The Illegitimate Heirs: Luke, Zach and Jake

“What are you doing here, Luke?”

His low chuckle caused a wonderful fluttering sensation deep in the pit of her stomach and made every one of her feminine instincts come to full alert.

“If you’ll remember, we got married yesterday. This is where I’m supposed to be.”

“Oh, I remember.” She shook her head and started moving away from him. She wasn’t letting him off the hook that easily. “But I was under the impression that you had forgotten all about that.”

The smile on his handsome face faded and before she knew what was happening, he reached out and pulled her back to him. “I really regret that I missed having dinner with you last night.” He used his index finger to brush a strand of hair from her cheek. “But during my meeting with the Laurel office staff, I learned about a labor dispute with the work crews which had to be resolved immediately or there would have been a walkout on Monday.”

Her skin tingled everywhere he touched her, but Haley tried her best not to notice. As far as she was concerned, no matter what the reason for their marriage, there was no excuse for a man to completely ignore a woman on what was supposed to be one of the most important days of her life.

“There’s always going to be something that needs your attention.” She tried to wiggle out of his grasp, but his arms were like two steel bands holding her firmly against him.

“That’s true,” he said, confirming her suspicion that she would always come in a distant second to Garnier Construction. He pressed a kiss to her forehead. “Would you like to know what’s going to claim my attention today and tomorrow?”

“Not particularly.” She wasn’t interested in hearing about labor problems or another meeting with office managers. All she wanted to do was take a shower, get dressed and pack for their return trip.

“That’s too bad because I’m going to tell you anyway,” he continued as he ran his hand down the outside of her thigh, then back up, bringing the tail of her nightgown to her waist. “Today and tomorrow, you will have my complete and undivided attention.”

Haley wasn’t sure if her heart skittered to a stop because of what he’d said or from the feel of his hand slipping beneath her gown to caress her lower back. “B-but I thought…I mean, you said we would be going back to Nashville early this morning.”

“I’ve decided that we need time to rectify the situation you brought to my attention the other day at the office. We need to get to know each other on a more…personal level,” he said, giving her a smile that warmed her all over and left no doubt about what he had in mind. “We’ll head back home in a couple of days.”

“Home? Meaning your mansion?”

He nodded as his finger traced the lace edge of her panties. “Didn’t you inform the complex that you would be moving? Surely you didn’t think you’d be returning to your apartment, did you?”

She shook her head. “I…still have to…move my clothes.” How was she supposed to think with his fingers dipping beneath the scalloped trim?

“Don’t worry. I had some of my staff move your personal effects after we left yesterday,” he stated, his voice low and intimate.

Haley froze. “You did what?”

He kissed her shoulder. “Everything will already be unpacked and put away by the time we get back on Tuesday.”

She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “Your arrogance has no bounds, does it?”

“What do you mean?” He had the audacity to look truly puzzled.

“Did it ever occur to you that I might not like someone else handling my underwear?”

He smiled as he continued to touch her and every stroke of his warm palm on her suddenly sensitive skin increased the heat building deep inside of her. “I don’t…know what surprises me more…your arrogance or…you taking a day off from work,” she explained, struggling to catch her next breath and trying desperately to remember she was irritated with him.

“Why would my taking time off surprise you?” he asked, his warm breath close to her ear.

“The only time I’ve ever known you to take a day off from the office was when your sister graduated from college,” she retorted, trying to concentrate on something besides his hands moving steadily over her body. She was definitely losing the battle.

“I’m not all work,” he insisted, slowly easing her to her back. When he leaned over her, his smile and the gleam in his vivid blue eyes told her in no uncertain terms exactly what he meant when he added, “Believe me, I do know how to play, sweetheart.”

“I’m, uh, sure you do,” she hedged, staring up at him. “But I don’t think—”

“That’s all right. I’ll do the thinking for both of us,” he interrupted as he brought his mouth down to cover hers.

His lips teased and caressed, making Haley forget anything she’d been about to say. Wrapping her arms around his broad shoulders, she gave up trying to think and lost herself to his tender exploration.

