by Day Leclaire
“You heard me.” Determination was carved into every line of Joc’s face. “I want you to marry my sister. In fact, our negotiations hinge on that very point.”
Lander sliced his hand through the air, cutting him off. “Forget it. Maybe if you’d approached me a week ago. Maybe I’d have considered it. I’m that desperate. But not now.”
“Because of Juliana.”
He hadn’t felt this possessive toward a woman ever. “Yes, because of Juliana.”
“I thought it was a one-night stand.”
“You bastard! Did she tell you that?”
“I have no intention of betraying her confidence.” A hint of mockery crept into Joc’s voice. “As far as I’m concerned you have two choices. I can either beat you to a bloody pulp for messing with Juliana, or I can make you pay for what you did to her by forcing you to give up your precious freedom. Personally, whaling on you for a bit holds far more appeal.”
In two strides Lander was across the room and had Joc by the throat and up against the nearest wall. “What’s your relationship with her?” he demanded. “She swore you weren’t lovers, something I can verify as fact. So, why are you throwing up roadblocks between us? Why put your sister in the middle of all this? You want Juliana for yourself, don’t you?”
To Lander’s surprise Joc didn’t try and break his hold. “I want Juliana to be happy.”
“And marrying your sister will make her happy?” That didn’t make sense.
“I believe so.” Joc actually had the nerve to laugh. “Why don’t I show you a picture of my sister.”
“What the hell good will that do?” He released Joc with an exclamation of disgust. “You think I’m going to take one look at her and fall madly in love?”
Joc shrugged. “It could happen.” He removed a snapshot from his wallet and spun it in Lander’s direction. “Why don’t we try it and see.”
Lander caught the photo midair. Flipping it over, he stared at the picture in sheer disbelief.
“My sister. Juliana Rose Arnaud. I always called her Ana.” Joc shrugged. “I guess the nickname carries bad memories, so she doesn’t use it anymore.”
It took Lander two tries before he could speak. “This has been a setup from the beginning, hasn’t it?” He shot Joc a furious glare. “I call you for help and who shows up at the ball while I’m waiting for you, but your sister—a sister who’s conveniently forgotten her last name’s Arnaud. She falls into my arms like a ripe peach and after we spend one unforgettable night together all of a sudden I find out the two of you are related. And coincidence of all coincidences, the very next day you’re holding our contract for ransom.”
Joc shook his head. “Clever plan. I wish I could actually take credit for it. But I can’t, because it didn’t go down that way.”
“I don’t care how it went down. I suggest you get the hell out of Verdonia while you still have your head attached to your shoulders.”
Joc held up a hand in an appeasing gesture. “Look, I swear there was no setup. I tried to warn her about you, Montgomery. I can’t tell you how many times I advised her to give you a wide berth. But Juliana has a soft spot for jackals like you and once your relationship took a turn for the worse, this seemed an obvious solution.”
“Not to me.”
A hint of anger glittered in Joc’s black gaze. “Maybe you should have thought of that before your North Pole got overruled by the southern half of your equator. Now let’s talk turkey because this is how it’s going down. I’m making a one-time offer. You refuse, I walk. And your precious country can go bankrupt for all I care.”
Son of a—“What do you want?”
“Your end of our business arrangement is simple. Get my sister to fall in love with you. Should be easy since she’s halfway there already. Marry her. Treat her like the queen she deserves to be. Live happily ever after. Hell, have babies if you’re so inclined.” He paused, shooting Lander a keen look. “Think you can do that?”
Babies? An image of redheaded toddlers racing through the palace came all too easily to mind. He took a step back, mentally and literally. “I think you’re interfering where you don’t belong.”
The two locked gazes for an endless minute. “But you’ll do it, won’t you?” Joc demanded. “You’d do anything to save your country, including marry my sister.”
Lander ground his teeth in silent fury. “Yes,” he finally bit out.
“Even if it means being related to me?” Joc pressed harder. “And even if our connection causes you to lose the election?”
