TheHartSisters
Trilogy:Book1
The
Billionaire’s
Secret
Marriage
ByElizabethLennox
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Copyright2015
ISBN13:9781940134529
Allrightsreserved
This is a work of fiction.
Names,
characters,
businesses,places,eventsand
incidents are either the
product of the author’s
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actual events is purely
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TableofContents
Prologue
Chapter1
Chapter2
Chapter3
Chapter4
Chapter5
Chapter6
Chapter7
Chapter8
Chapter9
Chapter10
Chapter11
Chapter12
Epilogue
Excerpt from The
Italian’s Twin Surprise,
Book 2 in The Hart Sisters
Trilogy
List of Elizabeth
LennoxBooks
Prologue
“What can I do for
you, father?” Dante Liakos
asked as he walked into the
home that had been in his
family for the past two
hundredyears.
Theoldermanlooked
up from his newspaper, his
crumpled, arthritic hands
gripping the newspaper
insteadofhisfingersbecause
of the pain. “You married
yet?” he demanded. No
greeting, no small talk. Just
straight to the point. That’s
the way these two men had
beenalltheirlives.Business
ruled their world, although
Jossen Liakos acknowledged
that Dante was exponentially
betteratbusinessinjustabout
all respects. But this one
time,Jossenknewthathewas
goingtocomeoutthewinner.
Dante refrained from
rolling his ice blue eyes.
They’d had this conversation
many times over the years
anditwasbecomingtedious.
“Father, I’ve restored your
fortune, tripled the family
empire and renovated the six
houses we own throughout
the world.” His biting tone
was brutally harsh but he
rarelyheldbackwhenhewas
impatient with an issue.
“Since I took over the
business,younowhavemore
money to spend on whatever
toys or mistresses you want.
AsI’vementionedbefore,all
I ask in return is that you
refrainfrominterferinginmy
personallife.Idon’twantto
be married,” he told his
father.Notforthefirsttime.
His father had just divorced
hissixthwife,thelastfiveof
them mercenary women who
were out for one thing: a
chunk of the Liakos fortune.
And all five of them had
eventually flitted back out of
his father’s life with the
treasure they had sought,
thanks to his father’s inept
handling of pre-wedding
agreements. Or perhaps just
hisserialoptimism.
Dantecouldignorehis
father’s bimbos, turning a
blind eye to the older man’s
ridiculous behavior since it
was his father’s money, and
therefore none of Dante’s
business. But years ago,
Dante had graduated from
collegeandreturnedhometo
find the family business
nearly bankrupt. From the
moment he’d grasped the
critical financial straits into
whichhisfatherhadsunkthe
family, he’d worked night
anddayforyearstorepairthe
damage. He’d restored the
power and fortunes of the
Liakos’ empire and he didn’t
have the time or the patience
for a wife and family. And
he definitely didn’t have the
inclination to tie himself to
onewomanfortherestofhis
life and have disgusting
babies that were completely
dependent on him for both
financial
and
physical
survival. Dante was
determined that anything that
he devoted that kind of
support to needed to
contribute
adequate
compensation back. And
babies gave nothing back.
They were just useless blobs
that he wanted nothing to do
with.
Jossen sighed and
glared at his son. “Yes.
You’ve given me money and
power but I want you
married.
I
want
grandchildren. It means
nothing that you’ve done all
this,” he said, waving his
hand around at the elegant
room that had been about to
collapse
before
Dante
restored the house to its
former glory, “if there isn’t
anyone to pass it on to. I
want a legacy. And you’re
goingtogiveittome.”
Dante showed no
emotion to his father’s
emphatic statement. In fact,
he turned on his heel and
started walking out. He’d
had this conversation too
many times to waste another
momentonitagain.
“You only control a
thirdofthecompany,”Jossen
said to his departing son’s
back.
Dante froze, his fury
instantly rising. Turning
slowly, he faced his father
onceagain.“Isthatsomesort
of threat?” Dante asked, his
voice low and menacing.
Father or not, no one messed
with the company that he’d
sweated and bled to build
back up. This was his
company now! His father
had inherited the company
from his father, but Jossen
had done nothing but run it
into the ground with bad
decisions
and
poor
management.
Jossensawthelookof
furyinhisson’sblueeyesbut
wasn’t intimidated. “I’m not
getting any younger, son.
And I want grandkids.
Whichmeansyouhavetobe
married. I’ll give you six
months,” Jossen stated
firmly.“Ifyouaren’tmarried
in six months, I’m going to
re-write my will.” He let
those words sink in to his
son’s agile, brilliant mind.
“You own a third. I own a
third.”
“And Lasa, your
second wife, owns a third,”
Dante finished off, knowing
exactly where this was
going. Jossen had been
smitten by his second wife
andhadfoolishlygivenhera
thirdofthecompanyontheir
weddingday.
“Exactly,”
Jossen
replied, triumph lighting his
eyesashecontinuedtowatch
his son’s reactions carefully.
“I’ll change my will and
bequeathallmysharestoher
if you aren’t married in six
months.”
“Youhateher,”Dante
spat out, livid at the threat
that his sire had dared to
utter.
“So do you,” Jossen
came right back. “I don’t
care. I want grandbabies! I
wantalegacy.”
Dante stood still, his
mind working out various
waystogetaroundthisman’s
threat.Butatthetimeofhis
father’s marriage to the vile
woman, Dante had been
buriedinthedetailsofgetting
the company out of debt,
away from the brink of
bankruptcy. He hadn’t
surfaced in time to stop his
foolish father from giving
away what had previously
been useless stocks to a
woman who was no better
than a prostitute in Dante’s
mind. She’d mercilessly
gutted Jossen’ fortunes, or
what was left of them at that
time,thencallouslymovedon
when there was nothing left.
Butshe’dhappilytakenthose
shares in the divorce and she
was now living very
comfortablyoffthedividends
that she’d done nothing to
earn except spread her pretty
legs
for
an
aging,
incompetentman.
Everyonceinawhile,
the woman breezed into
Dante’s office, making
demands as if she were an
owner. Which, she was,
technically. The last time
she’dpulledthatstunt,Dante
had threatened to have her
physically removed if she
ever stepped foot into any of
the Liakos buildings again.
The battle lines had been
drawn.
And
now,
a
showdown with his father.
“You are blackmailing me,”
Dante replied through gritted
teeth. Even that was
astounding because Dante
nevershowedemotion,unless
itwastohisbenefit.
Jossen pulled back at
that look, thinking he might
have gone too far. His son
wasn’t a man to be trifled
with. He was dangerous on
so many levels. But Jossen
didn’t back down. He
couldn’t. This was too
important for both himself
and his son. He’d failed
miserably at too many things
in life, his marriages at the
top of that list, but his son
wasn’toneofthosemistakes.
Dante was his one success,
the one thing he could point
to in his old age that he’d
gotten
exactly
right.
Unfortunately, Dante was
miserable. He was working
his life away. Oh, he played
withtheladiesoftenenough–
too often, if all of the gossip
was correct. But those
relationships were not what
Danteneeded,andJossenwas
determined to step in and
make things right. His son
worked too hard and it was
time for him to be happy. It
wastimeforJossentostepin
anddowhathecouldtogive
his son happiness. Or die
trying, he thought with
uncharacteristicworry.
Moving forward with
his plan, he tried to appear
relaxed and confident. “I
read through the pre-nuptial
agreement I signed with
Lasa,” Jossen announced. “I
found something interesting.
Something I hadn’t noticed
before.”
Dante slid his hands
into his pockets, just as a
precaution to better keep his
hands from throttling his
agingfather.“Theagreement
in which you gave away a
third of my company to a
moneygrubbingbitch?”
Jossen couldn’t argue
with that accusation since it
was true, so he didn’t defend
his ex-wife. The woman
deserved Dante’s scorn, and
somuchmore.Shetrulywas
ahorribleexcuseforahuman
being.Focusingontheissue,
heexplained,“Itsaysthatall
ofherstocksobtainedduring
our marriage go to my
offspring from that marriage
or revert back to you in the
event of a legitimate child
from your marriage,” he
announced with a victorious
expression. Jossen hadn’t
believed it when he’d read
that clause earlier today.
Fromthemomenthe’dsaid“I
do” to that scheming bitch,
he’d regretted it. She’d
demanded a share in the
company
before
their
wedding and, at the time, he
hadn’t thought a third of the
shares were worth anything.
She’d been flaunting her
body at him and he’d been
weak. So he’d given his
lawyer instructions and he’d
signed the document, too
eager to be allowed to touch
her, to get to the wedding
night.Andhe’dpaid!Damn
howhe’dpaidovertheyears.
Whilehisfirstwifehadbeen
sweet and wonderful, but
hadn’t been able to survive
past childbirth, Lasa was the
complete opposite. There
wasn’t a good or righteous
cell in her conniving,
manipulativebody.
Dante went over that
startling piece of information
in his mind, tossing it
around. The idea that there
wasawayoutofthismess,to
gain total control of his
company after all, was an
alluring temptation. “Show
me,” he finally demanded,
not believing his father for a
moment. He’d made too
many mistakes in his past.
Dantewasn’tgoingtogethis
hopesupifthiswereanother
one.
Jossen knew that his
son would require proof of
suchastartlingdeclarationso
he wasn’t offended at the
command.Hehadthepapers
ready and simply pushed the
filefoldercloser.“Paragraph
twenty-one,” he said, sitting
back, thinking this was the
second thing he’d done right
in his life. Okay, so Jossen
hadn’tthoughttoincludethat
clause in the agreement but
his lawyer had! So in the
end, he’d hired a good
lawyer. At the time, Jossen
had thought the lawyer had
been green, too young and
inexperienced. But the kid
had done well. The clause
wasiron-clad.Thebirthofa
child would cause the stock
ownership to revert back to
the grandchild. Of course, if
Jossen had had any children
byhiswife,thestockswould
have reverted to that child.
No wonder the bitch hadn’t
ever gotten pregnant! She’d
probably been on some sort
of
contraception,
too
determined to keep those
stocks to herself. Jossen
recognized that he’d been
played. For years he’d been
played,butnowhewasgoing
to win. He was going to get
that witch out of Dante’s life
and he was going to get a
grandbaby. And if it all
worked out well, he could
givehissonhappinesstoo.
Dante read through
the clauses, his eyes moving
at a rapid pace. He could
read through documents
fasterthanmostpeoplecould
readthefirstsentence.Ashis
eyes flashed through the
words, his mind sifted
through the legalese to
discover
the
pertinent
phrases.Whenhewasdone,
he tossed the document back
down onto the coffee table.
“Why didn’t you tell me this
years
ago?”
Dante
demanded.
Jossen shrugged his
almost
painfully
thin
shoulders, so different from
his son’s muscle packed
frame. “I hadn’t read it,” he
admitted, cringing when his
son’s anger shot through his
eyes.
“Why the hell…” he
started to say, but then
stopped himself. “Never
mind,” he stopped the
question
mid-stream,
knowing the answer and it
disgusted him. “Marriage
andababyandIgetitall.Or
just marriage in six months,
and I gain controlling
interest.”
Jossen nodded, his
neckalmostcreakingwiththe
effort.“Yougivemeavalid
marriagecertificateandIsign
over my third of the shares,”
Jossenstated.“Youwillhave
one hundred percent control
of my shares from the
momentyousay‘Ido’.With
ababy,yougaintotalcontrol
of the company that, by
rights, should have been
yoursanyway.”
Dantelookeddownat
his father, his arctic eyes not
revealing anything. “You’d
sign over your shares to me
completely just with a
marriagelicense?”
“If you’re married in
six months, yes,” Jossen
replied, praying that his plan
wouldwork.
Dantewasstunnedby
that declaration. “But you
won’thaveanyincome.”
Jossenshookhishead
andwavedthatcautionaway,
his heartfelt gratitude and
pride
in
his
son’s
accomplishments
coming
throughinhisnextwords.“I
have enough money, because
of you, to last me the rest of
mylife.Dothisforme,and
I’ll never ask for anything
else.”
Dante didn’t believe
that.Notonebit.Jossenhad
gone through money like it
was water over the years. “I
want it all in writing,” he
statedfirmly.
Jossen nodded. “I’ll
get my lawyers on it
immediately.”
Danteshookhishead,
almost laughing at the
absurdity of that statement.
“No. I’ll get my lawyers on
it,” he said firmly. “I’ll call
you when it is done so you
cansignoverthestocks.”
Jossen stood up,
ignoring the pain shooting
through his arthritic knees.
“What about the wedding?”
he asked his rapidly
disappearingson.
Dante didn’t stop.
“Thiswillbeabusinessissue
father. You don’t need to
concern
yourself
with
business.”Andhewasgone.
Jossen looked at the
door where his son had
disappeared, his heart aching
with those final words. A
wedding wasn’t a business
decision, he thought sadly.
He knew, he’d had six of
them!
Oh, but a grandbaby!
Just the thought of having a
grandchild to love and laugh
with, to bounce on his
knee….well, perhaps not on
hisknee,hethoughtashesat
back down on the luxurious
sofa, his knees painfully
crackingwiththeeffort.
His handsome son
might think that money and
power were the point of life,
but Jossen knew now that
Dantewaswrong.Happiness
wasthepointoflife.Getting
astubbornmanlikehissonto
recognize that was going to
beachallengethough.
It was a challenge at
whichJossencouldn’tfail!
Chapter1
Refuge! Jayden
forced a bright smile to her
facewhilemovingaroundthe
party, but her eyes weren’t
seeing the guests or
monitoringtheflowofdrinks
and food. She wasn’t
observing the wait staff any
longer.Sheneededaprivate
place.Sheneededaplaceto
scream and vent and rail
against the unfairness in the
world. Her role as the
manager of Trois Coeurs
Catering would just have to
be put aside for a few
moments while she found a
place to rant about the
injustice of the world! Well,
perhaps that was a bit
dramatic, but she sure could
tear up the letter she’d
received right before they’d
stepped into the catering van
forthisevent.
The door to the left!
Sheknewthatthehostesshad
declared that room off limits
for the night. Normally, she
respected those edicts, but
right now she needed a
privateplaceandanoff-limits
room was the only place she
could think of that wouldn’t
have other people milling
about.
She burst into the
room, clutching her leather
notebook against her chest
and almost sobbed when she
closed the door behind her.
“No!”
she
whispered,
bendingoverasifshewerein
pain. “This can’t be
happening! It just can’t!”
She let the worry, pain,
anxiety and fear crash over
her, knowing that she was
finally alone. “It’s not fair!”
shesobbed.
Slamming her leather
notebookdownononeofthe
tables, she grabbed the
offending letter, reading only
thefirstfewsentencesbefore
she couldn’t go any further.
She’d already read it right
before the guests started
arriving, so she knew the
contents.Readingthemonce
again wouldn’t make them
anymorepalatable.
Tearing it up, she
crumpled
the
pieces,
growling as she let her
emotions rule the moment.
She rarely let things like this
upset her, always ready to
figure out a way around
problems. But this one
confounded her. This one
was too big, too powerful.
She felt impotent and
vulnerableandshehatedthat
feeling. And she hated the
man who had created that
vulnerability. She wished he
were here so she could
scratch his eyes out, punch
hischestandmaybedosome
otherhorriblethingstohim.
“Bastard!”
she
gasped, tossing the now
crumpled pieces of paper
ontotheground.
Of
course,
just
because she’d torn up the
letter, that wasn’t going to
keep the words from
changing her world. The
horrible man had been
threatening her for months
and she’d fought it.
Goodness, she’d fought
against his demands every
time!
The letter clearly
stated that the company the
man represented wanted to
buy up her property. He’d
sent several other letters,
saying almost exactly the
same thing but the offer
amount had changed. No
matterhowmanytimesshe’d
rejected the offer, he
continued to send additional
offers.
Now things were
getting nasty. He was
threatening her with a lower
price and loss of business if
shedidn’tcomply.
Jayden didn’t want to
change!Shelovedtheirlittle
family operation. Jayden –
along with her triplet sisters,
JasmineandJanine–worked
their catering business out of
the kitchen on the ground
floor of a quaint two story
buildinginalowcostareaof
thecity.Therentwasperfect
and the area wasn’t so bad
that they felt uncomfortable.
Everyday,thesisterscreated
their culinary masterpieces
andmetclientsdownstairsin
the kitchen area. Upstairs,
shelivedwithhersistersand
her two nieces, Dalia and
Dana, who were the cutest
four year old girls a person
couldevermeet.
Janine might still
resent Dalia and Dana’s
father for his desertion, but
Jayden was secretly happy
with their little family unit,
which was completed by
three obnoxious but loving
animals, Ruffus, the laziest
dog in the world, Odie, the
wiliest cat and Cena, a tiny
pig that Dalia had begged
Janine to get her for weeks.
Cenanowprancedaroundon
his little hooves, nudging the
cat with his chubby nose
which caused Odie to hiss
and sputter, and take his
frustration out on Ruffus.
There were crazy moments
with so many people and
animals living together. It
gotevenmorewildwhenher
mother, Maggie, and her
mother’s twin sister Mary,
stopped by with their
husbands. Well, and Mary’s
kids, and all the extended
family…yes, it was a zoo at
timeswithsomanypeoplein
a small space, but it was
warm and wonderful and she
couldn’timagineworkingand
living any other way. They
were a family and one didn’t
just up and move a family.
Thatwouldchangethingsand
she couldn’t guarantee that
they would change for the
better,soshewasdiggingher
heels in. They were happy,
damn it! This man couldn’t
mess with a family’s
happiness!
Aunt Mary and her
mom watched Dalia and
Danawhilethethreeofthem
went out for their evening
cateringevents.Thetriplets’
dad,Tom,wasamadscientist
that liked to create signature
cocktailsthatwerepartofthe
brilliant service of Trois
Coeurs Catering. Even Aunt
Mary’s husband, Uncle Joe,
helped out whenever there
was a grilling component to
anevent.Helovedmixingup
spicesandrubsfortheroasts
or ribs. The spices were so
much in demand, Jayden had
started to market those
separately. Uncle Joe’s
spices and rubs were a huge
internethit!
All of their success
was due to the love and
energy that was focused in
their building. Without
Janine’s fabulous cooking or
Jasmine’s mouth-watering
baking, they would be out of
business. Jayden, as the
business manager, had the
easiest job because of her
sisters’ genius. She simply
brought samples whenever
she went on a marketing call
and their food sold their
services immediately. The
clients fought to have Janine
and Jayden’s foods at their
eventsnow.
Moving to a new
location
would
change
everything!
“Perhaps I can help?”
a deep voice said from the
shadows.
Jayden jumped up,
looking around, frantically
wiping the tears from her
face. “Who’s there?” she
demanded angrily. “This
roomisoff-limits.”
The extremely tall,
extremely handsome man
came out of the shadows
towards her, drink in one
hand, the other in the pocket
of a beautifully hand-made
tuxedo. “I’m sorry to have
invaded your privacy,” the
smooth, deep voice said but
Jayden didn’t think he was
verysorry.
Jayden stared at the
man.Shecouldhonestlysay
that she’d never seen a man
ashandsomeandattractiveas
this one. Her whole body
trembled with the awareness
of him, the sheer power and
size of this man. It wasn’t
thathisfeatureswereperfect,
in a classical sense. The
exact opposite was true, and
it surprised her to realize she
liked that in a man. His jaw
was too hard, his nose
perhaps too thin and his
eyes….his crystal blue eyes
looked like they could see
into her soul. The strange,
blue depths actually scared
her as she looked up at the
incredibly
tall
man
approaching her, making her
think of a dangerous, black
catstalkingitsprey.Theway
hisfeatureswereputtogether
gave her a premonition of
sensual awareness unlike
anything
she’d
ever
experiencedbefore.
Was he real? Or was
he just something her
muddled mind had conjured
upinordertogethertostop
worrying about her business
problems? Perhaps he was
just a figment of her
imagination.Ifthatwerethe
case, she thought as her
breath hitched in her throat,
she had to give her
imaginationkudos!Thisman
wasmagnificent!
Herbody’sreactionto
this man startled her and she
looked back down, trying to
temper the way she was
reactingtohim.Shefocused
instead at the crumpled
papers,nowlitteringthefloor
at her feet. She looked back
up at him, unaware of his
almostintimateperusalofher
body. Jayden had never felt
like this before and every
instinct inside of her was
telling her to run away, get
away from this dangerous
man. But her feet were
frozen in place, her body
tremblingashecamecloser.
“No. I’m sorry. You were
obviously here first. I’ve
invaded your privacy,” she
said,forcingherbodytobend
downtopickupthepiecesof
the letter she’d ripped apart,
hugging them to her
stomach. “I’ll get out of
here.”