How could she even begin to form a rational thought when she was lying in bed with a half-naked man? The very man she’d fantasized about for over five years? The man who was kissing her like she was the most desirable woman he’d ever known?

When he used the tip of his tongue to trace the edge of her mouth, she couldn’t deny him entry. She wanted to once again experience his taste and the feeling that Luke was claiming her for his own.

Her pulse sped up and she wasn’t entirely certain it would ever return to normal when he slowly slid his hand from her back to her abdomen, then up to the underside of her breast. Never in her wildest imaginings could anything have felt more sensual as when he cupped the soft mound and began to relentlessly tease the puckered bud with the pad of his thumb.

“You’re so sweet,” he said, breaking the kiss to nibble his way down her throat to the top of her nightgown. When he raised his head, he gave her a smile that heated her all the way to her soul at the same time he used his finger to trace the delicate lace edging at the neckline. “Let’s get you out of this.”

Before she could respond, he tossed the comforter back and propping himself up on one elbow, used both hands to rip the thin cotton garment from the top all the way to the hem.

Gasping, she reached for the sheet. “Good heavens, Luke, you didn’t even give me the chance to take it off.”

He was not the least bit apologetic when he shoved the sheet farther from her grasp. “I didn’t want to waste the time.”

“That was the only gown I brought with me…I didn’t expect to be staying more than one night,” she explained, covering her breasts with her palms.

Taking her hands in his, he moved them to her sides. “Don’t try to hide from me, Haley. We’re married. There’s no reason for you to be embarrassed or shy with me.”

“But couldn’t we learn about each other on a more personal level with our clothes on first?” she asked as a fiery flush heated her cheeks.

She knew he thought she’d lost her mind, but that couldn’t be helped. To have their relationship go from strictly business with no contact outside of the office one day, to being married and naked in bed together the next was more than a little intimidating. And even though she’d dreamed that one day he’d notice her as a woman instead of just his competent assistant, in her fantasies, things between them had never progressed this far this fast.

“I told you before that there’s no better way for a man and woman to get acquainted than making love,” he reminded, lowering his head to kiss the tip of her breast. “Besides, the sole reason for our getting married was for me to make you pregnant.” Laughing, he traced the valley between her breasts all the way down to her navel. “And that would be hard to do with clothes on, sweetheart.”

When he lowered his mouth to her overly sensitive nipple, a swirl of heat gathered in the very core of her and Haley forgot about everything but the way Luke was making her feel. Shamelessly threading her fingers through his thick black hair to hold him to her, it took a moment for her to realize he’d slipped his hand below the band of her silk panties.

Inch by slow inch, he caressed his way to her most secret parts, and she thought she’d melt from the delicious heat threading though her veins. The intense longing he created was like nothing she had ever known and she didn’t even try to stop her moan from escaping.

“Look at me, Haley,” he said, raising his head from her breast. When she did, his smile sent another wave of tingling sensations straight through her. “In the past few minutes, I’ve already learned several things about you that I wasn’t aware of before.”

“R-really?”

Smiling, he nodded. “You like the way I make you feel when I touch you here.” When he moved his fingers to dip inside and stroke her intimately, every fiber of her being hummed with pleasure.

“I…oh…y-yes.”

“And you really like for me to do this,” he added, nipping at the tip of her breast with his firm lips.

When he took the bud into his mouth to draw on it deeply, exquisite feelings flowed to every nerve in her body and her will to resist became nonexistent.

Unable to make a sound, she nodded as Luke continued his gentle assault on her senses. Completely lost to the feelings he was creating within her, she didn’t have the slightest clue when he’d removed her panties and his boxers. But the feel of his bare body against hers and the solid strength of his arousal as he pressed himself to her thigh, brought back some of her sanity and she shivered from nervous anticipation.

“I’ve gotten to know you quite well already, sweetheart,” Luke informed, kissing her. “But now it’s time you learned something about me.”

“W-what…would that…be?” she asked, finding oxygen in extremely short supply.

