AngerArrogance Page 10

  ***

  Seated at the dinner table a few hours later, Jessie waited impatiently. Expecting an Amber look-alike, Jessie’s face flashed a hint of surprise when Alana walked through the doors. No one bothered to tell her that her new sister-in-law was a sister.

  Recovering quickly, Jessie greeted Alana with a welcoming hug. Alana smiled. She'd likely warn the same kind of expression on her wedding day when she found out who she would be marrying. “Am I not what you were expecting?”

  Jessie answered honestly. “No, but I’m happy to finally meet the women that has apparently knocked my brother off his high horse.”

  This wasn’t the first time Alana had been told the statement, and she hadn't figured out what it meant yet. She didn’t however notice that Jessie looked a lot like her mother. Both, petite with unblemished porcelain skin. They both wore their hair in a blonde bob that complimented their soft features perfectly. Ruggedly handsome, Devin had darker features like his father. It seemed the only thing Devin had of his mother were the eyes. Those light eyes set with his darker features gave him an edgy handsomeness that was hard to ignore. Stop thinking about him. Alana reined in thoughts of her husband and concentrated on the women in her new family.

  Dinner turned out to be such a pleasant event, the ladies made plans to go shopping together over the weekend.

  ***

  After hearing his wife shout for him to come in, Devin stepped cautiously into her room. Seeing his sister put an immediate smile on his face. Springing from Alana’s bed, Jessie jumped into his arms. Giving her a bear hug, Devin swung Jessie around as if she were a doll.

  Walking in and seeing his sister lying so comfortably across his wife’s bed had surprised him. He failed to understand how everyone in his family seemed to fall into a comfortable relationship with his wife, while he was the only one struggling.

  Still hugging his sister, he looked over her shoulder at his wife.

  Absorbing the look he revealed to her, Alana broke eye contact and fingered her covers.

  Releasing his sister, his gaze remained locked on Alana. “What are you ladies doing? Am I disturbing?”

  Both replied no. Devin didn't miss the way his sister kept staring between him and Alana. To break the tension, he grabbed Jessie around the waist playfully. “I’ll let you ladies get back to your girl-talk.”

  Spinning to hug him, Jessie assured, “I’ll come and see you in a little bit. I have a few more things I want to talk to Alana about first.”

  Happy to hear that someone wanted to talk to him, he glanced one last time towards his wife and left without another word.

  ***

  By the time his sister knocked on his door, sleep had lured Devin into a lazy drift. Jessie entered quietly and posted herself comfortably at the foot of his bed. She gave a questioning expression and sat silently assessing him.

  She broke the silence. “What am I not understanding here? Why are you and Alana sleeping in separate rooms? I have been told about the fights and arguments. What happened to Amber? I thought she was the super-freak you said you would never get rid of.”

  After about the third question, Devin started shaking his head. He was well aware that Jessie wasn’t going to leave him alone until she knew as much as he did.

  Figuring it best to get this conference started, he began, “I left Amber for good. She had the nerve to come after me for money and Alana stepped in and put her in her place.”

  Jessie’s mouth dropped open, but she didn’t say anything knowing she would bug her brother for all the details sooner or later.

  Devin continued, “I guess you can say I have done some growing since I got married. I see women in a whole new light, especially Alana. And, we don’t fight. We do a little harmless arguing. Well, more like disagreeing, who knows, sometimes we don’t quite see eye to eye. Yes, we sleep in separate bedrooms because that is what she wanted.”

  Jessie cut in, “Bro. I wasn’t born yesterday. You having Amber in this house after you were married is the reason you and Alana are in separate rooms. Knowing you, you probably thought it would be okay to have a wife and a woman on the side.”

  Thinking about it, he admitted, “Okay, so it’s my fault were in separate rooms. But, to my defense, we didn’t exactly have a traditional marriage. I was hoping we could change our situation. Every time I think I’m making progress, Alana pushes me away. If we could ever get close to the same playing field, I think we could actually be a good couple.”