Dante watched the
woman carefully, intrigued
by the combination of her
startlinglylushfigureandher
strangely innocent green
eyes.Theeyesandthebody
were such a contradiction.
Hersoft,femininefiguresaid
she was made for passionate
interludes, for taking to bed
and letting a man forget his
old sins and start creating
newones.Buthereyes,wide
and green and surrounded by
perfectlywhiteskinwithjust
a hint of a blush, tried to
portray that she was
innocent. That she wasn’t
one of those stunningly
beautiful women who used
theirbodies,looksandbrains
to seduce men into believing
there was love and hope and
all of those other silly, naive
emotions.
Thecontradictionwas
extraordinary. And alluring.
He suddenly realized that his
body was reacting quickly to
herlong,slenderlegsandthe
way her black dress shifted
higher on her sexy thigh as
she bent down to pick up a
stray piece of paper. He
wanted to inch that dress up
higher,torunhisfingersover
hersoftskinanddiscoverthe
texture.
Never had a woman
affectedhimthispowerfully.
Norsoquickly.
“Is there anything I
can do to help?” he asked,
thinking this woman knew
exactlywhatshewasdoingto
him.
The reminder of her
problembroughtJaydenback
tothepresent.Gonewerethe
churning, sexual fantasies
that popped into her mind
withthismanasthestar.The
disastrous business problem
came rushing back and
Jaydenfeltaburstofhysteria
bubbleupinsideofher.She
pushed it down mercilessly,
butthesexualneedcombined
with her current anxiety
caused her mind to be less
agile than normal. “No.
Thank you very much for
your kind offer, but this isn’t
something anyone can help
mewith.”
Dantelookeddownat
the astoundingly lovely
profile of the woman. He’d
already noticed her lush
figure hidden by the hideous
black dress. He was a
connoisseur of women and
couldseethecurves,evaluate
the possibilities of any
woman despite the clothes
she used to try and hide her
curves.Notmanywomenof
his acquaintance challenged
him in that way, which was
why this woman was so
refreshing. Her soft,
porcelain skin was just now
showing a touch of rose
coloredpink,andheralmond
shaped green eyes were free
from tons of makeup to
accentuate that delightful
color. She wore only
mascaraandatouchofgloss,
revealing to the world the
naturalsplendorofherlovely
features.Hewasintriguedby
thefreshbeautythatwasfree
for all to observe. It was a
fascinating counterpoint to
thesensuouscurvesthatwere
hiddentotheworld.
“Let me see the
paper,” he commanded,
trying to keep his voice low
so as not to scare her. “I
probably can help more than
youknow.”
She clutched the
papers closer to her, shaking
herhead.Ofallthepeoplein
the world she didn’t want to
know her shame, this man
withhisdark,goodlooksand
his intelligent eyes, not to
mention the erotic hum she
felt at the moment…well, he
would be the absolute last
man she’d want to know
about her problem. “No.
Thankyouverymuchbut…”
Surely this man would never
be trapped into a no-win
situation,shethought.Nope,
hewasprobablythemanwho
would put others into a bad
picklelikeshewasinnow.
A moment later, the
paperswereinchedoutofher
hand and the tall, handsome
stranger was reading her
shame.
“Hey!” she gasped,
jumpingupandtryingtograb
themback.Butthemanjust
wrapped his arm around her
waist and held her close,
pressingherbreasts,well,and
the rest of her, against his
hardbody.Shegaspedatthe
contact, shocked at how
amazingly good it felt.
Jayden
thought
about
reaching for the papers but
she was frozen in his arms,
unable to move. It occurred
to her that she should
probably protest, but…well,
themanfeltreallygood!He
was solid and muscular and,
ohmy,hesmelledabsolutely
amazing!
Dantelookeddownat
the woman in his arms,
forgettingaboutthepapershe
was trying to read as the
desire to kiss her struck him
hard. Such an undisciplined
reactionwasshockingtohim
and he didn’t completely
understandit.Whenshetried
to pull away, his arm
tightened around her waist.
No, he wasn’t finished with
her.Notbyalongshot!
Dante forced his gaze
away from those green eyes
andreadthroughthewordsin
the letter. It had come from
the president of one of his
companies,MikeMcDonald.
In fact, Mike had just
reportedtohimyesterdaythat
the downtown renovation
project, a massive buyout of
about a hundred smaller
properties and businesses
who were either owning or
rentingspaceinthatarea,had
been taken care of.
Everythingwasundercontrol
and construction on the new
complex would proceed on
time. Obviously, this little
woman and her catering
company was not one of
those details Mike thought
necessary to discuss with his
boss. Dante didn’t condemn
the man for that. In fact,
Dantedidn’tcareaboutthose
details. He wanted to know
that the issues were being
resolved and, obviously,
Mikewasresolvingthisone.
Veryeffectively,accordingto
thewordsontheletter.
“Clearly this is a
problem,” he said softly,
lookingdownatthebeautiful
woman. He noted that her
breathing was faster and that
shefitagainsthimperfectly.
Helikedhersoftness,thefeel
ofherhandagainsthischest.
He wished the two of them
were naked, and that hand
wasmovinglower.
Patience, he thought
as his mind whirled with the
possibilities.
Jayden couldn’t hold
his gaze. She was ashamed
of the way her body was
reacting to this man’s hold
around her waist as well as
how badly she’d messed up
herbusinessproblem.
“Four of my events
have been canceled since I
received that letter earlier
tonight,” Jayden explained
softly, braced against his
chest, relieved when he
released her and she took
several steps backwards.
“The man is fulfilling his
promise,” she said, referring
tothethreatthatherbusiness
would start dropping off if
she didn’t comply with the
request to move. The offer
wasgenerous,sheknew.But
Jayden didn’t want to move.
She didn’t feel the need to
move in any way. She and
her sisters had experienced
great success in that little
shop and she didn’t want to
change anything. She liked
thingsthewaytheywere.
Dante’s mind shifted
quickly, sorting through
issues and problems then
coming up with a plan. He
turnedandleanedagainstthe
desk, his eyes taking in the
womanandhersoftskin,her
bright green eyes. He knew
that she was scared and
worried,andallofthatplayed
into his plan perfectly. She
hadsomethingheneeded,and
he could solve her problem
withjustasimplephonecall.
It would also allow him to
hold her once again. That
was something he wanted
verybadly.
Pullingouthisphone,
he dialed a number, looking
down at the woman’s
glittering green eyes the
whole time. When the call
was answered, he spoke into
the phone. “Mike, Dante
Liakoshere.Ineedtospeak
withyoutomorrowaboutthe
Arlington project. Slide me
inatthree,okay?”Amoment
later,
the
call
was
disconnected and the tall,
handsome man looked back
downather,sendingashiver
of awareness through her
whole body. “Have lunch
withmetomorrow.”
Jayden realized that
he wasn’t asking. He was
commanding. Her reaction
was swift and reckless since
he obviously knew Mike
McDonald. But despite her
awareness of his power, she
shook her head, instinctively
knowing that this man was
dangerous. She had no idea
whohewasorwhathecould
do to help fix this, but she
knewbetterthantogetinbed
withthedevil.“Ican’t.But
thankyoufortheoffer.”She
gestured to the phone. “And
really, you don’t need to
help. I’ll figure this out
myself.”
Dante
almost
laughed. He took her hand
and pulled her closer,
enjoying her soft hand but
concerned about the slight
trembling he felt in her
fingers. “Don’t be afraid of
me, Jayden,” he said, her
nameslidingoffofhistongue
andhefoundthathelikedthe
sound of it. “Always use
your business connections.
Connections and information
will consistently trump
money.”
She started to pull
back, but he actually pulled
her closer and she found that
she was powerless to avoid
the man. And what was
worse, she was starting to
think that she didn’t really
want to. “I don’t know who
youare,”shesaid,justtosay
anything. Her eyes dropped
to his lips and something
tightened inside of her. She
didn’t want him to kiss her!
Shetoldherselfthatoverand
over again. Just because she
liked the way his chest felt
underneath her fingers, that
was no reason to lose her
head and want him to kiss
her!
“I’m Dante Liakos, at
your service,” he replied,
engulfing her hand with his.
“Itisapleasuretomeetyou,
Jayden Hart.” They hadn’t
introduced themselves before
now, but his eyes had
captured her name from the
letter. It was a pretty,
unusual name, fitting her
perfectly.
She shivered as his
hand touched hers, his
warmthseepingintoherbody
andcalmingeverythingwhile
at the same time, sparking to
life feelings she didn’t know
existed.
Jaydenpulledhereyes
away from his firm lips,
refusing to let her mind
wonderwhatitwouldbelike
to be kissed by a man so
commanding. He had such
confidence, such amazing
charisma. She’d met many
handsome men over the
years, but none had ever
affected her in such an
elemental way. None had
ever made her fingers itch to
touch him again. Just the
oppositeinfact.Mostofthe
time, after kissing her dates
goodnight, she was relieved
whenthatpartoftheevening
wasover.“Ihavetogetback
towork,”shewhispered,then
cleared her throat, trying to
get more power behind the
words. “I’m part of the
cateringstaffheretonight.”
His fingers tightened
overherfingersforamoment
before he released her hand.
“Noon, tomorrow, Jayden
Hart.I’llhavesomeonepick
youup.”
She pulled back,
horrifiedattheidea.Pickher
up?Whywouldhedothat?
“No,
just
name
the
restaurant. I can get there,”
she told him, then bit her lip
becauseshereallyshouldjust
tellthismanthatshecouldn’t
meet him for lunch. Being
near him was hazardous to
her thinking process. There
wassomethingabouthimthat
screamedout“stayaway”!
He shook his head.
“I’llhaveacarcomeround.”
With that, he bent
down and kissed her. It was
justalighttouch,donealmost
before she realized it was
happening. She was too
stunned to do anything but
accept the kiss, revel in the
shockingfeelingofhisstrong
lips touching hers. A
moment later, he was pulling
away and she had to bite her
lowerliptokeepherselffrom
tellinghimtokissheragain.
She pulled her eyes away
fromhisbroadshoulders,her
fingerscarefullytouchingher
lips while he walked out of
theroom.
She heard the door
click closed and turned
around, finding that she was
alone all of a sudden. Her
lips were still burning, still
throbbing as if they were
beggingforsomethingmore.
More? What more could a
stranger give to…she was
trying to figure out what her
lipswanted?Howridiculous.
Stuffing all of the
pieces of the torn up letter
into her planner, she shook
her head and walked over to
thedoor,determinedtocatch
upwiththemanandtellhim
she couldn’t meet him for
lunch. She knew nothing
about him, had no clue what
hecoulddotohelpheroutof
this mess but she wasn’t
going to accept his help
anyway. She’d figure this
oneoutonherown.
But when she opened
the door, the man was
nowhereinsight.Sherushed
through the crowd, her eyes
scanning the room. When
she spotted him, she almost
groaned with frustration
because he was by the door,
saying goodbye to the
hostess.She’dmissedhim!
That’s fine, she
thought
with
renewed
determination.She’djustcall
him tomorrow and cancel.
There wasn’t anything she
couldn’t figure out if she put
her mind to it. This latest
wrinklewasthesame.
Chapter2
Why do plans always
goawry?
Jayden
almost
screamed with frustration
when the morning just
disappeared on her. She had
orders from her vendors that
had mysteriously become
mixed up and had to be sent
back which required long
phone calls to straighten out
the mess, and extra money
paid to get the correct
suppliesintime,thenthreeof
her wait staff called in sick,
several clients called, asking
about some phone calls
they’d received and it took
lengthy conversations to
soothe them back and
convince them to not cancel
their events. Not to mention
the stress because she had to
hide all of this from her
sisters which, being one of a
set of triplets, was almost
impossibletodo.
The phone rang again
and Jayden automatically
picked it up. “Trois Coeurs
Catering,” she said with as
calm a voice as possible
under the circumstances.
Thereweretheregularnoises
outside of her office as
Jasmine and Janine laughed
while cooking, Dana and
Dalia, Janine’s adorable twin
four year old daughters
laughed and giggled, not to
mention the pots and pans
clanging, the dog barking
upstairs where the five of
them lived, probably because
hewaschasingeitherthecat,
who tormented the dog
mercilessly, or the toy pig
thatJasminehadinsistedwas
adorable but really just
pranced all over their four
bedroom living area, acting
like it was some sort of
princess. The behavior was
probably a rebellion against
its name. Jayden had
sarcastically
dubbed
it
“Cena” which was Spanish
for“dinner”.DanaandDalia
hadlovedthenameandithad
stuckbutthepigreallywasa
nuisance at times. As were
the dog and cat, both of
whom were worse than
siblings trying to poke and
prod each other for a
reaction.
As much as Jayden
loved her sisters and nieces,
loved this business and they
all had fun working together,
today she just wanted
silence! She wanted to curl
up underneath her desk and
figure out how to get out of
this mess! And she couldn’t
doitwithallofthisnoise.
“IsthisJaydenHart?”
a smug, masculine voice
asked as soon as she
answeredthephone.
She took a deep
breath and pasted a smile on
her face. The caller couldn’t
see the smile, but Jayden
knew that the smile came
through in her voice so she
triedveryhardnottogrowlat
this obnoxious man’s voice.
“Yes.HowcanIhelpyou?”
Themanchuckledand
itsentscaryshiversdownher
spine. “This is Mike
McDonald. I hope you’ve
received my latest offer
already.”
Jayden’s body tensed
and she looked around,
praying that her sisters
wouldn’tpopintoheroffice.
Closingthedoor,hopingthey
wouldrespectthecloseddoor
thisonetime,shesaid,“Yes.
Idid.”
“Good. So I was
wondering if we could meet
and figure out how to finish
upallthedetails.”
Jayden shook her
head.“I’msorry,Mr.Mc…”
“Call me Mike,” he
interrupted.
Jayden gripped the
phoneasifitwerealifeline.
“Mike,” she started back up
again,“AsIwasgoingtosay,
we’renotinterestedin…”
His voice lowered an
octave, and became more
menacing.Gonewasthenice
guy just calling to follow up
on an offer. The ruthless
corporatetycoonwhowasout
to destroy Trois Coeurs
reared his ugly head.
“Jayden, don’t mess this up.
You’ve already lost four
events. I have a list of your
otherclientsandallIhaveto
do is dial the numbers.
You’ll lose all of your
business for the next thirty
days in less than ten
minutes.”Hisvoicewaslow
and menacing. “Your nieces
are beautiful as are you and
your sisters. Triplets,” he
said with an odd note.
“Fascinating. What would
yoursisterssayiftheyfound
out that all of their efforts
over the past few years were
for nothing? That you had
the power to save their
company,ensureyournieces’
futureandyoudidnothing?”
Jayden was horrified
by his threat. “You can’t do
this! We don’t want to
move!” she hissed. “We are
perfectlyfinerighthere.Just
buildaroundus!”
“Not
going
to
happen,” he replied with an
eviltoneofvoice.“Weneed
your space. And it isn’t like
you can’t find another place
for your business.” He
pausedmenacingly.“Andthe
price just dropped by ten
percent.Everydayafterthat,
the price drops another ten
percent.”Heletthosewords
sink in. “Think about that
while you’re enjoying dinner
tonight.”
Jayden
gasped,
horrified that the man knew
that their event for tonight
hadbeencanceled.Andhow
did the man know so much
about her family? It was
crazyandspooky.Scary!
She
practically
slammedthephonedownand
stood up, pacing her tiny
office as she tried to figure
out a way out of this mess.
Dante’s handsome face
poppedintohermind,butshe
dismissed him. Whatever
idea he had, it couldn’t be
good. She sensed something
in him, something dark and
dangerous.Shewasafraidof
him even while her body…
yes, her body craved his
touch. The small taste she’d
had last night had stirred her
senses in ways that no other
man had ever done. Even
here in her small office, she
blushed at the dreams she’d
hadofhimwhenshe’dfinally
fallen asleep last night. The
erotic dreams, the desperate
way she’d cried out for his
touch, made her feel…
wrong. Desperate and…
strange.
She walked out and
saw her sisters leaning over
the countertop, laughing at
whatever Dalia or Dana had
said. The four of them
looked so happy, how could
she move them all? The
disruption to their business
wouldbecrazyhardandthey
only had ten days to make
everything happen! It was
impossible! Find a new
place, move all of their
equipment, and still maintain
their schedule? How could
theydothat?
She was just about to
head back into her office
when a man in a dark suit
walkedin.“I’mhereforMs.
Jayden Hart,” he said in a
smooth,professionalvoice.
A moment after that
announcement, the normal
chaos and noise that
accompanied any sort of
activity within this kitchen
came to a halt. The
shuddering silence was
almostasloudasfivepeople
stared at the man in the dark
suit.JasmineandJanineboth
looked at the man, then at
Jayden who was standing in
the hallway leading back to
her office. “Jayden?” Janine
asked,worried.
The dark suited man
turned to face Jayden now
thatshewasidentified.“I’m
here to take you to lunch,
ma’am,”themansaid,taking
off his hat and bowing
slightly. “I was sent by Mr.
DanteLiakos.”
Jayden’s eyes went
from the chauffer to her
sisters and back again, trying
to figure out how to explain
this latest turn of events.
“Um…just another client,”
she said and hurried to her
office again, picking up her
purse. She was just about to
rush out again but she
grabbed her leather notebook
whichcontainedherschedule
and all the important details
of the business. Her sisters
would never believe she was
meeting a potential client
withouthernotebook.
She was just about to
walk out of her office but
something stopped her. She
froze for a moment, then
rushed back to her desk and
glanced at the small mirror
she kept in her drawer,
cringing when she realized
shelookedpaleandnervous.
But after that horrible phone
call,whatcouldoneexpect?
With a deep breath,
she closed her eyes for a
moment, mentally bracing
herself for another meeting
with the enigmatic and
dangerousDanteLiakos.
“I’m ready,” she said,
trying to sound and appear
casualbuthersistersstaredat
her.Jaydencringedinwardly
because the look in Jasmine
andJanine’seyestoldherthat
an inquisition would happen
uponherreturn.“I’llseeyou
guys in a couple of hours,
okay?”shecalledout,hoping
they would hold off a bit
longer. She suspected she
would need the extra time to
calm down after her lunch
meeting with Dante. Just
remembering
their
last
encounter sent her nerves to
jingling.
Twenty minutes later,
Dante stepped into the
restaurant, ignoring the
simpering manager who
greeted him. He was
surprisedthathewasactually
eager to see a woman. He
enjoyed the company of
beautiful women but he
acknowledgedwithagrimace
thatJaydenHartwasdifferent
somehow. His eyes scanned
the restaurant tables but
didn’t see her immediately.
The driver had called to
informhimthathe’ddropped
her off ten minutes ago.
Wherethehellwasshe?
A movement to his
left caught his eye and he
watched with fascination as
the slender beauty stepped
out of the ladies’ room,
tucking something back into
her bag. He watched
carefully as she approached,
still not aware that he was
here and he almost laughed
when he saw her hand move
up to her hair, smoothing
downtheflyawaycurls.She
looked both adorable and
sexy at the same time, a
prettysignificantfeat.
Time to put his plan
into action. He stepped
forward, his mind already
alteringhisoriginalidea.He
didn’t need to tell her
everything. Just enough to
get them married. He could
bring the marriage certificate
tohisfatherandgetthatside
ofthebusinesssettled.Once
he had controlling interest in
the company, he’d figure out
how to get the remaining
third, get out of his marriage
andgethislifebackinorder.
Ofcourse,ashorthoneymoon
with this enticing woman
wouldn’t hurt things much
either.
Dante ignored the
spurt of guilt he felt over the
idea of such a blatant use of
Jayden Hart. Why he even
cared was a mystery and he
brutallysuppressedtheguilt.
Thiswasbusinessafterall.
He stepped forward
and she stopped, eyeing him
just as he was looking down
at her. “You look lovely,”
Dante finally said, taking her
hand.Heliftedittohislips,
kissingthefingersandhewas
struck once again by the
trembling he could feel. For
some odd reason, he wanted
to pull her into his arms and
givehersomeofhisstrength,
totellherthateverythingwas
goingtobeokay.
Instead, he tightened
his hold on her fingers,
pulling her closer. He
enjoyed her sweet, feminine
scentandthelovelyeyesthat
looked up to him with
sparkling green shining
through.
“This way,” he said
and tucked her hand onto his
elbow.Lookingdownather,
herealizedshewaswearinga
pairofblackslacksthatwere
neat and tailored, but they
weren’t tight across her
bottom. So many women
he’d dated had used every
one of their assets to pique
his interest, but this woman
hadn’t.Evenhersoft,yellow
sweaterwascutebutnotform
fittingdespitethefactthathe
could see that she had full,
lush breasts. Breasts he
instantlywantedtoexplore.
