Claiming His Wife (Unlikely Love) Read online

  Evernight Publishing

  www.evernightpublishing.com

  Copyright© 2012 Sam Crescent

  ISBN: 978-1-77130-056-8

  Cover Artist: Sour Cherry Designs

  Editor: Karyn White

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

  WARNING: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. No part of this book may be used or reproduced electronically or in print without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in reviews.

  This is a work of fiction. All names, characters, and places are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  DEDICATION

  As always I would like to thank my family for giving me the time and support to write the stories that come into my head. Also to Evernight Publishing for giving them a home. I appreciate everything you do.

  CLAIMING HIS WIFE

  Unlikely Love, 3

  Sam Crescent

  Copyright © 2012

  Prologue

  Opal watched, happy that Tony had stood up and stopped the fiasco. What she didn’t expect was her brother’s instant reaction. Richard got up from his seat, walked over to his friend and slammed his fist in Tony’s face. She screamed as blood came out of his nose. He didn’t defend himself.

  “Have you been touching my fucking sister?” Richard snarled. The whole church erupted.

  She took a quick glance around at everyone staring. Her parents rushed to her brother.

  “Could you stop making a scene and take this conversation somewhere private?” her mother said.

  Biting her lip, Opal went with them into the private chambers of the priest.

  Charles stood behind her, and she felt his presence, which made her shiver with revulsion. Why had she allowed herself to be convinced marrying him would be a good idea?

  Her life would be so much easier if she could stick up for herself and not worry about the thoughts of other people.

  Richard looked like he was going to kill someone. Tony used his shirt to clean the blood off his face. She hoped his nose wasn’t broken.

  “What the fuck is going on?” Richard asked.

  “Nothing.”

  “Everything.” They both spoke at the same time. Opal blushed as Tony glared at her. “Could I speak with your sister alone?”

  “No.”

  “I’ve just taken a punch in the face. The least you can do is give me a few minutes alone with Opal.”

  After a few seconds, Richard left, taking her parents and Charles with him.

  The moment the door shut she turned to Tony. “I’m really sorry.”

  “Don’t be, Opal. We haven’t got much time. The safest solution is you marrying me,” he said.

  His words took her by surprise. She didn’t want to marry him, and, from the look on his face, he didn’t want to marry her either.

  “I don’t want to marry you,” she said.

  “Tough luck, sweetheart. Do you really think your parents and Charles are going to let you walk out of here scot-free? If I don’t make a claim to you right now, by the end of the day you’ll be married to that fucker.” Tony looked livid. Tears sprang to her eyes as the predicament she was in became apparent. Her parents wanted the marriage to take place to solidify their own future in the business industry. She didn’t know a lot about the business. Her training had consisted of learning to keep her mouth shut and look as pretty as possible. The diet she’d been forced on to fit into the wedding dress had been awful. Another aspect of control in her life.

  “I don’t know what to do.”

  “Don’t cry. Now, I’ll marry you and get you away from him, but that’s it. Do you hear me? You’re too young, and when you’re ready you can divorce me.”

  “What happens in between?”

  “We live our lives the way we want. I’ve been a single man for some time, Opal. I don’t want to stop being the man I am because of you.”

  “I understand.”

  They called her family in, and Tony took over with the discussions. She kept her tears at bay. Their argument washed over her and made her feel less than a foot tall. Every person in the room treated her like a child in their own way. She didn’t know how to break free from it.

  “I’m not leaving here without a wife,” Charles said. The first real sign of possession.

  “You’re not having what’s mine. You have been spoon fed, pretty boy, and I bet you’ve never fought your own battles,” Tony said.

  She ignored everything.

  ****

  A few hours later, Tony sat in his friend’s office talking about his upcoming wedding. Wayne sat in the corner keeping his thoughts to himself. Tony felt trapped and thankful for being the one to come to her rescue. Opal had grown up into a beautiful young woman. At twenty she was so young, he wouldn’t dream of touching her. Ironic considering he was about to marry her.

  Why had he stood up in church? His feelings have never gone anything past friendly care for the younger woman. What had happened from the time at the bottom of the church garden to seeing her being taken by another man?

  For years he’d known she had a crush on him. Nothing embarrassing. At least not to him. She would sit and talk with him when they were younger, her blushes appeasing his ego. Opal was the girl, or woman, he always felt would be there forever. Seeing her at the front of the church had immediately struck a chord inside him. The moment she married that fucking jerk-off, all of her smiles and sweet kisses would be for her husband. Never would he walk into a room and be the first person in her world.

  He couldn’t handle it, and what confused him the most was – why did he care?

  She was twenty years old. Seventeen years younger than he.

  “If you don’t marry my sister, you could ruin her reputation. The very fact you stood up in church and disputed it makes people wonder what went on between you,” Richard said cutting into his own confused thoughts.

  “I’m going to marry her. I promised her.”