  Watching her brother pass his hand over the back of his neck, Jessie could see he stressed over his and Alana’s situation.

  “This is the hardest I have pursued any woman. At one point, I actually allowed myself to think that she didn’t want me. After giving it some serious thought, I concluded that there is no way she could not want me, but she refuses to give in.”

  Jessie smiled. Her brother was so arrogant at times she was sure he didn’t even realize it.

  He kept talking, “We started out a little shaky. I was a little too bossy and arrogant for her taste, so she told me what I can do to myself.”

  Although his statements were funny, Jessie continued to see genuine concern in her brother’s expression. She might have been the youngest in the house, but she wasn’t blind. Watching him and Alana earlier, she'd never seen her brother look at any woman that way. His frequency was tuned into the all-Alana network. If she knew her bother as well as she thought she did, he likely had no idea how deep he'd allowed himself to fall. By the briefest glance, she could easily see he was head-over-heels.

  He sighed deeply. “I don’t understand. What am I doing wrong?”

  Giving her brother an expressive look, Jessie was determined to teach him something. “One. For those who don’t know you, your arrogance can be a bit hard to digest. Two. Your arrogance leads you to believe you know all there is to know about women, but you don’t know as much as you think you do.”

  She ignored his glare. “You’ve never had to put forth any effort to get a woman. You’ve never taken the time to know and understand them either. You kept Amber around more than you did the others, but you didn’t really know her. Women like Amber are a sport to you. You play the game and quit when you get tired. Those kinds of women come to you so freely and easily, they will never be any more than someone to occupy your time. They provide enough to keep you from getting bored.”

  Watching her brother soak in her words, Jessie continued, “Alana is in her own league, on an entirely different plane then what you are used to. She is not going to be at your beck and call. She is definitely not going to flock to you like the rest of the birds. You’ve been playing with pigeons and now you have an eagle. She has a class about her that men and woman will respect because she demands it. Lucky for you, I believe whole-heartedly that she will come around. However, she is going to make you earn your place in her life. Once you earn your place with her, you’re going to be happy you fought for and gave her the respect she deserves.”

  Looking at his sister, Devin was surprised that she had so much knowledge in her young mind.

  She tilted her head at him. “Don’t you get it? We start fights when we are avoiding something or someone. Alana doesn’t want to deal with you at this point in her life, so she starts fights as a means of pushing you away until she is ready for you. I bet you fall for it every time?”

  Devin viewed his sister thoughtfully. “You may be on to something. Did Mom and Dad tell you the conditions of our marriage?”

  “Why do you think I’m sitting here? One day, I get a call telling me that you’re getting married, and I didn’t even have time to get here. It seemed I was forgotten. I wasn’t told you were getting married until the day of the ceremony. Mom called apologizing, but she didn’t seem all that worried that I would miss your wedding.”

  Jessie kept her face stern. “Spill it and don’t leave out anything.”

  She didn’t say a word until Devin finished.

  Seeing Jessie at a loss for
words reinforced the seriousness of his situation.

  She squinted. “So, the two of you had an arranged marriage? You had never met each other until you were standing at the altar? Geez, that is heavy. Tough. But, it explains a lot about how you two react to each other. You don’t know each other. You two are practically strangers.”

  His sister had forced him to think more deeply. “I have gotten past the arrangement. I fight to get to know her every day. I think I want our relationship to work out despite how we came together.”

  Jessie had a better grasp of the situation. “I understand better why Alana would be reluctant towards you but, what’s done is done. You two have to address whatever’s happening between you. The fact that you guys’ marriage was arranged is no longer a factor.”

  Devin listened intently, while Jessie continued. “The way the two of you look at each other, trust me, the conditions regarding your marriage are no longer valid. The way you look at her when you think she is not looking at you and the way she looks at you when you are not looking directly at her…when you two looked directly at each other tonight, I thought her room would catch fire. No matter how much she pushes Devin, you have to keep trying. I could tell from a glance that there is something between the two of you worth fighting for.”

