Ice In His Veins Read online

  “Eli?” He looked like he wanted to break Eli’s arm just for her saying his name. It blew her mind to see Arik behaving this way. It seemed like a dream, but more and more she began to believe she wasn’t dreaming. Rather her dream was coming true. Did he really say he intended to marry her?

  Like I don’t have a choice in the matter!

  “Your neighbor said you left with him.”

  “I know who you’re talking about. That catty old thing across the hall. You’d think she was a young woman the way she acts all jealous. She knows good and well we left the building together, but Eli got in his car, and I got into mine. I saw her looking out at us as bold as anything through her window.”

  “So you weren’t seeing someone?”

  She debated telling him about her friendship with Eli, but if they were going to take their relationship to the next level, she wanted the two of them to be honest with each other. With that in mind, she climbed off his lap and sat beside him. To her surprise, he let her go, but he kept a hold of one of her hands.

  “Eli is a friend and nothing more. He will never be more. But you need to concentrate on the fact that you’re still engaged. I’m not getting involved with a man who’s committed to someone else. And frankly, I’m not entirely sure I should jump into anything with you.”

  He narrowed his eyes. “You won’t deny me?”

  “You say it like a question, but I have the feeling you think you’re going to seduce me into it. Not this time, buddy. Arik, you hurt me so much. You can’t imagine what it did to me when you told me so coldly that you would never marry me, and then you went and got engaged to a woman you barely know.”

  “Chevelle.” He reached to touch her face, but she ducked away.

  “No, don’t. I feel like you sent me a message loud and clear that I’m not worthy to be your wife, but she is.”

  His eyes widened. “That’s not true. Chevelle, I couldn’t ask for a better wife. You’re intelligent, beautiful, resourceful, and satisfying in bed.”

  “Whatever.” She moved away from him because hearing him compliment her weakened her resolve. Not that she knew what her resolve should be in these circumstances. Should she put him off a little, make him sweat? Or should she seriously consider not getting back with him?

  At the mere thought of not seeing Arik, her chest constricted, and she found it hard to breathe. She had been through this mess when she broke it off and kept her distance. Knowing he loved her made it a hundred times worse. Her pride was hurt. She should toss it aside and jump into his arms.

  No, no, no! We’re doing this right.

  “You’re engaged. Right now we have nothing to talk about.” She walked over to the door and opened it, waiting for him to leave.

  He took his time standing. She thought for a moment he would insist on his own way, but he said nothing. The dark shadows around his eyes made her wonder if he shouldn’t sleep a little more, but he appeared to be alert enough. He strode to the door and walked into the hall. Before she could shut the door, he put a hand out to stop her.

  “I’ll be back, Chevelle. And when I return, I’ll be free. Wait for me.”

  She said nothing but closed the door and leaned against. All the strength left her body, and she sank to the floor. Tears rolled down her face. She did the right thing, didn’t she? He would go back to Karina and tell her the truth. There wouldn’t be any issues. Tonight, or at the longest tomorrow he would come back to her. He had to.

  Chapter 18

  Two weeks. Chevelle couldn’t believe it had been two weeks since she last heard from Arik. She had thought her fears were silly and that she was just showing how insecure she was when she worried he wouldn’t come back. Now here she was alone and her phone silent. Pride kept her from phoning him to see what happened.

  “It’s obvious what happened,” she muttered to herself. “He came to his senses. Probably got a good night’s sleep and then figured out what an idiot he was for going against his policy of never getting married.”

  It didn’t seem like her heart could break anymore, but it did. The first week she cried, and the second anger set in. Then a chilly nothingness came over her and left her empty.

  “If you let me go up there and kick his ass you can move on to the next loser.”

  Chevelle eyed her sister. “Loser? Really, Nita?”

  Shawnita sat on the arm of the couch swinging a leg back and forth and popping grapes into her mouth. “What? They’re all losers I don’t think there’s a decent man left.”

