A Matter of Marriage (20 page)

She
suppressed a frisson of anticipation. “I think I’d prefer an equal give and
take between us,” she managed to whisper, “though I apologize in advance for my
limited experience.”

“I’m
not sorry at all.” His kisses moved lower, trailing across the hollow below her
ear. “I like knowing I’ll be your first and only lover.”

Julia
loved that he intended to be the only man ever to lie with her. He was her
future. Even if she lost the hotel, she would still have Alex. She would never
regret marrying him.

His
kisses dropped to her chest. His lips tantalized and tormented one breast while
his fingers teased the other. A powerful need grew inside her. She didn’t even
try to stifle the moan building in her throat.

“Please,
Alex,” she begged, barely recognizing her own voice, not even sure what she
wanted.

“Don’t
rush me, sweetheart. Try to relax.”

“How
can I relax when you’re doing what you’re doing?”

He
chuckled hoarsely. “I suppose I could stop what I’m doing.”

“No!
Don’t you dare!”

“Your
wish is my command.” His hand slid up the inside of her leg, his fingers
grazing her private place and moving against her.

“Oh,
my.” She threw her head back. Her legs seemed to open of their own accord.

His
finger slowly slid inside her, stretching her, finding sensitive places she hadn’t
known existed.

“Does
that hurt?” he asked.

“No,”
she moaned, writhing beneath his expert touch.

Dazed,
her breathing shallow, he continued his exquisite torture until time lost all
meaning. Every nerve ending felt on fire.

Finally,
her husband poised himself above her. She gripped his arms, digging her
fingertips into them.

“Open
wider, sweetheart. I don’t want to hurt you.” Despite the tension visible in
his jaw, neck, and shoulders, he smiled down at her reassuringly.

She
smiled back, trusting him completely, wanting this and him more than anything.
She gave herself up to him, her body quivering as he lowered himself between
her thighs.

He
pressed into her, pushing so slowly she gasped. A sharp pain quickly followed,
but the ache receded amidst the greater awareness of Alex filling her, making
them husband and wife.

“Is
this what you wanted?” he asked, moving inside her, his voice rough, his
breathing fast.

“Yes,”
she answered through her own helplessly quick breaths. A feverish sensation
flared throughout her body. She raised her hips, and her pounding heart seemed
full to bursting with the sensations and emotions overwhelming her. His claims
were true. Now she knew what he meant. A rushing noise as loud as the sea on a
stormy night flowed inside her ears. “Oh, Alex.”

He
paused.

Their
gazes met, and Julia nearly blurted out her feelings for him. She loved Alex
MacLean and couldn’t imagine life without him.

She
started to tell him, but he began to move again, and she lost the ability to
think let alone speak.

Lamplight
bathed his sweat-slicked muscles in a shimmering gold. Each of Alex’s thrusts
built within her an indescribable tension, one that grew and grew until she
thought she could no longer bear it.

Senses
overloading, she wedged her eyes shut and gave herself up to it.

In
sudden, astonished release, she cried out, “Alex!” Behind her eyes, the world
exploded in a wash of white sea foam.

*   *   *

Beneath
the blanket and quilted bedcover, Julia lay in Alex’s arms. Sometime during the
night, he must have switched off the lamp. Pale light from a rosy dawn filtered
into the room. She felt as if they were in a world of their own, just the two
of them. The back of her body was melded to the front of his, and she had never
felt such contentment and belonging. They belonged to each other.

Her
husband sighed, his warm breath tickling her nape. “Are you awake?” he
murmured.

“Yes.”
Taking care with her wound, she rolled to her other side and smiled at him. “Is
there something you wanted?” she asked.

“I
can think of several things, but right this minute, I just want to look at you.”
He gave her a smile filled with pleasure. “How do you feel?”

“I
think you know the answer to that.”

“A
man still likes to hear he has pleased a lady.”

“Your
previous claims were not empty boasts. You pleased this lady indescribably,
incredibly, inordinately, in—”

He
pressed his index finger to her lips. “That’ll do. Too much flattery isn’t good
for a fellow.”

She
laughed and lay back, her head on his arm. “My stepmother led me to believe
lovemaking was an act to endure, not enjoy. I feel sorry for her now.”

“Me,
too. What was her name?” he asked, twirling a lock of her hair around his
finger.

