Carmen rolled her eyes.
Thankfully Chris didn’t catch the comment and launched into his summary.
Carmen attempted to focus on Chris as he read, but she was constantly aware of Rex at her side. Rex: dark, volatile and unpredictable. He still demanded her attention without doing anything at all. She resisted as best she could.
When she took a quick glance his way she discovered he was staring blatantly at her. Her blood rushed in her ears. Chris’s voice faded in and out and she had to struggle to focus on what was being said.
The first part of the document was devoted to Rex’s inheritance of various stocks and shares, and a property in the Channel Islands. “To my son, Rex, I leave the marina apartment in Jersey and the mooring rights, in recognition of his attachment to the place during family holidays as a young boy.”
Carmen noticed Rex’s expression changed on hearing the personal information attached to the request.
Chris summarized some money allocations and provisions for long serving staff, several of them who had retired; the rest still held posts at the manor. “Briefly, the key factor here is the property known as the Lodge House, which is the current residence of Mr. and Mrs. Amery—the caretakers of Burlington Manor—should be granted to them with freehold ownership in recognition of the service they have provided over the years.”
Carmen nodded. She was pleased.
Chris glanced up to make sure he had their full attention before he moved on. “Regarding my estate, monies and the ancestral home known as Burlington Manor, it is my wish Carmen Shelby should receive a fifty percent share, the other share going to my only son, Rex.”
Carmen blinked. “Excuse me, did I hear right?”
Chris nodded. “Fifty percent ownership each,” he clarified.
Carmen’s heartbeat faltered. She expected it to go entirely to Rex and she would have to buy the entire property from him. Rex looked surprised by the arrangement, as well. Then he met her stare and his expression changed. His eyes lit.
“Although I have to point out the coffers aren’t exactly spilling over,” Chris added.
“No surprise there,” Rex commented, “the old man was better at spending money than making it.”
Chris nodded and continued. “The investment portfolio is reasonably strong, considering, but the property is the main thing we’re looking at here – in itself worth several millions.”
Carmen stared at Rex in confusion, then looked at Chris. “Are you sure about the share to me?”
He nodded and gestured at the papers, continuing to read. “This is in recognition of it being as much Carmen’s home as it was Rex’s. I also wish to celebrate the work my wife, Sylvia, did to retrieve the place from long-term neglect, making it an exceptional home for us all, a place I can truly hand on with pride.”
Carmen’s chest tightened. The references to her mother unbuckled her.
“Carmen?” Chris paused and looked at her with concern.
She’d covered her mouth with her hand. They probably thought she was about to burst out crying. “Please, go on. I’m just so surprised.”
That was an understatement. Burlington Manor. Half of it was already hers. The fact Charles Carruthers had considered her in his arrangements touched her deeply. When Chris looked at her she nodded his way.
What did Rex think? She thought he might be annoyed his father had made things rather complicated by sharing it between them, but when she glanced his way he smiled, his eyes narrowed as he watched her. She was sure he had no interest in the house and was ready to buy him out. She’d cashed in numerous investments and her bank had the funds ready for a fast transfer.
Chris was reading on. “In the unlikely event both Carmen Shelby and Rex Carruthers are deceased at the time of the reading of this will, I have named a third party who represents a charity I wish to benefit, Wilmington’s Cancer Care.”
“He thought of everything,” Carmen commented.
“He did indeed,” Chris agreed. He studied the papers, but didn’t comment further.
“He had a lot of time on his own in the end,” Rex commented wryly, “to think on it.”
Carmen sighed. “Rex, do you have to?”
He shrugged.
More provocative than ever, Carmen decided.
Chris continued. “Should either Rex or Carmen decide to sell their share, I hope one of them will be able to keep the place going. It’s been our family home for centuries.” He paused and looked up, taking off his glasses for a moment. “Your father did not make this a condition of the will, however. It was a wish, not an instruction.”
Rex spoke then. “I’m sure Carmen and I can come to a mutually satisfying arrangement.”
It was time to make her move. “I’m ready to buy you out.”
She meshed her fingers together as she stated her intention.
Rex stared down at her hands before he responded. “We can share the playground, can’t we?”
Playground? That remark was typical of Rex Carruthers. Her skin prickled. “You’ve got no interest in the house. You haven’t even been back there in years—”
“True,” Rex interrupted, with a smile. “There was nothing to draw me back. Not until now…now you’re going to be there. Things could get interesting.”
