Chapter 6
Chapter Six
T hings took a decidedly awkward turn on the way “home.” The dead silence saw to that. From our very first meeting, the conversation had always flowed unless our lips were locked. I didn’t want this and since me being here was his idea—time to pull on the big girl panties.
“Blake, did you tell Michael that we didn’t consummate the marriage? That might void the tribal marriage contract and let you off the hook.”
“I don’t want to be let off any hooks. I’ve missed you, Glory. So much it hurt being away from you.”
“There’s a reason you needed perspective.” Yes, that was what I went with at three o’clock in the morning after a red-eye flight.
“Perspective for you . My grandfather died unexpectedly and there’s been family drama concerning the will. You were on the trip of a lifetime. We were on the trip of a lifetime, but only I had to deal with my family.”
My heart hurt, but best to get this out of the way. “You had doubts about us or my joining you wouldn’t have been a question. It’s what partners are for. I wanted to be there to help you and instead you pushed me away.”
He sighed. “You don’t get it. That call was like a jolt of reality pulling me from a dream. You’re so kind and beautiful and have this zest for life. If the Parkers get you in their sights, they’ll crush everything I love about you, everything that makes you, you . It’s what they live for.”
Pen’s family hated me. Sierra’s family tolerated me. God help me with the Parkers, but he sounded sincere. Like he’d really been trying to protect me.
“My friend Pen, she’s a Von Dutton.”
“What?”
“Technically, she’s a Von Dutton and a McCain, seeing as her husband, Ant, is Stanton McCain.”
“You know the Von Duttons and the McCains?” he asked, highly surprised.
“I do. And except for Pen and Ant, who are some of the very best people, neither family likes me. I’m poor. I mean, there are families much worse off than mine, but to them, I’m poor. I was a scholarship kid at school. Mr. and Mrs. Von Dutton hated that Pen hung out with the scholarship kid. I wasn’t allowed at their house. I know what it means to be an old-money family. But I also know how wonderful black sheep can be. Pen and Ant both are.”
“I made a huge mistake leaving you,” he mumbled as he reached over to take my hand.
“Just don’t do it again. Okay?”
“Never again. You are so important to me… God, I still love you.”
“Okay, Blake, you can’t say that to me while we’re in a moving car.”
He pressed down on the accelerator to get us going faster. I laughed as we jutted forward. He sped through the streets. Blake lived in a beautiful home. We pulled up to a brick-paved circle drive and he stopped the car in front of a large, white-painted, stucco home with fluted Greek columns and molded cornices. A balcony of fine ironwork with delicate curves completed the look to the front of the house on the second floor, above the door. He helped me out of the car, grabbing my bag from the trunk.
“Regency,” I said of the style of architecture. “It’s gorgeous.”
“I like it. Especially now with you here.” He tugged my arm, basically swinging me into the house, and slammed the door, simultaneously dropping my bag while backing me up against the wall, tossing my purse and backpack from my shoulder to the floor before attacking my lips. He tugged up on my knee fitting himself even closer to my body, pressing his thick arousal against my center. Oh, wow.
Like the ‘ holy shit-balls on a stick ’ kind of wow. Insecurities? What insecurities? I needed this man now and intended to have him, kissing him back with all the fervor the moment deserved. I yanked up his shirt to touch his heated skin. He groaned into my mouth, while my heart pounded to the beat of “Stars and Stripes Forever” in my head. Blake slid his hands under my T-shirt, dragging his thumb up over the nipple area of my bra, driving me completely insane when the doorbell rang. At three in the morning? Even worse, the door opened and someone flicked on the light. At three in the morning .
“Son, good god. Show some decorum.” Apparently, Blake’s father made us a middle-of-the-night visit.
Blake sighed, pressing his forehead to mine. Sadly, I set my foot to the floor while he pulled his hands from under my shirt. “I’m in my own home. Why should I show decorum in my own home?”
“Because you may have visitors.”
“No one should be visiting me at this time of night, Father.”
“Is this your wife?” the unwanted man asked, grimacing. I especially loved the eye roll. Nice touch. Very welcoming.
“Yes.” Blake smoothed out my shirt while moving us both away from the wall. Then he spun me, still holding me in his arms protectively. “This is my wife. Gloria Kowalski.”
“ Kowalski ? Son, are you serious right now?”
“What’s wrong with the name Kowalski?” I asked it totally affronted. My father gave me that name and I loved him. I missed him all the damn time.
“She’s going to have to take our name,” Mr. Parker said without responding to me. “And you never told us she had red hair. How am I supposed to explain red-haired grandchildren?”