It very well might. Lander turned away and allowed the possibility to settle into his heart and mind. Not that it took much thought. He’d seen Arnaud’s plan for Verdonia. It was a good one, one that had an excellent shot at ensuring full financial recovery. Setup or not, if the price he had to pay for that was marriage, he’d do it. If it meant saving Verdonia from economic disaster, he’d have married a two-headed goat, and Juliana was far from that.
Still, he didn’t like Joc’s tactics anymore than he liked suspecting someone as open and candid as Juliana of deceit. Granted, she’d concealed her full name from him, but he had a feeling that was a one-time aberration. What he liked least of all was being forced to marry on command. He’d always been the one in charge of his own destiny. He’d always been the one to command. It rankled more than a little to play puppet to Joc’s puppeteer.
Turning, he asked, “I gather she’s not to know about the addendum to our contract?”
“That would be a definite deal breaker.”
It confirmed Lander’s suspicion that if this was a setup, Juliana had played the part of unwitting pawn. “Just one question.” He approached. “Why? You can’t honestly believe this is in your sister’s best interest?”
He didn’t think Arnaud would answer. Emotions swept across the Texan’s face. Anger. Stubborn determination. And—hell, could it be?—an odd vulnerability. “You’re wrong, Montgomery,” he said at last. “This is in her best interest. I couldn’t protect her growing up. I’m not even much good at protecting her now.” His expression hardened. “But you can do what I can’t. You can give her everything she needs, everything I’ve never been able to.”
Lander wanted to argue the point. This was a huge mistake, one he didn’t doubt he’d live long to regret. But he didn’t see any other choice. He wanted to explain what a disservice it was to Juliana to be married for financial gain rather than love. That she wouldn’t appreciate this sort of manipulation any more than he did. But he knew from long experience that once Arnaud set his mind to something, he was impossible to budge. There might be room for negotiation later on, a better opportunity to apply calm reason to reckless obsession. Until then, Lander had no choice.
“Do we have a deal?” Joc asked impatiently.
“Yes, it’s a deal.”
He took Arnaud’s hand in a tight grip, grinding bone against bone as he fixed the man with a fierce stare. “Someday you’ll find yourself boxed into a corner like this. Remember me when that happens, Arnaud. Remember, and know that you brought it on yourself when you forced this agreement on the woman you should have protected, and the one man who will do whatever it takes to see that you pay for your arrogance.”
Five
Juliana finished the last of her paperwork, signing her name with a swift practiced stroke, before shoving the folder to one side of her desk. Swiveling to face the window, she leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes. Exhaustion threatened to overwhelm her. The past three days had been hideous, perhaps because she’d chosen to work nonstop rather than pacing herself. But at least it had kept her from obsessing over Lander and that one unforgettable night.
A knock sounded at her door, and she stifled a groan. The clock on the wall warned it was well past seven. The office staff should have long since cleared out, with the possible exception of her assistant. She heard him push open the door but didn’t bother to open her eyes. “Colin, I thought I told you to go home an hour ag
o,” she complained. Her assistant didn’t answer, but she could hear him approach, no doubt to get the last of the papers she’d signed. “Didn’t you have a date tonight?”
To her shock, he put his hands on her, his fingers digging into the knots of tension ridging her shoulders. Her eyes blinked open and she shot straight up in her chair. “Good Lord. Colin?”
“Gone.”
“Lander!” She swiveled around, staring up at him in disbelief. “What are you doing here?”
“I came to see you, of course.”
He plucked her out of the chair and into his arms. For an instant she allowed herself to relax against him before common sense prevailed and she fought her way free of his hold. “Please don’t take this the wrong way, but…why?”
“Because of this.”
Lowering his head, he teased her mouth with his. She had every intention of stopping him, of pulling back from those coaxing lips. Of telling him firmly and unequivocally that she had no interest in seeing him ever again. Her good intentions lasted all of two seconds.
