Taking Chloe (8 page)

“Lacey and Blade both know their place in life,” he continued. “I’ve always been the one who had to struggle for everything. In school, I studied twice as hard as Blade just to get a B. In college, Blade got into some boxing, he was great at it. His grades were top notch too. I, on the other hand, stayed up every night, drank more coffee than is healthy and passed with average grades. Hell, I think Mom and Dad were just glad I graduated.” Chloe had never known Merrick to feel inferior, and especially to Blade. She didn’t have siblings so it was difficult to imagine. Her mother had always made her feel strong and intelligent, as if she were capable of anything. Her father, although emotionally distant, had told her more than once that she could do anything she set her mind to. He’d smile with pride and say she was just like her mother.

“But look at you now,” she hastened to reassure him. “You own your own business and you’re definitely more successful than Blade.”

Merrick shrugged. “I’m not trying to make it a competition. I’m happy for Blade and his success.

Anyway, that’s not what I want to explain.” He turned and pinned her with his gaze. Chloe’s breath caught at the raw anguish on her husband’s face. “I thought it would make me a better man when I hit my first million. That I’d finally earn some respect and I’d have my place in the family. I was so goddamn wrong. I’ve been kicking myself for not seeing it sooner.”

“Seeing what?”

“You. I should’ve known how successful I’d become the instant you drifted into my life. I should’ve realized that losing you is the only thing that could make me a failure. Nothing else matters. Not money, not social status. Not my parents’ approval.” Hearing her husband’s confession and seeing the sincerity in his intelligent blue eyes turned her inside out. Tears spilled free, and her body shook with all the worry and fear and sadness she’d felt over the last six months. She swiped them away quickly, sensing Merrick had more to say.

“The first time you spoke of having babies scared the shit out of me.” Chloe had been prepared for nearly everything, but never that. She’d thought Merrick wanted children, too. The notion that he might not had never crossed her mind. “Don’t you think I’d be a good mother?”

Merrick wrapped his fingers around her knee and stroked. “Aw, angel, you’ll make a wonderful mother. The best ever. I want children with you.” His palm cupped her belly. “I want to watch your belly swell with my son or daughter. Hell, both,” he growled. “You’ll be sexy as hell pregnant.”

Thank God, Chloe thought. Her stomach settled a little. “Then why the fear?”

“Because I started imagining being a father,” he ground out.

Merrick stood and paced, hands in his pockets. Chloe took a moment to digest all Merrick had revealed. She thought back to that first time she’d mentioned wanting to get pregnant. She’d ached to fill their house with the laughter of a baby. With total clarity she could see that day in her head as if it were yesterday. Six months. She’d brought up the subject six months ago, right after breakfast on a Saturday morning. Immediately afterward, Merrick’s schedule had filled with work. He’d literally poured every ounce of himself into the business. Deep down, she knew her husband would be the best father in the world, but how could she convince him when he seemed so insecure?

Chloe stood and went to him. She wrapped her arms around his middle and buried her nose in his navy blue t-shirt. He stood as still as a marble statue, as if afraid of letting himself be comforted.

His arms slowly came around her shoulders, and soon his embrace was so tight she had to struggle to breathe.

When an elderly couple walked by and grinned, it immediately reminded Chloe of their very public surroundings. Chloe wiggled, and Merrick loosened his hold. He gazed down at her, his eyes so filled with worry it nearly broke her heart.

She cupped his cheek and smiled. “I know you’ll be a terrific father.” He started to protest, but she placed two fingers against his lips and said, “But only when you’re ready. I never meant to pressure you. Having a baby is a decision we both need to make.” Merrick didn’t speak. He simply leaned down and fastened his lips to hers as if desperate for her taste. Her muscles went into instant meltdown as she gave him every ounce of love she could give. As his tongue found its way inside her mouth, Chloe groaned, enjoying his stimulating flavor. When Merrick broke the kiss and stared down at her, Chloe had to force her raging hormones back into their cage.

“I don’t deserve you, Chloe,” he said, caressing her cheek. “I never did.” Merrick’s eyes were over-bright, as if close to tears. Chloe had never seen her husband so overwhelmed with emotion. Knowing he was close to losing control slashed at her soul.