What? Now he didn’t like my hair ? People always said it reminded them of Merida from Brave .
“Actually, I told everyone about her gorgeous, red hair. And Father, the royal family has redheads. I think the Parkers will survive.”
“Why did you choose to show up now?” I asked the question of the hour.
“Because I needed to see if damage control was necessary. Given the state of your clothes, your hair, and your name, I’m glad I did.”
“ Father ,” Blake admonished. “Get out. It’s late. My wife and I are going to bed. We’ll see you at an appropriate time.”
“Your mother wants you at brunch. For god’s sake, clean her up before you come over.”
“Thank you for such a warm welcome to the family,” I said with the stickiest sweetness I could muster as he turned to leave. I couldn’t help it. The man was a complete ass.
As the door shut, Blake tried to laugh at my parting statement, but he wore sad eyes that sort of broke my heart. When the laughing didn’t work, he sighed.
“I’m so sorry, Glory. I had no idea that he’d ambush us like that. I wanted to give you time to decide that you still liked me before subjecting you to them. That was the reason I went with the redeye flight in the first place.”
“I’m sorry your father finds your wife so offensive,” I said.
“Are you going to leave me?”
I sputtered out, “ What? ”
“Are you going to leave me, Glory?”
“I’m not leaving you, Blake. I just got here.”
He turned me into him, pressing our chests together, hugging me. A deep, meaningful hug. “Your dad’s an ass, Blake,” I whispered. “But I’m not married to your dad.”
“Thank the good lord. Oedipus was never a man I wanted to emulate.”
“There a bed in this place for me?” I asked. “I think I need to crash before brunch.”
“Yes, there’s a bed for you. It’s called the master. It’s big, way too comfortable, and is waiting for your side to be filled.” One hand he used to grab mine. The other he used to grab the handle of my suitcase. I’d pick up my purse and backpack in the morning. Blake led me to a marble stairway. He pointed out the bedrooms and bathrooms as we passed them. Ours was a master suite with a huge bedroom, a bathroom the size of four of my bathroom in Michigan, and a walk-in closet where we could park our cars inside.
In a moment of mental exhaustion that led to a very bad decision, I stripped off my jeans and T-shirt, leaving me in just my bra and panties, because dammit, I still wanted this man. I told myself the gloves were off. Mr. Parker hated me, well I planned to make sure his son couldn’t live without me.
My husband sucked in a very sharp breath and all my bravado left me standing here wondering how to make that happen.
“I don’t know how to seduce you.”
“ Seduce me? ” he asked, like he thought I’d lost my mind. “Glory, I’m a man who’s attracted to women and you are more beautiful than any woman I’ve seen. The fact that you’re here with me now, wanting me as much as I want you is all the seduction I need.”
“You don’t understand. I need you to take charge.” His dimple slowly appeared as he raised an eyebrow. “Only in the bedroom,” I corrected, so he didn’t get any wrong ideas about me or our life together.
He stepped closer. “Partners outside the bedroom. Got it.” His lip curled up and I swallowed hard.
“Wh-where’d my cinnamon roll boyfriend go?”
“Cinnamon roll in the streets, alpha in the sheets. And I’m your husband, sweetheart.”
He began to unbutton his shirt, tossing it onto a chair close to the bed. “I want you, Glory. I want to wrap red curls around my finger while I eat you ass to pubic bone.” He tossed his jeans in on the chair too, then he pulled the comforter back and eased me down onto the bed. “I want to hold you down while I thrust into you until the neighbors hear you scream my name, and know exactly who’s fucking Gloria Kowalski.” I swallowed hard, but that damn lump refused to move. “But not tonight,” he finished, pecking me on the nose. Uh… what? My panties were soaked. My nipples could cut glass.
“What is happening here?” I felt on the verge of crying.
“It’s been a long night. My cock is granite, but I need you to be sure. So, we’ll sleep on it.” After pulling the comforter back over us, he held me in a spoon. I couldn’t decide if I wanted to choke him or kiss him for his kindness.
Blake kissed my neck. “Thank you for coming here,” he whispered. Kiss him. Definitely kiss him.
I nodded, snuggling into his warmth to my back, I forced myself to sleep. Hot and bothered usually meant a fitful sleep but I must’ve slept hard because when I finally woke up, I was in the bed alone and the clock on the nightstand said it was eleven. What time did brunches start?
“Hey, sleepyhead.”
I heard the voice from the doorway and I looked up to a fresh-faced, fully-dressed husband standing in the doorway.
