The Tycoon's Marriage Exchange (12 page)

She tucked her cell phone back into her purse and got out of the vehicle.  What was she supposed to do with the car now?  She couldn’t leave it here out in the open
parking lot
.  Someone would definitely steal it. 

She thought about texting him back, but what could she say?  “Can I drive your car back so it isn’t stolen and another horrible incident on my conscience?”  That didn’t seem like it was a good plan. 

With a sigh, she called him back, deciding to be brave about this
since she’d wimped out on their previous emotion filled conversation
.

“Hector, I’m really sorry.  I don’t know what got into me but I’m sorry.”

She heard his chuckle and rolled her eyes.  She was beside herself with guilt and he was amused
?
  Great! 

“Don’t worry
about
it.  I’ll see you at the church tomorrow.”

“Wait!  What about the car?  I can’t leave it out here.  Someone will steal it.”

“It’s insured.”

“But….”she thought frantically, trying to come up with an answer.  But the only option she had was to drive it back to his house and then sit in the car while he drove her back.  That was out of the question.  “Can’t you send someone over here to get it?”

“Don’t worry about the car,
Kallista
.  Worry about getting ready for tomorrow.  It’s going to be a long day.”

With that, he hung up the phone and
Kallista
stomped up the stairs to her apartment, wishing all kinds of horrible things to be heaped upon his head. 

Chapter
6

The day of her wedding arrived and she was a bundle of nerves.  She’d spent
several
nights in Hector’s company over the past two weeks
but never alone except for
last night, and that had turned out to be a pathetic debacle
.
  At least his car was still in the parking lot.
 

A
nd here she was about to marry the man. 
Her mother had driven over to her apartment this morning to pick her up at dawn, declaring that there was too much to get done for her to sleep in.  The hair dresser was coming at nine o’clock, she needed a good breakfast before the makeup artist arrived, and she had to be dressed and ready for pictures with her bridesmaids by noon. 

The morning flew by but nothing her mother could say could get her to eat anything.  Kallista rejected all foods except for coffee, knowing that her stomach was too nervous for anything else.  She was terrified of facing Hector after last night, her mind frantically trying to come up with an excuse, a way to shrug off her statements about the way he made her feel when he touched her.  She didn’t want him to have that much power over her!  She wanted to be reserved, dignified.  Ladylike! 

His touch blew away all of those efforts and left her feeling exposed and vulnerable.  As her wedding dress was lifted over her elaborately coifed hair and professionally done makeup, she actually hated Hector for making her feel so horrible, so undignified.  She was marrying him!  Couldn’t he leave her with just a little dignity? 

She couldn’t stop her fingers from shaking and her cousins
,
who were standing as her bridesmaids
,
teased her about how nervous she looked.  Little did they know that she was marrying practically a complete stranger. 
A stranger who snapped and yelled and threatened her at every turn so she was so confused sh
e could barely think straight, and then he drove her completely crazy with a simple touch that made her weak in the knees with a queasy stomach. 

In the back of
the church, she stood
behind the closed doors,
watching the two bridesmaids walk down the aisle
through the stained glass windows of the intricately decorated doors
and wondered what everyone would say if she just stepped forward and yelled “stop!”. 

She didn’t have time to act on that impulse since
her father stepped forward and looked at her, tears in his eyes.  “I want you to know that I’m very proud of you at this moment.  You brought Hector into my life at a crisis and he’s going to help me more than you can know.  I’m glad you fell in love with a man who is strong and can help in ways you don’t even understand.”

At that moment,
Kallista
took a deep breath, kissed her father on the cheek and accepted her fate.  That didn’t stop the shaking knees or the rapid heart rate.  Her hand shook as she tucked it into her father’s elbow.

As they moved closer and closer to the front, she kept her eyes in front of her.  But something drew them upward.  As she watched, Hector turned around to watch her progress and the look in his eyes did something silly to her stomach.  He looked….proud?  Was he actually proud to be marrying her?  What did that mean? 

As her father placed her cold, shaking hand in Hector’s, she prayed that she could get through this and not fall on her face with terror.  Hector’s hand looked so large compared to hers. 
Everything
about him was huge and she almost stumbled as she took the last step to him.  He held her firmly though and she smiled her thanks up into his dark eyes. 

When they turned to face the priest, she
held onto him, unaware of the grip she had on his hands.  She didn’t hear the priest as he spoke but when he stopped and looked at her, she realized that he was waiting for her response.  “I do,” was all she could get past her frozen lips. 

Hector’s response was much more confident, startling her and making her look up at his strong profile. 

And then he was turning towards her, his hands pulling her closer.  The warning look in his eyes terrified her and she tried to tell herself that it would be okay.  But thoughts were gone as his head descended.  If his hand hadn’t come up to cup her cheek, his thumb resting just below her lips and surprising her into immobility, she suspected that she might have run at that point.  But just like at their engagement party, when he touched her, it was so surprising, so electrifying, she was scared, terrified actually. 

And then his lips touched hers, caressing hers gently and the touch was so amazing, she turned her face up, kissing him tentatively back.  She stepped forward of her own accord
and touched his lips with hers just as he had done to her. 

