Chapter 5
Millie was in bed when Adam came in. She sat up with the satin and velvet comforter covering her to her waist. The faint light from the lamp on her nightstand shone onto a magazine on her lap. This was their second night together but it would be the first night they would make love.
Last night, Adam only wanted to hold her and talk.
And they talked about almost everything.
Well everything she could talk about. She didn’t tell him who she really was or that she might have brought danger to the ranch.
Those details would have to wait, hopefully forever.
That environment was no longer a part of her life and never would be.
She would rather die than go back into being the daughter of a Russian mobster.
She’d grown up in that world and wouldn’t expose her children to it.
She was Millie Sullivan and she would never be Milena Ivanov again.
She would never go back to that world. Never.
Tonight, Adam climbed under the blankets, and extended his arm above her head. “Why don’t you come over here?”
The air might be warm enough during the day but the temperature was still very cold after dark. They still needed several blankets on the beds.
Millie scooted next to him and slid under his arm.
He wrapped that arm around her shoulders and pulled her closer. “Do you want to talk again tonight?”
“Not really.” I just want to make love and get over these nerves. I don’t know what is wrong with me. I’ve had sex with a man before. But I’ve never been someones wife before, even if it isn’t real.
“What do you propose we do?”
She turned in his arm and leaned up on his hard, muscular chest. He smelled so good. He was wearing Brut cologne, one of her favorites. “I think you should make love to me. What do you think about that idea?”
Adam pulled her on top of him. “I think that’s a very good idea.”
Millie leaned down and whispered against his lips. “Then what are you waiting for Mr. Sullivan? I’ll be an old lady by—”
Adam pulled her head down to him and seared her lips with his. “You talk too much, Mrs. Sullivan.”
Surprised at the ferocity of his kiss, Millie secretly loved it and realized she was slowly falling for her husband, as much as she didn’t want to.
He took her mouth again and this time he didn’t stop to talk.
As a matter of fact, they didn’t talk all night long.
Millie woke to warmth she wasn’t used to and panicked for a moment and then as she listened to Adam’s slow, even breathing she remembered she was married to him.
Married. She still couldn’t believe how lucky she’d been to run into Adam Sullivan.
He could have been a serial killer for all she knew then—yet something told her he wasn’t and that he was as nervous about the question he asked as she was the answer she gave him.
Now, he lay on his side, with an arm across her waist, not tight, not possessive, just there as though he’d reached for her sometime during the night without meaning to. His hand rested on her ribs, warm where it lay on top of her cotton nightgown.
She watched him sleep. His hair was rumpled as he slept on his side facing her.
Adam Sullivan was relaxed at rest in a way that she’d never seen him when he was awake.
Awake, he carried so much responsibility…
for his brothers, this ranch, his parents legacy and his businesses.
His shoulders were broad, and he carried the obligations with ease and as naturally as other men carried a coat, as if he’d forgotten he could ever set it down.
In his deep sleep, she saw his strength, but she also saw something else.
Peace.
She envied it. No. That wasn’t right. She wanted to belong to it.
Her gaze drifted over his face, drawn to his strong jaw, the shadow of a beard darkening his skin.
His lashes, long and black, rested against his skin, tan from being outdoors so much.
He didn’t look like a man who had married a stranger in a courthouse because she had panicked for a moment in the grocery store and needed a shield.
He looked like a husband.
The thought twisted her chest, because to Adam, this marriage had been a solution to a problem. Nothing more. Even now, was their relationship more to him?
To her, the marriage had been her salvation.
She waited until she was sure he was still in deep sleep before easing out from under his arm. The air was cold enough to raise goosebumps on her arms and she reached for her robe on the chair next to her side of the bed.
Gazing back at Adam, the bed seems bigger without her in it, but Adam didn’t seem smaller. He appeared to be a man she could lean on.
She prayed she was right.
Adam whistled as he entered the kitchen.
Millie stood in front of the stove, wearing faded blue jeans and a pink t-shirt with a flowered apron over them.
