The Tycoon's Temporary Bride: Book Four (35 page)

Tashi inhaled sharply at the indecent
request. Not what she expected, but… “I see me lying naked on the
bed—no, no, on the floor of your yoga sanctuary.”

“
Our
yoga sanctuary,
cara
.”

“Our yoga sanctuary. Our bodies are bathed in
moonlight and you—you’re bending over me, your long hair fanned out
over my chest like a silky mist.”

“And?” he prompted, hoarsely.

Caught up in the enthusiasm, Tashi continued
in a low sultry voice, “You’re thrusting deep inside me, and I can
feel every inch of your huge pulsing cock…”

Oh my God. She’d said cock
. Tashi
squeezed her legs together to combat the earthquake and the torrent
of fluids gushing from inside her. She felt wicked and sinful
engaging in phone sex with her husband in broad daylight in the
midst of a bustling crowd, and whispering words like
cock
.
When did she become such a strumpet, the proverbial preacher’s
daughter gone wild? She felt like the lead role in
The Awakening
of Tashi Holland
.

“What’s my huge, pulsing cock doing to you,
baby? How is it making you feel?”

The sound of Adam’s unsteady breaths and his
sexy baritone voice squeezed a soft erotic moan out of her. She
crossed her legs and locked her knees together. Her toes curled in
her fashionable sandals as she fought to control her arousal.

“Excuse me, Miss. My name is Gina and I’m
your attendant today. Can I start you off with something to
drink?”

“Huh?” Tashi’s eyes flew open and she stared
into the questioning ones of a young, pretty girl. She hastily
pulled herself together and sat up straight. The inner walls of her
vagina were still pulsating and her panties were soaked through,
but there was nothing she could do about them at the moment. “Just
a second,” she said to the girl. “I have to go,” she whispered to
Adam.

“I don’t want you to go. I want you to come.
For me.”

“Adam, the waitress is standing right here. I
promise I’ll do that later.” Wanton frustrations edged through her
at being interrupted just when her phone sex was getting good, and
the young waitress was too untrained to take a walk and let her
finish her conversation.

But Adam was not one to let it go. “Say it.
Say you’ll come for me later. Over and over again while I’m
thrusting deep inside you.”

Oh, God
. This raunchy side of her
husband was one Tashi never expected, and it was making her horny
and dizzy. She cupped her hand over her mouth and said in a low
voice, “Okay, Adam. I’ll come for you later, over and over again
while you’re thrusting deep inside me.”

“
Vedo l'ora, mia cara
. Have a great
lunch, and enjoy your time with the girls, Mrs. Andreas.” And with
that he was gone.

Mrs. Andreas
. That’s who she was.
Tashi kept the phone glued to her ears for a few seconds while she
tried to bring herself down from that unexpected sexual high. When
she thought she could speak without stuttering, she placed it into
her purse and gazed up at the waitress. “I’m sorry.”

“That’s okay. Did you have a chance to check
the drink menu?” She pointed to the two-sided laminated menu stuck
between the salt and pepper shakers on the table.

“No. Um—I ’ll just have—um a bottle of
sparkling water with a glass of ice.” She was stuttering anyway.
“And I’m waiting for some friends. There will be four of us.”

When the waitress left, Tashi turned sideways
in her chair and cased the crowd, looking for her friends who were
now fifteen minutes late. She supposed being tardy was excusable
when one had children to attend to, especially for Kaya who had
five and Michelle who had three. Seeing the women and children in
action at the LaCrosse mansion was an eye-popping experience for
Tashi. Even though they had nannies, those women were totally
devoted to their children and paid attention to their little
grumblings as well as their cries of laughter.

Tashi rubbed her left hand over her belly as
a warm smile parted her lips. If she were lucky, she would have her
own baby in nine months. The morning after she and Adam first made
love and hours before their wedding, Tashi had pointed out the fact
that they hadn’t used protection. Adam had asked if she regretted
it and if she wanted to start some method of birth-control, and
when she’d responded negatively, he’d said neither did he. Adam
hadn’t come right out and said it, but a pregnancy, Tashi knew,
would make their temporary marriage permanent, and her husband very
happy to have his own child to love, even if he didn’t love its
mother.
Yet
.

