Chapter 113

Over the next few weeks as she went about her increasingly busy days, Brianna couldn't get the conversation with her mother out of her head. At first she thought her mother's concerns were ludicrous, but the more she thought about it the more she had to wonder if maybe she had a point.

The subject of the wedding hadn't been brought up since the day he'd given her the ring. If she was being completely honest, that was probably as much her fault as his, but she was waiting for a sign from Stephanie. She had no idea how to handle the kids in this situation, so she was being very careful. Was that Jon's reason too or did he just expect her to deal with it without his involvement?

Or was her mother right and he really didn't want to get married? Was the engagement just for show? What he figured he had to do to get her to move into his bedroom?

The only way to find out was to ask him, but she didn't have the courage. She was too afraid she wouldn't like the answer.  So she did what she always did: buried her feelings and threw herself into her work and looking after the house and the kids.

Jon knew that something was off with his fiancée. He could feel her pulling away, but he didn't have the faintest idea why. Not everyone would notice. To most, she appeared to be content and efficient. She was good at her job, the house was immaculate, the children loved and well cared for. But others didn't see her distraction, often staring out the window or into space. When he asked her about it she just said she was thinking about what she needed to do next or the research she was doing on school lunch programs.

But while that may have been true as far as it went, Jon knew there was more to it. To do lists didn't make her sit at the end of the couch instead of beside him like she normally would, or stop the affectionate flirtations he'd come to expect - and look forward to - from her throughout their daily interactions. If he cuddled or kissed her, she'd respond, but she no longer initiated the contact. And social issues didn't send her to bed early and put her to sleep before he got there. Any hopes he had for an over-active sex life were fading fast.

Yes, something was wrong and he wanted to know what it was. But everytime he asked, all he got was 'I'm fine', or 'I'm just tired'. The former he knew was a lie, but the latter might have some truth to it. Her workload had doubled with all the tour prep, album release, the Soul and his charity work. Plus now she had the house and the kids to look after. Even with cleaning help it was a lot.

That he could do something about, and he set the wheels in motion.

The next week, Brianna made a run into the office in the city to touch base with the staff there and pick up whatever mail hadn't been forwarded to the house. As she was leaving Evelyn stopped her.

"Brianna! Here. I was going to send these to the house, but since you're here, you might as well take them."

Brianna accepted the thick enveloped the receptionist held out to her. "What is it?"

"The responses to the ad Jon put out."

"Ad? For what?"

"To get you some help." Evelyn frowned. "Didn't you know?"

Brianna shook her head. "No. He didn't mention it to me."

"Oh dear. I hope I haven't ruined a surprise." She smiled. "It's nice to see he realizes how much you have on your plate and with the tour coming up, you can't be two places at once. You'll need some help."

Brianna's mind raced as she tried to figure out what his plan was. "He's looking for a nanny?" That would certainly solve their childcare issue during the tour.

Evelyn shook here head. "No. Another assistant."

"Ah. I see." Her stomach clenched and she rushed to get out before her emotions got the best of her. "Thanks Evelyn. I'll see you later."

Climbing into her car, she opened the envelope and read a couple of the resumes, just to confirm what Evelyn had told her. Her eyes burned, but she refused to cry. Not yet. Not until she was certain of his intentions. Surely he wouldn't do something like this without discussing it with her first! Maybe he was just gathering information to have options to present to her. He knew how much she loved her job and how important it was to her. He wouldn't take that away from her.

When she was sure she had herself under control, she started the car and headed home. It was a good thing that her car could almost make trip on it own, because her mind was definitely not focused on where she was going. She was almost surprised to find herself in front of the gate. Shaking her head at herself, she punched in the code and drove through.

"Bina! You home!"

"Hey little man. Yes, I'm home. Did you miss me?"

"Uh huh." Romeo nodded. "I hungy."

"Didn't Daddy make you lunch?"

"He doesn't like what I make him." Jon answered as he entered the foyer. A frown creased his brow at the shadows he could see in her eyes. It frustrated him. He wanted answers and he wanted them now! If he could just figure out how to get her to tell him.

"It not good like you make." Romeo explained.

"Ah." Brianna grinned. "Well, let's go see what we can find in the kitchen."

After feeding Romeo and putting him down for his nap, Brianna gathered up the mail and took it to Jon's office. "Here's the packet from Paul." She lifted the envelope of resumes. "And Evelyn gave me these. They're responses to the ad you posted." She hesitated, but had to know. "Are you trying to replace me Jon?"

He frowned. "Replace you? No! Of course not. Just get you some help. Between the house, the kids, me, the Soul, the charities, all the research you do for me and now the new album promotion and the tour, it's too much for one person." He paused. "And that's not even mentioning the wedding."

Brianna snorted softly. "What wedding?"

Even though she'd muttered the words to herself, Jon heard them. But before he could respond, the phone in her office rang and she left to answer it. Aha! He had the feeling he'd discovered at least part of what was causing the shadows in those beautiful golden eyes. Relief flooded him. This was something he could fix.

Jon waited until dessert to broach the subject. "Paul and AEG are anxious to set the tour dates. They need to know what to block off for the wedding.....unless you want to do it before the tour. Then they'll push back Japan and Australia until the new year."

The fork froze halfway to Brianna's mouth and she shot a look at Stephanie. Seeing the frown on the teenager's face, she sighed and set the fork down. She'd lost her appetite. "It can wait."

