A Daring Deception (Harlequin Presents)

by Amanda Browning

  A smile slowly curved his lips. ‘You’re forgetting. I’m lucky at cards. Always have been.’

  Rachel snapped her fingers. ‘That’s right. It’s love you know nothing about. I’ll have to keep praying that you don’t suddenly fall head over heels in the next few days. I’d hate to see you bankrupt yourself.’

  ‘That,’ he declared dryly, getting to his feet, ‘will never happen.’

  Rachel followed suit. ‘Not whilst you’re happy playing the field, at any rate,’ she responded sardonically.

  Picking up his glass, he carried it over to the bar and refilled it. ‘Then it’s going to be up to you, sweetheart. I’ll hook him…. all you have to do island him,’ Nathan declared, and she could swear she heard him laughing under his breath as he disappeared into his bedroom, closing the door behind him.

  Damn him, she cursed silently, going to her own bedroom and shutting the door with more force than was strictly necessary. Let him laugh now, for the last laugh would be hers. Crossing to the bed, she deftly unfastened the largest case and drew out of it the shimmering green evening dress she would wear that night. It was supposed to be travel-proof, but she put it on a hanger and left it in the bathroom so that when she showered later the steam would remove any tiny wrinkles.

  She unpacked the remainder of her clothes quickly. Not that there were too many of them, despite appearances. The cases had been for show. She guessed that the type of blonde Ames preferred would always take her wardrobe with her. It would, after all, be the tool of her trade. A trade she knew nothing of and yet was expected to use to keep Luther Ames otherwise engaged.

  Rachel plopped down onto the edge of the bed and chewed on her lip a little worriedly. It was one thing to play the dumb blonde with Nathan, and quite another to deliberately entice Luther Ames, using promises she had no intention of following through with. Especially as she didn’t like the sound of him one little bit. She acknowledged that she had been quite deliberately ignoring this particular aspect of their trip.

  As a rule she enjoyed flirting. Sometimes it was just to tease old friends, and at others it was part of the dating ritual. She had never practised it with serious intent. Flirting was simply an enjoyable pastime. To do it in cold blood, with the full intention of gaining the attention of a man she knew to be at the very least a blackmailer, made her shiver. Yet she had agreed, albeit by use of devious methods, to help. Lord, she just hoped she was up to it. She would hate to let Linus down.

  Nathan would never let her forget it either. Which was, ironically, all the spur she needed to do her utmost to pull it off. She had a reputation—an erroneous one, as it turned out—to keep up. A clever woman could keep a man hooked yet at arm’s length for as long as she wanted, and she had always considered herself a very clever woman. Except for the error of falling for Nathan Wade, but everyone was allowed one mistake, weren’t they?

  A knock at the door heralded the arrival of Room Service, as Nathan had promised, bearing a light, perfectly cooked omelette and a salad. After clearing her plate, Rachel decided to take Nathan’s advice and have another few hour’s sleep before preparing for the evening ahead. She had a feeling she was going to need all her wits about her.

  When Rachel awoke she felt a great deal better, and a glance at her watch told her it was time to get ready for her first full performance. Wanting to take full advantage of her magnificent ensuite bathroom, she chose to have a long, relaxing bath and hair wash instead of the swift shower she had been planning on. Three quarters of an hour later she climbed out of the cooling water, wrapped herself in a luxurious bath sheet and padded back into her bedroom. She had no idea what Nathan was doing. She hadn’t heard a sound from outside since he had disappeared into his room. Shrugging, she searched out the hair-dryer and set to work on her hair.

  Knowing how important first impressions were, more so in this case, she spent a great deal of time over her appearance. Her hair, once dry, was a lush golden halo about her head and shoulders. Subtle application of make-up made her eyes look enormous, whilst giving her lips an extra fullness. Underwear came next. The dress did not allow the wearing of a bra, but she chose panties and suspender belt that were the merest breath of satin and lace. After carefully drawing on the finest denier stockings, she stepped into the dress. It fitted like a dream, the tiny straps hardly seeming strong enough to hold the bodice up. Only when she had placed matching shoes on her feet did she turn and look in the mirror.