Tashi’s smile widened as she recalled the
tenderness in Adam’s expression as he’d cradled Massimo and
Shaina’s daughter, Aria, in his arms, spoke to her tenderly in
Italian, and then how enthusiastically he’d played with Bryce and
Kaya’s twins, Eli and Elyse, making funny faces and garbling sounds
as they squealed with excitement. The kids seemed to love their
Uncle Adam, especially Alyssa, Anastasia, and Tiffany who followed
him around ceaselessly. He was definitely a big hit with the girls.
Adam had told her it was his hair they loved. True. They were
always grabbing it, tugging on it, playing with it like a kitten
plays with its tail. And Alyssa had pinned a couple of barrettes in
it that Adam had worn proudly around.

Tashi had gotten a glimpse into her future as
she’d watched Adam and the other husbands romping on the floor with
all the kids. Even Jason and Precious who she would think were too
old for romping, had been drawn into the fun. This magnificent
circle of friends and family really loved each other, and…

“Are you Adam’s wife?”

Tashi’s body stiffened in alarm, but
remembering who she was—an Andreas—where she was in a public place,
and who was watching her, she took a deep breath and turned her
head in the direction of the voice. An attractive medium-height,
athletic-looking brunette in casual attire was standing on the
other side of the table. Tashi frowned as mild curiosity replaced
her initial unease. “Who are you?”

“I’m sorry.” The woman extended a hand. “I’m
Claire Forsythe. I’m an old friend of Adam’s. We go way back to
childhood.”

Well that didn’t explain how she knew her,
Tashi thought shaking her hand. Adam hadn’t made their marriage
public knowledge. Only his close friends knew. Out of old habit,
she made no attempt to give up her name or any other personal
information.

Tashi watched as Claire pulled out a chair on
the other side of the table and quite presumptuously sat down. “My
sister was at Little Erik’s birthday party on Saturday. She has a
son his age. She told me she saw Adam with a strange woman who was
wearing a wedding ring, even though he wasn’t wearing one.” Claire
Forsythe’s eyes zeroed in on Tashi’s ring finger still resting on
her stomach.

Strange! Really?

“She accidently captured you in the
background of one of the pictures she took of the kids,” Claire
said.

Since she and Adam had left the party shortly
after the other guests began to arrive, Tashi was sure it was a
calculated move, and that Claire’s sister had taken more than one
picture of her. Instinctively, her right hand came up to finger the
rings—a platinum wedding band and an enormous diamond engagement
ring both studded with emeralds and aquamarine stones. The
engagement ring belonged to Adam’s maternal grandmother. He’d had
it sized for her the day they’d decided to get married.

Her husband had done a lot of things that day
when she was otherwise occupied: ordering a new wardrobe—complete
with shoes and handbags—from Joanne’s Boutique, an exclusive store
on Main Street Tashi had passed by many times, and having it
delivered on Saturday. He’d ordered a Bugatti Veyron Super Sport
car from France that was delivered to the estate this morning. He’d
also contacted the DMV about a driver’s license with her new name:
Tashi Andreas, which she’d picked up before dropping Adam off at
Hotel Andreas and heading across town to see Dr. Kelly.

“So it’s true. You’re his wife.” Claire’s
jarring voice cut into her reverie.

Tashi took off her sunglasses and stared the
woman down. Her gut told her that Claire Forsythe was not here to
congratulate her, and that she had some ulterior motive in mind
when she’d decided to approach her. She knew she was on her own.
Even though Claire was blatantly rude, she wasn’t a threat. Her
bodyguards would not intervene unless the woman made an attempt to
bodily harm her. Besides, she felt calm and balanced due to both
her yoga and meditation sessions with Adam and her talk with Dr.
Kelly this morning. She wasn’t going to let this insignificant gnat
that had flittered into her air space fluster her. “I guess you and
my husband aren’t that close, or he would have informed you of our
marriage.”

“Oh, you’re a catty little thing,” Clare
hissed, her brown eyes darkening with resentment. “Maybe Adam
hasn’t made your marriage public because it’s a farce, or maybe
he’s ashamed of you. Ha! He isn’t even wearing a ring.”