He almost cursed
under his breath when his
body reacted to the brief
glimpse of her breasts when
shesatdown.Justaglimpse
andhewashardandaching?
Ridiculous,hethoughtbuthe
slid into the chair opposite
her, hiding his body’s
reaction. For some strange
reason, he didn’t want to
scareher.
“How has your
morningbeen?”heasked.
Jayden took a sip of
the ice water, needing
something to cool herself
down. “Busy,” she said,
trying not to let her panic
over the business situation
into her voice. “How was
yours?”
Dante wasn’t really
sure how to answer that
question. No one had ever
inquired about his day. He
looked at her curiously. “It
was productive,” he finally
said.
“What do you do?”
she asked, hiding her
trembling hands underneath
thetable.Inthedimlightlast
night, he’d looked handsome
and intimidating. In the
bright light of the restaurant,
he looked…gorgeous. And
terrifying.
Again,
he
was
stunned. “You don’t know
whoIam?”heasked,atouch
ofcynicisminhisvoice.
She blushed and he
felt his body harden even
more. Why was he finding
that particular affectation so
enchanting? Surely it was
fake.
“I know your name.
And I was going to look you
up on the Internet this
morning but everything got
socrazyIdidn’thavetime.”
She peered up at those
strange,compellingandscary
blue eyes, trying to be
strong. “So what kind of
businessareyouin?”
He leaned back in his
chair, still not believing her.
“I run Kosos Industries,” he
explained, watching her face
togaugeherreaction.
She nodded her head.
“Is it hard?” she asked.
“Whatkindofbusinessisit?”
Dante’s
eyes
narrowed, still not believing
that she wasn’t aware of his
position and power. Women
threw themselves at him,
sometimes literally, so it was
hard to believe that this one
was completely unaware of
his power. “That isn’t
important,”
he
said,
dismissing her act. “What’s
important is what we can do
for each other.” The waiter
arrived at that moment and
theytookseveralmomentsto
review the menu and put in
their order. Dante ordered a
bottle of wine which was
deliveredquickly.
“So explain to me
about your problem,” Dante
said when the wine was
poured and they were once
againalone.
Jayden shook her
head, intimidated by the
shards of blue crystal in his
eyes. Intimidated, and yet,
she saw something else.
Hardness, definitely. But
there was a…yearning? She
mentally dismissed that
possibility, sure that she was
misreading
this
man’s
expressions. Probably the
light from the overhead
crystal chandeliers playing
tricks on her. “Really, I’m
sure I can come up with a
solution, although I sincerely
appreciateyouroffertohelp.”
Dante was surprised.
Shedidn’tplaythegamewell
although he’d done his
research. The woman was
the business manager for a
catering company that was
thriving,albeitexperiencinga
slight glitch at the moment,
onlyduetohispromptingand
business plans. Mike had
doneagoodjobofpressuring
thewoman.Itwasnowtime
to finalize the deal. They
could both win if she would
allowit.
“You’re about to lose
threeclientsthisafternoonfor
majorfunctionsoverthenext
week,” he told her, spouting
off details from the
background check he’d had
his staff compile this
morning. “Those three
clients are some of your
biggest and most visible, as
wellasmostvocal.Theywill
be the landslide that brings
down the whole company.
You’ve been given ten days
tomoveyourentirecompany
out of the facilities in which
you and your sisters both
workandlive.Andeachday
after yesterday, the price
drops precipitously if you
don’ttakeMike’soffer.How
amIdoingsofar?”heasked,
knowing that he’d gotten all
the details right. Especially
sincehewastheonewhohad
precipitatedtheevents.
Jayden had started to
reach for her water glass
again,butwithhiswords,she
froze, hiding her hands
underneath the table once
again.Herlipsfeltfrozenas
shesaid,“Thataboutsumsup
the issues,” she told him, not
realizing that her three most
important clients were about
to pull out. That could be
disastrous,shethoughtwitha
sinkingfeeling.
“Here’s the problem,
Jayden,” he said softly,
leaning forward. “Mike
doesn’t fool around. In ten
days,he’lltakeoffthegloves
and you’ll really have
problems.”
Jayden looked down
at
the
table,
panic
overwhelmingher.“Yousaid
you had a suggestion.” It
wouldn’t hurt to just listen,
wouldit?Listeningwouldn’t
mean she’d failed. It would
mean she was exploring all
theoptions.Wasn’tthatwhat
agoodbusinesswomanwould
do?
Dante looked at her,
feelingatwingeofguilt.He
ruthlessly suppressed it and
movedinforthekill.“Marry
me,”hesaid.
Jayden wasn’t sure
she’d heard him properly.
Surely he hadn’t just said…
no.Thatwascrazy!Butthe
look in his eyes told her that
she hadn’t misunderstood.
“Marry you?” she asked, her
mind
obviously
not
functioningcorrectly.
“Yes. I need a
temporarywifeandyouneed
help saving your business.
Wecanhelpeachother.”
Sheheardthosewords
but they still didn’t make
sense. “Why do you need a
wife?”sheasked.“Andwhy
me?” She thought about that
for another moment. “And
whytemporary?”
“I don’t want to go
intothedetailsofwhyIneed
awife,”hetoldherinacold
voice. “Suffice it to say, I
can help you with your
problemandyoucanhelpme
with mine. In six months,
we’ll go our separate ways,
no hurt feelings and we’re
bothcomingoutahead.”
She shook her head,
stillconfused.Washereally
suggestingthattheymarryfor
six months then walk away
from each other? Was she
dreaming?Shethoughtabout
reaching down and pinching
herself, but the man sitting
across from her was just too
real. This, and she didn’t
want to look silly in front of
him. He might scare her but
he was also the most
attractive man she’d ever
met.Andtherewasthatkiss.
Yes, she sighed. She was
intriguedbyhiskiss.Itmight
have been brief, but…
goodness, she’d dreamed
about that kiss! How
ridiculouswasthat?
Focusing on the
currentconversation,shetook
a deep breath. “How can I
helpyou?”
He was once again
astonished that she’d asked
how she could help him
instead of asking the other
way around. “I told you. I
need a wife. The details
aren’timportant.”
Jaydenlookedathim,
not sure what to think.
“That’s crazy,” she finally
said, thinking he was just
teasingher.Ortestingherfor
someoddreason.
“It is crazy, but it is
theworldinwhichIliveand
I am determined to fix a
problem that has been
plaguing me for a while. A
temporary marriage will help
me with that. In return, I’ll
help you with your situation
aswell.”
Hereyeswidenedand
sheleanedforward,hermind
frantically trying to tamp
down the hope that had
surfaced with his words.
“Youcanstopthiseviction?”
she asked, swallowing past
thepanic.
Hesmiledslightlyand
shook his head, his eyes
watching her carefully. He
had to play this carefully.
Nevercouldthiswomanfind
out that he could have
stopped the entire issue
completely.Forsomereason,
hewantedthatinformationto
be hidden away, a secret that
only he and Mike McDonald
knew about. “I can’t stop it
completely, but I can delay
the move, which will take
some of the pressure off of
youfornow,butonlysothat
you have more time to get a
new place lined up.” He
thought about the situation
carefully. “I can also help
you negotiate a better sales
price, ensure that you and
yoursistersfindagoodplace
to move into, a facility that
willallowyoutoexpandyour
servicesandclientele.”
Hereyeswidenedand
she opened her mouth to
agree, wishing so badly that
shecouldtaketheoffer.But
then what he was offering
struck her and she shook her
head. “Thank you very
much, Mr…I mean, Dante,”
she corrected when his eyes
dared her to use his first
name.Shesighedandlooked
down at her plate. It was so
tempting to take his offer, to
let this extremely large and
confident man fix all of her
problems, no matter how
strange it seemed. She
couldn’t do it. She was a
strong businesswoman and
marrying him just to get out
of her horrible situation felt
like she was failing. “But I
really need to do this on my
own.Ihavetofigurethisout
formyself.”
Dante respected that.
He actually respected that
more than he was willing to
acknowledge. But he also
thoughtitwasanaïvewayof
doingbusiness.“Jayden,you
understand that everyone in
the business world uses one
another,right?Businessisn’t
all about who is smartest or
more efficient. Those things
help, but what’s more
important is who you know
and knowing how to work
those
contacts,
getting
informationandusingit.”He
watchedhercarefullytoseeif
she
was
starting
to
understand. “I can’t fix my
problem alone. I need help.
I’dlikeyourhelpandIcanbe
a powerful ally to help you
fixyoursituation.”
She bit her lip. What
he was saying made sense.
Not to mention, his “I need
help”hadstruckherheartand
causedhertofeelneededand
alive! But marriage? That
just seemed so crazy! And
she really wanted to fight
Mike McDonald at his own
game.Shewantedtowinthis
round!Shewasbeingbullied
and she didn’t like it. Not
one little bit! “But I don’t
wanttomoveoutoftheplace
I’minnow.MysistersandI
have lived together all our
livesandwe’vebeenworking
out of that site since we
decided to start our own
business. Good grief, we
were even in the womb
together!”shejoked.
Hesmiledslightlybut
shookhishead.“Jayden,did
you imagine that you and
your sisters would live
together for the rest of your
lives?”
Sort of, she thought
quickly.Butthecynicallook
in his eyes told her that was
the wrong answer. “No
but…”
“So perhaps now is
the perfect time to learn to
live without them. And you
can’tfixthisproblemonyour
own. Mike is too smart and
he’sholdingallthecards.No
onewilloffertobuyoutyour
building.” Dante knew that
forafactsincehewastheone
that had orchestrated this
whole problem. “Any
potential buyer would know
at this point that the area is
goingtobebulldozedsoitis
a losing proposition. You’re
making a business decision
based on an emotional
response,andthat’snotgood
for business. What I can do
foryouismakesureyougeta
betterdealfromMike.”
What he was offering
wastempting.Ifshecouldn’t
beat that stupid McDonald
man to stop the move, it
would certainly be nice to
forcehimtogiveherabetter
offer.Histhreatthismorning
wasfreshinhermind.Boyit
would be really wonderful to
makehimrescindhisthreatto
drop the price by ten percent
eachday.
And if she were to
marry Dante, wouldn’t it be
nicetoshowupatsomeparty
on Dante’s arm, to show
Mike that he couldn’t mess
with her anymore? She
suspectedthatDantewasone
of the bigger sharks in the
ocean.Andbythelookinhis
eyes, he was meaner. She
reallylikedtheideaofhaving
a mean, relentless, brutal
sharkonherside.
She held her breath,
thinking about what he was
saying. “How can you force
Miketoofferabetterdeal?”
Theideawasenticing!She’d
been harassed by this
company for months with
them trying to get her to
move and so far, she’d
refusedalloftheiroffersand
pressure. Now they were
playing hardball, going after
their clientele and that was
something she couldn’t, or
more specifically, didn’t
knowhowtofight.
“Just as Mike has
forcedyouintoacornerwith
his connections, I can do the
same.
Except
my
connections,”hesaid,silently
referring to his position as
Mike’sboss,“arebetter.I’m
more powerful than Mike,”
he
explained,
not
exaggeratingevenslightly.“I
canpressureMiketodowhat
I want. Just name your
terms.”
Theirfoodarrivedand
it smelled delicious, but she
couldn’t eat and think about
an imminent eviction at the
same time. Poking at her
salad, she nibbled on a few
pieces of lettuce while she
considered what he’d told
her.“Howdoyouknowyou
can succeed with Mike?
What if he finds more
powerful connections than
youhave?”sheasked,daring
to think about his offer in a
positivelight.
He chuckled at the
idea.Mikedidn’thavemore
powerfulconnections.Dante
wasn’t being conceited
though. He simply was the
manthateveryonewantedan
“in” with. His company was
the kind that pressured other
companies. He was the
school yard bully. Since he
was Mike’s boss, Dante was
sure he could command a
better deal for the lovely
woman pretending to eat. “I
guarantee it.” He watched
her face, still filled with
doubt. “How about if we do
this,”heoffered.“IfIcanget
you more money for your
current location, give you
three viable options for your
next place and extend the
periodfromtendaystothirty
days, all in writing, will that
suffice
to
give
you
confidence in my abilities to
see to your side of the
bargain?”heoffered.
She shook her head.
“I can’t move our entire
operationinthirtydays.”
“I’ll ensure that Mike
pays for the moving and
installation costs,” he added,
slicing into his steak and
offering her a piece. She
looked like she needed more
meat in her diet. He noticed
how pale she looked at the
moment and he felt a sudden
stabofconcernforthepretty
lady trying so valiantly to
workherownmiracles.Was
he fascinated with this
woman because she was
trying to do it on her own
instead of attempting to
manipulate him into fixing
the problem? Or was there
something more going on
here?Hewasn’tsure,buthe
knew that he felt something
for Jayden Hart that he’d
neverfeltforanotherwoman
before.
As he watched her
nibble on her lower lip, he
accepted that he wanted her
inhisbed.Hismindrelaxed
with that answer even while
hislowerbodythrobbed.He
suspected that getting her
therewouldbemoredifficult
thangettingheragreementon
their deal. And he actually
liked that possibility. After
years of women throwing
themselves at him, Jayden
Hart, with all of her lush,
sensual innocence, was
refreshing. He decided he
was going to enjoy the
challenge
Jayden
Hart
presented.
The trembling in her
body increased because what
he was offering would solve
allofherproblems.“Andall
you’re asking for is marriage
tomeforsixmonths?”
“Until my business
issues are resolved,” he
corrected. Yes, he’d
originally stated six months,
so why was he now making
the time limit less concrete?
Thatinitselfwasstrange.Or
maybenotsostrange.Ashe
watchedher,hiseyesroamed
down her sweater clad
breasts.Hewantedher.And
it was entirely possible that
Jayden Hart might be more
interesting than his previous
mistresses that hadn’t lasted
more than a couple of
months. So it made sense to
keep the terms of their
marriage more open ended.
Yes,hethoughtwithrelishas
he sipped his white wine.
Jayden Hart was going to be
muchmoreinteresting.
She poked her lettuce
forseveralmoreminutes,not
surewhattothink.“Butyou
won’t tell me why you need
to be married.” She finally
looked up at him, startled to
find his blue eyes filled with
a strange heat. The muscles
inherstomachcurledandher
spinestraightened.Herbody
was reacting to a silent
message, something that she
didn’t
consciously
understand.
Dante thought about
that for a moment, watching
her carefully. “It has to do
with my father and stock
shares.”
She nodded as if she
understood but she really
didn’t. “And the wedding
won’tinterruptmybusiness?”
He shrugged slightly.
“There may be times when I
need you by my side for
businessreasons,butIrespect
yourtimeandwon’tinterfere
with your business life as
muchaspossible.”
That
seemed
incredibly fair, she thought.
Buttheideaofhersistersand
theirreactiontohermarrying
a man she’d known for one
day,andforsuchamercenary
reason…shedidn’twantthem
to know she’d failed. Janine
made such delicious dinners
while Jasmine was an artist
with desserts. If they ever
found out how close to
bankruptcythey’dcome…no,
shedidn’twantthemtoknow
howbadlyshe’dfailedthem.
They worked too hard to
know that someone, some
powerful, irritating guy, was
trying to put them out of
business simply because
Jayden couldn’t figure out
how to get around the
pressure.
“No one has to know
about the details of our
marriage, right?” she asked,
stabbing at a cherry tomato
but not sure she could even
biteintoit.
That statement alone
made Dante realize that
Jayden was the perfect
candidate. Other women of
his acquaintance would
demand that news of their
marriage, hell, even of their
engagement, should be
announced
in
the
newspapers.Thefactthatshe
wanted the marriage to
remainprivatetoldhimmore
aboutherthaneverythingthat
had gone on before that
moment. “Certain people
will only know that we are
married. I would prefer that
no one know about the
details. In fact, I’ll have to
require it as part of our
agreement.”
She
nodded,
understanding and even
relieved that he would need
that as much as she needed
it. “When would…I mean,
doyouhaveatimeline?”
“If you agree to the
terms,” he replied, “I can
have the legal documents
drawn up today and have
them to you for your review
tonight. If it is convenient,
we
can
be
married
tomorrow.”
Her fork clattered
onto her plate since her
fingersweretoonumbtohold
onto
the
silverware.
“Tomorrow!” she gasped,
stunned that he could make
thingsmovesoquickly.
Dante
shrugged,
trying to hide his amusement
at her surprise. “I have a
judge who owes me a favor.
Would three o’clock be
acceptable
with
your
schedule?”heasked.
Jayden felt as if
breathingweredifficult.She
was taking deep, gulping
breaths,butitdidn’tfeellike
it was helping. “Three
o’clock?” she asked warily.
Her mind was spinning and
she didn’t understand. “You
want to be married at three
o’clocktomorrow.”
Henoddedashetook
another bite of his steak. “If
that works with your
schedule. If not, suggest
anothertime.”
Shelaughed.Itwasa
bit hysterical, but she
couldn’thelpit.Thelaughter
just burst out of her. She’d
always dreamed about her
weddingbeingaspecialtime
in her life where her sisters
were standing beside her and
shewasmarryingthemanof
herdreams.Instead,shewas
sittingacrossfromamanwho
was terrifying and gorgeous
while discussing a wedding
like a business meeting.
“Can you give me a day to
thinkaboutthis?”
“Of course.” He
forked the last bite of steak
and raised his hand to the
waiterforthecheck.
Walking out of the
restaurant, she couldn’t
believe she was actually
contemplating marrying a
virtual stranger. Oh, she
mightknowhisnameandshe
remembered that he said he
ranKososEnterprises,orwas
itIndustries–goodness–did
it really matter? But other
than those two details, she
had no clue what made this
mantick.
The chauffer was
waiting outside of the
restaurant, the door open.
Dantetookherhandandheld
it while she stepped into the
back. Jayden shivered when
his tall, muscular frame sat
downnexttoherintheplush,
leather seats. “Can you tell
meabitaboutyourself?”she
asked.
“Whatdoyouwantto
know?” he asked as the
vehicle moved smoothly
away from the curb. “I’m
thirty-six years old. I was
born in Athens, Greece. I
speakGreek,French,English
and German as well as a bit
of Japanese and Mandarin. I
have no siblings, no relatives
that I know of other than my
father who resides in
Athens.”Helookeddownat
her worried, green eyes and
relented a bit. “I travel a
greatdealinmybusinessand
have several houses, one of
whichishereinWashington,
D.C.aswellasapenthousein
New York City.” He looked
down at her with a cynical
smile. “While we are
married, you will be free to
use any of my houses along
withoneofmyprivatejetsto
get you there. I’ll give you
the contact number to my
assistant who will arrange
anythingyouneed.”
She smiled weakly at
that, not sure why she would
need to travel to any of his
houses or even to New York
City. She and her sisters
traveled
for
catering
conventionsoccasionally,but
mostoftheconventionswere
in other cities. And none
were coming up soon so she
couldn’t even imagine a
reasonforneedingapersonal
jet.“Thankyou.Thatisvery
generous of you,” trying to
suppress her amusement at
hisoutrageousoffer.
Dantelookeddownat
her, a suspicious thought
coming to his mind. “Ms.
Hart,areyoulaughingatme,
by any chance?” he asked
withaclippedtone.Thetone
hereservedforhispresidents
or vice presidents when they
weren’t managing up to his
expectations.
The chuckle that
escaped her at that question
was unexpected. “Of course
not, Mr. Liakos. Have you
said anything funny?” she
asked,tryingdesperatelyhard
to maintain a serious
expression.
His eyes narrowed at
her obvious laughter. “I
don’t believe you have an
appropriate appreciation for
myauthority,Ms.Hart.”
Another bubble of
laughter escaped with that
commentandshecoveredher
mouth with her hand, her
green eyes sparkling up at
him.“Isupposeyoumightbe
correct,Mr.Liakos.”
He watched her,
amusement surfacing in him
aswell,buttherewasmoreto
it than simple humor. Lust.
Pure,unadulterateddesirefor
this tiny woman sitting
primlynexttohim.“There’s
only one thing to do about
that,” he told her and almost
chuckled himself when her
amusementdisappeared.She
must have sensed the change
in his body, in his tone of
voice because she was
instantlywary.
“What’s that?” she
asked,
breathless
and
instantlyalert.
He didn’t answer her
butinstead,liftedherintohis
arms. With one hand at her
backandtheotherpullingher
closer,hismouthcoveredher
lips, instantly demanding
both
submission
and
participation. The hand on
her back slid upwards, his
fingers diving into her hair
and messing up the neat
chignon, causing the tresses
to fall over his hand and her
shoulders.Hefeltaswellas
tastedhergaspanduseditto
deepen the kiss, his tongue
moving in to mate with hers,
todemandmore.
Jaydenwasshockedat
the contact for perhaps a
whole second. Maybe two.