  “Would you stop?” On some level Chevelle thought she was probably right. She didn’t want to believe Arik would lead her on, but he was acting out of character. He might not remember he said that stuff to her. She shut her eyes and groaned. Now she was making excuses for him.

  I can’t be this weak!

  The doorbell rang, but she didn’t move. Her heartbeat kicked up despite her resolve not to let it. Even as she struggled to look like she wasn’t eager to know who had arrived at her apartment unannounced, Shawnita raised an eyebrow and smirked at her.

  “You’re ridiculous,” Shawnita grumbled.

  “And you have zero sympathy!”

  Her sister shuffled the bag of grapes aside and stood to answer the door. When she opened it, Chevelle was surprised to see the biggest bouquet of flowers she had ever seen.

  “What in the world?”

  “Delivery, ma’am,” the man said holding the vase that needed two hands to handle it. “If you have somewhere I can sit this…?”

  Chevelle sprang up. “Yes, come in. Right here.”

  She directed him while looking for the card attached. Shawnita signed for the delivery, and Chevelle’s stomach dropped to her toes. There was the little white square. Would it be declarations of love or an apology for leading her on?

  Shawnita shut the door. “Are you going to read it, or what? I can do the honors, and if it’s not saying he’s on his way to kiss your toes for making you wait, then—”

  “Nita!”

  “Just saying.”

  She couldn’t put it off any longer. The act of opening the envelope took all the strength out of her body.

  “Well?” Shawnita peered over her shoulder. “What does that mean?”

  Chevelle read the words again. “‘Look outside.’ Does he mean now?”

  “Is it even from him?”

  Chevelle frowned at her. “Of course it’s from Arik. Who else would it be from?”

  Before her sister could answer she sprang to the door, jerked it open, and ran down the steps. She burst through the exit to the street and stopped short. The huge bouquet of flowers in the house was the tip of the iceberg. In fact several spaces outside her apartment were filled with so many more. People milled around, chatting among themselves. She recognized some of the faces, people from her old job at Arik’s company.

  The crowd parted, and there he was, looking as sexy as the day she met him. The dark smudges beneath his eyes were gone. During their separation he must have gotten some sleep. Good for him, she thought with bitterness.

  Arik strode over to her and stopped inches away. She tilted a scathing look at him. “Nice to see you remember where I live, Arik.”

  “Before I drop to my knees…”

  Her heart threatened to stop.

  “…I want to explain.”

  “She doesn’t want to hear it,” Shawnita snapped.

  “Please.”

  She had never seen him so humble and so sweet. A nod encouraged him to go on because she couldn’t find her voice. Not if she didn’t want to start crying again.

  “I wanted to come back to you the same day,” he explained. “But Karina tried to sue me for breech of contract.”

  She gasped. “You’re kidding.”

  “No.” He reached toward her face, checked himself, and put his hands down at his sides. “I want to dispense with the words and get right to loving you, but I know it’s important I explain what happened.”

 
She was tempted herself to say forget the details. Instead, she forced herself to keep silent.

  “I spent the last two weeks negotiating. The prenuptial I had with her was a promise to marry, one my lawyer and I bound me to. I had to come up with creative ways to convince Karina she should accept my wish to get out of it.”

  “And what did you come up with?” Her chest hurt. She hoped he found a way out.

  “My uncle.”

  That surprised her. Not once in all the time Reinhart had been reaching out to Arik and his brothers did Arik call him his uncle, even in talking about him. “What did Reinhart do?”

  Arik colored a little. “He offered himself as the bigger fish.”

  She gasped. “You’re kidding!”

  “No, as of now, Karina is engaged to Reinhart.”

  “He’s old enough to be her father.”

  “But he’s rich.”

  “That’s what she wanted all along, the money.”

  He stepped closer. “Yes, and all I want—is you.” His hands came up to cup her face. “Tell me you forgive me, Chevelle. For being foolish enough to consider marrying someone else other than you. For taking so long to realize I love you.”

