Billionaire BWWM Romance 1: The Billionaire's Arranged Marriage (17 page)

Wilson bowed his head and walked quietly out of the door, and she followed him until he was out of her house and the front door was closed behind him. Then she walked into the garden and sat beneath the tree by the pond in her favorite spot. She couldn’t believe that Wilson had come to try to get her back, unbidden, and that he had chosen her mother’s money over her.

What value did that make her? None. It made her worth nothing. It made her love worth nothing, and she was furious with him for what he had broken between them, but she was also somewhat relieved and learning what she had really meant to him before it was too late and she had married him.

Her thoughts turned to Reed and their strange and wild relationship. She had been forced into marrying someone she didn’t like, and over the course of time together, she had discovered things about him that she did like. Those little things led her to feelings that warmed her, that made her feel as she never had before, and she had been foolish enough to follow those feelings and allow Reed to lay her down in his bed and make love with her.

She had given him her virginity, her innocence and youth. She had believed that there was something strong and beautiful building between them, and then she found out from Wilson that Reed had been in the arrangement with her mother the whole time; that he was aware that they were paying off her fiancé so that Reed could have her.

Jillian sat in bitterness for a moment until she realized that Wilson had willingly lied to her for the money he had gotten, and it was possible, however slightly, that he may have lied about more than just the money. He did seem desperate to get her back, and maybe he was desperate enough to lie to her so that he could have a chance at it.

She knew there was only one person who would tell her the truth if she asked, and that person was right in her own home. She took a deep breath and swallowed her anger then walked to her mother’s office and knocked on the door.

“Come in,” her mother answered in a cool tone.

Jillian entered and sat at her mother’s enormous wooden Japanese styled desk. “Hello, Mother.” She spoke quietly.

Her mother looked at her through narrowed eyes. “What is it that you need?” she asked.

“I have to know the truth about something, Mother. When you called Wilson and told him you’d pay him to stay away from me, when you told him to tell me that he had fallen in love with another woman, did you say anything to him about Reed? Was Reed in on the offer that you made? Was he a part of it?” She looked at her mother and tried not to show the anxiousness in her heart.

Her mother leaned back in her chair and looked silently at her daughter for a moment. “I did tell him that you had another prospect, and that it was a good one for you. I told him you had an obligation to your family that would give you a much better future than he could ever offer you, and that if he cared for you even in the slightest that he would let you go. I expected him to say no.

“I expected him to tell me that he loved you and that no amount of money could keep him away from you. That’s what someone who was truly in love would have said. He took the money immediately, which showed me that he never had any real love for you. As for Reed, he had no part in my offer. He never knew anything about it.

“You see, I called Wilson when we were at tea that day, because I hadn’t realized that you were as serious about him as you told me you were that day, and as soon as I found out what you were thinking, I acted to change it so that he wouldn’t get in the way of our plans for you.” Kimiko finished speaking and watched her daughter silently.

Jillian felt a rush of happiness and regret flood through her. She knew then that Reed was telling her the truth when he said he knew nothing about it. He had no part in it. Her heart soared. “Thank you, Mother,” she said quietly, then stood and walked out of the office, closing the door behind her.

She took her mother’s car to Reed’s house and was relieved when he answered the door. He took one look at her and pulled her into his warm, close embrace immediately. She was never so glad to see him as she was at that moment.

She looked up at him and tears began to fill her eyes. “Reed, I found out the truth. I’m so sorry I didn’t believe you. I just found out that you had nothing to do with Wilson and with my mother’s bribe to him. I’m so very sorry-” she started to say, but he only smiled down at her in his arms and whispered, “No apologies. None.” And he covered her mouth with his, kissing her softly, his hands holding her face and stroking her long glossy black hair.

She was going to tell him about the rest; everything that her mother had said, that Wilson had come to see her and she had thrown him out, and that Anderson had come to see her. Then  she thought better of it and decided that to keep the peace between the brothers, she should keep Anderson’s interest in her quiet. She could  just be friends with him, never letting Reed know that Anderson wanted her.

She thought of telling him all those things, but his kiss deepened and his arms grew tight around her, and then he picked her up and carried her up to his bedroom, standing her up beside his bed.

“I have not been able to stop thinking about you. You are all that is on my mind. You are taking over my heart, and all I want to do is have nothing between us but skin.” He kissed her hungrily as he pulled her clothes away from her and she laughed and kissed him, peeling his clothes away as well, and before a few moments had passed, there was nothing between them but skin.

He laid her back in his bed and ran his hands over her dark body, caressing every curve. He let his fingers fondle every lovely part of her. She watched him gazing at her, kissing her, feeling what he had missed. It was as though she had stolen the very air from him and then after a long while, given it back and allowed him to breathe again.  She felt her heart warming with love for this incredibly beautiful man.

He could not hold himself back from her for long, and soon his kisses on her body found their way to her mouth and she wrapped her legs around him and pulled him into her, filling herself with his need and finding rapture in their unity. They made love for a long while, clinging to each other, gasping, moaning in pleasure, touching, tasting, kissing and loving, moving with one another until they clung to each other in their orgasms, finding ecstasy together.

