Stone Cold Charade (A Stone Family Novel) (27 page)

“All right, I’ll disown her. Does that make you
happy?” he said reluctantly. “Can’t give the stuff away fast enough and here he
is making me keep more of it!” Max muttered.

“Fine by me; if this is the way you want it, so
be it.” He shrugged his shoulders. “I do,” he said, locking his gaze with the
priest to let him know he was serious.

Alex spun around and looked at Ty in
astonishment. She felt as if her head was spinning, she couldn’t breathe.

“By the power invested in me by the State of
Texas, I pronounce you man and wife. You may kiss the bride!” the priest
replied, smiling joyously at the newlyweds.

“I think I’ll wait.” Ty said, watching Alex
gasping for breath.

Moving forward on the bed, he placed his hand
behind her head and gentle applied pressure, pushing her head between her legs
so she wouldn’t pass out.

“Breathe honey, you have to remember to
breathe. It’s important.” Ty told her gently. He had his hand in her hair as
they sat on the side of the bed, trying to calm her down.

“It’s not real…” Alex said, over and over while
trying to raise her head. But Ty placed more pressure on her head to stop her.
It
can’t be real
, Alex told herself, looking down at the floor and suddenly
thinking,
Wow, the carpet’s really quite lovely. Oh my God! This is what a
nervous breakdown feels like.
In that moment she felt reality slipping, she
was losing it.

Desperately looking for a way out, and grasping
at straws, it dawned on her that there was one essential element missing from
this plot. “You need a license and we don’t have one!” she told her grandfather
triumphantly. She jerked her head up despite the pressure from Ty.

“That’s true,” Max, said honestly. Watching her
relax before he continued, “Except I had Judge Meyers in Houston push one
through for me. Having money does have its advantages,” he said underhandedly.
Pulling the license out of his pocket along with a pen, he unfurled the paper with
a flick of his wrist. “Martha, Sam, if you’d be so kind. Sign right here…” he
said, placing the license on top of a table and pointing out where to sign.

When they finished Max turned to everyone and
placed the license back in his pocket.

“Breakfast’s on me! Let give these love birds
some privacy!” Max set about herding everyone out the door. “Someone wake up
Tennessee, that man can sleep through a hurricane!" he said from out on
the landing. Alex watched Frank try to prop her broken door up in the frame.

Turning to Ty, ready to explode she shrieked,
“Why did you agree? Do you have any idea what you have done?” The force of her
anger caused her body to tremble. She wanted to kill him. He was so damn in
control all the time and he had just sat there as their lives had gone up in
smoke.

“You did this to punish me for last night. Is
that what this is about? I’m sorry about causing you such an inconvenience
yesterday,” she said sarcastically. “But I would do it again.” she informed him
coldly.

“You knew better then to try a stunt like that.
You knew I would never have let you anywhere near the action. You could have
been seriously hurt. You could have died. You do anything like that again and
I’ll tan your hide,” Ty said warningly.

“You and what army? You have no say in how I
run my life,” Alex said heatedly.

“I think your Grandfather has a piece of paper
that blows that theory out of the water honey!” Ty said brutally.

Alex raised her hand to strike him, but he saw
it coming and grabbed her wrist. He pushed her back on the bed, following her
down to lie next to her. Alex tried to move her legs and kick him in the shin,
but he just laughed, throwing one of his legs over both of hers, easily
restraining her.

He reached for Alex’s other hand as she tried
to make a grab for his head, not trusting that she wouldn’t pull out his hair.
He raised her hands above her head to clasp them in his left hand. She lay
stretched out beneath him, breathing hard, and completely vulnerable. He moved
his right hand up to the back of her head to thread his fingers through her
hair, forcing her head back to make her look up at him.

She gazed back at him with narrowed eyes. The
feel of him on top of her was causing her heart to accelerate. She could feel
him through her shirt and she didn’t like being so exposed. Feeling the tears
of frustration building behind her eyes, she didn’t understand why he had
agreed to this. She resented that he had power over her body; she couldn’t
trust herself not to betray her heart when he was this close. She reluctantly
met his eyes, watching them darken with desire.

“Why are you fighting me so hard? It’s what we
both want. We touch each other and the world burns. Now there’s nothing
stopping us,” he said huskily.

He felt Alex cease her struggling in his
embrace. Her eyes widen and he lost himself in her flaming gaze. She was the
only thing that had given his life meaning that long ago summer, and now she
belonged to him. He lowered his mouth to her lips. He had craved her mouth
beneath his for so long.

“We’re leaving. Have fun. Don’t do anything we
wouldn’t do,” Parry called through the door as he and Tennessee made their way
downstairs.

Ty raised his head angrily, looking toward the
interruption. He heard the front door slam as it vibrated through the house. He
looked down at her trying to judge her reaction to finding herself alone in the
house with him.

She had not bargained on everyone leaving. She
gazed up at him, trapped and wondering what he was planning. He suddenly rolled
off the bed and strolled over to the broken door. He didn’t want to leave her,
but he had to deal with the door situation.

She wondered where he was going as he removed
the door and stepped out onto the landing. Feeling devastated by everything
that had happened; she couldn’t fathom why her grandfather had done it. She
would never have forced him to marry her, she wanted his heart not his name.
She felt the tears start to fall down her cheeks as she lowered her head,
fighting to breathe for the second time this morning.

“Alex?” Ty questioned as he saw her face,
kneeling down beside her. When she raised her face to his, he scooped her up.
Lifting her off the bed, he moved toward the door with her in his arms. He
hated seeing her cry. He was finding he had no defense against her tears.

“I thought you left.”

“Wild horses couldn’t drag me away from you,
Tidbit,” he said softly, stroking his cheek along the top of her head.