“I want you,” he said, nudging her legs apart with his knee. “I want to be deep inside of you. Right now.”

As he moved to cover her, she closed her eyes and lay back against the pillows. The electrifying excitement he’d built inside her was undeniable, but so was a fair amount of nervous apprehension.

He’d said that making love was a good way to get to know each other on a more personal level. And there was something very important that he was about to find out about her. Something that she was fairly certain he would have never guessed.

What was Luke going to think when he found out? How was he going to react when he discovered that his wife had never been acquainted with any other man the way she was about to become acquainted with him?

Five

Luke felt Haley’s body tense as he guided himself to her and his protectiveness returned tenfold. “Open your eyes, sweetheart.” When she did, he thought he saw a brief shadow of fear in her blue-green gaze. “You do trust me, don’t you?”

She stared at him a moment before she slowly nodded. “Y-yes. But there’s something I should probably tell you.”

“Do you want me, Haley?”

“Y-yes.”

“That’s all I need to know.” Giving her what he hoped was a reassuring smile, he brushed her soft lips with his, cutting off anything she was about to say. “It’s going to be all right, Haley. I know you haven’t been seeing anyone and it’s probably been a while. But I don’t want you to worry. We’re going to be good together and I promise to take care of you.” He moved his lower body forward a fraction of an inch. “I’ll make sure that you get as much pleasure from our lovemaking as I do, sweetheart.”

As he entered her, Luke gritted his back teeth and forced himself to go slow in order to allow her body to adjust to the invasion of his. He’d been right in his assumption that she didn’t have a lot of experience at making love. She’d been too inhibited about him seeing her body and he could tell that she’d been genuinely surprised by the way he’d made her feel when he’d touched her. And if that hadn’t been evidence enough to prove his theory, the mind-blowing tightness surrounding him now was.

But when he met a slight resistance within her, then the feeling that he’d pushed past a thin barrier, he froze and tried to come to grips with his newest discovery about her. He’d thought it had been some time since she’d been intimate with a man, but it had not even crossed his mind that Haley might still be a virgin. After all, she was twenty-eight years old and extremely attractive. He couldn’t believe some man hadn’t swept her off her feet at least once.

“You’ve never had sex.” He hadn’t meant for the words to come out more as an accusation than a statement of the fact.

“No,” she whispered. A couple of tears slipped from the corners of her tightly closed eyes and Luke felt like the biggest fool alive.

He knew she was experiencing a bit of discomfort and careful to hold his lower body completely still, he wrapped his arms around her and cradled her to him. “It’s okay, sweetheart. I know it must be uncomfortable, but try to relax. Just a little more and you’ll have all of me.”

He waited until he felt a slight easing of her feminine muscles surrounding him, then moving forward, joined their bodies completely. The realization that he was claiming her in a way that no other man had, caused the possessiveness within him to reach heights that he never expected and didn’t even want to think about.

But concentrating on more pressing matters, he ignored the fire in his belly that urged him to complete the act of loving her. Her body needed more time to get used to the newness of accommodating his. And the very last thing he intended to do was hurt her any more than he had already done.

“It’s a little better now,” she said, opening her eyes. The spark of desire he detected in the turquoise depths and the easing of tension in her slender form reinforced her statement and he knew that the unfulfilled passion he’d created within her was beginning to return.

As he eased his hips back, he captured her gaze with his. “I want you to promise me that you’ll let me know if I’m hurting you in any way.”

“I promise,” she repeated, bringing her arms up to encircle his shoulders.

The feel of her arms embracing him and her soft body accepting him almost sent him over the edge. But focusing all of his attention on making things as easy for her as was humanly possible, he slowly began to rock against her.

His body demanded satisfaction, but Luke refused to give in to his own needs without ensuring that he’d first met hers. He knew it wasn’t always enjoyable for a woman the first time she made love, but even if it killed him, he was going to see that Haley found their lovemaking at the very least pleasant and if he had his way, quite pleasurable.

