Love is Only a Whisper (Whisper Series) (23 page)

“At least you had the decency to marry her,” he sneered.

“Ashton, who’s at the
door?”

Nicole stood at the top
of the stairs, tying the robe she previously had on. He knew she was naked
underneath and the thought of Brent looking or knowing that fact angered him.
He didn’t answer so she started down the stairs.

Reaching the last step, she halted when she saw Brent.
Ashton watched her closely and saw the shock that hit her eyes. It was brief
but she covered it well. Anyone looking at her would think she was the epitome
of grace.

“Hello Brent. What are
you doing here? You mother said that you and Melissa were away.”

Ashton noticed she didn’t
say the word honeymoon. He wondered if she was bothered by the fact that Brent
took his wife on a romantic getaway.

“Nicole, I need to talk to you,” Brent said.

Fury flew in Ashton but he didn’t move. He wanted to throw his brother out of the house and away from his wife. Nicole shot him a quick glance before she walked to Brent.

“Is something wrong?” she asked, concern lining her eyes.

“You need to ask me that?”

“I don’t know what you mean.”

“You married my brother, Nicole. I think that’s reason
enough for me to be here.”

“I may owe you an explanation but—”

“You think?” His words were cutting and sarcastic. “You and
I shared everything.”

“That’s enough, Brent.” Ashton had watched his wife pale at
the rough tone his brother directed at her. “I let you through the door but
I’ll be damned if you get carte blanche to talk to my wife any way you want.
Apologize now.”

“Ashton, it’s okay. Brent—”

“The hell it is. Now Brent.”

“I didn’t mean to come at you like that. I would never do
anything to intentionally hurt you.”

“Really? What about your marriage to Melissa?” Ashton said.

Brent blanched at his words. “This has nothing to do with
you.”

“The hell it doesn’t”

Nicole cleared her throat. “Why don’t we go into the
library where we’ll be more comfortable?”

Ashton frowned and moved away from the door. “He won’t be
staying long.”

“Please. Let’s be civil,” she said.

“I agree, Nicole.” Brent reached out to place a hand at the
small of her back but Ashton stepped between them. It was only the plea in
Nicole’s eyes that stopped him from knocking Brent on his ass.

His brother created a small space between but he still
touched her arm. “I need to talk to you…alone.”

“No, you don’t. It won’t be happening. Not in this life time.” Ashton said coldly.

“Ashton, please he’s your brother.”

“Then he needs to start acting like it. And while we’re at
it, get your
goddamn
hands off my wife.”

“Ashton!” Her furious eyes slammed into his but it didn’t
deter him.

He tightened his lips. “If Brent wants to talk, he can deal
with the both of us. Nicole, get dressed.”

She glared at him. “What?”

“Will you go upstairs and get dressed…please?”

She looked at him for a long moment. One thing she didn’t
like was being told what to do. He was certain she would deal with him after
Brent left.

“I’ll be right back, Brent.”

Ashton watched her until she disappeared upstairs. He
cringed when she slammed the door to their bedroom.

“You just witnessed the angry Nicole.” Brent had the nerve
to chuckle. However, Ashton couldn’t find a damn thing that was funny. “She
isn’t the meek and quiet woman you think she is. She’s fiery, stubborn and
strong-headed. I believe you like your women to be submissive to your every
whim.”

“I don’t need you to tell me the characteristics of my
wife.” Ashton got up into Brent’s face. The tension was thick. “Now get the
hell out of my house.”

Brent didn’t move. “Why are so afraid for me to talk to
Nicole? Could it be she doesn’t know how calculating and cunning you can be
when it comes to women?”

“I’m going to tell you only once more, get the
fuck
out of my house…now.”

The silence was impenetrable. Ashton stared at him with more anger than he thought possible when it came to his brother.

Brent stepped toward the door. “I’ll leave. I don’t want to upset Nicole.” He pointed at Ashton. “Eventually, I will talk to Nicole, whether you’re there or not.”

“You want to bet?”

“She loves me and I love her. It took me a long time to
realize my feelings. But once I tell her, she’ll come to me,” Brent threw at him.

