A Trap So Tender

by Jennifer Lewis

  Maybe she really did need to find that damn cup fragment to break the curse hanging over the Drummonds and pave the way for James’s future to blend happily with her own. She wanted him to be happy. She wanted herself to be happy. Perhaps she could just come clean with him about the factory and make a deal to buy it from him so her dad could be happy, too.

  But then he’d figure out all her angles. He’d know she had an agenda and react with disgust and she’d lose it all. At least if she persisted with her original plan she’d end up being closer to her dad, which was of course her primary goal.

  “Oh, James.” It was so strange to rest her head on his chest while all these crazy, treacherous thoughts scrambled through her brain. And she didn’t know what was running around in his brain. She knew he wasn’t marrying her for love, but for some reasons of his own. There was nothing natural and organic about their courtship. It had all the hallmarks of a high-stakes merger.

  He stroked her hair, and her thoughts drifted away again. If only she could make this moment last for a month, or a year. She just wanted to rest awhile and inhale the scent of his skin.

  But she wasn’t cut out for resting. “That old factory building…” The words crept out of her mouth almost of their own accord.

  “The one we walked past?”

  “Yes.” She hoped he wouldn’t notice her heart beating faster. Or that he’d blame it on the amazing sex.

  “How much would you sell that for?”

  He laughed, which shook his chest under her cheek. “I wouldn’t.”

  “How about a ridiculous price?”

  “The ridiculous price would still be less than what it’s worth once I develop it. I’ve had my team watching that property and planning the acquisition for nearly two years. I have a lot of time and energy invested in it.”

  “Oh.” Much as she’d suspected all along. Should she push harder and possibly reveal her hand? At some point, she had to. “What if I wanted it as my prize if I win the race?”

  She held her breath. She couldn’t see his face from this angle, but she could imagine his eyes narrowing into his characteristic thoughtful expression.

  “In that case, I could hardly say no.” She heard amusement in his tone. Probably because he expected to win. Men like James always expected to win, regardless of the odds. It was probably a key reason why they usually did win. But she had the advantage of being light, and fiendishly determined.

  In not saying no, he’d said yes.

  Maybe she could win the race, give the factory to her dad, marry James, then live happily ever after and laugh long and loud about the whole thing. If handled delicately it was possible. He’d already agreed to turn it over if she won. Now all she had to do was win fair and square.

  I want to marry him. The realization made her toes curl. She liked this man so much. Loved him? That could be the strange feeling unfurling in her chest and befuddling her usually sharp brain. She could easily see them enjoying each other’s company for many years to come. Maybe his own decisiveness in choosing her as his bride came from a similar intense conviction that she was the one for him.

  She slid up his chest and kissed his mouth, which smiled beneath her lips.

  “You really want that factory?”

  She shrugged, pretending to be casual. “I think it would be perfect for me.”

  “You’re on.”

  Her heart soared. Suddenly, it seemed as if she could have it all. The factory, her father’s appreciation and affection, and James—happily ever after. She always had been lucky. After all, anyone who made as much money as she had at such a young age was good at pulling rabbits out of hats.

  She kissed James again, enjoying the shiver of lust that licked through her when she tasted him. She could do this.

  As long as she didn’t look down. Raw nerve, skilled riding and tight lips. She’d have to pull it all together and make that race the triumph of a lifetime. No pressure, of course. Just her life and several others hanging in the balance. In a few more days, her future would be determined, for better or worse.

  Nine

  An early-morning drizzle had left the Scottish landscape lush and fragrant. A hazy sun now dried the dew on the castle walls.

  “The horses have had plenty of time to digest their breakfast.” James glanced at her. “Are you getting cold feet?” He was teasing but also concerned. The race as they’d planned it would be long, hard and not a little dangerous. If she wanted to back out he was absolutely fine with it.

  He could hardly believe he’d promised to give her that piece of land as a prize. Part of him knew she wouldn’t win. The other part of him wanted her to win so he could see what she’d do with it.

  “Not at all.” She tilted her chin. “Just want to make sure they’re ready.”

  “I think that will be the least of their problems.” They’d bandaged their legs for protection from brush and support for their tendons. The horses were fit and sleek and had been exercised every day that week by the grooms. “Are you sure you want to ride Taffy? Solomon’s quite a bit faster. He was bred for racing, whereas Taffy was bred for hunting.”

  “That’s why Taffy will give me an edge over the rough country.” She looked utterly confident, sure she’d win. And maybe she would. His competitive nature ensured that he’d give her the best run he could. On his faster horse, and with his knowledge of the countryside, he was almost sure to beat her, but he admired her ambition to try.

  “You have the satellite phone on you?” He wanted to make sure she could reach help if needed. He intended to stay within earshot of her, but wanted to be prepared for anything.

  “In my inside pocket.” She patted her vest. “Right next to the rabbit’s foot and the four-leaf clover.”

  He laughed. “You don’t seem the superstitious type.”

  “You haven’t known me that long. I’m superstitious enough to know that you can’t beat me with the curse of your ancestors hanging over you. Maybe it’s part of my strategy to make sure you couldn’t find that cup piece.”