Thiswasnotaquickkisslike
the last time their lips
touched. Oh no! This was
overwhelming heat and
scorching passion! A heat
that enveloped her and an
almost instantaneous desire
that swarmed over her,
causinghermouthtoopenas
he demanded entry and her
body to curl into his. She
lifted her hands to push him
away but felt his soft, black
hair instead, her fingers
gripping those locks to keep
his mouth right where she
wanted it. On hers. She
wasn’tevenawareoftheway
her body melted into his, the
way her shoulders turned,
needingmoreofhim,wanting
those hands to touch her, to
exploremorethoroughly.
She’d been kissed by
other men before but they
weremerepeckscomparedto
the desire that threatened to
overwhelm her with Dante’s
kiss. It was as if her whole
body, her whole personality,
shifted so she could receive
more of this man’s touch, to
experience more of what he
madeherfeel.
The only thing that
stopped that sensation was
the new one of the car
slowing, then stopping.
Dante pulled away and
Jayden stared up at him,
astounded, terrified and
thrilledallatthesametime.
He looked around,
cursingwhenherealizedthat
theywerebackatheroffice.
He bent down and took one
moresamplethenslidheroff
of his lap only moments
before the back door was
openedbythedriver.
Jayden stepped out
onto the sidewalk in front of
her store, her legs daring her
toactuallywalk.Hestepped
out with her, needing her
close for some odd reason.
His hands ached to pull her
back into his arms and damn
any eyes that might be
watching them. He stopped
himself, but just barely. He
hated public displays of
affection, but as he looked
downatJayden’sswollenlips
and her soft, desire heavy
greeneyes,hewastemptedto
break his rule and kiss here
right here on the street. “I’ll
sendthepaperstoyouin,”he
glanced at his watch, “two
hours.I’llcallyoutomorrow
toansweranymorequestions
youmighthave.Otherwise,I
will arrange for the wedding
totakeplaceatthreeo’clock,
thedayaftertomorrow.”
With that, he stepped
backintothelimousineand,a
moment later, the driver
pulled away from the curve.
Jaydenstaredatthetaillights
for a long moment, her mind
zingingaroundwithamillion
questions and issues, reasons
why she wasn’t going to go
through with this insane idea
ofmarryingamanlikeDante
Liakos. A stranger! It was
crazy, she told herself. She
simply couldn’t marry a man
for
business
reasons,
especially after just meeting
him.Itwasludicrous!Itwas
wrong! Marriage was
sacred.Itwasacommitment
between two people vowing
tostaytogetherfortherestof
their lives. It definitely
wasn’t a way to get out of a
difficultbusinessproblem.
Chapter3
“Are you okay,
Jayden?” Jasmine asked,
watchingashersisterwalked
acrossthespacethatwasboth
alivingroomandkitchen.It
wasreallyjustone,bigroom
with four doors off to the
sidesthatwerethebedrooms,
one for each sister while
Dana and Dalia shared a
room.
“I’mfine.Why?”she
asked, sitting down at the
breakfastbar,sippinghertea.
Janine stepped closer,
her eyes worried as well.
“Because Ruffus just ran
across the sofa, Odie curled
his back and hissed at him
and the two careened into
yourbedroom.”
Jaydenlookedaround,
noticed the insane mess all
over the room with sofa
cushionsonthefloor,toysall
over the place and old
newspapers covering the
coffee table. Normally, she
would be rushing around,
tryingtocleaneverythingup.
But she had other things on
her mind. “Oh,” she replied
and took her tea over to the
window seat that overlooked
thestreet.
Janine and Jasmine
looked at each other, then
shook their heads. Moving
over to stand in front of
Jayden, they both put their
fistedhandsontheirhipsand
examined their sister with
worry and curiosity. “No
way, girl. Tell us what’s
goingon.”
Jaydensnappedoutof
her contemplation of the
cloudy sky. Of course, she
hadn’t really seen the sky.
Especially since it wasn’t
even cloudy but…she looked
through the window and
realized that it was night
time.ShewonderedifDante
wasstillinthecityorifhe’d
flown off somewhere for
business. It was an odd
feelingtothinkthatshemight
be married soon and she had
no idea where her sort-of
fiancémightbe.Hecouldbe
hundredsofmilesaway,orhe
could be right around the
corner.
“Hello!”
Jasmine
called,wavingahandinfront
of her sister’s face. “What’s
going on inside that nimble
brain of yours? Are you
planning to start selling prepackaged cookie mix or
something?” she teased.
JanineandJasminebothwere
amazedattheirsister’sability
to market their foods as
products.
Jayden focused back
on the present and noticed,
once again, that her sisters
were trying to get her
attention.Shesmiledatthem
but suspected that her
expression was still too odd
eventhoughshewastryingto
reassure them that she was
okay. “I’m fine, Jaz,” she
said softly, still clutching the
legal documents that Dante
had sent over earlier this
afternoon. They were pretty
straightforward.Onherpart,
she would marry Dante
Liakos and attend functions
as his wife, wouldn’t act
inappropriately and the
marriage would terminate
whenhisbusinessissueswere
resolved.
For
his
contribution, he would assist
her in negotiations with
Logos Construction, spelled
outahugemonthlyamountas
an allowance and a list of all
the residences at which she
couldvisitatherleisure.She
wasn’t just making that up.
The legal term said “at Ms.
Hart’s leisure”. Along with
that document, she’d also
received a contract from
Logos Construction. Sure
enough,MikeMcDonaldhad
agreed to a thirty percent
higher sale amount, all real
estate fees to be paid by
LogosConstructionaswellas
any moving and installation
fees. He’d even gone so far
as to provide one thousand
hoursofrenovationlaborand
expertisetobringthenewsite
uptotheirpreferredstandards
andcode.Atthebackofthat
document was a packet of
possible sites for their new
business.Andwhatwaseven
moreamazing,theyhadthirty
days…thirtydaysandnotthe
horrible ten days…to find a
replacementsite.
The entire afternoon
shehadspentreadingandrereading
through
each
document and trying to
absorb the information. It
wasallverystraightforward.
Hekeptallofhisassetsatthe
termination of the marriage.
She would keep all of her
assets as well as any gifts of
money,allowance,jewelryor
clothing that he gave to her.
The monthly allowance
amount alone was an insane
amount of money. She
couldn’t accept money from
him. He’d delivered on his
part of the bargain, beyond
actually if this contract was
anyindication.She’dhaveto
eitherfollowthroughonhers
orfigureouthowtogetoutof
the mess she and her sisters
unknowinglywerein.
“Jayden!”
Jasmine
exclaimed, her hands waving
in the air now with
exasperation. “What’s going
on?”
Jaydenlookedblankly
up at her sisters again, not
sure what to say or how to
ease their minds. Especially
since her mind was in a
complete muddle. And that
kiss!Goodness,thatkisshad
confusedherlikenothingelse
ever could! The way he’d
heldher,thedesirebehindhis
kiss, the way his hands had
held her…she shivered,
thinkingaboutthatagain.
Janine bent down
lower, trying to capture
Jayden’s eyes. “Honey,
you’re scaring me. You’ve
been abnormally stressed out
for the past few weeks and
then some guy shows up to
chauffer you to a meeting, a
meeting that wasn’t on the
calendar, by the way. Well,
you can understand why
we’re all a bit concerned,”
she said, looking into green
eyes so similar to her own.
“Talk to us. Tell us what’s
going on. You’re keeping
secrets and that’s never
happenedbefore.”
Jaydensighedandput
a hand on Janine’s shoulder.
“Everything is going to be
okay,” she told them. With
that, she picked up all of the
papers and walked into her
room. She didn’t see the
worried look that passed
between Jasmine and Janine,
nordidsheseeCenawalkin
rightbehindherandjumpup
on her bed, burrowing under
thecoversandmessingupher
previouslyneatlymadebed.
Picking up her cell
phone,shedialedthenumber
that was attached to the
contracts. It was Dante’s
private number and her
fingers shook as she listened
to the phone ring. Dante
answeredimmediately.
“I’ll sign them,” she
saidwithoutpreamble.
“Excellent,”
Dante
replied,buthehadn’thadany
doubtthatshewouldagreeto
the terms. He’d been very
generous and it was rare that
someone didn’t fall in with
hisplans.“I’llpickyouupat
two-thirty
tomorrow
afternoon.”
“That’s fine,” she
replied, feeling awkward.
“I’ll have everything signed
andreadyforyou.”
“Good.
Until
tomorrowthen,”hesaidanda
moment later, Jayden was
staring at the phone. He’d
donehisbusinessandsimply
disconnected. How crazy
wasthat?
She stared at the
phone, feeling a wave of
hysteriahither.Itwasalmost
like she needed to scream at
something, anything, just to
getthiscrazy,excitedfeeling
outofherbody.
Instead, she pushed
herself back against her
pillows and stared at the
ceiling,wonderingifshewas
doingtherightthing,orifshe
wassigningupforthebiggest
mistakeofherlife.
Chapter4
Jayden looked up at
the man holding her hand,
trying to stifle the trembling
because she didn’t want to
appear weak. He was so
strong and confident and she
feltlikeasillybutterflywhen
she was around him. Why
couldn’tsheappearconfident
and serene? Why couldn’t
this stupid trembling just go
away?
Because she was
waiting for the kiss. She’d
been thinking of the last kiss
between them ever since
she’d stepped out of that
limousine. She’d craved
another kiss, had been
ashamedathowthatkissand
allofthosecrazyfeelingshad
invaded her dreams. She’d
gone to sleep that night and
woken up with Cena curled
up on her throat, but all she
could think about was how
the sheets were tangled
aroundherlegs.Betweenthe
pig choking her and the
sheetstrappingherlegs,she’d
felt pinned down and, in her
sleep-drugged mind, only
Dante’s kiss could free her
fromthisprison.
So now she was
standinghere,hercoldhands
in Dante’s larger, warmer
hands and the judge was
talking about something that
didn’t make sense but every
word he spoke was getting
them closer to another kiss.
Anothermindboggling,sleep
depriving, body clenching
kiss from this tall, dangerous
manstandingnexttoher.
The
judge
was
droning on about something
or other, probably the
wedding vows that she was
mindlesslyagreeingto,while
she was fighting the urge to
run and hide. She simply
couldn’t believe how wanton
she was, how focused on the
kiss.Ormaybesheneededto
separateoutherfearofbeing
married to Dante and the
desire to be kissed by him.
Yes, the two were definitely
separate and both created
oppositereactionswithinher.
The idea of being married to
this man, to all that marriage
represented, was terrifying.
Butthatkiss….
But the marriage!
Theweddingvows!
Was
that
flight
response due to the fact that
this whole situation was
wrong?Marriagevowswere
sacred but here she was,
agreeing to love, honor and
cherish a man she knew she
wasgoingtodivorceinafew
months.Andshewasn’teven
inachurch!Ordidthatdetail
makeiteasiertoswallowthe
lies? If he would only kiss
her, she knew that her fear
woulddissipate.Herneedto
run away, to hide or scream
out for the judge to stop
talking, would be eliminated
withasimplekiss.
Dante squeezed her
hand and she looked up,
wondering why he’d done
that.Itwasthereagain!That
yearning, that need for…
something!Herheartmelted
withthatlook.Shemightbe
completely misunderstanding
and misinterpreting the look,
butshehadnothingelsetogo
on, no past history with this
man, no companion to
explain his personality to
her. She was going on pure
instinct now. So when she
sawthelook,noticedhislips
compress as if he knew she
was hesitating, her heart
melted. Something inside of
hertwistedandshewantedto
helpthisman.Shewantedto
make his stern expression
changeintoasmile,tosoften
the hardness around his icy,
blue eyes. They really were
lovelyeyesshethought.
Someone coughed to
herleftandshelookedatthe
judge. “Do you?” he
prompted.
“Oh!Yes.Ido!”she
agreedandfeltthattugather
hands again. Was he
thanking her? Looking back
up at Dante, she saw
admiration and… goodness,
shewasimaginingthings,she
told herself. She was being
fanciful.Whywasshebeing
sosilly?
She’d dated men in
thepast.She’dseentheirtrue
colors and hadn’t been
impressed. Too often, dates
turnedintowrestlingmatches
and so she’d simply stopped
accepting dates, much to her
sisters’chagrin.
Perhaps she was
simply romanticizing this
ceremony, trying to see
somethinginhiseyesthatshe
wantedtobethere.Thisman
was strong and powerful, he
didn’t care about a little
nobodylikeher.
“I do,” Dante replied
and looked down at the
woman by his side. He
ignored Jim, the judge
performingtheceremonyand
tried to figure out what was
going on in this little
woman’s mind. The lovely
whitesuithadbeenasurprise
and he was glad he’d
instinctivelywornadarksuit
withasilvertie,makingabit
more of the occasion than
he’d originally intended to
do.
And he couldn’t
ignore the sweet surprise in
her eyes when he’d handed
her a bouquet filled with
white roses and baby’s
breath. It had been such a
simple,
easy
gesture.
Something that his assistant
had actually come up with
and he’d thought was
superfluous.Butsheseemed
deeply moved and he was
glad he’d remembered the
bouquet when he’d stepped
outofthelimousine.
Looking down at
Jayden, he tried to figure her
out. Was she truly as
innocent and refreshing as
he’d like to believe? It
seemed too good to be true,
that a woman as soft and
sensitive as she appeared
couldbereal.Orwasshejust
agoodactress?
“Inowpronounceyou
husband and wife,” Jim
intoned with an avuncular
smile. “You may kiss the
bride.”
Jayden looked up at
Dante, excited and shocked
andthrilledattheideaofthis
strong, powerful man kissing
her again. She suddenly
remembered her reaction to
theirlastkissandprayedthat
hewouldn’tdoitagain.She
didn’t want to fall apart like
she had the last time he’d
touchedher!Shetriedtopull
back, but he wasn’t going to
allowthat.Couldn’ttheyjust
step outside? If she could
just speak, force her lips to
form the words, beg him to
kiss her in private so she
wouldn’t make a fool of
herselfbut…
This was a sham
marriage! For business
purposes only! So why was
he lowering his head? Why
did he have that strange,
almost possessive light in
those crystal depths? She
held her breath, waiting for
something, her heartbeat
racingandhertoescurlingin
anticipation.
When his lips finally
reached hers, Jayden gasped
at the heat and need that
swarmed through her body.
Just like their last kiss, she
was lost once more,
enrapturedbyhislipsandby
the need she could feel well
upinsideofher.Allthoughts
ofpullingbackwerebanished
completely from her mind.
All she wanted right at this
moment was to deepen the
kiss,tofeelhimholdherand
knowwhatitwouldbelike…
When
his
arm
wrapped around her waist,
she gasped but moved
willingly into his arms,
wrappingherownaroundhis
neck, her fingers diving into
his surprisingly soft, black
hair.Shedidn’twantthekiss
toend,wantedthisfeelingof
amazing chills to go on
forever.
The chuckles behind
her were her first clue that
somethingwaswrong.When
Dante lifted his head, she
knew instantly that he was
feeling the same thing. He
wanted to bend down again
andkisshermore,toexplore
this strange sensation that
shot
electric
tingles
throughoutherwholebody.
“Plenty of time for
that later,” Jim was saying,
extending his hand to shake
Dante’s.“Justsignhere,”he
said and handed Jayden a
pen.“Andyoucanbeoffon
yourhoneymoon.”
Jayden took the pen
with shaking fingers and
looked into Dante’s eyes,
wondering what he was
thinking after that kiss. Her
heartsankasshenoticedthat
hisblueoneswereonceagain
hard
and
unyielding.
Anythingshewantedtoseein
thosecrystaldepthswaswell
hiddennow.Turningbackto
the judge, she looked at the
paper.“WhatamIsigning?”
she asked, then cleared her
throat when the sound didn’t
comeoutveryclearly.
Jim laughed again.
“This is your marriage
certificate,” he explained and
pointed to where she needed
to sign. “If you’ll put your
signature there, I’ll have my
assistant file this for the
courts.”
Jayden looked at the
small paper, wondering how
something so small could
contain such enormous
ramifications for her life.
Looking back up at Dante,
she noticed the look, the
hardness.Heneededher,she
thought with a spurt of
surprise. He might not
consciously know that he
needed her, and she wasn’t
exactly sure why he needed
her, but in some elemental
way, she could discern the
needthatwasswarmingover
him. Perhaps it was by the
tensioninhisshouldersorthe
suspiciously blank glance
while he waited for her to
sign the certificate. She
wasn’t positive. But deep
downinside,sheknewthathe
neededher.
Andsheneededhim!
That was possibly
even more startling. She’d
known this man for perhaps
two hours but there was
something about him that
called to her, that made her
heart beat rapidly and her
body become conscious of
his. Never had she been so
completelyawareofamanin
her life. Of all the men she
could have felt that way
about, why her heart had
chosen
this
strange,
complicated and powerful
man,shehadnoidea.
It wasn’t love. No,
she knew that love wasn’t
some emotion that suddenly
welled up over a person. It
was…need. Yes, she
thought. She needed him in
somefundamental,basicway.
Andheneededher.
And that had to make
allofthisokay.Ifshecould
helphim,morethanjustwith
whatever business issue he
had, then she was happy,
eagertodoso.
She turned back and
carefully signed her name,
then handed the pen to
Dante. He didn’t even
hesitate,buttookthepenand
scrawled his name boldly.
“I’ll need a copy of that,” he
toldhisfriend.
Jim nodded quickly.
“Understand. I’ll get it over
to your assistant before the
closeofbusinesstoday.”
Dante nodded and
took Jayden’s hand, pulling
her towards the doorway.
“We have to be on our way.
Thankyouforyourhelp.”
“My pleasure,” Jim
stated firmly and shook
Jayden’shand.
A moment later,
Jaydenwasbeingledthrough
thelonghallwaysandtucked
into the back of a waiting
limousine. It was all so
surreal, she thought. Then
she glanced over at Dante
who was sitting next to her.
Everything she’d felt in that
judge’s office came back to
her. The intensity, the
lightening of the world’s
problems. It wasn’t because
this man had agreed to help
her out with the catering
headquartersandthethreatto
itsexistence.Itwassomuch
more. She didn’t completely
understand it. And in a
strange way, that feeling
terrified her more than
anythingelsehad.
Dantelookeddownat
her at that moment and the
heat she was feeling was
reflected in his eyes. Not
immediately though. He’d
bankedit,hiddenitwithwhat
shesuspectedwasapowerful
self-control. But when he
sawthatneedreflectedinher
eyes, it was almost as if he
couldn’t stop his own desire
from firing up, raging out of
control.
Dante hadn’t meant
forthatweddingkisstogetso
out of control. But seeing
that heat in her eyes, feeling
herbodytremblingnexttohis
evenwhileshetriedtohideit,
he was powerless against the
magnetic pull of her soft
curves. The plea in her eyes
was the same thing he was
feeling and he couldn’t stop
himself when he dragged her
onto his lap and covered her
mouthwithhis.
In Jim’s office, he’d
kissedhergently,testingher,
feeling her lips tremble. But
he couldn’t hold back any
longer.Theywerealoneand,
somehow, the marriage
certificate he’d just signed
struck him powerfully. This
luscious, tender woman with
eyes that cut him to his soul,
was his! This was his wife!
Nomatterhowmanytimeshe
told himself this was just
temporary, that Jayden
couldn’t be this soft and
compassionate, she was just
an exemplary actress, he
wanted her. And he would
have her. He couldn’t stop
kissingher.Hecouldn’tstop
touchingher.
His fingers easily
pushed aside the white silk
jacket and his fingers found
the fullness of her breasts
hiddenundertheelegantsuit.
The silk camisole was more
art than fabric while the
material tried to hold her
magnificent breasts. He
wanted to tear it off of her,
find
out
what
was
underneath. He was actually
angry with the material
becauseitwashidingwhathe
mostwantedtosee.Pushing
the jacket off of her
shoulders, he slid one strap
down her shoulder, his eyes
feasting on one perfect
breast. The pink tip was
poutingtowardshim,begging
himtotakeitintohismouth.
Heresistedforonlyafraction
of a second before he curved
hisfingersaroundthefullness
evenwhilehismouthlatched
onto her nipple, sucking and
testing, finding out what
madeherwhimpermore.
“You’rebeautiful,”he
groaned and pulled the other
strapdown,givinghersecond
breast the same attention
whileteasingthefirstwithhis
fingers.
“Don’t stop,” she
whispered, arching her body
towards his, feeling such an
almost painful pleasure as he
touched and teased her. She
neededittostopandneverto
end. She wanted him to
touchherinalltheplacesno
manhadeverseenbeforeand
she wanted it so desperately,
shewasn’tevenawareofher
bodywrithingonhislap.