  Devin looked at his sister in an entirely different light. “When did you become so insightful and smart? I can’t believe my little sister is giving me relationship advice, good advice at that.”

  She gave a haughty grin. “Face the facts; I have always been the smarter of the two of us.”

  Both laughing, he gave her a playful push. For the first time in a long while, Devin was hopeful that he and Alana could build a successful relationship.

  Chapter 18

  Trapped by Temptation

  A few days later, Alana and Devin were at it again.

  “You’re being hard-headed Alana,” came Devin’s frustrated voice. After proclaiming she would be moving back to her apartment, Devin's attempts to change her mind failed. He didn’t care if his efforts started a fight.

  Alana gladly reminded him of their failures. “All we do is argue, so you should be glad I am leaving.”

  It seemed his wife couldn’t wait to get away from him. He swallowed hurt. “We’re married, we are supposed to argue but we are also supposed to stick together.”

  Not in the mood, she retorted, “This is the twenty-first century. We don’t have to be traditional.”

  What could he say, not even his arrogance could hide the fact that he desperately wanted her to stay. She could potentially be in a lot of danger after Kevin’s updates. She thought herself safe because she had actually taken a leave of absence, but he wasn’t so sure.

  Folding his arms across his chest, he filled his voice with bass. “As your husband, I need to put my foot down. You need to remain under this roof where it’s safer for you.”

  Eyes vicious, Alana’s head strolled up and then down the span of Devin’s body, staring holes in him. Squinting her eyes, she pointed a warning filled finger at him. “Don’t you dare demand I do anything. You are never going to boss me around. Why don’t you accept that you’re never going to get whatever it is you want from me? And, if I don’t stay here, then what? What are you going to do about it, Devin?” Hands on her hips, she waited for his reply.

  Devin didn’t say anything. He couldn’t stand the way she said his name when they were fighting. She made it sound like an extra curse word. Furious, his hot-tempered wife always found a way to push buttons he didn’t even know he had. And he would be damned if he didn’t want to kiss that sassy mouth of hers.

  Devin stared at her so intensely, Alana wondered if she should take a few steps back. They were frozen watching each other, each too damn stubborn to break the staring contest.

  Alana was almost sure Devin wouldn’t hit her. She had intentionally pushed him, testing him thoroughly to see if he would cross the line. He hadn’t.

  This time, she feared she may have pushed him one time too many. When he took a step closer, she let her hands drop from her hips and prepared herself for whatever came next.

  Reaching around her waist, Devin drew her closer filling his eyes with care. Sliding his hand over her stiff back, he hadn’t missed her stance. It hurt that she would think he would physically harm her. Using his free hand, he tilted her face up towards his.

  “I would never hurt you Alana. Don’t you know that by now? Even with a mouth as vicious as yours, I’d never harm a hair on your head.”

  His words and sincerity were believable, but reluctance continued to pepper her mind. However reluctant, she couldn’t ignore the energy pouring from her husband’s body into hers.

  Keeping his eyes locked on hers, he accepted the enchanting sparks of their connection.

  His hand slid along her jaw-line as he lowered his lips to hers. Kissing her, he poured his intent into the kiss. He wanted her to know and understand that he had developed feelings for her, so strong, he couldn’t explain where they had come from or how long they had been there.

  Each time he thought he had kissed her enough he found himself wanting more. Humming a low moan against her lips, he found himself completely befuddled.

  Dazed, Alana couldn’t do a thing but let Devin take her to that enthralling mind possessing place that only he had the keys to.

  Realizing he was not going to see much of her if she left, Devin lost his will to be brief. Holding her tenderly against his chest, he realized he had finally found a way to combat that sassy mouth of hers.

  Nothing consumed Alana like being this close to her husband. Practically mindless, she clung to him. Allowing herself to be consumed like this was dangerous, so she found the strength to back away.

