I wanted her so badly I couldn’t speak.
Lust, that was all it was. Nothing to do with her telling me how good I was for her or how she trusted me. Nothing to do with the way she looked at me, as if my past didn’t matter. As if she saw a man worth looking at.
Nothing to do with that at all.
I grabbed her, pulling her up against me.
Her eyes went wide and she put her hands on my chest. ‘What is it?’
I was breathing very fast, like I couldn’t get enough air.
In a couple of weeks all this would be over. I’d be leaving the country a few months after that. I’d be giving her up and that was a good thing. A very good thing.
‘Nothing.’ I managed to force the words out. ‘You’re just really fucking sexy in that dress.’
But those bright eyes, they saw through me. ‘Leon.’ Her voice was quiet. ‘Tell me.’
The satin of her gown felt slippery beneath my fingers, my grip on her tenuous. ‘I don’t want to let you go,’ I heard myself say hoarsely. ‘I don’t want our wedding night to be the last night. I want to keep you.’
She blinked in shock and I thought for a moment I saw tears in her eyes. Then she blinked again and lifted her hands to my jaw, her fingers cool against my skin. ‘So keep me.’
‘I can’t.’
‘You can.’ The words sounded husky, a fierce glow lighting her gaze. ‘You don’t have to let me go. I don’t want you to.’
‘But that’s why I can’t.’ I stared down into her lovely face. ‘You want more and I don’t. So I have to let you go. I have to protect you.’
Her throat moved. ‘Protect yourself, you mean.’
I didn’t deny it. ‘I have to, Vita.’
By rights she should have got angry, but it wasn’t anger I saw in her gaze now. It was something softer, something almost tender. ‘It wasn’t your fault, you know,’ she said quietly. ‘That he didn’t come for you. He should have fought for you, protected you. The way my father should have protected me.’
I wanted to tell her it didn’t matter, that I didn’t care, but the words wouldn’t come. With a couple of simple sentences, she’d shattered my goddamn armour in two and I wasn’t sure I could repair it.
So I did the only thing I could.
I turned around and walked away.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Vita
THE DOOR OF the limo opened and I took a breath, trying not to fuss with the skirts of my gown, my fingers bunching the fabric.
A large male hand came over mine and gently pressed it down.
‘You’ll be fine,’ Leon said calmly. ‘Don’t forget that your fiancé is the most dangerous man in the room and he’ll punch anyone who dares to even look at you funny.’
The warmth of his hand was reassuring and I felt my nervousness ease.
I tried to be stern. ‘No, you wouldn’t.’
‘I would.’ There was a feral gleam in his golden eyes. A glimpse of the lieutenant he’d once been.
I shivered, and not because I didn’t like the thought of a man offering to do violence on my behalf. I did like it. No one had stood up for me when that video went live. No one had defended me. I’d been sent away in disgrace instead. The thought of Leon protecting me gave me a delicious thrill, as if I’d somehow tamed a vicious predator.
‘That appeals to you, doesn’t it?’ Leon observed lazily.
‘Yes.’ No reason to deny it. ‘I feel like I’ve tamed a lion.’
Surprise flickered across his beautiful face. ‘A lion?’
I looked at him lounging beside me, ridiculously handsome in the perfectly tailored tux he was wearing for tonight’s function. ‘You’re all...’ I gestured at him ‘...golden and commanding and dangerous.’
One of his rare genuine smiles curved his mouth. ‘You better believe it, sweetheart. And all it took to tame me was scones, sex and chemistry. Maybe you should write a seduction “How to”.’
I grinned, an odd excitement fizzing in my chest.
Then I remembered something I’d been trying hard not to over the past week.
Tonight was our last date before the wedding.
The excitement inside me died, leaving me feeling flat and stale, like a bottle of champagne that hadn’t been corked properly.