Suddenly, the heat of
his mouth was gone and his
handswerepushingherarms
back into her jacket. She
looked around, confused but
suddenly realized that they
were stopped in front of an
enormoushouse.“Whereare
we?” she asked, trying to
catchherbreath.
“My home. I believe
myhousekeeperhasprepared
amealforus,”heexplained.
He lifted her up and helped
her out of the vehicle,
stepping onto the stone
driveway next to her and
grabbing her hand. “This
way,” he said, gritting his
teeth as he tried to get his
bodybackundercontrol.
His housekeeper had
outdone herself, he thought.
Thewhiteroses,theelaborate
silverwareandcrystalwasall
gleaming in the afternoon
sunshine.“Thisisbeautiful,”
Jaydengasped.Withshining
eyesandtremblingbody,she
lookedupathim,smilingher
appreciation. “You didn’t
have to do this,” she told
him.“Butit’sverynice.”
Dante
normally
wouldn’t have done anything
so ridiculously sentimental,
but with her smiling, green
eyes shining up at him, he
was suddenly glad that he’d
taken the time to inform his
housekeeper to prepare a
meal. Well, he’d told his
assistant to do that task. His
assistantmusthaveconveyed
the news of his nuptials
because this really did look
veryromantic.
He suppressed the
urge to ignore the meal and
carry this slender woman up
the stairs and finish what
they’d started in the
limousine. He disdained
sexual
encounters
in
limousines, thinking they
wereclichéandtediousnotto
mention uncomfortable and
inconvenient.Butsomething
hadgottenthebetterofhima
fewminutesago.
“Ms. Liakos,” he said
andpulledoutherchair.
Jayden’s startled eyes
looked up at his and she
froze.Thatname!Goodness,
shehadn’teventhoughtabout
changinghername!Itwasa
ridiculous thought, but
hearing her called that sent a
spiral of desire right through
her body. She quivered,
lookingupathim.“Liakos,”
shewhispered.
Jayden pushed that
desire to the side as she
examined the other feelings
his words had evoked within
her. A part of her liked the
name, felt more feminine
and….strange being called
“Ms. Liakos” and she didn’t
completelyunderstandwhy.
But the other part of
her, the part not ruled by
desireandastrangesensation
that occurred whenever she
was around this mysterious
man, was terrified of the
name. She’d never thought
of changing her name when
she got married. Her last
namewassuchabasicpartof
who she was, her identity.
Andshesupposedthat,ifshe
were in a real relationship
with a man, someone she’d
been dating for a while and
they’d talked about getting
married,theideaofchanging
her name might have come
up.Butthewaythey’dgone
about this marriage had
eliminated all of the premarital conversations that a
couplewouldnormallyhave.
It was startling and she
blurtedoutthefirstthingthat
occurredtoher.
“I don’t need to take
yourname,doI?”sheblurted
out. That was one issue she
hadn’t thought of asking
him.Thiswassupposedtobe
atemporarymarriage.Ithad
neveroccurredtoherthatshe
wouldchangeherlastname.
Dantegrittedhisteeth
as he looked down at her.
Changehername?Ofcourse
shewouldhavetodoso!She
washiswife!
He pulled himself
back and shook himself
mentally. Temporary, he
reminded himself. This was
all a sham for his father so
Dante could get those
controlling shares. He had
plans for those shares and he
wanted that plan put in place
quickly.
Forcing
that
outlandish possessive instinct
back down, he shook his
head. “Of course not.” He
had no idea of the hardness
thatcameoverhisexpression
with those words. He pulled
the chair out and watched
withgrittedteethashiswife,
still an astounding thought,
sat down, her cute derriere
sittinginhischair.
He took the seat
across from her, amazed at
how badly he wanted to take
back the words, to demand
that she change her name so
hecoulddeclaretotheentire
world that she was his. But
he pulled himself back
ruthlessly and forced himself
to eat the meal. He’d never
been sentimental in his life.
Nor had he ever thought of
getting married, so this need
to put his name on this
woman, to put his mark on
her,
was
completely
ludicrous.
Besides,
he’d
demanded that their wedding
and marriage be kept
confidential. Jayden taking
his name would literally
shout the news to the world.
Itwasbetterthatshemaintain
herlastname.
Even if he didn’t like
it.
“So what happens
next?” she asked him
carefullyasanelderlywoman
steppedintothediningroom,
placingfragrantfoodinfront
of both of them on delicate
bonechina.
“Next, I travel to
Greece and finish up my
business issue. Tomorrow, a
woman named Debra will be
contactingyoutogooverthe
variousplacesshe’sfoundfor
yournewheadquarters.After
that,allyouneedtodoiscall
myassistantforanythingelse
you need and she’ll have it
arrangedforyou.”
Jayden took a deep
breath, suddenly losing her
appetite. Up until this
moment, everything had
seemed sort of dream like.
But he was poking at his
savorylemonchickenandshe
felt like a coward. All
because that silly romantic
haze that had surrounded the
morning had come to a
screeching halt with her
stupidwords.Ofcourse,she
couldn’ttakehisname.That
would be pointless. But she
couldhaveplayedalongwith
the teasing. Surely, he had
beenteasing,shethought.
In a valiant effort to
bring back his good mood,
she tried to come up with
somewaytoturnbacktime.
“Can you tell me a bit more
about yourself?” she asked
softly,pushingtheexcellently
cooked
and
marinated
chickenaroundonherplate.
He looked up at her
sharply, those blue crystals
slicingintoherheart.“What
do you want to know?” he
askedafteramoment.
She smiled slightly.
“What’syourfavoritecolor?
What’syourfavoritefood?”
He leaned back in his
chair, looking at her
curiously. “You still haven’t
looked me up on the
Internet?”Hegrumbledashe
tookabiteofthechicken.
She laughed and put
her fork down. “I would
have,” she told him with a
twinkleinhereye.“Butyou
don’t really give a girl a
chancetobreathe.Imetyou
twodaysagoandinbetween
then, you’ve sent me about
four documents including a
prenuptial agreement, all of
which I had to get to my
lawyer’s office to interpret,
bytheway.Sowithinfortyeight hours, you’ve been
uppermost on my mind, but
that didn’t mean there was
any free time in those hours
to scour the Internet for
secrets about my soon-to-besecrethusband.”
He looked into her
eyes,tryingtofigureoutwhat
her game was. She was an
extraordinary actress, he
thought. He was almost
convincedthatshereallywas
this sincere, this kind and
generous. But he knew
better. He’d been played by
thebestandJaydenwouldnot
convince him that she was
anythingbutatypicalfemale,
outtogetthemostshecould
fromawealthybenefactor.
What she didn’t
understand was that he could
be generous, under the right
circumstances. And those
circumstancesdidnotinclude
hertryingtoconvincehimof
afalsepersonality.
“Green,” he snapped,
although why green was
suddenly his favorite color,
he had no idea. “And
probablyscallops.Whatelse
do you want to know?” he
asked.
She thought about all
thethingsshe’dbeencurious
about, all the questions that
had popped into her mind in
the early hours of the
morning when she couldn’t
sleep,tooworriedaboutwhat
she was about to do. “You
told me you were from
Athens, but where did you
growup?”sheasked.
“My ancestors were
originally from Kastrosikia,
which is a relatively small
town on the north eastern
coastofGreece.Butwehave
homes all over the world
now, as well as offices in
almost every country. I
employ over one hundred
thousand people in industries
such as oil, transportation,
computers,constructionanda
fewotherareas.”
Jayden realized that
he was talking about his
business and not himself
now. And he’d said where
his ancestors were from, but
nopersonalinformationabout
himself.Hedidn’tliketotalk
about himself, she thought.
That was strange because he
seemed like such a confident
andinterestingperson.
“What do you do in
yoursparetime?”sheasked.
He sighed and placed
hisforkdownonhisplate.“I
don’t have any spare time,
Jayden.”
She looked down,
feeling like she’d just been
reprimanded. “Oh. I’m
sorry.” She looked at the
food, but didn’t really see
anything. The man sitting
acrossthebeautifultablewas
her husband but she knew
almostnothingabouthim.
Didshereallyneedto
knowabouthim?Whatifshe
found out something about
himandshelikedhim?Right
now, there was just some
strange, magnetic pull that
drew her into his dangerous,
enticing sphere but what if
she started to have feelings
for him? What if she started
tocare?
No, that would be a
badthing.Shedidn’twantto
be hurt by this man and she
suspected that he could do
thatquiteeasily,andnoteven
knowthatshewashurt.
She took a deep
breath, placing her fork
carefullyontheplatejustlike
he’d done. “Well, I guess
there’s nothing more that we
needto…”
She’d been about to
get up, to politely thank him
forthemealandcallacabto
get home. There obviously
was no reason to stay here.
The man didn’t want her to
knowhimpersonally,norwas
he
demanding
any
information about her either.
Heobviouslywantedthemto
remain strangers and she
supposed that was probably
best.
She’d just stood up
and was folding her napkin
when she heard a muttered
curse. Looking up, she saw
Dante stand up as well. A
moment later, she felt his
strongarmswraparoundher.
“Jayden…” she suspected
that he was going to say
something else, but as she
lookedupathim,allthepain
andwarinesswasthereinher
eyes.
Dante saw the look
and the stone he’d always
thought was in the region of
his chest shifted slightly. It
was still stone, but a chink
had fallen away. He wasn’t
surehelikedit,buthereacted
to it by pulling her into his
arms. He’d meant only to
kiss her. But as it had the
previous two times, the kiss
went almost instantly out of
control.
Jayden had no idea
how it happened, but one
moment, Dante was kissing
herintheformallivingroom
andthenextmoment,shefelt
a soft bed on her back. And
shedidn’tcare!Allshecared
about was touching Dante
and making sure that he
continued to touch her.
When he pulled his hand out
from underneath her white
camisole, she felt like she
wasgoingtodie!Shepulled
his hands back, needing his
touch, desperate to feel his
handsonherskin.Butallhe
did was push the material
overherhead.
Never before had she
felt this driving tension, this
insane desperation to feel a
man’s skin with her own
hands. She’d always been
very guarded with her
boyfriendsbutshedidn’tfeel
any caution with Dante. Her
fingers pulled his shirt out
from the waistband of his
slacks, sliding under the
materialsoshecouldfeelhis
skin. And when he stood up
slightly and pulled the shirt
off over his head, she sighed
with pleasure when she had
freeaccesstohischest,toall
that glorious skin and the
musclesunderneath.Shewas
fascinated and couldn’t stop
touching him. The more he
touched her, the more he
drove her to want to touch
himback,toexploreandfind
alltheplacesonhisbodythat
caused him to groan or close
hiseyesasifhewereinpain.
But she knew he wasn’t in
pain and her eyes caught
everyexpression.
Until he tore off her
bra,tossingitbehindhimand
takingbackcontrol.“Ohno,
my little tease,” he growled,
grabbing her hands and
pulling them over her head.
“Myturn,”hetoldherandhis
head bent lower, taking her
nipple in his mouth and
sucking. When she arched
intohismouth,screamingout
with the pleasure, he almost
laughed but he was in too
much pain to possess her, to
feelherbodywrappedaround
his.
His fingers quickly
divestedheroftherestofher
clothes. Later, he might
wonderathislackoffinesse,
but right here, right now, he
neededhernaked.Heneeded
her to be moving, shifting
underneath him and making
thosesexylittlesoundsinthe
back of her throat that were
drivinghimwild.Hismouth
moved over her skin, finding
moreplacesthatcausedherto
cry out. And when his
fingersdoveintoherheat,he
had to close his eyes at how
wet,howreadyshewas.
His pants were gone,
tossedasideandheshiftedso
that she was trapped by his
body, wanting to impale her
onto his erection. But then
shewrappedherarmsaround
his neck, her eyes wide with
something
he
didn’t
understand. “You’re mine,”
hegrowled,bitingherneckas
hedrovehimselfintoher.
She screamed out and
Dante froze, knowing that
this wasn’t the same as her
last few cries. Looking
down, he noticed the tear.
“Jayden!” He said her name
with reverence as he realized
suddenly that this tiny,
slender woman… his wife!
Jaydenwasavirgin!
“I’m sorry, love,” he
said softly, kissing her neck
gently. He felt horrible and
wished he could do this all
overagain,buttheonlything
hecoulddonowwasmakeit
better for her. “Why didn’t
you tell me?” he asked,
shifting slightly. He closed
his eyes, tamping down on
hisraginglustandtheneedto
pound into her. She was so
tight, so hot and so wet. He
couldn’t believe that she’d
never been with another man
before. She was too
beautiful!Itjustdidn’tmake
anysense.
“I’m okay,” she
whispered,herhandsmoving
tohisshouldersasshetookin
deepbreathsandtriedtoshift
to a more comfortable
position. A pretty difficult
task under the current
circumstances.
He knew that she
wasn’t okay because her
hands were still trembling.
Gone was the fire that had
gotten them to this insane
point.Shewasstillrigid,still
not where she was a few
minutesago.Andheneeded
thatwomanback.Hehadto
haveher.
“Relax, love,” he
coaxed, shifting ever so
slightly in her heat. “Just
relax and go with it. I
promisethepainwillgoaway
in a moment.” Hell, how
would he know that? He’d
never been with a virgin
before but his chest was
puffing up with pride and
somethingelse,somethinghe
didn’t want to identify,
becauseJayden,hiswife,had
neverbeenwithanymanbut
him.
When she gasped, he
knew that she was coming
backtohim.Hekeptitslow.
He maintained a gentle
rhythm,listeningtoherbody,
to her breathing. When her
legslifted,slidingagainsthis
hips, he moved a bit more.
Coaxingaresponseoutofher
while his hands moved to
holdherhead.Hekissedher
deeply,
enjoying
this
moment, this response from
her.
It
took
several
minutes, but the slow, steady
movements brought back her
desire. “That’s it,” he told
her as his thumbs rubbed
againsthercheek.Heshifted
againandwatchedhersmile.
“Justgowithme,love.”
Jayden
couldn’t
believe how wonderful this
felt. A moment ago, all she
wantedwasforhimtogetoff
of her so she could run into
the bathroom and sob with
the pain between her legs.
But now, she wasn’t sure
how, but she wanted him to
movefaster.Shewantedhim
to… “Yes!” she cried out,
leaning into him. And that
felt even better. “Don’t
stop,” she whispered, biting
downonherlip.
She reached up to
hold him, her fingers sifting
through his black hair.
“Dante?”sheasked,herbody
tightening. “I can’t,” she
started to say but he nodded
hishead.
“Youcan,”hetoldher
firmly.“Justletmetakecare
ofyou.”Hemovedfaster,his
bodyshiftingtotherightand
left, watching her beautiful
features so he could do what
shelikedagain.Whenhefelt
her body tightening, saw her
eyes close and her breasts
start to pinken, he knew that
shewassoclose.Sowashe
and he threw back his head,
determined to help her reach
thatpoint.
When she screamed
out again, he felt her body
clampontohisandhereveled
inhowamazingshelookedas
her climax took her higher
andhigher.Damn,hewanted
this to go on forever but her
orgasm took him over the
edge as well and he pounded
into her soft body, praying
that he wasn’t hurting her
again. Never had anything
feltsoperfect,sopowerful.
And when he could
see straight again, he opened
his eyes and almost laughed
outloudatthebeautifulsmile
onJayden’sface.
With
extreme
gentleness, he pulled her
closer, wrapping his arms
around her as she curled up
against him. Dante stared at
the ceiling, wondering how
suchawomancametobe.
Chapter5
Dante smoothed his
tiedownoverthecrispwhite
shirt while staring down at
the beautiful woman in his
bed. A large part of him
wanted to strip off his
clothes, climb back into that
bed and make love to her
again.
There was something
about her that didn’t make
sense. She’d been a virgin!
A damn virgin! What the
hell?!
Herebelledattheidea
that she was really as
innocentasshelookedbutthe
evidence was there and
incontrovertible. He was
almost angry with her for
beingsoinnocentandyet,he
wouldn’t have traded last
night for anything. That
surge of possessiveness, of
protectiveness, welled up
within him again and he
tamped it down mercilessly.
Thiswomandidnotneedhis
protection. She was doing
fine on her own. She was
helpinghersistersrunavery
successful catering business.
What’s even more amazing,
he’d delved into her creative
marketing. Hell, she even
had converted some of her
sisters’anddad’sfoodsintoa
separate line, an offshoot of
thecateringcompany.Itwas
ageniusideaandhardtodo,
butshe’ddoneit.Anditwas
doingextremelywell.
So what was it about
herthatwassoconfusing?
She simply couldn’t
be as…perfect, as she
seemed. Yes, that was the
issue.Shewastoosweet,too
kind,tootrusting.
Withacurseunderhis
breath, he turned on his heel
and walked out of the
bedroom.“Tellmywifethat
I had to fly to Greece this
afternoon. I don’t know
whenI’llbeback,”hesaidto
his housekeeper and walked
outthedoor,forcinghismind
to concentrate on business.
Business
he
could
understand. Business he
could trust. He didn’t trust
anyone he did business with,
butthatwasbecauseheknew
how to get around their
manipulations. He couldn’t
befooled.
Dante supposed that
was the confusion with
Jayden. She looked sweet
andinnocentbutstilllushand
sexy.Thetwodidn’tmeshin
his mind. Either she was
sweet and innocent, and she
couldbetrusted…butshewas
a female and women should
never be trusted. Enjoyed!
Yes, definitely enjoyed. But
trusted? No way. Her soft,
sexy body told him she was
just like all the other women
inhispast.Theywereoutfor
one thing and they would do
anythingtogetthat.
But she didn’t feel
like the women in his past.
Shefeltdifferent.Everything
about her felt different, from
the look in her eyes to the
wayshetouchedhim.
As he boarded his
plane,hemadeseveralcalls.
“Make sure my wife has an
allowance and credit cards,”
he told his assistant. He’d
been meaning to do that
anyway, but hadn’t gotten
aroundtoityet.Perhapsher
warmwelcomelastnightwas
a reward for the anticipated
allowance that had been in
theprenupagreement.
Yes, that had to be it,
hetoldhimself.Shewasjust
performing her duties in
anticipationofherpayout.
With
grim
satisfaction, he sat down in
the leather seat, nodding to
thecaptainthathecouldtake
offassoonaspossible.Now
that he’d figured her out, he
felt better. More balanced.
He might not like the results
of his analysis, but it was
bettertobeawareofthecost
of his pleasures than to have
thembitehimlateron.
Jayden woke up and
stretched, noticing very sore
muscles. Looking around,
she saw the elegant lines of
brown and black, gold and
cream.Thiswasn’therroom,
she realized. Then she
remembered the night. With
Dante! Her breath caught in
her throat and she looked
around, worried that he was
already watching her. He’d
done that a few times last
night, a strange glint to his
eyes that she couldn’t
interpret.
But as she looked
around, she realized that she
was alone in the strange,
enormous room. Then she
spotted the note on the bed
beside her. “Business in
Greece. Will talk when I
return.”
That was all he said,
but it was enough. Jayden
slippedoutofbed,takingthe
throw blanket from the
bottom of the bed to cover
herself as she walked to the
bathroom. Dante would be
back. His note might be
abrupt but she suspected that
wasjusthisway.
No,sheknewshestill
wasn’tinlovewithhim.But
she was definitely in lust.
Hmmm, she thought with a
smile as she showered with
his spicy shower gel, in lust
with her husband! What a
thought!Anicethought,she
corrected. Her secret
husband!Itsentathrilldown
her body and she closed her
eyes, thinking about all the
secretthingsthey’ddonelast
night.
Pulling on the white
suite, which was the only
thingshehadsinceshehadn’t
anticipatedspendingthenight
with Dante, she walked back
down the stairs, her feet
sinking into the amazingly
plush carpeting. Now that
she wasn’t being carried off
in a sexual frenzy by Dante,
she was able to look around
andactuallyseehishouse.It
waslovely.Trulylovely,she
thought. It wasn’t crazy
ostentatious but simple and
elegant.Thelineswereclean
and the colors very
masculine,butshelikedit.It
definitelysuitedtheowner.
“Mr.Liakos’driveris
waiting to take you home,”
Dante’s
housekeeper
explained with a kind smile
asJaydenreachedthebottom
of the stairs. “But I have
some hot coffee and warm
muffinsifyou’rehungry.”
Jayden bit her lower
lip in indecision. She was
starving, having skipped
lunch yesterday because of
nervousness and dinner
because…well,becauseshe’d
been having sex with…she
stumbled over the word
“husband”eveninhermind.
Butshestillneededto
get home to Janine and
Jasmine, sure that they were
probablyworried.
