Millionaire Husband (11 page)

Justin shook his hand and nodded, then reached for Amy.

“I was trying to be invisible,” she whispered through gritted teeth.

“Not dressed like that,” he retorted in a low voice against her ear.

“Amy,” the older man said with sickening familiarity that matched his lecherous smile, “now I know why you were defending him.”

Justin did a double take. “You defended me?” he asked quietly.

Although it seemed impossible, Amy felt her face grow hotter. “He was—” Flustered, she broke off and shook her head. “Later.”

“She’s a sweet little thing,” the man said with a wink. “Nice work.”

Amy felt so patronized by the man’s attitude she wanted to throw water in his face. She glanced at Justin and saw his jaw tighten.

Justin smiled like a shark. “If you know what’s good for you,” he said in a voice frighteningly gentle, “you’ll pick your eyeballs up out of my wife’s sweater, you old goat. Let’s go,” he said to Amy and tugged her toward the exit.

“Why didn’t you tell me you were coming?”

Amy scrambled to keep up with his long stride. “I wanted to surprise you.”

“You succeeded,” he said, leading her across the marble floor. “Why didn’t you come to my table?”

“It was full,” she said, and couldn’t resist adding, “You were already surrounded by women. Attentive women. Where are we going?” she asked when he punched the button for the elevator.

He tugged his tux tie loose. “Just as you were surrounded by attentive men,” he said with an edge to his voice that surprised her. “The association gave me a parlor room for my use this evening.”

“Parlor room?”

The brass elevator doors whooshed open and he pulled her inside. “This may come as a surprise to you, but some people are actually impressed by me, Amy. Some people think I’m hot stuff.”

“I do, too,” Amy said, feeling defensive. “I just
probably think so for different reasons than many of the people in that ballroom.”

“And what would your reasons be?” he asked, his green gaze glinting with challenge.

The elevator doors opened, giving Amy a moment to gather her wits. A moment didn’t feel nearly adequate, she thought as he guided her around a corner and whisked her into a room.

“You were saying?” Justin prompted.

Wondering at his mood, Amy laced her fingers together and wished she hadn’t felt so off balance this evening. “I admire you for giving a boy at Granger money so he could travel home to see his family.” She saw a flicker of surprise cross his face and continued, “I admire you for not wigging when Nicholas got sick in your car. I admire you for being able to deal with me.”

He cocked his head to one side. “What do you mean about my being able to deal with you?”

Uneasy, Amy turned away and tried to focus on the beautifully furnished parlor. “Well, you married me and I’m not really wife material,” she said. “In fact, you would be safe in calling me the nonwife.”

He walked up behind her. “You’re going to have to explain this. I’ve never heard of a nonwife.”

“In my case, it’s a woman who didn’t want to get married and has never believed she possessed an aptitude for wifely things. Add in the fact that I’m uncomfortable that I’m very attracted to you and
have feelings for you, and dealing with me should be the most crazy-making thing you’ve ever attempted.”

The silence that followed was so swollen with secret hopes and fears that Amy prayed the floor would swallow her to put her out of her misery.

“Why did you come tonight?”

“I told you,” she said. “Because I wanted to surprise you and—” She broke off. Too much soul-baring.

She felt him toy with a strand of her hair that had fallen from her upsweep. “And I wanted us to have a few minutes without the kids. A few minutes of just you and me.”

“Just you and me would have been okay, but you shouldn’t have worn this,” he said and lightly circled the back of her neck with his hand.

She stiffened. She’d felt out of place and he was confirming that fact. “Why? It’s not nice enough?” she asked, turning around. “What’s wrong with it? I thought I did pretty good considering I’m usually dressed like an elementary school teacher.”

“Your outfit’s nice. It fits you fine. Too damn fine. The problem is every man in the whole blazing room wanted to see you
without
your clothes,” he said, hands on his narrow hips.

Amy blinked. “Oh.” She felt her defiance seep out of her like air out of a popped balloon. She
noticed again how attractive he looked in a tux. Curious, she met his gaze. “Well, I have a question. If every man in the room wanted to see me without my clothes, does every man include you?”

H
e slowly walked toward her until he stood just a smidgeon away as he looked down at her. So much closer, but still too far away, Amy thought. Her heart beat faster at the expression on his face.

