Claimed As His (Mail Order Brides, 2) Read online

  She sat in the stiff, but no doubt ridiculously expensive leather loveseat. Ian’s penthouse apartment was deep in the city, with floor to ceiling windows that overlooked the skyscrapers, chrome and leather furniture, and everything else that screamed so much wealth it was suffocating.

  She felt so out of place that her palms were sweating and her heart was racing. Lucy’s apartment was basic, with hand-me-down furniture, thrift store purchases. But it had been hers, what she’d earned, worked hard to acquire, and the more she thought about Ian doing what he did without her consent, the more pissed she grew.

  Lucy glanced over to where he stood. He gazed out the window at the city below, his posture stiff, the suit he wore fitting him to perfection. If his personality wasn’t so ugly she could find herself falling for him, not just her body growing warm at the sight of him, but her emotions caving. As it was, she tolerated him.

  Yet I agreed to marry him, even though I could have said no, even though I could have deleted that damn profile off the site.

  “You had no right to move me out of my apartment,” she finally said, feeling her anger and annoyance rise. This kind of life was so unlike what she was used to. Growing up in the system, she'd gotten used everything, but she was grateful regardless. It was clear Ian had the opposite upbringing, and that’s probably what had shaped him into the man he was today.

  He turned around and glanced at her, lifting an eyebrow and looking cocky as hell. “Excuse me?” He fully turned around then so that he faced her. His dark hair was immaculately cut and styled, and his big body showed power and strength. He was well over six feet tall, with muscles that bunched and stretched under the expensive material of his suit.

  Lucy straightened, not about to be intimidated. It was clear he got what he wanted all the time. And having a submissive personality, she’d always let people walk all over her. Well, not today, and not right now.

  “I said—” She straightened and stared right into his eyes. “I said you had no right to move me out of my apartment.”

  He smirked, just the corner of his mouth lifting up. That infuriated her even more.

  “You had no right to take my personal belongings to God knows where. My lease wasn’t even up yet. I don’t think you could’ve legally done what you did, married or not.” She was so heated right now she felt her face become hot, knew it was red.

  “We’re married. What did you expect was going to happen? Did you think you would just live in your apartment and me in the city? Married couples live together.” He lifted his eyebrow again. He walked over to her and stood just a few feet from where she was. “And your belongings are in a storage facility owned by my company. Nothing was thrown out.“

  She curled her fingers into her palms and clenched her teeth, glaring at him. “That’s not the point. It’s clear you’ve gotten everything handed to you on a silver platter. I, on the other hand, have had to work my ass off to get where I’m at. Maybe my little apartment above a pizza place is as low as it can be for someone like you, but for me it meant everything.” She stood then, feeling strength move through her. “Marrying you was probably the worst mistake I ever made.” He was full-on grinning now, and as she involuntarily lowered her gaze down his body, she saw he was sporting a huge erection. She felt her eyes widen, her throat tighten, and her mouth go dry.

  “I can’t help it,” he said. She snapped her gaze back to his. “The fact that you’re standing up to me is hot as hell.”

  All she could do was stand there and stare at him in disbelief. This man was incorrigible. He infuriated and annoyed her, but she also couldn’t help that right now, seeing the product of his arousal, the thick, long length pressed against his slacks, turned her on as well. Was she so insane, so desperate to have somebody love her and care for her, that she’d settle for this arrogant asshole?

  Instead of saying anything else, she turned and stomped off into one of the bedrooms off the hallway. There, she shut the door and leaned against it, tilting her head back and closing her eyes. She took a deep breath and exhaled slowly.

  Could she really go through with this? Could she really stay with a man like Ian?

  At twenty-three she had virtually no sexual experience aside from a few instances of making out and groping when she was in school. And that had left much to be desired. But for as arrogant as Ian was, she knew he probably could please a woman. She wasn’t what anyone would call classically beautiful, not with her plain looks, flat dark hair, and curves that had been called “fat” on more than one occasion. But she found strength in herself where others saw weakness, and as much as Ian pissed her off, he brought that strength out in her.

  She supposed there was a silver lining to this massive mistake she’d made.

  3

  Ian liked women to look pretty but stay quiet. The females he’d been around didn’t hold his attention. They either talked about the latest celebrity gossip, which he had no interest in, or wanted his money. Again, he didn’t care.

  Money brought women to him, and he accepted that, even expected it, but that didn’t mean he liked any of them.

  Tapping his fingers on the back of one of the leather chairs, he thought about going back to her, talking to her. Moving his neck from side to side, he closed his eyes. He didn’t like the feeling that her words created.

  Women were a commodity to him. He didn’t care one way or the other about what they did or said, and yet she’d completely thrown him by saying she’d made a mistake.

  He wasn’t a very good man when it all came down to it. In fact, he was a complete and total asshole. He accepted that and embraced every single part of him. In the circles he walked, being nice got you hurt. He’d had to become every single part the bastard he was today in order to survive.

  Tapping the back of the chair, he couldn’t do it.

  He’d married Lucy to have his way when it came to relationships, to get back at his family. The last thing he wanted to do was marry anyone his mother liked. He had no intention of divorcing and so he wanted to make this work with her.

