Free Marriage by Mistake by Alyssa Kress Page B

turned on his way out the door. "About
Robby," he said softly. "Don't cross me."
    Kelly thought it best not to attempt a
reply.
     
     
    CHAPTER SIX
     
    "No, no I understand. Thank you." Carefully,
not to indulge any of the frustration he felt, Dean set down the
telephone he'd been using at his downtown office desk. It was
already May, he'd just been told, too late in the semester to
enroll a new student.
    Dean rubbed a hand over his mouth. He should
have started this process a week-and-a-half ago, when Robby had
first dropped on his doorstep, but he'd resisted being the one
stuck with the task.
    Now...? Well, all morning he'd been hearing
variations on the same theme: too late in the semester, Robby's
grades not up to par, the obstacle of a good recommendation from
his last school, and so on and so forth.
    Dean leaned back in his chair. It seemed his
half-brother had burned his bridges when it came to decent boarding
schools. That was a problem in more ways than one. Not only was
Robby missing out on some much-needed education, but Dean couldn't
get him out of harm's way.
    Instead the kid was stuck at home, stuck in
the same house with that woman.
    A helpless snort escaped Dean. Hell, he was stuck in the same house with her. In his own way, he
was in just as great danger as Robby. Dean pushed out of his chair.
He paced across the scrupulously white carpet toward the windows
where downtown Boston stirred beneath him.
    He barely noticed the city bustle, pondering
instead his reaction to his wife. Whenever he was around her,
something like a drug shot through his system, arousing his body
and scattering his brain cells. He couldn't think straight
when near her.
    He'd never experienced lust this strong.
Almost...out of control. Almost enough to make him do
something...stupid.
    Dean hated acting like a coward, yet he'd
been doing just that. A coward, he'd stayed at the office until
late that first night, until he could be sure Kelly had retired to
her bedroom.
    Much good that had done. He'd gone up to his
solitary room and dreamed about her. Wild, erotic dreams. They'd
been like nothing he'd ever experienced, the sex unlike any he'd
ever had. No holds barred, skin and teeth and tongues. Animal,
frantic   
    Satisfying.
    Dean drew in a deep breath. God, had it been
satisfying. Too satisfying. And so he couldn't help wondering: was
the dream based on memory? Had the sex between them really been
that good?
    Dean's breath hissed out. No. He couldn't let
himself wonder. He'd go crazy. He'd spend every waking moment
scheming how to get her into bed, how to achieve that satisfaction
in reality.
    He'd act like a damned fool.
    Cars and people hurried past each other on
the street below. Deliberately, Dean relaxed his tight jaw. First
of all, it had been a dream, not a memory. Secondly, he was his own
man, heredity notwithstanding.
    He didn't have to act like a damned fool.
    Even if he might want to.
    ###
    Kelly was thrilled to find Dean's basement
gym. She could stay in shape and be ready to go back to work the
minute this trial period marriage was over.
    On Monday morning she jumped onto Dean's
state-of-the-art equipment, ignoring the voice chattering inside
her head that after four days in his house she was doing absolutely
nothing about learning who 'this' Dean really was.
    It wasn't her fault, though. Dean was
avoiding her. He left every morning super early and came home super
late. Not her fault.
    In the plain-walled gym, Kelly pumped away on
Dean's stationary bicycle. Well, all right, truth be told, she was
glad Dean was avoiding her. She felt very confused about him. He
was cold, disapproving, way too authoritarian. He didn't even like her.
    And yet    and yet    she
couldn't help feeling there was something there, some thing   
    On the stationary bicycle, Kelly shook her
head. What was there was pure lust, a simple physical attraction.
She wanted it to be more than that. God knew, she missed the
man she'd married, but a