“I didn’t mention any exceptions, did I, Amy of Arc?” he asked in a voice that had the potential to undo her.

“Don’t call me that,” she said.

“I just want my turn.” He lifted his hand to her face.

She took a tiny breath. Her tight chest would allow no more. “Your turn?”

“You’ve been so busy saving the world. My
turn,” he said, lifting her hand to his shoulder. “Save me.”

Her breath completely evaporated.
Save me.
It was such a ridiculous statement coming from him. He was so strong, so centered. If ever a man didn’t need saving, it was Justin. “The closest I came to that was when I drove you to the hospital,” she said in a voice husky to her own ears.

He shook his head. “Come closer,” he said, and lowered his mouth to hers.

He took his time as if he knew she needed time and attention. She needed these moments to give without the rest of the world pressing in on them. She didn’t worry that the children would burst in on them or the phone would ring or Ms. Hatcher would pay a surprise visit. It was simply Justin and her. Mouth to mouth, heart to heart.

Although she knew there was a part of her still unwilling to surrender to this marriage because self-reliance had been her salvation for too long, she also knew there was a power to her growing feelings for Justin, a power she’d never experienced before.

She couldn’t find the words, or maybe she feared saying them. She had to show him. The searching, sensual open-mouth kiss went on and on, warming her, building the coil of anticipation inside her.

“Too fast,” he muttered. “I always want you too fast.” He rolled his tongue around the inner lips of her mouth in an erotic motion that made her weak.
“I want to go slow,” he said. “I want to kiss all of you.”

He pulled her sweater over her head and disposed of her bra. He lowered his mouth to her swollen, aroused breasts and took first one nipple, then the other into his mouth. She went liquid and restless beneath his mouth. He moved his hands up her skirt and beneath her panties to touch her secret moistness. He slid his finger inside her and she gasped.

Unable to remain passive any longer, Amy unfastened his tux shirt and tugged it loose. Eager to feel his skin, she shoved both the shirt and jacket from him. She slowly rubbed her cheeks and mouth over his hard, warm chest, savoring the touch and taste of him, the clean masculine scent of him. The strength she felt here, she knew, permeated the entire man. The knowledge of that strength turned her on even more.

Strength deserved boldness. Her heart pounding, she lowered her hands to his waist, undid his pants, and eased the zipper down over his bulging masculinity. His quick intake of breath was a provocative invitation to go further, to give more, to take more.

Her inhibitions lowering with each beat of her heart, Amy felt the rise of feminine sensual power. It was a new heady and addictive sensation. She skimmed her mouth down the front of his chest and felt one of his hands in her hair.

“What are you doing?” he asked in a voice roughened by need.

“Getting closer,” she told him and slid down his body to her knees, pulling his pants and briefs down as she went. She rubbed her cheek against his full masculinity, then kissed him. Taking him into her mouth, she savored the taste of his arousal and the sound of his pleasure. He grew harder and fuller in her mouth.

He tangled his fingers in her hair and muttered an oath. She lifted her gaze to his green eyes full of black heat.

He shuddered. “You have no idea how erotic you look between my legs with your bare breasts, sweet face and mouth on me.” He groaned and tugged her to her feet. “I need to be in you.”

In a blur of motion, he pushed away her skirt and panties. There was no bed in the room, only a love seat. Sitting down on it, he lifted her over him. “Hold on to my shoulders,” he told her, and eased her down over him.

She sucked in a quick breath. He was so huge and so hard that for a moment Amy wasn’t certain she could take him. She closed her eyes and felt herself accommodate him.

“You are almost too big,” she whispered.

He gave a rough chuckle. “We just need to do this a lot so you’ll get used to me.”

“I’m not sure I’ll ever—” She broke off when he guided her hips upward and down again. Pleasure
rippled through her. He did it again, and Amy had never felt so voluptuous in her life. She began her own rhythm, riding him.

He took her breast into his mouth and the sensation zinged all the way to her core. She felt herself clench around him and he began a litany of oaths and prayers. Shuddering, she rode him until she went over the edge in a ripple of endless ecstatic spasms.