  Shawnita interjected. “And for being a dumbass by not calling.”

  He winced. “Yes, and that.”

  Her sister shook her head. “He must be in love, Chevelle. He’s never let me insult him and didn’t freeze me with those ice ray eyes, not to mention giving as good as he got.”

  Chevelle laughed and then grew serious. She pointed to the ground. “You were saying something about being on your knees.”

  “That’s my baby sis!” Shawnita whooped.

  Arik sank to his knees, and right there in the parking lot with everyone watching, he proposed. Someone had turned on a radio playing gentle and romantic music and turned up the volume. Birds tweeted in the trees overhead, and the air was filled with the sweet scent of the colorful flowers.

  Tears rolled down Chevelle’s cheeks as Arik took her hand and pulled out a ring with a ridiculously huge diamond from his pocket. He held her fingers to his lips and brushed them with a featherlight kiss. A chill of delight raced down her spine, and goose bumps popped out on her arms.

  “Chevelle Renee Taylor, I love you as much as my next breath. Make me a happy man by becoming my wife.” Arik went beet red, and Shawnita burst out laughing. Chevelle’s heart swelled. Arik was never emotional except in the bedroom, and even that was calculated. He was out of his element, but he was doing it to prove his love. She couldn’t love him more than she did at that moment.

  “Yes.” Her voice held a breathless quality, but she didn’t care a bit. Let the whole world see and know how much she loved him. Especially Arik himself. “I love you, Arik Johansson. Yes, a million times yes, I’ll be your wife!”

  He sprang up and scooped her off her feet. She surrendered when his lips touched hers and his tongue delved into her mouth. Oh, how long she’d ached to taste his kisses again and to feel his arms around her. She clung to him, pressing as tightly as she could. The crowd and her sister faded away. All that mattered was Arik.

  Chevelle shoved the magazines aside in frustration, and some of them fell on the floor. She didn’t care at that point. The stress of planning her wedding was driving her nuts. Everybody wanted to put their two cents into it—her soon to be brothers-in-law, her sister, even Reinhart. Arik’s uncle was the worst. He had the nerve to suggest to the two of them that he would pay for the wedding if they would have it at the mansion. Like they couldn’t afford to do it on their own or that she would want to get married there after Arik nearly married Karina there.

  “Not in this lifetime,” she muttered and climbed off the bed. “I never thought I’d have too much family!”

  She stomped to the bedroom door and flung it wide only to jump at finding Arik there. He grinned, and his gaze slipped from her face to her breasts on down to her hips and legs. Too late she recalled she hadn’t gotten dressed for the day. Someone had kept her up half the night.

  “Arik, what are you doing home? I thought you left for work.”

  “And leave my wife-to-be?” He tsked, shaking his head. “I’ll go in when I’m good and ready. Besides, you look like breakfast.”

  She yelped when he reached for her and ran back into the room. “Didn’t you get enough last night? I’m not in the mood. This wedding…”

  He took his time coming into the bedroom and caught sight of the magazines on the floor. When he turned back to her, she saw compassion in his eyes, once again something she wasn’t used to from Arik. He made her love him more and more every day.

  “If it’s too much we can always elope.”

  She blinked. “You’re serious?”

  “Yes.”

  “But family. I thought you were wild about having Brand and Cael with you and both being your best man.”

  She started for the closet, but he caught her around the waist with one arm and hauled her off her feet. Wriggling to get free brought her butt into contact with his shaft. Even with his pants separating them, he was already hard as a rock.

  “Arik!”

  He moved in two long strides for the bed and dumped her onto it. Before she could spring up again, he followed her down and pinned her beneath a heavy thigh. “First, I will always get you in the mood. That’s a given. Second, you are more important than anyone else. No question. If it makes you happy to elope, we elope.”

  “We can’t be so selfish. They—”

  “Will get over it.” His palm skimmed her belly and paused just above her apex. “Now, stop fighting me. There’s no way I can see you like this and not want to get inside you.”

