Billionaire BWWM Romance 1: The Billionaire's Arranged Marriage (10 page)

She believed he was showing her by the way he constantly loved her and needed to be inside her like it was oxygen to him, and because he was coming inside her body every time rather than having her swallow it as he used to. He used to insist on it, but now it was the opposite. She began to tell him regularly that she loved him, and she glowed with the happiness of romance and love, and Reed grew darker inside, deeply bothered by what was happening.

                                                      ***

Jillian was sitting in the Japanese garden of her home, feeding koi fish and enjoying the warm quiet moments in the sun. She knew her life would change soon and simple pleasures like this in her parent’s garden would be long gone. She wasn’t going to waste a single moment of them.

Kimiko came out into the garden. “Jillian, come here please.” She spoke as though it was an order, not a request. She always spoke to Jillian that way. Her daughter rose up and walked to her, looking at her and waiting for her to continue.

“Yes, Mother?” she asked.

“Reed’s brother Anderson wants you to come over to the house. He says he has some things to go over with you for the legal aspects of your marriage. He said since it’s so late in the day that they would like you to stay for dinner and he asked that you pack an overnight bag so you can continue his discussions in the morning. Go as soon as you can.” She turned and walked back into her office.

Jillian frowned for a moment. She wished earnestly she didn’t have to go, but she shrugged her shoulders and packed a bag, then drove to Carter’s gargantuan estate.

She pulled through the electric gate at the bottom of the drive and then wound her way up the hill until she got to the mansion. She was just stepping out of the car when a breeze caught her loose sundress and her hair, wrapping the white cotton dress snugly around her curves and pulling her hair free from the loose bun at the back of her head.

She heard a voice and looked up just in time to see Anderson coming toward her with a smile on his face. He took her hand and helped her from her car, closing the door after her and then he put his hands on her shoulders and drew her near to him, kissing each of her cheeks softly in turn, and then smiling down at her.

She tried not to look surprised when she looked up at him. He was very different looking than his brother. He had straight brown hair that was cut short and combed back. He had pale white skin and brown eyes. He smiled at her through thin lips and his smile didn’t quite reach his eyes.

“How are you doing? My goodness look at you, you look really beautiful today. I’m lucky to have a woman as striking as you joining my family. My brother doesn’t deserve you.” He said it with deep meaning. The breeze picked up a little stronger and blew at her dress and her hair and she grasped the material, but her hair was tossed wildly for a moment and Anderson stood close in front of her and reached up into her hair, pulling her hair pins out, allowing her hair to fall free.

It cascaded like a waterfall of black satin around her face, her shoulders and her breasts and Anderson stood before her, taking it all in. He lifted his hand and brushed it out of her face, slowly sliding his finger down the side of her cheek as he did so.

“You really are one of the most stunning women I have ever had the honor to know.” He looked steadily into her eyes for a moment and then turned slightly to the side and offered her his elbow. “Shall we? Let’s get you into the house and out of this wind.”

She took his arm and he led her into the house and up the stairs to a guest bedroom on the second floor overlooking the pool and the pool house. She set her bag on the lounge at the foot of the bed and Anderson placed his hand on the small of her back, saying, “Come, look out the window. You can see so much from this room.”

He guided her toward it, leaving his fingertips at the base of her back. “See, there are the gardens and over there is the atrium, which I understand you are already familiar with, there’s the pool and oh… the pool house. I guess you’ve seen the pool house already. Perhaps I’ll take you down for another look at it when no one is in it.” He said quietly over her shoulder.

She gazed at the pool house remembering the last time she had seen it. Anderson had sent her out the back door to it looking for Reed. When she walked into the pool house she had found Reed having sex with a blonde woman and both of them were fully naked. She had hoped never to think of that memory again, but as Anderson mentioned it, it came back to her and she turned her head away in disgust.

Anderson slipped his finger beneath her chin and tilted her face up to him, looking into her eyes. “I’m sorry. How thoughtless of me to bring back such an awkward and uncomfortable memory for you. I don’t know how he could look at another woman after seeing you. If it was me who was lucky enough to be marrying you, I don’t think I would ever want to look away from you.” His lips parted slightly and his thumb brushed over her chin. She blinked at him and he smiled and lowered his hand.

He walked over to her bag and tapped his fingers on it thoughtfully. “You know, Jillian, you’re really making an enormous sacrifice for this marriage. You are giving up your entire life to marry my brother and spend the rest of your whole life with him.” He spoke slowly and thoughtfully, looking down at her bag and then looking up at her. “It’s really quite sobering to think of what you are doing at your family’s behest; after all, you only just met Reed as an adult. Do you even have any feelings for him at all?” he asked, looking up at her.

She had been watching him until he asked her how she felt about Reed. “My answer is one that you probably wouldn’t want to hear,” she said quietly.

He nodded and smiled slightly. “It would be quite natural not to like him yet; you don’t know him. Also, you’ve been exposed to him in a morally compromising situation and a shameful act. I wouldn’t blame you at all if you were substantially less than impressed with him.” He looked at her pointedly and tilted his head. “Are you?” he asked quietly.

She raised her head and looked directly at him. “I’m disgusted with him. I find him repulsive.”

