7. Daisy
CHAPTER 7
DAISY
I wake up to the loud thump of a fist pounding on the door for the second day in a row, and panic claws at my throat even before I’m fully awake.
“It’s okay,” Zane whispers beside me. “I recognize that yell. That would be my brothers.”
“What?”
“I didn’t know they were coming. Hang on, I’ll go get rid of them. It won’t take long. They’re probably here for moral support. But I can buy us time to shower and wake up.” He rolls away from me, and I realize with a jolt just how close we were.
I was pressed right up against him in my sleep.
Cheeks flaming, I dive under the covers and hide as he opens the door. “What are you guys doing here?”
“What the fuck do you think? Our little brother needs to go before a judge and we’re not going to have his back?”
“Trick, I don’t need you to throw your weight around on this. We have a plan.”
We ?
My heart stutters at what I’ve just overheard.
We???
At best, I’d hoped Zane would go along with the idea reluctantly. To hear him describe it as our plan to his brother is shocking…in a good way. Warmth spreads through my chest and I smile to myself.
At the door, someone chuckles. “We, huh? All right. Well, now you have an audience for your plan. Or collaborators? What do you need?”
“Right now, I need you to go to the restaurant down the street and order some breakfast. Daisy’s just waking up. After we’re showered and changed, we’ll come find you and I’ll introduce you to her all proper like.”
“Settle down. No need to get all protective of her. We’ll go grab some coffee. What time is your hearing?”
“Not until ten.”
“Lots of time for us to meet your bride, then. See you soon.”
The door clicks shut, and then Zane laughs. “You can come out from under the blanket now.”
I peek my eyes out. “I wasn’t expecting that.”
“Neither was I. I told them I had it under control yesterday and all we needed was a lawyer. But I’m the youngest and they’re fucking nosy, so here we are.”
“They must have driven all night.”
“Nah. Anyway, do you want the first shower?”
I frown, confused, but a shower does sound good. And now that I think about it, so does breakfast. “Okay.”
“I hung up the other clothes our lawyer brought,” Zane says, gesturing to the tiny open closet near the bathroom. “We should probably dress up a little for the judge.”
Nodding, I cross to it look at the choices. There’s a dark blue romper with a nice belt and a white sundress.
Our lawyer.
We have a plan.
Zane’s words ring through my mind. And not just the ones from this morning. The teasing, sexy words after our kisses yesterday.
The way he curled around me in my sleep, too. I haven’t slept that well in years.
Taking a deep breath, I grab the hanger the sundress is on and hold it up. “Would it be too cliché to wear this as a hopeful bride-to-be?”
Zane crosses to me, his gaze searching my face. “That depends.”
“On what?” My question is breathless, my heart in my throat as he nudges the hanger aside and takes me in his arms.
“On how serious you are about being a bride-to-be. Because if you wear that in front of the judge today, I’m going to be hard pressed to not ask him to marry us right then and there.”
I stare up at him.
“So the question is,” he murmurs as he lowers his mouth to hover over mine. “Just how hopeful a bride-to-be are you, Daisy?”
He doesn’t let me answer him. He kisses me instead, slow and confident and easy. His tongue sweeps into my mouth and he groans, as if in our kiss he’s found his answer, because I’m kissing him back, because my tongue is as eager as his.
I haven’t been hopeful about anything since my father died when I was twelve and my mother re-married just six months later. I’ve had hope drummed out of me, because I’ve never met their expectations for me.
But Zane?
This wild cowboy who stumbled into my life and made me do something extraordinarily reckless?
He makes me hope for more than I ever imagined.
He makes me think anything is possible.
With a soft little sound of consent, I ease away from his kiss and lift the hanger up between us. “I think I will wear this today, yes.”
The approval that sweeps over his expression is all I need to see to know this is the right decision.
“So I’ll just take a quick shower…” I step back, legs shaking. Wanting to invite him to shower with me, but not knowing how.
His burning gaze promises he wants to join me.
I open my mouth, but then close it again.
One thing at a time.
First, we’ll get married.
Then we’ll have the rest of our lives to explore being naked together.
I laugh to myself as I back up into the bathroom.
Zane tips his head to the side. “What?”
“My mother thinks I’m a slut,” I say, the truth spilling out of me more easily than ever before. I think I could tell Zane literally anything and it would be fine. “But the truth is, I’ve never done more than kiss anyone, and in a few hours, I’ll be your wife.”
“You’re damned right you will be.” He braces himself against the bathroom doorframe. “Never thought of myself as a traditional man until I met you, Daisy. But I’m looking forward to consummating our marriage.”
“So you don’t mind waiting?”
“Mind?” He huffs a breath. “It might be the hardest thing I ever do. But it’ll be worth it.” His gaze rakes down my body. “I never want you to worry for a second that anything we do is bad. I know you’re pure, angel. I know that’s important to you. And I will wait until you’re properly mine to take what I crave.”
As I stare at him in shock, he catches the handle and pulls the bathroom door shut, leaving me alone to wonder how the heck he read my mind so clearly.
Despite the normal sexual desires that I’ve had since puberty, my mother scared me into thinking that a man who got into my pants would only use me and discard me. Deep down, I still think that it’s important to be married before having sex, even though my brain knows better.
Pure .
It’s a word that haunts me, but Zane made it sound like no big deal. He clearly hasn’t waited for marriage, nor would he expect me to, but if I want to, fine.
Fine.
Ha.
I don’t feel fine right now. My skin feels as if it’s on fire.
Fingers shaking, I turn on the shower and hang the dress up on the inside of the door.
I take my time under the hot spray, scrubbing every inch, knowing Zane will be stripping me out of this dress soon enough.
