The Marriage Conspiracy [COMPLETED]

CHAPTER TEN: THE SIZZLING CHEMISTRY

“No, don’t say anything, please. I know I look terrible,” Jake growled at his best friend as if it was all his fault.

 “Oh, I wasn’t going to put it so cruelly but you do look … terrible!” Ash told him helpfully.

 “Thanks,” Jake answered derisively.

 “What’s with you?”

 “I couldn’t sleep last night.”

 That was only an understatement. He felt bad, really bad and damned if he knew why. He was miserable and hated wallowing in his self-pity mood.

 Last night, he had still been unable to get a decent sleep so tortured had he been by erotic images of Rachel. He had felt a desperate need of a cold – icy cold shower but hadn’t because he had to go through the master suite, the room where Rachel slept. He had ordered another bed and was sleeping in the guest room and the bathroom downstairs was not ready yet. He had seen no point in fixing the water supply in the bathroom downstairs and had been regretting his decision last night.

 As an alternative, he had gone to the balcony where the cool breeze had damped his … foul mood or whatever it was.

 “Why?” asked Ash curiously.

 “What do you mean why?” he asked blankly having completely lost track of the conversation.

 Ash threw him an odd look. “Well, usually when one can’t sleep, there must be something bothering him.”

 That statement sent him into another trance again. What was really bothering him? Was it the fact that Rachel had been dating her childhood friend so openly? Or simply because Rachel had been dating, period? He only knew that it infuriated the hell out of him.

 When he had made the offer of an open marriage, he had only been trying to tell her not to expect much from him as he was not ready to commit to her. That kind of commitment was not his cup of tea; hell he was scared of having to spend his entire life with only one woman. Like his father had. And when that woman would leave him, he would be left alone and hurt with  no one to turn to simply because no one would be able to replace her.

 But he knew he was taking Rachel for granted and it was not a pleasant discovery. He had not cheated on his marriage vows and had no intention of doing so. He was the fruit of a love marriage – too much love. His parents had loved each other like mad and he understood the importance of a marriage. But he was scared to hell of that kind of love, afraid that he might lose his personality in an attempt to please his beloved.

 So proposing for an open marriage had been his way of showing Rachel that he intended to keep his freedom. Except that it had not been working. Not really.

 “Have you heard that Slade is back in town?” he eventually questioned.

 “Yeah but what’s his arrival got to do with your sleep?” asked Ash clearly puzzled.

“Well, I think he and Rachel are dating.”

“So?” Ash asked casually not making a big deal out of it since he knew about the open marriage option.

“What do you mean so?” Jake frowned at him.

“Well, it’s not as if you care, is it?”

Jake blew out an impatient breath. “No but Rachel is now a married woman – whether she wants it or not. She can’t overlook that fact. I mean we live in a small town and it can be the cause for gossip and well… you know what I mean,” he explained sounding lame to himself.

Ashton stared at him strangely as if he had lost his head, which he probably had. “No not at all.”

“What’s there not to understand” Jake asked in fury.