In the Arms of a Stranger (5 page)

“Brandy took sleeping pills again?”

“No, she’s gone.  I came back to the room after the dinner party and found her all packed and ready to go.  She already had her flight booked and a cab waiting.”

Bri tried not to look as happy as she felt.
  “I’m sorry to hear that.  Did you argue before she left?”

“Surprisingly, no.
  She was quite amicable about it actually.  She said it was fun while it lasted but it was time to move on.”

“And that was it?”

“That was it.  She wouldn’t even let me help carry her luggage downstairs.”  He took one of Bri’s hands and started rubbing some warmth back into it.  “So tell me why your skin feels like you’ve packed it in ice.”

“It was stupid really.
  I rolled the window down to get some fresh air and then got so lost in thought I didn’t realize I’d turned myself into a popsicle until I got to the hotel.”

“I don’t suppose you
would care to tell me about these deep thoughts you were having?  I didn’t think so,” he grinned when she shook her head.  He took her other hand, a little alarmed to find it was even colder than the one he’d just warmed.  “It’s probably not a good idea to shock your body by standing under hot water, you know.”

Bri was already feeling a slow heat beginning to warm her from the inside out because of Jake’s close proximity
, but she wasn’t about to tell him that.  Giving him a sidelong glance, she let out a pathetic little sigh. 

“I guess I could grab a couple of blankets from the bedroom and bundle up.”

“I have a better idea.”  Jake lowered himself back onto the cushions, pulling her along with him and trapping her between his body and the back of the sofa.  “It’s a well known fact that the best way to get your core temperature up is to share someone else’s body warmth.”

“You
are incorrigible, Jake Malone,” she chastised, then smiled contentedly as she settled her head in the crook of his arm. 

“I never claimed to be otherwise.
  Feeling warmer?”

“Hmmm…this is nice.”

Jake pressed a kiss to her forehead.  “Close your eyes, sweetheart.  I’ll wake you once I’ve gotten you all nice and toasty.”

She was feeling pretty toasty already but was enjoying the comfort of being in his arms far too much to give it up just yet.
  It was impossible not to be aware of him physically; Jake exuded masculinity like no other man she had ever known, but there was nothing sexual about the way he was holding her and she trusted him explicitly.  As she drifted off to sleep, Bri couldn’t help wishing he could remain a part of her life forever.

 
                                                               ***

Jake was roused from a heavy sleep by Bri’s distressed mumblings and woke to find her sprawled across his chest.
  He stroked her hair, crooning softly until she stopped rambling and slipped back into a dreamless sleep.  He probably should have woke her up and sent her off to bed then hauled himself across the hall to his own room, but it felt too good, too
right
being here with her.  Nothing short of a freak earthquake was going make him give up his prize position.  Jake closed his eyes again, breathing in the scent that was so uniquely Bri’s and it suddenly hit him that somewhere deep inside he had to have known it wasn’t Brandy he was making love to the night before.

He opened his eyes again, staring at the ceiling for a long time before coming to the definite conclusion he had known.
  And if he’d been aware of it on a subconscious level, it was entirely possible Bri had been too.  Of course, it was just as likely she hadn’t realized since she’d never slept with Chad, or any man, before.  Jake smiled to himself.  It didn’t really matter whether she did or didn’t because the fact remained she’d made love to him that last time fully cognizant of who she was with.  And she was here now, in his arms, where she belonged.

One month, that’s all the time he had.
  Was it enough?  It had to be, he thought fiercely.  He was past the point of wondering how she’d managed to turn his life upside down in only a matter of a few days and had moved on to worrying about how he was going to keep her from marrying Chad.  And then what?  Was Jake Malone, the eternal bachelor, prepared to offer Brianne marriage after stealing her from her fiancé?  He was physically attracted to her, of that there was no doubt, and making love to her had been amazing to say the least, but he hardly knew her well enough to say he was in love with her.

