Claiming His Wife (Unlikely Love) (8 page)

“No. He was there, and I didn’t know he would be. I thought my parents wanted me to have dinner with them,” she said.

He saw the confusion on her face. He had never acted like this in front of her. It had been only recently that he’d started making demands from her.

“I don’t want any other man touching you,” he said.

“Why?”

“Do you really need me to answer that?” he asked.

“You’ve never shown an interest in me before. The kisses and whatever that was at the charity ball has been the only kind of attention. What’s changed? Why don’t you want any other man touching me?”

She had a valid argument. “Because you’re mine, and I intend to keep what’s mine.”

She glanced at him and then looked around the room. “You keep saying that, and I don’t know what you mean by it.”

Tony stared at her across the room. She looked innocent and perfect. His control was breaking, and he knew it was only a matter of time before he’d lose the battle.

“I don’t know what you want from me, Tony,” she said. “First you tell me we’re not going to have the proper kind of marriage other couples have, and I accept that. When I serve you divorce papers you come and manhandle me out of my home. Now I’m here, and you’re telling me you want me to be your wife?”

He didn’t offer her an answer. Taking the few steps forward he stood in front of her. “I want you,” he said. “And what is killing me is you don’t know how much I want you.”

“You said....”

“I don’t give a fuck what I said before. That was over two years ago. My God, I didn’t want to be attracted to you, but I was.” 

He heard her gasp and ignored the sound. “Do you have any idea what it’s like wanting your best friend’s sister? Not only are you Richard’s sister, Opal. You’re fucking younger than me.” Tony had never said anything to her about the attraction he felt. “I feel like a dirty old man. You’re twenty-two years old. You should be out dating and screwing around with men your own age. Not married to me.”

She stood frozen where he’d put her. Tony wanted to hear her screaming back at him. To hear how disgusted she was with him.

“But I can’t do it. I can’t let you leave me. I won’t sign those divorce papers. You’re the one thing I refuse to give up in this life.”

Tears slid down her cheeks. He hated being the one responsible for putting them there.

“Don’t cry,” he said.

“What do I say?” she asked. He closed the distance between them. Tony wrapped her in his arms and breathed a sigh of relief. Her arms stayed by her side.

“Tell me you don’t want the divorce. Give us a chance,” he said.

“What about Rita Brooke?”

He hated that woman’s name. Since their affair had ended all she did was plague him for something more. “She means nothing to me. The only woman I want is you. Please, Opal. Give me a chance to show you how good it can be for us.”

Chapter Eight

Opal closed her eyes and wrapped her arms around him. Tony had come back for her. He was her own personal white knight. His words meant so much to her. She hadn’t been fighting the demons he had. She didn’t care that he was her brother’s best friend. To her, Tony was the man she’d loved for most of her life.

Would he be happy with her? No answer came to her.

“Can you be happy with me?” she asked, her insecurities raising their ugly heads.

“I’m happiest whenever I’m with you. The only time I’m whole is when you’re near,” he said.

She bit her lip and stared up the length of his body. Gently, so she didn’t make him disappear. She laid her palm on his chest. Opal felt his heart beat. Looking into his eyes, she saw raw, naked need staring back at her.

“Is this a chance for our marriage to be real?” she asked.

He nodded his head.

“Not in name only?”

“I want you, Opal. I always have.”

She nodded her head. She understood him. “If we do this, I want a proper marriage.”

“Yes....”

She held her hand up. “I want us to go on our honeymoon. To spend some time together without Richard or anything else distracting us. Could you agree to that? Just me and you, alone?”

After the wedding she’d spent so long thinking about the honeymoon she would never have. This was her time to finally have what she wanted.

“I’ll give you anything you want.”

“Okay. I want us to go on a honeymoon. Straight away. Me and you.”

“Consider it done.”

****

Tony kept his word. The following day they were flying out to one of the island resorts he owned. A private helicopter had picked them up from the roof of his hotel. She’d called Richard and asked him to not interfere. It was her life, and she wanted to start living it without any outside influences.

When they landed, Tony took her by the hand and led her through to the main reception desk. A woman wearing a bikini greeted them. For the journey, Opal had picked a pair of jeans and a loose fitting shirt. The moment the doors of the helicopter opened, the heat had swamped her.

Minutes later they were driven to a private part of the resort.

“Where are we going? Aren’t we staying at the main part of the resort?” she asked.

“This is our honeymoon. I should have given you one two years ago. This way we get to be alone the whole time and only venture out when we fancy it.”

His arm lay across her shoulders. She relaxed against him. They pulled up to a beautiful looking beach house. Tony smiled at her and kissed her on the lips before helping her out of the car.

“You own this?” she asked as the man pulled their suitcases out of the trunk.

“Yes. One of my many dream purchases over the years.” Tony let the man unload their stuff. He took her inside, showing her the layout.

She couldn’t believe how beautiful it all was. The decoration was made to make every part of the house feel open and airy. They had glass doors, and when she opened them to step onto the veranda type patio she could see the ocean. She turned to see Tony leaning up against the doorframe.

