Chapter 11
“The men have this old-fashioned tradition that has stood the test of time. They all adjourn to the den and talk business or have a drink and leave the women folks alone.” Janey wandered over to the refreshment table in the blue and white salon and poured a glass of wine. “What can I get for you?”
“Nothing.” Margo was going to have definite words with him for leaving her alone with this woman.
“I hope you don’t mind if I imbibe.”
“Knock yourself out. It is your house.” She did not sit but prowled restlessly to the window.
“That is right. It is my house and my family.” Janey watched her over the rim of her glass as she perched on the edge of the Queen Anne chair. “Merrick is very special to me.”
Margo turned to look at the woman and felt amusement rising. “Does your husband know that?”
Janey bristled; her chin lifted. “I am sure he shares my concern.” Her tone dripped scorn. “Do you know that Merrick can have any woman he wants?”
“And you are thinking he is scraping the bottom of the barrel. I agree with you there. I have even tried to tell him that, but he will not listen.” She leaned against the wall and crossed her feet at the ankles.
“But he is hooked. Asked me to move in with me. Wants marriage.” She hid a smile at the look on the woman’s face. “I turned him down of course. Too soon, what would people think?”
“You turned him down?”
“Hard to believe, right? Him with all that money dripping from him and all that.” She shrugged. “I’m not a damn gold digger and that’s what you’re thinking.”
“I am too polite to tell you what I’m thinking.”
“Unfortunately for you, I am not. From what I have noticed, you are into your brother-in-law big time which makes it very incestuous and makes you very pathetic as he is just not into you that way.
Your poor husband is frustrated and angry because he knows that he is second choice. But…? She lifted her shoulders in a shrug. “What the hell do I care? It is your deal.”
Janey rose slowly and Margo could all but see the anger steaming from her ears.
“You dare to speak to me that way? You who have no class, no career, nothing? You would speak to me like that?”
“No class, huh?” Margo grinned. “I suppose you’re right. But what I have is an ‘I don’t give a damn attitude.’ Lady, there is nothing you can say that would make a dent or get under my skin. I am completely immune.”
Janey stared at her for a full pulsing second before slamming down the glass and rushing from the room.
“Guess I told her.” Margo muttered to herself. Changing her mind about the drink, she moved towards the cabinet and poured some wine.
*****
“What do you know about her?”
Merrick looked up from the drink he was pouring and contemplated for a few seconds before responding. His nephews had left them to go and see to their own affairs.
“I know that she is the woman I’m utterly and completely in love with.”
“This is not like you.” Maurice gestured with his own glass and went to sit behind the desk. They were in the den that had once been their father’s favorite place. His portrait hung over the mantle place and brought back nostalgic memories of a tall, gray eyed man smoking his pipe and indulging his sons.
“What do you mean?”
“You don’t just go over a woman just like that and one you barely know. She’s not even your type.” He pointed out.
He flinched at the look his brother gave him.
“What the hell is that supposed to mean?”
“It’s not because of her color…”
“It had better not be.”
Maurice hastened to add. “She is not sophisticated. You usually go for the glamorous type. I am not saying she isn’t lovely…” He threw up his hands and took a gulp of his own scotch as his brother continued to stare at him. “I just want you to be careful.”
Merrick relented and took pity on him. “You think she’s after my money?”
“She might be.”
He twirled the glass around in his fingers, an amused expression on his face. “She does not care about that sort of thing. No!” He shook his head. “I am not blinded by love and yes, I am hopelessly and irrevocably in love with her.
She is the most intriguing woman I have ever met. She fascinates me, excites me and that is something I never expected. She has not asked me for anything and when I tried to buy something for her, she freaked out. Which makes me want to buy her the world.”
Maurice stared at his brother in shock. His usually cool and controlled brother was behaving like a lovesick idiot – something had to be done about it. The woman was unsophisticated at best and crude. He had watched her at the table, and she did not practice dining etiquette, he had an idea that she did not know any of it.
He had also never seen Merrick look at anyone the way he was looking at her.
“What about Laura?” He asked softly, knowing that the subject was taboo.
“What about her?”
He gulped some more of the scotch. “You loved her. You always claimed that no woman could ever replace her.”
“No one could, until I met Margo. What the hell is your point? I thought you would be happy for me, and this works to your benefit.” There was a cynical twist to his lips. “This will take Janey’s attention off me.”
The minute he said the words, he regretted it. His brother looked like he had swallowed a trout. His face paled and his hand holding the glass trembled slightly.
“Look, that was uncalled for.”
“No.” Maurice shook his head and went to refill his glass. “We both know that I am second best at everything. Not even second, but a dead last. Janey wanted you first, she always wanted you and I have accepted that.”
“Maurice…”
Maurice turned to face his brother, anger giving his face color. “You are better at everything more than I ever was. At business, at women. Everything you touch turns to gold, while I have to trail along in your shadow.”
“Is that how you see yourself?”
“It’s how everyone sees me.” He finished the drink. “I need some air.”
“Maurice…”
“Congratulations, by the way.”
Merrick swore viciously and considered going after him but decided to let him cool off. Finishing his own drink, he went to find Margo.