  Devin wasn’t done. Even as she stood a foot away looking stunned, he let the light stroke of his hand whisper along her cheek.

  The intensity in his eyes made her speechless. Reaching blindly, she grabbed the hand he held against her cheek with intentions of removing it. After touching him, she changed her mind. She had received a taste of how it felt to be wanted and it was delicious.

  Trapped in the trance his eyes had her in, she couldn’t move. Her legs refused to obey her brain’s commands. Move dammit move! When she thought she was free from the spell, the firm press of Devin’s lips caressed hers again.

  His breath bounced pleasurably off her skin. Devin spoke through a passionate haze. “I don’t want to fight with you, Alana. And I don’t think you want to fight with me. We don’t have to keep punishing each other.”

  Alana was afraid. She’d had pain as her lover for three years. Finding a way out of that mental abyss to allow Devin in was proving to be one of the hardest things she’d had to do.

  The connection with Devin wasn’t something she understood, nor could she explain it. Used to being drowned in her pain and anguish, she found Devin seemed only interested in drowning her in something entirely different, something she knew nothing about.

  How am I going to find a way to trust my husband when I haven’t figured out how to trust myself? Her past mistake of choosing the wrong man had never stopped haunting her. She couldn't afford to make another deadly mistake and was willing to forgo a promising relationship if it meant saving herself from pain.

  After finding out her entire life had been one big puzzle of lies and cover-ups, all Alana wanted to do was find answers and figure out where or who she had come from. Adding Devin to the puzzle only raised her stress level. She was also desperately afraid of the feelings he stirred. What if these feelings backfire and turn into rage? A bundle of nerves now, she put more distance between her and Devin.

  Devin didn’t understand the sudden fear he saw in Alana’s eyes and body language as he watched her turn away from him.

  Her unsteady hand muffled her voice. “Can you please leave?” A tear slid down her cheek as she spoke with her back to Devin. “I have to figure this out my way and in my own time.”

  He observed her
shoulders quiver with the effects of crying. He reached to console her, but she wouldn’t allow it as she jerked just out of his reach.

  She kept her back to him. “Please, Devin. Just leave me alone.”

  Acknowledging that she was upset, he wondered if it had something to do with the information his father shared about her abuse. Thinking about those pictures, he decided it was best not to push her. How do I help someone that’s been hurt so badly?

  Devin decided to give Alana space but he couldn’t be sure how long he could stay away. Lately, his every thought involved Alana.

  Why can’t I ignore her like I used to? Sitting on the small patio attached to his room, he watched the sunset—one of his joys in life that no one knew about. The answer to the question he’d been asking socked him in the jaw. Because you’re in love with her.

  The realization caused him to release the breath that had gotten caught in his throat. Staring blankly at the setting sun, he let the realization soak in. He had found the answer, but surmised he had known it for a while now. He was in love with his wife and he couldn’t figure out when it had happened. He had gone from calling her the devil’s daughter to being in love with her. Instead of lingering in the aftermath of what he didn’t understand, he thought to conceive ideas and plans to keep his wife from leaving.

  Chapter 19

  Stalled Arrogance

  The time had arrived for Alana to return to her apartment. Six months had passed quickly. Although it had been hard, trying and tempting, she kept her word and resisted the urge to allow Devin to charm her into a relationship she knew she wasn’t ready for.

  At times, she feared she was making a huge mistake leaving, but accepted that it was her mistake to make. The thought of how much she was going to miss arguing with Devin brought forth a smile. She was not proud of herself for purposely antagonizing him to keep a wall of distance between them. However, she looked forward to some alone time. Time to think clearly and sort through all that had happened over the last six months. Struggling through her marriage, she had found puzzle pieces that didn’t fit together. She had found herself somehow associated with a dangerous Cartel family. Her life and marriage were all a part of a cover she didn’t know she needed. She didn’t even want to think about the priest. Finally, she’d acknowledged that she had developed feelings for her husband.