Don’t let him mess with your head, she told herself.
It was second nature to him, teasing her. Well, she wasn’t a gauche teenager any more. She cleared her throat. Luckily she’d been over her proposal and his potential responses several times and the words were in her head. “You’ve got your business to oversee, why would you want to be in Burlington Manor now?”
He lifted his eyebrows, staring at her pointedly.
Damn him. Flirting with women was a game to him. As teenagers he liked to see her in a state, but then he’d go off with some other girl, leaving her squirming. How was it he could still do this to her? She was a grown woman and she’d quelled all her foolish desires for this man long ago.
He appeared to be amused by the set up. “We have to share. Would it be so hard?”
“Not at all,” she retorted. “It’s a big house. But we both know you don’t really want it, this is just a game to you.”
Rex gave a faux pained gesture, putting his fist to his chest above his heart. “It hurts you think so poorly of me.”
Her cheeks flamed. “That’s not what I meant and you know it.”
She found herself silently begging for him to be reasonable and to move on, but he kept looking at her as if she was on the menu for dinner and he was considering how to cook and serve her up. Unable to stop herself, she glanced down at her clothing and adjusted the shirt so the line of the buttons was straight.
“I’m not willing to discuss terms right now,” Rex said. “We can talk about it when we’re at the manor together.”
Carmen felt increasingly light-headed when forced to consider what it would be like being alone with him at Burlington Manor. One look at the nonchalant posture of his attractive masculine body had her pulse racing, a nagging ache at her core reminding her she was a woman and she had needs. Dear god in heaven, how was he able to do this to her? I still want him. She couldn’t trust herself.
She crossed her leg higher on the thigh, attempting to quell the arousal there.
His gaze followed the movement, and his mouth gave a gentle twitch, as if he was restraining an idle remark. When their eyes met, electricity traversed the space between them. His handsome mouth sloped into an insinuating smile.
He wasn’t prepared to follow the norms like everybody else. She tore her gaze away. Well, she wasn’t going to sit there and let him make fun of her when she knew he had no intention of living in the house. He didn’t want it, never had. She should have let her lawyer negotiate with his. Annoyed, she rose to her feet, glancing at her watch. “Chris, do you need me for any other part of this?”
Chris frowned. “I can email you details of the transfer procedures. If you have any questions, get i
n touch.”
“Thank you.” She walked out of the office as quickly as she could, out the door and down the steps, heading across the pavement to where her Mini was parked on the street.
Rex was hot on her tail. He was determined.
Opening her bag, she snatched her keys. He reached out and clasped her wrist, drawing her to a sharp halt as she reached the car door.
“Come now,” he said, “we haven’t even started negotiations.”
She huffed a laugh. “Oh, so you’re willing to negotiate, now I’m walking away?”
“I didn’t want to air all my private thoughts in front of the family solicitor.”
He traced his finger along her jaw, setting her nerves tingling. “I’m looking forward to us spending some quality time together, Carmen.”
Tease. She shot him a warning glance. Her skin tingled, her senses responding wildly to his proximity. She threw him a querying glance.
“You want Burlington Manor,” he continued. “I don’t. We can come to a mutually satisfying arrangement.” He ran his finger down the length of her neck.
Arousal surged through her. Don’t trust him. “I have funds available for transfer. My lawyer will be in touch.”
Rex ignored that. He lifted her hair free of her cheek. “I like your hair this way,” he said, running it through his fingers as he admired it. “It used to be shorter.”
The aroma of his cologne hit her. The familiar scent of him took her back. Inside a heartbeat she was seventeen and longed for him to hold her. Instead, he teased her relentlessly—making her horribly aware of her fragile confidence—and then he’d cast her aside and seduced one of her friends. That hurt. If he’d pursued her like this back then, instead of Amanda, it would have been a dream come true. Now it got her back up. He was a playboy, plain and simple He was asserting his power over her because he was a man who assumed he could toy with women for his own entertainment. “Stop playing games, Rex. Name your price.”
A slow smile spread across his face, his eyes gleaming as he gazed at her, looking at her lips as if he was about to devour them. “We live together at the house for an agreed term.”
It had to be a joke. She stared up at him and his intense blue eyes were so vivid they seemed to burn into her. “Oh for God’s sake, just tell me how much you want for your share.”