“Harriet
Lincoln. She was from New York City, and she told us she had come west in
search of a quieter place to live. I’m embarrassed to say I wasn’t very
welcoming. She was nice, but I’d just turned eighteen and was still devastated
by my mother’s and Lily’s deaths.”

Alex
tucked her hair behind her ear. “I’m sure she understood.”

“She
did, and eventually we became friends. Father, however, became dissatisfied
with her. She miscarried two years into their marriage and did not conceive
again. She … died when I was twenty-three. It was a cancer in her female
organs.”

“I’m
sorry.” He brush a tear from her cheek.

She
curled herself closer to him. “I’m not sure she ever loved my father. She
always seemed wary around men. I remember her telling me, ‘Be very careful when
choosing who you smile at or speak to, Julia. You never know what that man is
really thinking.’ She felt I was being too friendly with the hotel’s male
guests and employees. She was quite adamant about it.”

“Maybe
she’d had a bad experience herself and was trying to protect you.” He kissed
her shoulder.

“I
don’t know. She never said. I miss her at times, but, fortunately for me, I
have you.” She leaned up on one elbow and kissed him, feathering her tongue
across his lips until they opened to her.

“Oh,
Julia, what have I unleashed?”

“You
haven’t ‘unleashed’ anything. You’ve shown me why our two Bridal Chambers are
popular not only with couples on their honeymoon, but also with couples who’ve
been married for many years.”

“Maybe
we should try one out ourselves.” He gently pulled her on top of him.

“They
are both occupied for three more days,” she said, her stomach clenching against
the sensations swirling within her.

“I
guess we’ll just have to continue christening our own personal bridal chamber.”

He
cradled her face in his hands, bringing it down to his, where he laid siege to
her mouth, his kiss hot, deep, and full of promise.

Late
Saturday morning, Julia pushed back from the breakfast table, ready to return
to work. She felt guilty for neglecting the hotel, but she did not regret the
reason for her neglect. After a night filled with passion, she had awoken late with
a lasting sense of contentment, happiness, and love.

The
man of her dreams was still in her bed, catching up on the sleep they had lost.

Glancing
around the apartment, she decided to move the Reid brothers’ plans from the
coffee table. She set them in a corner of the sitting room, where Alex could
bring them out whenever he was ready.

Her
bedroom door opened, and he padded into the room wearing nothing but his pants
from the night before. They were partially undone.

Her
appreciative gaze slid over him. When her eyes eventually met his, he was
smiling with one dark brow quirked upward.

“Morning,”
he said, his voice deeper than usual. “I woke up and you were gone. I missed
you.”

She
shrugged, feigning indifference, but his words made her feel as if a cozy quilt
had been wrapped around her. “I still have a hotel to run.” She waved toward
her recently vacated chair. “Breakfast is on the table, if you’re hungry.”

“I’m
starved. For you.” He reached for her.

She
playfully dodged his grasp, feeling only a slight twinge from her wound. “Mr.
MacLean, if you don’t keep your hands to yourself, I’ll never get any work
done.”

“That’s
the idea.”

She
laughed. “I’m not going back to bed with you, no matter how tempted I may be.
It’s already late, and I need to find out if there are any telephone messages
or telegrams from the banks I contacted. If none of them are willing to loan me
the money, you and I won’t have a bed.”

He
sighed. “Well, if you put it that way …”

“I
do.”

“All
right, but you could at least take some of the sting away by giving me a
morning kiss.” He tapped his finger against his bottom lip.

She
chewed hers, trying to decide whether to accommodate him. “I don’t think I
dare. You’ll take advantage of me.”

“Damn.
How did you get to know me so well so quickly?” He grabbed for her again, this
time succeeding.

Laughing,
she tried to wriggle out of his hold, but then his mouth came down on hers, and
Julia forgot that she had wanted to get away.

Sixty
seconds later, breathless and nearly boneless, she leaned back in his arms. “You
don’t play fair.”

“Not
always, no.”

“But
I do have to go to work.”

“Not
without me. In case you’ve forgotten, there’s a sniper on the loose. I failed
you yesterday. I won’t let it happen again.”

“An
army couldn’t have protected me yesterday. Whoever shot at me tricked us both
and hid himself well enough to elude your observation. You mustn’t blame
yourself, Alex.”

