Page 9 of No Regrets

“Bree, Shiloh was in his will too.” He grabbed her arms pulling her to him. “He was going to give her his Texas ranch—as a matter of fact, Shiloh Lynn Miller-Riggens is worth about $5.8 million right about now, because the damn property is in her name. Not to mention he has a trust fund set up for her for when she turns twenty-five. That’s about a million itself.”

Her shock was noticeable. He touched her cheek, a soft caress of his warm fingers against her cool skin. Her baby was a millionaire. What were the freaking chances of that?

“I want Shiloh to get her fair share. Not because I know you need the money or that I want my daughter taken care of. I want her to have something to remember her grandfather by.”

“The ranch was his favorite place on earth,” Bree whispered.

He nodded. “So if we get married, I’m making it perfectly clear it is only for that reason. Shiloh gets the ranch—already has the ranch—and the rest of my family get their share.”

She nodded. “Kaden, you know I never wanted you for your money, don’t you?”

“I know it. You’re my best friend in the whole entire world. I didn’t realize how much I missed you until today when I needed you most. I’m really glad you came.” He pulled her to him for a hug, a hug she didn’t want to end.

Oh, why did he have to do this now? She didn’t want to love him. She didn’t even want to like him. But he made both very easy for her. She didn’t want him to pull away. She didn’t want his arms around anyone else but her. How dumb was that?

“Let’s go in. You’re freezing.” He pulled back and then rubbed her arms with his hands.

For the next two hours, they worked on making a marriage agreement. Naturally she’d sign a pre-nup, but they’d also legalize their marriage agreement to last as long as their arrangement.

“Sex.” Kaden grabbed a marshmallow from the dish she carried in the living room and popped it in his mouth. “What are we going to do about sex?”

She was trying to busy herself making the s’mores next to the fire, but the topic refused to answer itself. “Uh, how do you answer a question like that?”

He grinned. “I do believe, my darling Bree, that I made you blush.”

“Did not,” she said defensively, pressing the graham crackers together. The creamy marshmallow and chocolate gushed out onto her fingers, making a mess of the whole thing. She handed Kaden the one she made, then licked her fingers.

“Well, we agreed on a year. Does that mean we’re celibate for a year? Do we share pleasures? How do you want to do this?”

Before she thought about it, she replied, “Celibate.”

His eyes met hers as he bit into the tasty treat. Slowly he chewed the gooey dessert, and she wanted to avoid looking at him. She wanted to pull away from their magnetic power and go about her business unaffected. But his presence was too vast in the room, taking up all her breathing space, making her head swim. No, alcohol hadn’t been the only thing that night to make her loopy.

“You want to go without sex for a whole year?” He questioned her as if she were a crazy person saying she was sane.

“Why not? I have no problem with that now.” She shrugged, pushing a marshmallow on the coat hanger and shoving it in the fire.

“Have you had sex since that night?” She tried to lie. She tried to come up with a comeback. It didn’t work. Her silence spoke the words for her. “Damn, honey. Why?”

“I don’t have time for relationships. I work double shifts, and what free time I have, I divide it between Shiloh and sleeping. Sex doesn’t even cross my mind.”

She could tell by the look on his face that he doubted that, and he was right. Sleeping, she dreamed about sex, sex she only knew with him. She hated to admit it, but she fantasized about him, more than she really needed too.

“Brianna, stop lying to me. Sex is sex. If you want to fuck me, just say it. I’ll write up the agreement, and in the end, we’ll part about our merry ways.”

It’d be so easy if that were true. Although she knew if Kaden laid his hands on her again, they wouldn’t part about their merry ways. He had ruined her for every other man, because she desired no other. Even the guys that hit on her at work didn’t even entice. Kaden was it. And if she let him into her bed, he’d break her heart.

“I’m not having sex with you.”

“Fine. I think your making a big mistake though.” He wrote something on his notepad, and she huffed a breath.

“You just want to get laid.”

“Yeah. It’s not so bad for you to want the same thing either.” He pinned her with his eyes. “Do you even remember that night we spent together?”

Oh, did she remember. “Sure. We had sex in every position humanly possible on just about every surface of my house. You liked to nearly drown in the shower, but I made it worth your while. Of course I remember.”

His eyes flashed with humor. “Then you weren’t as drunk as I thought. I don’t feel as guilty of taking advantage of you now.”

---