Jake’s arms tightened possessively around her slender form.
  No, it was too soon to say he was in love with Bri, but he was close enough to the edge to know it wouldn’t take much to send him falling headlong and heedless over the side.  Good God, what was he getting himself into?  The smart thing to do would be to keep his distance and squash this burning need he had to cart her off to the bedroom every time he even looked at her.  Wasn’t that proof enough that what he was feeling was predominately sexual in nature?  He was doing a fairly good job of convincing himself of that and probably would have fallen asleep confident he could actually keep his emotions in check if only Brianne hadn’t started mumbling again.

It wasn’t just that she called out his name with a breathy sigh, it was the way his heart leapt and his throat constricted when she did it.
  Her delicate hand inched up his chest and she murmured his name again, squirming against him in such a seductive manner he could only lie there in agony and imagine what she was dreaming about.  Jake gritted his teeth.  Oh yeah, he was going to be a pillar of strength all right.

He gave her shoulder a gentle shake.
  “Bri, honey, wake up.”

She nuzzled her face in his neck, only half awake.
  “Just let me sleep…few more minutes…”

“Baby, it’s late and…ah, hell.”
 

She was sound asleep again.

She weighed next to nothing so it didn’t take much of an effort to ease himself into a sitting position and get to his feet with Bri still in his arms.  He carried her to the bedroom and lowered her onto the bed, somehow managing to strip off her jeans and tuck her under the covers without waking her.  It was only when he leaned down and touched a soft kiss to her lips that Brianne opened her eyes.

“Uh
, oh, caught in the act,” he grinned.

Bri tingled from the affect of his nearness clear down to her toes.
  Her sleepy gaze lingered on his lips.  “Did I catch you climbing in or out of my bed this time?”

“Which one would you like it to be?”

Brianne’s heart fluttered.  “We didn’t…did we?”

Jake laughed softly.
  “Only in my dreams, sweetheart.” 
Or maybe hers?
  He kissed her again, his lips nothing more than a feathery graze.  “I think I’d better go now.”

She didn’t want him to go.
  She wanted him to slip beneath the covers as he’d done last night and make love to her.  Bri touched his cheek, her chest tightening.  

“Good night, Jake.
  Thanks for…for sharing your body warmth.”

Forcing himself to straighten up, he tweaked her
chin playfully.  “Anytime, honey.” 

Bri locked her jaws together, biting back the overwhelming urge to beg him to stay.
  She’d already spent half the night sleeping in his arms and was just lucky he respected her wishes and hadn’t made any attempts to seduce her.  She wasn’t strong enough to resist him, and judging by the look on his face just before he turned around and walked away, his resistance wasn’t as bullet proof as he would like it to be either.

 
                                                               ***

Chad eyes widened for a fraction of a second before a pleased smile warmed his features.
  This was the Chad she’d fallen in love with, the man who had once looked at her like she was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen.  Brianne had taken great care with her appearance that morning, joining her fiancé and parents for breakfast dressed in a chocolate brown skirt that fit loosely over her hips and fell to the middle of her knees.  The cream colored top was tucked in and buttoned all the way up with the exception of the very top one which was left undone simply because it had felt like a noose around her neck when she’d tried to fasten it.  There were no colorful bracelets adorning her wrists or dangling earrings on her ears; only her engagement ring and a simple gold watch accessorized the outfit she’d selected.  Apparently, everything met with Chad’s approval.

“You look lovely,” he said when she arrived at the table then shocked her by planting a warm kiss full on her mouth.
  “Your hair looks great too.”

Bri touched the clip at the nape of her neck self consciously and was glad she’d gone with the last minute decision to pull her hair back
, although she’d left a few soft tendrils loose around her face.  She hadn’t much cared for the rather sever look of her new hair style; leaving the stray curls was the only thing that kept her from feeling she mirrored the proverbial image of a spinster librarian. 

She took the seat Chad pulled out for her and was buoyed for a moment by his open admiration of her attire.
  Then she turned to her parents expecting similar compliments and was greeted with an uncomfortable silence and two sets of eyes that couldn’t quite seem to meet their daughter’s questioning gaze.  What in the world was wrong with them?  She thought they would be elated to see her dressed so demurely, especially since her flamboyant clothing had been the topic of conversation more times than she cared to remember. 

“Well?”
  She looked from one to the other.  “What do you think?”

Phillip smiled at his daughter.
  “You look beautiful as always, little girl.”