He
looked away. “Let me get dressed and eat something, then we’ll go.”

She
hesitated, wishing she knew how to free him of his penchant for feeling guilty
about events beyond his control. No bright ideas came to mind, though. “All
right, but don’t take too long.”

As
he disappeared into his room, someone knocked at the apartment’s door.

She
walked over and called out, “Who is it?”

“Your
brother. Tyler Wolff.”

Julia
curled her hands into fists, struggling between her normally hospitable nature,
her dislike for the man who had set her loan problem in motion, and her desire
to have her questions about him answered. Ultimately, she cracked the door open
a few inches. “What do you want?”

“To
see how my sister is faring after her ordeal yesterday,” he said with perfect
seriousness.

“I’m
fine, as you can see. If that’s all, good day.” She started to close the door.

“No,
it’s not all. Julia, I want to talk to you, and not through a sliver of
doorway.”

Alex,
dressed in his work clothes, entered the sitting room. “Who is it?” he asked,
frowning, probably unhappy she had opened the door at all.

“Wolff.
He wants to come in and talk.”

“Maybe
you should let him. I’d like to hear what he has to say.”

She
closed the door and huffed out her breath. “But he willfully tried to take my
home from me.”

“He’s
still your brother.”

She
lifted her chin. “Half-brother.”

“Right.
A half-brother you must have questions about. Don’t you want to know why he was
kept a secret from your father? I know I’m curious.”

She
was curious, about that and other matters. “Fine.” She swung the door open. “Come
in, Mr. Wolff.”

“Thank
you.” He inclined his head to her and stepped inside. “Do you think you could
call me Tyler? We are brother and sister.”

She
didn’t answer, taking a moment to study his perfectly tailored, iron gray
cutaway suit. She didn’t want to give in to him, but no matter what Wolff had
tried to do to her, there was no disputing they were family.

“As
you wish, … Tyler. Even though you don’t deserve to be heard, I admit there are
a few things I’d like to know.” And once she had her answers, she would send
him back where he came from.

“I
will answer them to the best of my ability.”

“I
hope you’ll answer them truthfully,” she dared to say.

His
eyes—her father’s eyes—narrowed, and his lips thinned. “You’ll get the truth.”

“Good.”
She waved him toward the sofas and chair. “Please sit down.”

He
unbuttoned his jacket and took the chair.

Mindful
of her wound, Julia eased herself onto the sofa. Alex joined her, a united
front against the man who had acted more like a predator than a brother.

“What
is it you want to know?” Tyler asked.

She
took a moment to arrange her skirts. “To start with, when did you find out
Lloyd Fairbanks was your father?”

“Eight
months ago, when my mother was on her deathbed.”

She
laced her fingers together and twisted her hands in her lap. “My condolences.”

“Thank
you.” He peered toward the window and the sunny day outside. His throat flexed,
but then he turned back to her. “Next question.”

She
nodded. “Why is owning the Hotel Grand Victoria so important to you?”

“That
answer is more complicated. According to my mother, when she met Lloyd
Fairbanks, he was still a single man, and there was a mutual attraction. More
importantly, he wanted female companionship and she needed money. Her husband,
an able-bodied seaman, was rarely home and never left her with enough to live
on. She arranged with Mr. Fairbanks to be his paid mistress whenever her
husband was away.”

Mistress?
Julia had never imagined her father, even unmarried, would have a mistress,
especially a married one. She did not approve of Tyler’s mother committing adultery
or her father being part of it. And yet, who was she to judge? If Alex hadn’t
married her, she could have ended up penniless and homeless. What might she
have had to do to survive? And what more would she have done if a child were
depending on her?

“Shall
I go on?” Tyler asked.

Alex
stretched his arm behind her head, along the back of the sofa. His very
nearness soothed her, calming her nerves and giving her the courage to learn
more about her father and his past.

“Yes.
I want to hear it all.”

Tyler
crossed one leg over the other. “The
arrangement between Mr. Fairbanks and my mother ended when he met the woman who
became his wife—your mother. My mother’s husband returned soon after, and two
months later she realized she was pregnant. She had always wanted children and
was thrilled, believing her husband was the father. After my birth, however,
she saw the truth, which frightened her. On many occasions, Mr. Fairbanks had
mentioned how badly he wanted a son. My mother believed if he knew I existed,
he would try to take me from her. So she never said anything.”