Those words cut Tashi to the core, but she
pressed her lips together as the waitress approached them. She
forced a smile as the girl placed a tray with her bottle of water,
her glass of ice, and four menus on the table.

“I see one of your friends has arrived,” she
said, opening the bottle and pouring some water into the glass.
“What can I get for you?” she asked Claire.

“She’s not my friend, and she isn’t staying,”
Tashi said in a cold and exact tone.

“Oh, I’m sorry. I just assumed because she’s
sitting here.”

“Thanks, Gina.”

The poor girl took off, wheeling through the
cluster of tables like she was dodging bullets.

“Tell me, Mrs. Andreas, has your husband told
you that he loves you?” Claire resumed her attack.

“I don’t see how that’s any of your
business.” Which one of Adam’s past serious relationships was she?
Tashi wondered, even as her stomach churned at the reality in
Claire’s question. She took a sip of her water and welcomed the
cool bubbly liquid splashing against her throat.

Claire flashed an evil grin. “He hasn’t, has
he? So, it wasn’t for love. What’s the real reason he married a
mousy little thing like you? What do you have on him? Did you get
pregnant on purpose? Is that how you landed him?”

“Oh my God, Claire. You had your chance and
blew it. Stop making a fool of yourself.”

At the sound of Michelle’s calm and collected
voice behind her, Tashi let out the breath she’d been holding. She
turned as her friends filed into rank around the table like
guardian angels to the rescue. They were sophisticatedly dressed in
body-hugging designer dresses, sandals, and carrying purses she was
certain were as expensive as the one she’d chosen to use today
instead of her backpack.

Her backpack days were over, she supposed.
She was an Andreas, and she had to present herself as one.
Refraining from emotional outbursts in public when approached by
venom like Claire Forsythe was expected. Her friends knew the
rules, and kept their calm even though she could feel the rage and
the disdain simmering behind their eyes.

“Adam is done with you,” Kaya said, coming to
stand on one side of Claire. “It’s been ten years. Get over it. Get
over him, already.”

Shaina stood on the other side, glaring down
on her as if she wanted to punch a hole in her throat. “If that
huge rock on my cousin’s finger doesn’t shout, ‘I’ve moved on’, I
don’t know what does.”

Warmth crept into Tashi’s cheeks at being
called someone’s cousin, even though it was only by law. She not
only had friends. She had family.

“That’s still to be determined,” Claire spat,
her gaze bouncing from one woman to the next. “Adam isn’t even
wearing a wedding band. That should tell you a lot.”

“You’re in my seat,” Michelle said through
clenched teeth, her black eyes flashing murder. “No one invited you
to sit at this table, and no one wants you to stay. So do us all a
favor and go project your demons somewhere else.”

“We’re attracting attention.” Tashi nudged
her head in the direction of the tables to their left and right.
She didn’t want attention. She didn’t want her bodyguards thinking
they needed to intervene.

Shaina and Kaya stepped back, giving their
uninvited guest hardly enough space to squeeze past them.

Claire stood up and flipped her glossy long
hair over her shoulders. “Good luck, Mrs. Andreas. You’ll need it
when Adam tires of you. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.” She glared at
the ladies and walked away as indecorously as she’d arrived.

The ladies exchanged hugs and kisses as if
Claire was never even there, and then Shaina and Michelle settled
into the seats on the opposite side of the table while Kaya sat
next to Tashi, who was bubbling inside. It was nice to have friends
to look out for her—someone besides paid bodyguards to watch her
back. She could have handled Claire on her own, and she was just
about to tell her to go take a dive into the river when the ladies
showed up. This was an honor she never had before. She was quickly
learning the benefits of girlfriend bonding. If she’d had this kind
of support in New York, she wouldn’t have gotten mixed up in
Scottie’s sick game, but then, she wouldn’t have had to flee to
Granite Falls, and she wouldn’t have met Adam.

“Who was she?” Tashi asked the ladies as they
looped their bags over the backs of their chairs. It was good to
know who her enemies were, especially the ones who filled her with
misgivings about her marriage and her husband’s feelings for her.
“She said she was Adam’s friend. That they’d been friends since
childhood.”

“She’s not his friend. She’s his ex. His
nosy, pathetic ex.” Shaina picked up her menu and flipped through
it absentmindedly.