With a groan she gave up and fell into the embrace. She twined her arms around his neck and practically inhaled him. He walked her backward the two paces to her desk and lifted her onto the wooden surface. Her skirt hitched upward and he planted his hands on her knees and parted them. Stepping between, he tugged her tight against him.
“What are we doing?” she demanded, torn between laughter and tears.
“What we were meant to do.”
“We agreed to a single night.”
“Your choice, not mine. And like a fool, I didn’t push hard enough.” He broke off to kiss her again, deep, drugging kisses. “But I’ve decided I want to renegotiate the terms of that agreement.”
She started shaking her head before he’d finished speaking. “No. No, I can’t. You have to trust that I have an excellent reason. Several of them, actually.”
“Give me one.”
She struggled to balance truth with caution. “You have an election coming up. You need to focus on that.”
“My personal life has never interfered with my duty to my country. You should know, that takes primary importance over everything. Always,” he emphasized. Sweeping the clip from her hair, he forked his fingers through the mass of curls. “But that doesn’t mean I don’t have time for you, as well. What’s your next excuse for ending our relationship?”
“A point of clarity, if you don’t mind. We don’t have a relationship.”
He merely smiled. His hands dropped to her legs, sliding upward, gathering her skirt as he went. “Tell me what you call it.”
She shuddered beneath his touch, struggling to maintain an ounce of reason in the midst of this insanity. “A one-night stand.”
His grip tightened on her thighs. “Don’t.” The single word sounded harsh, almost guttural. “Don’t denigrate what happened between us.”
“I’m just being honest.” She struggled to tidy a messy situation, regardless of the pain it caused. To fit it neatly into its appropriately labeled box, a sealed box etched with “one-night stand” on the lid in indelible marker. “And though I can’t explain all the problems it will cause if we continue to see each other, it’s important you believe me. That you believe that it’s best for Verdonia.”
He dismissed her assertion with a shrug. “Why don’t you let me decide that. There’s only one question you need to answer. Was our one night together enough?”
She closed her eyes, dropping her head to his shoulder. “Please don’t ask me that.”
“Too late.” She could feel his smile against the side of her neck. “Be honest, Juliana. You want more, just as I do.”
The temptation to admit the truth was overwhelming. “Yes,” she whispered. “I want more. But I’m begging you to walk away. There’s so much you don’t know about me.”
His mouth traced a path along her neck to a sweet spot just beneath her ear. “In time, when you learn to trust me, you can tell me all your secrets.”
Didn’t he understand? With an effort, she lifted her head to look at him. “You’re better off not knowing.”
“At some point you’ll tell me.” He repeated the assertion with casual certainty. “You won’t have any choice.”
“You’re probably right.” She released her breath in a sigh. “If I agree, there are conditions.”
“Name them.”
“No one can know about us. And I mean no one.”
“Agreed. Next.”
“No falling in love.”
To her surprise, that gave him pause. “You think you can order love? Where have I heard that before?”
“I don’t know.” Where had he? “But we can try.”
“Sex and nothing but sex?”
It sounded so crude. So harsh. Not that she had any other option. She couldn’t afford to fall in love with Lander. “Would that be so wrong?”
“Yes.” He lifted her chin, forcing her to meet his green-flecked eyes. She caught a hint of amusement, softened by tenderness. “Yes, it’s wrong. But you’ll need to discover that for yourself. What other conditions do you have?”
She hadn’t a clue what else. Maybe if she’d anticipated this conversation, she’d have had a list prepared. Neatly numbered and bulleted, of course. But she’d ended things between them. She distinctly remembered doing it, even though it had ripped her apart. She’d cried over him and everything. And yet here he was, standing between her thighs with her skirt hiked to her hips and eighty-six combined inches of leg locked around his waist.
She shook her head. “I don’t know. I’ll give you the rest when I can think straight.”
“In that case, I’m not sure I want you thinking straight.” To her surprise, his grip firmed on her hips, pulling her so tightly against him that his belt buckle bit into her abdomen. “If that’s everything, I suggest we get on with it.”