  “Good. I want to know, and as my friend you better not fucking lie to me, have you touched or done anything with my sister?”

  “No. For God’s sake, Richard. This is me you’re talking to.”

  “And you don’t have the smoothest of reputations when it comes to women,” Richard said. “She’s a lot younger than you and in no way ready for your type of shit.”

  “Younger than me. That’s a bit like calling the kettle black. Scarlet is a fucking baby, and you still took the time to fuck it.”

  “Don’t you dare...”

  “Clearly something is going on here, and you two arguing about your women isn’t going to get the job done. I, for one, want to go home to my wife and children. Instead our families are parked outside that door waiting for some arrangement,” Wayne said. “I don’t know what’s going on, and I don’t care. Tony has said he would marry her, and we’re supposed to be here to work out the details.”

  “Where’s Opal? She deserves to hear us working out her life,” Tony said.

  “She’s already been through enough. We’ll figure everything out.”

  The next hour they came up with the prenuptial agreement. Tony knew from the way it read that it gave Opal an out whenever she needed. If at any time she wanted to leave, Tony would make sure she was settled. They called her in, and he watched as she twirled her hands in her lap.

  She nodded and agreed, signing the form. Tony signed his bit and watched her leave.

  Three weeks later they were married. The ceremony was held in a registry office. He didn’t take her on a honeymoon and spent as little time as possible with her
.

  Chapter One

  Two years later

  Opal Shaw stared down at her wedding ring.

  No, Opal Hunt. She was a married woman.

  She couldn’t believe she’d been married two years ago on this day. Biting her lip, she glanced around the room. Lily had her children with Wayne and Scarlet her children with Richard, while Opal sat in her brother’s house with a wedding ring and nothing else. She’d been married two years and didn’t know much about her husband other than the crap she read in the glossy magazines. He escorted her to events but never took the time to talk with her. He accomplished only the social graces that her brother Richard had required in an agreement for her and Tony to be married.

  After the wedding, which had been in a registry office with her brother and his wife as witnesses, her parents had kicked her out. The scandal was so far-reaching that they couldn’t bear to look at their only daughter. The wedding night she’d dreamed about had been a disaster. She didn’t want to ask Lily and Scarlet about their wedding nights in case they asked her about hers.

  “So, I wanted to tell you guys the news first,” Lily said. Opal stared at the beautiful dark-haired woman. Wayne and her brother had gone to talk business. The three women were alone with the children.

  Tony hadn’t turned up yet. Probably another long night partying and doing nothing else but shagging the next model or something. She kept up to date with all of his conquests. He showed no interest in being with her. She didn’t blame him. The moment she left her parental home the weight had come back on. The diets they had kept her on had ended, and she ate what she liked when she liked.

  “Wayne and I are going to have another baby.”

  Opal smiled and congratulated Lily. Scarlet did the same, and she was already pregnant with Richard’s third child herself.

  Would Opal be cursed to never have news of her own? What had she done in the last two years of being married to Tony? She spent most of her days cleaning the house he’d placed her in.

  “I take it you’ve told them our good news?” Wayne asked as he entered the living room, carrying a tray of drinks.

  “Yes. You know I can’t keep everything to myself for long.” The couple shared a smile. Opal yearned for what the two couples had. Richard walked over to Scarlet, kissed her on the lips and stroked her bulging belly.

  “Have I missed the party?” Tony asked as he walked into the room.

  Her brother scowled at him, but then turned and shook his friend’s hand.

  “Sorry, I’m late.” Tony didn’t acknowledge her. Glancing at his finger she saw he still didn’t have a wedding ring. She twirled the modest diamond on her own finger.

  Was it time to call it quits?

  “Excuse me,” she said. Without looking at anyone she got up and left the room. Running up the stairs, she found the bathroom. She closed the door, going straight to the sink.

  Dampening her wrists she splashed her face and neck. Her heart pounded. Tony always had the ability to disarm her. Out of the two men her brother came home with, Tony had been the one to make her head spin with crazy ideas. How quickly her ideals had changed. Her wedding night came to mind. His words and the way he’d spoken, scaring her. Brushing the memory off, she took some deep breaths before she felt in control.

  She opened the bathroom door and hit a hard masculine chest. Staring up she looked up into his eyes. The dark brown, almost black, eyes stared back at her. She fisted her hands at her side and turned to look away. When they were alone she struggled to find the right words to say to him. It was like they got married, and everything changed. She became another person for him.

  “What’s up, petal?” he asked. His voice went through her and made her lower body tighten. The warmth spread up until she knew a red blush would be staining her cheeks.

  “I-I-I’m fine.” This was another thing. Why had she developed a stutter?

  “I haven’t seen you for a while or heard from you. How have you been?” When they’d first gotten married he’d demanded a call from her every week to check in and make sure she was fine. As the months moved on, she simply stopped calling. Or more to the point, as soon as the glossy magazines had the latest kiss and tell story about him, she’d stopped calling.