“Hey. I’m sorry. Why didn’t you wake me sooner?”
“Because you needed the rest.” The man said it so easy and caring like it wasn’t a hundred percent on him why I needed the rest.
“What time do brunches start?”
“Sweetheart, we’ll get there when we get there. I’m not worried about them. My concern is you.”
“Could I use the shower?”
“You can use anything you want, it’s your home, too. But how about a soak in the tub? It’s huge. Gives Maisie time to unpack you.”
“Maisie?” I asked.
“My housekeeper. She’s a gem. You’ll love her, I promise.”
“You have a housekeeper?”
“No,” he said, snickering. “ We have a housekeeper, sweetheart. And a cook, and a gardener.”
“A cook and a gardener? Do we have a barista, too?”
“No,” he replied, smiling. “But I can hire one if you want. The staff usually gets the weekend off, but Maisie wanted to meet you and she thought it would be awkward if she just showed up for a visit.”
“It wouldn’t be awkward. I’m glad to meet the people you like .”
“That’s what I told her, but she insisted and you’ll understand when you meet her. It’s hard to say no to Maisie.”
“Should I dye my hair before brunch?” I asked.
Blake popped out a laugh. “Don’t you touch your hair. It’s gorgeous, and it was the first thing I noticed in Paris. That got me looking at your face, and the happy yet serene expression you wore that day, like there was no place in the world you’d rather be at that moment than sitting by that river. Then, of course, my gaze dropped to your curves and I was lost. Without that hair, I might not be a married man now.”
“Maybe they’d like me better if I?—”
“They’d like you better if your last name was Von Dutton or McCain. But I didn’t fall in love with a Von Dutton or McCain. I fell in love with Gloria Kowalski. And Gloria Kowalski doesn’t have to change for anybody.”
I closed the few steps of distance between us, throwing my arms around his neck and kissing him. “I’ll take a bath.” Then I pulled out from his hold to walk to the bathroom. At the last moment, I looked over my shoulder at him. “Thank you, Blake, you know… for being you.” I didn’t give him a chance to respond, continuing into the bathroom and closing the door.
How were we going to make this work? Legally binding or not, I was his wife. When we’d started our adventure together back in Paris, I’d never imagined it leading us here. Seeing that I only wore a bra and panties, I sat on the edge of the tub to get the water going before stripping down the rest of the way.
With the temperature just right, I discarded my unmentionables and slid into the bath, submerging my head before the need for oxygen forced me back up. He had my toiletries already waiting for me.
Once the water started to cool, I un-stoppered the drain and got out, drying off with a massive, incredibly fluffy, yellow bath sheet. Keeping the towel wrapped around my body, I picked up my bra and panties, tossing them into the hamper, and walked back into the bedroom, where it appeared Maisie left clothes laid out for me along with a note.
Ms. Gloria,
I know how nerve-wracking it can be to meet the in-laws for the first time and I know the Parkers. I thought this dress and wedges were appropriate brunch attire in case you needed a helping hand.
Maisie
I certainly appreciated the gesture. It was the pink spaghetti strap sundress that Blake loved so much, pairing that with my tan leather wedge sandals. I picked the appropriate undergarments to go with the dress then blew out my hair, fixed my makeup, and added my rose-gold hoop earrings, rose-gold bangles, and a spritz of perfume.
Blake and Maisie waited in the living room for me. He wore business casual khaki slacks and a short-sleeved button-down with tiny starbursts on it that you couldn’t tell were starbursts unless you looked closely, pairing that outfit with his casual leather loafers. He looked amazing.
Maisie, in on her day off, wore a flowy, linen drawstring pants with a sleeveless button-down shirt, looking like someone on vacation rather than standing in the living room of her employer. Her graying hair she’d pulled back in a clip.
Seeing her made me genuinely happy because her eyes smiled as they moved over me and it gave me yet another example of how different my husband was from the rest of his family.
“Mr. Blake,” Maisie said. “She’s every bit as beautiful as you said.”
“That she is,” Blake replied. “Sweetheart, you look amazing,” he then said to me.
“Thank you. And thank you, Maisie, for helping pick the outfit.”
“I’m so glad to meet you. I’ve known Mr. Blake for years now and you are everything I could’ve hoped for him.”
My face began to heat from such a compliment. “Thank you.”
“My wife doesn’t take compliments very well, Maisie.”
“I see that,” she answered cheekily. “That’s something we’ll have to get her used to.”
“I couldn’t agree with you more,” Blake said. Then he moved to my side. “Come on, sweetheart. Let’s get brunch over with.”
Heaven help me.