  The few occasions they’d been together, he’d liked her. He knew she was different and rather than fight that, he intended to embrace it.

  Making his way to one of the spare bedrooms, he held his knuckles up and hesitated. He didn’t do this … go after women to make amends. This wasn’t something he was used to at all.

  Closing his eyes, he fought with himself to just walk away. Having a wife that hated him was no hardship.

  He had thousands of people who hated him. Some didn’t even know him and still hated him.

  Instead of walking away, though, he knocked on the door. He wasn’t a coward and he refused to back down, even this time.

  “What do you want?” Lucy asked.

  Her voice sounded muffled.

  “Are you okay?”

  “I’m fine.”

  “Look, I don’t want us to be fighting on our wedding day.” He’d wanted to be at his parents’ to flaunt his wife in front of them. For them to see that he’d married someone they would completely despise.

  You’re a fucking asshole.

  They will hurt Lucy.

  Pushing those feelings aside, he refused to think about the guilt that suddenly gripped him.

  “It’s fine, Ian. I get it.”

  He rested his forehead on the door and sighed. “I’m sorry. I should have asked you before just going ahead and changing your life like that. I don’t want us to be like this, Lucy. Please, open the door.”

  “It’s already open.”

  “Yeah but I don’t want to barge in. I tend to read everything the wrong way and I don’t want to do that right now.”

  He heard some rustling and then the door opened.

  “You’ve not been crying?” he asked. He’d expected her to cry after her sudden emotional outburst. That was what women did. They used their tears and attitude to get what they wanted.

  “Why would I cry?”

  “Because I didn
’t consult you about your apartment.”

  She shrugged. “That’s not something to cry about, at all. I mean, what did you expect, me to be sobbing over it?”

  “Well, yeah, actually I did.”

  She chuckled, and he loved her little dimples. He’d never noticed them before. She’d never smiled in his company, either.

  “I don’t cry over little things. In fact, I don’t think I’ve cried in a very long time.”

  “I guess I’m not used to women like you.”

  “Women like me?”

  He saw the confusion on her face. “Shit, no, I don’t mean anything bad about that. You see, I’m bad at this.”

  “Bad at what?”

  “Doing this? I don’t have a clue what I’m doing and I’m making it up as I go along. I don’t want us to fight. This isn’t what this marriage is about.”

  She stared at him for several seconds without talking. “You wanted a wife to rub your parents’ faces in.”

  He cringed at the way she put it. “Okay, yeah, I did but I don’t like the sound of it.”

  She released the door, leaving it open as she moved to go and sit on the bed. He watched as she leaned down. The angle of her body gave him a perfect view of her cleavage, and what a sight it was to behold. His cock ached for more as she kicked off her shoes and sat up.

  “I don’t want us to hate each other or for this to be hard work.”

  “What do you expect from a marriage?” he asked, stepping into the room.

  She didn’t throw her shoes at him so he stayed near the door.

  “I don’t know. I’ve never really been around married people. No parents growing up. What do you want?”

  He folded his arms. “I want the complete opposite of what my parents had. They were … They are together for money. Wealth is really important to them, as is power.”

  “Sounds horrible,” she said.

  “It wasn’t the best place to grow up. I don’t know. I see something more, something better.” He ran his fingers through his hair. “I’m going to fuck this up more than once.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I’m not used to trying. I’m used to getting what I want and people dealing with it. I don’t give a shit about anyone else’s feelings. They can do whatever the hell they want but they are to stay out of my way.”

  “Wow, that is kind of mean.”

  “Yeah, it’s mean, but you have to be. It’s the only way to survive.”

  “So I have to accept the fact you’re going to be an asshole? You can’t control it?”

  “I’m going to try. It won’t always be easy, though, and I accept that I’ll be the one to blame.”

  “You’ll try?”

  “For you I will try.”

  “You don’t even know me.”

  “You’re my wife, Lucy. I’m going to do everything in my power to make this work.” Even as he said the words, he knew, deep down in his very soul, he meant them. Already she was starting to mean something to him, and that scared him just a little.

  4

  Lucy stood over the stove and stared at the boiling water. This was her wedding night, yet she felt like she was in a dream, or maybe living in someone else’s body. She glanced over her shoulder and stared at Ian. He sat on the leather couch, his bare feet kicked up on the coffee table, the massive flat screen TV mounted on the wall showing something that had to do with stocks. It was all foreign to her.

  She looked at his feet again, and although she’d never found that part of the body attractive, she couldn’t help but think his were hot as hell. He’d wanted to take her out, but she wanted to cook. It tended to clear her head, would help her maybe make sense of all of this.

  She focused on the pot of boiling water again and snapped out of her haze. Grabbing the pasta, she dumped it in, steam rising up like a cloud of smoke. She started stirring the noodles around in the boiling water, thinking back to their conversation in the bedroom. He’d seems so genuine when he’d been talking to her and although she knew she wasn’t a prisoner, that she could leave any time she wanted to, a part of her wanted to see where this would go.