He knew the apron to be one of his mother’s favorites. Millie looked beautiful. She was humming while she prepared breakfast for everyone.
Millie turned her head, lifting her cheek for Adam’s kiss, as though it was the most natural thing in the world to do.
But he was having none of it and grabbed her around the waist, turning her body so she faced him. Then he cupped her face and kissed her deeply.
Benjamin, Christopher, and Gabriel sat at the table, giving them wolf whistles and laughing.
She didn’t care about the brothers, but only about the man in front of her. Millie lifted her arms and wrapped them around Adam’s neck.
He pulled back just a little so he could whisper to her. “You’ll be burning the breakfast.”
“I’ll make oatmeal.” She pressed her lips against his again and vowed to have no regrets.
“Hey, Millie, we’re hungry here and the bacon is smoking.”
“Oh!” She reluctantly pulled away and moved the bacon off the gas burner. “Sorry, gentlemen. I’ll have to start a new batch, although this isn’t inedible, just a little crisper than usual. I know it’s not as good, but it will do. Now, tell me your name and how you want your eggs.”
Adam watched the homey scene and wondered if Millie would stay or move on.
Then he wondered why he was even questioning what she would do.
She would stay. She wanted children and a home and for some reason, he thought she might also want safety.
He questioned if there was more to her acceptance of his offer than just the desire for children.
And not for the first time, he wondered if she was seeking shelter from something or someone.
After the breakfast dishes had been done, Adam took her out to the chicken coop.
There he was teaching Millie how to feed the chickens when she looked up at the road connecting to the ranch driveway.
Did the car slow? It was a large black SUV, just like something that Ricard would rent.
Had he found her? Was she imagining it? “Did you see that vehicle?” she asked softly.
She knew by his slow response, he hadn’t.
Did he wonder what she was running from?
She couldn’t wait to get back into the house. Millie quickly spread the rest of the corn in her can. Then she practically ran back to the house.
Adam watched her hurry away and questioned again what she could be running from.
He had no doubt she was running and that Millie Watson probably wasn’t her real name, which meant their marriage wasn’t valid.
But from the moment he saw her he knew he had to try to make her his.
And when he heard her agreement to marry him, he felt his heart pound in his chest and he didn’t care what her reasons were for accepting his proposal.
Now, he wondered what kind of trouble she might be in and if he could protect her from it.
Even though their marriage had become more than just a marriage of convenience, he knew it was still temporary…
but did it have to be? They still talked about having kids.
Was she just putting on a show? What if she wanted to stay?
How could he even ask her if she wanted to if he didn’t know who she was or why she was running? Why was she so fearful of vehicles she didn’t recognize? Who was after her?
At lunch, Millie watched the men from her seat at the table.
They were boisterous, chaotic, and loud.
They talked about everything under the sun.
From farm chores, server problems, a tractor that had apparently developed a personal vendetta against Daniel, and whether the sow named Peggy had intentionally broken the gate or was merely expressing herself.
“I think it was on purpose, in an attempt to escape her offspring. Mama Peggy had merely needed some time alone.” Millie laughed adding her opinion to the conversation.
Being part of this family was more wonderful than she’d ever thought possible.
She loved the comradery and the love that flowed to and from each brother.
The men laughed, all except Adam. He was looking at her,
Not casually or politely, but staring directly at her. Her breath caught as he held her gaze for a beat too long, and then Christopher asked him about a computer problem, and the moment was over.
But what was it? Why was he staring? Was he wondering about her reaction to the car this morning? What would she say if he asked her? Should she tell him the truth?
After lunch, the brothers scattered. Some headed to the barn and some to the home office located in the building next to the barn. They also had offices in Denver.
Millie cleared plates before anyone could stop her.
Though Adam tried.
“You cooked.” He reached for the stack in her hands. “You don’t have to clean.”
“I don’t mind. I need to keep busy and wasn’t this part of the reason we got married? So you’d have someone to take care of the family?”