Justin thrust inside her, his face clenching from a scalding release. Aftershocks rocked through both of them.

Her knees weak, she gingerly slid to his side and wrapped her arms around him. She had never felt so powerful in a wholly feminine way, and at the same time so defenseless.

He drew her against him. “It’s gonna take a long time for me to get enough of you, Amy.”

Amy sighed and closed her eyes. For this moment, she would allow herself to lean on him and rely on his strength. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if she could always count on him being there for her? The prospect filled her with a joy so intense it shook her. What if this truly didn’t have to end?

Justin helped put her back together, making her laugh with how limp her limbs were as he dressed her. “What happened to your bones?” he asked.

“You melted them,” she said, thinking he had also melted her heart.

He skimmed his hands up her bare legs to her
thigh. “I like you like this. I think I’d like to keep you this way. How long did you arrange for the sitter to stay? A week?” he asked with a ridiculous mock-serious tone.

She laughed. “You’re so funny. Around midnight, I turn into a pumpkin.”

Glancing at the clock, he noted the late hour and groaned. “Someday I will have you for a whole night.”

She shuddered with pleasure at his wickedly intent expression. “If no one is sick and we find the right sitter,” she said with a smile. “And the stars are in perfect alignment.”

“It will happen soon,” he assured her and walked her out of the hotel to her car. He helped her into her Volkswagen and kissed her before she left, making Amy feel savored and precious in a way she couldn’t remember feeling before.

On the drive home, though, other, darker realities slid into her mind. Some very important things hadn’t changed. They’d agreed to try this for two years. They’d signed a prenuptial agreement that defined the terms of the end of their marriage. They’d agreed they didn’t love each other.

The final thought cut like a knife.

Justin paid the sitter before Amy could open her purse. “That wasn’t necessary. I could’ve covered it,” she told him.

He waved aside her protest and studied her care
fully. She seemed uneasy with him again, and he wondered why. He wouldn’t have thought it possible, but the sensual, giving woman who had taken him to the moon just hours before seemed to have erected a nearly invisible wall during the drive home.

“You’re quiet,” he said.

“I’m tired and I promised Emily I’d give her a kiss when I got home.”

He nodded. “Okay.”

She bit her lip and met his gaze. “You were wonderful during the speech and after,” she said. “Wonderful. Good night.”

Justin felt his mood sink. “Cold feet again?”

She paused, looking conflicted, and he had his answer. He bit back an oath of frustration.

“I think it’s more because of a reality check than cold feet,” she finally said in that too-quiet voice.

“Tonight wasn’t real enough for you?”

She drew in a quick breath. “Our marriage doesn’t feel real to me.”

“Maybe if we slept together—”

“—I don’t think that’s the solution,” she said. “It’s more than that. When we made our vows, I pretended I was giving an order at Burger Doodle so I wouldn’t hyperventilate. We promised to give this two years. If it were real, we would have given it forever.” Her eyes filled with doubt he wanted to banish. She looked down. “We don’t love each other,” she said in a voice edged with pain. “And
the cherry on top of the sundae is the prenup agreement.”

Justin tensed. His attorney had warned him that it wasn’t unusual for wives to ask for changes after the marriage. It wasn’t unusual for women to use emotional or sexual blackmail to get more money. Amy wasn’t that way, he told himself. He hoped she wasn’t that way. “What do you mean? Do you believe the agreement was unfair?”

She shook her head. “No, but think about it. A prenup is a plan to divorce. It’s an instruction booklet for how to end our marriage.”

“Are you saying that if we throw out the agreement then you’ll be willing to sleep with me through the night?”

Amy paled. She looked as if he’d slapped her. “No, I’m not saying that at all. You just don’t get it. This is about much more than a stupid prenup agreement. Much more,” she said and walked away from him.

After that, Justin felt a distance grow between them. Amy was polite and kind, but reserved. He felt he’d had something at his fingertips, something precious, and he’d lost it. They had been so close. He’d treasured her trust and generosity.

Now it was gone. Living in the same house with her was painful, much more painful than Justin had ever believed possible. He couldn’t recall a time
when he had felt this much pain. Not even when his mother had left him at Granger.

