by Lori Ryan
She almost dropped the bag of birdseed a minute later when she heard Rev’s deep barking. His happy barks were higher pitched, but once in a blue moon, Rev found something that needed to be warned off and then his deep, growling bark came out with threatening force. Like now.
Jill looked up at the unusual sight of Rev standing at the front of the yard. His whole body was launched, hackles up, teeth bared as he barked at someone in a car.
“Rev, come!” Jill called out as she started jogging toward him. The yard was deep, the house set back from the road, and that made it hard for her to make out the person in the car. A woman? The car started and drove off, leaving the dog barking behind it.
As the car pulled away, Rev circled back to Jill, but he didn’t calm down. He stood with one back foot on her foot like he could protect her by pinning her in place, body still coiled and ready as he watched the spot where the car had been.
“What was that all about, big guy?” Jill crouched and stroked his chest. His whole body was still tense.
Andrew came up behind her.
“What was that about? I heard him from up in the bedroom.” He’d been sleeping in while Jill and Rev filled the bird feeders.
“I don’t know. He gets protective on very rare occasions but never anything like that. He’s a Labradoodle, for heaven’s sake, not a guard dog. I don’t know what brought that on.” She gazed up at Andrew, confused.
“Did you see who it was?” Andrew asked.
“A woman? Maybe? I couldn’t see much. I didn’t notice the car at all until Rev started barking. Probably nothing. Someone visiting a neighbor or something.”
Andrew drew Jill into his arms, sending tingles of anticipation through her body and quickly erasing thoughts of the strange car and driver from her mind.
“Let’s go back to bed,” he whispered in her ear as he nuzzled her neck.
He took her hands and tugged her back toward the house.
“Come on Revil, Devil, Demon Child. Let’s go!” Andrew called out and the dog dropped into place beside them, following them back into the house like any of those words were actually his name.
Fucking dog. Great, now I need to research sedatives for dogs. Or maybe, just kill the damn thing. Rat poison? I wonder how much rat poison I’d have to hide in a steak to kill a dog that size.
Theresa drove away from the barking dog and pulled down the street. No wonder that whore had her claws in Andrew. They lived next door to each other and, from what Theresa had been able to find out, their families had been close for a long time. Hell, Andrew was probably expected to marry her like in some archaic arranged marriage. He didn’t have a choice.
Theresa sighed. Sometimes it really sucked to be in love with a man from old money. They had weird customs and expectations. This might make it harder to wrestle Andrew out of the whore’s clutches but Theresa could be patient. She’d come up with a plan. Until the right time, she’d wait and gather information.
Theresa drove home and went back to work on her computer, sorting through newspaper stories for information on Andrew and Jill, looking up property records and trying to uncover more of Andrew’s holdings and accounts. The more information she collected, the better prepared she’d be when Andrew needed her.
I’m working on it, my beautiful Andrew. Just be patient and I’ll have us together soon.
Chapter Thirty-Two
As time passed, Jill realized that Andrew had not only helped her regain her confidence, he’d brought it to new heights. Just before the holidays, the entire Sutton Capital team spent the night in New York City at a fundraising event. The event raised money for a charity sponsored by one of the companies Sutton Capital had a big hand in starting. Jill put her newfound confidence to work to turn the tables on Andrew.
She excused herself from the large round table in one of the Ritz-Carlton Hotel ballrooms where a group of them were eating, and headed to the ladies’ room. Moments later, she walked back across the ballroom, with the small red thong panties she had been wearing under her silk gown balled up in her fist.
As Jill found her seat again, she brushed a kiss across Andrew’s cheek and pressed the scrap of lace and silk into his hand under the table. He shot her a puzzled look and then looked down and opened his hand.
Jill kept a small, polite smile on her face as she talked with Kelly and Jennie, but she saw the look on Andrew’s face when he processed what she had handed him.