Anderson lifted his hand from her bag and walked back over to her, his eyes locked on hers as he drew close to her again. “I assure you, you have my every sympathy, but may I ask, why are you marrying him if you feel so badly about him?” Jillian saw that he was watching her closely and she felt like he was driving the conversation to some particular point.

“I am following my parent’s request. Nothing more. It is my obligation,” she replied quietly.

Anderson nodded understandingly. “My father was quite adamant that our family be connected to yours as well. He was anxious that Reed should stop being such a wild playboy and settle down with a wife or else he would be evicted from the house and the business and lose his entire inheritance. My father is quite set on it. That’s why Reed is marrying you.” He stepped closer to her.

His voice softened and he gazed at her face, his eyes wandering from her eyes down over her cheeks to her full lips, where he paused for a moment, opening his lips ever so slightly, and then looked into her eyes again. “I wonder, though, if you know that there may be another option.”

Jillian felt the tiniest surge of surprise and hope bubble up in her. “What would it be?”

Anderson smiled gently and raised his hand to her face, running his finger along the edge of her cheek and then holding it beneath her chin, lifting her chin up just enough so that her lips were nearer to his. He glanced at her mouth and then looked back into her eyes. “Well, perhaps I’m getting ahead of myself. Perhaps we should go see Reed before we really discuss other options or think about making any more
important
decisions.”

Jillian’s heart began to race and she wondered what other options Anderson was talking about. If there was a way for her to avoid marrying Reed, she wanted to know about it, but she felt as though Anderson might not be telling her everything, so she felt sure that the best thing to do just then was to wait and see what would happen before asking any further questions.

Anderson smiled at her and the tense air between them vanished. He walked over to her bag and picked it up, then held out his arm for her. “If we want to see Reed, we’d better be going. He’s not at home just now, so we’ll have a bit of a trek getting to him. Shall we?” he asked almost jovially.

She took a deep breath and slipped her hand in his arm again and he walked her outside where a limousine was waiting for them. She was seated in the car and as the driver pulled away, she looked back at the house, wondering what was going on and where Reed might be. When the car pulled up near a private jet, she could not hold back her surprise. “What’s going on? Where is Reed?” she asked, slightly concerned and hesitant.

Anderson, seeing her reticence, walked up to her and wrapped his arm around her shoulder, holding her close to him. “It’s alright my dear, not to worry. Reed is in Las Vegas at the moment.

“We’re just going to hop on the plane and nip down to see him. Really, it’s nothing at all. I’m so very sorry if I worried you. Are you alright?” he asked, looking down into her face with careful concern.

Jillian looked up into his eyes and saw that things were fine and she felt he was being honest with her. “Yes, I’m sorry, I just wasn’t expecting this.”

He smiled sweetly at her. “No problem at all. Let’s go.” He lowered his hand from her shoulder to the small of her back and walked close beside her all the way to the plane. They boarded and she gasped at the luxurious appointments within it. Anderson smiled humbly.

“There’s a bedroom in the back if you’re tired and a full bathroom connected to it. This is the main cabin, and there is a full kitchen where our chef can cook up anything you’d like. Our flight attendant, Gina, can bring you anything you’d like.” Gina nodded at Jillian with a wide smile.

They sat in the chairs of the main cabin and the plane took off. When it reached altitude, Anderson suggested a little tour. He walked her back to the bedroom and showed it to her, offering her a nap if she should want it, but she declined. She liked the bathroom on the plane; it had a shower and a tub. There was a small office area set up for two people.  Gina was in the kitchen area, preparing sandwiches and pulled some fruit, meat and cheese trays from the refrigerator.

Anderson leaned onto the counter as he stood beside Jillian and looked pointedly at Gina. “Did you take especially good care of my brother while he was on his flight down to Vegas?” he asked with a hint of sarcasm. Gina blushed hotly and turned bright pink. Jillian noticed and felt her stomach tighten.

“I always take care of all of you,” she said with a defensive tone as she shot Anderson a masked scowl.

He stood up and put his hands on Jillian’s shoulders, holding her close to his chest from behind. “Well, not
all
of us,” he said coldly, and then he turned and spoke to Jillian over her shoulder, his breath tickling her ear, “It’s probably best to let Gina work. She will need to find some other way to earn her money on
this
flight.”

He placed his hand at the small of Jillian’s back and guided her back to her chair. Jillian hadn’t missed Anderson’s subtle references or Gina’s furious blush. She wondered if she really wanted to know what they were talking about and thought better of it.

Anderson spent the rest of the flight asking Jillian about herself and he became increasingly fascinated with all of her answers. She felt like he understood her fairly well and like he might be someone in her new family who she could be friends with.

They landed in Vegas and a limousine took them to the hotel. Anderson had been texting on his phone and smiled widely as they were in the car on their way. He looked extremely happy.

“I’ve just sent Reed a message to tell him I have a little surprise for him,” he confided in her, patting her thigh as she sat next to him in the car. Jillian smiled back at him a little, wondering how it was going to be to see Reed. She hoped it would go well, but she made herself swear not to have any expectations.

                                                         ***

Reed opened the door of the hotel and the server wheeled in a candlelit service with champagne, chocolate, whipped cream and strawberries. “Compliments of your brother, sir,” the man said, and then disappeared. Reed picked up his phone and saw that there was a text message from Anderson. ‘I have a surprise for you.’ Reed smiled and looked at the romantic spread before him.