9781618850676UnchainedMelodyHunter (22 page)

“There
is a very good reason I am staying with you and that’s because I love you.”

* * * *

Ethan
finally had to surmise Lise’s accident had been as she’d described. He had
asked Alex and Bobby to go back to the State Park and take a look at the place
where she’d fallen. They had not found any evidence that would lead them to
believe it was anything other than an accident. There were no footprints and no
signs of a struggle. Bobby had suggested that maybe she’d experienced a dizzy
spell of some sort. The first thing that popped into Ethan’s mind was she might
be pregnant. Nothing would have made him happier; in fact, he realized that at
no time during their reconciliation had it ever occurred to either one of them
to use protection. Perhaps, Lise was on the pill, but she’d never said so. Just
the idea of having a child with the woman he loved filled Ethan with elation. He
didn’t mention his suspicions to Lise; they had plenty of time to wait and see.

Ethan
rarely left the room, but once when he left to go to the hospital cafeteria for
take-out, Annalise took the opportunity to call her mother. Their relationship had
been strained for so long that informing her of her whereabouts, or even this
accident was not
Annalise’s
first instinct. She did
not want the blame for their estrangement to rest on her shoulders so she
dialed the number. After three rings, she answered.

“Mother,
this is Annalise. I just called to tell you I’ve had a little accident, but I’m
fine”

“Annalise,
you are the unluckiest human. Your grandmother always said you were born on a
bad moon. What have you done this time?”

“I
guess I fell and hit my head on a rock. Sounds about right, doesn’t it? Anyway,
I’m in the hospital with a concussion.”

“A
concussion? God in heaven! But you’re all right?”

“Yes,
I’ll probably get out and be back at…uh…the hotel tomorrow.”

“Well,
I wasn’t going to tell you this, but since I’ve got you on the phone, I might
as well. One of the ladies from church called me and your husband is back in
town.”

“Mother,
I don’t have a husband.”

“Well,
I don’t know about that. He seems to be telling a different story. Mabel, who
knows his mother rather well, she called me and said that he had been asking
all sorts of questions about you. You know, we haven’t heard from him in years.
After marrying you, he went sort of nuts.”
Thanks
a lot, Mom
. “He got himself arrested for allegedly molesting one of his
youth group at church.”

“Oh,
no. Poor girl.”

“Well,
that’s the kicker. It wasn’t a girl. Anyway, he was convicted and been in
prison for the last three years. Now he’s out and he’s looking for you.”

“I
hope you didn’t give them any information.”

“He
saw some newspaper article on you and I think he wants money, Annalise. He said
you owe him and that your marriage was never annulled.”

“Great.”
She spoke the words with such weariness it was obvious she really meant—Shit! “I’ll
get a lawyer to look into the annulment. If I’ve been married to that man all
of these years, I’ll—”

“If
you didn’t write those nasty books maybe these things wouldn’t happen to you. God
is on his throne and we are judged for our sins.”

“Thanks
for the sermon, Mom.” Annalise laid down the phone. Jeff was looking for her? If
he had asked for money, she wouldn’t have given it to him. And no judge in the
country would ask her to split her earnings with someone who had refused to
even consummate their marriage. Right? Crap!

 
* * * *

When
Ethan returned, Annalise did not know what to say. This was a burden he
shouldn’t have to shoulder. He never failed to greet her with a kiss every time
he came back into the room. She had never dreamed she could feel so loved. He
sat down in the chair beside her and laid out hamburgers and French Fries on
the rolling table that fit over the hospital bed. “Here, babe, you need to eat
something.”

“I’m
still not hungry, Ethan.” He wouldn’t take no for an answer, so she ate two or
three fries just to make him happy. This was going to be so hard. “Ethan, I think
I need to go home.”

“As
soon as they say the word, we’re outta here.” He soothed her hair back,
tenderly checking the small bandage they covered the head wound.

“No,
I mean to my house.”

A
look of complete disbelief flashed over his face. “Why? For more clothes? To
put it up for sale? Why?”

“I
just talked to my mother and there is a situation there I need to take care
of.”

“Tell
me, we’ll take care of it together.” God, he was so sweet. Annalise was so
tempted to just lay back and let him fix everything for her.

“This
is not something you need to get involved with.”

“If
it concerns you, I am already involved.” He was as serious as a heart attack.

There
was no way she was going to walk away from him without giving him some sort of
explanation. She owed him that. “My mother said Jeff Ramsey has been asking
questions about my whereabouts.”

“Is
that the man who hurt you?” She noticed he refused to use the word husband or
even ex-husband.

“I
cannot tell you how ashamed I am, but he is telling people he never filed the
annulment papers. He’s been in prison for child molestation and now he’s out. My
publicist put a dumb article in the newspaper about my next book and a summary
of how many books and stuff I’ve sold—he saw it and now he thinks he’s entitled
to what I have. I am so stupid! I should have made sure this was taken care of
myself. I can’t believe I’ve been married to that bastard for four years—or
does it count if he couldn’t bring himself to have sex with me?”

Ethan
just listened to her, hating the man who hurt her so badly. “You are not
married to him. You owe him nothing. If there’s some paperwork that needs to be
taken care of, then I will see to it that it’s done. I don’t want you to
attempt to make contact with him. Let me take of this for you.”

“No,
this is something I need to do myself. I can’t bear the thought of him getting
the opportunity to talk to you and tell you…” She stopped and shuddered as she
imagined what Jeff would have to say to Ethan about the reason he walked away
from her.

“Let’s
concentrate on getting you better first. Once we get home we’ll worry about who
is going to do what.”

* * * *

Annalise
was thrilled to be back at Ethan’s home. All three men treated her like a china
doll. The day had been long and all she wanted to do was go to bed with Ethan. He
settled her in the bed and tucked pillows around her. “Is there anything else I
can get you? Can you think of anything else you want?”

