Evernight Publishing
www.evernightpublishing.com
Copyright© 2013 Larisa Anderson
ISBN: 978-1-77130-535-8
Cover Artist: Sour Cherry Designs
Editor: Karyn White
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
WARNING: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. No part of this book may be used or reproduced electronically or in print without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in reviews.
This is a work of fiction. All names, characters, and places are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
DEDICATION
To my first critique partner, Danielle Lisle for all of her time spent supporting my characters. To my family and friends for providing chocolate and funny emails when I start going cross-eyed from too much editing.
THE MILLIONAIRE’S CONVENIENT BRIDE
Larisa Anderson
Copyright © 2013
Chapter One
The apartment door closed with a sharp click as Louisa threw her keys in the bowl by the door. Her dress, bra, and panties left a trail behind her on the polished wooden floors as she moved to the shower where she could wash away all trace of the man. She caved to pressure from her secretary and agreed to one date. What she hadn’t agreed to was a bad meal, overpriced shoes, and having to pepper spray the guy to get him off her in the car. As one of the top lawyers in the country it was hard for her to find men. They were either intimidated by her job, or after a piece of her power. This one fell into the power category. A legal aide, he sought to use her to get a place at her legal firm. After all, it’s not what you know, but who you know.
Louisa let the hot water run over tired and tight muscles. The heat worked kinks from her neck that no amount of sleep could relax. When she felt she had wasted enough water she wrapped a large fluffy towel around herself and moved through her small apartment to the couch before allowing her eyes to close. The soft light from a lamp illuminated the room, which was furnished sparsely. She was never home so hadn’t bothered decorating her small loft. Besides, her office was like a second home. When she was here she slept in her small double ensemble or worked at the large wooden desk to one side of the open plan space. She looked to the desk now, knowing what sat on its battered top and cringing at the thought of dealing with it. A yellow envelope, which she had yet to decide what to do with, glared at her in the low light. Its simple front held stamped black letters spelling a name she had hoped to never see again. A siren sounded outside on the street, drowning out her thoughts. She was getting claustrophobic living in the city and working twenty hours of the day. The buildings pressed in on her on all sides, suffocating her. Every step she took was closer to another case, another hour of work, and another night alone. Her foot twitched as she scoffed at her own inability to settle. Her friends kept telling her, just marry someone as busy as she was and they would never have to see each other. At least that way, they reasoned, she would have a chance at children down the track. Louisa could never do such a thing. She couldn’t remember her family at a time when they were happy. She wouldn’t bring a child into her world unless she could give them a stable, loving home. Children deserved to be brought up with two parents, even if she had to quit her firm to do it. This was the reason she hadn’t settled down, she thought as she gazed at the offending envelope again. She was not ready to give up her career, not when she had worked hard to build it out of the dirt.
Her gaze narrowed on the envelope. If she took it to the client she would be out of this claustrophobic place, and it would be done. A brief trip out of the city would do her good. If she played her cards right she wouldn’t even have to see the person those name it broadcast into her mind.
It also meant she might run the risk of making her life even more complicated.
Her decision was made for her when the neighbours started arguing in the hall. Their loud accusing voices were piercing as they screamed their hatred. Her bags were packed before the screaming stopped. Dialling the familiar number, the phone rang just twice before her client’s daughter answered, her friendly voice welcoming her to the mountains.
****
Louisa climbed into her hired car at the small airport wondering how she could explain what she discovered. On the phone she had requested a meeting, not telling the client’s daughter the nature of the visit. Mr. McKillip, Louisa’s client, was known to be harsh when it came to business. She hoped his children would understand his decision more than she did. Rechecking that she had her bag and purse before she pulled out of the airport, she glanced at herself once in the rear view mirror, smoothing the stray brown curls back into their tidy bun. A quick stop in the plane’s toilet was all the time she had allowed to straighten up before she arrived at the client’s lodge. The trip in the car would be a long one, and with the weather turning she couldn’t afford to pull over to apply mascara, one of the few beauty products she used.
Her flight had been delayed, causing her to arrive later than she had planned. It would be another three hours before she reached the lodge. Pulling out of the small town the skies opened up creating white capped roofs. Snow drifted down, sticking to the wipers as she attempted to clear the build-up from the windshield.
Two hours passed before the snow became a problem, and she squinted through the glass trying to see through the thick swirling blanket. Switching the lights to high beam illuminated the flurry of snow before her, not the road beneath. There was still another half an hour at least until she arrived at the lodge. She shifted in her seat, the heater blaring from the dashboard at her face and legs. Even with the heater at its max, her fingers twinged with cold on the steering wheel. She hadn’t dressed for such weather, thinking she would be well gone before the first snow of the season. The option to pull over and wait it out didn’t appeal to her. These mountain roads were narrow leaving no room for her to pull over with visibility so low.
