“I’m not wearing any panties.”
“It drives me crazy when you talk like that,” he growled.
Cal put his mouth to hers, finally able to do what he’d been dying to since he came home and saw her in this dress—mess her up. Wedging his leg between hers, he changed the angle of the kiss, grinding his thigh against her. Her gasp fanned the flames inside him to the point that he struggled for control. When she went for his belt buckle, making quick work of it, he fought to keep from shoving up her skirt and driving into her without any ceremony at all.
Kissing a path down her neck, he found the zipper at the back of her dress and drew it down. The lower the zipper got, the lower the front of her dress dipped until the sleeves slipped down her arms and she pulled them free. A flick of his fingers and he had her bra hooks undone, and it too slid down her arms.
He caressed her breasts with both hands, fondling her nipples. She went wild for him, reaching for his zipper. He felt cool air and then her hands on him. He loved the way she touched him, caressing up and down. Fisting her dress in one hand, he raised her skirt. The naughty minx hadn’t lied. She was bare and wet, so unbelievably wet for him. Slipping one then two fingers into her, he groaned at how wet she was for him. She widened her legs, her head tilting back to give him access.
He nipped and kissed her neck, which he knew drove her mad. She thrust her hips against his hand, clutching at him and moaning as she drew closer to climax. He wanted to be with inside her when she came. If she kept stroking him like that it would be over before they got started. He reached a hand into his front pocket and came up with a condom, which he handed to her. She ripped open the packet with her teeth. So damn sexy when she took charge. Rolling the condom on him, she drove him insane, stroking him non stop.
He shoved her skirt all the way up, gripped her ass in both hands, and lifted her up against the wall. Pinning her with his body, he grabbed his dick and found her entrance. He thrust up as he brought her down until he completely impaled her. God the feel of her.
He began to move in sharp, deep thrusts. She threw her head back and gasped. He knew she was close, but not as close as he was, so he slipped a hand between them and rubbed her clit. She went off, digging her nails into his shoulders. He followed her, burying himself inside her.
Dropping his forehead onto her shoulder, he struggled to regain his breath and keep them from sliding down the wall to the floor. She’d wrapped her legs around his waist, sifting a hand through his hair as she liked to do.
“And that, darlin’, is a long slow comfortable screw up against the wall.”
“Mmm, it’s also option number fifteen. Very sly of you to put a condom in your pocket.”
“Very sly of you to not wear any panties. When did you take them off?”
“Right after dinner. When did you get the condom?”
“When I went to get Poppy.”
“How smart we are.”
“I don’t know about smart, darlin’. More like horny. Ever since your dirty talk about being wet, I’ve been semihard all night. Through cocktails, dinner, and dessert all I could think about was this.” He kissed the curve of her neck. “And lifting your skirt up. Have I told you how much I love that you hardly ever wear pants?”
“I can wear skirts around you.”
Jesus. When she said shit like that, it stabbed him right in the chest.
“Maybe I’ll take to going without panties too,” she added.
“In that case you’re going to find your skirt up around your waist a lot.”
Her laugh was the most magical thing he’d ever heard. She was laughing more often these days than she had when they’d first gotten married.
He reluctantly pulled out of her. She unwound her legs, and he eased her down until her feet hit the floor. She looked thoroughly ravaged and so damn sexy he wished he had another condom so he could put her back up against the wall and go for round two.
“I’ll be right back, darlin’. Why don’t you go on upstairs and put that dress back on.”
“But we’re going to bed.”
“But not to sleep. That dress had me tied up in knots all evening. I’m not done with it yet.”
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
“Relax your shoulders,” the instructor at the shooting range told Lucy.
Lucy had finished her gun-safety class and was much more comfortable with a firearm in her hand than she’d been when she’d begun the class. The sound of it firing didn’t make her flinch as much as it had when she’d first started coming to the range. She’d even managed to land most of her shots on the target. She glanced down the range at Cal, who was too busy concentrating on his target to notice her watching him. He’d shot guns since he was a kid, so he was a lot more at ease than she was.
“Good,” the instructor said. “Now widen your stance a little. That’s good. Go ahead.”
