Holding On (Wildcreek Ranch Series Book 3)

Chapter Twenty

"How can I marry you?" asked Rihanna, her heartbeats accelerating as she tried to regain her composure. His question took her breath away and her senses went numb. She hadn't expected him to ask this. All her life, she had romanticized the idea of marriage, the happily ever after kind with a man she would fall head over heels in love with, but not this. She didn't know why Hunter asked her to marry him. He didn't love her, and neither did she. It was true they had a physical attraction between them, but a relationship like marriage couldn't be based upon that.

"Why can't you marry me?" asked Hunter, feeling a little offended.

"We don't love one another, Hunter. Such a marriage doesn't have a future," she pointed out.

"You're wrong. Love isn't necessary for a marriage to survive, Rihanna. We have a special attraction between us, and that is enough. Many married couples don't have that even and yet they're still together," explained Hunter.

Rihanna shook her head. "A little attraction isn't enough for a marriage to work," she argued.

"It will work Rihanna but mostly Robbie will be happy. He will get his happy family. Please say yes," Hunter's voice cracked as if he was entreating her to agree.

"I can't do this Hunter. All my life I had dreamed that if I ever married, it would only be for love. I can't commit myself to a loveless marriage. Please understand, " said Rihanna, shaking her head and looking down at her lap.

"There's nothing called love. It's a word in a fool's dictionary, " mumbled Hunter. Rihanna looked at his bitter expression and knew in her heart that he might have been hurt somehow to make him bitter against the word 'love'.

"Why are you so against love? Of course, it does exist," she argued.

"No, it doesn't. I had a girlfriend three years ago. We were together for two years and wanted to marry one another but then I discovered that she was pregnant with my best friend's child. She was betraying me behind my back all the time that we were together. I broke off with her but the hurt didn't feel so much since the next day, I went through the biggest trauma of my life that shook my very existence," he muttered, his eyes staring at the still lake, lost in his memories.

"What happened to you and Robbie?" she asked in a whisper.

"We were famous horse ranchers in Arkansas but when my dad had a fight with our arch-rival, he torched our ranch house in the middle of the night. The fire had spread so much that by the time we woke up, we were all engulfed in the flames. Robbie had slept with me that night and I somehow jumped over the flames and escaped with Robbie in my arms. I yelled for help but at 3 o'clock in the night no one heard me. I had called the fire extinguishers but it was too late. Robbie and I saw our whole family, my dad, my brother and his wife, and Carson, Robbie's older sibling get burnt alive right in front of our eyes," he said, still lost far away, his eyes glistening at the painful memories. Rihanna caught his hands and sat with tears in her eyes. No words of consolation came out of her mouth. She was dumbfounded by what Hunter just told her. She could now understand why Hunter and Robbie were in such a broken state.

"We couldn't stay in Arkansas anymore. There was nothing for us there. Robbie and I could never get over that trauma. I had lost all hope for a normal life for us. Robbie was deteriorating day by day and then God took pity on him and he met you. Things looked hopeful and everything started to normalize. I don't want him to go back to that state Rihanna. I know I'm too broken to offer you anything else but I can offer you marriage and my sincerity in return for Robbie's mental health," he said, quietly. Rihanna couldn't decide. Should she agree to marry him in haste? What if things turned towards the worst? What if the sweet bond that they shared now turned bitter? That would be more harmful for Robbie, wouldn't it? But mostly what if they lost interest in one another? Wouldn't Robbie be more affected and sandwiched in a lifeless and toxic marriage?

"I-I don't know what to say, Hunter," she stammered softly. "Please can you give me some time to think?" she asked hesitantly. Hunter looked very disappointed, almost heartbroken but he just nodded. His silence was more deafening and Rihanna looked at him with concern.

"I don't want to take any decision in haste, Hunter. I'm sorry," she tried to get him to see her point. Hunter nodded again.

"I understand, " he said softly. "Go to sleep. I'll join you later, " he dismissed her, not looking at her at all. Rihanna sighed. She knew that he was hurting but she just wasn't prepared for this sudden turn of events. Rihanna had always planned everything meticulously before embarking upon anything in her life. She had never been reckless so she just couldn't agree to something as important as marriage without giving it a thought.

"Are you sure? I don't mind sitting with you," said Rihanna, feeling a little guilty.

"I need to be alone," he told her, quietly, his gaze still looking at some distant object. Rihanna sighed and got up reluctantly to go inside. She was concerned about Hunter. She lay down on the bed and looked at the ceiling. She twisted and turned yet couldn't sleep at all as the pain in Hunter's voice kept haunting her. After uselessly trying for two hours, she got up. Hunter still hadn't come inside. It was midnight already and she was concerned. What was he doing outside for so long? She climbed down from the bed and walked out to the porch. Her heart broke seeing him in the same position that she left him, still staring far away while tears fell from his eyes.

Rihanna sat beside him. "Hunter, please look at me," she begged him.

"I'm fine. Go away," he said, suddenly getting defensive. Rihanna's hand went around his neck while her other hand held his cheek.

"Don't drive me away Hunter. I just need a little time to make up my mind. You know I care a lot about you and Robbie, don't you?" She asked.

"No, I don't think you do," he said, finally looking at her. Rihanna wiped his eyes.

"Of course I do," said Rihanna with conviction but he shook his head.

"Then show me that you care. Kiss me," he asked her, his eyes flashing with that same overwhelming hunger that was capable of melting her to the core. Rihanna wasted no time. She pulled him closer but he just picked her up and placed her on his lap, straddling him. She claimed his lips passionately, sucking and biting his warm, soft lips till he groaned in agony. She was relentless, gliding her sweet tongue into his mouth, tasting his tongue, exploring his mouth while her fingers caressed his chest, his shoulders, his neck, and his hair. It was a tender kiss of a l*ver and Hunter was lost in it, surrendering to her completely. He moaned, pulling her closer to his body, grinding her to his hardness, making her feel how much he wanted her.

"Rihanna, I want you. Can't you see it?" he breathed into her mouth, dominating the kiss now and taking it to a different level where he was possessive, almost branding her as his for life. She too surrendered to him, caressing him tenderly, calming him down, wanting to prove to him that she really cared. He pulled away from her and embedded his face into her neck, both clinging onto one another as if they were going to be torn apart forever.

"Hunter, " she moaned when he started kissing her neck.

"You can feel the magic between us, Rihanna?" he asked in a tortured voice.

"Yes," said Rihanna. It was true. The magic between them was too strong to be ignored but was it enough to survive the ups and downs of a married life together, forever? That was an answer only time could tell and she had to risk her everything to find out. "Come and sleep with me, Hunter, " she coaxed him, softly caressing his silky hair.

Hunter got up with her wrapped around him, climbing the steps effortlessly. Once inside, he locked the main door and walked with her in his arms towards the bed. He laid her down and started stripping. Rihanna was too mesmerized by the beauty of his gorgeous, rippling muscles to look away. His eyes held her gaze in a magic trance as he shed his clothes one by one.

Clad only in his underwear, he followed her to the bed, lying down beside her. He pulled the duvet over themselves and pulled her into his arms. A shudder of longing went down Rihanna's body the moment it came in contact with his bare hard, rippling one.

"Touch me, Rihanna, show me that you care, " he begged her.