Tempting Danger

by Katie Reus

  “That works for me.” She knew her sister wouldn’t mind, even if Alena was nervous about being alone with him again.

  His gaze strayed down to her little bump again and she wasn’t sure what to make of his expression. “A picture of us from last night surfaced online.” He didn’t sound sorry at all.

  She took a step closer and lightly thumped him on the chest. “You can at least pretend to sound sorry.”

  He lifted a shoulder. “Why bother?”

  She had no idea how to respond to that, or even his presence here. It was too jarring. And she still couldn’t wrap her head around the fact that he thought they should get married. It obviously had nothing to do with any love for her. He was simply the type of man who wanted to do what his version of the right thing was.

  But not her.

  When she got married, it would be for love. She might have only been ten when her parents died, but she’d seen the real deal, and she wouldn’t settle for anything less. She actually hadn’t been sure it was even out there. Until Andre. But there was no way he could ever love her now. She couldn’t even delude herself into thinking that. Could she marry him for the sake of their child? Hide her feelings for him for the rest of her life?

  At the sound of the curtain being drawn back, she turned to find Nika stepping out in a light, flirty summer dress.

  She was clearly surprised to see Andre but smiled at him. “Nice to see you.”

  He murmured the same even as Declan set down his still full champagne glass and crossed the short distance across the shop to Nika.

  Alena watched them for a long moment together. One day she wanted what they had too. She was pretty sure that wasn’t in the cards for her, however. She’d made her choices and she would live with them.

  “If you want we can go somewhere public, show off your bump, then you can get the social media announcement out of the way. People will lose interest if you kill the speculation right away,” Andre said.

  She snorted even as she agreed with him. “You sound like my agent,” she muttered. He was right, of course. “They’re going to speculate about us too. So…are you going to make an announcement?”

  “I’ll have my assistant coordinate with your agent. Once we both approve the messages, they can go live.”

  “Okay.” She let out a breathy laugh. “It’s so ridiculous that we even have to do it.” But it was something she’d learned to live with. It might be no one’s business what she did with her life but it was one of those things that wasn’t going away.

  His lips curved up as humor lit those pale eyes. For a moment he was so relaxed and she had a flash of the first time they’d had sex on his desk. It had been hot, yes, but also fun. That had surprised her about him; he hadn’t taken himself too seriously and he’d been so damn giving. He’d gone down on her, taken relish in it—had made things all about her. In her experience, the men she’d dated often only cared about having a model on their arm. She was just an accessory, something pretty to look at. With Andre, it was as if he’d seen her, had wanted to give her a ridiculous amount of pleasure because he wanted to. He’d ruined her for anyone else. Which seemed like a fitting punishment for her sins.

  Sighing, she squashed all thoughts of sex and Andre. No need to go there. It would only leave her frustrated.

  Chapter 6

  Andre watched Alena across the table from him at the popular seafood restaurant. The place was posh, and right on the Atlantic. He’d secured enough privacy for them that they were solo on one of the small balconies, but others inside the restaurant and from neighboring balconies could clearly see them. Which was just the way he’d planned it. He had something else planned, too, something he knew was going to piss her off.

  He hadn’t gotten to where he was by being passive. “Do you think we’ve had enough time in the public eye?” he asked, his gaze pinned to her.

  She laughed and took a sip of her sparkling water. “I think we have. And I don’t trust myself to eat too much here. I’m feeling okay now but I really don’t want to get sick in public.”

  “Have you thought more about my marriage proposal?”

  She kept her smile firmly in place, but he’d learned to differentiate between her fake and real ones. This one was very much fake. “You didn’t propose.” She let out a haughty little sniff. “And if I ever do get married, it will be after a real proposal. Not some lame business proposal. And that’s exactly what you’re proposing.”

  She was dead wrong. “I never said it would be just business between us.”

  Her gaze narrowed ever so slightly. “Of course that’s all it would be. You’ll never trust me.” A hint of sadness crept into her eyes before she glanced away, looking out over the balcony.

  Below them was a dance floor connected to the restaurant. It was early enough that there weren’t that many people on it. But the tiki bar downstairs was busy, and there were people still on the beach even though it was after sunset.

  “Oh look,” she said, her eyes lighting up as a few fireworks started popping over the ocean. “We have a front row seat.” A kaleidoscope of red, blue, green, and other colors exploded, lighting up the dark ocean below. She’d once told him that she loved fireworks.

  As she watched, the delight in her expression so vivid, he felt a little guilty for what he was about to do. But not enough to stop. She was his, and he was going to do everything he could to keep her in his life and protect her. If that meant making her angry at him right now, he would take the risk and hope that it would work out in the end. He’d taken a lot of risks in his life, mostly business. She wasn’t business though. Everything about Alena was personal.

  His phone buzzed once, and without looking at the screen he knew what the message was. It was time. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out the small red box and got down on one knee as the words Marry Me Alena? blasted across the sky in bright blue and green.

  She sucked in a sharp breath and turned to find him kneeling in front of her. “What are you doing?”

  “Giving you a proper proposal,” he murmured, though it would be impossible for anyone to overhear them.