“What
about her husband?” Julia asked, caught up in the story despite her
uncharitable feelings toward Tyler. “Did he realize it, too?”

“Not
at first. He was at sea most of the time, including during my birth. When I was
about three, he figured it out, but Mama told him nothing about Mr. Fairbanks.
She was afraid if she did that he might tell him, or even attempt to sell me to
him. When I was five, the three of us moved to Boston, where the man I’d always
thought was my father could get more work and be gone more often. Eventually,
he abandoned us.”

She
felt a wave of sympathy rise in her heart. Alex’s hand came down to rest on her
shoulder, and she touched her fingers to his.

“How
did you and your mother survive?” she asked.

“She
took on two jobs so I could stay in school. When I was twelve, I started
working in a ship chandlery. My real education began there. It has served me
well.”

“Apparently
so,” she said, impressed in spite of herself. He had worked his way up from
nothing, and now he had enough money to buy the Hotel Grand Victoria. Yes, very
impressive.

Alex
stretched out his legs, crossing them at the ankles. “I would guess you have
that innate talent for business that some call ‘the Midas touch.’”

Tyler
shrugged. “I’ve been very fortunate.”

Julia
studied him. He could be very humble when he wished, but she couldn’t forget
the arrogance he had exhibited during his recent visit to her office. “When you
learned about … your real father, did you want to meet him?”

“Yes,
but there were burial arrangements to make and my mother’s affairs to put in
order and my own business affairs to take care of because I’d neglected them to
be with her when she was ill. When I was finally ready to meet Mr. Fairbanks, I
discovered he was not in Philadelphia, as my mother had believed, that he had
come here and built a remarkable resort hotel on the shores of Coronado Island. I got excited. I’d never had anything in common with my mother’s husband,
so when I realized I took after my real father, I was elated. And since she’d
been so afraid he would take me away from her, I imagined he would open his
arms to me once I introduced myself.” He looked away and sighed deeply. “Obviously,
I was too late.”

She
dropped her hand back to her lap and struggled with her conflicting feelings.
Through no fault of his own, Tyler had been born into a difficult situation
that, in his eyes, would never be resolved. Even so, she couldn’t help but
resent him. He was everything her father would have wanted in a son.

“I
don’t know that he would have physically embraced you,” she said. “Lloyd
Fairbanks wasn’t a warm man. But he would have welcomed you. Like your mother
told you, he always wanted a son.”

“When
did you learn of his death?” Alex asked.

“The
same week I’d planned to travel west. It was a bigger blow than I’d expected.
Until that moment, I hadn’t known how much I wanted to be part of his life.
Right then and there I decided I had to have the Hotel Grand Victoria. It was
his creation, a part of him, just as I was.”

Julia
smoothed a wrinkle in her skirt. “I can understand why you were so persistent
in your attempts to buy the hotel, but those reasons don’t excuse your actions.
You had no right to involve the bank or use my employees to gather information.”

She
hadn’t yet decided what to do about her two traitors. Perhaps nothing. What
would be the point? After next Thursday, if the Hotel Grand Victoria belonged
to First California Bank, she would have no say in the matter anyway.

“I
used what was at my disposal,” he said, making no apology.

Alex
pulled his legs in, removed his hand from her shoulder, and leaned forward. “Are
you still bent on owning the hotel?”

She
didn’t move, barely even breathed, as she waited for Tyler’s answer.

“Since
yesterday, I’ve thought a lot about what it is I really want. I don’t have the
father I’d hoped for, but I do have a sister.” His gaze swung between her and
Alex. “And a brother-in-law. Someday, I may even have nieces and nephews. In
the long run, I think having family will be more important than having a hotel.”

Julia
glanced at Alex. As of this morning, she knew exactly how Tyler felt. She could
imagine living her girlhood dreams of having children and a husband who loved
her, a man who she loved in return. Her love for the hotel paled in comparison.

Tyler
scooted to the edge of the chair. “Julia,
I came today, not only to see how you were, but to put several business
propositions before you.”

“Let
me guess,” she said, stifling the urge to roll her eyes. “You’re offering to
buy the hotel.”

“That
would be one option, yes. After the sale, you’d be a very wealthy woman who
could go anywhere and do anything. Neither you nor your husband would ever have
to work again.”