Her mother nodded.
  “It’s quite a change, but of course, I agree with Daddy.”

Bri relaxed against her chair.
  It wasn’t that they didn’t like it; they were simply taken back by the dramatic change in her appearance.  After a few minutes, the conversation turned to business and the upcoming project.  Once her parents stopped looking at her as if she was a stranger, Bri was able to convince herself she didn’t look so bad after all.  It was at that precise moment Jake joined them.  He didn’t get the benefit of seeing the entire ensemble, but what he did see was apparently all that was needed to offer his assessment of the new Brianne.

He shook his head with a laugh.
  “This is a joke right?”

Bri’s head shot up.
  “What do you mean?”

Jake rubbed his chin.
  “Come on, Bri, you have to admit…never mind, forget I said anything.”

“No, you started this, Malone.
  Finish what you were saying.”

Missing the warning glance Phillip shot him, Jake added insult to injury.
  “I’m just saying that with your hair pulled back and the prim and proper button down blouse, you look more like a Head Librarian than a Public Relations Director.”

Brianne’s face crumbled.
  Swallowing the enormous lump in her throat and fighting back a barrage of tears, she rose from her chair, excused herself in a strangled whisper then all but ran out of the restaurant.  Chad tossed him a heated glare before jumping to his feet and following after her, leaving Jake standing there looking more than a little bewildered.  Confused by her hasty departure, he turned to Phillip and Juliette. 

“What did I say?”

Phillip Carrington cleared his throat, st
ealing a quick glance at his wife before asking Jake to have a seat.  The corner of his mouth twitched with amusement as he waited for Jake to take his place at the table.  After a few more attempts to hold it in, Phillip finally gave up the fight and started laughing so hard tears came to his eyes. 

Juliette
 smiled indulgently but offered no explanation as to what Phillip found so hilarious while Jake, solely out of respect for the man, refrained from demanding to know why Brianne was so upset and just why her father thought it was something to laugh about.  When his laughter finally subsided, Phillip mopped his damp eyes with a handkerchief before letting Jake in on the cause of his mirth.

“I like you, Jake, but I’m afraid you’ll have to smooth some ruffled feathers with my daughter.”

Jake grimaced.  “I take it Bri was trying to impress us with the matronly outfit she had on.”

“Trying to please Chad is more like it,” Juliette said stiffly.
  “That girl wouldn’t have been caught dead wearing something like that before they got engaged.”

Phillip patted her hand.
  “Don’t upset yourself, honey, Bri will come to her senses soon.”

Jake couldn’t believe what he was hearing.
  It didn’t take a genius to figure out they could barely tolerate the man, although they’d done a good job of hiding their obvious disdain until now.  He hesitated to jump in and voice his own opinion, but since they didn’t seem to have any reservations about talking openly in front of him, Jake decided it was the best opportunity he was going to get to satisfy his curiosity about Brianne’s fiancé.

“She’s different,” he ventured.
  “When Brianne gets around Chad, her whole personality changes.”

“That was bothersome enough,” Juliette confided, “but now with the hair and the clothes…”
  She looked imploringly at her husband.  “Oh Phillip, you just have to do something before she marries that horrible man!  She won’t even be our Bri at all if she spends much more time with him.”

He shook his head, a solemn expression stealing over his face.
  “You know how she is.  The more we try to push her one way, the harder she’ll push in the other.  Brianne has made up her mind to marry Chad and there’s nothing we can do to stop her.”

Jake reached for the carafe and poured himself a cup of coffee.
 “If you don’t mind me saying so, I don’t think you’re giving your daughter enough credit.”  At the hopeful look on Juliette’s face he continued.  “Brianne is a smart woman and I think she’s already having doubts about the wedding.”

Juliette’s shoulders slumped.
  “If that was true she wouldn’t have worn those awful clothes just for him.”

Jake just smiled.
  “I think her determination to please Chad will prove to Bri how wrong they are for each other.  I realize I haven’t known your daughter long but we…we’ve become friends and I think I know her well enough to say she won’t allow her wings to remain clipped for long.”

Phillip chuckled.
  “You’re right son, you do seem to have Brianne pegged.”