When her body began a tentative movement that joined the rhythm of his, he knew his efforts had been worth the hell he’d been going through to ensure her comfort. But all too soon he felt her gently tighten around him, signaling that she’d reached the pinnacle and was about to find the ecstasy he was determined to give her. Deepening his movements, he waited until he felt the trembling of her delicate body beneath his and heard her softly cry out his name before he let go of the slender thread he held on his control. Only then did he give way to his own desire and allow himself to find the release he so desperately needed.

Luke’s pulse pounded in his ears and he thought he just might pass out from the rush as he thrust into her one final time and wave after wave of intense pleasure flowed through him. As he filled her with his essence, he felt as if he’d been completely drained of energy and eased himself down on top of her.

He wasn’t certain how long he lay covering her as he tried to catch his breath, but when he finally gained enough strength, he moved to her side and gathered her to him. “Are you all right?”

“That was…” She paused as if trying to find the right word. “…absolutely amazing.”

Smiling at the fact that he’d taken her virginity and still managed to bring her pleasure, he reached down to pull the sheet over their rapidly cooling bodies. “I promise next time our lovemaking will reach incredible status.”

“Really?” She shook her head. “I don’t see how it could be any better than what I just experienced.”

“That’s because you haven’t had anything to compare it to.” He hugged her close and tried not to dwell on the possessiveness that threatened to consume him. “My mission is to see that every time we make love the pleasure keeps getting stronger for you.”

“I’ll have to take your word for that,” she conceded, sounding extremely sleepy.

He kissed the top of her head pillowed on his shoulder. “Get some rest, sweetheart. We’ll talk after you’ve had a little nap.”

As he held Haley while she slept, Luke couldn’t quite wrap his mind around the fact that he was the only man to make love to her. Had he ever been a woman’s first time before?

If he had, he knew for certain he would have remembered it. Taking a woman’s virginity wasn’t something a man was likely to forget.

Glancing at Haley sleeping so peacefully next to him, several questions kept running through his mind. Why had she waited so long to be with a man? If she’d been holding out for the permanence of marriage before taking that step, why had she agreed to birth his heir when she knew their arrangement would eventually end? And how had she managed to save herself from players like Chet Parker, who were out there just looking for the right opportunity to swoop in and seduce a woman as beautiful and innocent as Haley?

When Haley moved closer to him in her sleep, he tightened his arms around her and kissed her soft cheek. He didn’t want to analyze his uncharacteristic protectiveness toward her or the unfamiliar need to possess her. They’d reached an agreement and she was his for now—the woman he’d chosen to be the mother of his child. As far as he was concerned, that was reason enough.

Oh, he still wanted answers to his questions regarding her lack of sexual experience and an explanation of her motives for agreeing to have his child. But he wasn’t overly concerned about getting them right away. As he got to know her better, he’d learn her secrets and reach a satisfactory conclusion to the mystery of Haley Rollins.

In the meantime, he had every intention of enjoying the pleasure of making love to her every night and reaching his goal of soon having an heir to inherit the vast holdings of Garnier Construction.

Slowly opening her eyes, Haley found herself alone in the big log bed and wondered if she’d been dreaming. After all this time imagining what it would be like, had she really slept with Luke?

As she stretched to loosen the kinks of sleep from her limbs, the feel of the sheet sliding over her bare skin and the interesting little aches in her lower body quickly told her that they had indeed consummated their marriage. Her cheeks heated as the memory of what they’d shared in the early predawn light came flooding back.

Luke had seen her as no other man had and made her feel things she would have never thought possible. But once he’d learned she was a virgin, his incredible patience and the extra care he took to reduce any discomfort she might have had touched her deeply. He’d seen to it that her first experience making love was pleasurable and even though their marriage was destined to end one day, she’d never be sorry that she’d waited for her husband.

“I see you finally woke up, sleepyhead,” Luke greeted her cheerfully, shouldering the door open. He carried a breakfast tray with two plates of delicious-looking food, glasses of orange juice and a single rose in a glass bud vase. “Time to rise and shine.”