His frustration and dark desperation seemed to grow with each passing hour. One day he ran out to pick up some computer equipment. It took longer than he planned. When he returned, he saw a different, late-model car and pick-up truck in the driveway. Two men were unloading swings. Curious, Justin followed the path to the backyard.

Amy stood talking to the men while they put the finishing touches on a wooden swing set. Emily stood by Amy’s side and the twins ran in circles. Nicholas looked up. “Justin, Justin! We’re getting a swing set!” he hollered. “Right now! And I’m gonna be the first to swing on it.”

“Nuh-uh,” Jeremy said. “I am.”

“Nuh-uh,” Nicholas said. “I am.”

“Nuh-uh,” Jeremy said.

“Nuh-uh,” Emily said. “Aunt Amy and I are gonna ride it first because we’re being nice, and you’re not.”

Nicholas and Jeremy abruptly shut their mouths.

Amy glanced up and smiled at Justin. His heart stuttered. She looked at him with a light in her eyes as if their argument from last week was forgotten. He saw the moment she remembered. Her smile faded. “I bought a swing set.”

“So I see,” Justin said.

“These guys say they can have it up by the time we finish dinner.”

“Woo-hoo!” Nicholas and Jeremy yelled.

“What’s with the different car in the driveway?”

Amy smiled sheepishly. “Part impulse, part practicality. It’s tough buckling those car seats in the Volkswageon. I stopped by an auto sales lot on the way home and voila, I have a new vehicle.”

Justin felt a trickle of unease. “Why didn’t you ask me? I could’ve helped you out with the swing set and car.”

“No, the swing set’s my treat. I’ve been planning this for weeks. And it was time to trade the Beetle.” She laughed, mostly it seemed, at herself. “That’s what payday is for, right?”

His gut tightened. “I guess.”

“Besides, it’ll all balance out with dinner tonight.”

“What do you mean?”

“Cheap meal,” she said. “Okay, you guys, let’s go inside and eat and give these men a chance to get their work done. It might be dark, but we might all get a chance to swing a little tonight.”

She led the kids inside and they rushed to wash up for dinner. A vague darkness hovered over him even during the kids’ exuberance. He was concerned about Amy’s purchases. He hadn’t thought she was an impulsive buyer.

He watched her from the kitchen doorway as she chatted with Emily. “Time to eat,” she said and laughed at the boys. “Are you going to be able to sit still enough to eat dinner?”

“How still do we have to sit?” Jeremy asked.

“Just a little bit still,” Nicholas said.

“Good, cuz I feel like jumpin’.”

“I feel like swingin’,” Nicholas said.

“Me, too.”

“Sit down,” Amy said in a sing-song voice, and the boys scurried to their seats. “Sorry for the gourmet fare,” she said to Justin, “but there are times when the only appropriate choice is beanee weenees.”

Justin’s stomach immediately rebelled. His brain screamed in protest. A flurry of images raced through his mind. His mother once bought him a shiny fire truck and herself a new dress and shoes. For dinner, they’d eaten beanee weenees. Another time at Christmas, his mother had bought herself a new refrigerator and television and for Justin she had bought video games. The electricity had been cut off due to lack of payment, and he remembered eating beanee weenees cooked in the fireplace. He had eaten beanee weenees himself when he’d been putting every penny into his trading account in an attempt to form the security he’d never experienced as a child.

It was just too much.

He went to Amy and spoke in a low voice for her ears only, “I’m going to my house. I’ll let you know when I’ll be back.” He didn’t wait for her response. He just walked out the door.

Hours later, Justin sat on the leather sofa in the
darkness of his home pre-Amy. The silence was initially soothing, but now it felt too quiet. He’d grown accustomed to the creaks and groans of Amy’s older home and the sound of children’s chatter and Amy’s musical voice. He’d grown accustomed to limited solitude.

Glancing at the clock, he thought he might be helping to tuck in one of the twins or reading a book with Emily. And after the kids were put to bed, Justin never stopped feeling Amy’s presence. She could be at the other end of the house or asleep when he was not, but he always felt her presence.

He wondered if she ever longed for him during the long hours between darkness and morning. He wondered if he would ever stop longing for her. He felt as if he could see the missing piece to the puzzle of his life, but he couldn’t hold it, and it frustrated the hell out of him.