Lucy sighted down the barrel, focusing on the target. This time she imagined it was Kevin trying to take Poppy from her. She fired. Then again, until the gun clicked empty.
She pulled her headphones off.
“That was good. More aggressive. I’m afraid to ask whose face you saw on the target,” the instructor said as he recalled the target from the back of the range.
“My ex.”
“I have one of those.” He grinned at her. “Her face sometimes appears on my targets too.” He pulled the target down and handed it to her. “Nice job. You’re improving, but I’d still like to see you get in some more practice.”
Most of her shots had hit the paper, and a few had torn holes through the target body. She
was
getting better.
“Next time we should do a simulation. Shooting at the black shape of a person isn’t the same as shooting an actual person. The simulation gives a more real-life kind of scenario where you have to choose who to shoot and who not to shoot.”
“That sounds like a good idea.”
“See you next time, Mrs. Sellers.”
“Thanks, Jake.”
Lucy packed up her gun as she’d been taught and put it in its case. She’d clean it when she got home. Cal was still shooting, so she went into the attached store to wait for him. She was admiring a pearl-handled gun in the display case when a man came up next to her and wrapped his hand around her forearm.
“I want my daughter,” a voice growled in her ear.
Kevin.
He squeezed so hard on her arm that her knees buckled. She tried to twist away, but he countered her move so that she ended up hurting herself more.
“If I have to kill you to get her, I will.”
“That’s the only way you’ll get her.”
She swung her gun case and caught him in the side of the head. He stumbled, releasing his grip on her. She tried to swing it again, but he blocked it then grabbed her arm before she could bring it around a second time.
He hauled her up and got right in her face. “You fucking cunt. You’ll pay for that.”
He shook her, then released her so suddenly she had to grab the display case with both hands to keep from going down. Her gun case clattered to the floor. When she turned, Kevin was gone.
“Are you all right?” A woman helped her stand. “I can’t believe he came at you like that. Somebody call the police.”
“I’m okay.”
“Are you sure, ma’am?” one of the store employees asked.
“I saw the whole thing,” the woman told the clerk.
Another employee, this one a young man, came over. “He drove off, but I got part of the license plate.”
“The cops are on their way,” another man said.
“I’m okay, really,” Lucy tried to reassure them.
“Come and sit down, miss.” The older employee took her by the elbow and directed her to a chair at the end of the counter. “You’re looking kind of pale.”
A little group formed around them.
“What’s going on?” She heard Cal before she saw him.
“This lady was attacked right here in the store,” a man told Cal.
Cal elbowed his way into the group.
“Nothing—” Lucy started.
“This man came out of nowhere,” the woman interrupted. “He grabbed her, but she swung her case and got him right upside the head. And then he shook her and knocked her over.”
“Then he ran out,” the young store clerk filled in. “I got part of his license plate.” He nodded like he was proud of what he’d done. “And Bud called the police. They’re on their way.”
Cal knelt next to his wife. “Lucy?”
“It was Kevin.” She tried to suppress the shudders that went through her. “He threatened to take Poppy.”
“You hit him?” Cal asked her.
“Yeah,” Lucy said. “I surprised him. I hit him before he could hit me. ” The realization of that washed through her. She’d struck back. She’d swung her case without thinking and hit him in the head. She’d always been too terrified of him to lash out. The retribution would’ve been too great. But this time,
this time
she’d surprised him and went after him. She hadn’t let him get away with hurting her.
“Good for you.” Cal took her hand in his, still kneeling at her side. “I hope that asshole has a bitch of a headache because of you.”
Cal seemed proud of her, but she couldn’t see past being Kevin’s victim yet again. She hadn’t done much more than scare him off. If only she’d had her gun out…
Sirens screamed in the distance, coming closer. She’d screwed up things for Cal. The media would get wind of this like they had the incident at their home. So far Cal was getting the bum end of this bargain they’d struck. He was supposed to be cultivating the reputation of a family man. Instead his personal life drew the worst kind of publicity. The gossip hounds had been all over their first run-in with the police. This would only make matters worse.
She shot up out of her chair. “Let’s go.”
“Darlin’, we need to document this.”
“No. Let’s go home. I want to see Poppy.”