“Excuse me?” She wriggled in discomfort. “You can’t mean—”
“I do mean,” he confirmed. “Right here and right now.”
Had he gone crazy? She eyed him uncertainly. “Some women might want to make love on top of a desk, but I’m not one of them.”
“Really?” A slight smile curved his lips and his gaze ran over her, lingering. “What happened to sex and nothing but sex?”
She became vividly aware of how she must look, her hair rioting around her shoulders, her skirt flipped back to expose everything from her waist down, her legs clasped about him. Heat scored her cheekbones and she had trouble meeting his gaze. “Not here,” she whispered. “Not like this.”
“I don’t understand. I thought you said it’s just sex, no emotion involved.” He ran the tip of his finger over the swell of her breast. He’d touched her in a similar manner on a number of occasions, but this time it felt different. Careless. Distant. Carnal. “It’s not like we need a bed. We can do it right here.” He glanced around. “Or up against the wall over there. Or on the floor. Rug burns, but what the hell. I’m hungry, I eat. Isn’t that how it works?”
She unwound her legs from his waist and shoved at his shoulders. Not that it did any good. He remained as unyielding as granite. “Please, move. I want to get off the desk.”
“I’m serious, Juliana. Explain it to me. What does it matter where?” His hands dropped to her thighs. “Or how?”
She covered his hands with hers, attempting to stop those clever fingers from exploring any further. To her horror, tears pricked her eyes and her throat closed over, making it a struggle to respond. “It just does, okay?”
His hold eased. Gentled. Cupping her face, he leaned forward and kissed her. “And that, my beautiful Juliana, proves my point. Sex alone will never be enough for either of us because it’s innately wrong.” Stepping back, he helped her off the desk. With a few swift tugs, he straightened her clothing. “I’m sorry if I upset you.”
She wobbled on her heels, struggling to regain her composure. “If that’s how you feel—that it can’t just be about sex, then
why did you agree when I suggested it?”
He shot her a wicked look. “Oh, I’d have been willing to give it a try, if you insisted.”
“Magnanimous of you,” she muttered.
“I thought so.” His smile faded. “But in the end, we’d have failed.”
“And one of us would have gotten hurt.” She rested her head against his shoulder. “So why are we doing this?”
His arms slid around her. “Because we don’t have any other choice.”
He made it sound as though fate had set something in motion, something they could neither change nor escape, assuming they wanted to. She felt a sudden urge to run. To return with Joc to Dallas. She was good at running. She’d done it often enough. Her breath trembled in a sigh. She’d done it often enough to know it never worked. If people wanted to find you, they could. If they wanted to expose you, they did.
Chances were, running and hiding wouldn’t work this time, either. But until the truth came out—and it always came out—she’d enjoy however much time she had with Lander and hope it was enough. It would have to be.
“So what now?” she asked.
“Now we play.”
She glanced up at him, intrigued. “Play?”
“You look confused. Haven’t you ever played before?”
She thought about it before slowly shaking her head. “Not really.”
“Then it’s past time you started.”
The nights following flew by as though part of a dream. During the daylight, Juliana worked harder than she thought possible so she could enjoy those few precious nighttime hours with Lander. It became like a game. Late each afternoon she’d receive a phone call giving her a different location to meet, each in a section of the city free from curious eyes. And every evening she’d escape work and race to wherever she’d been directed.
She always found a different vehicle waiting for her, the only thing they had in common a unifying anonymity in appearance that guaranteed they’d fade in with every other car on the busy streets of Mt. Roche.
The first night she was driven to an underground garage, and had expected to find herself back at the apartment complex where she’d made love to Lander. But that hadn’t happened. Instead, she ended up in one of the downtown malls. Even though all the shops were lit, to her astonishment not a soul stirred. She and Lander spent the entire night wandering through the mall, laughing at the insanity of having the entire place to themselves. Every once in a while she’d catch a glimpse of the security guards who shadowed their every move. She hadn’t noticed them the night she’d spent at his apartment, but she had an uneasy feeling they’d been there, regardless.
