Page 21 of Fairy Tale Husband

She tilted her head to one side. “Yes? That we what?”

“That we—”

A loud banging sounded at the door. “Aunt Wynne! Aunt Wynne! Wake up.”

Jake stiffened. “Now who the hell is that?” Laser-sharp eyes focused on her. “Something I should know about?”

Wynne swallowed nervously. She really wished she’d had a little more time to prepare him. Because she suspected his annoyance over her innocence would be nothing compared to his annoyance over this next bit of news. Gathering every ounce of self-possession, she offered a tentative smile.

“That,” she announced, “is my inheritance.”

CHAPTERFOUR

NOT waiting to see Jake’s reaction to the news, Wynne jumped out of bed, dragging the sheet with her. Unlatching the door, she opened it a scant inch. “Hey, brat,” she teased the boy planted squarely in front of the threshold. “You’re up early.”

“It weren’t me,” scorned Buster, hauling a younger boy out from behind him. “It was Chick. He got scared when he woke up and couldn’t find you.”

“What about Laura?” Wynne asked in concern. “She was there, wasn’t she?”

Buster shrugged. “He didn’t want Laura.”

She switched her attention to the smaller of the two, and offered a reassuring smile, not at all surprised to see Chick’s thumb firmly planted in his mouth. “Well, I’m here now. Just give me a minute to dress and I’ll let you in so you can meet your new uncle, okay?”

That sparked some interest. “An uncle?” Buster questioned cautiously, exchanging a quick look with his brother. “How’d we get an uncle?”

“I married him last night. Remember? Itold you I might. Now don’t move. I’ll be right back.”

She decided not to introduce the boys to Jake until she’d changed into something more appropriate than a sheet. Leaving the door slightly ajar, she snatched up her overnight bag before shooting Jake a brief, nervous glance. He stood by the window facing her, his arms folded across his chest. His expression did not bode well for her future health.

Fleeing into the bathroom, she slammed the door closed. This was not good. Not good at all. She leaned against the cool, painted surface and nibbled her lower lip. How much had he heard and just how mad had it made him? Enough, she decided, and plenty mad. If she read that glitter in his eyes correctly, he was seriously ticked off. She sighed.

This was not going at all as she’d planned. Well, except for last night and this morning. That had exceeded every dream she’d ever envisioned and then some. She shoved her wedding band more securely onto her finger, her movement reflected in the mirror over the sink. Curious, she dropped her bag and crept closer, studying herself for any changes the past few hours had wrought.

Her hair couldn’t have been more rumpled if she’d just come in from a fast ride in an open convertible. Beneath wispy bangs, her eyes glowed a vivid green, brimming with happiness and startling in their intensity. She looked as though she’d found the key to all the secrets in the universe and then some. Well, maybe she had. She’d certainly found a whole new world locked within Jake’sarms.

She adjusted her grip on the sheet and it dipped lower, exposing a small patch of reddened skin. It was a brand of possession. Jake’s possession. She swallowed, remembering the delicious rasp of his stubbled cheek against her breast.

Three different fiancés had attempted every wile under the sun to lure her into their beds and not once had she been tempted. But with Jake... No wiles. No lures. Just a passionate, irresistible man with wicked gold eyes and a touch that drove every thought but one from her head. And look where that one thought had led her. Straight into marriage and then into hisbed.

Had it been a mistake? She shook her head without a moment’s hesitation. No. She hadn’t made a mistake. She’d chosen a warrior to fight Mrs. Marsh and a husband who’d made her passage into marriage a memory more precious than anything that had gone before.

Jake pounded on the door. “Move it, elf,” came his muffled order. “You can’t hide in there forever. Get your tail out here and face the music.”

She sighed. So much for precious memories.

Catapulted into action, she took the fastest shower on record and scrambled into her clothes, happiness gripping her despite her worries. The past twenty-four hours had been the most wondrous, enchanted moments of her entire life. The idea of a future filled with equally wondrous, enchanted moments brought a silly grin to her mouth.

It disappeared the instant she stepped from the bathroom.

“Who the hell is the kid at the door?” Jake demanded.

She hesitated, casting him a quick, sidelong glance, noticing he’d also taken time to dress. Well-worn jeans clung to his lean hips, delineating the powerful length of his thighs. His unbuttoned shirt proved more distracting since it did nothing to conceal the impressive breadth of his darkly furred chest.

“He’s my nephew.”

Jake’s eyes narrowed as he shoved his feet into boots. “He has something to do with your inheritance?”

She shot a quick look at the gaping door, certain the boys were eavesdropping on every word of their conversation. “He is my inheritance, but, ah...” She wavered, torn between the desire to answer Jake’s questions and her anxiety over leaving the boys standing in the hallway unattended. She’d learned from experience they didn’t do well on their own. In fact, it was amazing they hadn’t already lost patience with the delay and erupted into the room. “Could we discuss this later?”

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