“But the police are already here, ma’am,” the store clerk said.
Cal pulled out his cell phone. “I’ll call Sam to let him know what happened and to make sure she’s okay.”
“All right.”
The police came in and took statements from the witnesses. The security camera had caught the whole thing on tape. By the time they were finished with the police it was nearly dark.
Lucy stared out the window as Cal drove them home. One of the smaller local newspapers had sent a photographer and reporter to the gun store and had gotten the scoop of the month when they found out that billionaire Cal Sellers and his wife had been involved in what had happened. Their photos were probably already up on the Internet. Just what Cal needed—another scandal.
“Are you all right, darlin’?”
“I’m fine.”
“I know you better than that. What’s going on inside that pretty little head of yours?”
She really didn’t want to point out what a bad bargain he’d struck when he’d asked her to marry him, but it was true. If he was smart, he’d divorce her and marry someone without all of her baggage and drama. She’d let him visit Poppy. Cal and his daughter grew closer every day, and the fact was she loved seeing them together. Poppy deserved a daddy, and Cal was the most devoted she’d ever seen. She could never separate them now.
“If you want to divorce me, I wouldn’t fight you. We could work out a schedule for Poppy. I won’t ask for anything from you. I’d just need a little money to find a place and get settled. I’d pay you back every penny. The sooner the bet—”
Cal jerked the steering wheel to pull over and slammed on the brakes. He shoved the car into park and turned in his seat to look at her.
“Our deal was for one year, Lucy. One year. That’s the bargain you struck. I’ve kept up my end of the deal, why aren’t you willing to keep up yours?”
“That’s the thing. I’m not keeping up my end of the deal. It’s not fair to you that your wife lands you on the five o’clock news. That wasn’t part of our bargain. You wanted a wife so you could present yourself as a stable family man, not a wife who regularly has brushes with her ex that require police presence.” She swiped at the tears that fell, hating herself even more for bringing so much drama to the situation. “I’m an embarrassment to you, not an asset. I struck the bargain with you, thinking I could hold up my end. I’m not. And I’m sorry.”
“From where I’m sitting you’re more than holding up your end of our bargain.” He took her face in his hands and smoothed his thumbs across her cheeks to dry her tears. “I hate that you blame yourself for what Kevin does. You’re not to blame any more than Poppy is. It cuts me in two sitting here watching you cry over that asshole. He’s not worth it.”
“As long as Kevin keeps coming around, I’m a liability to you, not an asset.”
“When I add up all of my assets, I count you and Poppy as the most valuable. Now dry your eyes and let’s go home to our daughter. And I don’t want to hear any more talk about divorce and liabilities.”
He kissed her forehead, then put the car in gear and pulled back onto the road. He’d said pretty much what she’d expected him to say, but she couldn’t help the feeling that he didn’t quite believe everything he’d told her. She knew he didn’t like all the negative publicity. It had already begun to affect his business. She’d heard about the contract he didn’t get and at least one investor had backed out of another project.
He said he didn’t regret their marriage. She was sure there were things about it he didn’t regret, but she was sure there were other things he did. Like the fact that she still didn’t share his bedroom even while she welcomed him into her bed. Every night he knocked on her bedroom door and asked to be allowed in. She’d told him he didn’t have to anymore, but he’d just shaken his head and insisted that he did and he would until he knew she trusted him.
Another way she was letting him down. He was right. She didn’t completely trust him. She was beginning to wonder if she ever would fully trust anyone ever again. And when their year was up, would he decide that it was more trouble than it was worth to keep asking his wife for permission to sleep with her? If the press ever got wind of their unusual arrangement, what would that do to his reputation?
She grew as frustrated with herself as she knew he had to be. It seemed as though every step forward led to two back. He denied she was damaging his business as he dried her tears, but she didn’t believe him. It was one more way in which they lied to each other. Everything was okay. They were working through her issues. Things were getting better.
Only they weren’t.
Yeah, the sex was great, but was it enough? How much longer before he got tired of carrying the burden of their marriage? How much longer before he got tired of begging her to be a real wife to him? And how much longer before he decided he was done with their marriage, done with her?