Light My Fire (16 page)

I recognized that sound. She only did it when we made love. My cock sprang to life.

Prudence cleared her throat. “I’m going to change.”

Can I watch?
“Okay.”

She went up the stairs and was gone for several minutes. I took my seat at the table and waited for her, still hard. My briefs were soaked with my own fluid. I hadn’t gone this long without having sex since I hit puberty.

She joined me a moment later wearing a long sundress. I couldn’t see her legs. Those beautiful things were underneath the fabric. Her face was slightly red from the sun but it would fade in a few days.

Prudence acted like nothing happened, that I didn’t just make a sexual advance toward her. Was she offended? Her sigh said otherwise.

“Did you have a good time?” I asked.

“It was wonderful. Thank you for taking me.” She cut into her vegetables and ate gracefully.

“You can use that yacht whenever you want. It’s going to be half yours soon.”

“No. I’d never go on that without you. It’s much too big for one person.”

Good answer.
I hoped I’d get to fuck her on it during our marriage.

We were both quiet during dinner. I think we were both tired. But I was
restless underneath my clothes. My cock was about to break through my shorts. If she was feeling the same way, she hid it well. I couldn’t read her beautiful face.

After dinner, she did the dishes and cleaned the table. I stood behind her and waited for her to give me a clue what she wanted. Did she want to have sex with me? And if she did, did it mean anything to her? I wished it did.

She washed her hands then patted them dry. When she looked at me, she said nothing.

Do I go for it…?

Prudence tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. I knew she was nervous. “I should get to bed. I have a long day tomorrow.”

Rejection.
“Okay.”

“Thank you for the lovely afternoon.”

“Anytime.”

“Good night.”

Don’t go. Stay with me.
“Good night.”

She walked passed me and disappeared up the stairs. When I asked her to marry me, I thought my plan was bulletproof. She was supposed to fall in love with me so I could keep her forever. But that wasn’t working out. I felt like I was forcing something to happen between us, and she pushed me away at every opportunity. I just wanted her to love me. I could have any girl I wanted, and the one girl I wanted to spend the rest of my life didn’t feel the same. This sucked.

But I had to push forward. Perhaps things would change after we were married. I sincerely hoped they would.

When I knew she was asleep, I went into my bedroom and took out the panties I stole from her brother’s house. Like a disgusting pervert I was, I touched myself until I came, knowing she was sleeping just a few feet away.

♫

Prudence was working with Dean all day so that gave me a perfect opportunity to get ready for the evening. I drove to the jewelry store then sat in my car. I knew I had to call her brother before I made any final decision. Even if this marriage meant nothing to her, it meant something to me. And I wanted to do it the right way.

I made the call.

Jeremy picked up on the fourth ring. “Alright?”

“Yeah. I need to talk to you.”

“Have you talked to Prudence? That brat still hasn’t called me. I don’t know what the hell her problem is.” The anger in his voice was unmistakable. And I didn’t blame him.

“I need to bring you up to speed.”

“This should be interesting…”

“Prudence was just told she’d have to return to London because her temporary visa expired.”

“Oh.”

“The only way she can stay is if she gets married…”

“Okay.”

“This isn’t how I wanted this to go down, but it has. I offered to marry her. And I would love your permission.”

“Mate, I already gave it to you.”

“But this situation is different. She’s only marrying me because she has to. She doesn’t want to.”

“What about that other bloke?”

“She wasn’t sleeping with him—thankfully.”

“So what does that mean?” Jeremy asked.

“I’m going to marry her. That’s about it. After she regains her residency in a year, she’ll divorce me.”

“Wow,” he said. “Are you okay with this?”

“I can’t stand the idea of her being with anyone else.”

“Fuck.” He released a few other curses. “I can’t believe she didn’t say a fucking word to me.”

I decided not to bring up the record deal. “Please don’t tell her I told you anything.”

“Why?”

“She probably wanted to tell you herself.”

“Doubtful,” he snapped. I could tell how angry he was. “Is she living with you?”

“Yeah.”

“I’ll have to fly
out there and give her a piece of my mind.”

“You’ll have to come for the wedding anyway.”

“Which is when?” His tone betrayed his annoyance.

“We haven’t picked a day yet.”

“Fucking brat.”

I wanted to defend Prudence but I didn’t think I should. I was pretty upset with her too.

