Taking Chloe (3 page)

“That flirting is going to get you in a world of trouble one of these days.”

“So my wife keeps telling me,” he admitted. As Merrick came closer, Sal asked, “The usual?” Their usual was spaghetti and meatballs with a bottle of merlot, then chocolate cake for dessert.

They always shared the cake and stuffed themselves. Today, Chloe didn’t feel like eating at all.

“Sounds great. Thanks,” Merrick answered for them both.

After Sal shuffled off, Merrick brought his right arm around from behind his back, revealing a long box. Flowers? He’d bought her flowers
and
taken the day off work?

Merrick set the box on the table in front of her. She stared at it as if it were a snake. It’d been so long since Merrick had bought her flowers.

“Open it, babe.”

Chloe looked up at him. The hurt in his eyes was plain to see. Her heart broke. She reached out and tugged the box closer, then slowly opened it. A beautiful bouquet of long stem roses.

“They’re lovely,” she whispered, her voice shaking. “Thank you.” Merrick reached his hand out to hers. Chloe let him twine their fingers together. “What’s going on, babe? Why’d you leave me?”

Chloe heard the pain in her husband’s deep, low voice, and she ached to put them both out of their misery, but she couldn’t give in to her heart’s desire. If she caved now, he’d be right back to his old ways, and she’d be no better off than she was now. She shored up her nerve. If she made it through the next few hours without falling apart, it’d be a miracle.

“A separation,” she answered without preamble. “I don’t know if there will be more to it than that, but I need some time to think.”

Merrick tightened his hold on her hand and gritted out, “Yeah, I got that much from the note, but that doesn’t give me a why. Please make me understand why my wife saw fit to leave me while I was asleep. Explain how that’s any kind of solution to whatever’s wrong with our marriage, Chloe.”

She wiggled her fingers and he loosened his hold, but didn’t pull away. She hadn’t really expected him to. This was Merrick at his most dominating. He would never give up without a fight. She’d known that, but she also knew that once he realized he’d have to choose between his back-to-back work schedule and her, he’d choose his work.

“It’s not as if I woke up yesterday and decided to walk out on everything I’ve worked so hard to build. This has been building for a long time. I’ve tried to talk to you, to make you slow down.

You work fourteen-hour days, Merrick. Your entire world revolves around the business. At first I admired your drive. Now I realize it’s not drive, it’s an obsession. You spend all your waking hours at that office. Since I work there, too, I do get to see you, but it’s not the same as spending time together as husband and wife, and you know it. I spend every weekend alone. Do you know how that makes me feel? Have you any idea how sick I am of being second to that damned business?”

Merrick frowned. “You were never second, sweetheart.”

Chloe saw red. “You can sit there and say that to me? You’re a liar, Merrick Vaughn.” He made a shushing sound. “Keep your voice down unless you want everyone to know our personal problems.”

She took a deep breath and tried to calm her racing heart. A waiter brought their wine and poured a small amount in each of their glasses, then shuffled off to another table. Chloe took a sip, then sat back and waited for him to continue.

Merrick’s gaze never left her face. He didn’t acknowledge the waiter or the wine. His anger and hurt were evident in the set of his shoulders and the jumping muscle in his jaw. Chloe desperately wanted to soothe him. Tell him it was all a mistake. But that path wasn’t going to bring her happiness, only more grief.

“You never said anything,” he said finally. “I had no idea you were this unhappy. Why, Chloe?” She slumped in her seat. “I tried talking to you, several times. You would either promise to be home more, which never happened, or you’d wave my concerns away as if I were suffering from a particularly vicious bout of PMS or something. After awhile, I stopped trying.” Merrick was quiet for a long time. Chloe couldn’t tell what he was thinking. Sal brought their food and chatted with them a moment then left them to eat in privacy. She wanted to shove her plate away. Just the thought of eating the rich sauce and savory meatballs made her stomach queasy, but it was better than sitting in total silence.

Merrick released her hand and they both ate several bites before giving up. She peeked at Merrick and watched as he swiped a napkin over his mouth. That small gesture was sexier than a room full of exotic male dancers to Chloe. How could she possibly get over the man when she melted every time they were in the same room together?