A week had passed since that day I’d tried on wedding dresses in his apartment. I shouldn’t have said anything then and I knew it. But the moment he’d said he wanted to keep me a stupid burst of hope had ignited inside me. And I’d opened my big fat mouth and told him that he could before I could stop myself.
I shouldn’t have. I shouldn’t have said a word, but I had. And then I’d made things worse when he’d refused me by handing him a truth he hadn’t asked for and plainly didn’t want to hear.
He’d walked out, leaving me standing there in the lovely wedding dress I’d felt so good in, knowing I’d made a huge mistake.
We’d told each other that sex was all it was, yet in that moment we’d both crossed over that boundary. Which couldn’t happen.
I couldn’t want more because he couldn’t give it to me.
We were volatile compounds that shouldn’t mix outside a controlled environment or else we’d destroy each other.
When he’d returned later that night with a bouquet of beautiful orchids and taken me to bed without a word I didn’t push.
I pretended it hadn’t happened.
We’d had other dates since then where we’d talked about everything else. Politics and art. Science and books. Our favourite movies and TV shows. Anything. Everything.
Everything but the chemistry between us. A chemistry that showed no signs of burning out, no matter how many dates we went on, no matter how many times he took me to bed.
And that made it so hard to pretend.
He made it so hard to pretend.
‘Hey.’ His fingers brushed my cheek in a light caress. ‘You look sad. What’s up?’
Damn. Why did he have to be so observant? Or, rather, why couldn’t I be better at hiding my feelings?
I forced a smile. ‘Nothing. Just nervous.’
‘Like I said, nothing to be nervous about.’ He grinned, the dangerous gleam in his eyes only enhancing his charisma. God, he was so hot I could hardly stand it. ‘You look utterly lovely. The dress is perfect.’
I blushed.
He’d taken me shopping the day before to find me something to wear for this charity function of my father’s. It was black tie all the way, and I had nothing suitable.
Dad had never invited me to his parties—before my video I’d been too young and after he hadn’t wanted me anywhere near potential donors—but tonight he’d told me that my presence was required, as was Leon’s. He was going to give his public blessing to our marriage, aka introducing Leon to some potential investors.
I hated parties but I couldn’t refuse this one. It was required as part of my role as Leon’s fiancée. The dress was sexy, wrapping around my figure while leaving one shoulder bare. The colour suited me and I was amazed at how good I felt in it.
‘Thank you,’ I said. ‘For the dress.’ And then, because I wanted him to know, I went on, ‘For the dates too. Thank you for...’ For making me feel good about myself. For making me feel beautiful. For making me feel special for the first time in my life. ‘For everything.’
His smile was warm, real. The smile that was just mine.
It made my heart turn over in my chest.
‘You’re welcome.’ He kissed my palm. ‘Come on, vixen. Now that we’re a few minutes late we can make a grand entrance.’
I grimaced. ‘Not sure I want a grand entrance.’
His fingers closed around mine. ‘Sweetheart, when you’re with me all entrances are grand.’
The gleam in his eyes had turned from dangerous to wicked and my stupid heart tur
ned over yet again.
You’re falling for him.
* * *
The venue for the charity function was an old historic building that was in the process of being revitalised.
Outside, the building’s elegant façade remained untouched and it wasn’t until we got inside that I realised the whole thing had been gutted in preparation for rebuilding.
It was an amazing space, brick walls soaring high right up to the roof, no ceilings in the way. A temporary wooden floor had been put down for the night, the lighting lots of bare old-fashioned bulbs hanging down on industrial wires. They looked like tiny moons or planets, the light they gave off diffuse and warm.
At one end a chamber orchestra played while a bar had been set up at the other. Couches and chairs in various different configurations were scattered everywhere, while on some of the walls big screens displayed logos of the charity the function was in aid of.
The place was packed with the cream of Sydney high society, all of them talking raucously, but if I’d hoped to slip in unnoticed I was disappointed.
