Jane suppressed a shudder and glanced to her left in an effort to find something less creepy to look at. Mounted on the wall was an assortment of medieval weapons. Swords, spears and, most horrifying of all, a gleaming ax.
At the sight of the ax she quickened her pace after the groundskeeper, the sound of their footsteps echoing eerily off the walls.
The groundskeeper stopped at the fireplace and motioned for her to sit down in one of the antique arm chairs. “You sit,” he instructed. “Get warm.”
Jane had never been so grateful to see a chair in her life, and she quickly took a seat. “Thank you.”
“Wait here. I will produce Herr Kramer.” The groundskeeper shuffled away, vanishing from the great hall.
The silence in the hall was deafening. Shifting uncomfortably in her seat Jane shrugged off her coat, pulled off her gloves, and held out her hands in front of the fire. Blissful warmth spread through her, chasing away the chill.
Sitting in front of a warm fire at last made the long trip up the hill worth it. Going through the castle archives and proving her claim to Wintergarten would make it even more worth it.
She’d finally be able to wipe the smirk off that attorney’s face. Ugh, just thinking about Gabriel Ross was enough to drive her batty. The Wall Street banker who also had a claim on the castle was rich enough to hire a big-shot lawyer. And Gabriel was the most annoying man she had ever met.
All his phone calls and unannounced appearances at her workplace to try to coax her into relinquishing her right to Wintergarten had driven her round the bend from the minute she had found out about the inheritance. He refused to give up no matter how many times she told him to piss off. He was truly the worst.
Arrogant, intelligent, with a razor-sharp tongue, Gabriel was the kind of man that women dreamed of and his legal opponents no doubt feared. He was devilishly handsome and probably knew it. With that blush-inducing smile and savage elegance, Jane was keenly aware that whatever tingling sensation he inspired between her legs was going to remain in her pants. First of all, he was way out of her league. Secondly, she had a castle to win.
No matter what legal tricks he had up his sleeve, she was going to beat him. Now that she was here in Germany and he was in New York, blissfully unaware, Jane had a few tricks of her own.
She yawned and rubbed her eyes. Hopefully, she’d be able to turn in soon and get some much needed sleep. The ten-hour flight and subsequent two-hour drive to the castle had exhausted her. Jet lag was definitely setting in.
“Good evening to you.”
She nearly jumped out of her skin.
A tall, skeletally thin man emerged from the nearby shadows. His head was balding except for a few wisps of salt-and-pepper hair at the sides. He didn’t make a single sound as he crept closer, his footsteps on the stone floor so silent she couldn’t believe he was actually walking. That was more than a little unsettling.
Her mouth went dry and she swallowed hard. “Good evening.”
The thin man gave a hurried bow and stood up to his full, jaw-dropping height. “Welcome to Schloss Wintergarten. You must be our master’s American cousin, Fraulein Westen. I am Emmerich Ernst, Herr von Westen’s manservant.” He paused, giving her an awkward show of crooked teeth she guessed was an attempt at a smile. “Or should I say, I am the former manservant to our former master.”
“Oh. Of course. Nice to meet you.” She rushed to her feet and held out her hand.
The manservant stared at it, seemingly at a loss for what to do next. Finally, he let out a cough and reached out to give a half-hearted handshake before quickly releasing her hand. “I met with our groundskeeper on his way to fetch the solicitor for you. Unfortunately, Herr Kramer is in a meeting at this moment. Perhaps you can take dinner in the dining hall while you wait for him to finish.”
“Sure, I don’t mind having something to eat,” she said with a nod. Even though she was tired, she was eager to speak with the solicitor as soon as possible. Besides, she had gotten pretty hungry on the drive over here.
He ran his hands down the front of his suit, smoothing over invisible wrinkles. “Our maid is currently preparing your bedroom, so allow me to take your bag upstairs for you while you wait for dinner to begin.”
“Uh…thank you so much.” She offered him a grateful smile. Though Jane worked at a motel, she had never been waited on like this before.
The manservant didn’t return her smile. Instead he stared at her blankly with large, owlish eyes as he reached for her suitcase. “Dinner will be served in twenty minutes. In the meantime, I shall return with some warm cider for you to drink if you wish.”
“I like the sound of that,” she said eagerly. “Thanks again, Mr. Ernst.”
Without another word the manservant disappeared back into the shadows, leaving her alone again.
The second he was gone Jane forced out an exhale. For some reason she had felt tense in the manservant’s presence. It was probably a combination of nerves about meeting strangers and being in a new environment. She’d get used to servants appearing out of nowhere soon enough. In a castle this big there were bound to be unexpected surprises. With time, she’d be accustomed to it. Especially once she claimed her inheritance and started spending more time here at Wintergarten.
She spent several more minutes warming herself by the fire, some of the stiffness in her limbs going away.
The sound of footsteps drew her attention and she turned to see if the manservant was coming back.
At the sight of the tall man striding up to her, Jane’s mouth fell open.
Luxuriously tousled thick black hair. A harsh but kissable mouth. Green eyes framed by long, dark lashes. Cheekbones that could cut glass.
