That surprised him. “Of me?”
She shook her head and looked away.
“Then what?” When she held back, he prompted further. “You can tell me.”
Her gaze held a wealth of pain when she looked at him again. “It was hard to make the decision to separate. It’s not something I wanted and I’m afraid of being hurt again. Of being vulnerable to you, Merrick.”
He understood that feeling well. Still, how could he have made her so unhappy? Why hadn’t he seen it? He’d been so damn selfish. Merrick cradled her face in his palms and murmured, “I will not disappoint you. Never again, baby. As God is my witness I’ll do everything in my power to prove myself to you.”
For long seconds Chloe simply stared at him, then she softly said, “I never needed you to prove anything to me. I love you, and that hasn’t changed. I only need you to be my husband.”
Merrick leaned down and kissed her, light and teasing, then whispered against her lips, “By the end of the week, you’ll see that I’m still and will always be your husband.” Chloe started to speak, but Merrick stopped her with a finger to her lips. “We’re gathering an audience.”
She looked around. When she noticed several people staring, her eyes grew as round as quarters.
“Come on,” he urged, as he dropped his hand. “Let’s check in and see about dinner.”
Chloe started forward, the sway of her hips capturing his attention. It seemed as natural as breathing to let his hand drift a little lower, just barely grazing the top of her ass. When he caressed her there, she missed a step and stumbled. Merrick caught her before she could fall forward.
“Merrick,” she chastised.
“Just a little reminder.”
“Of what?”
“That you’re mine.”
Chloe’s spine stiffened, but she didn’t deny his words. They went to the check-in desk and retrieved their room keys. On the ride up in the elevator, she talked to the bellhop about his job, the weather, the lovely hotel, and completely avoided her husband altogether. Merrick was on edge. When he caught sight of the youth checking out Chloe, his blood started to boil. If he looked at her tits one more time, Merrick would gladly wipe the lecherous grin right off his face. With his fist.
As Merrick glanced at Chloe, he could see she had no clue that the guy she continued to chat up was all but salivating over her. Was she too nervous about their time together to notice the attention? Good, that meant they were on equal footing. He was nervous, too. Nervous this week wouldn’t be enough to convince Chloe that they were meant to be together, not apart.
As they reached their floor, Merrick let Chloe go before him. After she walked a few feet down the hall, he leaned toward the bellhop and gritted out, “Do you have worker’s comp?”
“Uh, yeah, I guess so, why?”
“Stare at her chest one more time, you’re going to need it.”
The kid’s eyes grew wide and he started to stammer. Merrick cut him off. “How about you just stick to doing your job.”
He nodded vehemently. “Y-yes, sir. No problem.”
As they caught up to Chloe, she frowned and asked, “Was there a problem?”
Merrick smiled and patted her back. “Nope, I jus
t had to set a few things straight. We’re all good.”
Chloe shrugged. As they reached the door to their suite, she let out a shuddering sigh and closed her eyes tight. “I still can’t believe we’re really here.”
Merrick heard the desperation, the longing, in his wife’s voice, and for the hundredth time that day he wanted to kick himself in the ass for letting things get to this point. He pulled her against his body and wrapped his arms around her, hugging her tight as he opened the door.
Their room was a corner suite. It wasn’t the most private area of the resort, but on such short notice it was all that was available. The balcony gave them a beautiful view of the beach and ocean beyond. Chloe would like to have breakfast there, he thought. The bellhop opened a set of double doors to his left, and Merrick’s libido roared to life. He knew what awaited them. A spacious bedroom with a king canopy bed complete with goose down duvets. He imagined Chloe surrounded by all that soft cotton, wrapped in his arms as the morning sun slowly brought them awake. The living room held all the luxuries of home. A desk and even high speed Internet access, which he wouldn’t be using considering this wasn’t going to be a working vacation. The refrigerator and personal bar might come in handy, though. He remembered their honeymoon night. He’d stocked the fridge with bottles of merlot and plates of cheese. Hell, they hadn’t even bothered leaving the bed that night.
The bellhop left their luggage at the end of the bed and practically ran from the room before Merrick could tip him. Smart kid.
“I can’t believe we’re here,” Chloe said again.
Merrick held her tighter. “Believe it, baby. This is only the beginning. Everything is going to be different from here on out.”