When he sat back and crossed his arms over his chest, Chloe shivered. She recognized the determination in his dark blue eyes. Merrick was gearing up for a battle. He’d gotten the same look in meetings over the years. That look said,
I’m going to win and there’s nothing you can do
about it
.

“I have a proposition for you,” Merrick said, his voice a low rumble that skated over her nerve endings like a hot caress.

“Okay, I’m listening.” She couldn’t even begin to guess at what Merrick had in mind.

“I want to take you on vacation. An entire week, just the two of us.”

“That won’t solve our problems. I wish that was all it would take, but the instant we come back, you’ll be back to working around the clock and I’ll be right back to waiting for you to remember that you’re married.”

Merrick’s gaze never changed, but she could see that her words affected him. His entire body tensed. “I didn’t forget we were married, but I see I’ve neglected you. I know I’ve been a lousy husband lately, but I think I deserve a chance to make it up to you. To make you see that I can change. That I
will
change.”

She badly wanted to believe him. She needed to believe him, and that scared her more than anything. He was her life, her only love. Divorce wouldn’t change how her heart felt. She would always belong to Merrick. Still, she needed to protect her heart from more pain.

“I don’t know, Merrick. I’ve tried so many times to get you to hear me, but nothing ever worked.”

“I was a blind fool. I know that now. When I read your note and realized you’d left me, I felt like my entire life had come to a screeching halt. I’m asking you to give me a chance to save our marriage. Let me have a week alone with you. If you’re still determined that a separation is the only answer, then I’ll let you go, no questions.”

“One week?” she asked, hesitant but for the first time hopeful.

Merrick nodded. “One week alone. No work, not even via the computer. It’ll be all about you and me, baby.”

She liked the sound of that, and he knew it. Damn it. “Where?”

“Hawaii.”

Oh, God, a second honeymoon. Merrick was much better at playing emotional warfare than she’d ever imagined. But as she well knew, words were one thing, actually putting plan to action was all together different.

“You can’t just take off. I’m your administrative assistant, remember? Your calendar is full.

Leaving the business for a full week is out of the question.”

“I took today off and the place didn’t burn down. I reckon a week won’t hurt either. Besides, Jackson is more than capable of stepping in. We both know it. Stop making excuses.” He was right. Jackson, his Vice President of Operations, was fully capable of handling things. It might very well prove to be the biggest mistake of her life if she went away with Merrick now.

She might end up hurting even more. Could she possibly turn down this last ditch effort to save their marriage, though? She loved him too much not to try one more time.

“Okay.”

Merrick’s smile wasn’t at all comforting. “There’s one catch.” Well, of course there was! She should’ve seen that one coming a mile away. A man didn’t build a million-dollar company from the ground up and not have a few tricks up his sleeve.

“What are you thinking?” she ground out. “Out with it.”

“You do everything I say. I’m in charge of our fun in and out of the bedroom while we’re there.” She quirked a brow at his choice of words. “Our fun?”

“You do as I say. Exactly as I say. You’ll turn yourself over to me completely.” He leaned close as he murmured, “The last day is yours to do with as you wish. You can order me to suck your toes if you want and I’ll do it. I’ll be putty in your hands, baby.” The idea was way more appealing than it should’ve been. “You’ve never let me do that. You like to have control.”

“And you usually like me in control. But this is a special occasion. Besides, I don’t think it’ll be too much of a hardship.”

“Are you certain you won’t get cold feet?”

He uncrossed his arms and leaned forward, dark promise in his heated gaze. “Try me, baby.” Chloe’s pussy flooded with liquid warmth.

Merrick shifted in his seat as he watched the hotel Chloe had run off to. He’d been watching over her since they’d left Sal’s. His instinct was to charge in there. He could easily rip the door off its hinges, toss her over his shoulder and bring her ass home. That would be the easy thing to do.

The barbaric thing. Instead, he gave her the space she needed and silently kept watch, making sure she stayed safe. Hell, it wasn’t like he was going to get any sleep without her anyway. He might as well stand guard.

In the restaurant, she’d looked so pretty sitting at the table with her long, dark hair hanging past her shoulders in soft waves. The pink blouse she’d worn hadn’t been able to hide her full, round breasts, either. Chloe’s curvy body never failed to stir his libido, but the sadness in her eyes had stopped him cold. He wanted that look gone.