When I get out, I towel dry and then pull the dress on. It floats around my body, light as air, and if it weren’t for the thin lining layer, Zane would be able to see I’m not wearing anything under it.
I’ll fix that in a minute, but…I like knowing that I’m practically naked.
I’m not actually pure at all. I have dirty sex thoughts, and right now, I’m thinking about…
Yanking open the door, I do it before I can overthink it.
Zane is stretched out on the bed, sitting up with his back to the headboard, and his intense gaze collides with mine as soon as I step in to view.
“I forgot underwear,” I say, heat popping on my cheeks.
He doesn’t respond, just watches as I cross to the bag of supplies and search for what I want. There are two packs of panties, both basic white cotton, in two different sizes. I open the pack that will fit me and shake a pair loose.
Then, taking a deep breath, I step into them, one leg at a time. My skirt rides up as I pull the cotton up my thighs, but I don’t think Zane can see anything, really.
It’s just the idea that I’m teasing him with.
And he’s going to be my husband, after all. He can see me put on panties. Heck, soon enough he’ll see me take them off. Maybe he’ll even take them off me himself.
“Having fun?” His voice is pure gravel.
I whirl around, my skirt flaring around me.
If I thought his gaze was intense before, I was wrong. Now it’s electric, surging with unrestrained spark.
I laugh. It’s a wild, unfamiliar sound to my own ear.
“I’m enjoying the show. Don’t stop.”
I lean back against the dresser. “I don’t know what to do next.”
“Lift that skirt a little and show me your panties.” He licks his lips. “I won’t touch you until we’re married, Daisy. That’s my promise to you. But if you want to give me a little preview of what my wife likes, it would carry me through the day.”
“We can’t. Your brothers are waiting for us.”
He swears under his breath. “I forgot about them.”
“They came all the way here to support you!” I point to the bathroom. “Go get in the shower right now.”
“It’s not that big a deal,” he grumbles, but he stands anyway. And he’s smiling when he adds, “You’re already good at the bossy wife thing.”
“What do you mean, it’s not a big deal?” If I had siblings who would help me out of a bind… I can’t even imagine how grateful I’d be.
“It’s a short flight in the jet. They’ll be back at the ranch mid afternoon.”
I frown in confusion. “A short flight ? In the jet? ”
Zane shrugs. “It’s my oldest brother’s. It’s not a big deal.”
“It sounds like a big deal. Is he…” I trail off, uncertain of what to ask. Maybe it’s none of my business.
Suddenly, I feel out of my depth.
“My brothers are going to love you,” he says. “I promise.”
“I’m not fancy at all.”
“Neither are we. I told you, we grew up practically feral.”
“How does one go from feral to private jet?”
He grins. “A natural ability with a baseball bat.”
I blink.
Zane Lowry.
Baseball.
“Trick Lowry is your brother?”
“Are you a fan? He’s not nearly as grouchy as he seems. He’ll sign something for you, although it might be weird to put that on the wall of our house when he’ll be coming over regularly.”
“I…” I feel faint. “I mean, I like baseball. My dad was a huge fan, though. And Neil is, too.”
Zane growls. “ He doesn’t get anything signed.”
I giggle. “Fair.”
He stops in front of me and kisses me gently. “I’ll be real quick in the shower. And then you’ll get to meet them. They’re all here. Trick, Noah, Drew. I’m the most handsome, of course, but they’re all right.”
I press my fingers to my mouth, holding his kiss there as he saunters to the bathroom.
Now that he’s made the connection, I can see the family resemblance.
Trick Lowry is a legend in Wyoming, but pretty private. I guess I did know that he had a ranch with his family, but the details of that escaped me.
Oh my God, I kidnapped Trick Lowry’s brother!
If Zane hadn’t gone along with my scheme, this could have turned out really badly for me.
Shivering, I shake off that thought.
In the bathroom, the shower turns on. I picture Zane stripping out of his clothes and stepping into the steam. Soaping up those big, broad muscles. Water running down his long limbs, darkening the hair that I imagine?—
Whew.
Wait until you’re married, girl.
I turn around and spy the truck keys, which we’ll have to return at the hearing today. Zane refused to let me give them back last night. He said my parents don’t deserve a show of good faith, and it was important that we make it clear in front of the judge that I was just borrowing the truck, have kept it in good condition, and am happy to return it.
Which I will absolutely do.
But tucked into the visor on the driver’s side is a Trick Lowry rookie baseball card. It was my real dad’s, and when he died and my mother remarried, Neil took it for himself.
After the hateful things they have said to me over the years, after all the gaslighting and brainwashing and expectations to do endless hard labour for them… I don’t think he deserves to keep that.
I think it’s rightfully mine.
Snatching up the keys, I open the door and step outside. It’s still early yet and the motel parking lot is quiet.
I unlock the truck with the key fob and I’ve just put my hand on the driver’s side door when I hear my name behind me.
Turning around, I see my mother standing there.
“Daisy,” she says again, and her voice hitches, as if she’s emotional, but she’s never been emotional about me.
“I’m just getting something that’s mine,” I mutter.
“We think we made a mistake yesterday,” she says. “We want you to come home. We’ll drop the charges.”
“What?” I shake my head. “I’m not going back with you.” And that place isn’t my home.
“You have to.” She sounds desperate now. “Daisy, we can’t run the ranch without you.”
“I’m not your slave, Mother.”
Her eyes go hard and mean. “You owe me everything!”
Rolling my eyes, I turn back to the truck, but as soon as I open the door, a heavy body thuds into me from behind, grabbing me around the waist.
“Get in the truck, you selfish little bitch,” Neil growls in my ear.
I jam my elbow back at the same time as I kick away from the car, fighting to get away. He yanks on my hair, tipping my head back, so I do the only other thing I can think of.
I scream.