  Her bad mood dissipated in a heartbeat. When he spoke like that, she was putty in his hands. Even if he didn’t say a word, his blue gaze trained on her made her pant. She licked her lips and seemed to arrest his attention with the move. Their mouths touched, and fire licked along her veins. She belonged to him, and he belonged to her.

  “Yes,” she said when she could. “Make love to me, Arik. All I want is you—as my husband and inside of me. Always.”

  He groaned in response and shed his clothing. When he was as naked as she, he raised her arms above her head and paused to stare at her.

  “What are you looking at?”

  “Perfection.” His gaze skimmed leisurely over her form, and he followed with gentle fingers. “Your skin is so soft. Um, and I smell your desire. If I reach between your legs, will I find you wet?”

  “You know you will.” She bit her lip and squeezed her legs together.

  “Will you fight me?”

  “No, I just can’t take it.” She shut her eyes. “I want it, Arik. I can’t wait to feel you pushing into me.”

  “Baby!”

  He slipped overtop of her and parted her legs. They didn’t mess around with foreplay like normal. He delved gently between her folds, fingering her heat. When he found her wet, he moved his hand and replaced it with his shaft. She cried out his name as he stretched her walls around his dick and sank deep inside her.

  “Yes, yes,” she cried and grabbed hold of his shoulders. “More, Arik.”

  He groaned. “You drive me crazy when you say my name. Say it again, baby.”

  “Arik.”

  He pushed harder and deeper, almost cruelly into her. She raised her knees as high as she could to coax every inch of him to bury itself in her box. Just the act seemed to take him to a new level. He arched his hips, drawing his shaft out. The head scarcely pierced her before he plunged in fast. She screamed in delight. He withdrew again and plunged deeper.

  Faster and faster, he pounded her softness. She whimpered, loving every second, begging for more. The bed rocked and creaked beneath them, but Arik kept taking her. He leaned up and grasped her ankles, lifting them straight into the air. Arching with expertise, he commanded her body with his own.

  “Rub your clit for me, Chevelle.”

  She reached between he
r legs and began to stroke herself. Even with her eyes shut, she felt his gaze, watching every move. Her core contracted with the pleasure he gave her and she gave herself.

  “Arik, I’m going to come.”

  “Yes, you are, but not yet.”

  “I need to.”

  “Hold it, baby. Soon. We’ll come together.”

  Hold it? Was he nuts? Her climax was building, and it would be strong. There was no telling it to wait. She didn’t have control of her orgasm the way he did. The trembling started in her thighs, and the waves began. It was on her. There was no turning back.

  “Arik, I can’t…”

  He grunted and jerked. Warmth spread inside her. She knew he reached his release, and then seconds after she came. Her scream rang in her ears, and she shook from head to toe. Arik kept pumping until the last waves crashed over her.

  He leaned down and kissed her before withdrawing and lying down at her side. “There. Do I know your body or what?”

  She rolled her eyes. “You got lucky.”

  His nostrils flared, and she suppressed a laugh.

  “Shall I prove myself again?”

  “No need to freeze me with the death ray as Shawnita calls it.” The laugh burst free. She couldn’t help it. He made her so happy.

  “I should make you pay for that.” His hand shot out, and he dragged her to his chest. She didn’t have the energy nor the desire to fight him.

  “How?”

  “By proving to you this body belongs to me, and I know it so well I can make it come when I choose.”

  “I came because I know how to rub myself just right.”

  His eyes narrowed. “That sounds like a challenge.”

  “I don’t know what you mean.”

  He flipped her away from him and spooned her from behind. His arm came around her waist to settle his hand on her lower belly. She shivered hearing his deep, sexy voice in her ear. “Seems I have lots to teach you, Chevelle.”

  Damn if she didn’t love it when he spoke her name. She wanted to tease him some more, but weakness stole her will. All she wanted to do was surrender as fully as a woman could to her husband.