I threw my arms around him, kissing him as if we hadn’t been together just twelve hours ago. “Hey. Dinner and lots of kitchen sex?” I asked.
He chuckled. “I would love to fuck you right now, but we have somewhere we need to go.”
“What?” Kissing him had started a fire under my skin. I wanted more. And I wanted it now.
“Sit for a second.” He took my hands in his and lowered me to the porch steps.
“I just got here,” I complained.
“We need to set a date to get married.”
My eyes widened. “I don’t understand. What are you talking about?”
“I gave you as much time as I could. I gave you all the time I could. Our family needs you right now. I have to present you as my fiancée. The deadline on the lawsuit is tomorrow.”
I blinked. I heard him speak, but it might as well been my first year in med school. It all sounded foreign.
“Fiancée? Now?”
“Yes. Before I leave I need to fulfill the contract.”
I stared at him. Every inch of my being was screaming yes. I had been living in a baby making sex bubble for the past two weeks. Sometimes I forgot about the marriage part.
“Yes,” I answered. “Let’s pick a date.”
He grabbed me and kissed my forehead. “Tomorrow?”
I almost choked. “How about give me two days?”
He laughed. “All right. All right. Now come on, we have to get to the meeting before they start picking apart my family’s property.”
“But I’m in my scrubs.”
“They’ll love you, doc. Don’t worry about it.”
Everything moved in slow motion as he held my hand and led me into the forest. I didn’t know how long we walked before we stopped in front of a massive home. I never noticed this house before.
My knees began to shake and my heart pounded.
Brett squeezed my hand. “I’ve got you.” He nodded as he pulled me behind him.
I followed him up the stairs and waited while he knocked on the door. An old
er man opened the door and ushered us in. He was expecting us. We walked through a grand foyer and into a room with a large marble table in the center where a circle of people waited.
“Ahh, he did show up.” A woman with bright red hair grinned.
“I told you I would present my fiancée.” Brett stood behind me.
I needed his strength right now. I thought I would faint from the shaking. My stomach lurched and my hand flew to my mouth.
“Pretty.” An older man with grey streaks in his beard winked at me.
Were these people insane? I withdrew my hand and tried to take a deep breath. The nausea seemed to ease.
“See? She’s here.” Brett squeezed my shoulders. “This is my fiancée, Gretchen. We will be married in two days and I’m fulfilling my father’s contract obligations.” He looked at each of the members of the circle. “The land is in good hands. You can fight each other all you want in court, but you won’t shred my family. My father didn’t want that, and neither do I.”
The older man nodded his head. The older woman walked toward us and I couldn’t help but try to back up. I didn’t like the look in the woman’s eyes. She looked like a witch in a fairy tale. But Brett’s chest blocked me from moving. I felt his sturdy frame and felt the shelter of his body. I was safe. I knew he would protect me.