Resisting The Tycoon's Seduction (The Berutelli Escape) (15 page)

She’d thought it was cute that he was so interested in science
, sort of as if he thought of space technology as a hobby.  But she’d been very wrong about her impressions.  He wasn’t interested in just science.  His mind captured everything.  He’d been to Puerto Rico so many times on business that he knew the island well and he showed her all of his favorite places.  The hike up to El Britton, the highest lookout point in the National Forest known as El Yunque, was much more fun than she’d ever had on a hike only because Zeke talked to her about the various plants, pointed out the different orchids and other epiphytes or strange, rain forest points.  Their hike to the different waterfalls became an adventure, both scientific as he showed her the different ways the land had evolved and then sexual when he’d pulled her under the waterfall and made love to her with the cold water rushing down around them. 

What was just as fascinating was to listen to how
he used each of his interests in his business.  After their tour of Arecibo, she’d heard him on the phone talking with one of his business acquaintances about the idea of using the technology he’d seen in the museum in other areas of his business.  After sailing, he contacted another business associate about testing wind energy in some of the factories.  Anywhere they went, Zeke’s mind would apply the adventure to business.  As she listened to him one night, she accepted that the man was truly a genius.  He was the complete package. 

When Zeke walked into the bedroom
, breaking through her contemplation of clothes, her heart sank when she instantly recognized the grim expression on his face.  “What’s wrong?” she asked, turning to face him as well as accept his embrace. 

Zeke put his arms around Marissa, looking into her fresh, alive face with resignation.  “I just got a call.  We need to head back to Chicago.”

She tensed but tried to hide it from him.  She’d kept him away from his business long enough and felt selfish for being so needy.  “Why?  Is everything okay?” she asked, the relaxation she’d been feeling only moments ago vanishing and she ran a hand up his muscular arm. 

“Yes.  But there are some business deals that aren’t moving the way I want them to.  One of my vice presidents messed up on a negotiation.”

She tried not to frown, but she couldn’t completely hide her disappointment.  “This has been extremely nice.  Thank you for taking me here and showing me around.”

He bent lower, his mouth kissing her neck.  “There’s a whole lot more I want to show you,” he replied, his voice husky and lower than normal. 

She smiled, still feeling sad but ready to give him up once they were back in Chicago.  “I look forward to whatever you have the time to show me.”

He chuckled.  “Wait until I get you home.”

She didn’t want to think about that so she said, “Can you tell me about the negotiations?”

He shifted slightly and Marissa thought she saw a flash of something in his eyes that might be important.  But kno
wing the man for a little over two weeks didn’t make her an expert at what he might be thinking.  She’d have to watch him carefully, learn to…No, she wouldn’t have time to get to know him much better. 

With a sigh, she stepped out of his arms and took
out the clothes she’d worn down here.  The butler’s service in the hotel had arranged for the clothes to be cleaned at some point over their stay.  “I guess this couldn’t last forever,” she said as she stepped out of the closet. 

Zeke was already on the phone again but winked at her as he sat down in one of the chairs by the window while he spoke on the phone. 

On the flight home, Zeke took several more phone calls, all of which sounded very complicated while he discussed the details of the acquisition that had gone awry.  She listened to him while she flipped through a magazine, amazed once again at the details he was able to maintain in his head.  He could even quote people’s words back to them during the conversation when they started to change their point of view and he had to contradict them. 

The flight was much faster than she was expecting and before she was
ready, the plane was taxiing to a stop.  Marissa fought to keep her tears hidden as she gathered up her purse, prepared to figure out her new life.  She wasn’t going back to her father’s house, although she suspected she should be prepared for a confrontation with him. 

She stepped down the stairs that had been pushed up against the plane.  At her back, she could both hear Zeke behind her as well as feel the heat of him. 
As soon as her feet hit the hard cement, she felt his hand on her back, leading her towards a waiting limousine.  They stopped in front of the man he’d called Dave before they’d left for Puerto Rico.  “Everything okay?” Zeke asked.

Dave nodded his head.  “We’ve had the discussion and there’s no noise about any retribution now.  We’ve assured him that Ms. Vaughn is well protected.”

Marissa looked at the man who apparently had amazing resources.  He wasn’t tall, had sandy brown hair and wore a tan jacket.  His eyes were hazel, his face good looking but not handsome, his face freshly shaven.  In other words, he was a very average looking man. 

She suspected that image was a carefully constructed lie.  The way he moved and the intensity of his gaze as he spoke to Zeke told her that he was much more physically powerful than one might think after only a casual glance.  And his eyes might be bland, but if one bothered to look, they were sharp and caught everything with barely a shift in one direction or another. 

In other words, he wasn’t a man to mess with.  A very comforting thought as she headed back to her old life.  If she needed him, Marissa was pretty sure that this Dave fellow would be able to help her out with any problems stemming from her father’s wrath. 

Zeke accepted this information without any expression on his face. 
“Did he accept the message?”

Dave hesitated for only a moment before he said,
“It took some convincing, but we’ll continue to monitor the noise and will take steps if anything comes up.” 

Zeke nodded, dismissing Dave who walked in the opposite direction.  Marissa looked around and noticed that there were several large men who were looking out into the perimeter.  Her heart clenched with the normal anxiety she felt anytime she suspected her father was doing something harmful. 

“Zeke, you need to tell me what’s going on,” she urged, her hand touching his arm lightly, trying to connect with him both verbally and physically so he would understand how worried she was becoming by all the extra security. 

Zeke pulled her closer.  “Nothing you need to worry about.”