“Thankyou,”shesaid
tothewomanevenwhileshe
was shaking her head. “I’d
better just hurry home.” It
sounded odd to her ears that
she was going home when
she was actually in the home
of her “husband”. But a
husband that no one else
knewabout.
Shakingherhead,she
grabbedherpurseandheaded
out into the bright sunshine.
Itwasgoingtobeabeautiful
day, she thought. She
actuallyhopedthatshemight
hear from Dante today.
Maybesheshouldsendhima
message, just a happy note
letting him know that she’d
enjoyed last night. Or maybe
she should just let him
concentrate on work. She’d
taken up a great deal of his
time over the past couple of
days.
Whenshewalkedinto
the kitchen that morning, she
was surprised to find Janine
and Jasmine already hard at
work even though the
schedule didn’t have them
cooking until later today.
When she stepped into the
room, she tried very hard to
appearcasual,asifshestayed
out all night on a regular
basis.
But
Janine
and
Jasmineknewbetterandthey
weren’t letting her off the
hook. “So was he
awesome?” Jasmine asked.
“Did you like it?” Janine
asked, both of them moving
forward, ignoring whatever
was on the stove as they
cornered their errant sister.
“Is he tall and handsome or
earthy
and
painfully
melancholy?” “When are
yougoingtoseehimagain?”
“Areyouseeinghimtonight?
We don’t have an event
tonight so you could see him
again tonight.” The two of
themwereexcitedandeager,
crowding her space as she
triedtowalktoheroffice.
“Stop!”shecalledout
whenthequestionscontinued
fast and furiously. Looking
down,shegrabbedthespatula
thathadsomesortofwhipped
foodonit.Takingabiglick,
she
moaned
with
appreciation.
“Your
strawberryfudge!”shesighed
with happiness. Jasmine’s
strawberry fudge was like
eatingalittlebiteofheaven.
She leaned back against the
steel counter and licked until
the spatula was “clean”, then
opened her eyes and sighed.
Both of her sisters were still
standing there, waiting for
answersanddetails.
“He’s a very nice
man,” she said and moved
around the counter, heading
towardsherofficeagaininan
attempttofindprivacywhere
she could languish in her
memories of her night in
Dante’sarmsallbyherself.
Unfortunately,
her
sisters wouldn’t allow her to
languish. They followed her
intoheroffice,notgivingher
anyprivacyatall.“Weknow
that!” Janine said, plopping
intooneofthechairsinfront
of Jayden’s desk. “You
wouldn’t have spent the
whole afternoon and evening
withhimifhewasn’tnice.”
“Butwhat’shelikein
bed?”Jasmineasked.
“Jaz!”
Jayden
exclaimed but Janine only
laughed.“Washegood?”she
asked.
Jayden looked at both
of her sisters, annoyed that
theywouldasksuchintimate
questions but relieved that
they weren’t angry with her
forbeingoutallnight.What
a crazy family she had. “It
wasanicenight.”Sheknew
theywantedmore,detailsand
sharing, but she didn’t feel
like she could do that.
They’d shared everything in
the past but Dante was her
secret. He was her man,
her…husband! Not just any
husband, but her secret
husband. And she wanted to
keep that secret to herself.
Including the intimate details
of the most amazing night
she’deverhad.Neverinher
wildest dreams could she
have imagined a night like
she’d shared with Dante and
telling her sisters about it,
giving them any sort of
details, felt like she was
sullyingtheirtimetogether.
Janine and Jasmine’s
smilewentout.“Nice,”they
said in unison. They looked
backatJayden.“Hewasonly
nice?” Both women looked
deflated.“Butyouwerewith
him for so long! We’d
thought he’d be much better
than just a ‘nice’ adjective,”
Jasminesaid.
They stood up and
started walking out of
Jayden’s office, obviously
disappointed.
Jayden rolled her
eyes.“Itwasincredible!”she
toldthem.“Satisfied?”
Janine and Jasmine
quickly spun around, their
eyes once more alight. “The
question is, are you
satisfied?”Janineasked.
Jayden
blushed,
thinkingbacktoallthethings
she’d done with Dante the
previous night. Thankfully,
shedidn’thavetosayaword
because her blush told the
whole story. Both of her
sisters
squealed
with
excitement and clapped their
hands, bouncing around with
theirexcitement.“Oh!He’s
good in bed!” They danced
out of Jayden’s office,
singing “He’s good in bed!”
overandoveragain.
Jayden laughed, but
she wouldn’t go back out
with her sisters, too afraid of
what they might ask her and
whatshemightreveal.She’d
shared everything with her
sistersallherlifeandthathad
always been the way it was.
But for some reason, she
didn’t want to share Dante
with them. It was like she
hadasecretforthefirsttime
in her life. No way was she
going to tell them that she
was married. No, that was
somethingthatsheandDante
would keep totally private.
Her
sisters
wouldn’t
understandwhyshe’ddoneit
and Jayden simply couldn’t
accept the disappointment in
theireyesiftheyeverlearned
thetruth.
But she could keep
her feelings to herself, smile
at the memories and get all
tingly with excitement and
anticipation of the next time
she’dseeher“husband”.She
could only think of him in
thosetermsasifitweresome
sortofpretense,whichitwas,
regardless of the legality of
themarriage.
So she hugged her
secret “husband” and all of
the memories of their night,
holding it close and savoring
eachdetail.
Well, that’s how she
felt the day after. When she
didn’t hear from him by the
second day, she was a little
hurt, but pushed that feeling
aside, telling herself that he
wasabusyman.Bytheend
of the week, she was more
than a little hurt. She was
angry. How dare he make
lovetoherlikehemightjust
die if he couldn’t touch her,
and then leave her without
any word? She would tell
him that too, if she had any
cluehowtogetintouchwith
him. It was infuriating that
he would just disappear on
her!
When her phone rang
onthemorningofthesecond
week, she was tired of trying
to make excuses for him and
exhausted because she spent
most nights crying over his
rejection of her. So she
wasn’tpreparedforthewords
thathitherlikeabomb.
“Whythehellhaven’t
you
moved?”
Dante
demandedthroughthephone.
Hestoodinhisoffice,
lookingdownatthereportof
her activities over the past
two weeks. She hadn’t used
any of the money he’d
arranged for her use, she
hadn’t even used the credit
cards he’d given her. And
more to the point, she hadn’t
contacted the realtor he’d
gotten her. In fact, she’d
ignored every single thing
he’d left in place for her
while he’d visited with his
father and finalized the legal
issues of transferring his
father’ssharesintohisname.
Now that he owned
two thirds of his company,
he’ddoneawhirlwindtourof
several factories, scheduled
meetings in Paris and Tokyo
andstillfoundhimselfpulled
right back here, wanting to
see a tiny woman with
amazing green eyes and the
most incredible smile he’d
ever experienced. He was
furious with himself for
coming back, telling himself
after that morning that there
was no way he was going to
getcaughtupinhertrap.She
had been a pretty, interesting
liaison, but it was time to
move on, get back to
business.
Thathadbeenhisplan
until he’d read his security
detail’s report and learned
thatshewasstillwhereshe’d
beentwoweeksago.Andhe
was livid! Why wasn’t she
out shopping? Why wasn’t
she buying up all the
ridiculous shoes that she
could wear once and never
again? When he’d left two
weeks ago, he’d told himself
that he’d worked her out of
hissystem.He’dworkedher
personality out in his mind,
figured out her feminine
tricksandlabeledher.
Why was she not
doing what he expected of
her?Whywasshenotacting
in character? The damn
woman was not doing what
shewassupposedtodo.
Furthermore,
by
rejecting the things he could
give her, he felt like she was
rejecting him and that he
would not stand for! Not
after what they’d shared that
night.
“Jayden, answer me,
damnit!”Hecouldhonestly
saythathe’dneverbeenmore
confused and angry with a
woman in his life. He never
let women get to the point
where they could actually
anger him but Jayden, the
little minx, had broken down
a barrier that he was
determined to build right
backup.Assoonashecould
figure her out and make sure
she was doing what was
expected.
Jayden looked at her
phoneandtookadeepbreath,
trying to calm down. “I’m
sorry, do I know you?” she
askedsarcastically.Shecould
actually feel Dante’s anger
increase through the phone.
She felt like she’d scored a
point and hoped he was
feeling even a small part of
what she’d been going
through for the past fourteen
days.
Dante’sfuryroseeven
higher. “Excuse me?” he
askedinacoldtoneofvoice.
Jayden shivered but
wouldn’trelent.“DoIknow
you, sir? I’m not sure I do.
You sound vaguely like a
manIhaddinnerwithawhile
ago, but it’s been so long, I
can’t rightly recall.” She sat
back in her desk chair, her
foot tapping impatiently
against the tiles while she
stared blindly at the sunny
picture she’d hung on the
wallseveralyearsago.
Dante
couldn’t
believe his ears. She was
playinggameswithhim?He
never allowed that! Women
simplydidnotplaywithhim.
Peoplefearedhim!Whywas
she not behaving in
character?
Taking a deep breath,
he tried to calm down and
speak to her rationally. She
was a business woman. She
needed to see reason and
follow through on things.
“Why haven’t you looked at
the other properties? Why
are you still in your
building?Icanonlyholdoff
Mike until the end of this
month, Jayden. You know
that.”
She did, but that
didn’tmakeheremotionsany
less angry. “I didn’t contact
yourrealtorsimplybecauseI
havenoideawhoyourrealtor
is.AndifIwassupposedto
contact someone, you should
have given me a name and
contact number. All I
remember was a vague
reference to a woman named
‘Diane’ and your assistant. I
also remember you saying
thatthatyou’dcallwhenyou
got into town.” She paused
slightly. “So did you just fly
intotowntoday?”
Danteclosedhiseyes,
trying to swallow the guilt
that came over him with her
question. He never felt
guilty! He was always in
controlandifshewantedhim
to wait on her hand and foot
wheneverhewasintown,she
had better think again! “I
landedtwodaysago.”
Jayden’s heart sank a
little bit more. “I see,” she
whispered, looking down at
her reports while blinking
back sudden tears. She
hadn’t expected that to hurt
so much. “Well, thank you
for checking in on me,
Dante. I appreciate the
follow up call. If you’ll just
give me your realtor’s
number, I’ll contact that
person and let you get on
withyourday.”
She was dismissing
him?! Dante gripped the
phone with his hand, closing
hiseyessothathedidn’tsay
or do something he would
regretlateron.“Jayden,why
didn’tyoucontactmyoffice?
My assistant has all the
informationforyou.”
Jayden rolled her
eyes. “Again, if you wanted
me to contact someone, you
only needed to tell me. I’m
happy to help you out
howeverpossible.”
He lost his temper!
“This is for you!” he
snapped. Running a hand
over his face, he looked
around.Hehadbacktoback
meetings this afternoon and
fourdifferentsocialeventson
his calendar tonight. “I’ll
pick you up in one hour,
Jayden.We’regoingtolook
at all the sites and you’re
going to pick one of them
today. Then you’re going to
tellmyassistantanythingthat
needs to be fixed and it will
be accomplished by the end
of this week. By next
Monday,Iwantyouandyour
sisters to be happily
ensconced in your new
headquarters.Isthatclear?”
Jayden bit her lip,
tryingveryhardnottolaugh.
This wasn’t funny and she
wasn’tinahumorousmood.
Shewashurtandupsetbyhis
lack of contact. But
something about the way he
wasorderingheraboutstruck
her as his way of…could he
beprotectingher?Surelythat
was an idiotic thought. The
man was too strong and way
too powerful to give a fig if
she were still in her
headquarters
when
the
bulldozers rolled around next
month.Whywouldhecare?
He was married to her. His
problemswerefixed.
“Did you hear me
Jayden?”hedemanded.“One
hour!” And he hung up the
phone.
Jayden pressed the
end button on her cell phone
andleanedbackinherchair.
Was she making nice things
up about him in her mind to
justify her secret? Or was
Dante just an egomaniacal
jerk who didn’t deserve the
timeofday?
She honestly had no
idea. But for the moment,
she couldn’t deny that she
wasexcitedtoseehim.That
excitement was tempered by
his silence over the past
fourteen days, but surely he
had an excuse for that
silence. And she couldn’t
deny that she’d heard
something in his voice when
hewasgivingherorders.She
might be crazy and she was
probably reading more into
the conversation than was
reallytherebut….
Jayden sighed and
leaned her head against her
hands,rubbinghertemplesas
a headache slowly started to
form. She’d been so happy
right after that night with
him. Everything had been
rosy.Butasthedayspassed
with no word from him, she
couldn’t stop the sadness at
his rejection from seeping
intoherworld.
Janine and Jasmine
had noticed as well. And if
she walked out there now,
what would they think? She
wasactinglikealunatic.He
stormsintoherlifeandshe’s
happy.Hemakeslovetoher
and she’s walking on cloud
nine like a silly school girl.
He doesn’t speak to her for
weeks and she’s moping
around, snapping at the staff,
acting like a rejected school
girl.Nowhecalls,givesher
abunchofordersand….yes.
Shewashappyonceagain.It
was
ridiculous
and
completely stupid, but she
was actually excited to see
him.
But he’d gotten into
towntwodaysago!
Yes,thathurt.
She was going to be
hurt, she told herself as she
stood up and walked to the
bathroom, putting on a fresh
coatoflipstickinanticipation
of his arrival. Yes, she was
probablygoingtobehurt,but
shecouldn’tstandthethought
of that man being upset.
Especially if she was right
about what she’d detected in
hisvoice.Shewasstartingto
suspect that the man wasn’t
quiteastoughashe’dlikeher
tothink.
She sighed and stored
herlipstickinherpurse.Nor
was she, she thought with a
ripple of fear running up her
spine. She might be setting
herselfupforaworldofpain
ifshewaswrong.
But if she was right,
then Dante needed her. And
just like on the day of their
wedding, she still suspected
thatsheneededhimaswell.
Keep her space, she
told her reflection in the
mirror. Just keep her space,
keep her head and, more
importantly than anything
else,keepherclotheson!
If she could do those
threethings,thenperhapsshe
might just get through this
afternoon with a small bit of
dignity. And maybe, just
maybe,shecouldgettoknow
thismanwhowashersecret.
Chapter6
He was too close, she
thought and stepped around
him.Therewasalotofopen
spaceinthisarea.Therewas
noneedtogetsoclose.And
manyreasonsnotto.Herpep
talk before he’d arrived, that
very stern lecture to herself
aboutmovingslower¸getting
toknowhimandnotjumping
intobedwithhimbecauseshe
perceivedahurtorneedfrom
him,allgoodreasonstokeep
adistance.Shesimplycould
not let this overwhelming
sexual tension between them
override her common sense.
Shebarelyknewthismanand
he’djustdesertedherfortwo
weeks then called her on the
phone practically yelling at
her.
Notthemostromantic
manonearth,shethought.
They were touring
potential headquarters and he
was standing in the middle,
seemingtogiveherthespace
tolookaround,butsomehow,
he was always very close to
her.
“It’s a very nice
space,” she replied, trying to
remain
polite
and
professional even though she
was picturing his bare chest.
Thatwasaneasymistake,she
toldherself.Hewaswearing
a white, button-down shirt
and dark slacks but no tie
today. His collar was open
andasmallpieceofdarkhair
peeked out. She wanted so
desperately to taste that skin
again, she thought. But she
kept pulling her eyes away,
not wanting him to see the
hungerinhisgaze.
“I’mreadytogo,”she
squeakedoutwhenheshifted,
his upper arm nudging hers
slightly.
He looked down at
her curiously, then his eyes
cleared up and a secret smile
lit those mysterious blue
eyes.“Right.Let’smoveon
tothenextsite.”
Shenodded,unableto
speak at the moment. His
touch had sent a jolt of
electricity through her and
she was trying very hard to
keep her hands to herself.
She wanted very much to
throw herself into his arms
and rip his shirt off so she
couldtouchhimeverywhere.
Goodness, she’d never had
those kinds of thoughts with
any other man! Men hadn’t
really fazed her and even the
men she’d dated hadn’t
tempted her in such a strong
way.Notuntilfourteendays
ago.
He took her to three
moresitesbeforelunchandat
each one, she meticulously
avoided touching him in any
way. Whenever he
approached,shemadesureto
moveacrosstheroom.Ifthe
room looked too small to fit
both of them, she simply
poked her head inside and
moved on. And she kept
quiet about each of the
properties no matter how
much she liked them. She
didn’t ask any questions, she
didn’t indicate a problem
with one room or placement
of the kitchens. Even if the
site could work out well, she
refused to give him any
indication of what she was
thinking.
“Next stop?” he
asked.
Jayden looked over at
him, aware that he didn’t
seem to be irritated by her
tacticsinanyway.Hesimply
followed her from one room
to the other. He kept up a
dialog about the benefits and
the improvements that he
thought a specific location
needed in order to make the
site work for their business,
all of which were extremely
good points. He also
commentedonwaysinwhich
Trois Coeurs could expand
withsomeofthesitesaswell
as the benefits of the current
location over their present
place.
Jayden had to admit
that she was impressed with
hisknowledgeofthecatering
businessingeneralandTrois
Coeurs’ in particular. And
several times she had to
suppress her curiosity about
his
suggestions,
not
completely sure how to
implementsomeifhisideas.
It wasn’t until they’d
reached the fifth site that
Jayden suspected she might
beintrouble.
“Whoa!” she said as
soon as they’d pulled up to
the curb. This one wasn’t
your run of the mill bakery
typeestablishment.Thiswas
a stunning Victorian house
withallthegablesandcharm
along with lush vegetation.
The neighborhood was
perfect too. It was right
across from high rise
buildings,butbackinguptoa
large
suburban
neighborhood. The houses
around the Victorian were
normal colonials, similar to
what so many of the houses
along the East coast looked
likesothecharmandvariety
of the Victorian stood out,
caughtone’seye.Thehouse
was newly painted and
extremelylarge.
“Thiscan’twork,”she
whispered,butsteppedoutof
the car, her eyes caught on
the building regardless.
Therewerethreestorieswith
the bottom floor obviously
having been used as a store
frontinthepast.
She didn’t catch
Dante’svictoriouslookasshe
made her way up the brick
walkway. “There isn’t any
parking,” she said, but
whisperedthewordsasifshe
had to be reverent in the
presence of such a beautiful
house.
Dante heard her. Of
course he did because, for
some reason, he was hyper
sensitive to every nuance of
Jayden today. He watched
the expressions on her face.
His eyes were constantly
drawn to her cute bottom in
thekhakislacksaswellasthe
way her breasts pressed
againstthepink,oxfordcloth
shirt she wore. His mind
pictured his hands as he
opened each of the buttons,
discoveredwhatcolorbrashe
was wearing and reveled in
herslenderwaistcomparedto
herfull,softbreasts.
Focusing on the first
commentshe’dmadeallday,
he looked up at the house as
he said, “There’s a ten car
parking lot behind the
building with more in the
alleywaythatrunsbehindthe
houses.” He unlocked the
door, allowing her to enter
first.“There’salsoaparking
garage half a block away.
Theratesarefairlyreasonable
and, to date, it has never
filledup.”
As they stepped
inside,shelookedaroundand
gasped, thrilled with the
amazing space just inside
what used to be a foyer. To
one side, there was a store
front where perhaps a florist
or someone had built a great
viewingarea.Thatwouldbe
ideal
for
deli
style
sandwiches in one case and
Jasmine’s
desserts
in
another. There was a
swingingdoorinthebackand
Jaydenstoodstillasshetook
in the enormous room. There
weren’t any appliances but
there was more than enough
space for two monstrous
stoves, the walk in freezer
they’d all been wanting and
large capacity refrigerators.
Nottomention,enoughroom
for double the counter space
theycurrentlyhad.“Ohmy,”
she said again, stepping
closer. A long hallway
againstthesideofthekitchen
led to a lovely patio, a place
that would be perfect to put
up small tables so guests
couldeatthedelisandwiches
they’d just purchased in the
front.
“We’re not finished,”
he told her, his voice deep
and confident. He took her
arm and turned her away
fromthelushpatiospot,back
down the hallway. “Up the
stairs,”hetoldher.
She walked up,
vaguelyself-consciousofhim
walkingbehindher.Shehad
tolookdowntoseewhatshe
was wearing, groaning when
she remembered she was
wearing her boring, tan
slacks. She’d tried to look
sterntoday,butthetanslacks
only gave him a better view
ofherbutt.
Thankfully,
she
quickly reached the upper
landing and Jayden stopped
in front of a locked, closed
door. “What’s this?” she
asked.