  She took the reins from the groom and mounted Taffy. He watched with pleasure as her lithe, athletic body settled lightly in the saddle.

  “You know I don’t believe in any of that. My life has been working out just fine with the damned thing missing all these years. Besides, both my cousins seem to have suddenly found love and happiness without any help from the cup.” He heaved himself back into the saddle.

  “Are these the two cousins who located their missing pieces of the cup?”

  “Yes, but the curse isn’t lifted until all three parts of the cup are reunited.”

  “Hmm. Then I guess they’re doomed to divorce and loneliness unless we find the piece that’s here in Scotland.”

  James frowned as an odd feeling twisted his gut. Maybe it was apprehension about the race. Solomon shifted his weight and felt restless, and he patted the horse’s neck to soothe him. Would his cousins—both close in age to him—avoid the disappointment and disasters of their forebears? He certainly had no intention of going down that road. That’s why he’d chosen a wife with his head, not his heart.

  Though his heart certainly did beat fast as he watched her take the lead down the drive in front of him. “Do you remember the route?”

  “The entire estate boundary, counterclockwise.”

  “It’ll take about five hours.”

  “I know. I plan to pace myself.” She looked downright cocky. He still didn’t know how she’d learned to ride so well. She said she’d done some endurance rides in the hills of California, but he didn’t imagine they’d give her too much preparation for the rugged Scottish landscape. Or the Scottish weather. “Did you pack a raincoat?”

  “Would you stop fussing!” She turned around and rested one hand on her horse’s rump, while still moving forward at a brisk walk. “I’ll be fine. And I’m going to win.” Her bright smile sent a jolt of excitement through him.

  “No way.”

  “Just watch
me.” She shot him a cheeky grin.

  “I wish I could, but I don’t want to look back over my shoulder while I’m galloping.” He walked his horse faster until they were abreast. “Giles is going to call the start.” Giles, the groom, walked a few paces behind them. “Firing a pistol might get the horses too excited.”

  “I want my horse excited.” She stroked Taffy’s big neck. “But don’t worry. I’ll get her there without any help from firearms.” James was glad she’d agreed to ride Taffy. The big mare would take care of her. She certainly wasn’t the fastest horse in the stable, but with her extensive hunting experience and sturdy build, she was the least likely to run into unexpected lameness or to spook and throw her rider, and those things generally meant more when it came to reaching the finish line in a long race.

  “Are you going to let me win?” She’d turned to face him again, and pinned him with a fierce look.

  “Never. The honor of the Drummonds rests on my victory.” He slammed a fist to his chest.

  Okay, so maybe at that exact moment he had been wondering if he should let her stay out in front, just so he could watch her and make sure she didn’t do anything rash and dangerous. What was he thinking? Did he actually want to give up that nice piece of property so close to Orchard Road? He laughed. He must be going soft. Or else he was falling hard for Fiona. “I promise that if you win you’ll do it fair and square.”

  “Good, because I do plan to win and I don’t want you telling yourself that it was all your idea.”

  “Stone wall is your mark.” Giles’s gruff voice pierced the air. A low stone wall divided the manicured lawn nearest the house from the first stretch of rough pasture. They pulled their horses up in the gateway. Both mounts were clearly excited and ready to blow off some steam, no doubt taking some unconscious cues from their riders.

  “Are you ready?” Both answered Giles’s question with an unwavering “yes.”

  “On your marks, get set… Go!” The horses leaped into action, thundering across the field at a canter. The sky was bright, pale blue with a few fluffy white clouds, and the sun half blinded him as they headed toward the eastern boundary of the estate.

  To his chagrin he noticed Fiona had already risen out of the saddle into a light two-point, and seemed to float effortlessly over her horse. His nearly two hundred pounds of solid muscle, however, moved with his horse’s back as they cleared the first rise. She’d get tired standing up like that, wouldn’t she? For the first time he wondered if she really had a chance of beating him.

  The prospect only fired his more aggressive urges, and he cued Solomon into a gallop and passed her.

  “Don’t wear your horse out too quickly!” she called, a bright tone in her voice.

  “Don’t you worry about us,” he shouted back over his shoulder. “Solomon and I have the whole race planned out.” He led the way to the broad ditch that marked the first boundary, then crossed it and rode along the wide top of the berm his ancestors must have dug over a thousand—maybe even two thousand—years ago. They’d claimed their territory with sweat and soil, and the markers they’d made persisted through countless political regimes and monarchies. He intended to see that they’d survive intact another thousand years, even if he’d rather be sailing his yacht in Singapore.

  A sense of duty. That’s what propelled a family like the Drummonds to survive and thrive from one generation to the next. Curses didn’t have much impact on sheer determination, even if one were to believe in them.

  The sound of Taffy’s sturdy hoofbeats reassured him as they set out on the first stretch, running right along the eastern border, between the pastures of the estate and the uncultivated wilderness beyond. There was room for two horses to pass, but it would take some nerve, like passing from the inside lane on a racetrack.