When they were laying in each other's arms afterward, Reed kissed her softly and then turned and opened the drawer of his nightstand, and he pulled out a box and opened it, revealing a stunning ring.

She gasped as he slid it on her finger and he kissed her again, brushing his lips against hers. “Marry me, Jillian. Marry me for love.” Then he looked at her, his heart lodged in his throat and waited for her answer.

Jillian felt her heart swell with happiness and she laughed and said, “Yes!” then “Yes!” again, and she kissed him. Their closeness found them making love again minutes later, and they spent the better part of the day wrapped up in each other, kissing, holding and touching each other, bringing out every pleasurable sigh and moan of ecstasy.

When they surfaced for dinner, dressed and blissfully happy, Carter was extremely pleased to hear the news, and to see Jillian at their home.

“Jillian, I want you to move in with us here, tomorrow, if you are willing to,” Reed said, and Carter agreed with him wholeheartedly. He looked as though he didn’t want to take any chances on her getting away.

She thought about it for a moment and nodded, smiling at them both. “I would be glad to.” She looked around and asked curiously, “Where is Anderson? We want to tell him the good news.”

Carter shrugged his shoulder. “He said that he had some business to take care of. He was at a very important meeting this morning that needed more of his immediate attention and he said he’d be gone for a couple of days. I expect he will be back soon enough.”

Jillian bit her lip in confusion, her thoughts tangled as she thought back to that morning. Anderson had been with her that morning. He had wanted to make love to her, he had begged her to be his wife and had come on to her as strong as any man ever had. Then, when she had turned him down, he had asked her to spend the whole day with him. She turned him down again.

How had he gone from wanting to spend the day with her to suddenly disappearing for an important meeting? She let the thoughts go, and focused on the two men who were in the room with her, in particular, the one who had put an engagement ring on her hand that afternoon.

*

Jillian was moved into the house the next day, and Carter provided moving services for her that accomplished the task in no time at all. Her mother was thrilled, Carter was beaming and had spent the afternoon with Kimiko in his office going over wedding details again, and by dinner, it was finished. Jillian saw while they were having their meal together that their families would make a good union, and that her mother might actually have chosen well for her. Carter was very welcoming and had told Jillian that their home was now hers and he fully expected her to make herself at home there.

She decided to take him up on it and the next day she was swimming in the enormous pool behind the house, playing in the water and basking in the sun when she heard her name and lifted her head from beneath the water to see Anderson kneeling beside the pool. He was grinning at her.

“Jillian!” he called out happily.

She swam to the stairs and walked out of the pool, water streaming down her hair and body, the sun glinting off her mahogany skin, and her jet black hair hanging in a curtain behind her. He whistled and walked to her with a grin and a towel.

“I don’t want to cover you up because you are stunning enough to steal my breath away just looking at you, but I also don’t want you to be cold,” he said, wrapping the towel and his arms around her, then leaning down and kissing her lips slowly and sensually. His hands moved to cup her cheeks as he tasted her.

She gasped and pulled her face away from his, and he looked at her and cocked his head in curiosity. “What made you decide to come to me? What made you change your mind?” he asked, his hands on her back moved down over her hips and pulled her snugly to him, squeezing her hungrily.

Jillian shook her head and tried to take a step back from him. “Anderson, you don’t understand. I’m not here for you,” she said gently.

He blinked at her and his tight embrace loosened slightly. “What do you mean?”

She stepped back again and smiled a little at him. “Reed asked me to marry him and I said yes.” She spoke quietly and tenderly, hoping that her words would hit him softer if her delivery was compassionate.

He stared at her for a moment and his composure was gone, his eyes filled with some strange panic, but then it was gone and he smiled at her and lifted her hands to his mouth, kissing her fingers. “If this is what you truly want, then I am pleased for you, of course, and I wish you every happiness. My brother is indeed a very lucky man to have a woman as special and precious as you to spend his life with.”

She smiled back at him. “It is what I want, and I am happy. Thank you, Anderson.”

He hugged her close and then let her go. “When will the special day be?”

“Our parents are planning it for a month from now.” She smiled at him. “It’s fast. I can’t believe how fast it’s happening. Reed and Carter have already had me move into the house here,” she said, just a bit giddy.

He blinked in surprise. “You’ve moved in here? With Reed?” He stumbled over the words, watching her carefully.

Jillian nodded happily.

He looked like he was trying to swallow something that was too big for his throat.

“Are you staying in Reed’s room or have they given you a room of your own?” he asked with obvious trepidation.

“Yes, I’m staying in Reed’s room,” she said quietly, seeing what he was getting at.

He took a deep breath and his smile faded. “Please don’t think me rude or intrusive, but… have you… become intimate with Reed?”

She looked away from Anderson. “I really don’t think that’s your business,” she said quietly. He lifted his hand and turned her face toward him.

“Please… Jillian. Trust in me. Please tell me.” He looked deeply into her eyes. “You were untouched when we went to Las Vegas. You were pure… fresh, you were a virgin. Please tell me if that has changed; if Reed has taken that from you.”