Louisa considered what she had planned for the week to take her mind off the storm. This was her first trip to see Mr. McKillip’s middle daughter, Sophie. She would still have to see the two brothers, Cole and the one she was dreading the most, Dominic. She hadn’t seen Dominic in several years. They had gone their separate ways after a brief relationship during her stay at McKillip Lodge when she was a teenager. A proud man, he had his father’s striking strong nose and olive skin.
Louisa had fallen for the boy she grew up with, not the man he now was, a mistake she now had to live with every day. His name glared up at her from the envelope sitting atop her simple black overnight bag. He had taken over the company after his father’s death just weeks ago. She was thankful that his sister, Sophie, was happy, and legally able, to sign on his behalf.
Slowing as she rounded a bend, her headlights unable to see around the corner, her thoughts were on Dominic and how she would face him when the time came. She didn’t see the figure appear through the trees on her right until she was upon it.
****
A face swam before her, and she blinked several times to allow the features of the man to come into focus.
“Dominic?2 She muttered. His pale green eyes and dark brow swam in and out of focus as her head spun.
They had pulled her from the car and laid her on the shallow snow beside the mountain track. She could feel the frigid air chafing her face, the cold snow soaking her back. The faint shape of the deer lay half on, half off the bonnet of the dented car.
“Should I call for a chopper to take her out?” a voice said at her side.
“No, thank you, Murphy. Call the do
ctor and take her up to the house, out of the cold.”
The second voice felt so familiar to her, deep and commanding, one she knew could raise goose-bumps on her skin with the right words whispered against her neck. The sound fell on her now like a warm blanket. She tried to reach out and touch him. She wanted to feel the firm skin beneath her fingers to see if he was real. Strong hands slid under her, and as she was lifted from the ground, her vision swam once before pain flared and she was swallowed into the blackness.
Louisa awakened with thick dark blankets heavy on her body. The huge bed dwarfed her and made her feel as if she were a small child, as she had been the last time she slept in the lodge. Dominic’s father, Malcolm, had insisted she stay the winter with them, after her mother—who had worked as their housekeeper—was taken to hospital. Louisa had waved to her mother from the front steps of the lodge, not knowing it would be the last time she saw her alive.
She pushed the memory back and tried to focus on her surroundings. She was at the lodge. No other building was close to where she came off the road. Its dark wooden walls held the warmth of the large fire that blazed in the stone fireplace next to her. The night’s events were still hazy in her mind. Trying to recall them made her head pound and pain flare at her temple. She knew her first mistake had been being too much of a coward to call all of the McKillips to Dominic’s office in New York, just hours from her own office. She cursed herself for being so foolish. She knew the deer that roamed the forests in this area often wandered onto the roads. During that winter in her teens she had hunted them with Mr. McKillip, often waiting by the roads for one to attempt the crossing in search of food in the frozen ground either side of it.
The impact with the poor creature was a haze in her mind, yet she was sure she must have imagined Dominic being on the road side with her. She closed her eyes and remembered the scene. Green eyes, she hadn’t imagined those. So clear, like light through forest leaves. She had gazed into those eyes for what seemed like hours once, and she would remember them until the end of her days.
“Gods,” she muttered opening her eyes again. The mere thought of him here tonight sent shivers down her spine. This was the reason she had been hesitant to come here. It appeared their parting hadn’t driven her feelings for him from her body. It was well known that Dominic was a recluse and spent most of his time at his New York penthouse. For him to be here in winter was out of character. She had heard rumours, stories that after his dad passed that he had been acting odd. Missing parties, social events, fundraisers, even those hosted by his sister, Sophie. Some said that it was grief, but Louisa knew that he had never held a shred of affection for his father.
She tried to sit up on the crisp cotton sheets and felt a sharp stabbing pain in her side. She gasped and lay back, breathing through the pain. She pulled back the covers to see that she was wearing a simple blue slip. Pulling it up she revealed a large black bruise spreading from her hip to her chest, tinges of grey and yellow at its sides.
The door opened, and a tall, solid figure moved into the room. Louisa started and lowered her nightdress the movement causing the pain to flare once again. A wave of nausea swamped her as she blinked the stars of pain from her eyes and swallowed to calm her stomach. It was him. She would recognise that silhouette, the posture and commanding walk even in this low light. He came to stand at the side of the bed brushing her hair back off her face with one large hand. The feel of his warm skin against hers again sent shivers down her body pushing the pain down to a manageable level. His hand moved to feel her forehead, and pain flared behind her eyes as his hand touched the tender lump that had developed there.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to hurt you. I thought that you would be sleeping still?”
His thick voice rolled over her. So many emotions ran through her veins that she couldn’t divide one from the other. Pain, not just from her injuries, was the only emotion she could identify, the one she was most familiar with.