“That’s nonsense. All these worries you have are unfounded, Merrick. You’re a good man and everyone knows it…except you.”

“If I’m so good, why is it I nearly lost you?”

Chloe stepped out of Merrick’s arms and started to gather up their trash and leftovers. “The hotel did a wonderful job putting together the picnic, don’t you think?” Merrick bent to help. “Yeah, but why are you avoiding my question?” Chloe stopped and stared at the used napkin in her hand. “Because I’m not sure our marriage is out of the woods.” Her gaze locked with his as she gave him the bold truth. “I understand better now and I appreciate your honesty. I wish I’d known six months ago how you really felt. It might have made a difference.” She tossed the napkin into a paper bag. “I’m so afraid that when this week is over you’ll go right back to working around the clock, and where does that leave me?

Where does that leave us?”

Merrick clasped Chloe’s face in his palms. “That won’t happen. On my honor, that won’t happen. I know it’s hard to believe now, considering my track record, but you have to have faith.”

“I want so badly to believe you and that scares me.”

Merrick rubbed his thumb over her bottom lip and murmured, “Every couple has problems, babe.

There is no such thing as a perfect marriage.”

“I know, I do, and I never asked for perfection, just a flesh and blood husband.” He angled his head and kissed her. Chloe’s knees went weak. He could so easily turn her inside out. It seemed so unfair at times. As if he had more command over her body than she.

Chloe pulled back an inch and watched him lick his lips. Even that small action drove her imagination wild.

“We have something going for us that a lot of couples don’t,” he stated. “We’re in love. And I happen to think it’s the forever kind of thing. You’re not ready to walk away from what we have together.”

She couldn’t deny his words. The fact she’d come to Hawaii with him was proof enough that she was willing to work it out. What neither of them said aloud was that she had taken the first step.

The hardest step. She’d left him. At one time she would have sworn she’d never make such a bold move.

Chloe finished gathering the trash in silence and together they folded the blanket. Merrick slung it over his shoulder as Chloe searched out a waste bin for their trash.

Hand in hand they headed back to the hotel, her mind a jumble of thoughts and feelings. Merrick was the first to break the silence.

“Let’s go parasailing.”

Definitely
not
what she expected. “Parasailing?”

“Why not? We can drop off the blanket and get our swimsuits on and be out on the water within the hour.”

Chloe laughed, feeling a lot more carefree than she had in a long time. “Let’s do it!” The sexy glint of arousal in Merrick’s eyes kick-started her heart. “I love it when you get that wild look, babe.”

Chloe pulled Merrick to a stop, rose up on her tiptoes and covered his lips with her own. Merrick stepped forward, aligning their bodies. He tilted his head to take over the kiss. His tongue probed the seam and she parted, aching for his flavor on her tongue. The kiss seemed to last forever.

Someone yelled out, “G
et a room,”
effectively yanking them out of their erotic haze. Merrick dropped his hands and stepped back. Chloe couldn’t catch her breath.

“If we weren’t out in the open…” Merrick groaned.

Oh, wow. She could only imagine.

It’d been a week filled with revelations. After the day in the park, Merrick seemed determined to wring every ounce of fun he could out of their trip. They’d gone parasailing, which she’d discovered she loved. The heights had made her a bit shaky at first, but with Merrick right beside her she’d gotten over those initial jitters. They’d gone out on a jet ski the next day and she’d gotten a bit too pink from the sun. Chloe hadn’t cared, though; she’d been having way too much fun. Who knew she had a thing for speed? She’d already begun working out a plan to buy herself one. Unrealistic and way out of character, but who cared? Sometimes a girl needed to have a little fun.

Three days into their vacation, Merrick had arranged for her to have time at the hotel spa. The full treatment—massage, manicure, pedicure and facial. It’d been heavenly. Afterwards, he’d made love to her for hours. In the last five days, they’d made love in the shower, the bed, the patio and there’d even been a wild moment against the door to their suite.