No. It couldn’t be. Not here. Not now. Not him. Anyone but him.
A man so devilishly handsome that she crossed her legs at the sight of him. Here he was. Her competition’s fancy lawyer. Mr. One Thousand Dollars an Hour himself. The worst man in the world. Gabriel Ross.
2
She stared at him in wide-eyed surprise, her chest heaving, disbelief flashing in her eyes.
Gabriel Ross forced his gaze back up to her face, hoping like hell she hadn’t caught his accidental glance at the swell of her breasts. Not that he was complaining about looking at her face. It was quite a captivating face. That pink mouth was its most prominent feature. Full and inviting, he had fantasized about kissing that mouth at his leisure. Taking his time to taste its sweetness. Then there were those brown eyes that, for some reason, reminded him of fall foliage. All of it topped off with a mane of dark hair that gleamed copper in the firelight.
Right now, the shock on her lovely face mirrored his own. He hadn’t expected to see her here. But he wasn’t going to reveal how stunned he was to find her in Wintergarten’s great hall.
He wondered what would come next. They had taken part in this dance for two months now. Each of them battling to take the lead. Most of the time she’d kill him with kindness first before letting fly some choice verbal jabs. But maybe she was so shocked by his presence that she’d give him a different sort of welcome. Would she finally lose her temper? Or would she compose herself and give him a chilly reception?
“You,” she said in an accusatory tone.
He granted her a mildly amused smile. “Janet was it? Great to see you again.”
“It’s Jane,” she said sharply.
He knew damn well it was, but keeping his enemies off balance was part of his job. And Jane Westen was definitely an enemy. Her combination of beauty and brains made her just as dangerous as the best opposing counsel he had ever encountered.
Gabriel shrugged. “Whatever you say.”
“What are you doing here?” she demanded, brown eyes narrowing.
“Working vacation,” he replied smoothly.
“Working to take the castle, you mean.”
He took a seat in the armchair opposite her. “Isn’t that why you’re here?”
“I’m here to see my
inheritance,” she said sweetly, her face the very picture of innocence.
Oh, she was damned good at this. Jane seemed to know when to turn up the heat and when to retreat. Probably why he could never quite anticipate when she was going for the jugular. She kept him on his toes, which was getting increasingly rare in his line of work. Legal battles were getting less challenging as time went on. Which meant a hell of a lot more boring. Mind-numbing, if he was going to be honest. He had only ever gotten into law to make his parents proud. Not because he had much interest in it. His talent for it had come as a surprise. Maybe because he had spent so many years lying to his parents. Even more years lying to himself.
“Careful. You wouldn’t be the first invader to try, and ultimately fail, to win Wintergarten.”
An angry flash in her eyes vanished as quickly as it had appeared. “And what about you? Are you invading the castle with your client?”
“You mean your cousin? No, he isn’t here,” Gabriel returned. “He got tied up with work matters and couldn’t leave New York.”
“Oh, so that’s why my distant cousin sent a lackey in his place. What a shame,” she said, looking him directly in the eye. Clearly, she was trying to get a rise out of him.
No matter how much she stirred his blood, Gabriel wasn’t going to take the bait. He’d play it cool. After all, he had the upper hand here. As impressive as Jane’s verbal sparring was, she didn’t have the resources to keep this going. Without the money to afford a halfway decent lawyer, she was basically acting as her own legal representative. Eventually she’d see reason and give up. Then the castle would be won and Gabriel would make partner at his law firm.
That thought left him feeling a little hollow. He was going to miss their encounters and all the sexual tension that came with them.
“Lackey. Lawyer. As long as I get paid handsomely. Which I will be. Soon enough.” He flashed her his most winning smile. A disarming weapon he deployed whenever he was ready to get his way.
She tilted her head, studying him in a way that possessed a heated interest that intrigued him. “Are you often paid when you lose?”
Gabriel laughed. It was criminal to have this much fun with a woman while fully dressed, but he was enjoying himself way too much to pull back now. “I wouldn’t know. I don’t lose cases.”
“There’s a first time for everything.” She straightened in her seat, flipping her hair over her shoulder to reveal the delicate column of her neck.
He gaze lowered, and suddenly he was fantasizing about what it would be like to press a kiss to the dip at the base of her throat. Would she tremble at the initial contact? Or would she tilt her head back, offering more of herself to him?
He felt himself go painfully hard at that image. In the fog of his rising lust, he almost lost his train of thought. “There’s no first time for me,” he finally choked out. “I always win, because I’ll do whatever it takes.”
Jane pursed her lips for a moment, as if she was ready to mount another verbal attack. But she let her face go placid and asked, “So, when did you arrive?”
“Yesterday afternoon,” he replied. Looked like she was trying to change the subject to avoid further argument. She had never done that before, and he was suddenly intrigued. Interested in finding out where the conversation was headed now that there was a chance of them speaking like two civilized adults. “I’ve already taken the grand tour and everything.”
“Bumped into any ghosts yet?”
“No, can’t say that I have,” he said with a chuckle. “The history of the place is pretty interesting, though.”
“It’s been in the family since the fourteenth century. Imagine how many people have lived here,” she said wistfully. “I can already feel the presence of all those lives.”