  Her smile firmly in place—and a hint of panic in her eyes—she said, “We already decided against this.”

  “We didn’t decide anything.”

  Reaching out, she cupped his face. He knew why she was doing it, because people were watching. That didn’t mean he didn’t like it. He did, very much. There was a glint of anger in her gaze. “You’re very sneaky.”

  “You’re one to talk.”

  “I can’t say no to you, can I.” It wasn’t actually a question, just a realization on her part.

  She could say no, but it would hit the entertainment media and give her the type of scrutiny she didn’t want once her pregnancy came to light. Which was exactly why he’d done it. Yes, it was underhanded. He just didn’t give a flying fuck.

  When she didn’t continue, he took her left hand and slid the engagement ring on her finger. “How’s that for a proper proposal?”

  Taking him by surprise, she leaned forward, took his face in her hands and crushed her mouth to his. It was the first time she’d ever been so bold. Before, he’d been the aggressor—and if he thought about that too long it would just anger him—so this was new. And not unwanted. Kissing her back, he teased his tongue against hers, taking what she was offering until he forced himself to pull away. There was only so much PDA he’d allow the paparazzi or whomever to capture. His time with her was private.

  But he’d needed to do this tonight. For a multitude of reasons. She was his and now everyone knew it.

  Slightly dazed, she blinked at him. “I’m ready to go.”

  He nodded and stood. When she did the same, he pulled her tight to him, wrapping his arm around her as they stepped back into the restaurant. There were a handful of claps and a lot of congratulations tossed at them as they made their way through, his security flanking them from the front and back. Since he had a regular table here, h
e didn’t need to bother paying. They simply billed the card he had on file and added a tip. It was one of the reasons he’d picked the place.

  Once they were in the back seat of his car, he expected Alena to yell at him, but instead she curled up against the seat and gave him an assessing look.

  “I should have expected that. In fact I’m surprised I didn’t.”

  “I’m surprised you’re not angry at me.”

  “I’m angry, but just because I said yes doesn’t mean we’re actually going to get married. We’ll just let this play out in the media for a while. Because you and I are going to have a long engagement.”

  Yeah, he’d just see about that.

  “Besides,” she continued, “I’m too tired and too pregnant to be angry. The only reaction you’ll probably get out of me is tears later.”

  Panic set in at that thought. Whatever was on his face made her giggle, a sound he’d never heard from her before. He liked it.

  “I wish you could see your face,” she said. “I’ll try not to cry if it’s going to freak you out. But no promises. This pregnancy is making me crazy.” She yawned again.

  Maybe so, but it was also making her even sexier. Fuck. She looked incredible and the knowledge that she was carrying his child did something strange to his insides. It made him feel even more possessive of her.

  After a long moment of silence, she shifted in her seat, her body language changing slightly. He could see tension in her shoulders as she turned toward him. “How much did Declan tell you about…what happened to my parents?”

  She knew that he’d seen pictures of the aftermath of their murder. A gory, bloody mess. He could only imagine how hard it was for her to bring up the subject. “He didn’t tell me much. Just showed me the pictures and told me that they were from a classified file.”

  She flicked a glance to the front of the vehicle. The partition was firmly in place.

  He answered her unspoken question. “My driver can’t hear us.”

  Alena was silent for so long he didn’t think she would continue. Then she said, “My parents were spies. And yes, this information is classified. But I’m not a spy and I don’t work for the damn government. But…I’m going to trust you. Besides, you’ve earned this knowledge.”

  Her voice was quiet as she became silent again. Then she seemed to shake herself and continued.

  “My mother was Russian and my father a British-American national. They were working for the Americans. My mother was truly an American by the time she was recruited by the CIA, but she’d been born in Russia. Anyway, they were apparently very good at what they did. According to my uncle they were both rule-breakers…” A sad smile flickered across her perfect features. “Even the two of them getting married in that time was bold.”

  He nodded, understanding what she meant. He’d seen a “before” picture of the couple. Her father had been a tall, ebony-skinned man and her mother white.

  “But something went wrong, someone…found out and sent four men to kill them. Her, mainly. For being a traitor to her country. Your fath—Yasha was one of them. Nika and I were in the house when it happened.”

  He didn’t respond or react outwardly, but inside, he raged against the man who’d been nothing more to him than a sperm donor. Andre certainly wasn’t sad Yasha was dead. And he felt no guilt for betraying him to the government. Andre hoped that before Yasha died, he realized that Andre had betrayed him, that Andre was ultimately responsible for his death.

  “Thanks to a relative, we were able to get out of the country and start over fresh in London. I won’t give you those details yet. Maybe one day I will.”

  “I’m sorry,” he said simply. Knowing all of the details now…it killed any residual anger he might have. Fuck. Fuck. He wanted to reach out and pull her to him, to hold her, but he wasn’t sure she’d welcome his touch. He’d already pushed her enough for one night.

  “I’m not telling you because I want you to feel sorry for me. Or even forgive me. I just thought you should know the details. You should know that the woman you claim to want to marry killed three men. Would have killed four, as you very well know. And I’m not sorry for it.” He could see she wasn’t, in the tense line of her jaw, the raw defiance in her gaze.