The moment Leon walked in, his arm around my waist, there seemed to be a lull in the hum of voices. Heads turned in our direction, following our progress as we made our way through the press of people to where my father stood, ready to greet us.
I felt the weight of those stares but, unlike a couple of weeks ago, it didn’t bother me the way it had on those first couple of dates.
In fact, I relished it. Because here I was, the ‘I Love You Girl’, in a spectacular dress with an incredibly handsome man on her arm. A man with a dangerous past who was clearly possessive and obviously besotted with her.
It was intoxicating, powerful.
As we approached my father, I lifted my chin and met his gaze, for once not afraid of the disapproval I saw in his eyes whenever he looked at me.
That disapproval was evident now but this time I let it slide off me, smiling instead.
‘Tom,’ Leon said expansively, stopping in front of my father and reaching out to shake his hand. ‘Good to see you.’
My father’s smile looked forced, his handshake stiff. ‘King.’
‘Oh, come now, you’re my soon-to-be father-in-law. Don’t you think it’s time you called me Leon?’ He grinned, not at all put off by Dad’s wooden formality. ‘We’re almost family.’
Dad didn’t reply, his smile remaining fixed. He turned to me instead and for a second I thought I was going to get a handshake from him too, but at the last minute he stepped up and gave me a kiss on the cheek.
‘Vita,’ he murmured.
‘Dad.’ I didn’t offer a hug. He wouldn’t have wanted it anyway.
He stepped back, studying my face, though what he was looking for I had no idea. ‘Are you...okay?’ he asked tentatively.
The question surprised me since he’d never been interested in my well-being before.
‘Of course,’ I said. ‘Why wouldn’t I be?’
‘He’s worried I might be corrupting you,’ Leon murmured, pulling me closer, his mouth brushing my ear. ‘He’s right. I am.’
Dad frowned, looking from Leon to me and then back again, noting how close we were and Leon’s proprietorial arm around my waist.
The frown deepened.
He wouldn’t have known that Leon and I had been sleeping together. But now he did. And he wasn’t happy about it.
A bolt of satisfaction shot through me and I let myself lean against Leon’s tall, muscular body, my hand coming down to rest over his on my stomach. I smiled at my father.
‘Are you worried about me, Dad?’ I met his gaze squarely. ‘Because promising me to a complete stranger didn’t seem to bother you before.’
I don’t know why I said it because I wasn’t here to fight. In fact, I thought I’d long since given up caring what Dad thought of me. Yet now the little dig was out I didn’t want to take it back.
I was conscious of Leon beside me, his arm a reassuring weight around my waist. He didn’t say a word; he knew this was my fight, not his.
Dad scowled. ‘Of course I’m worried about you. The Kings are—’ He stopped, his gaze flicking to Leon.
‘The Kings are what?’ Leon’s voice held a dangerous undertone.
My father shifted on his feet, looking uncomfortable. ‘It’s nothing. Forget I said anything.’
‘I can’t speak for the King family,’ I said, unwilling to let it go. ‘But I can speak for Leon. And I can tell you he’s been nothing but kind and respectful towards me.’ I paused. ‘Unlike some other people in this room.’
Dad flushed, a spark of anger in his gaze.
Good. I’d wanted to goad him and I had.
‘If you’re implying—’
‘What? Am I implying that you haven’t treated me with either kindness or respect? Yes. I am.’
It wasn’t the right time and this wasn’t the place for a family argument, but seeing him turn his habitual expression of disapproval on Leon and talk about the Kings in a disparaging tone made me angry. That Leon deserved it for blackmailing Dad into giving me to him didn’t matter.
What mattered was that Leon had been good to me and I wasn’t going to stand for anyone badmouthing him.
‘Vita,’ he began.
But I was on a roll and I didn’t let him finish. ‘Leon has been nothing but good to me, Dad. He’s certainly treated me better than you or Mum ever did, and I won’t hear a bad word spoken about him.’