  “What do you want to know?” she asked.

  “To make sure you’re okay.”

  “I’m fine.” Talking to him without looking at him helped for her to speak.

  His hand cupped her face, tilted her head back and forced her to look at him. Without her realising it he’d been budging her further into the bathroom. She gasped as the door closed.

  They were alone together.

  “I want to know why you stopped calling me.”

  “You started to look busy.”

  “Your lips are so full,” he said. Opal frowned as he stared down at her lips. His thumb running along her bottom lip. “You look so beautiful.”

  His words hurt. He called her beautiful when he dated models and really pretty thin women.

  “Don’t say stuff like that,” she said, pulling out of his touch. “I’m not pretty.”

  “Who says you’re not pretty?”

  “I don’t need someone to tell me. I’ve got a mirror, and I have to look in it every day. Besides, I could never compete with the women you date.”

  She made to walk past him, but he caught her arm, the grip tight but not painful. Biting her lip she forced herself to turn and face him. At thirty-nine, he was still a good-looking man. His hair did have a few greys, but they didn’t make him look old, more of a mature man. A small number of wrinkles were near his eyes and along his forehead. If only he could look like an ogre then maybe she’d be able to leave him.

  ****

  Tony held her arm and felt the electricity shoot up from his arm from the small touch. He wasn’t near bare skin. She wore a red cardigan over her shirt. He’d noticed she covered up her body whenever she got a chance to. Staring at her now, he saw the maturity in her. The two years had developed her significantly. She held that submissive pose he loved to see, and then she turned and stared him in the eye. He knew she trembled from his touch.

  Staying away from her was becoming more difficult with every passing day. He didn’t want to be away from her. The calls she use to make had been the highlight of his week. The calls had stopped, and so to had her beautiful smiles. He’d fucked everything up on their wedding night.

  She was so young, sweet and innocent, and he was harsh to the world. His life hadn’t been sunshine and roses. Part of him was fucked up, and letting Opal near him could expose her to the worst side of him. The side that needed to control. To be in charge. He hated himself, but most of his life he’d kept it hidden from everyone close to him. The whispers that accompanied him were only supplied by gossiping women.

  Admitting he wanted Opal would be the worst thing he could ever do.

  “I say you’re pretty, and that is all that matters,” he said.

  “Could you please let go of my arm?” she asked.

  Didn’t she know what she did to him? He hated himself for the way he craved her attention and her touch.

  “I don’t want to let you go. You’re too young.”

  “I’m not a child, Tony.”

  With her admission hanging in the air, Tony lost it. Without thinking he pushed her up against the nearest wall. He heard her gasp and slammed his lips down on hers, acting on pure instinct rather than allowing himself time to think about what he was doing. She resisted him for the first few moments and then succumbed to the power of his kiss.

  He didn’t let up, even as her hands pulled at the hair on the base of his neck. He wanted more, to feel her giving everything to him.

  For two years he’d dreamt about her kisses and wondered what it would be like to have her as his own. But for two years he’d fought the burning desire within him. Opal was Richard’s younger sister. Being the bastard he was he wasn’t willing to fight anymore. He wanted her, and he intended to ha
ve her by any means possible.

  “You’re on fire for me,” he said. He cupped her ass and lifted her. She wrapped her legs around him, and he settled his cock against the apex of her thighs. He felt the heat through the denim of her jeans. Tony knew if he touched her cunt she’d be soaking wet.

  There was so much passion inside her bursting to break free.

  “Give me everything.”

  “I can’t.”

  “Yes, you can,” he told her.

  Moving one hand away from her ass, he travelled up her body, past her rounded stomach to cup one of her heavy tits in his hand.

  Pulling away, he stared into her beautiful eyes. Her blonde hair fell all around her. He loved her hair, and he knew it was her natural colour. Never had she dyed it like some girls did. Her pale skin flushed with arousal. Her eyes were wide as she stared back at him.

  This is how he had dreamed about her. Aroused and open for him.

  “You look beautiful to me.” He touched her naked breast under her shirt and bra, the nipple small and tight as he grazed it with his fingers. She moaned and arched closer to his touch. The weight of her felt perfect in his arms.

  He could hold her forever.

  Suddenly, as it all started, Opal pulled away stopping it as abruptly. Withdrawing from him, she placed a hand on top of his over her breast.

  “Stop,” she said.

  Her words rolled over him, and he wanted to shake his head and demand for them to continue. Instead, he pulled his hand away.

  “Let me down.” He placed her on the floor. “You told me this would never happen between us.”

  Tony knew what he’d said to her.

  “Things change.”

  “You said you’d never touch me. I don’t want you to do something you’ll regret, and I won’t be a replacement for one of your women.”

  With her words hanging in the air, she left the room. He watched her go, not even trying to stop her.