Free Awaken to Pleasure by Nalini Singh Page B

were suddenly sharper. “Do not just depend on me as someone powerful, but also as aman. As your husband. You are now in my care.” His rough declaration made her eyes widen in surprise.
    “Taylor! I don’t have a suit for your wedding.” Nick barreled out of his room. Worry stamped his face.
    Jackson reached out and tousled his jet-black hair. “I’ve ordered you a tux. If you’re ready, let’s head home.”
    Nick’s smile strengthened Taylor’s resolve. She’d do anything for her brother. And, she thought, a little shocked, she’d do anything to keep a smile on Jackson’s face, too. She would not hurt him by withholding herself—he understood her fear but it was a rejection all the same, telling him that she didn’t trust him. If she couldn’t trust her body with Jackson, who could she trust?
    It was a startling insight.
     
    That day was a whirlwind of activity. With Nick tagging along quietly, Taylor went to work with Jackson, helping him organize matters so that the studios could temporarily function without him at the helm. After lunch, she left to meet Maggie, the therapist she’d agreed to see. To her surprise, she found herself comfortable with the older woman who welcomed her into her office.
    When she returned to the studios, Jackson simply asked, “So?”
    “I like her. It might work.”
    Giving her a smile, Jackson went back to work and after checking on Nick, she continued to assist him. They’d agreed to leave town for a few days on the pretext of a honeymoon, so that Lance would have no room to ask awkward questions about their marriage. As Nick was now on vacation, it was decided that he’d spend the time out on a farm, with a friend of his who’d moved out of the city.
    “I want to take him with us, but I know we have to give the impression of being on a honeymoon,” Taylor said, latethat night. She was pacing in front of the sofa, while Jackson stood by the window, back to the night, cognac in hand. The amber liquid sparkled through the crystal snifter, momentarily catching her gaze. “I’ve missed him so much. I don’t know if they’ll take care of him out on the farm.”
    “You’re overprotective.” Jackson’s quiet declaration stopped her midpace.
    Shocked, she clenched her fists. Her temper ignited. “What would you know about bringing up a child?”
    She thought pain flickered over the rugged beauty of his face but his tone was calm. “I was a boy at one stage.”
    “And you think that gives you the right to tell me how to raise Nick?” Just because he was helping her keep her brother didn’t mean he could dictate to her.
    “No. What gives me the right is that I can see he’s unhappy and that he’ll never say anything to you, because he loves you too much.”
    An arrow to her heart would have done less damage. “Unhappy?” she whispered.
    “He’s been getting bullied for being a sissy.”
    “How do you know? He just got back from camp.”
    “He told me while you were having a bath—he couldn’t hide it after I saw the bruise on his leg.”
    “What!” she cried, fighting the urge to wake Nick and check up on him. “Who? I’ll kill them.”
    “That’s just the problem.”
    “Why didn’t he tell me? What’s the problem?” She couldn’t bear to think of her sweet baby brother being bullied. Why hadn’t he trusted her with this? Why had he told Jackson, whom he hardly knew?
    “You’re always sticking up for him. Even at school.”
    “You wouldn’t know, but that’s what elder siblings do.” Her hurt made her cruel. “You don’t even know where your sister is at the moment.”
    Jackson didn’t blink but she knew him well enough to know that her barb had found its target. The skin over his cheekbones tightened and he looked away from her and over the water vista out the window. The night was peaceful and the water moved in gentle symphony, but inside, she felt like she was crashing and burning. His hurt pained her.
    “I’m sorry,” she