‘He blackmailed me,’ Dad said through gritted teeth. ‘He—’
‘And you promised me to a complete stranger to save yourself from your own bad debts.’ I kept my voice low so no one would overhear, but I didn’t hide the ferocity I felt. ‘You sacrificed me to save yourself, just like you did the last time.’
Dad didn’t say a word this time, staring at me in stony silence.
I’d never confronted him about his behaviour towards me all those years ago, but now I had, I couldn’t seem to stop.
‘I should never have agreed,’ I went on. ‘But I did. Because I thought you’d finally see me as your daughter instead of a stain on the family name.’
‘I didn’t—’
‘No. I don’t want to hear your justifications. But you should know that I’m not marrying Leon for you. I’m marrying him for me. Understand?’
Utter silence fell.
Leon was silent beside me while Dad simply stared at me.
He wouldn’t understand. He wouldn’t know what Leon had said to me about rewriting my own story. But that was okay. I wasn’t going to explain it to him. I’d said what I’d needed to say, let him know that what he’d done to me all those years ago had hurt. And that I wasn’t going to let him emotionally blackmail me into doing anything for him again.
It was Leon who broke the silence in the end.
‘In future, I think it’s best if you don’t cross my beautiful fiancée.’ The smile he gave Dad was hard-edged and sharp. ‘Now, isn’t it time you introduced my brothers and me to some of your important friends?’
CHAPTER TWENTY
Leon
I’D SEEN AJAX and Xander enter the building as Vita gave her father the dressing-down he so richly deserved, and he swung round now to watch them approach.
But I didn’t pay any attention to them.
I could only look at her.
The fierce expression on her face remained and her dark eyes were glowing with anger. But for once it wasn’t aimed at me; it was aimed at her father. On her own behalf, yet also, strangely, on mine.
Ah, Christ, she shouldn’t say things like that. She shouldn’t come to my defence, making me admire the sheer guts of her, how she was calling her father out in the middle of his own function.
I’d thought she couldn’t get under my skin any more than she had already.
I was wrong.
/> But I couldn’t let it.
Over the past week or so, since the day she’d tried on wedding dresses, I’d gone on as if I hadn’t told her that I wanted to keep her.
As if she hadn’t seen right through me and told me that it was myself I was protecting.
I’d simply gone on as if nothing had happened and that had worked. She hadn’t mentioned it again. And the dates had continued and so had the nights, and I’d thought I was good. That I’d patched up my armour, that it was strong.
But her doing shit like this? Defending me against her father? It only made me aware that I had to be stronger. That I had to try harder.
That, no matter how well protected I thought I was, it wasn’t enough.
If I’d had my way I would have ended the affair the day I’d seen her in that wedding dress, but I’d made a promise to my brother. And that promise meant keeping up this deception. Marrying her to legitimise the King name and get us into the luxury apartment market.
I couldn’t let Ajax down, not after what he’d done for me.
What about her?
I ignored the question, turning instead to greet my brothers as they came through the crowd towards us.
They’d been sent invites to this little show, their presence required so Hamilton could introduce us to his high-flying friends.
Ajax was a huge hulking figure in jeans, a T-shirt and a leather jacket—the man had no goddamn sense of occasion—while Xander, not quite as tall but no less broad, had at least made an effort and put on a tux.
Both of them kept glancing at Vita, making me instinctively pull her closer.
Staking your claim?
Well, she was mine, at least for now, and I wanted to make sure my brothers knew it. Ajax, particularly, was rapacious in his tastes and, as for Xander... Though his interests lay with protecting his money, if he thought Vita was a threat to us he wouldn’t hesitate to make that known. In ways that would be painful for all concerned.
‘Ajax, Xander,’ I said as they stopped in front of us. ‘Meet your future sister-in-law, Vita Hamilton.’
Ajax turned his disturbing light blue stare from me to Vita, the look on his face unreadable. ‘A pleasure.’ His voice was neutral as he held out a hand to her.
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