Page 10 of The Hunted Wife

When she felt his lips meet hers, she lost herself in the pleasure. Adam was a master at kissing. He could have held her with nothing but his lips. Feeling him deepen the kiss, she eagerly met his tongue with hers.

She wanted to bring him into her mouth, however, he appeared to be holding back. Not understanding, she tried to pull away, but he wouldn’t let her. Instead, he practically devoured her. His kiss was sensual and not like anything she’d ever experienced before.

We he finally pulled back and looked at her.

She felt wrung out. So much so that her knees buckled and only Adam’s arm around her waist kept her upright. “Well, Mr. Sullivan, you certainly know how to kiss. I was just along for the ride.” She ran her hand over her forehead, as though she was sweating. “And what a ride.”

Adam threw his head back and barked out a laugh. “I’m glad I could please you. Now, you have an idea of what is waiting for you when we finally join together.”

“I do. And as much as I enjoyed that, I’m not ready for us to consummate our nuptials yet. On that note, I’ll put these dishes in the kitchen and then I’m going to bed.”

“I’ll take care of the dishes, you go to bed. Sweet dreams…wife.” Adam smiled and crossed his arms over his chest.

She looked at him and lifted one brow. “You, too, husband.” Millie wandered off to bed wondering just what her life here would bring and if Ricard could find her. She hadn’t used her name, and he would never have expected she would marry a stranger. Especially since she was running from him and their arranged marriage. She could never marry him, he was vile and cruel. Her father was an insane old man when he’d agreed to the marriage. Millie would rather be married to a total stranger than the man her father had chosen.

The next morning, the first thing Millie heard was Adam moving around. She looked out the window and saw that it was still dark outside. She couldn’t tell if anything had changed overnight but would assume it hadn’t or she would have heard more than Adam moving around in his room.

She quickly showered and dressed, then hurried downstairs to start on breakfast. She was lucky that their cook, who they called Cook, had taught her how to cook, otherwise she would be up a creek without a paddle. She’d learned a lot of things from Cook such as how to cuss, some colloquial sayings and mostly everything having to do with a kitchen. It gave Millie something to do. She was an only child and without Cook would have been bored out of her mind.

Coffee was the first thing to get made. Even she needed coffee to get going on some mornings. Once the coffee was brewing, she took the hash browns out of the freezer and poured the entire bag into a large cast iron skillet. In a second skillet, as large as the first, she started bacon cooking. She would cook two pounds this morning and then gauge if it was enough or not, then adjust tomorrow, if needed. Next, she beat a dozen eggs, added some cream, vanilla, cinnamon and a heaping tablespoon of flour. This was the dip for her French toast. On a grill which was set over two burners she started frying the French toast. Lots of French toast.

While the French toast cooked she checked the windows.

Nothing moved outside.

After that, she placed pitchers of orange juice and milk on the table. Then she set the table, stirred the hashbrowns, started more bacon and scrambled two dozen eggs. She hoped they had another refrigerator or two in the garage or she’d be going shopping every day and that just wouldn’t do. She needed to stay as far away from Steamboat Springs as possible. One of the brothers would have to do the shopping. She knew that wouldn’t go over well.

She could hear Adam now— “Why can’t you go shopping? What do you mean you can’t go into town? Why? Who are you avoiding?”

Millie knew she should probably tell him about Ricard, He was her husband even if it was in name only, but regardless of that, she didn’t know him other than the fact he was very rich as owner and CEO of Sullivan Technologies. She’d read enough gossip magazines to know that all the brothers were wealthy, though she hadn’t known how many of them lived at the ranch until she and Adam arrived and she saw them all. This surprised her. If they were all wealthy, as the magazines stated, why wouldn’t they all have their own homes?

She couldn’t tell him, but what if he found out she was Ricard Sokolov’s fiancée? Would he annul their marriage? He could, especially since they hadn’t consummated their vows yet. But he couldn’t have it annulled if the marriage was consummated. That made up her mind. This would be a real marriage, from today forward. At least as much of one as she could provide. Now, to get Adam to go along with it without knowing why I changed my mind.

The men filed in.

She was pleased to see they had washed and combed their hair, too.

Adam had donned a clean shirt and jeans. She wasn’t sure about the other men, but they all looked washed.

Millie sat at the end of the table opposite Adam. She picked up the plate of bacon and placed two slices on her plate before passing it to her left.

Benjamin accepted the plate from Millie and took four slices of bacon and passed it on.

So it went until everyone had plenty of food on their plates. The empty platters were set back on the table and everyone ate.

Millie still couldn’t believe how much these men ate. She knew she shouldn’t broach this subject, but since all of the brothers would be involved, she felt they should have a say. But she couldn’t make herself speak. How do I tell these virtual strangers that I’m afraid for my life?

That night, after she’d gotten ready for bed, wearing shorty sleep shorts and a thin summer tank top, Millie went in search of Adam. She tried his bedroom first and didn’t see him. She even looked into the bathroom. Nope. No Adam.

Then she headed downstairs to the living room. Nothing.

Each room she entered she checked for an escape route. Another door, but even a window would do.

Last place to look was his office. Luckily, she found him there. Otherwise she would be headed to the barn. She knocked once on the open door. “Adam?”

He set aside the papers he was working on and waved her in. “Millie. Come in. What can I do for you?”

Millie stepped into the room. “I wanted to know how often I’ll need to do the grocery shopping?”