The fire that ignited was startling in its intensity and consuming her rapidly.  Hector felt it as well and he pulled her into his arms, his strong ones wrapping around her waist and lifting her up against his hard chest and the thumb that had been resting against her chin pulled her mouth open for his invading tongue. 

She imitated
everything
he did, her mind hoping that he was feeling everything he was doing to her, all that she was feeling.  Her hand reached up and touched his cheek, feeling the ruggedness of his profile, the surprising softness of his hair and she wasn’t even aware of her body pressing against his as she deepened the kiss on her own while her other hand gripped the lapel of his morning suit. 

It wasn’t until the priest coughed and Hector realized that the congregation was doing a standing ovation that he understood that their kiss had gotten out of control.  As he looked down into her eyes, he saw the confusion, as well as the softness of her lips. 
Everything
inside him wanted to pull her back into his arms and kiss her again, find out if that
reaction
had been
a fluke or
was
real. 

Instead, he turned and tucked her hand into his arm, then led her down the aisle, ignoring the good natured chuckles as everyone noticed his
new
wife’s dazed expression. 

The well wishers poured out of the church after them but Hector pulled
Kallista
into the limousine and he ordered his driver to quickly move out.  They drove in silence to his house and
Kallista
knew she should come up with some sort of conversation, but her mind had decided to shut down.  It didn’t help that Hector maintained
possession of
her hand and his thumb was drawing circles on her palm.  She didn’t even realize he was doing it at first and when she did, she tried to close her hand, but he shook his head and leaned down to her.  “
Kallista
, you either let me touch your hand or I’ll touch something
else.  It’s your choice but you will become used to my touch.  It’s just a matter of where. 
I told you last night, t
his will not be a marriage of convenience.”

She looked up at him and her eyes pleaded with him to release her.  But he was immune to her
entreaty
so she opened her hand and allowed him the touch.  She tried closing her eyes to block out the impact his thumb was having on her, but that only intensified the feeling so she opened them again and tried to look away. 

Thankfully they arrived at his house now and she breathed a sigh of relief.  She moved to scoot out of the car but he stopped her.  “Listen carefully,
Kallista
.  You will remain by my side tonight.  No flitting around the reception and going off without me.  If you do, I promise you won’t like the consequences.”

She tried to breathe but her chest was constricting.  “Why?  What is so important that I stay near you?”

“The fact that you have to ask that question should answer it for you,” he said grimly and exited the car from the opposite side.  He quickly came around and opened the door for her, extending his hand to help her out, challenging her to
ignore his offered hand. 

She took it, but his touch only made her knees weaker and her whole body tense with trepidation.  She took a deep breath and decided to be honest with him in the hope that he would give her some space.  “You make me nervous,” she said softly, almost whispering the words as if saying them aloud would be a bad thing.

He looked down at her, his thumb rubbing her lower lip and he moved closer.  “Don’t worry
Kallista
.  You’re strong.  You can get through the reception.”

She almost cried in frustration that he thought she was nervous about the reception and the guests.  She wanted to scream out that it was him that made her
nervous, that she wanted space from him and these terrifying feelings he made her feel every time he came close.  But the photographer was rushing down the stairs at that moment and Hector pulled her closer
.
  “Don’t look like
I’ve
just beaten you,” he ordered and
Kallista
pasted a smile on her face. 

The whole night, he was true to his promise and kept her close.  She sipped champagne and pretended to nibble on the food, but she had no idea what was happening, what she ate or who attended
their wedding
.
  The entire event was a complete blur, broken only occasionally by the intensity of Hector’s presence when he pulled her closer for one reason or another.
 

The few times the crowd clinked their glasses, indicating the bride and groom should kiss, Hector simply gave her a kiss on the cheek or forehead.  After a while, everyone simply stopped clinking since they weren’t going to get a repeat of the
wedding kiss. 

After dinner, the musicians set up and Hector took her into his arms. 
Kallista
felt like a flower being tossed into the wind, but as he guided her across the dance floor, she changed from a flower to a feather, almost floating
across the makeshift dance floor that had been set up for their wedding
.  Hector was so strong and confident, and he danced so well that she knew exactly when he was going to turn,
when he was moving to the left or right.  They’d never dance
d
together before, but that night, she felt as if she were
mysteriously
connected to him in some
magical
way.  She looked into his
grey
eyes and felt something shift inside her
, something deep and
overpowering
.  He wouldn’t hurt her, she knew.  That didn’t ease her tension, but it stopped some of the worry about what was to come. 

By ten o’clock, Hector had had enough.  He
silently
signaled to her parents who immediately nodded back
, getting the message that they needed to take over the reception and herd the guests out of his way
.  He then turned to
Kallista
who hadn’t left his side the whole night
, acting the attentive, if somewhat dazed bride throughout the event
.  He wasn’t sure if he was amused or irritated by
her compliance
since he had to threaten her to achieve his goal.  The threat had worked like magic though
and he at least had her admission of last night to explain her apparent fears
. 
That alone eased a great deal of his frustration with her past actions, giving their whole two
and a half
week relationship a different light.