Page 51 of The Reason I Married Him
“Is that how you should be talking to your husband?”
Through clenched teeth, I drag out, “You arenotmy husband.”
“Not yet.” He tilts my chin up with his finger. I go to push him away, but he captures my wrists in his hands.
“What are you doing?”
“Just letting you know . . .” He leans in until his mouth is right next to my ear. The minute he starts talking, chills spread down my legs. “You are not to tell anyone about my proposal, not a single soul, and if you do, I’m selling my half of the land.”
A gasp falls past my lips as he pulls away. “You wouldn’t.”
“I would, Mrs. Preston.” Then he moves past me, grabs the plates from the cabinet, and starts setting the table.
“You know, this is not going to work,” I say, seeing through his whole act. “You think you’re going to change my mind in the next four or five days before you leave, but what you don’t know about me is that I’m as stubborn as the cows you want to purchase. I’m not budging.”
“You’ve clearly underestimated me,” he says with an arrogant confidence that drives me nuts. Then his eyes scan me before he says, “Your nipples are hard. Did I do that?”
“Oh my God!” I nearly shout, covering my breasts as I walk into the kitchen.
And yes . . . yes, he did do that.
But not because I think he’s an attractive man or find the way his hair falls over his forehead intriguing. It’s because when I get angered, my body reacts, and unfortunately, that includes my nipples.
I’m facing away from him when I feel his heated body behind me. His hand lands on my waist, and I’m so insulted by his presumption that I turn around to face him.
Bad idea, because he’s so close that he presses me up against the counter.
“It’s okay to admit that I get you revved up.”
“Can you not be so obnoxious?” I ask, still covering my chest with one hand, hoping to calm them down. “It’s chilly in here, and I’m not wearing a bra. My nipples have nothing to do with you. Also, that kind of talk is completely inappropriate.”
“Not when you’re my future wife.”
“Oh my God, Wyatt. You realize you have a serious problem, right?”
“The only problem I see is standing right in front of me.” He grips my waist a touch tighter, just to remind me he’s holding me, possessing me in a way he has no right doing.
Yet why am I not pushing his hand away?
“Just admit it, Aubree,” he says, talking closer to me. “You want the land, and I want the cabin. It’s the perfect opportunity to help each other out.”
“But what about the fact that I don’t want to helpyouout?” I ask. “At this point, the last thing I want to do is help you make your dreams come true.”
“Sometimes your words can hurt, Aubree.”
“Please, you don’t have feelings,” I say. “All you have is your self-importance. I suggest you don’t waste your time with me and try to find someone else.”
“Uh-huh, and what happens when I do and then use my half of the land for something else? Like . . . oh, I don’t know, sell it off for commercial space.”
“You wouldn’t do that,” I say even though a slight panic enters my heart. He was right about earlier. I don’t know him that well, and I have no clue what kind of integrity and loyalty this man possesses.
Other than the love he has for his cabin.
But from his proposal, it seems like he has no problem stepping over people to get his own way.
“I very much would and would enjoy every second of it.”
Just then, Mac and Ryland come down the stairs, and I see the moment Ryland notices us in the kitchen, in an intimate position, because his eyebrow raises in question.