This was to be their final evening. Chloe’s legs shook with nerves. When she’d agreed to the trip, she’d been ready for a mental breakdown. Her heart had been in tatters as she watched her marriage fall apart. Six days of bliss with Merrick had changed them both. She still didn’t know where they were supposed to go from here, but she had two things she didn’t have before: hope and determination. The time had come to fight for her marriage. She was ready. Even if it meant tying Merrick to the bed, which was exactly why she stood in the bedroom of their suite with two silk scarves.

Could she possibly be so bold as to force her husband to submit to her desires? Would he even want to? His aggressive and dominant nature would probably balk at the idea. Only one way to find out.

Chloe placed the makeshift binding on the nightstand next to the wine chilling in the ice bucket.

She went to the bathroom and checked her appearance one more time. She’d gone shopping early in the day at the little boutique attached to the hotel and bought herself a sexy, red, pleated babydoll and matching thong panties set. She didn’t bother with makeup other than a little pink lip gloss, and she’d left her hair down, just the way Merrick liked it.

She’d managed to get him out of the suite when she’d explained she had a surprise that would make their last night special. He’d grumbled a little, but she could see the anticipation in the blue depths of his eyes, too.

Chloe heard the card key in the lock, and her stomach bottomed out. Oh, God. Showtime.

She walked back into the bedroom and picked up the silk scarf, then waited for her husband to enter the room. She didn’t wait long. Merrick suddenly stood in the doorway, fists clenched at his sides, nostrils flaring. He looked her over with slow purpose, taking her in from head to toe.

She could swear her knees knocked together.

“You take my breath away.”

The deep timbre of his voice floated over her, sending her into a new realm. It fueled her courage as nothing else could. “Thank you, Merrick.”

He moved across the room and stopped inches from her. He reached out, grasped the spaghetti strap of her negligee and played with it. “This is new.”

“Yeah, I bought it earlier today.” Jesus, was that her voice? It sounded as if she’d swallowed a mouthful of sand.

He peered over her shoulder, then back at her. “Wine?” Chloe held up the scarf. “And silk.”

He frowned. “For what?”

“Your hands.”

His brows shot up so high, she almost burst out laughing. “You want to tie me up?”

“Yes. I want you to let me take control tonight. Think you can handle that?” Merrick leaned closer. She could feel his hot breath against her lips, see the heat in his eyes. “I can handle anything you can dish out, baby.”

Yeah, okay, that had her panties growing damp. Chloe knew a challenge when she heard one, and Merrick had just tossed down the gauntlet.

She smoothed the scarf between her palms, drawing her husband’s attention to the colorful bit of material. “How about you get undressed.”

Merrick’s sexy grin lit her up like a brush fire. “Yes, ma’am,” he complied in a fake Texas drawl.

Chloe turned around and poured two glasses of wine, then picked one up, took a sip and then another. When she placed the wineglass back on the nightstand and turned, Merrick was fully nude and grinning like the cat that swallowed the canary.

Her husband had always made her drool, but tonight he had a different sort of gleam in eyes.

Something she’d never seen there before. His hard cock seemed bigger than ever. She licked her lips and counted to ten.

“Lie down on the bed, in the center,” she directed. Merrick winked and sat, before moving to the middle of the bed. He stretched out, flung his arms behind his head, and crossed his legs at the ankles. He didn’t speak at all, which created a new sort of nervous tension in her.

Chloe knelt on the bed and held out the scarf. She dangled it above his abs. “I plan to make this night unforgettable.”

“It is already, baby.”

Chloe laughed. “I haven’t even done anything yet!”

Merrick reached out and flicked his thumb over one satin covered nipple. “Just looking at you is enough to have me embarrassing myself right now.” He pinched the turgid peak, and her pussy throbbed. “Mmm, I just love red.”

“It’s your favorite color.”

“Yes. Do you know why?”

“No, why?”

“You had a red blouse on the day you came in for the interview. A red blouse and a black skirt.

Christ, I wanted to push that skirt up and fuck you against the desk. It was hard as hell keeping my hands off you.”

Chloe couldn’t believe her ears. “You remember what I wore?” Heck, she didn’t even remember!

“That was over two years ago.”

“I’ll never forget it,” he swore. “You turned me inside out that day. You were always the one.

Always.”

Warmth filled her. “Whenever I think I couldn’t possibly love you more, you say something like that and I fall all over again.”