  Rachel was used to seeing herself this way, but even she was amazed by the results. She seemed to shimmer and glow. Her heart-rate increased. If this didn’t knock Nathan dead, she didn’t know what would, she thought, and realised with a lurch of her stomach that behind the need to dress up for the part she was playing there was a stronger element. She wanted to make an impression on Nathan. Crazy though the idea was, she couldn’t help it. She just wanted to see something other than disdain flare in his eyes. It could be over in seconds, but if she saw it…

  Impatiently she told herself not to be so foolish. There would be nothing to see. He disliked her. Never for a second had he hinted otherwise. She had to get real.

  A sharp rap on the door made her nerves jump.

  ‘Yes? What is it?’ she called out just a little breathlessly.

  ‘Are you about done in there? I’ve a table booked for eight-thirty,’ Nathan informed her, and she took a swift glance at her watch. Ten minutes. A ball of panicky excitement settled in her stomach. Showtime.

  ‘Oh, OK, I’ll be right with you,’ she called out, casting a rapid eye around the room to make sure she had forgotten nothing. If she had, it was too late now. She grimaced as she picked up her evening purse from the bed.

  Taking a deep breath, she crossed to the door and unlocked it. When she stepped into the lounge, Nathan was standing at the bar. At the sound of the door opening he turned, the glass he had filled freezing halfway to his mouth.

  The arrested look in his blue eyes was everything Rachel had been hoping for. But the sudden fire which flared to life in the depths of them, even though it was quickly extinguished, was a bonus. Her nerves jolted. She recognised desire when she saw it, and for the briefest moment his expression had revealed a scorching amount of it. Dear Lord, he was attracted to her! It was staggering to realise that, no matter what he said, his eyes had just told her quite another story. Clearly he didn’t want to be attracted, and she knew why. He didn’t want to want the woman he thought her to be, but she wasn’t that woman. The question was, what was she going to do about it? She needed to think, but there was no time now. All she could do was hug to herself the knowledge of what he had given away.

  ‘Here I am. Will I do, do you think?’ she asked huskily, walking into the room and giving a twirl.

  After the merest pause, Nathan downed his drink and set the glass aside. ‘If you don’t, Ames will be a damned hard man to please,’ he declared dryly as he advanced towards her. ‘You’ve pulled out all the stops, I see.’

  Disappointment settled like a lead weight in her stomach. Yes, she had seen desire flare in his eyes when he saw her, but he was not going to act upon it. His words told her quite clearly that he was not about to let his body overrule his brain. She was a means to an end, that was all. It hurt, but she refused to be crushed by it because she knew he felt something now. She raised her chin, knowing that if she wanted any sort of relationship with this man she would have to overcome his steely self-control. A daunting prospect, but one she would not be afraid to take on. For now, though, she had to bide her time.

  ‘I decided I needed to make an instant impression,’ she explained with a shrug. ‘After all, we are pushed for time.’

  Nathan halted mere inches away, his eyes holding hers. ‘Just remember you’re doing this for Linus, not yourself. Don’t try adding Ames to your list of conquests.’

  She was sorely tempted to hit him for even suggesting it. If he only knew there was but one man she wanted to conquer. She shot him a coy look, knowing she
was going to have her work cut out for her, but, strangely enough, the character he disliked would give her the cover she needed to do some elementary groundwork. There was no time like the present.

  Reaching out, she stroked her palm along his lapel soothingly. ‘Now, there’s no need to be jealous, darling. You know you’re the only man I care about!’ she exclaimed in the clinging tones of a seductress. If only he knew how true it was!

  As she’d expected, Nathan took an irritated breath, but a nerve ticked away in his jaw. He wasn’t as cool as he looked. ‘I never waste time being jealous,’ he retorted, brushing her hand away.

  ‘Of course not,’ Rachel concurred with a faint curve of her lip, whilst her palm still felt the heat of his body. No, not cool at all. ‘There are so many other women just waiting in the wings for you. Poor deluded fools.’

  ‘Now who sounds jealous, darling?’ he came back silkily. ‘Could it be that secretly you want to be one of those poor deluded fools?’ he taunted, and, because it was true, she made herself laugh lightly.