As their entrees were served, she slipped her hand under the table and let her fingers trail up his leg. She paused on his thigh, letting her fingers trace back and forth. Then they strayed upward…and found Andrew hard and ready for her under the table.
He leaned close, his lips brushing Jill’s neck as he whispered in her ear. “You’ll pay for this, sweetheart.”
She tilted her head and turned an innocent smile to him before returning to the conversations around the table. She never would have tried anything like this when she was with Jake.
Heaven knows, Jake wouldn’t have been able to come up with a response that sent shivers of anticipation up her spine the way Andrew’s words had.
If anyone noticed that Andrew was a little distracted during dinner, they didn’t say anything. She had a feeling their friends knew what was happening when Andrew took her wrap from the back of her chair just after dessert was served. He stood and took hold of her arm, her wrap strategically draped over his other arm to cover the results of Jill’s dinnertime torment.
She laughed when he didn’t even try to come up with an excuse for the group. “Goodnight, everyone,” he said as he pulled her from the room and steered her toward the elevators in the hall.
Chad laughed as he watched Andrew lead Jill from the room, clearly intent on hauling her upstairs for a more private party of their own.
His laughter was interrupted when he felt Jennie’s hand on his arm. Chad followed Jennie’s gaze and cursed under his breath when he saw what Jennie spotted. Theresa stood stock still across the room watching Jill and Andrew exit the ballroom. The look on her face was pure rage. Seething, undisguised and unrepentant rage.
Chad needed to speed this up and get her out of the company and away from his friend. Fast.
Chapter Thirty-Three
Andrew jabbed the button to call the elevator and scowled at Jill when she laughed at this predicament.
He bent to her ear and whispered, sending shivers through her body. “Laugh, sweetheart. Laugh all you want. But I’m going to love making you pay for this. And I’ll take my time, baby.”
When the elevator doors opened, he pulled her inside. He pushed the button for their floor, and pressed her against the wall of the elevator, crushing her lips with a kiss.
“Not nice, Jill,” he said as he broke the kiss. “You’ve just earned yourself hours of torture and torment.” Jill’s dress slit up to her thigh, allowing him access. He growled when he found Jill wet and ready for him. Teasing Andrew at the table had turned into as much suffering for her as it was for him.
As he stroked her , using his body to cover what he was doing between them from cameras, he nipped at her neck and continued to whisper in her ear. “By the time I’m finished with you, sweet Jill, you’ll never misbehave again. You’ll be begging me to let you come and promising to be on your best behavior if I’ll just give you that sweet relief you need.”
Jill groaned, knowing Andrew could make good on that threat. When they got to their room, he did just that. Somehow, he managed to call on a level of patience and control like Jill had never seen. He used his hands, his mouth, his teeth, to drive her close to the edge, but always pulled back just before she toppled over to the release she needed.
“Please, Andrew, please,” she cried as he pulled back yet again.
He laughed, low and sexy deep in his throat. “I told you I’d make you pay.”
“I need you inside me, Andrew. Please, I need you now.” She raised her hips, trying to rock against him, to urge him to fill her, but h
e pulled back, having none of it.
“Promise to be a good girl?”
“No.” She writhed under him.
“I’m sorry, sweetheart. You have to be taught a lesson.”
Desperate, she pulled out the one card she held. “Andrew, I started taking the pill two weeks ago.”
He stilled, his lips still touching her inner thigh where she’d interrupted his ministrations.
She knew she had his attention.
“It takes two weeks for the pill to be effective, Andrew. Do you know what that means?”
He crawled up her body, his forearms framing her face, meeting her gaze. All the laughter was gone from his eyes. It was replaced by a look of sheer wonder that made Jill’s breath catch in her throat.
“Please tell me that means what I think it means, Jill,” he said.
Jill smiled and nodded. “No condom.”
His groan was low in his throat as he leaned in to kiss her gently, passionately, no longer toying with her. He kept his eyes on hers, deepening his kiss.