She waited only until they were in the back of a limousine before she turned to face him, putting several inches of space between them.  “Zeke, this isn’t good.  Every time I bring up the subject of the extra security, you basically pat my head and tell me not to worry my pretty, little brain about it.  You’ve even said those words once and I have to tell you that I find them very offensive.”  She waited just a moment to emphasize her message before continuing.  “I want to understand what’s happening.  If there’s a threat against me, or if I’ve put you in danger by being close to you, then I need to know.  You’re not responsible for me.  And if I’m going to continue with my life, I need to be aware of the dangers I’m facing.”

He didn’t like the way she’d phrased that at all. “What do you mean, ‘continue with my life’?” he demanded, his eyebrows pulling down low over his
black eyes.  “That sounds like you’re going off and doing something completely on your own.”

She shrugged, not sure what he was telling her.  “Well, eventually, I’ll have to deal with this
myself.  You have your own life to live, Zeke.”

He pulled her closer, almost roughly dragging her onto his lap.  “You’re my wife, Marissa!  You’re not doing anything on your own!”

Marissa wasn’t sure how to deal with his statement.  “We aren’t really married, Zeke.”

She could actually feel the anger increase in his body but he didn’t do anything to hurt her even though his hands were still wrapped around her upper arms.  “What the hell does that mean?  I was there, Marissa!  So were you.  And I can guarantee that we were married and you’re my wife!”

Her mouth fell open with that adamant statement.  “Yes, I know the ceremony was legal and all that, but you didn’t actually…” she stared at his face, almost cringing as his eyebrows went from low over his eyes to angrily higher as he waited for her to finish.  “Well, I mean, you didn’t really mean to marry me, did you?”  Despite her anxiousness, there was still a small ray of hope, a small prayer that he might feel a tiny amount of the emotions that coursed through her whenever she thought about him. 

“I damn well did mean to marry you!  What were your intentions?”

She sighed and placed a calming hand on his chest.  “Zeke, I didn’t have any intentions.  If you’ll remember correctly, I was pulled out of my bedroom and practically dragged to the courthouse.  You didn’t even mention the ceremony until we were standing in front of your friend who just happened to be a judge.”

“And?”

She was really confused now.  “And,” she emphasized with a large dose of patience, “I know you were marrying me to be kind.  To help protect me from whatever was going on with my father.”  She looked at him meaningfully before she said, “And you still haven’t told me anything that was going on before you took me to Puerto Rico, by the way.”

He shifted slightly and their new positions seemed
vaguely more menacing.  “You mean, when I took you on our honeymoon?”

She was startled and looked up at him
, pulling back as far as his hands would allow so she could see into his angry eyes.  “That trip was supposed to be a honeymoon?” she asked in almost a whisper.

Zeke couldn’t believe what he was hearing.  He had to remind himself that he’d had to kiss her just to get her to agree to her vows.  But the past week should have shown her that he was completely serious about their wedding. 
“What the hell did you think it was?” he demanded. 

She tried to shrug, but he was holding her
upper arms and she couldn’t really move.  “Zeke, you haven’t told me anything that was going on since I showed up in your office,” she said, blushing at the memory of how inept she’d been that morning.  “So no, I don’t know what you’re thinking and since you haven’t told me anything, I can’t read your mind.  So I’m asking yet again, would you please talk to me?  Tell me what’s going on and what was happening before we left.”

Zeke sighed and shook his head.  “All you need to know is that you’re safe now and I’ll continue to keep you safe.”

She shook her head, trying to soothe him with a gentle touch.  With a softer voice she said, “No, Zeke.  All I need to know is what you know.  I won’t allow you to keep me in the dark.  If there’s something that impacts me, then I want to know the truth.  Not some prettily varnished version of the problems I’m facing.  But everything you know.”

Zeke had to fight against all of his protective instincts even though her words made sense.  He didn’t want her to hear what a bastard her father was.  He didn’t want her to have even the slightest concept of how harsh the world could be. 
“You’re my wife and I protect what’s mine.”

Her shoulders slumped in defeat.  “I don’t really feel like your wife.  I don’t know why you want to even be married to me.”

The limousine pulled up outside of his headquarters building and Zeke looked out the darkened windows with frustration.  “Look, I need to head into a meeting.  Can we discuss this tonight?” he asked. 

Marissa nodded her head, wondering how she was going to get through the afternoon with all of her worry sparking around inside her head.  “Yes.  That’s fine,” she replied softly, moving off of his lap to the other seat.  “I’ll see you tonight,” she said
with resignation.  She looked out the opposite window, feeling like she’d just lost a major battle in a war she hadn’t realized had been declared. 

“Marissa,” Zeke started to say, but his driver opened the door for him and he ran a frustrated hand through his hair.  “We’ll talk tonight.  I promise.”  With that, he slid out of the car and strode angrily into the building.  Marissa watched him, fascinated by how strong he looked, how his muscular legs ate up the distance between the curb and the entrance where he disappeared. 

When the driver stepped back into his seat and pulled away from the curb, Marissa bit her lower lip, trying to figure out what she was going to do with her life now.  She was so completely in love with Zeke but she hadn’t a clue what he might feel for her.  She wanted desperately to throw herself into his arms and beg him to love her, but he was too strong and women probably threw themselves at him all the time.  He was so wonderful, so handsome and amazingly intelligent.  That all combined with the most amazing lovemaking skills and she wasn’t embarrassed to have fallen in love with the man in such a short period of time.  Who wouldn’t, under those circumstances? 

She called her sister and checked in with her, hearing Sierra’s voice turning happy once again
because her stranger was recovering quickly.  Even the nurses were impressed with the man’s ability to heal.  They chatted for several minutes, Sierra telling her about the man’s recovery progress and Marissa talking about their trip to Puerto Rico.  She wished she could talk to her sister about the turmoil of her relationship with Zeke, but Sierra had enough on her mind at the moment.  She didn’t need to hear about her older, and supposedly wiser, sister’s romantic problems.