  ‘I’d sooner be nibbled to death by ducks,’ she lied, and had the heart-squeezing pleasure of seeing amusement dance in those fascinating blue eyes.

  ‘My thoughts exactly at the notion of getting mixed up with you. It’s amazing how much we do agree on.’

  ‘Amazing,’ she agreed with heavy irony. They wanted each other, too, but that was something he wasn’t ready to discuss. In fact, if she hadn’t seen his unwanted attraction with her own eyes she would have had a hard time believing it existed, so good was he at hiding his feelings. She had to hide hers too. ‘Well, what now?’

  ‘Now we go down to dinner. But first…’ He reached into the pocket of his dinner jacket and pulled out something that flashed fire and ice.

  Rachel’s breath caught as he held up an exquisite diamond necklace. Automatically her hand went to her throat. She had been joking about the diamonds, but apparently he had taken her seriously. As ever, she felt the cynicism of his notion of her like a wound in her heart. One day she might change that, for she had hope now. Faint, but persistent.

  ‘Turn round,’ he ordered, and though she wanted to protest she did as he bade her, shivering as the gems settled on her flesh. For a moment she felt the brush of his fingers as he dealt with the clasp, then he moved away and she sighed heavily before facing him again.

  Stepping back slightly, Nathan ran his eyes over her in a lazy inspection which missed nothing and, try though she might to stop it, set all the fine hairs on her body standing to attention. ‘You look stunning,’ he pronounced finally.

  There was a flicker of warmth in his eyes, and, had things been different, with that tiny piece of encouragement she would have been in his arms. However, it wasn’t so, and Rachel cleared her throat hastily, struggling for composure. ‘Stunning enough to get Ames’s attention?’

  The smile that set hearts tripping all over the universe appeared, and had the same effect on Rachel. ‘A man would have to be made of stone not to notice you tonight. You’ll be the most beautiful woman there.’

  An hour ago she would have thought the compliment mere window-dressing words, but her newly discovered knowledge told her he meant it. She wasn’t supposed to know that, though. He would close down tighter than a clam if he suspected she’d guessed his secret. For now the status quo had to be maintained. With that in mind Rachel licked dry lips and willed her pulse to settle down. She had to respond in kind.

  ‘Don’t go overboard. This is still me, you know,’ she told him mockingly.

  He quirked an eyebrow at her. ‘Ah, but this is a very beautiful you, and I’ve always believed that beauty should be acknowledged,’ he informed her in a soft, warm voice which turned her stomach over.

  Cool it, Rachel, she instructed herself firmly. This man is a master of the art of flirtation. And she knew that if he ever did use it on her with serious intent, remote though the likelihood was right now, she would be lost.

  ‘It’s only fair to warn you, Nathan, that if you keep saying things like that you’ll turn my head,’ she warned sardonically.

  His lips twitched. ‘Vanity is something I would never accuse you of,’ he countered seductively, and she blinked in exaggerated surprise.

  ‘Why not?’ she challenged drolly. ‘You’ve accused me of nearly everything else!’

  ‘A fact that doesn’t appear to trouble you unduly,’ Nathan observed with a mocking gleam in his eye.

  Rachel held that gaze with a stoical one of her own. ‘I never waste my time protesting to deaf ears.’

  ‘Meaning I don’t listen?’

  ‘Meaning you won’t listen. A small but significant difference.’

  His laugh was so blatantly sexy it made her shiver. ‘On the contrary, I always listen to what a woman wants. It’s my pleasure to give her pleasure.’

  Rachel’s throat closed over as she followed his meaning only too well. ‘That isn’t quite what I meant,’ she protested a trifle faintly. ‘But it doesn’t surprise me at all that you would wilfully misunderstand.’

  Nathan’s lips twitched again. ‘I enjoy teasing women. It’s all part of the game.’

  ‘Maybe, but I’m not part of that game. Emma was right. No woman is safe from you! You’re even flirting with me, and I know how much you dislike me.’ It would have been expecting a lot for him to deny her statement, and it was no surprise that he didn’t.

  ‘Emma?’