“You’re not staff, Millie. You don’t have to earn your place here.”
“Okay. I know that.”
“It doesn’t sound like you do. Besides it’s my day to help you around the house. I’ll start with these dishes.”
Millie sighed. “I like being useful. I like knowing what to do with my hands. I like having chores, and one of the chores I have is to cook…and clean for the family. Remember?”
He sidled next to her. “That was before we became truly married. Now, I…” he ran a hand through his hair. “Now, I want to protect you and keep you happy.”
“Then let me do my work. That’s what makes me happy. I want to know that I’m pulling my weight around here. I want to be part of this family. Can you understand, Adam?” She set the stack of plates on the counter next to the dishwasher.
He sighed. “Yes, I do understand, but you and I need to have a talk about this and other things. Our relationship has changed, and I think we both need to realize exactly what that means to one another.”
Her heart pounded in her chest but she kept her composure. “Yes, I guess we do. Tonight, after dinner, we can take some wine out onto the porch, sit in the swing, and discuss our problems like adults. What do you say?”
He smiled. “That sounds like a plan.” Then he pulled Millie into his arms and kissed her lips lightly, first one corner and then the other corner before finally meshing his lips with hers. They both were breathless when Adam finally broke the kiss. “I love the way you kiss me.”
She ran a hand through his hair, loving the feel of the silky strands. “I feel the same about you.” Millie pulled back out of his embrace. “Now, you go do your work and leave me to do mine, please.”
“Fine, but I don’t like it.”
“Adam, you married me because I could cook and you also needed someone to take care of this house and your brothers’ laundry. The fact that we have now been intimate so soon doesn’t change anything about our agreement.”
He ran a hand behind his neck. “I know how we started, but I don’t want you to feel like a servant.”
She closed her eyes, her heart softening. “I don’t feel like a servant. Did your mother feel like a servant? No. She was a woman caring for her family and that is what I want, what I am. A woman caring for her family. Let me be a part of this family, Adam. Don’t keep me on the outside.”
He wrapped his arms around her. “Millie.”
She looked up at him and gave him a small smile. “Adam.”
“What am I going to do with you?”
“Let me in. That’s all. Just let me in.”
He laid his cheek against the top of her head. “If it was only that easy.”
Ricard Sokolov slammed his fist on the table in the penthouse suite of The Steamboat Grand, making all the breakfast dishes rattle.
“Where is she? How can she evade me for so long? I want her found. Now, Viktor. Now!”
“Ricard. We are looking everywhere we can think of. We’ve checked every restaurant, large and small that we could find to see if she was there.
The one place we found where she had worked doesn’t know where she went, she just disappeared and didn’t return, even for her paycheck. What else do you want me to do?”
Ricard ran a hand down his face and then looked at Viktor. “Find out where she went. Something must have happened to take her away. Find out where. Check every cheap apartment you can find and see where she was staying. The answer is here, you’re missing it.”
“Yes, Ricard. I’m on it.” Viktor hurried from the room.
Growling, Ricard sat in the overstuffed chair.
Soon, Nadia, his lover and Viktor’s baby sister, entered from the bedroom.
She wore a short, skintight dress with a deep V neckline.
She slid onto Ricard’s lap and wrapped her arms around his neck.
“Why don’t you let, Nadia make you feel better?
Why do you need Milena, anyway? She doesn’t want you and I do.
I can make you feel the way you love to feel. ”
He pushed her off his lap onto the floor. Then he took her face in his hand and squeezed lips together until she looked like a fish. “How many times have I told you to leave me alone? I’ll call you when I want a whore.”
Nadia picked herself off the floor and walked back into the bedroom.
“Good. He didn’t have time for sex, and it just wasn’t as much fun when they were willing.
That didn’t mean he wouldn’t slake his lust whenever he wanted which was why he brought Nadia.
But he wanted Milena. She would give him a challenge, one he hadn’t had in a long time. He was looking forward to breaking her.