“This is amazing,” she said.

“And it’s all ours.”

The man who’d driven them made a noise to get their attention. Tony paid him a tip and let him out. She stood and looked out at the beautiful view. A lot had happened in the last twenty-four hours. Much of it she couldn’t even describe.

From the scene with Charles to the admission from Tony, she was close to exploding with all of their conflicting emotions.

She jolted as his hands circled her waist. His chin rested against her neck. “So many thoughts going through your mind, Mrs. Hunt. Care to share any of them?”

“You seem to be changing before my very eyes. No one has ever called me Mrs. Hunt before,” she said.

“Get used to the name. I rather like it when I hear it directed at you.”

“Are you sure you’re not going to regret this?” she asked.

“This is the happiest I’ve been in a long time. I think this is the best idea, getting away from the real world. It’s just you and me. No one else.”

They stood and watched the waves of the sea crash against the far rocks. She looked forward to spending some time outside, reading. Tony would still need to attend to some business. She looked forward to taking advantage of the sun.

“Come on, let’s get everything settled.” He took her hand and led her through the rest of the house. “Do you know how to cook?” he asked.

“Yes. The one thing I like doing for myself,” she said.

“Good. Otherwise we’d have to go out to eat. I don’t want to leave all that much.” Tony showed her the kitchen, the sitting room. “We even have a pool through there. An indoor pool so you can swim anytime.”

Her heart rate picked up speed as he led her upstairs.

The layout was different. There wasn’t a full upstairs, but rather it was as if the house had been cut in half.

“This is the games room.” He opened a door, and she saw a pool table with a few other bits and pieces she’d seen in the movies. She recognised the pool table. She’d placed Richard a few times. Not that she was any competition.

“This is the main bathroom.” It looked like more of a full scale room on its own.

“And this is the bedroom.” The final door was pushed open.

She walked inside and gasped. The room looked amazing. A large bed but along one wall was a dressing table and a chest of drawers.

“You only have one room?” she asked.

He walked closer until he stood in front of her. She took a step back. He smirked and moved closer as she continued to move backwards. Wanting to be with someone and then knowing you were going to be with him was completely different. She hadn’t been with a man before whereas he’d probably shagged a lot of the female population.

“This is our honeymoon. I figured you’d want to share a bed. We’re married, and this is our chance to explore it.” He tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear. “Don’t worry. We don’t have to do anything tonight. We’ll relax. Eat and talk. I’ll never pressure you to do something you don’t want to do.”

She felt reassured and smiled. They grabbed their cases and unpacked their clothes. Their conversation was short but nothing uncomfortable.

The time change meant it was close to nightfall. She put some meats in a sandwich and served it with some fruit. They sat outside allowing the night breeze to drift over them.

“I’m going to get a shower,” she said.

Tony took the plate from her. She disappeared inside the bathroom.

Chapter Nine

While Opal showered, he took the time to get caught up with his business. Unfortunately, the only way he could give her the honeymoon she wanted was by being in contact with his main office at all times. He fired up the laptop and checked through his mails, giving her plenty of time to soak and relax. Making sure they had a one bedroom beach house had taken some working as most of the houses had been taken in the holiday rush. He owned the whole resort but still needed to book in advance. 

Richard had warned him to tread carefully, reminding him of Opal’s long-time crush. As if he needed warning. Tony had spent most of his time under the thrall of hero worship. When nothing of any importance showed up in his inbox, he closed the email down and unhooked his laptop.

After a quick glance around to make sure everything was still in order, he made his way up to the bedroom. The bathroom door lay open. Taking a deep breath, he opened the door to the room where they would share a bed as a married couple.

She sat in the middle of the bed, drying her hair. He smiled as she looked up. The nerves were clearly written on her face.

“There’s plenty of hot water if you want a shower,” she said. Tony had to fight to keep his eyes above her chest. She wore one of those silk nighties, with thin straps and a whole lot of lace. It was a pale pink shade that worked wonders for her. He thought about their shopping trip and how he’d gotten her to model the dark red underwear.

“Ouch.” She ran a brush through her long hair. “I swear, one day, I’m going to get all this cut off.”

“Don’t you dare,” he said. Tony took the brush and the towel from her. “Why don’t you use one of those hair dryer thingies?”

“Because they are bad for your hair. Besides, I like brushing my hair, or at least I do when my conditioner does what it says for smooth and silky finish,” she said. He heard the grumble in her tone.

Tony chuckled. “Let me try.” He took the spot behind her, his legs on either side of her. Taking her by the waist he pulled her closer. He tried not to think about how good it felt with her body directly close to his. Or the way her skin looked so soft and flushed from the heat.

“You don’t have to do this,” she said.

“I want to. It will give me good practise one day.” He used the towel and stared to dry her hair. Gently, not pulling. Her floral scent invaded his nostrils, and he smiled thinking about how perfectly the scent suited her.