Chapter Five
Jared knocked on her door an hour and a half later. He opened it, a little worried when he didn’t hear anything from the other side.
He drew in a deep breath at the sight before him. She was the first thing he saw. So tiny, curled up in the bed. The bed was only a queen, but it looked huge with her small body in the middle. He leaned against the bedpost and stared.
Jesus, what was he going to do? He wanted her from the first moment he set eyes on her. He’d only seen her for a few minutes and touched her hand for ten seconds, and it had deeply affected him. She drew him, unlike any other woman he’d ever met in his life.
Jared sat down beside her and lifted the damp hair that had fallen over her face and tucked it behind her ear.
After he’d met her, he’d taken a ride out to the lake on his property to think.
Jared had needed some alone time where there were no distractions.
He’d come to a conclusion quickly. He wanted her, and that was okay, he just wouldn’t let it—her—matter.
He was determined to stay aloof. He wasn’t going to let a woman affect him as his neighbor, Todd, had.
The man had lost so much because of his wife.
Jared also decided her looks would make the sex a whole lot more enjoyable. He knew it made him a bastard, but if she had been unattractive, he’d planned to have sex a lot in the dark or close his eyes.
Jared admitted to himself, and would only ever admit to himself, how she terrified him in so many ways.
Jared was afraid he would unintentionally hurt her physically.
He was a large man all over. For the first time in his life, he wondered if he would fit inside a woman’s body.
Then the thoughts of being inside her had sweat pop out along his forehead.
He also had to guard against the emotions that threatened to surface.
He decided that if he was careful with her and patiently prepared her, he’d be able to fit.
He was desperate to have her but told himself it was because he wanted her pregnant as soon as possible and not because his hunger for her was out of control.
But even just getting her pregnant, he admitted to himself, he wouldn’t be able to keep his hands off her.
The day before, he thought he and his new wife would take some time to get to know each other before they became intimate, but now, the sooner they started a family, the better.
He needed to tie her to him in every way because he wasn’t letting her go, not because he cared for her, but because he saw her as his only chance for a family.
Deep down, he knew he lied, but he ignored it.
After a while, Jared felt more in control. At that moment, as he stared down at her, he knew he’d need more resolve to keep his emotions from getting out of control.
“Sky, wake up.” Jared rubbed her back. He shook her a bit when she stayed asleep. “Wake up, Baby.”
****
Sky rolled onto her back as a voice pulled her from a dream. She was dreaming she was happy and not afraid of the next day for the first time she could ever remember, and she didn’t want to be pulled away from that.
A hand landed on her stomach, which made her eyes fly open.
Sky looked up into the most masculine face she’d ever seen, and the same one she’d been dreaming about.
She didn’t know why or how it happened so quickly, but this man made her feel safe.
Maybe it was because Daniel swore he’d never hurt her.
Sky considered the fact that she might feel this way with anyone who kept her from being with her father.
Jared was larger than any other man she’d been around.
Both in height and muscle. Most people wouldn’t consider him handsome because his looks were very rugged and rough.
But he had that confidence, strength, and vitality most men envied.
His skin was dark from all the hours spent outside.
His nose had a bump on the bridge, indicating a previous break, and a white scar that stood out against his dark skin that ran from his hairline to the top of his ear.
His dark eyes were piercing and seemed to see inside her.
She pushed herself up against the headboard. She pulled up the blanket and clutched it against her chest. She noticed he’d showered and changed clothes. His clean, masculine scent wrapped around her and heated her blood.
His eyes darkened as his gaze slid down her body, paused where the robe had slipped off one shoulder, showing the delicate curves and creamy skin. His eyes glided lower to view a considerable amount of her legs.
A squeak slipped from her lips, and she tried to spread the blanket over her legs while trying to hold it to her chest.
“Stop,” he commanded in a gruff, low voice.
Sky froze, and her eyes flew to his. He hadn’t moved, but for some reason, he seemed bigger and intensely more male.
“Wh-what?” she stuttered.
“I don’t want you to get into the habit of covering yourself or moving away from me.”
She tried and failed to close her mouth and to smother the soft, anxious hum that came from her throat.
“We don’t know each other, M ... Jared. We only just met.”
“I know that, but I want to start off our marriage the right way, the way I will expect you to behave from now on, and what you can expect from me. Although I want to make you as comfortable as the crazy circumstances will let me, I don’t want any misunderstandings between us.”
“We’re not married yet,” she reminded him timidly as her hands clenched the blanket tightly in her fists.
“But we will be very soon.” His hand came down on her lower leg.
Her breath hitched in her throat. She could feel the heat of his hand through the blanket as she watched him warily and tried to hold back the shivers of sensation she didn’t understand that raced down her spine.
Jared’s gaze raked over her before it landed back on her face to see anxiety. He silently cursed himself for coming on so strong. He surmised he needed to back off before he sent her into a panic, and she ran.
“Just know I’m going to take very good care of you. You won’t have to worry about anything besides me ever again.” He squeezed her leg before standing. “Get dressed and meet me downstairs. I’ll be in the living room. At the bottom of the stairs, go straight ahead, and you’ll run into it.”
Sky sat frozen as she watched him walk away and softly close her bedroom door behind him.
She didn’t want to think about all he’d just said.
She decided to think about what he’d told her later when she felt she was better able to handle the emotional turmoil that came with it.
At that moment, she couldn’t grasp the emotions he drew out of her.
She didn’t understand or wasn’t able to deal with the depth of them when she was so tired.
She waited until the door closed before throwing the blanket off.
She rummaged through her suitcase and pulled out one of the three dresses her father had given her.
It was plain and white, falling just below her knees.
It had short sleeves, a scooped neck, and tucked in at the waist, showing her figure more than she wanted, but she didn’t have any other choice.
Sky brushed the tangles from her hair, leaving it down to fall around her shoulders and dry the rest of the way. She used what little makeup she’d brought with her, hoping it would make her look less fatigued and pale.
She took a step back and gave herself a good look. She could suddenly see the resemblance to her mother. She only had one picture of her that she hid from her father. His hatred for his wife was deep-seated and vicious.
Sky vaguely remembered her. She’d been only four when her mother left them. She remembered she cried for her every day until her father had enough and beat her. She’d been so young, but she learned quickly to never cry again, at least in his presence.
Although Sky had missed her mother terribly and was sometimes resentful, she now understood why she ran.
All her mother had to do was look happy, and her father had railed against her, accusing her of having an affair.
Still, as much as she understood, she was still desperate to know why she hadn’t taken her daughter with her, and knew she’d never get the answer to that.
Sky drew in a shaky breath and walked out of her room. At the top of the stairs, she squared her shoulders. This was her chance to get away from her father, and she’d do everything she could to make it work because anything had to be better than the world she’d come from.