“Well, take care of her, I guess.”

“She does love you. I think she’s just going through a hard time.”

“She’s never shut me out like this before.”

I didn’t have a response to that.

“Where do we go from here?”

“I’m at the jewelry store now. I need your help picking something out.”

“I’m not a professional wedding ring picker.”

“But you know her tastes better than I do.”

He sighed. “Okay.”

I went inside then held the phone out. I showed him all the rings.

“What about this one?” I asked.

“Too big.”

I moved the phone to the next case.

“She won’t like diamonds in the band.”

I smiled. “You seem to know wedding rings pretty well.”

Jeremy laughed. “I just know what my sister likes.”

I moved to case of white gold bands. Simple diamonds were in the center. But they were high quality and glimmered in the light. Each one caught a spectrum of rainbows.

“Bingo,” Jeremy said. “Dead and center.”

I squinted and examined the ring.

“
Nevermind,” Jeremy said. “I didn’t see the price until now.”

“Forget about that.”

“It’s a forty thousand dollar ring…”

“My wife gets the best.”

“Bu you won’t really be married…it’s just an arrangement, right?”

“It’s a real marriage to me.” I pulled the phone back to my ear. “Thanks for all the help.”

“Of course.”

We were both quiet.

“Let me know the details when you know them,” he said sadly. “Because Prudence won’t tell me…”

“She’ll call,” I said firmly. “She will.”

“Do you still want me to keep the truth from her?”

“Please.”

He sighed. “Good luck, man.”

I laughed. “Thanks.”

“And thanks for helping her out. She’s lucky to have you.”

“I’m only he
lping myself.” I hung up then turned to the jeweler. “I want that ring. And I need it engraved.”

Chapter Twenty-Seven

♬

Prudence Clearwater

After working all day, I just wanted to go home—or Cash’s house. But Dean bugged me to stay until the sun set. He seemed desperate for my company so I didn’t leave. I told him my dilemma with Cash. I didn’t know what to think.

Sometimes Cash looked at me the way he used to. The lust was in his eyes and I couldn’t deny the desire he felt toward me. He was blatantly staring at my junk without any shame—and I loved it.

But he didn’t do anything.
At all. It was getting harder for me. I loved being around him so much but it was difficult when I didn’t see what he wanted. Did I mean anything to him? Did he just want to sleep with me? Why did I expect anything else? It just seemed like all he wanted to be was friends. And I didn’t want that.

Dean listened to me drone one. “You know what?”

“Huh?”

“You want him to fall in love with you, right?”

“That would be my greatest dream,” I said with a sigh.

“And what’s the best way to make that happen?”

I shrugged. “If I knew, I’d be happy right now.”

“I think I know.”

“Spill it.”

He smiled. “Sex.”

“Sex?”

“Men love it. And if you’re good in bed, drive him crazy, and satisfy every fantasy he has, he’ll never want you to leave. Trust me.”

“You really think that would work?”

“Winnie was the best sex I ever had.”

I smiled. “I’m sure there was something more.”

“There definitely was. But I didn’t see it until after I made love to her. Cash is a guy. He’s the same way.”

“Why can’t he be sweet and romantic like you?”

Dean laughed. “I’m not. The
only time I’ve ever been remotely sweet was when I was with Winnie. But I didn’t fall in love with her instantly. I realized I had when I didn’t want to sleep with anyone else. She gave me everything I needed.”

That made sense. “So I should rock his world?”

“If he spends a year with you getting the best sex of his life, he won’t let you go. Trust me.”

“I guess I could do that…”

“Think about it. Don’t jump into something you aren’t emotionally ready for.”

“I’m
already broken. And I can’t be more broken than I already am.”

♫

When Dean dropped me off, he winked at me. “Happy humping.”

I laughed. “Thanks.” I gave him a hug before I walked to the door. Cash gave me a set of keys so I had my own. I really didn’t want to put on a brave face in front of Cash. I just wanted to fall into his arms and not speak. I sighed before I walked inside.

The room was dark, but the faint
luminesce from hundreds of candles made me flinch. They flickered and glowed, casting shadows in the house but brightening forgotten crevasses. My blood pumped in my ears. I looked for Cash but he was nowhere around. I stepped further into the room and saw the methodically placed candles. A narrow path led to the back door. When I look up, I saw the French doors were wide open. The smell of sea salt burned my nose.