His thoughtfulness was unexpected and quite touching. “I haven’t had breakfast in bed since I was child,” she reminisced, holding the sheet to cover her breasts as she sat up. “And I was too sick to care about eating anything then.”

“Well, I hope you have a hearty appetite now, because Mrs. Beck outdid herself,” he noted, referring to the housekeeper. “I think she cooked every breakfast food known to man.”

“Could you get my overnight case, please?” Haley requested, wanting to retrieve the new bathrobe she’d purchased for the trip.

“Uh-oh.” He gave her a sheepish grin. “When I got up and went to shower and change, I moved it to my room.”

“What am I going to put on?” she asked, looking around for something—anything—to wear.

“I really like what you’re wearing now,” he observed, setting the tray on top of the dresser.

“I’m naked under here.”

“Bingo.”

Her cheeks heated at his lascivious grin. “Seriously, what am I going to wear?”

“I think you wear nothing very well,” he commented, rocking back on his heels. “It really looks good on you.”

“Will you be serious?” she pleaded, feeling a little desperate. “I can’t even go downstairs to get my clothes without something to cover up with. Poor Mrs. Beck would probably have a massive coronary.”

He looked thoughtful. “I guess you might have a point.”

“I do have a point.” She shook her head. “And unless you intend for me to stay in this bed the rest of the day, I need something to put on.”

“Staying in bed presents some very interesting possibilities,” he responded, his grin widening. When she tugged the sheet free from the end of the mattress, he pulled the tail of his shirt from his jeans. “If you’re that adamant about it, I’ll have to make the sacrifice.”

She stared shamelessly as Luke unbuttoned the garment and revealed his wide chest. Earlier when they’d made love, she’d been too nervous and preoccupied with the newness of it all to pay a lot of attention to his physique. But as he shrugged out of the shirt, her breath caught and her heart did a funny little thump against her rib cage.

His body was absolutely perfect. Every muscle from his shoulders all the way to the waistband of his low-slung jeans was well-defined and he was most definitely the type of man dreams were made of. At least, her dreams.

When he handed her the shirt, then stood there expectantly, she forced her thoughts back to the matter at hand and shook her head. “Turn around.”

His smile sent a wave of sizzling warmth shimmering over her skin. “Sweetheart, I saw your body when we made love and believe me, you have no reason to be self-conscious. You’re beautiful.”

“I’ll have to take your word on that,” she remarked, refusing to give too much weight to his appreciation of her body. “But it’s extremely difficult to throw caution to the wind after twenty-eight years of keeping myself covered up.”

Apparently deciding she meant business, he finally blew out an exaggerated breath, shook his head and turned his back to her. “We’ve already made love once and I anticipate doing so again quite frequently. It won’t take long before I know your body as well as I know mine.”

“In less than a week, we’ve gone from nothing more than boss and employee to sleeping together,” she tried to explain, pulling on his shirt. The delicious masculine scent surrounding her as she buttoned the garment caused Haley to feel warm all over. “We only went on one date—if you want to call it that—and that was the night before we got married.”

When he picked up the breakfast tray from the dresser and turned to face her, his expression was thoughtful. “So what you’re saying is, you don’t switch gears quite that fast.”

“Something like that.” Maybe he was beginning to understand how she felt.

“I guess that makes sense,” he said absently as he set the tray over her lap, then lowered himself to sit on the mattress beside her. He looked pensive for a moment. “Since we’re discussing your inhibitions, were they the reason you were still a virgin?”

She knew he’d be curious and ask about it. “It’s quite simple, really. I went to a very strict, private high school for girls. In our Freshman year, we were encouraged to take a pledge to stay pure until we married. I promised that I would.” Reaching for a slice of crispy bacon, she shrugged. “Besides, I never met a man that I cared enough about to be intimate with.”

“Never?”

“Oh, I was tempted a couple of times in college with one or two of the guys I dated.” She shook her head. “But I always found a reason not to break my vow. Probably because it just didn’t feel right with them.”