“Yes.”

He
stood by the bed, waiting for her to ask him to hand her something, or get her
something from the kitchen. “I’m here to serve, what can I do for you?” Then
she shocked him when she reached out and rubbed her hand over the natural,
unaroused
bulge in his jeans.

“Please,
pull off your clothes and get into bed with me.”

A
smile began to tug at the corner of Ethan’s mouth. “Are you trying to get a
rise out of me?” he teased her.

“Yes,”
she answered very solemnly.

“That’s
all you want, just for me to pull off my clothes and get into bed with you? Naked?”
He was still talking, but his hands were busy undoing buttons and unzipping
zippers. When he finished disrobing, before joining her in bed, he was
thoughtful enough to turn off the lights and shut the blinds. That gesture
touched her heart more than a bouquet of flowers would have.

“No,
that’s not all I want.” Annalise didn’t have much to take off. By the time he
lowered himself beside her, she was naked, ready and waiting for him.

He
was careful not to touch her. “I’m here. Now, show me what you want.”

Much
to his surprise, the teasing was over. His closeness and the stress of the
recent events had had a greater effect on her than she realized. He was lying
on his side facing her. She turned on her side to face him, brought her head to
his chest and began to kiss him feverishly. She swirled her tongue around his
small nipples and grasped his now hugely swollen cock with both hands. “I was
having withdrawal pains,” she whispered between kisses. “I am so addicted to
you.”

Ethan
had lain as still as he could, letting her enjoy him in whatever way she
pleased. But her small hands on his cock, stroking and teasing, were more than
he could take. He pushed her to her back and rose over her. “There is never any
guessing when it comes to you. I never have to wonder if I am pleasing you or
if you are truly excited or if you really want me—you are the most open,
honest, giving woman in the world. Now, open for me. I want to come home.” She
spread her legs, reaching back up to reclaim the prize and guided him into her
waiting warmth. As he sank into her, she literally sighed her relief. He rose
to his knees and picked her up until she was sitting on his thighs, her legs
wrapped around his waist. With arms around his neck, she began to rotate and
grind against his pelvic bone. “Does this feel good, baby?” he asked. Despite
her eagerness, in many ways she was still quite innocent.

“Oh,
yes, I like this too.” She came quickly for him in that position, nipping his
shoulder in her excitement. “Now, please give me what I crave.”

“What’s
that, love?” She eased off him and laid back down pulling him over her.

“I
know this position may be old fashioned, but I love to feel you moving in and
out of me—slow then fast. I love to watch your face over mine as you take your
pleasure and let my hands rest on your hips as you pump in and out.” She kept
talking to him, telling him exactly how he made her feel. Her descriptions made
it twice as exciting. He did just as she described and soon both of them were
moaning their release. He thought he would thoroughly enjoy being married to a
wordy woman.

* * * *

Annalise
was content. Being back in Ethan’s bed, words, ideas, erotic scenarios all
flowed from her fingers like honey from a honeycomb. She was able to make her
deadline with time to spare. In fact, she was ahead of schedule. Writing wasn’t
the only thing she did; she prepared all the hors d’oeuvres for the pool party.
Bobby and Alex had invited thirty-five people, mostly women to come for grilled
shrimp, grilled steak, grilled corn and even grilled pineapple. A wet bar had been
set up on the south side of the pool and she had volunteered to tend bar for
the party. The brothers were shocked to find Lise knew how to concoct almost
any drink they could name.

“How
in the world did you acquire those skills, my love?” Ethan asked her when she
made him James Bond’s favorite drink, a dry vodka martini with two olives, a
pinch of black pepper and a lemon twist; shaken not stirred.

“I
wrote a romance novel about a bartender, I like to thoroughly research my
novels.”

He
laughed. “That’s all right, sweetheart, as long as you thoroughly research the
sex with me.”

Still
mixing drinks, she gave him a come-hither smile. “I always researched the sex
with you, babe, only before it had to be in daydreams and fantasies.” As
passion darkened his eyes, she mixed one more drink, orange juice, sloe gin and
Southern Comfort. She handed it to him, “Would you like a Slow Comfortable
Screw?” He stood up, swigged the drink then picked her up, laid her over his
shoulder, slapped her rear and strode to his room.

* * * *

Tiny
lights twinkled in the low hanging branches of the huge oaks and pecans. The
light from dozens of lanterns danced playfully among the shadows. A local live band
had set up on the patio behind the house and, at the moment, was playing a
rowdy rendition of
Wabash Cannonball
, always a favorite among UT alumni.
Alex had the grill fired up, finishing up on the steaks and corn on the cob. The
shrimp and the pineapple would be put on last because they cooked in the least
amount of time.

Annalise
tended bar with grace and ease. Bobby and Ethan were playing hosts for the
evening and Annalise estimated the ratio of women to men was almost three to one.
Bobby had brought five of his Longhorn teammates and Ethan’s friend from the
pub was there. The rest were women. Annalise had been introduced to
Tanzy
, Sarah, Marisa, Lee Ann, Courtney, Mariam, Tori and
eighteen others she couldn’t remember the names. The queen bee, Shelley
Thompson, presided over the hive with grace and aplomb and there wasn’t an ugly
one in the bunch. It all felt very familiar to Annalise; once again she was the
country girl from the small sawmill town. The bar and the act of filling drink
orders provided a shield she could comfortably hide behind.

Ethan,
on the other hand, was absolutely magnificent. He was charming, witty,
attentive to his guests and sexy as all get out. Annalise watched him work the
room. The women circled him like great whites around a baby seal. She tried not
to be jealous, after all this was her idea. Alex watched her watching Ethan. When
he had finished grilling all the food, he sidled over to her.