She had no idea what the Wi-Fi password was, so she used her phone as a hotspot. She'd ask Mrs. Brinkley later.
She heard the ding that meant she had a new text message. I can't believe they let you go immediately. I'd have waited a few hours and brought you with me!
She frowned at her phone. How did you know?
Shelby told me. She tells me everything. You probably want to remember that for the future.
Blushing in Boston (At the Altar Book 7) Page 8