“I don’t want money. I want you.”
Her lips parted. She was stunned.
“No financial exchange. Just you―” he locked eyes with her “―in my bed, refusing me nothing.”
Images flashed through her mind, images of them locked together in fierce passion. Fighting away the rising tide of longing, she shook her head. “You can’t be serious.”
“I am, entirely so.” As if to emphasize his point, he moved one hand inside her jacket, where he cupped her breast and ran his thumb over her nipple.
Carmen couldn’t stifle her gasp. His touch knew no bounds, no protocol. It was breathtaking. The only barrier between his skin and hers was her shirt and the sheer lace bra she wore beneath it. Her nipple knotted and tingled. Her emotions were in chaos, and her trust in her body and its responses was fast waning. “You think you can have any woman you want. Well, I’m not for sale, Rex Carruthers.”
He shrugged. “I want you, and you want the house. This is the perfect opportunity for us both to get what we want.”
What surprised her more—that he claimed he wanted her, or that he knew she wanted the house so much? She wasn’t sure, but she despised him for putting her in this position, and even more, she despised herself for considering the idea. Her knees were weak under her. The hard surface of the car was the only thing holding her up.
“Come on, why deny the attraction now?” The lust in his eyes was tempered by humor. “I touched you like this before, and you liked it. You liked it a lot.”
Shame flooded her. Her eyelids fluttered down, but her attempt to deny the images assailing her was futile. They were scored on her memory, relived many times. He’d flirted with her and out of the blue she found herself in his arms and they were kissing. Their lust unleashed was dangerous, moving like wild fire. In hungry, eager embraces they’d almost gone all the way. Thankfully a noise from elsewhere in the house had broken them up.
“I was young and easily led,” she responded, squaring up to him as best she could, “I won’t be played with again—and certainly not for your share of the house. The suggestion is outrageous.”
His hand on her body felt good, though, and she hadn’t pushed him away, hadn’t been able to. That old sense of longing was a simmering fire she thought she’d quashed long ago. She forced it back, refusing to let him take charge of her.
“Come to the house this weekend, we’ll take it from there.”
Perhaps it would kill off all those idiotic teenage fantasies she’d had once and for all. Or joining him there could be the biggest mistake of my life. “I’ll come to discuss the deal, but you can’t force me to sleep with you!”
“I won’t force you, I won’t have to.” The knowing look he gave her right then was infuriating. It was also a massive turn-on. Undeniably masterful, undeniably masculine and controlled, he made her blood pump hard, her pulse wildly erratic.
“Make arrangements to be away from London for the next four weekends. Our time together will begin on Friday evening.” He glanced at his watch, stepped away.
“I’ll come to the house to negotiate a purchase, that’s all.” How was it he could push her buttons so easily? He was so self-assured, so knowing, while she clung to the side of the car, filled with torrid imaginings and confused thoughts and needs.
His eyes twinkled with dark humor. “Consider this, my darling, if you don’t agree to my offer we’ll have to share the house…forever.”
Forever?
With that final comment, he inclined his head and strolled back up the steps into Montague’s office, leaving her standing there with one hand gripping the car to hold her up—her clothes awry, her body awash with heat, her heart thundering in her chest.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Saskia Walker is an award-winning British author and a USA Today Bestseller. Her short stories and novellas have appeared in over one hundred international anthologies and several international magazines. After writing shorts for several years Saskia moved into novel-length projects.
Fascinated with seduction, Saskia loves to explore how and why we get from saying “hello” to sharing our most intimate selves in moments of extreme passion. Her novels DOUBLE DARE and RAMPANT both won Passionate Plume awards and her writing has twice been nominated for a Romantic Times Reviewers’ Choice Award. She has lots more stories in the pipeline! Saskia lives in the north of England on the beautiful Yorkshire moors, with her real life hero, Mark, and a house full of felines.
A few other books by Saskia Walker
The Witches of Scotland series
Inescapable
Along for the Ride
Monica’s Secret
Holly’s Intuition
Faye’s Spirit
Trading Hearts
Sex, Lies and Bondage Tape
Mastering Meg
Winner Takes All
Double Dare
Rampant
Reckless
Minding Amy
Find more at the website.
Thank you for reading!
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Sean: A Stepbrother Romance (Coded for Love Book 3) Page 17