Dante pulled out
anotherkeyandunlockedthe
door.Steppingintotheroom,
Jayden discovered that this
was actually a large
apartment!“Twobedrooms,”
she said softly. “Janine
would love it here.” That
madeherbothhappyandsad
becauseJaydensuspectedthat
Janine would love a bit of
privacy. Jayden had started
to suspect that Janine needed
her own space, wanting to
take care of her girls alone
sometimes, but was too kind
to say anything. And their
living arrangement had been
perfect when the twins had
been babies. The three of
them plus her parents, aunts
anduncleshadallbeenthere
to help walk the twins, feed
them during the late nights
andearlymornings.Plus,the
three of them had had fun
living together. But looking
at this place, it really was
ideal for Janine. She could
still live over the kitchens so
therewouldn’tbeacommute,
butshecouldhavehergirlsto
herselfonceinawhile.
“This way,” he said
once Jayden had looked
throughthewholeapartment,
smilingsadlyatthebeautiful,
tree lined street Janine and
thegirlscouldlookoutonto.
“There’s more?” she
asked, then followed Dante
outoftheapartment.Heled
herupthenextsetofstairsto
yet another floor. This one
had two doors on it, one at
each end of the hallway.
Before he unlocked the door,
Jayden’s heart ached because
she knew what he was about
toreveal.
Sure enough, the first
door opened onto a one
bedroom apartment that was
lovely in an old fashioned
way.Thesmallkitchenwasa
bit cramped, but since the
three of them rarely cooked
by themselves, perhaps the
kitchen
environment
wouldn’t be a problem.
Looking down from the
windows in this apartment,
Jaydenrealizedthatthepatio
was larger than she’d
originallythought.Fromthis
view, she noticed that the
brick patio went farther back
and even curved around the
side slightly. It would be
perfect as a place to hold
events. Even large enough
for small weddings or a
mediumsizedreceptionarea.
Oh, how wonderful it would
betonothavetotransportall
the food for an event!
Jasmine and Janine would
absolutelylovethis!
“There’s one more
apartment, isn’t there?” she
asked softly, looking out and
wondering how she could
turnthisopportunitydown.
Dante
was
still
watchinghercarefully,noting
the tension in her delicate
shoulders. He didn’t
completely understand it, but
his tone was softer, as if he
weretryingtobesensitiveto
hermood.“Yes.Wouldyou
like to see it?” he asked, his
voice equally soft, but still
deep. It had a husky quality
to it now but Jayden was too
sadtotryandfigureoutwhy.
“I suppose,” she
replied.
Dante looked at the
womanwhohadwormedher
way under his skin. Despite
his best efforts, he was
attracted to this woman on
more levels than he wanted.
But he wasn’t going to run
fromit.Okay,notlikehehad
after that first night. He’d
dreamed of her almost every
night since then. He’d tried
to stay away. He’d made a
valiantefforttoavoidherbut
herehewas.
Something
twisted
inside of him because of the
sadness in her eyes. He
didn’t like the way she made
himfeelbuthecouldn’tavoid
heranylonger.
He’d
saved
the
convertedVictorianhousefor
last because it really was the
perfect place for her. He’d
shown her the others mainly
asasalestactic.Hepreferred
understanding
the
opposition’s
arguments
against his ideas. And
showinghertheothervenues
allowed him to understand
whatshehadagainstanysort
of move. So when they’d
pulled up outside of this
building, he’d known that
there wouldn’t be any reason
shecouldobject.
So why was she
lookingsosad?
“What’s
wrong,
Jayden?” he asked, pulling
her closer so she was facing
him.
She breathed in and
out,tryingtohidehersorrow.
“I’m fine,” she told him,
wishing it were true. “Let’s
golookatthelastapartment.
I’m sure it will be…” she
couldn’tfinishthatstatement,
not sure what she really
wantedtosay.Didshewant
it to be horrible so this place
wouldn’t work? It would
mean she and her sisters and
nieces could stay exactly
where they were. Life could
go on as it was and things
wouldn’tchange.Ordidshe
want the last apartment to be
another perfect part of the
perfectbuilding?
The very possibility
made her stomach clench
with
both
fear
and
anticipation.
“Yes.Let’sgoseeit,”
shesaid,lookingdownatthe
hardwood floors. Janine
loved hardwood floors, she
thoughtstupidly.
Entering
the
apartment, Jayden closed her
eyes then felt silly for being
so afraid. When she opened
themup,shelookedaroundat
the
absolutely
lovely
apartment. This one wasn’t
empty; it was fully furnished
with a lovely yellow couch
set against the wall with
buttery yellow walls. There
was a wicker rocking chair
with flowered pillows that
would make it comfortable
andascrolled,whitefireplace
withblackmarbleinset.The
hardwoods continued here,
buttheyweremutedbythick
area rugs and the tall
windows had pretty lace
curtainspushedtothesideto
allow the sunshine to stream
in, lighting the whole area
up. The kitchen had one of
thoseoldfashionedstovesbut
lookedtobebrandnew.The
white cabinets were even
lovely with glass fronts on
some and wood fronts on
others.Thecountertopswere
marble and there was a
beautiful bouquet of yellow
rosesinthecenter.
She looked up at
Dante, wondering if he’d
done all of this. Surely not,
she thought. It had probably
beendonebytherealtorinan
effort to sell the property
morequickly.
“The bedroom is
through that doorway,” he
said, pointing towards the
back of the small family
room.
Jayden
cautiously
went through the short
hallway and turned right into
a blush colored room. The
whiteironbedwasdoneupin
cottage roses and the
headboard
was
almost
completely obliterated by
pillows of different sizes and
patterns but all in flowers.
Onthenightstandwasavase
filled with blush pink
hydrangeas and Jayden’s
heartbeat
kicked
into
overdrive. This was a room
meantforseduction.
Turning around, she
spottedDanteleaningagainst
the doorway, watching her
with a strange look in his
eye. “Mike will pay to have
your kitchen appliances
moved here, but if the three
of you decide to upgrade, I
can get him to pay for the
difference in the upgrade
costs versus the sales cost of
yourcurrentappliances.He’s
also given you a budget for
remodeling,abudgetthatthe
three of you can decide on
how to spend. He won’t
interfere.”
She looked up at him
from the center of the room.
“Why would he do all of
this?”sheasked.
“Heknowshowtorun
a business and I hold all of
the cards,” he told her,
pushing away from the door
and walking into the room.
Again,hedidn’tmentionthat
hewasMike’sbossandhe’d
set the terms of the
agreement.Forsomereason,
hestilldidn’twantJaydento
know about his association
with Mike. As far as she
knew, there were two
differentcompanies.
“And I know that
Mike’s company is going to
make a great deal of money
renovating the area in which
your headquarters exists
now.Theonlythingholding
the project back is your little
shop.”Heslidhishandsinto
his pockets and continued to
lookdownather.“Nowthat
you’remywife,youhavethe
full power of the Liakos
empire to help you with the
negotiations. Use it to your
advantage.”
A part of her wanted
to tell him to go to hell
because he’d ignored her for
solong.Butabiggerpartof
her wanted him to pull her
into his arms, to have him
kissherandmakelovetoher
on that big bed behind her.
She ached to have him hold
her again, to feel his lips
kissing her and setting her
wholebodyonfire.Butwhy
had he stayed away for two
weeks? Had he not enjoyed
theironeexperienceasmuch
asshehad?
“You need to have
your sisters come visit this
site,Isuppose,”hesaid.
Jaydenwasstartledby
thewords.Thatwasn’twhat
shewasexpecting.Itwasthe
smart thing to do, focus on
business.Infact,itwaswhat
she’d been trying to get
herself to do all day. It
hadn’tworkedcompletelybut
it had been a good plan. The
factthathewassteppingback
and focusing on business…
well,ithurt!
“Yes,” she said,
clearing her throat and
blinkinghereyes.“Yes.I’ll
get them out here maybe
sometimenextweek.”
“How about tonight?
I’ll have a car come by and
pickthethreeofyouup.I’ll
even arrange to have
something to eat…” he
stopped when he saw the
laughter in her eyes. “Good
point.Ofallthepeoplewho
can probably provide food,
your sisters are at the top of
thatlist.Sohowaboutthis,”
hesuggested,movingcloser.
Hishandreachedupandwas
about to touch her hair but it
stoppedandhepulleditback,
sliding both hands into his
pocketsagain.“I’llgiveyou
the keys and will arrange for
acartopickyouupanddrop
you off here tonight. That
way, you can look around at
your own pace and talk
without someone trying to
convince you one way or the
other.”
Jayden nodded, her
stomach twisting into knots.
She didn’t understand her
reaction and was irritated
with…well,witheverything!
She wanted him but she
didn’twanttowanthim.She
wanted this building as their
new headquarters but she
didn’t want anything to
change.
And most of all, she
didn’t want to be hurt. She
wanted to understand this
man, but he was so reserved,
socoldatthemoment.
Why did life have to
besohard?
Chapter7
“I love it!” Janine
exclaimed, throwing her
hands wide as she looked
aroundatthespacethatcould
betheirkitchen.“It’salmost
twice as big as what we
currentlyhave!”
Jasmine was equally
thrilled. “Just think of the
partieswecouldhaveonthat
patio! Mother’s Day teas,
Easter brunches, Halloween
parties…oh, the list goes on
andon!”
Jayden stood to the
side, her hands hidden inside
her jeans pockets. “We’d
have to hire more staff,” she
cautioned.
Janine
laughed.
“You’re one of the best
bossesaround.Ihavenoidea
how,butyoufindthegreatest
staff members. We’ve had
one person leave us after
workingforyouandthatwas
onlybecauseshegotmarried
and moved away. People
loveworkingforyou!”
Jayden shook her
head. “They just love the
delicious, free food,” she
replied, dismissing any
loyaltytowardsher.
“What’s upstairs?”
Jasmineasked,alreadyracing
upthestairway.
Jaydenheardthedoor
open and tensed, wary of
what her sisters might think
when
they
saw
the
apartments.Amomentlater,
she heard, “This is perfect!”
Janinedoubletimeditupthe
stairsandtherewasasilence
when there should have been
an exclamation of joy.
Jayden waited for about
another ten seconds before
she reluctantly walked up as
well,worriednow.
“What’s
wrong?”
Jayden asked, stepping into
thefirstapartment.Whenshe
saw Janine’s tears and
Jasmine’sworriedexpression,
she almost tripped over her
own two feet. “Janine? Do
younotwant…?”
Janine turned and
gave Jayden a huge hug.
“I’m so sorry!” she
whispered.“Ididn’tknow!”
Jayden
was
completely confused but she
wrapped her arms around
Janine’s shoulders. “Didn’t
knowwhat?”
Her sister sniffed and
hiccupped before she could
get the words out. “That I
wasaburdentoyou!”
Jayden pulled back
and even Jasmine’s mouth
fellopen.“Aburden?What
areyoutalkingabout?”
Janine looked at the
apartment. “You two have
alwaysbeenthereformebut
seeing this, and seeing the
waythisisallsetupwithour
private apartments, I know
that you guys are ready to
move out. And I guess I’m
readytobeonmyown.”She
burstoutlaughing,butitwas
more than a little sad. “Not
thatI’llreallybeonmyown,
I guess. You both will be
rightdownthehallway.”
“Whoa!”
Jayden
called out, holding up her
hands and stepping closer.
She put a hand on Janine’s
shoulder, an effort to
reinforce her words. “Don’t
even go there! I love living
with you guys! I’m all torn
up about the three of you
having your own apartment
so don’t you dare start
thinking that you’ve been a
burden. I was thinking that
you and the twins wanted
your own place, so that me
and Jaz would stop
interfering in Dana and
Dalia’s upbringing. But the
idea of changing the way we
have things is making me
cranky.”
“Interfere?!”
she
sobbed. “I couldn’t have
survived the past few years
without you guys!” A
moment later, the three of
them were laughing and
crying,huggingeachotheras
they all talked at the same
time, making plans for the
new space, ideas for future
expansionofthebusinessand
how much the twins were
goingtolovelivinghere.
Alongtimelater,they
were sitting in the middle of
the big, open space that
wouldsoonbecometheirnew
kitchen. “Are you sure you
want to move?” Jayden
asked, feeling weak and hot,
allatthesametime.“Change
is really hard, you know.”
She watched their faces,
trying to determine if they
were being honest with her.
Iftherewaseventhesmallest
hint of reservation in this
change,shewouldbegDante
to help her fight this
McDonaldguy.
“Yes,”
Jasmine
replied
with
absolute
conviction. “I think it’s
time.Thepossibilitiesinthis
space are incredible. And
Dad would love to build all
the archways that patio
needs.”
“And the tables,”
Janine added, smiling and
almost
wiggling
with
excitement.
The ideas they were
tossingaroundweregoodand
helped Jayden get over her
fear of change. That, and
their excitement. It was
almosttangibleanddefinitely
transmitted to her, easing
most of her fears. Her eyes
lit up at the idea of an arch
wheretheirAuntMarycould
growclimbingroses.“Anda
bar!” Jayden thought with
increasing excitement, which
caused all three sisters to
laugh because their father
trulylovedhiscocktails.“So
you’re all in?” she asked
when their laughter had died
down.
Janine and Jasmine
looked at each other, then at
Jayden. They both nodded
and Jayden felt both happy
and sad. Happy because, for
the first time in months, she
was thinking this change
might be good, that the
newness of a different place,
largerkitchenand,hopefully,
aspacetohostparties,would
help their business. But the
sadness was there. They’d
spent so much time together
at the old place. There had
been so many happy
memories there, how could
they leave them? But the
more she thought about it,
and saw the eagerness on
Jasmine’s and Janine’s faces,
she knew that those happy
timeswouldstillbethere,just
asmemoriesnow.
“We’ll be fine,”
Janine said, understanding
instantly what was causing
Jayden’s concerns. “You’ve
been wonderful at getting us
clients, honey. And now we
can take on more so we can
affordthisplace.”
Jayden waved that
comment aside. “Getting
clients is easy with your
foods.” Jayden was worried
about more than just the
business. There were so
many things that she didn’t
know how to do. Like
permits and renovating.
Their dad had done so much
of the work last time but he
was too old to do this
extensive of a renovation.
“I’ll figure it out. You guys
just keep working your
magic.”
She smothered her
fears. Fears that were
growing, now that the ideas
had stopped flowing. This
morning, she had only been
anxious about change. Now
shewasworriedaboutallthe
changes that would have to
happen in order to get this
placeuptocode.Shewasn’t
surewheretoevenbegin!
Chapter8
The next day, Jayden
stood in the middle of their
new space wearing a pair of
baggyoveralls,ateeshirtthat
had definitely seen better
days and her hair pulled up
into a pony tail. Looking
around, she started writing
down all the issues she
needed to resolve. New
freezer space, probably
different electrical wiring,
their current stoves would
workfornow,butshe’dhave
to investigate larger models
once they got the business
flowing…or was it better to
do it all now and eliminate
the interruption of work later
on?She’dhavetocheckwith
their bank and see what their
cashflowsituationwas.She
usually knew exactly how
muchwasintheiraccounton
any given day, but lately she
hadn’t had time to look at
thosedetails.
Goodness, new store
front, cleaning, cleaning
supplies, shelving units,
storage areas…the list was
overwhelming.
Her cell phone rang
and she answered it without
thinking,justrelievedtohave
something to focus on other
thanalltheproblemsshehad
to fix in very little time.
“Hello?”sheanswered.
Dante
hesitated,
hearing
something
in
Jayden’s voice that he didn’t
like. “Jayden, what’s
wrong?”
Jayden took a deep
breath.“Nothing,Dante,”she
replied, instantly thinking
about how much she wanted
him to just sweep her off of
herfeetandmakelovetoher
again. Bad idea. Especially
since he’d been keeping his
distance lately. She got the
message loud and clear that
hewasfinewithjusttheirone
night together. “I’m just
excited about the new site,”
shesaid,bitingherlipasshe
looked up at the ceiling,
trying to figure out how to
put in a ventilation system
that would be adequate for
largerstoves.Shesighedand
rubbed her forehead. The
problems were piling up and
shewaspanicking.
Dantemightnotknow
thislittlewomanwell,buthe
heardtheanxietyinhervoice
and knew that there was
something seriously wrong.
“You still haven’t contacted
my assistant with the list of
issues you need to get
resolved.”Whywouldn’tshe
accept his help? Damn her!
She was his wife! She
neededtoacceptthatandstart
usinghisresources!
Jaydenheardhisdeep,
angry voice and had to
concentrate on what he was
saying and not on the
fantasieswhirlingthroughher
mind. She hadn’t forgiven
him for ignoring her.
Especiallynotwhenhe’dsaid
hewouldcontactherwhenhe
gotbacktotheareaandhe’d
beenbackfortwodaysbefore
bothering to call her. That
told her everything she
needed to know about their
relationship. And it wasn’t
good.
No, she wasn’t that
easy. A deep voice and a
concerned tone would not
eraseherhurtfeelingsathim
ignoringher.
Shakingherhead,she
focused again. “Your
assistant,”sherepeated.“I’m
not sure what I would say to
an assistant,” she explained
honestly. “I’m usually the
problem solver that everyone
comesto.Goingtosomeone
else with the issues I need
figuredoutmightbeabitofa
problemforme.”
Dante almost laughed
but restrained himself. He
wasn’t even sure what he
thoughtwasamusing.Maybe
it was just that his wife, no
matter how smart or creative
shemightbe,wastryingtodo
everythingherself.Shemight
be brilliant at marketing and
running a business, but he
wasprettysurethatshedidn’t
know
enough
about
construction to figure out all
the details of getting a new
kitchenspaceuptocode.He
sent his assistant a message,
pressing send before he said,
“I’m sending over a general
contractor, Jayden. He will
be there in thirty minutes.
You’re to give him a list of
allthechangesthatneedtobe
madetothenewkitchensand
apartments, and even to the
outside of the house. Don’t
forgettohavehimlookatthe
apartments and back yard,
and also make sure
everything that is there is in
working order.” He paused
another moment. “Jayden,
you’re not to do any of this
yourself,understand?”
Jayden laughed at his
stern tone of voice. “Yes,
sir,”shejokinglyreplied.
She heard him sigh.
“I’m serious Jayden. You’re
in business to make money.
Mike’s company wants you
outofhisway,makehimpay
fortheinconvenience.”
Shelikedthewaythat
sounded. It made asking for
help so much easier. His
words, plus the idea of a
contractor coming over to
helpherfigureeverythingout
erasedherstress.Shesmiled
and
straightened
her
shouldersasshesaid,“Okay.
You’ve convinced me. You
say this contractor is coming
byinthirtyminutes?”
“Yes. And I’ll be
there in forty-five to make
sure that you’re giving this
guy enough work and not
trying to save any of it for
yourself.”
Her smile vanished at
that comment. He was
coming here? To her new
business? “Are you
downtown?” A silly thrill
shot down her body and she
was irritated that her body
instantly started shivering in
anticipation.
“I’mflyingbackfrom
New York. I’ll see you in
forty-fiveminutes.”
A warm gush of
happiness came over her as
she hung up her phone and
tucked it back into the
pockets of her overalls. He
wascominghere?Hewasn’t
flyingherejusttoseeher,she
knew that, but it still felt
wonderful to know that he
wascomingtoseeher.
And then she looked
down at her clothes and
gasped.“No!”shesaidtothe
empty space and pulled her
phone back out of her
pocket. “Jaz? I need you!”
she said urgently as soon as
her sister picked up the
phone.“Bringmesomething
to wear! Something nicer
than these filthy overalls that
Iworeouttoday.”Sherana
hand through her hair and
groaned. “And some
makeup! I only showered
andpulledmyhairup!”
She could actually
hearhersistersmiling.“Any
specialreasonyouneedthose
really cute jeans you bought
last month but haven’t taken
the tags off of yet?” she
asked.
Jayden gritted her
teeth. There was no privacy
in her household. Especially
when she was asking for a
favor. Of course, she’d be
asking the same questions if
the situation were reversed
butthatwasn’tthepointright
at the moment. The point
was urgency! Dante was
going to be here soon!
Overalls and a messy pony
tail were not the way she
wanted to greet him, even if
she was still mad at him.
“Yes, you nosy woman!
Danteisonthewayoverhere
tohelpme.AndIcan’thave
himseeingmelikethis!”
Jaz laughed and
Jayden heard her running up
the stairs. “Good reason,”
she replied. “Jeans and how
aboutthatreallysexysweater
I bought? I’ve only worn it
once.”
Jaydeninstantlyknew
the sweater Jayden was
referring to and she couldn’t
wear that. It was too low
cut.“Noway.Youmetthat
cute guy the last time you
woreit.”
Jasmine
chuckled
happily. “Exactly. So it’s
goodluck!”
Jayden still shook her
head.“No.That’syourgood
luckcharm.Bringme…”she
thought frantically for a
moment. “How about that
maroonsweaterthatIhavein
thebackofmycloset?”
