Jenna felt his burning look boring into her. His scowl deepened and his shoulders squared as sexual heat and aggression radiated from him. His hands clenched into fists as he tried to maintain control.
Jenna bit her lip and tried again. “Are you saying you want the marriage to last longer?”
“That’s fine.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means I’m sick of you saying that you’re ready to leave. To quit before we even get started. I’m tired of hearing you say you want out, that you don’t want to stay married.”
“David, we don’t even know each other. I’m only trying to be sensible. How can this work?”
“How can it work when we’re already planning a divorce?”
“Are you saying you want to make it work? Like forever?”
“I’m saying I don’t want to keep hearing you throw it in my face every two seconds that it’s short-term. That all you want to do is get out of it and go find some fucker to sleep with.”
Shock hit her full in the face. “I didn’t say that. I’m not—I’m not even thinking of sleeping with anyone else—”
“That’s good. Because you’re not.”
He held himself rigidly, braced for more confrontation.
“Then you’re talking about monogamy?”
“I told you that before this started, Jenna. You knew that’s what I had in mind.”
She shook her head, clearly trying to understand. “I’m trying to wrap my head around this. You’re okay with me not taking the payment as long as I agree to longer terms?”
He slashed his hand through his hair in aggravation. “No fucking terms!”
Jenna sucked in a breath, shock coursing through her. “David, we spoke for the first time not even a week ago. You bribed me into a marriage for your convenience, a short-term deal, and now you’re saying all bets are off?” She came to her feet on legs that trembled. “What’s changed?”
“Nothing’s changed.” His eyes ran over her length. “It’s the same fucking way it’s been for the last six months, only worse.”
Jenna slowly scooted around him toward the door. “You want a real marriage.” Her words were a softly spoken accusation.
He glared at her as she sidled toward the door. “Where do you think you’re going?”
“Nowhere far. Calm down. I’m going to have a bath and think.” They stared at each other, electric currents passing between them. He took a step toward her.
“Jenna, I—”
“Later, David. We’ll talk later.” She fled the room.
****
Jenna came down the steps an hour later half expecting him to be in the chair waiting for her. He wasn’t. It was late, they had eaten supper long before. All she wanted was to curl up in bed and go to sleep. She wanted a bed to herself, but she knew that wouldn’t be acceptable to him. Besides, don’t lie to yourself, she really wanted to sleep in his arms.
She saw a soft light glowing from his office and decided to try to get to sleep before he came to bed. She walked through to the master bedroom. She was already in her nightgown, and she slipped into bed. The sheets were cool to the touch and she laid her head down on the pillow, wrapping her arms around it.
Her thoughts raced. He wanted a real marriage. Why?
The bathroom light clicked on and the shower started running. Ten minutes later, he dropped the towel from his hips and let it fall to the floor. Her stomach muscles clenched in anticipation, and he crawled into the big bed and took her in his arms. Holding her in the circle of his embrace, his chest cradling her back, she felt him softly kiss her hair in the darkness.
“You awake, baby?”
“Yes,” she whispered.
He kissed her hair again and took a deep breath. “I want you without a contract. I want you without an exchange of money, without a deadline on the marriage. I want you to want that, too.”
She turned over in his arms to face him. Emotion pulsed from his body into hers. The look on his face was conflicted. Tenderness coursed through her. “Okay.” Her answer was simple.
His grip tightened. “Thank you.”
“D-David?” Her voice was hesitant. “Was it—was it all subterfuge? Is there really a reason you need a wife for office politics?”
He sighed. His fingers slid from her back and lifted her nightgown to her waist and caressed her silky hip. “I’ll tell you, but first I want to know something. Are you my wife? Or are you the girl from the accounting department?”
His touch was doing crazy things to her heart rate. “I’m your wife.”
His hand stilled a moment and then clenched even tighter. “Craig thought a wife would help me attain the presidency when my uncle steps down. It was his idea and I was humoring him. I’m not worried about it. When the time comes, the job will be mine, wife or no wife.”
She wiggled against him as his hand swirled to her upper thigh and back over her hip. “But you told me—”
“It was an excuse, baby.” He lifted her thigh and draped it over his waist, running his hand up and over the silk of her panties. She sucked in her breath.
“He was arguing with me about it, and suddenly there you were, popping up and offering to make my wet dreams come true.” He slid her panties off her hips and pushed them down her legs and off completely.
His finger slid to her sweet spot and pressed softly against her, teasing her. His voice dropped an octave. “By that time I’d have done anything to get in your panties.” His finger moved down to her tight opening and her wet heat almost unmanned him. He slipped his finger inside. “Seeing you, day after day, and not being able to touch you, or talk to you.” He manipulated his finger inside her, rubbing the top wall of her vagina, swirling in a pattern that had her undulating against him. “You were driving me crazy, baby. I couldn’t date you, couldn’t ask you out, couldn’t fucking touch you.” His head reached down and he put his mouth on her nipple through her nightgown. The fabric became wet immediately where he tried to get to her soft skin.
He lifted his head and pressed his lips to her ear. “I wanted you so fucking bad and every time I saw you there was fear in your eyes. I scared you shitless and there was no damn way I could make a move on you.”
He rolled to his back and lifted her over him, held himself poised at the cusp of her wet, silky opening. “No more talk. You’re mine. You’re staying mine.” He pushed up
into her as she slid down and met him. He groaned and sucked in a shuddering breath. “I’ll go fucking crazy if I have to think about giving this up.” His slid her up and down with his hands grasping her hips. “Don’t make me give this up, baby.”
Jenna’s eyes closed as intense pleasure slammed through her. “No, I won’t.”
Chapter Ten
Four weeks later, Jenna sat in the study, screwing up her courage, waiting for David to get home from work. She had to tell him about the education she already had. The spring semester would be here soon, and he was expecting her to begin college. She wanted to get a job, and couldn’t continue to hide this from him. Her debt was only growing, and she needed to find a way to pay it off.
His uncle hadn’t retired yet, but it was coming up soon. She had met him several times, entertained him and his wife in David’s home, acting as his hostess exactly as he expected of her. His uncle and aunt liked her and she liked them, and David assured her they had nothing to worry about in regards to the future of the presidency.
David had introduced her to his entire family, and the story he spilled out for their benefit was swallowed completely. Everyone believed it had been a secret love affair. She knew better, though. Certainly she had fallen in love with him in the days and weeks that had passed, how could she not? He was everything she had ever dreamed of in a husband. He was sexy, kind, considerate, and for whatever reason, she could do no wrong with him.
Ever since the night she had agreed to try a real marriage, his attitude had changed, the ferocious intensity of his lovemaking had calmed and he was more gentle with her, careful, worshipping her body slowly instead of devouring her whole. It completely enthralled her, and she was for want of a better term, a smitten kitten.
She chewed on her nail and nervously waited for the moment he walked in the door. How mad would he be? Truly, she didn’t think what she had done was so bad, except for the fact that she had lied to him by omission. And of course, the small fact that she had married him with a hundred and twenty thousand dollars worth of debt. Her distress grew.