  Too late she realised she hadn’t meant to mention her cousin in case Nathan knew enough to make the link. She improvised hastily. ‘My…business partner. She thinks I’m out of my mind going anywhere with you.’

  ‘Whereas you know you’re safer with me than with practically any other man you could name,’ he returned succinctly, giving her heart another painful twist.

  ‘Which is exactly what I told her,’ she confirmed, instinctively protecting herself. ‘Shall we go?’

  Nathan smiled faintly. ‘Does it irk you that I’m not interested in you, Rachel? Were you hoping to sharpen your claws on me?’ he taunted as he took her elbow and urged her to the door.

  Rachel felt his touch like a lick of flame, sending tiny shock waves over her flesh, but she was too sensible to jerk away. ‘I might do it yet, so I wouldn’t crow too soon, Nathan darling,’ she warned daringly, following the time-honoured principle that attack is often the best form of defence.

  ‘My, but you do love to live dangerously, sweetheart.’

  She sent him a sweet smile over her shoulder. ‘Of course. But that’s why you picked me for the job. You can’t start complaining now.’

  He grinned at her and pressed the lift button. ‘I’m not complaining. In fact, this is turning out to be more amusing than I expected.’

  The lift arrived and they stepped inside. ‘Funny, I was thinking the same thing myself. You were right; we do have more in common than you think.’

  They reached the ground in something short of a nanosecond and walked out into a busy foyer. ‘Just don’t forget that once this is over you and I will be back on opposite sides of the fence,’ he reminded her unnecessarily.

  She laughed wryly. Maybe. Maybe not. ‘If I do, I feel sure you’ll remind me,’ she retorted smartly, and felt rather than saw him smile as they walked along side by side.

  ‘Count on it.’

  The restaurant was busy at this time of night, and they had a short wait before being shown to their table.

  ‘Have you ever met Luther Ames?’ Rachel asked once they were seated and had been supplied with drinks.

  ‘No, but I know him by sight,’ Nathan answered, glancing casually around the crowded dining room. ‘He isn’t here yet.’

  Rachel sipped at a glass of white wine. Though she could do with the bolster of strong drink, she knew she needed to keep a clear head for what she had to do. ‘Will he have heard of you, do you think?’ It was a possibility she hadn’t considered before. If Ames knew anything about Nathan, they would be sunk before they started.

 
; ‘Not that I’m aware of,’ Nathan answered unconcernedly. ‘There’s no reason why he should know of me. Even if he does, I doubt he would make the connection between Linus and his aunt. We’ll just have to play it by ear and hope for the best.’

  They were waiting for the arrival of their first course when a shift in the noise level drew their and almost every other diner’s attention to the entrance. A tall, dark haired, handsome man in his early forties, dressed in white dinner jacket, frilled shirt and black bow tie, stood in the van of a chattering group of people, all elegantly dressed and showing visible signs of wealth.

  Rachel glanced back at Nathan and shivered when she saw the grim set of his jaw and the icy look in his eyes. She barely needed to ask the question, but voiced it anyway. ‘Is that him?’

  ‘In the flesh,’ Nathan confirmed coldly, without taking his eyes off Ames.

  Rachel followed his gaze back to the broadly smiling man who was now being shown to where a large table stood empty. ‘He looks harmless enough,’ she remarked inanely, watching the progression of the entourage.

  Nathan’s lips curled derisively as he turned his attention back to her. ‘If he looked like the black-hearted snake we know him to be, nobody would trust him. He’s nobody’s fool, Rachel. Remember that.’

  ‘Oh, I will,’ she concurred, and the promise was heartfelt. She trusted both her grandfather’s and Nathan’s judgement too well to ignore it. But what was sauce for the goose… ‘Just make sure you remember it too,’ she advised him, bringing a surprised look to his face.

  ‘Worried about me, sweetheart?’ he teased, and she shrugged to hide her very real concern.

  ‘I wouldn’t like to have to explain your sudden demise to Grandfather,’ she said dryly, making him laugh softly.

  ‘And there I was beginning to think you cared. I’m shattered.’

  She gave him a look. ‘You look like it.’

  ‘You’re a hard woman, but I know several ways to soften steel.’