Page 23 of Branded

“Mrs. Drake, you can get dressed. I’ll have the certification paperwork ready in a moment.”

Both women leave the room, and suddenly it’s just Lennox and me. She’s still lying on the table with that paper gown barely covering her. Me, hard and wanting her again despite everything we’ve done.

I stand and walk to the examination table. Lennox’s eyes fly open when she feels me beside her.

“Don’t even think about talking to me.” If she could spit fire and shoot daggers, I’d be dead.

“You did well,” I murmur against her lips.

“I fucking hate you.” Her voice is threateningly flat.

“You keep saying that, but I’m starting to doubt it.” I kiss her again, and she leans into me before I take a step back. “Get dressed, wife. We have a plane to catch.”

“What do you mean? Where are we going? I have a job, I can’t just take off.” She frowns as she waits for an answer.

“You no longer need a job. Being married to the owner of the resort is a conflict of interest, don’t you think? And I’m needed in Texas. So that means you’re going to Texas.”

* * *

The penthouse is empty when we return. All the clothing racks are gone. The shoes, the lingerie, the thousands of dollars’ worth of designer labels I had delivered. All of it packed and removed while we were at Margaret’s office.

Lennox stops in the doorway, staring at the space that was full of her new things just hours ago.

“Where is everything?” she questions.

“On the plane already.” I walk past her to my bedroom, our bedroom, though I suppose she’d probably fight that designation. “Along with everything from your apartment.”

She spins to face me, and I see the moment the words register.

“My apartment?”

“I had a team pack it up this morning. Your landlord has been paid through the end of your lease, and everything you own is either on my plane or in storage.” I start unbuttoning my shirt. “You won’t need that place any more. You live where I live.”

“You had no right to send people to pack up my life without asking me first.”

“I had every right. You’re my wife.” I shrug out of the shirt and start on my belt. “Your old life is over, Lennox. The sooner you accept that, the easier this will be.”

She just stands there, swaying slightly, and for a second I think she might have had enough. That this might be the thing that finally shatters that stubborn pride.

But it isn’t.

She squares her shoulders, lifts her chin and meets my eyes. “When do we leave?”

“Thirty minutes. The car’s already downstairs.” I strip off my pants and walk naked to the closet. “You might want to change into something more comfortable for the flight. It’s three hours to Texas.” I point toward another closet, and her eyes follow my outstretched arm.

“What happens in Texas?”

I pull on something more suited for the ranch: jeans, a plaid western shirt, boots. Casual enough for travel, but I’ll be ready if I need to walk straight into the barn and figure out what the fuck Thomas Marshall is up to.

Lennox walks to the closet and opens it. It is full of clothes for her. She stands there for a moment looking at it before she grabs a pair of leggings and a hoodie.

“You meet my family.” I turn to face her, taking in her disheveled appearance, hair coming loose from its ponytail, makeup smudged, that haunted look in her eyes. “They’re going to love you so don’t worry, and I also have some business to figure out. Usually I go home once a month, but something’s come up with land I bought recently.”

“And what do I tell them?” Her voice is tight. “About how we met? About our marriage?”

“They know, or my father does, which means my mother does. I don’t know about the rest.” I cross to her and cup her face, forcing her to look at me. “Nobody in my family will be surprised at how we married when they find out. Anyone else we tell them we met at the resort, you were impossible for me to forget so I married you immediately so nobody else had a chance.”

“Nobody’s going to believe that.”