*****
“Want to talk?” He asked quietly. Sitting on the edge of the sofa, he turned to face her. He had been afraid that she would insist on going straight to her place, after what had happened at his family’s place and was pathetically grateful that she had come back home with him.
But she was quiet, had been quiet on the journey home and had turned her head away and closed her eyes to avoid conversation.
He had let that go because he had been doing some thinking of his own. His brother had been stiff and formal with the goodbyes and Janey had been rude. Jason had disappeared. Michael was the only one who had extended a warm goodbye, and he was grateful to his nephew for making her feel welcome.
“Your family hates me.”
“They don’t…”
“I don’t give a crap about that but just thought you should know.”
He stared at her for a minute, before taking her hand. “Do you give a crap about me?” His quiet and patient tone had her feeling like a bitch, the guilt rearing its ugly head inside her. He had introduced her to his family with the intention that this was going to end well. It hadn’t.
“That’s not the point.”
“Answer the damn question. I love you…,” his mouth tightened when he felt her trying to pull away from him. “Yes, that dreaded word. Love. The one that makes you so goddamned defensive.
And looking like you have just been told you’re going on death row. I love you Margo and you’re going to have to deal with it. My question to you is this- what are you going to do about it?”
Her eyes flashed, and she felt the sickness churning inside her belly. His family had a right to be suspicious because she was not being straight with him. She was lying to him, and he did not see it, could not see it because of the way he felt.
“Nothing. I need time.” She felt her heart aching at the shimmer of pain that came over his face.
“Well…” Letting go of her, he rose and strode over to the recessed cabinet. Touching a button, he waited for it to slide towards him. Plucking up a glass, he poured a shot and downed it in one gulp before taking another.
“I didn’t ask for any of this.” She was angry, unreasonably so. She was angry at herself for falling into a situation like this. Angry that she could not do anything about it. They were both going to end up being hurt and the idea of hurting him was killing her.
“No, you didn’t.” He had his back turned to her, but she could see his hand fisting.
“Neither did I. But what the hell can I do?” He turned to face her then and she felt a frisson of fear shimmering through her body. “My brother thinks you’re after my money.”
“That’s ridiculous. Is that what you think?”
“No.” Intense gray eyes pierced her, and she had to fight the instinct to run. “But I think there is something you are not telling me. I have been asking myself what that could be.”
The fear bloomed inside her chest until she felt it taking over. “Like what?”
He turned the glass around and watched as it caught the light of the fire, changing its color to something else. He wanted to hurl it, wanted to send it crashing into the wall and roar at everything and everyone.
“Why don’t you tell me?”
“There is nothing to tell. Look, this is not working. We are obviously on different pages. We are certainly not suited, and this is a mistake. Your family obviously knows it…”
“Is that right?” His voice was soft and menacing, sending shivers up and down her spine.
“You’re angry…” she rushed to say. “But if you are looking at this from a practical perspective…” She actually jolted upright and surged to her feet.
“Damn you for bringing me to this.” His face was harsh, his voice strained as he stared at her.
She felt fear coating her usual calm composure. As he came towards her, she forced herself to stay where she was. Her heart was beating hard, her knees weak.
He stopped in front of her, eyes fierce and molten. “For the first time in my goddamned life, I love completely. Do you know what my brother said to me?” Without waiting for her to respond, he continued. “He asked me about Laura. I loved her of course.
She was sweet and gentle and kind, and I loved her with that sweetness that flows through one like a gentle river.” His hands shot out to grip her arms, fingers digging into her skin. “Never like this. It was nothing like what I feel for you.
You make me breathless – I get faint just thinking of you. I want you so much that I can feel it in my very pores.” His eyes glittered. “You have me. The first time I saw you, I felt the shot straight through my heart and into every area of my body. Why the hell are you denying yourself this happiness? Denying me?”
She trembled and felt the tears burning the back of her throat and wanted to lash out at fate. She could not accept his love, was not worthy of it and she wanted to weep and curl up into a ball.
“Don’t.” Her voice was thin and thready. “Please don’t.”
“Don’t what?” He shook her. “Love you with every fiber of my being? It is too late for that. I want you, need you more than the very air I breathe? I do. God help me, I crave you with a violence and desperation that frightens me.
Will you deny that you feel the same?” He shook her again. “I want a life with you, dammit. I want to wake up next to you and pray fervently that I get to spend even the next fifty years with you. How can you not want that too?”
“Please.” Her breath shuddered out and she unwittingly fisted her hands on his chest where she found his heart beating wildly. Her knees buckled and she would have fallen if he was not holding her. Tears swam in her eyes and her lips trembled open. “Please.”
“Damn you.” He whispered as he hauled her against him. She did not resist, but melted against him, tears spilling down her cheeks. The anger dissolved like smoke from him as he bent his head to capture the tears. He knew her to be tough, saw it every time he was with her and her tears moved him beyond belief.
He wanted desperately to hear her say the words to him, but right now, he was prepared to accept just being with her. His mouth whispered against her cheek and trailed down to her lips, his tongue darting into her mouth. The kiss was gentle and potent and had her gasping, her moans swallowed up by his mouth.