  “I wouldn’t believe you if you said you were. And I’m not judging you.” His hands weren’t squeaky clean either. “You’re different than the woman I thought you were when I invited you to Miami.”

  She let out a dry laugh. “I know.”

  “I like this woman better.” She wasn’t a silly party girl, like she let the world believe. He hadn’t thought she was when he’d met her. But he had thought she’d been a bit softer, sweeter. He liked this Alena.

  If anything, she had a good head on her shoulders. Because yes, he’d looked into her when he’d decided to pursue a relationship with her. And she was very smart with her finances, didn’t party like most people assumed, and hadn’t taken many lovers. She was as selective as he was.

  She blinked once, clearly surprised, then looked away and out the window.

  “Did you find the peace you thought you would once you killed them?”

  Alena turned to him again. “Yes. With Yasha and the others dead, I feel like I’ve been able to move on. That the world is a better place with them gone. I also know what I did was wrong. And if I ever have to pay for those crimes, so be it.”

  Yes, he liked this woman a lot better. Despite the lies she’d told him, despite using him, he could understand the choices she’d made. Some people saw the world in black and white, right and wrong. He wasn’t one of those people.

  “I’m glad you trusted me with this,” he finally said.

  Instead of responding, she scooted a little closer toward him. She didn’t touch him, but she laid her head against the leather seat close to his and closed her eyes.

  Within minutes, she was breathing steadily, clearly asleep. Sighing, he laid his own head back against the headrest. Then he rolled down the partition separating him and his driver, Juan.

  “Change of plans. Head back to my estate.” He’d originally told Juan that they would be making one stop, at her sister’s place, before taking him home. But Andre wanted to push, to see how far he could get with her. Her admission—her honesty about her past—had ripped him open inside. Eventually he would convince her to move in with him. It was all about small steps.

  * * *

  Alena stood in the huge foyer of Andre’s home. Estate was more like it. She’d stayed here with him months ago, and while it mostly looked the same, there were some changes. The interior was of course elegant, and she recognized some of the new art hanging as local Miami artists.

  She should be annoyed at Andre for being presumptuous enough to bring her back to his house. And okay, she was annoyed, but she was tired more than anything. Plus if she stayed here, it gave Declan and Nika a night to themselves. Not that either of them had made her feel unwelcome, but she figured they would still like alone time.

  While waiting for Andre to return from wherever he’d gone, she pulled her cell phone out of her purse. There was only one person she wanted to call. Actually, two. Because she definitely needed to call her agent and give her a heads-up. But first, she dialed her sister.

  “Hey, I thought you’d be home earlier. Everything okay?” Nika asked, picking up on the second ring.

  “Everything’s fine. But I’m going to be staying at Andre’s tonight. In a guestroom,” she tacked on.

  “Hmm, is that right?” There was a tone in her sister’s voice she couldn’t quite read.

  “Yes, that is right.”

  “Then what’s this I hear about you two being engaged?”

  Sighing, she stepped into a formal sitting room right off the foyer. Slipping off her heels, she sat on one of the leather chesterfields by the window. A sea of rich green grass and palm trees illuminated by the moonlight and security lights stretched out in front of her. “Wow, news travels fast.” And she really needed
to call her agent.

  “Declan got a call from someone he knew who was at the restaurant.”

  “We’re not engaged. He proposed because he’s being a stubborn jackass. He seems to think that since I’m pregnant, we should get married. Which is just ridiculous.”

  “Hmm.”

  “What’s up with these cryptic little hmm sounds?”

  “I just think it’s probably not the only reason he wants to be with you.”

  “I’m not getting into that now.” Yes, she knew Andre was attracted to her. But the thought of getting married for that and their child was insane.

  “Fine, but I think you’re only fooling yourself.”

  Closing her eyes, she let her head fall back against the leather seat. She wasn’t fooling herself. Andre was a man used to getting what he wanted. He was trying to be in control right now for whatever reason. But there was no way they could ever get married. It was pure insanity. He would never trust her. But they could work on their relationship. They already had the civil part down pat. It was easy to be civil with him because he really was a good person, if a bit of a bulldozer. And she had no doubt that he would be a good father.

  On an intellectual level she knew she would be a good mother, too, but the thought was still terrifying. She knew nothing about children or babies. “Did we have any plans for tomorrow?” She didn’t think they did, but wanted to be sure.

  “Nope. No wedding stuff on the agenda. I actually have an appointment with a detective friend of mine tomorrow morning and I don’t know how long I’ll be. So don’t feel like you have to rush back tomorrow.”

  “Okay. Also, you guys are wonderful but I don’t want to overstay my welcome since I’m going to be here until your wedding. So I’ll probably start looking for a place very close to you soon. I want to be involved in everything wedding related but I don’t want to cramp your style.”

  Nika laughed lightly. “If you were anyone else, I would say that three days was enough and you should be gone. But it’s you. You could stay as long as you want. I understand wanting privacy, however. I’m sure Declan knows a local Realtor who can help you find a place to rent. One of those corporate, fully furnished ones. Unless you want to start looking to buy?” There was a note of hope in her sister’s voice.