Ashton’s heart plummeted but he refused to let Brent see how
his words cut him. “Now who is being delusional? You had your chance with
Nicole and you didn’t take it. I wasn’t as foolish. She’s my wife and will
remain so. Did you forget you have a wife?”

“Marrying Melissa was a mistake.”

“Damn you. Did you tell her that?”

“I will.”

“You’re a callous ass.”

Brent shrugged. “I tried to make the marriage work. We both
did. But it’s not working for me.”

“My wife will not be a deciding factor in your decision.”

“I’m filing for a divorce.”

“Divorce or not, you stay the hell away from Nicole.”

With his hand on the doorknob, Brent stopped and turned back.
He pointed toward the staircase. “I know what you’re doing. I noticed what
Nicole had on or rather the lack of dress. Any fool could see she just crawled
out of your bed.”

“We’re newlyweds. What do you expect?”

“Do you think sex is going to hold her?”

“No, but my baby will.”

“What?” The shock look across Brent’s face gave him
satisfaction. “Nicole’s pregnant?”

“There’s no mistake about it.”

“You son of a bitch.”

“Careful, Brent. You don’t want to go there with me.”

“I never thought you would stoop so low to get what you
want.”

“It galls you that she’s in my bed. She’s mine and she wants
me.
Get over it.”

“Don’t bet on it.” Brent walked out the door, slamming it so
hard that the sound vibrated in the foyer.

Ashton released a deep breath, fighting to gain control of
his anger and fear. Yes, it was fear. He was afraid of losing Nicole to his
brother. She loved Brent. That was something he couldn’t change but he was
going to try his damnedest to make her fall in love with him.

He took the steps two at time. Nicole was coming out of the bathroom when he entered the master bedroom. She looked up at him and tightened the towel around her body.

“I took a shower. It won’t take me long to throw on
something.” She moved toward the walk-in closet. “Is Brent in the library?”

“No, he left.”

She turned toward him, surprise etched on her face. “Left? Why?
I thought he needed to talk to me.”

“He changed his mind.”

Her eyes narrowed and drilled a hole through him.

“You asked him to leave, didn’t you?”

Ashton returned her look and refused to lie. “I did.”

“But why? He came all the way over here to see me so it
must’ve been important.”

“Are you serious? There’s nothing he has to say to my wife.”

She threw daggers at him. She was magnificent in her anger,
it took his breath way. A part of his anatomy hardened. He shuffled his feet,
trying to release the pressure.

Her beautiful eyes didn’t like him very much at the moment but he did what he had to do. Brent wanted to try and convince her to leave him. It wasn’t happening. He couldn’t lose her.

Nicole threw off the towel and with angry jerky movements,
grabbed the robe lying over the chair and slipped it on. She flopped down on
the chair in front of the small dresser and began to brush out the wet tangles
in her hair.

“So you’re not talking to me now?”

He waited for answer but none came. He walked into the bathroom and turned on the shower. All that Brent said played back in his mind. He was divorcing Melissa. What would that mean for Nicole? Would she leave him? He grabbed the edge of the sink. Although she didn’t love him, he couldn’t let her go. He was counting on her to remember their marriage vows to each other. They were sacred. Also the baby gave him leverage but it wouldn’t stop his brother.

When he came out, she was still brushing her hair with her
eyes glued to the mirror. He went to the dresser, grabbed a pair of boxers and
slipped them on.

“Brody’s back from a two month hiatus in Montana. His parents are having a welcome home party. It’s a week from Saturday.” He waited for her to comment, again none came. “It’s semi-formal. I have set up personal and household accounts for you at bank.” Reaching for the wallet that lay on the nightstand, he retrieved a black card and held it out to her.

She glanced at him, then the card, and turned to finish her
hair. “I don’t need your money. I have enough of my own. I can buy whatever I
need.”

He placed the card on the dresser. Ashton was no stranger to
getting what he wanted. He could be relentless and knew it. It was who he was
and he wouldn’t apologize for it. His needs were a little intense when it came
to Nicole. She didn’t realize the grip she had on his heart. He stared at her.
God, he loved her.

Nicole could be willful, stubborn and vulnerable but never
revengeful.

