Page 80 of Deserving Maisy
“You did lie, but it was for a good reason. You knew that if you said no to your brother, bad things would happen. And if you told me that we weren’t married, that I’d been kidnapped and had amnesia…I’m not sure I would’ve believed you. It would’ve sounded extremely outlandish.”
Maisy stared up at Jack. He’d taken his glasses off to sleep and his brown eyes seemed even more intense without them. His hair and beard had been trimmed at some point since they’d arrived in New Mexico, and she longed to feel his cheeks and lips against her own.
Ry’s suggestion about seducing her husband flashed through her mind, but she wouldn’t do that to Jack. He’d been forced into doing way too many things against his will already. The last thing she wanted to do was add one more thing to that list. If there was a chance for them, she wanted it to be his choice.
“I forgive you, Maisy.”
She jerked. Afraid she hadn’t heard what she hoped she had, Maisy asked, “What?”
“I forgive you. I had a long talk with Henley today, and she made me think about stuff I hadn’t considered before. Mostly about how scared you had to have been. Your brother brought an unconscious man into your room and informed you that he was going to be your husband. With every day that passed since our wedding, a huge clock’s been ticking. You, more than anyone, know exactly what your brother’s capable of, and not only were you trying to deal with him, but you had to continue to lie to me, worry about what would happen if I regained my memories, and how your brother would react. You had a lot on your plate, and I haven’t stopped to consider everything from your perspective.”
Maisy’s heart was thumping hard in her chest. She would grab onto the olive branch Jack was extending with both hands. She had no right to ever hope that things might go back to the way they’d been, but not being hated by Jack…it would be enough.
“The thing is, I can’t forget how things were between us,” Jack went on. “It had been a long time since you’d been with anyone before our wedding night…hadn’t it?”
Maisy briefly closed her eyes. She knew she was blushing; she could feel the heat in her cheeks. She was so embarrassed. “Since I was fifteen,” she whispered, her eyes fluttering open.
She’d clearly shocked him, based on his expression. “I can’t stop thinking about that night. How brave you were. I thought we’d made love hundreds of times. That you’d seen every inch of my body before then. I was so excited to get a second chance to make love to my wife for the first time that I rushed you. I should’ve been more gentle. Should’ve gone slower.”
“It was perfect,” Maisy whispered, hating that he thought for even two seconds that she hadn’t loved everything they did. “I have a lot of regrets about what happened. About the lies I told you, about not being strong enough to stand up to Jason. But I havezeroregrets about our physical relationship.” She couldn’t believe she was admitting that out loud, but she needed Jack to understand. “My brother might have whored me out, but when it was just you and me…I felt special. As if it really was my wedding night. You really were my husband.”
“Itwasour wedding night,” Jack said in a tone she couldn’t interpret. “And Iamyour husband.”
“It was all a lie,” Maisy said uneasily.
“Was it?” Jack countered.
She wouldn’t lie to him again. Never again. “Not to me.”
“Not to me either. The thing is, I knew something was wrong. I heard the way Jason spoke to you. I didn’t like it,not at all. I couldn’t understand why I couldn’t access my own bank account, couldn’t picture myself as a bounty hunter. It wasn’t clicking, and now, obviously, I know why. But with you, Maisy…right from the beginning, I felt as if I was right where I belonged. It’s why I didn’t question what was happening. I was enjoying my wife too much.”
Maisy couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Maybe she was dreaming. The words coming out of Jack’s mouth were a miracle.
He was still lying over her, keeping her trapped beneath him. She had on the T-shirt he’d given her that first night in his cabin and a pair of underwear. That was it. He was wearing a pair of boxers. And now that she was thinking about it, she could feel his erection against her belly.
Need rose hard and fast within her. Maisy might have gone years without being sexually active, but Jack had flicked a switch inside of her. She wanted him with an urgency she’d never felt before. Her nipples hardened under her shirt and she felt wetness between her legs.
“Do you forgive me for being an ass?” he asked.
“Of course.”
He smiled. “There’s no ‘of course’ about it. I wouldn’t blame you if refused to have anything to do with me.”
“Kind of hard to have nothing to do with your husband,” she told him. “Especially when he refuses to let you stay anywhere but in his cabin.”
“Hated every second of you being in the room next door. I wanted you here. With me. In my bed.”
He was killing her.
“I don’t care about anything that happened before now,” Jack said, sincerity oozing from his words. “Aboutbeing kidnapped, about your brother being a dick, about any lies you had to tell me in order to keep yourself safe. Wait, no, that’s not true, Idocare about one thing…I made a vow, Maisy. To have and to hold, for better or worse, for richer or poorer, through sickness and health, I pledged myself to you. And I take my promises seriously.”
What was he saying? Maisy could barely breathe.
“I don’t want the annulment,” he said, blowing her mind. “I want you. I want children. I want to start over. With no lies between us. Do you think you could ever forgive me enough for that to happen?”
Maisy couldn’t believe what he was saying. She let out a small noise in the back of her throat and wiggled until she could get her arms out from under him, throwing them around his back. She lurched upward until her nose was buried in the space between his shoulder and neck and wrapped her legs around his waist. She held onto him as tightly as she could and burst into tears.
She couldn’t speak, could barely wrap her mind around what he was saying. He wanted her? For real?