His hands went around her waist as he brought her even closer. His body was charged and ready for her. His blood was hot, always hot for her. He felt as if he was trapped in a fever that was never getting better.
Margo accepted what was. Very soon, she was going to be faced with his hatred, and she could not bear to think about it. She needed this now, needed what he was offering if only for a short time.
Her arms came around his neck and she went on her toes to participate in the kiss – a kiss that took only seconds to go wild. He devoured her mouth, his hands racing up and down her back. He wanted to swallow her whole, was desperate to place his stamp on her.
With that in mind, he lifted her up and carried her to his bed, Putting her down, he struggled to take off his clothes before undressing her. She laid there and watched as he lowered himself and gently took off her clothes. Her breath hitched, her body trembled as he ran his hands over her stomach and arms, his eyes boring into hers.
Neither of them spoke, there was no need. The air was thick with unspoken questions, an air of anticipation and desperate need that they both were trying to ignore. He shifted so he was lying next to her.
His hands framed her face as he inched closer to her. The argument was forgotten for now. The uncertainties that she was going to walk out him were shelved for the moment. All he wanted was her. All of her. But for now, he would take what she was offering. His lips met hers in a tender kiss that had her wrapping herself around him.
Her fingers touched his face, lingering on the shadows on his cheeks, before going to the dent in his chin. She wanted memories to take with her, to keep, after she was gone, after it all came out, after he started to hate her for her duplicity.
He felt the change in her and wondered on it. Her touch was gentle, her expression one of wonder. It got his juices flowing even more and he knew he was not going to last for very long.
Ending the kiss, he kissed her cheeks, sipping away the tears that still rested on her skin. Her neck arched, inviting his mouth and he took advantage of it, sucking at the skin, sipping at her flesh and ravaging the hollow of her throat.
When he sidled down to her chest, her nipples were hardened peaks, inviting his lips. And he seized the invitation. His tongue swirled around the tight bud and had her arching, her fingers digging into his shoulders, her moans echoing around the room and firing his blood.
He climbed on top of her when he realized he could not hold out any longer. Slipping into her, he watched her face went alight with passion.
Her fingers touched his chest and curled into fists as she closed around him like a tight wet fist.
“I love you.” He whispered against her mouth. “What you do with it, is up to you.” His mouth seized hers and she wrapped her legs around his waist.
Sensations raced through them with the speed of lightening and before long, they were consumed by the flames of a passion and desire that was so strong, it left them breathless. He felt her stiffen and knew she was on the brink.
The orgasm rocked her with a violence that had her clinging to him. Lifting his mouth from hers, he switched position, so that she was on top of him.
Her fingers curled into his chest, and she was so shaken, it took her a few seconds to settle, and even then, he was determined not to give her any rest. Reaching between them, his eyes holding hers, he tugged at her swollen flesh and had her going over again.
“God!” She cried, arching her back as the second vicious orgasm slammed through her slender body. He went over with her, eyes blinded, body shuddering as he emptied himself into her.
She collapsed on top of him, her body weak, her mind scattered. He held her close, his own body still shuddering.
They stayed that way for a few minutes before he shifted her off him. She opened her eyes to see that he was getting off the bed and watched as he strode towards the bathroom and slammed the door shut behind him.
Scrubbing her hands over her cheeks, she curled into a ball and pulled the covers over her. She wanted to weep again because she knew nothing had been resolved between them.
Standing at the mirror, Merrick curled his fists on the malachite counter and stared at his image. His hair was sticking out on top of his head and his eyes were still blurry from the passion they had shared. There were scratch marks on his chest and shoulders. And he felt the bruises on his back as well.
He had left marks on her as well. He was close to begging her to love him, very close to begging her to stay with him. Move in with him. She was careful not to leave even a stitch of clothing at his place.
Not even a toothbrush. She carried a case inside her large purse and would use things and put them back inside it. She even carried her own travel size toothpaste and mouthwash.
Nothing was left behind. He had palmed one of her panties and folded it under his t-shirts. It was pathetic. He was pathetic. He had lost himself and given her power over him. And still she refused to commit to him. Not even to leave so much as a shirt at his place. He had nothing of her, other than the panties he had stolen.
Easing off the sink, he went to relieve himself and closed his eyes as he felt the wetness from her, the musky scent of her filling him. She was hiding something, his gut told him that and he was dreading what it was. But like it or not, he was going to have to find out what the hell it was.
And he was going to have to deal with it. Washing his hands, he opened the door and walked back inside the room to see her curled up with her knees almost to her chest. Love swamped him and almost had him staggering under the weight of it.
He wanted to tell her to go home, leave him to his thoughts, but he needed her and needing her so much pained his heart. Because it was not returned.
Forcing a smile, he moved forward and got into bed.
“Are we good?”
“Yes.” To prove it, he tugged her into his arms. “Go to sleep.”
She curled into him, and he closed his eyes in acute misery as he allowed the love for her to take him over. Tomorrow was another day, and he was going to have to deal with her. But tonight, he would forget.