She tried to think of something to say but was too surprised by his presence. She had been sure she must have dreamed him by the road. He watched her, concern clear on his face as a soft crease formed between his eyes. His dark hair was longer than she remembered, and he hadn’t had those shots of silver at his temples the last time she saw him.
“Maybe I should call for the chopper.” He propped his hands on his hips as he thought, his gaze fixed on the fire.
“No,” Louisa said, her mind focusing on the moment rather than the past.
Dominic looked taken aback, his eyes widening before he hid the emotion. He was close enough that Louisa could feel his heat, smell his personal scent of fresh earth and the spicy scent of his cologne. She looked down at his clothes and noted that there were still wet, with muddy patches on his trousers from where he had knelt beside her on the road. She couldn’t have been sleeping for long if he hadn’t washed up yet. He was a creature of habit, and most of all he took pride in his appearance, preening like a cat. It was too out of character for him not to have at least changed his clothes before coming to see her.
Her mind still wandered, and she mused over what kind of state she must be in herself. She tried to pull the covers higher to cover her chest. The movement seemed to remind Dominic that she was not dressed. His eyes followed the movement to her chest before rising to meet her steady gaze before her looked away again.
“I think I need to wash up,” Louisa said, puzzling over the way his eyes lingered on the top of the covers she held clutched to her chest.
“Oh yes, there is a bath waiting for you in the next room. Did you need help getting there?”
“No, I’m fine.” The idea of him seeing her in this state was enough without acting the injured, weak female. A slight smile tugged at his lips before he hid it. As a celebrity used to the spotlight he was well practiced in hiding behind a mask of indifference.
“I’ll leave then.” He bent as if to kiss her lips but clearly thought better of it and placed a quick kiss on her cheek instead.
Louisa sat for a moment after he left, one hand absently on her face. It felt as if her cheek burnt from the heat of his lips, but the skin was as cool as the air around it.
Sliding her legs over the side of the bed she moved with purposeful care to the bathroom that she knew joined the two guest rooms. They had placed her in her old room. The memory stung. Even the smell of the wood smoke from the fireplace brought back painful memories of better times. She was shaken from her reminiscing by the image that greeted her in the large mirror over the vanity. A gash as long as her finger ran the length of her hair line with an angry blue bruise spreading around it. Blood coated her hair, her face and pale skin covered in dirt and mud.
Someone had been in recently to fill the bath. The steam rising from the water tempted her in, wincing as her aching muscles protested. She was careful not to get shampoo into the gash on her head as she rinsed the blood and dirt from her thick hair. She must have fallen asleep in the steaming water because when she opened her eyes the view out of the small window was dark whereas it had been late afternoon when she had first woken. Louisa shivered in the now lukewarm water.
Pain flared in her side as she tried to ease herself up out of the bath. She tried again using her legs to push her up but was met with the same stabbing pain. Tears welled in her eyes. She dashed them away with the back of her hand. Her phone was in the other room on the night-stand where someone had left it for her. She was too proud to call out for help, afraid that it might be Dominic who answered her calls. Her stomach churned in panic as she let the overwhelming emotions she had been trying so hard to suppress overcome her. A soft voice called out from the bedroom like a welcome breeze.
“Louisa?”
She knew that voice and breathed a sigh.
“I’m in here,” Louisa called back trying to hide the slight hitch in her voice.
Dominic’s sister, Sophie, came into the bathroom. Unlike her brother, Sophie looked as Louisa remembered her, pale skin, sh
ort dark hair, and such a neat petite figure just like her mother. Realising the problem straight away, she helped Louisa from the tub and helped her to dress in some of her own clothes, as Louisa’s were too soiled to wear.
“How are you feeling?” Sophie asked as she served the tea that she had brought up once Louisa was settled.
“Battered.” Her head was starting to throb, and her ribs stabbed with pain every time that she moved despite the calming effects of the bath.
“Dominic has called for the doctor, but he is away at the moment with an urgent call back in town. He won’t be here until the snow has cleared I’m afraid.”
Louisa nodded, the action sending blood throbbing through her aching skull. Her condition must have been plain on her face as Sophie called for the butler to bring some more pain killers before helping Louisa to lie back on the pillows. The other woman’s pale skin shone in the firelight. Louisa didn’t want to think of what she looked like in her too small clothes. Sophie was petite to Louisa’s hour glass, and with no makeup and her hair matted and wet down her back she knew she was nothing to look at right now.
To take her mind off her situation she tried to focus on why she was there in the first place. Her mind was still fogged around the edges, yet she could remember the core problem that had her travel across the country. Remembering back to the car accident Louisa found her hands shaking. She closed her eyes and clenched them until they stilled again. The heavy floral of Sophie’s perfume hung in the air around them like a warm blanket making Louisa feel warm and safe. She focused on that as she realised she would need to request replacement papers from her office. If the front windscreen had been broken by the deer’s body, as she suspected, the papers on the passenger seat would have been soaked by the falling snow.
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