  But I can’t be married to a friend. I can’t be married to a roommate.

  And wouldn’t it be like that? Wouldn’t they just be married out of convenience … out of spite?

  She felt a presence and turned around, gasping when she saw Ian standing behind her. He watched her for long seconds, not saying anything, but she felt the temperature rise. Her heart started thundering, her palms sweating. Would he expect sex tonight? It was their wedding night. But the truth was Lucy didn’t even want to think about that right now. She was much too nervous and confused about why she’d actually gone through with all of this, why she was still going through with it.

  “We didn’t really get a chance to speak about the honeymoon,” he said, his voice deep, slightly dark.

  She found herself swallowing hard, a sudden lump forming in her throat. “Honeymoon?” She licked her suddenly dry lips and moved to the side. He was so close that her chest brushed against his, sending shivers up her spine. She couldn’t deny that he made her aroused, that his presence had her blood rushing through her veins. It was just a shame that his personality could be so unattractive, even if he’d shown genuine remorse just earlier tonight in the bedroom.

  “Yeah, the honeymoon. Isn’t there some place you wanted to go? I have a private jet, and we can go wherever you want to.”

  Lucy couldn’t think straight right now. Was he just making it sound like a vacation? Surely he didn’t think sex would be involved, least of all now? And then he grinned and shook his head.

  “Listen, we married each other, so why not make the most out of it? I’m not looking to get in your pants—” He took a step toward her. “—at least not right now.” He looked her body up and down with his gaze and she shivered involuntarily. “But I think we both could use a vacation, just get away from everything. Reality is kind of crazy right now, don’t you agree?”

  She found herself nodding. Yes, she couldn’t agree more about reality being pretty insane. Lucy glanced away and thought about his question. A vacation sounded pretty damn heavenly at the moment. When she looked up at him again he was still grinning, flashing straight white teeth and having her heart jump into her throat.

  “Somewhere in Europe,” she finally said. “Somewhere where the scenery is so unlike anything I’ve ever been to before, but that’s not saying much since I haven’t seen much of anything aside from the city.” The city was gray and bleak at times, with concrete buildings reaching high into the sky. She wanted to see freedom, wanted to see the ocean and feel the wind on her face, the salt air kissing her flesh.

  “Europe it is,” he said and winked. And then he surprised her by leaning in and kissing her on the cheek. He smelled good, the cologne he wore spicy yet masculine. When he pulled back he was still so close to her face, his warm breath smelling of the red wine he’d been drinking. He glanced over at the stove, where water boiled over and sizzled.

  When he glanced back over at her the smile he wore wasn’t suggestive, but sweeter, even endearing. “And can I say the fact that you’re cooking for me is hot as fuck.” Before she could respond, or fully even think about what he had just said, he turned and walked back to the living room and sat on the couch.

  Lucy stood there, her hands braced behind her on the granite countertop. God, this man set her on fire and he really didn’t have to do anything at all. He made her question her very sanity. And he was her husband, for better or worse. It was as if she’d been dropped into an alternate reality, one surrounded with money and social status.

  The very thought of how this would play out scared the hell out of her.

  5

  Ian sipped at his iced fruit drink and watched his wife as she did laps at the pool. They had settled for Spain as their place to retreat to for their honeymoon. At first he’d wanted to at least stop at his parents’ to get his revenge but instea
d, he’d decided it was better to help Lucy feel comfortable with him. The last thing he wanted to do was drive her away.

  She wasn’t under any obligation to be with him.

  If she decided to, she could demand a divorce and he’d be obliged to give it to her. When it came to Lucy, he found it impossible to hurt her.

  With most women, it was easy. After he got what he wanted they were pushed aside and he found a different toy. One that was prettier than the last.

  Lucy stopped at the edge of the pool, her arms resting on the edge with her chin on top. She looked deep in thought and not for the first time he wondered what she was thinking. Most nights he went to bed long after her. Right now they didn’t share the same bed but he found himself sneaking into her room. Yes, it was super creepy, but he liked to watch her sleep without her knowing.

  She looked so peaceful, beautiful.

  The ache he had for her kept on building inside him. Most nights he spent a lot of time in the bathroom dealing with his very aroused problem. All the dirty things he wanted to do to her kept him up at night. When they were near, the scent of her drove him crazy, and all he wanted to do was bend her over the nearest surface and feel how good she was around his dick.

  Her cunt would look so pretty on his length, sliding up and down.

  Finishing off his fruity drink, he knew he couldn’t last much longer. He’d be hitting the stiff drinks all too soon.

  He made his way to the pool, where Lucy was sunning herself. She didn’t look up as he crouched beside her. The one-piece bathing suit she wore was sexy as fuck. Her tits pressed together, showing off a very generous view of cleavage.

  “Enjoying the water?” he asked.

  “It’s really good.” She bit her lip. “Care to join me? I mean, it’s way too hot and I don’t even know how you can stand this in your suit. You wear them all day long.”

  He was used to the torture of wearing a suit. His parents had drilled into him that he had to look his best and it was the only thing that he continued to do. Mainly because his company set a standard and he was part of that.