  He wasn’t surprised when Fiona tried it a few minutes in. “Outside,” she called, then he heard a quickening of footfalls and Taffy eased past him into the lead. Adrenaline fired through him, urging him to take back the lead, but he forced himself to hold back.

  She was safer out in front where he could keep an eye on her. And damn, that was some view to behold. Her tight, shapely backside poised gracefully above Taffy’s powerful hindquarters.

  He could take the lead back at any time, he reassured himself. He just didn’t want to.

  Yet.

  * * *

  The exhilaration of galloping—and making sure it was still a controlled and sustainable gallop—sent thrills surging to Fiona’s toes and fingers. Passing James had given her a rush of excitement, and she could almost imagine being a jockey in the Grand National, heading for the finish line in front of a crowd of cheering fans.

  Except that here there were no spectators beyond a lone eagle and the occasional rabbit darting in the wild brush to her right.

  “Don’t take the hill too fast.” James’s voice came through the wind.

  The wide swale dipped and followed the contour of the landscape downward. A valley spread out below them, with a winding river at the bottom. “This view is distracting,” she shouted. She slowed Taffy to a trot as she negotiated the hill. It wasn’t really that steep, but why take a chance? Taffy was James’s horse, after all, and even if she weren’t his, Fiona didn’t want her to slip and get hurt.

  The berm bridged the river at the bottom, a roiling, foaming current, and then swooped upward again. James almost passed her at the foot of it, but she laughed and spurred Taffy back into a gallop, whipping past him and tackling the smooth, sheep-mowed turf with ease. “It’s lucky for me your horses are kept so fit.”

  “I like them to be ready for anything,” he yelled back.

  “Conquering neighboring estates?”

  “You never know.”

  She grinned. It was easy to imagine James leading an army into battle, pennants fluttering in the wind and horses snorting. His ancestors had probably done just that to gain this huge tract of land and defend it over the centuries. No wonder James could never abandon the place entirely for a Singapore penthouse. If it were hers she probably wouldn’t ever want to leave.

  If it were hers.

  And it could be, if she were James’s wife. Her dad would eventually get used to the idea that she’d married James. Sooner or later the two most important men in her life would become friends and would laugh about their rivalry for the factory and the land under it. As the wind whipped her face and the bright sky dazzled her eyes, it seemed inevitable that everything should work out just the way she envisioned.

  “Go on, Taffy,” she urged as they climbed another small rise and took a turn to the left. She had to win. If she didn’t win, her entire carefully wrought plan would fall apart.

  When they reached a particularly rocky stretch of landscape, the berm morphed into a stone wall, and suddenly they were cantering neck and neck alongside it over a field of tufted grass.

  “Your horse looks tired,” she called.

  “Solomon’s not even on his second wind yet.” James grinned and urged his horse ahead. As Solomon’s swirling black tail pulled level with Taffy’s neck, Fiona’s stomach tightened. For a brief second, she could feel it all slipping away—the factory, her dad, her future with James, so she dug her heels into Taffy’s sides and pushed the big horse forward, stretching her out until she peeled past them. Now was the time to take advantage of her lighter weight and put some real distance between them. She could see the castle to her left, and could tell they were now coming down the western boundary. There was almost no way to get lost from here. If she could pull ahead of him and gain a real edge, she’d be that much closer to winning.

  She moved past him and sped forward as fast as she could. The sound of Solomon’s footfalls grew distant, and when she glanced back over her shoulder she could see them fifty yards away, then a hundred. She couldn’t keep this pace up for long without exhausting her horse, so she waited until she was just far enough ahead then steadied her pace. He’d obviously done the same as he wasn’t catchin
g up with her.

  She grinned, taking in the spectacular view of the rugged landscape and the mossy towers of the castle. With a little planning and determination, she could accomplish almost anything in life.

  * * *

  As Fiona disappeared from sight around the bend on the homestretch, James came to a very unsettling realization. He wanted her to win. The desire to have someone else come out ahead in a contest went against all his training and experience. His boarding school had drilled him in the ruthless crushing of opponents of all kinds. For years he’d schooled himself to focus intently on his goal. Collateral damage could be cleaned up later. He rarely failed to clinch a deal, even if it took several years to get all the parties and the funding lined up and on the same page.

  And now he was planning to let Fiona beat him on his home turf and to give her the prime piece of real estate he’d had his eye on for years.

  Clearly she had a profound effect on him.

  “You’re driving me crazy.” He said the words into the wind, knowing there was no way she could hear them. She was too far ahead. His heart swelled at the sight of her cantering steadily along on Taffy as if she could do it all day. Which she obviously could.

  They’d been riding since midmorning and it was now late afternoon. She clearly intended to win. He loved that!

  He never thought he’d meet a woman as focused and determined as himself. Her success in business had intrigued him in the first place, her beauty and intelligence had hooked him, and she’d turned out to be even more fabulous than he’d imagined. The cursory background research he’d done showed an uneventful childhood in California, peppered with academic successes that led to a spectacular four years at a top university, just as he’d anticipated. Then she’d started her first business and turned it into an international sensation. Fiona Lam was an amazing woman.