“But there
are only two months left before the wedding,” Juliette reminded them. 

“A lot can happen in two months,” Jake said pointedly.
  “Brianne might meet someone else, someone who doesn’t feel threatened by her unconventional nature and wouldn’t want to change a hair on that pretty head of hers.”

Juliette smiled conspiratorially.
  “I don’t suppose you know a young man like that?”

He shrugged.
  “I might have someone in mind.”

Leaning back in his chair, Phillip looked a little dubious.
  “If she finds out we schemed to break her and Chad up we’ll all be in the dog house.  And what if she does fall for…this young man you have in mind, Jake?  I don’t want to see her get hurt when she discovers he doesn’t really care for her.”

Before Jake could respond, Juliette jumped in.
  “I don’t think we have to worry about that, darling.”

“What makes you so sure?”
 her husband asked. 

A brilliant smile lit her face, but this time she let Jake answer for himself.
 

“Because I’m crazy about Brianne,” he confessed, “and I think she feels the same way about me.”

Juliette turned to her husband with an accusatory look on her face.  “It’s
your
stubborn streak she inherited, that’s why she won’t admit she made a mistake with Chad.  So tell me just how do you intend to fix this?”

Phillip blinked, looking very much like a deer caught in the headlights of an oncoming car
.  Jake had to choke back his laughter when Bri’s father fumbled for an answer, and realized just how wrong he’d been about Juliette Carrington.  His first impression was that of a docile woman who was content to walk in her husband’s shadow and let him call the shots, but his opinion of her was quickly swinging in the other direction. 

Phillip may have a reputation for being ruthless in his business dealings but he was totally helpless when it came to his wife.
  If Juliette wanted something, Jake had no doubt her husband would move Heaven and Hell to get it for her.  He imagined life with Brianne wouldn’t be much different and had already resigned himself to the fact that she’d had him wrapped around her finger from the moment he first kissed her.

Juliette arched an elegant brow, glancing expectantly at Phillip before turning those jade green eyes on Jake.
  “Oh, you two are hopeless,” she chided.  “Now pay attention, gentlemen, and I’ll tell you what we’re going to do.”

 
                                                                 ***

Chad held her against his chest, stroking her back in an effort to comfort her.
  “Why are you letting yourself get so upset over something Malone said?  He’s nobody.  Don’t waste your time worrying it.”

“It’s not just that,” Bri
sniffed, “it was the way my parents were looking at me too.”

“Listen, honey, they were just surprised because it was such a change from what you usually wear.
  I think you look beautiful.”

“Really?”

“Really.”  Cupping her chin, he tilted her head back and kissed her.  “I know you did it to make me happy, Bri, and that is exactly the kind of woman I have always dreamed of marrying.  I need a wife who puts my concerns ahead of her own, a wife who is willing to give up her independence and trust me to know what’s best.”

Bri inhaled sharply.
  Is that what he thought, that she was going to forfeit her independence to play the role of his doting wife?  Jake would certainly never expect her to…no, she had to stop comparing the two of them.  It was Jake’s fault she was having doubts about Chad.  If she had never kissed him, never made love to him, she wouldn’t be feeling so damn trapped right now.  It was totally unfair to blame Jake, but she didn’t care.  All she could think about was proving he didn’t have a hold on her and that her mind and her heart were still her own.

“I want to be a good wife for you, Chad.
  And I want…I want to make you happy.”

“I know you do, and I can’t really blame you for being so uncontrollable.
  Your parents should have pulled the reins in long ago instead of leaving you with that crazy grandmother of yours.”  He smiled down at her.  “But you’re mine now and I’m going to take care of you.”

Everything in her rebelled at being treated like a wild mare that needed to be broken
.  Still, she couldn’t very well challenge him now since she’d basically just told him she wanted to be the docile little wife he expected her to be.  Chad truly believed women should be at home taking care of their men, deferring to the stronger sex to make sure they were fed and clothed and had nothing more stressful to do than plan the next meal. 

He
would be delirious if she followed his carefully laid plan of spending their first year of marriage finding the perfect house and furnishing it before starting a family.  If he had his way, she would be pregnant as soon as the house was finished and then continue to be his personal baby making machine, popping out offspring every other year until they had four children.

