One Bride for Five Mountain Men

“You know, Kelsey’s will?" I stammer, fumbling for words to say. Now that the thought has escaped my lips, I sort of want to take it all back. I can feel the door in his heart closing, and something about that makes me frantic.

“Kelsey's will?”

“I have to be there…” I start. I look at my hands, as if they hold some secret information that will make it all okay. “The lawyers say I have to be there. Maybe there's something… Oh, I don't know. She left me something.”

“Money,” he says.

“Well, that's what people do, right? Leave money in their wills? I mean, she's got parents, she's got a brother…” Who else will be there? I guess it’s just us.

He nods slowly. “So, you're leaving. When?”

“The ticket is for the day after tomorrow.”

His arms fold around me, pulling me close. I bury my head against his neck and inhale his woody, masculine scent.

“Well, then you better get some sleep, Little Girl,” he murmurs, stroking my hair. I can’t resist doing as he tells me. Something about his voice seems so authoritative and again, I find myself simply taking the path of least resistance: the one he tells me to take. And it feels so comforting. My breath fills my chest slowly and deeply.

I automatically nestle against him, fitting myself into the warm space between our bodies.

Chapter 10

Raleigh

Two days. That's really not a lot of time.

As soon as she told me that she was going back for the reading of Kelsey's will, I knew exactly what was about to happen. Everything is about to change. This girl’s entire life is about to shatter around her ears, and she has absolutely no fucking idea.

Charmingly, the wine at dinner seems to have overwhelmed her after just a few glasses, and she cuddles up against me like some kind of baby animal, like a bunny or a kitten, humming softly as she falls into sleep.

But I can’t sleep. My mind races ahead, trying to anticipate the events as they will likely unfold.

My investigator assembled what I can only assume is a fairly complete and accurate picture of the events as they had transpired, and I shudder to think how Jordan will see them. She's going to see her life from a whole new angle, have everything she thought she knew turned on its head.

It is going to crush her. It would crush anybody.

I draw her closer to me as she sleeps, wanting nothing more than to fold over her, to create a safe space for her. I want to protect her from the inevitable.

Because it is coming, and there's really nothing I can do about it.

But is that true? Is there really nothing I can do? Actually, I can probably do a fuck of a lot. But first I need to get a hold of Kelsey's attorney, try to find out what's actually in the will. If she does simply hand off a bunch of money, that's not so bad. I can shield her from the worst of it.

But does that seem like Kelsey?

From everything I can ascertain, Kelsey was a bit of a sociopath. Would she have taken a moment to consider her friend’s feelings? Would she have tried to soften the blow? Or would this dramatic scene fit her motivations best if it were as gut wrenching as possible?

I have my answer. I know what's going to happen.

Jordan shifts against me, sliding her knee along mine. Crazily, I want to take her again. I want to plunge into her, to claim every inch of her. I want her to never doubt that she’s safe, and she is mine. She is safe because she is mine.

I have to do something. I know it's crazy for me to be acting like this. I know it's insane for me to be taking her places in public, to be parading her in front of my business acquaintances. I know it's risky. I know it's far more risky for me than for her. But I can't help it anymore.

What the hell am I thinking? And even as I ask myself the question, I know I'm not thinking anymore. It might be wrong in hundred different ways, but I feel something for her. Something real. Something I both don't want to feel, and can't help but dive into. And I'll do anything to protect her.

So she's got two days. At least I can move ahead of her. I can catch an earlier flight back to the States, smooth things out as best I can. And I can be there for her when it all happens.

I am the King, after all. I can make this work.

Chapter 11