There was a dreamy look of wonder on her face that made his heart stop. He forced himself to resist the response. If he let himself get taken in by her growing attachment to the place, he’d lose the nerve to cut her down the way he did with all of his enemies. There was nothing personal about defeating Jane, but he couldn’t let sympathy cloud his judgment. Couldn’t let feelings get in the way of this ruthless undertaking. To make partner, Gabriel had to get the castle for his client. Nothing could stand in his way.
“Kind of spooky, don’t you think?”
“It is spooky,” she admitted. “But that’s part of its charm. The outside of the castle looks like something out of a fairytale. Especially with all the snow this time of year.”
“The inside sure doesn’t.” He motioned to the immense hall around them. This part of the castle wasn’t a ballroom or a princess’ tower. There were deer heads and killing machines on the walls, for one thing.
“Sure it does. Fairytales aren’t always pretty. The inside of Wintergarten is closer to a Grimm fairytale than the sanitized version most parents like to read to their kids.” She gave a faint smile and glanced over at the fire. “My mother gave me a book of Grimm fairytales when I was a kid, and I’ve been into German folklore ever since.”
She seemed to be falling in love with the place already. It was a pity he was going to have to tear her dreams away from her. “Pretty heavy stuff for a kid, don’t you think?”
“Yeah, but it was good for me,” she said.
“How so?” he asked, genuinely interested.
Jane hesitated. “It helped me deal with some hard stuff. Gave me a place where I could be scared without being in any actual danger.”
“I see,” he said. “I guess that means you have big plans for the castle. If you win.”
“When I win, I plan on turning Wintergarten into a hotel,” she said. “Make it part of a heritage tour for people interested in local history and folklore. I was thinking the bottom floors could be more a museum and the upper floors would be where guests stay overnight.”
“Sounds like a huge undertaking.”
She turned to look at him sharply. “Anything worthwhile is. Which is probably more than I can say for whatever your client has in mind for the place.”
“Not that it matters one way or the other, but my client wants to make this his winter home,” Gabriel said. Though he had attorney-client privilege, his client had given him permission to talk about what he planned on doing with the castle. Any detail that would potentially scare her off was fair game.
“His winter home?” She scoffed and then rolled her eyes. “How many homes does this guy have?”
“More than he needs, I’m guessing.”
Her eyebrow quirked up. “Are you judging your client?”
“Most of my clients have more money than they need,” he said wryly. “It comes with the territory.”
“So you are judging him.”
“What I think doesn’t matter. What I want matters even less. As long as I get the results my clients want, I get paid,” he said candidly. He hadn’t planned on that moment of candor. Gabriel tried to tell himself he had only told her the truth to use it against her later. But not even he could lie to himself that well. The truth had come out because he’d wanted it to. There was something about Jane that made him want to talk. It might have been her forthright questions after he’d spent his professional life trying to parse through what the frauds around him actually meant. For better or worse, at least he knew where he stood with her.
Besides, at Wintergarten they were out of place and time. What happened here wouldn’t follow them back to New York. The place was little more than a dream.
She leaned back, crossing her arms as she appraised him. “Do you even like your job?”
“Does anybody?”
“You’ve probably made enough money to start over and do what you really want.” Gabriel could swear he heard a hint of envy in her tone as she spoke. “So if you don’t like it, why keep doing it?”
Why indeed. He could always tell her that law was essentially the family business. His father was a judge. His grandfather a U.S. attorney. But there was more to it than tradition. Far more. A lifetime o
f pain he couldn’t begin to express to her.
He had to make partner, it was as simple as that. If he failed to win the castle, all these years of working to live up to his parents’ expectations would have been a waste. That was why he’d flown out to Germany. To get definitive proof that his client had a better claim on the castle than Jane did.
“Why? You offering me a job?” he asked glibly.
Her full lips turned down at the corners into a disapproving frown. If her goal had been to get some of his secrets out of him then Gabriel was determined to see her fail. When it came to the truth, he’d only give her so much and no more.
Before she formed a response Emmerich the manservant appeared, expertly balancing a tray laden with mugs of cider.
“Ah, it seems Herr Ross has joined you,” the manservant said with a respectful nod. “In that case, perhaps both of you would like to take your cider in the dining room while you wait for dinner?”
“Sure, that sounds great,” Jane said, getting to her feet.
They followed the manservant into the enormous dining hall. The long dining table seemed to take up the entirety of the hall.
The manservant placed the mugs on either side of the table, leaving Gabriel no choice but to sit across from Jane. Not that he minded all that much. Getting to look at a companion as beautiful as Jane during dinner had its advantages.
The sound of footsteps on the stone floor made the manservant turn to the dining hall entrance. “Ah, here is dinner now.”
A pair of servants entered the dining hall and began to lay out food under the manservant’s direction. They set out a feast including sauerkraut, beef stew, roasted potatoes, and pork ribs.
“Before you dine allow me to introduce some of our staff to you, Fraulein Westen,” the manservant said, gesturing to the other servants. “This is Agnes our housekeeper, and Heidi our maid.”
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