She still appeared shaken by what had happened
the night before, not to mention Max busting into her room and making her marry
him. He felt a pang of guilt at not putting a stop to it, but he couldn’t let
her go. Now he needed her just to breathe. He was finding out that she had
wrapped herself so firmly around his heart that he didn’t think he would
survive without her.

She felt safe again in his arms, and when they
crossed over the threshold of her room, she felt the tears dry up. As he
carried her along the landing she thought about him. She knew he wanted her,
but would she be able to let him make love to her knowing he only desired her
physically? Kicking the door to his room shut, he looked down at her in his
arms.

“Last chance Alexandria. If you’re staying,
lock it.” Ty stated seriously.

He held her near the door handle, positioning
her so she could reach the lock. Studying her, waiting for her to decide once
and for all what she wanted. There would be no going back for either of them,
no matter what she decided. Emotions crossed her face as she debated whether or
not she could trust him enough to make love to her. She swiftly flipped the
lock, resolutely raising her chin to him in a silent challenge.

He laughed aloud at her challenge, knowing he
was more than up to it. Sliding to the bed, he laid her on the quilt and
lowered himself slowly to stretch out next to her.

She felt her heart pounding in her chest as she
watched his stealthy movements. His chest was bare and she longed to run her
hands over the broad expanse of it, but was uncertain about being that
intimate. She didn’t have the experience of the other women he was used to. It
broke her heart, thinking about all the women he had made love to. But he was
with her for now, and the others hadn’t captured his heart. She prayed she
could somehow.

Ty saw her starring at his chest. He reached
for her hand, bringing it up to his body even as he watched her eyes widen at
the feel of him under her fingertips.

“Men are just as sensitive to touch as women
are,” he explained.

He clasped her hand slowly gliding it across
his chest, teaching her how to touch him. He let her experience the insatiable
heat her strokes brought out in him. He was going to have to go very slowly.
Her tumble last night would have left her stiff and sore this morning. He just
hadn’t anticipated her hands on him to feel so incredibly good. He had wanted
Alex with fervor since she had turned seventeen. He had waited so long. He only
prayed his control could withstand the hunger tearing through him; the appetite
that she alone evoked.

She peeked up at his face through her long
lashes, curious if he was as affected by her caresses as stroking him was
inflaming her senses. His eyes were laced with passion as Alex strummed out a
melody, igniting his body. The feminine power she had over him rose up. Growing
more confident by his response she strung the perfect notes in a way that only
she and Ty could craft together.

Smiling down at her, he pulled her mouth under
his. When he deepened the kiss, pushing his tongue into the dark recesses of
her mouth, he felt his desire for her swell.

Gasping at the tangible hunger in his kiss, she
wanted to experience it all with him, but her anxiety blocked her body from
just giving in to what she was feeling. He didn’t share the emotion she felt
for him, the blind love that had sent her racing out after him late last night,
more scared at the thought of him getting hurt than her own self-preservation.
His heart was still free, it didn’t belonging to her. She was just a woman he
wanted in his bed. He could walk away with no regrets.

But was he free? Alex seized onto the fact that
they were married now. Not really sure if it was legal or not, but assuming Max
would not have abandoned her in a house full of beds, if it wasn’t. Smiling
beneath his kiss she decided she would take what he was offering. Maybe they
could build a foundation on what they had, and make it work. She would make him
love her if it took the rest of her life, she promised herself. She let go of
her doubts and melted into his embrace.

Feeling the shift in Alex, he relaxed fully.
Grazing his hand over the buttons on her shirt, he started to release them,
wanting to look at her. As he pushed the shirt away from her shoulders he broke
their kiss. His breath caught at the picture she made lying on his bed. She
hadn’t tied back her hair and it seemed to catch fire in the low light of
morning.

Her glazed eyes wondered over his face,
watching his reaction. He could sense her pushing her doubts out of her mind,
allowing her body take over. Reaching out he slid his hand down her stomach
feeling the muscles bunch under his large hand. Alex’s skin was an ivory feast
for his senses; it felt like warm satin under his rough hand. Her breasts were
high and firm, the tips hard from his piercing gaze.

Looking down at Alex, he thought her the most
beautiful woman he had ever seen. Without glasses covering her eyes he could
see them deepen, like a cat’s, to a darker green. He could see the woman she
would be if she could just let go instead of hiding her beauty from the world
with frumpy clothes. He secretly made her a promise to build her up, to restore
the confidence that she had lost because of him.

Alex watched him move his hands on her, her
breasts filled with a sweet ache, hungry for his caress. She wanted more but
knew he was controlling the pace, trying to go slow. His teasing was making her
go steadily insane, fanning the flames he had built in her. She pulled him to
her, spreading her fingers in his thick hair, trying to show him she needed
more.

He returned the kiss, pulling her snug against
him; he needed to feel her lush breasts against his hard chest, feminine to
masculine. Her breath hitched at the sensation of his warm chest covering her.
He kissed her neck, nipping her flesh with his teeth before moving slowly down
her body rediscovering it with his mouth, his tongue, tearing a deep moan from
her throat. She was going up in flames in his arms. He reached the under swell
of her breast, pausing to force her to look at him before he resumed kissing
her. Her eyes on him, he smoothly drew the tip of her breast into his hot mouth.
Devastated, she threw her head back, writhing in the exquisite pleasure.

“That’s it baby, let go,” he said softly at her
breast. “You’re safe.”

Alex watched him make love to her as if she was
lost in a dream where only the two of them existed. He made her ache as though
lost in nothingness, waiting for him to take her hand and lead her home. The
years of sitting alone watching her life pass by were over, he had found her
and was showing her life again. She felt as if she would explode from all the sensations
she felt coursing through her body. He seemed to push her from one peak to
another, never letting her go over the edge, always pulling her back to him.