Bri closed her eyes and tried to lose herself in Chad’s kisses as she’d once done before the doubts started crowding in.
  His lips were soft and giving, but they demanded nothing.  It was disappointing and frustrating as hell because she wanted his kisses to knock her socks off and dispel this gut wrenching certainty that there would never be more than a mediocre love life awaiting her in this marriage. 

She’d felt the scorching flame of desire with Jake, had risen with the heat of it, soaring higher and higher until she thought it would consume her.
  After experiencing something like that, how could she possibly live with a man who did little more than make her heart flutter now and then?  Damn Jake Malone for showing her there was more to love than this, and damn him for making her feel that no man could ever take her to the places he’d taken her.

An unreasonable rage stole over her.
  The man she was marrying didn’t excite her, while the man who drove her wild with desire could offer nothing more than a brief affair.  Well, there was nothing she could do about Jake, but maybe she could ignite a little fire in Chad.  Brianne pressed herself into him, slanting her head to deepen the kiss.  She moved her hips slowly, seductively, while she continued to entice him with her mouth and tongue, and for the first time since asking her to marry him, Chad lost control.

His hands were suddenly everywhere, moving up and down her body and being none too gentle about it.
  She didn’t like it.  He was being too rough and didn’t seem to care whether she was enjoying it or not.  His kisses grew hard, almost brutal, but she was too startled by his uncharacteristic aggression to put up a struggle until he began frantically fighting to get her clothes off.  Ignoring her pleas to stop, Chad pushed her down onto the sofa and pounced on her like a tiger attacking its prey. 

“Is this what you wanted?”
 he growled, pinning her arms above her head. 

Tears spilled down the sides of her face.
  “Chad, please…you’re hurting me.”

“Only becaus
e you’re fighting me, Brianne.  You have been begging me to make love to you for weeks, and now that you’ve managed to convince me to do it, you want to change your mind?”

“But you’re not making love to me,” she sobbed, “you’re acting like an animal!”

Chad froze, staring at her in horror.  “Oh, God, what have I done?  Bri, I…I’m sorry, so sorry.  You know I would never deliberately hurt you.”  He lifted his weight from her and stood up, flinching when he saw the tattered remains of her blouse.  Turning away from her, Chad raked his fingers through his hair.  “This isn’t entirely fault, you know.”

Brianne sat up slowly.
  “
What?
  What did you say?”

He started pacing back and forth but didn’t so much as dart a quick glance her way.
  “You know I’m not like this.  I never lose control.  But when you started doing that…that
thing
with your hips…” 

“And you think that gave you the right to do what you did?
  Look at me, Chad!  You tore my blouse and wouldn’t even stop when I said you were hurting me.”

“I’m sorry about that, Bri, I really am
, but you were the one who escalated the situation beyond the few little kisses I was giving you.  This has been a problem from the beginning; you’re too assertive and it sends out the wrong signal.  I mean, can you really blame me for what happened?”

Bri’s eyes narrowed.
  “Get out,” she gritted.

He turned to look at her then, his own fury matching hers.
  “I’m leaving.  I have a plane to catch anyway, but I’ll be back in a few weeks.  I suggest you take that time to learn how to curb your shameless behavior.  No wife of mine is going to dress or act like a common…”

“How
dare
you talk to me like that!  As for being your wife, I wouldn’t marry you now if you begged me.”

Chad’s lips drew into a thin line.
  “Oh, you’re going marry me all right, just like we planned.  I won’t have people laughing behind my back, or worse, pitying me because the spoiled little rich girl dumped me two months before the wedding.”

“You
should
be pitied.  I have never met a man who was more self involved than you are.  I deserve better.”

Chad stormed across the room, smirking at the way she shrank back
 when he leaned over her.  “You
will
marry me, make no mistake about that.  If you even think of backing out or tell anyone what happened here I’ll tear your reputation to shreds.  I’ll bring on a whole entourage of men who will swear they’ve slept with you and won’t mind telling the tabloids where and how you did it.”

“You wouldn’t dare,” she croaked, but she knew by the look on his face he meant every word of it.