With my heart racing and my palms sweating, I slowly stepped into the doorway. The patio was covered in the same candles. They were all white and combined their glow. It was beautiful.

The path still moved forward so I followed it to the sand. When I reached the beach, I gasped. It was covered in candles for a hundred yards. There were more candles than I’d ever seen in my life. The slight breeze didn’t blow them out, but the wicks glowed red with the moving air. I continued forward until I saw Cash in the distance. He was wearing a black suit, his hands in his pockets. He wasn’t smiling at me, just staring.

Unable to move, I stared at him for a full minute, processing what was happening. I knew he had a question to ask me. He patiently waited for me to prepare for it. Occasional flashes caught my eye. A photographer caught the moment, taking picture after picture. But I ignored him. Cash was about to ask me to be his wife.

This wasn’t real and he didn’t mean it. But I could pretend. There was no other man I’d want to spend the rest of my life with. And this moment was sacred to me. Before I came any closer, my eyes coated with tears.

I tried to control them but they fell. Cash patiently waited for me to close the gap between us. I sniffed loudly then came closer to him. Every step felt slow, like time had slowed down. My heart beat harder than it ever had before. The tears felt warm on my face.

I stopped when I reached him, not bothering to wipe my tears away. I couldn’t hide the emotion I felt.

“Thank you for joining me.”

My breathing increased as I stared at his handsome face. I never loved anyone this way. And I would for the rest of my life.

He lowered his voice. “Prudence, from the moment I saw you, I knew I had to have you. I would stop at nothing until I claimed you as mine. And that’s exactly what I did. You’ve touched my life in a way no other woman ever has. When I was broken, you were patient. But you also healed me.

“You always doubt your worth and your beauty. But you are wrong for doing that. I never thought I’d meet someone who made me feel so worthless. I’ll never be good enough for you. But I will damn well try.

“I want to spend the rest of my life with you, I want to be your husband, your best friend, and the person you can’t stand to be apart from. I will uphold every promise I made to you. A lie will never escape my lips, and a different woman will never share my bed. I am yours as long as you want me.”

I sniffed loudly and tried to control my beating heart. His words were what I wanted to hear for so long. I just wish they were true. It was just a show for the photographer, the evidence we would use to prove our love to the auditor. But there was nothing wrong with pretending. The warmth radiated through my body.

“Prudence Clearwater, will you marry me?” He kneeled before me and pulled the ring from his pocket.

I stared at the diamond in the band. It was simple and beautiful, exactly what I wanted. And I noticed the inscription inside.

My musician.

I covered my mouth as I controlled my emotions. “Yes.” My voice molded with my choke. I cleared my throat and spoke again. “Yes.”

He smiled then slipped the ring onto my finger. “You’ve made me the
happiest man in the world.” He came back to his feet then pulled me close to him. When his mouth lingered near mine, I knew he was going to kiss me. I dreamed of the touch of those lips for so long. They were always soft and wet against my mouth. My breathing increased as I waited.

Cash placed his hand on my neck then rested his thumb on my lower lip. He rubbed it gently before he closed the gap. As soon as his mouth touched mine, the familiar fire ignited in sparks. I took a deep breath when we touched, taken aback by the strength of my emotions. I’ve never felt such a connection to someone else. He made me melt and burn at the same time.

I grabbed his face and kissed him deeply. My tongue slipped into his mouth and touched his gently. I missed this so much. I could kiss him forever. His hand moved to my lower back and pulled me to his chest. When I was in his arms, I forgot about all the pain in my life. For a moment in time, I was happy.

He pulled away and ended the kiss. Then he pressed his face to mine. He still held me like he never wanted to let me go. The waves crashed in the distance and the wind blew past my ear. But it was just the two of us. I wanted to hold onto this moment forever. It was too good to be forgotten.

“Thank you for saying yes,” he whispered.

“How could I not?” I realized I was still crying.

“You could have said yes to someone else.”

“But I didn’t.”

He rubbed his nose against mine.

“Where do we go from here?”

He took a deep breath and stared into my eyes. “We get married.”

I knew this was all an act. We had to act like we were in love to pull this off. Everyone we knew had to believe it. But it would be easy for me because I wouldn’t be acting. It would all be real.