Then slowly, tenderly, he entered her, bringing a gasp to her lips. She pressed her lips to his shoulder and bit down as he thrust into her slowly again and again, causing the sweet pressure of orgasm to build.
“Oh, Jill,” he groaned. His voice seemed to fade away as if he couldn’t find words.
She knew just how he felt. The feeling of being with Andrew with nothing separating them was so intimate. At that moment, she felt closer to Andrew than she’d ever felt to anyone. There were no words to describe what she was feeling physically or emotionally as they climaxed together moments later.
Chapter Thirty-Four
The end of November came and Jill and Andrew joined family and friends for Thanksgiving at Jack and Kelly’s house. They picked up Nora and Lydia and brought them along.
Chad and Chad’s mother, Mabry, were already gathered and Jill was introduced to them, along with the rest of the gathered crowd. She tried to memorize faces and names. Chad was Jack’s cousin and also one of Andrew’s best friends.
Jennie, who also worked at Sutton, planned to stop by for dessert later in the evening. Once again, Jill found herself surrounded by love and comfort and she absorbed as much of that as she could. It felt really good to be around so much love.
Kelly’s family was wonderful. Her mother and sister, Jesse, wanted to hear all about the plans for the wedding. They had some great ideas since they had just been through the wedding planning process with Jack and Kelly.
Nora and Lydia jumped into the wedding daydreams as well and Jill had to remind everyone that they wanted something small and understated. If she wasn’t careful, she would end up renting out the Waldorf-Astoria in New York with five hundred of their closest friends.
In traditional Thanksgiving manner, the men gathered in the living room to watch football. The women gravitated to the kitchen and pitched in to help Mrs. Poole, Jack and Kelly’s housekeeper, finish up the Thanksgiving dinner with occasional visits from a man Jill was introduced to as Roark.
He came into the kitchen periodically asking if Mrs. Poole needed help. She’d shoo him out and return to her work, but twice Jill thought she saw the woman blush when he’d left the room.
“These pies look incredible,” Jill said as she mashed potatoes. There were three pies set out on the counter. One was pumpkin, one apple, and the other pecan. She practically drooled as she tried to decide which one she wanted after the meal.
If she even had any room. There was so much food. There was not only a turkey, but also glazed ham, sweet potatoes and the mashed potatoes she was making. Green bean casserole, stuffing, gravy, homemade rolls that looked like they would melt in your mouth, and cranberries. She could feel the food coma coming on and she hadn’t done more than snack on baked brie and veggies and dip so far.
“My sister made those,” Kelly said and Jesse smiled at her sister.
Jill was impressed. “You like to bake?” she asked Jesse.
Jesse nodded but Kelly nudged her.
“She’s being modest. She’s going to be a famous pastry chef one day.”
Jesse mumbled a response, but Roark came in at that moment, rubbing his stomach and saying he couldn’t stand the smells coming out of the kitchen anymore.
“I need food, woman,” he said as Mrs. Poole tried to push him away from the stove.
When it was time to sit down to eat, Jack asked Kelly’s dad to carve the turkey and then heavily laden platters of food were passed around. Wine glasses were filled and finally grace was said before everyone began to eat.
Jill had been a bit sad she wouldn’t be with her own family this Thanksgiving – she and Andrew planned to go see her parents at Christmas this year – but the minute she tasted Mrs. Poole’s cornbread stuffing and turkey, more tender than even her own mother’s, she forgot most of the sting of being away from home. The woman could cook.
Toward the end of the meal, Jack rose and cleared his throat to get everyone’s attention. When a hush fell on the group, he began to speak.
“As all of you know, I have a lot to be thankful for this year. I found my beautiful, incredible, sexy wife and somehow convinced her to spend the rest of her life with me.”
The love Jack held in his heart for Kelly shone in his eyes as he looked at her and Jill saw Kelly tear up at his words. They also raised a slight blush on Kelly’s cheeks when Jack hit the word ‘sexy.’
