Free Fighting Fate: Book 2 of the Warrior Chronicles by Leigh Morgan Page B

go. Then she started to feel and that was a mistake. The feel of his tongue as it rubbed slowly, mesmerizingly across hers made her want more. So did the softness of his lips, the gentleness of his thumbs as they brushed across her lower jaw, the fullness in her breasts as she felt herself rub against his chest. She was drowning in her need. Wrapping her arms around him she kissed him back, aware of their avid audience, but not inclined to let that stop her from this small moment of peace.
    Taryn wanted him, all of him, and she was way too old to pretend she didn’t. That did not mean she’d let him bulldoze her into something she didn’t want and didn’t need. She pushed away, reluctantly, and he let her go.
    “Mary said you’ve been collecting donations to build a James Campbell wing onto the Celtic Studies building on campus. I’m willing to make a ten million dollar donation to make it happen,” Jesse said.
    Taryn narrowed her eyes at him. If he’d offered to pay her, turning him down would have been easy, fun even, but he hadn’t. He’d offered to pay for making her dream of seeing her father’s work honored and continued come true. The look on his face said he knew how important this was to her. She looked at Mary who had the audacity to wink at her and smile.
    “How long?” Taryn asked.
    Jesse cocked his head at her questioningly.
    “How long do we have to stay married?”
    A warm, slow smile transformed his face from merely handsome to breathtaking. He ought to smile all the time, Taryn thought, remembering him in only a towel, still damp from his shower. She gritted her teeth so hard she felt the outer layer of enamel turn to dust. She would not be deterred by her strong need to be near him, to touch him, to…
    “Are you growling at me?” He sounded amused.
    “Just answer the question.”
    “Six months, and you’ll spend the last three here getting to know Reed.”
    “Four months, and I’ll spend the last month at your house.” Taryn risked a quick glance at Reed. “I will spend that month getting to know Reed and the rest of my, er, this family.” Taryn could feel her face turning red, something that happened rarely for her as very little made her uncomfortable and almost nothing embarrassed her. She looked at Mary and at each member of her newly discovered extended family in turn, letting them all know she didn’t like this but would tolerate it and they had damn well better honor her conditions or this was one dead deal.
    “Three conditions,” she said, turning back to Jesse.
    “That’s fine, I have two of my own. You go first.”
    That was fine with her. “First: this is legal fiction, not a marriage. No one in this room will refer to us as being married. This is a contract no more and no less. You give me the wing for my father’s work, which will take fifteen million, not ten.” She was pushing it and she knew it. The wing was budgeted to come in fully furnished with statuary, books, and décor at seven million. But, if he was willing to pay, she wanted to make him feel it.
    “Done. Next?” Apparently fifteen million didn’t phase him, damn the man to hell and back.
    “I am physically attracted to you and I want a physical relationship. You will be at my disposal sexually whenever I ask. I of course will reciprocate when you ask as long as I’m not angry with you.” She waited for the earth to open and swallow her whole, but the earth it appeared wasn’t willing to end her mortifying flow of words.
    He didn’t laugh. He didn’t even crack a smile. But his eyes twinkled when he said, “I’m fairly certain you’re going to spend a lot of time angry with me. That shouldn’t be a reason to stop me from making love to you. How about as long as each of us is willing, and just to ensure that happens, we will share the same bed every night for the next six months.”
    “Four months.”
    “Agreed.” He said quickly. Taryn got the feeling she’d somehow been duped, but