"You want to wait until spring? We could do it in May before we head to Europe." Jon suggested.

But Brianna shook her head. "It can wait until after the tour." She stood and picked up her plate.

The flatness of her voice didn't escape him and he frowned. "No, it can't. Honey, sit down and let's talk about this."

As she set her plate back down, she saw the little ones eyeing her cake. Cutting it in half, she put half on each of their plates, winking at them when they grinned And dug in. She sat down with a sigh. "Jon, this really isn't necessary."

"Yes, it is. We need to set a date."

"But..." She shot a glance at the teenagers.

"No buts." He turned to his two oldest. "You guys asked for some time and we've given you that. Do you still need more or are you okay if we go ahead?"

When neither answered immediately, Brianna jumped in. "If they're not ready it's fine, we can wait."

"Bri, stop it. It wonderful that you're so concerned about their feelings, but you can't keep putting your life and your needs on hold." He looked at the kids. "What do you say gang, are we ready to plan a wedding?"

Stephanie jumped up from the table and ran from the room. Brianna's heart sank.

Jon scowled. "Stephanie!"

She came back in with a calendar and a pad of paper in her hand. "So are we thinking fall, Christmas or early spring?"

It took Brianna a few moments to clear the tears from her eyes and throat before she could speak. "I'm open to ideas."

For the next hour they tossed suggestions back and forth.

"Do I have to wear a monkey suit?" Jessie grumbled.

"Yes." His sister answered.

Seeing his son's scowl, Jon pinned him with a stare. "Hey, if I have to, you have to."

"I want to wear a monkey suit!" Jake declared.

"Me too!" Romeo chimed in.

Buoyed by his success on the wedding planning front, Jon decided it was time for success in another area of contention. He was determined to make love to his fiancée in their bed. Water sports and hidden locations were all well and good, but he wanted the comfort of their bed, in their room.

The more he thought about it, he realized that her refusal came when she thought about the situation too much. He needed her to stop thinking and just go with the flow. So he needed to distract her until her need overwhelmed her inhibitions.

It was like being a teenager again. Time to pull out some of the old tricks.

Instead of putting the moves on her when they went to bed, he let her drift off. When he was sure she was asleep, he eased the blankets down and her nightgown up. His fingers skimmed over the skin of he torso with just enough pressure to awaken her nerve endings, but not enough to pull her from sleep. The sight of goose bumps in his wake made him smile, knowing they came, not from cold, but from the stirring of the embers of her passion. Her inner wanton was ready to come out and play.

The silken feel of her skin distracted him for long moments as he stroked and caressed. When her nipples started to harden, he rubbed the pebbly flesh around them. Leaning closer, he licked them very lightly and blew on them, grinning when they hardened even more and she shivered.

Leaving her breasts for the moment, continued down her body, using gentle pressure of his hands to nudge her legs apart. He traced her cleft with one finger, his touch feather light, designed to tease and incite. As he stroked the soft folds, they swelled and parted, opening her to him. Her legs shifted restlessly and her hips lifted slightly, silently asking for more.

He was only too happy to oblige. Moving into the space created by her parted legs, he turned his attention to the bundle of nerves at the top of her cleft. One fingertip brushed it lightly, and her body jerked in response. A glance at her face assured him she was still asleep and he settled in to explore, each touch contrived to taunt and arouse.

And it worked.

He could feel the tension build in the thighs bracketing his head, the increasingly urgent rocking of her hips, and decided to take it up a notch. A few flicks of his tongue and the gentle probing of his finger drew a moan. Closing his lips around her clit and sucking lightly was rewarded with a gasp.

She was waking up.

When he felt her fingers slide into his hair, he prepared to feel her try to push him away, but was pleasantly surprised when she pulled him closer. His grin quickly faded as he lost himself in her taste, her scent. He barely managed to stop before she went over the edge.

Brianna wanted to scream in frustration when the tantalizing touches that had pulled her from sleep into a sea of sensation stopped.  She knew there was a reason why they shouldn't be doing this, but at the moment she couldn't think of what it was. All she knew was that she ached and he could bring her relief. "Please!"

His mouth created a burning trail over her stomach and chest, pausing to savour the hard tips of her breasts before continuing upwards along her neck to her ear. "What do you want?"

"You!" Her hands clutched him close.

"Are you sure?" He nipped her earlobe, then soothed the sting with his tongue."

"Mmm yes! Please!"

He slid his hands down to cup her ass and tilt her hips up. "Is this what you want?"

The slow penetration as he filled her pushed a low groan out of Brianna's throat. "Yes....God yes!"

Jon set a slow steady rhythm. "Like this?"

"Mmmmm. Good. So good." She panted.

"Can you take more?" He thrust harder, deeper.

"Yes! Oh God! Oh God! Ooooh fuck!"

As she reached the peak, Jon covered her mouth with his to muffle her cries and held still while his body emptied into hers.

Pulling out of her body, he rolled onto his back beside her and grinned. "Look at that." He panted. "We just made love with all the kids sleeping in the house.....and no one came in......and we didn't get struck by lightning."

Brianna managed to gather enough strength to lift her arm and swat his chest. "Smartass."

Jon just grinned, pulled her into his arms and drifted off to sleep, content that he'd achieved his goal.