“We were blessed to get Kelly back safe when she was kidnapped. Instead of losing her and any possibility at happiness along with her, I was given a second chance – thanks to her quick thinking, Jesse’s brains, Andrew, Chad and Samantha. I owe you guys everything,” Jack said as he looked at them. Jack’s voice was thick with emotion and Jill found herself tearing up as well.
She hadn’t met Samantha yet and the woman wasn’t at the Thanksgiving gathering, but Andrew had told Jill about her. She sounded like an amazing woman.
“I also have a second chance at a relationship with my Aunt Mabry, who I have missed more than I realized over the years.” Jack squeezed his aunt’s hand while she beamed back at him.
“And I am very happy to tell you all that Kelly and I are now expecting our first baby.” The table exploded with congratulations and cheers from everyone. But Jill’s heart felt a small pang and as she raised her eyes to Andrew’s she saw his were locked on her as well. She knew they were both thinking about the children they lost and perhaps thinking about the children they might have in the future.
It was in that moment that Jill could no longer deny what she had been trying so desperately to push aside: she loved Andrew. With all her heart and all she was, she loved him.
As she sat, a new realization swept over her – all while she tried to keep up appearances, congratulating Kelly and Jack and nodding in agreement when Kelly’s mom said how wonderful the couple’s baby news was... Jill realized she couldn’t marry Andrew.
She looked down at the tablecloth and blinked furiously, pushing back the tears burning in her eyes. She couldn’t be in a marriage like she’d been in before. A one-sided marriage where Jill was in love but her husband was not. He’d told her their marriage wouldn’t be based on love.
But it would be for her. And she’d be right back where she’d been with Jake.
The thought made her heart cleave clean in two.
It didn’t matter that she believed Andrew would never leave her. What mattered was that she would always know why he stayed.
If she married Andrew, she would know he stayed true to her because of the penalty clause, the money. Not because of love. And, that, she realized was something she couldn’t bear to live with.
Andrew watched Jill across the table. He knew she must feel a flash of pain at the news of Jack and Kelly’s baby, but as he watched her, he knew something more was going on. He and Jill went from sharing a small, unspoken moment about their lost children, to something different.
She wouldn’t meet his eye and she was quiet thr
ough the rest of the meal, as if she’d withdrawn into herself.
In between dessert and dinner, he found a moment alone with her and pulled her into his arms.
“Are you okay, sweetheart?” he whispered into her ear. He tried to let her feel how much he loved her, how much she meant to him through his embrace.
“Mmm hmm. I’m okay. Just tired.” She pressed her head into his chest, laying her cheek on him.
He wanted to believe her but something felt off and he couldn’t shake the feeling the rest of the evening.
They got through dessert, helped with cleanup, visited a bit more with everyone, but Andrew wanted to get Jill home. Get her back to where it was just the two of them in their own little world, a safe cocoon so he could find out what was bothering her.
They drove home with Lydia and Nora maintaining most of the conversation. Andrew dropped the two older women at Nora’s and walked them up to the door, being careful with Nora since her hip had only recently been declared ‘healed.’
Then he drove Jill and himself next door to her grandmother’s house.
He was quiet in the car, preferring to wait until they got inside to press her for answers. Jill was sad. And he wasn’t convinced it was only because she had been reminded of the baby she’d lost.
The minute he closed the front door, he opened his mouth to talk to her but she wrapped her arms around him and pressed her lips to his in a kiss of such deep longing, such sweet perfection, it almost knocked him to his knees.
“Make love to me, Andrew,” she whispered against his lips, before taking his hand in hers and pulling him toward the bedroom.
Their lovemaking was sultry and sweet and seemed endless to him. But there was an emotion playing just underneath the surface that he didn’t like. There was a sadness to it and as he lay in the aftermath with Jill in his arms, he suddenly knew.