“This has nothing to do with your money, Nicole. I know
you’re independently wealthy in your own right. I don’t want you using your
money for anything. You’re my wife and I’ll take care of you.”

“This isn’t the 1950’s, Ashton, where wives depend on their
husbands for everything.”

“I want us to share everything.”

Twisting her hair into a fashionable ponytail, she threw
down the brush and faced him. Her hands clenched and then rested on her hips.
“Really? You want to share everything? Then tell me why you threw Brent out of
this house. And don’t tell me you didn’t.”

“We just got home, Nicole. You’re —”

“Stop it. I don’t need you to tell what I want and feel. And
most of all, don’t you ever embarrass me the way you did today, Ashton.”

He was silent for a moment. “Do you want him?”

“What?”

“I asked you a question. Do you want him?”

“Brent is a married to Melissa.”

He stiffened. “You didn’t answer the question.”

Her brow arched. “Where is this coming from? I’m married to
you.”

A cold chill settled over him because she didn’t answer the question. He grabbed the back of his head and massaged the tight muscle at the nape of his neck. He tried to relax but couldn’t. The urge for her was overpowering. He wanted to say forget it, wrap his arms around her, and love her the way he wanted to. But he refused to bury his head in the sand.

“You gave me your answer,” he said and strived to keep his
voice calm.

“What does that mean?”

“Do you love him, Nicole?”

“Of course, I love Brent. But that has nothing—”

“Yet you married me.”

“You, better than anyone, know the circumstances that led to
our marriage.”

“Do you regret marrying me?”

“It’s a little late for that, isn’t it?”

“You can keep mooning over my brother.”

“You sound crazy.”

“I don’t want you alone with him.”

She stood. “Now you’re trying to dictate my friends. I won’t let you do it. Brent was in my life long before I knew you and he will continue to be so. This jealousy or whatever it is you have with Brent is not my doing.”

He moved toward her and she took a step backwards. Was she
afraid of him? It angered him. He pulled her into his arms, capturing her mouth.
He was determined to erase Brent from her mind and heart. There would be no
illusions between them.

He lifted his head. “Brent has your heart? Fine, let him have it. I don’t need it,” he lied. The hollow words cut holes into his heart. “But I’ll be damned if he’ll have your body. What you see with me, Nicole, is it. It’s too late. You can’t go back and change what’s happened between us. He tangled his hand into her hair and brought her forward. “I won’t give you up. Not now, not ever.”

Her eyes narrowed and she pushed at his chest. “You don’t own me, Ashton. You are not going to tell me who I can talk to, or where I can go. Ever since I’ve known you, you have run roughshod over people. You bellow and people scurry to your bidding. I’m not one of them.”

His gaze trained on her soulful eyes and beautiful face. He swallowed the lump in his throat. “Both of us made a choice to be together but it wasn’t only for the baby.” She opened her mouth to speak and he placed his finger across her lips. “Don’t deny it. If you do it would be lie.”

“I’m not denying it. But I need more. I do want us to work, Ashton, but I won’t push Brent away. He’s your brother and my friend. You need to take your bruised ego and box it.”

“My ego? This has nothing to do with ego.”

“Then what is it? A game? To see which brother is going to
win. It’s no contest” She placed her hand on his set jaw and he inwardly enjoyed
the warmth. “I’m your wife, not Brent’s.”

He intended to keep it that way. But the question that
needed to be asked was at the forefront of his thoughts. Would she leave him
once Brent divorced Melissa? It was something he didn’t want to know. His arms
touched the bump of her slightly round stomach. Against him the hardened
areolas brushed against the fabric of his shirt and he swelled to attention.

“Brent is not a part of us. Stop putting him there.” Then she surprised him by initiating a kiss that was welcomed but confused him. The command of the situation caused his heart to soar. The kiss stroked a growing fire when her tongue slowly slid over his.

The taste was fresh and sweet. He swept the deepest depths,
urgent and seeking. Breathing was becoming difficult. His heart pounded. The
sound rumbled in his ears. Ashton broke the contact, panting with deep breaths.
The grip of power was strong. His mind screamed the words not spoken aloud; don’t
leave me. The only thing that would bind them surfaced with force. Passion.
This they both understood.