His cell beeped, dragging him away from thoughts of Chloe alone in a cold hotel bed. Merrick grabbed it off the middle console and flipped it open. “Yeah,” he grumbled.

“You’re not still there. Tell me you’re at home.”

It was the third time Blade had called to check up on him, as if he were a snot nosed kid. “I can’t leave her alone,” he explained yet again, barely holding onto his temper. “She’s never been alone. Even before we met she had a roommate.”

“It’s a nice hotel, bro. Hell, she’s not staying in some fleabag in the south end. She’ll be fine.

You need to get some sleep.”

“Not without Chloe,” he reaffirmed. “I’m not getting back into that bed without my wife tucked in beside me.”

He heard Blade sigh, then mumble something, probably to Candice. “We’ll come and take over guard duty,” he announced, as if it were a done deal. “Candice is worried and it’s pissing me off.

You need to go home and get some rest, and I want my wife to stop worrying, damn it.” He hated this. At three in the morning, Blade and Candice should be sound asleep. Instead they were awake and stressing over his dumb ass. “Look, I appreciate the offer, but I wouldn’t sleep anyway. I’m fine, okay?”

“Tell that to Candy,” he snarled.

Merrick heard what sounded like sheets ruffling around, then Candice’s soft voice filled his ear.

“Merrick, I wish you would try and get some rest. Blade and I don’t mind coming over to watch out for Chloe. Really.”

Merrick pushed a hand through his hair, wishing like hell he’d never let his life get so twisted up.

“Candice, I love you for offering. I just can’t leave her. If sitting in this car, watching her window is all I can have of my wife right now, then I’m going to take it. Does that make sense?”

“Of course it does,” she said softly. “If you need us for anything, please don’t hesitate to call.” God, he had a great family. He didn’t know if he deserved them, but he was damn lucky to have their love and support. “Thanks, hon. Get some rest now, or else Blade’s going to kick my ass.” Candice laughed. “He wouldn’t dare. He’s much too gentle.” Merrick nearly choked. “Gentle?”

“You heard the woman. I’m as gentle as a lamb.”

“Right, you and Genghis Khan.”

“Damn straight. Anyway, like Candy girl said, you need us, call.”

“Will do. Thanks, Blade.”

They said their goodbyes and hung up. Merrick moved the seat back and stretched out. In his mind, he kept hearing the dejection in Chloe’s voice as she told him she was tired of playing second fiddle to his work. The company didn’t mean more to him than she did, but he couldn’t really blame her for coming to that conclusion.

Changing the situation wouldn’t be easy. He didn’t just work at Vaughn’s Business Solutions, he owned the damn place. He did work fourteen-hour days and he had been spending his weekends at the office just as Chloe claimed. The insane schedule had become routine. The only way to fix it would be to delegate some of the responsibility. He needed to lessen his load so he could spend more time being a husband. He would work it out, no matter what. Chloe was his world.

Damn, it was going to be a long night.



It’d taken three days to wrap up everything at the office and rearrange his and Chloe’s schedules.

In her capacity as his Administrative Assistant, Chloe saw to it that his meetings were either rescheduled or handled by Jackson. At the end of the third day, Candice had ushered them both out of the office with orders to have fun and relax. Merrick had made the plane reservations and called the hotel to reserve a suite. Their bags were packed. The only thing left was the drive to the airport.

Lacey called and announced she’d be dropping them at the airport. She’d claimed it wouldn’t be safe to leave their car at the airport for a week. Merrick knew she had a point, but he also knew Lacey wanted to give Chloe a pep talk. The drive was only a means to an end.

“If I’d known what a crazy driver you were, sis, I never would have let you take us.” Merrick scowled as Lacey took the curve too fast and pulled into the airport lot.

“You’re welcome,” Lacey grumbled as she pulled up to the curb at the drop-off spot.

Merrick smiled and flung open the car door, then moved to retrieve their luggage from the trunk.

He could hear murmurs from inside the car. He wondered for a minute what Lacey was saying.

He shuddered. Hell, it was better not to know. When he noticed Chloe hugging his sister and leaving the car, he breathed a sigh of relief.