There was a moment
ofsoundsandmuffledgrunts
and then a victorious, “I
foundit.”
“Makeup!”
Jayden
gasped. “Bring me my
makeup!”
“Got it,” Jasmine
called back. “Be there as
soonasIcan.”
“And a hairbrush!”
she called out a split second
beforeJasminehungup.She
wasn’t concerned about
Jasmine hearing her though.
Sisters just knew that a
hairbrush went along with
makeup. It was almost the
samething,actually.
Jayden stuffed her
phone back in her pocket,
thenlookedaroundfrantically
for a mirror. There were
small bathrooms on the first
floor but she realized that
both bathrooms would need
tobefixedupaswell.Witha
sigh, she fluffed her hair,
trying to put it into some
semblance of sophistication
even while mentally adding
bathroom updates to her list
of things to fix. Or list of
things to add to this
contractor’s list of things to
do,shethoughtwithgrowing
relief.
“Ms. Liakos?” a male
voice called out from the
mainroom.
Jayden froze upon
hearing that name. She
poked her head out of the
bathroom doorway and saw
the bulky man with the
canvas jacket and clipboard
hovering near the entrance.
“I think that’s me,” she said
with a nervous smile. She
hadn’t heard that name since
Dante had used it on their
weddingday.
Goodness, that was a
startling thought. Their
wedding day…shaking her
head, she focused on the
current problem and pushed
Dante’s imminent arrival out
of her mind. Or tried to, at
least.
The man stepped
forward, his big, bulky boots
echoing loudly on the
hardwood floor. “I’m Tom.
Your husband sent me over
and gave me a brief idea of
what needs to be done but
said you had the final word
on everything.” He looked
around.“Thisplaceisgreat!”
hesaidwithenthusiasm.
Jaydenlookedaround,
herfearofchangeonceagain
dissipating in the face of this
building’s potential and this
man’s
knowledgeable
assistance. “It’s really nice,
isn’tit?”
Hepulledapenoutof
hispocketandstartedmaking
notes. “Your husband said
you need everything up to
code. So I can get that done
for you. Don’t worry about
those details. Just tell me
what you want done with
each of the areas so I can
make sure I know what the
overallplanis.”
With an enormous
sigh of relief and an almost
instantreleaseofthestressin
hershoulders,Jaydenhappily
took him through the house,
starting with the front room.
“Call me Jayden,” she told
the man who nodded and
smiledpolitely.
While she explained
her plans to Tom, she
nervously kept a watch out
forJasmine,hopinganxiously
she would arrive before
Dante did. And more
importantly, she needed to
make sure no one spoke the
name “Ms. Liakos” while
Jasmine was within hearing.
That was one secret that she
didn’t want known to her
sisters.
She and Tom were
standing in the back yard on
the brick patio and Jayden
was describing the ideas she
and her sisters had come up
with when she felt the hairs
on her arm stir to life. She
turned her head and there he
was,standinginthedoorway
looking at her as if she were
some sort of juicy fruit that
he wanted to bite into. She
shivered as the same desire
hitherfullforce,stoppingher
words and possibly even her
heart. Then everything went
into overdrive. Her heart
started pounding so hard it
feltlikeitmightjustexplode.
Herkneeswentweakandher
blood thrummed through her
veins. Every sense was on
high alert as Dante walked
towardsher.
When he was finally
there, he grabbed her hand
and pulled her back inside.
He wasn’t asking to speak to
her privately, he was
dragging her away, caveman
style and Jayden actually
lovedit!
She had no idea what
was going on, but she
couldn’t have stopped him
even if she had the strength.
Mostly because she didn’t
want him to stop touching
her.Itfeltlikeherhandwas
on fire and the simple touch
reminded her of how her
whole body felt when they’d
beeninhisenormousbed.
As soon as they were
just inside the doorway, he
pulledherofftothesideand
into his arms. The kiss he
gave her wasn’t gentle. It
was ravenous! It took her
breath away and she
demanded more. She didn’t
want the kiss to stop, would
be perfectly happy if it
continued on for the rest of
her life. One of his hands
held her head tilted at an
angle,hisfingersgrippingher
hair while his other hand
wrapped around her waist,
pulled her closer to his hard
frame. She didn’t resist in
any way. In fact, she lifted
her arms up, her hands
gripping his shoulders,
holdingherselfascloseasshe
couldgettohim.
She suddenly felt the
hard wall behind her and his
leg pressed between her
knees. She couldn’t believe
howeroticitfelttobepinned
up against the wall by this
man while his hands roamed
underneath
her
bulky
overalls, finding her breasts
andcausinghertomoanwith
need.
Jayden
shifted,
wanting his hands to move
closer to her nipple. She
didn’t just want that touch,
she needed it. Every cell in
her body was craving that
touch!Shewasjustaboutto
move his hand into place
when his thumb shifted and
found the button and she
gasped, her body shifting
against his as extreme
pleasuresurgedthroughher.
“I found everything!”
Jasmine’s voice called out
from the front. Jayden froze
when her sister’s voice came
through and her eyes popped
open even while Dante
looked down into her own,
surprise lighting his eyes. “I
found some sexy underwear
too!Maybethatwillhelp!”
Jayden heard the
words and couldn’t believe
her sister had said that out
loud! She buried her face in
Dante’sneck,groaningasher
sister’s words sunk into her
passiondrunkmind.
Okay, so she and her
sisters were all pretty close,
and Jasmine had no idea that
therewereotherpeoplehere.
But good grief, a bit of
caution goes a long way,
Jayden thought. She peeked
up at Dante, hoping and
praying that he hadn’t heard
her sister’s bellow. No such
luck, she realized as Dante’s
confused look turned to one
ofamusement.Hishandsslid
up and down her sides,
causing additional shivers,
buthedidn’treleaseher.
“You told your sister
to bring some sexy
underwear?” he asked softly,
hisvoicehusky.
Jayden’s face turned
bright red. “No. I just told
hertobringmesomeclothes
otherthanwhatI’mcurrently
wearing,”sheexplained.
Dantelookeddownat
her overalls and smiled. “I
like your outfit,” he stated
firmlywhilehishandsslidup
and cupped her breasts
briefly. “It looks cute on
you.”
Jayden
grimaced.
“Cute isn’t something I’m
going for when you’re
around.”
He chuckled but was
enchanted. “What are you
going for?” he asked softly,
pulling her away from the
wallslightlysothathishands
couldoncemorewraparound
herwaist.
“Hmm…perhaps
sophisticated? Elegant?
Sexy would be great.
Anything but cute,” she told
himwithasigh.
He released her since
they could both hear her
sister’s footsteps coming
closer. “I like cute,” he told
her a moment before a
breathless Jasmine burst
through the door. Jayden
realizedthatDantehadpulled
herintothestorageclosetthat
probably at one point held
brooms and mops. She
couldn’t believe the cliché
and once again wished that
Jasmine had been just a little
later.
Of course, the way
she and Dante were going at
it, a little later might have
been
a
bit
more
embarrassing.Ithadn’ttaken
verylongforDantetogether
clothes off the last time
they’dbeenalone.
Jasmine came to a
skidding halt when she saw
hersisterwithatall,gorgeous
man’s arms wrapped around
her. “Whoa!” she said, her
eyes widening and her head
rearing back slightly. “You
must be Dante,” she finally
said,ahugegrinsplittingher
beautifulface.
Dante looked from
Jayden to Jasmine, surprise
growing on his handsome
features. “I knew there were
three of you and you were
triplets, but I still wasn’t
preparedforthesimilarities.”
Both sisters laughed
because they were used to
that reaction. It was normal
to them, but to people who
hadn’t been around their
family, it was a bit
disconcerting. “I know. It’s
hard to get used to,” Jayden
replied.Shetookthebagher
sister was holding. “Okay,
thanksfortheclothes.I’llsee
youbackatthekitchen.”
Jasmine knew exactly
what her sister was trying to
do and she was all for it.
“Okay,well,”andshebacked
up several spaces, still
smiling and looking between
the enormous man who still
hadn’t taken his hands away
and her sister who was
blushing like a rose. “Janine
and I have everything under
control.Youprobablyhavea
lotofworktodohere,sotake
your time and we’ll see
you…” she paused and her
grinwidened,“well,we’llsee
you whenever we see you!”
With a slight wave and a
delighted laugh, she spun
around and hurried out the
dooragain.
Jayden
couldn’t
believe what her sister had
just implied. Looking up
nervously, she noticed that
Dantewaslookingatthenow
empty door with a curious
expression, as if he’d just
seen a pretty whirlwind and
didn’t completely understand
it. That would be Jasmine,
Jaydenthought.Janinewasa
bitmoredowntoearthwhile
Jasmine was outspoken,
exciting and energetic.
Fearless, Jayden had always
thought.
When there was
silence once again, Dante
finally pulled his eyes away
fromthestillemptydoorway
and looked down at Jayden.
“Youwanttotryonthatsexy
underwear?” he offered, a
quirk to his lips that Jayden
suspectedwasamusement.
Jayden bit her lip and
pressed her face against his
chest.“IpromiseIdidn’task
hertodothat.”
“Whynot?”heasked,
enjoying her embarrassment.
She really was cute. Unless
she was in his arms. Then
she was the sexiest woman
he’deverheld.
“Because…”well,she
didn’t have an explanation.
“Why don’t we go out and
talkwiththatcontractor?”she
suggested, desperate to
changethesubject.
“Fine. But I’m going
toseeyouinthatunderwear,”
hepromisedherwithagentle
hug.“Bepreparedforthat.”
He put his arm around her
waistandledherbackoutthe
door. He was still surprised
byhowintenselyhe’dneeded
her.Andshe’dflownintohis
arms, giving him as much as
he’ddemanded.Hewaseven
surprised at how adorably
sexy she looked in those
overalls. Perhaps there was
something about the hidden
treasuresunderneath.Hehad
no idea. All he knew was
thathelikedit.Healsoliked
thatshe’dwantedtodressup
forhim.
He shook the hand of
the contractor then followed
Jayden around, listening to
her describe what she
wanted. Occasionally, he
added in suggestions which
wereamazinglygood,butfor
the most part, he simply
followed her and Tom
around, nodding as she
explainedherrequests.
An hour later, Tom
shook both their hands,
nodding
enthusiastically.
“These are some great ideas,
Ms. Liakos,” he said. “I’ll
have a crew out here
tomorrow morning at eight
sharp to start with the
adjustments.AndI’llbehere
as
well
to
oversee
everything. You won’t have
toworryaboutanythingother
than packing up your stuff at
onesiteandI’llmakesureto
keep you informed of our
progress.”
“How long will it
take?” she asked, wringing
herhandsassheanticipateda
six month answer and trying
tofigureoutwherehersisters
could
work
during
construction.
He glanced down at
hisnotes,scratchinghishead
slightly before he looked up
again. “We’ll be done by
Thursday evening, ma’am,”
heassuredher.
Jayden stared at the
man with her mouth hanging
open,
amazed
and
disbelieving. “Three days?”
shegasped.“There’snoway
you can be finished with
everything,
including
inspections,inthreedays!”
“He will be,” Dante
assuredher.HeshookTom’s
handindismissal,pullingher
back into the main area.
“Youhavesomegoodideas.
I’mimpressed.”
Jayden looked up at
him nervously. They were
now alone and that kiss
they’d shared earlier came
backtomind.Andallofher
nerves came alive with the
lookhewasgivingher.“My
sisters are very creative.
Theyhadmostoftheideas.”
Heraisedaneyebrow,
amazed that she would give
someoneelsecredit.Hewas
normally surrounded by
people trying to steal ideas,
trying to compete and show
him that they were top dog.
Another refreshing character
traitandsomethingsimilarto
pride puffed up his chest at
the realization that this was
his wife. All her adorable,
overall-cladsexinesswashis.
“I doubt that,” he said
seriously, his voice going
husky as he walked towards
her.
She backed up for
each step he took forward,
her eyes looking up into his
and reading his intent. It
wasn’t that she didn’t have
the same intent. Or perhaps
intent was the wrong word.
Hope. Yes, she was hoping
thathewasintendingtomake
lovetoher.Sheknewitwas
wrong. They were in a
temporary marriage and they
still knew practically nothing
about each other. She still
didn’t understand why he’d
leftherwithoutanymessages
or phone calls for so long
after the last time he’d been
withher.
But she remembered
hiswordsonthephoneabout
coming to see her, flying in
from New York. “Was the
flightdifficult?”sheasked.
Dante stopped his
forward momentum with that
question. “Difficult?” he
asked, not sure what she
meantbythat.“No,Isimply
told my pilot to turn around
andheadtoDullesAirport.”
She looked up at him
strangely. “Turn around?”
she asked. “You mean, you
weren’t heading in this
direction?” she asked, trying
toclarifywhathemeant.
“No. I was on my
way to San Francisco from
New York,” he told her
curtly. It still irked him that
he’d changed his plans just
after takeoff simply because
he was worried that she
needed help. Well, and
irritatedthatshehadn’tasked
his assistant for any help. If
she’d done that, he’d
probablybeflyingoverIdaho
bynow.
She almost choked
with the idea. “You were
flying to San Francisco and
you turned around?” And
then something else he said
struckher.“Andwhatdoyou
mean, ‘my pilot’?” She
shook her head, feeling
slightly numb all over.
“Pleasetellmeyoudon’town
thestupidplane,doyou?”
He raised an eyebrow
andsaid,“Iwouldn’tconsider
itastupidplane.Itisstateof
the art and can go
transatlanticincomfort.”
Jayden stared at him
with wide, boggled eyes.
Thatkindofwealthwashard
for her to comprehend. She
rememberedsomethingabout
aprivateplaneforherusebut
it still didn’t make sense to
her.
He
didn’t
like
discussingthiswithher.For
some reason, it made her
uncomfortableandthatwasa
feeling he didn’t want her to
befeeling.Notwhenhewas
around, not when he was
gone. Not ever. He wanted
to protect her, a strange and
newreactionthathewasonly
nowgettingusedto.
Deciding a change of
subject was in order, he
looked down at her
surprisinglysexyoveralls.Or
maybe it wasn’t surprising
that he thought of them as
sexy. They certainly gave
him easy access to her skin.
The loose denim was not a
hindrancetohishandsandhe
liked that. “What was your
sister saying about that sexy
underwear?” he asked,
distractingherfromtheplane
andpilotissue.Immediately,
hereyesclearedfromthefirst
subject and focused on what
he was more interested in
discussing. He even enjoyed
that soft pink color that
suffusedhercheeks.
Jayden felt the blush
and wished she were more
sophisticated, more able to
deal with this desire that
overwhelmed her whenever
he was near. “How about if
youforgetmysistersaidthat
and I’ll forget about the
changing
in
mid-flight
issue?”
He
chuckled.
“Never,” he told her and
swept her up into his arms.
Lifting her higher, he kissed
herevenwhilewalkingupthe
stairs. Jayden was in
complete agreement with his
plans,evenwrappingherlegs
around his waist to help him
accomplish his mission more
quickly.
“Icanwalk,”shetold
himashismouthlatchedonto
her neck, causing her to
shiverandwigglecloser.
“I can carry you
faster,” he countered and
shoved his shoulder against
thedoortotheoneapartment
he knew had a large,
comfortable bed. Laying her
downinthemiddle,heleaned
overher,hiseyesrelayinghis
intent.“Sowhereisthatsexy
underwear?” he asked, his
hands sliding underneath her
tee-shirtoncemore.
Jayden gasped and
arched into his hands,
smiling, or trying to smile as
pleasure ripped through her
again. “Um…” she thought
frantically. “I think it is
downinthestorageroom.”
He chuckled and
whipped the clasped open on
her overalls. “You’re not
sure?” he asked, tugging the
overallsdownherbody.Lust
surgedthroughhimwhenshe
lifted her hips, allowing him
togetthematerialawayfrom
hermoreeasily.
Looking down at her,
he was astonished to realize
that the plain, white cotton
underwear was pretty hot
right at this moment. “I
supposethatthiswillhaveto
do,” he told her and his
mouth latched onto one
breast, his teeth pulling the
materialoutoftheway.
Jayden thought about
laughing, knowing that he
was teasing her about her
cotton underwear but when
his mouth latched onto her
nipple, she was lost. Words
were no longer possible and
allshecouldthinkaboutwas
getting his clothes off so she
couldtouchhim.
The tie was an issue,
but she decided to ignore it
and focus on undoing his
buttons. When she finally
had several free, her fingers
dove underneath the fabric,
spreadingoutandshesighed,
closing her eyes as she
exploredhisskinonceagain.
Dante groaned when
he felt her soft, tentative
fingers. Standing up, he
ripped his clothes off,
watchingasshecameuponto
her knees. When he was
naked, he grabbed her hands
once again and spread her
fingers out, loving the way
she touched him. “Woman,
you are wearing too many
clothes,” he told her and his
fingerstorethecottonfabric.
He was in too much of a
hurry to take the extra
seconds to pull them off of
herbody.
“Better,” he told her
when she was bared to his
blazingeyes.
Lifting her up, he
once again put her on the
bed. “I’ve been thinking
aboutdoingthissincethelast
timeItastedyou,”hetoldher
andtookherlegs,kissinghis
wayupherinnerthigh.
Jayden wanted to
laugh, delighted that he
wanted her with the same
urgency that she was feeling
but his mouth and his hands
obliterated her ability to do
so.Whenhismouthcovered
her heat, Jayden screamed
out, arching into his mouth.
She wanted to savor this
pleasure, to experience as
much of Dante’s lovemaking
as possible, but when he
touchedher,shejustcouldn’t
holdback.Hewasincontrol
and he knew exactly how to
touchher,wheretotouchher,
to make her scream out and
splinterapart.
“You’re mine,” he
told her after her body
stopped
shuddering.
“UnderstandthatJayden?”he
demanded. But he didn’t
giveherachancetoanswer.
His mouth covered hers in a
kiss that made her head
swirl.
Dante pulled his
mouth away from hers and
shookhishead,tryingtoclear
it somehow. “I can’t hold
back, Jayden,” he told her,
almost in an apology as he
slid his hands up her body.
“Letmein,love,”hecoaxed,
his hardness probing her
lower. When she sighed and
lifted for him, he slid easily
into her heat. “Damn, you
feelsoincredible!”
When her fingers slid
downhischest,healmostlost
it right then and there. He
loved the way she touched
him and never had he lost
control like this. If it didn’t
feel so amazing, he would
resent
her
for
his
undisciplined reactions but
instead, he leaned closer,
encouraginghertotouchhim
more.
When Jayden leaned
up and kissed him in the
middle of his chest, he
couldn’t hold back any
longer. Pushing into her, he
reacheddownandhelpedher
over into her climax. He
wouldhavebreathedasighof
relief when she tightened
around him, screaming out
hisname,buthewastoobusy
enjoying his own orgasm to
do anything other than hold
herasgentlyaspossible.
When he could
breathe again, when his eyes
could finally focus once
more,hecollapsedagainstthe
mattress,pullinghercloserto
him. Staring up at the
ceiling, he wondered at his
inability to control himself
around this woman. What
was it about her that drove
him insane with the need to
possess her, to bring her as
close to the edge of desire
before watching her careen
over the cliff? She was so
gorgeous when she screamed
out his name. Her whole
body arched into his, pulling
him deeper and bringing him
rightalongwithher.
When her sigh of
happiness blew the hairs on
his chest, he realized that he
didn’tcarewhyshediditfor
him, or even how. As he
rolledoverherandstartedthe
whole process over again, he
decidedtojustacceptthatthis
woman could obliterate his
control in a way that no one
elseevercould.Andhewas
determined to make sure she
wasjustasoutofcontrol.
Chapter9
“Ellen, I’m going to
need an update on the
accounts, both checking and
credit cards, for my wife,”
Dante said as he walked into
hisoffice.“Ifitgetstoolow,
make sure to transfer funds
intotheaccount.”Hepicked
up the report for his next
meeting, his eyes skimming
downthepageandabsorbing
the information quickly.
“Also, have a representative
from Starbourg and Belmont
deliver the usual selection in
my office before lunch
today,” he told her, referring
to the exclusive jeweler that
he had used in the past. Of
course, those purchases were
generally for good bye
presents, or he’d send his
assistant to the jeweler for a
birthdaypresent.He’dnever
actually selected any of the
giftshimself,sothiswouldbe
afirst.
Hewaswalkingoutof
the office, feeling something
strange and unidentifiable at
the idea of seeing Jayden for
lunch today. He thought
aboutthesmilehe’dheardin
hervoicewhenhe’dcalledto
confirm their lunch date
earlier this morning. He
refused to think that this
feeling was excitement since
he didn’t get excited. Nor
was it happiness, another
foreignconcept.Whateverit
was,hewasgoingwithit.
Ellen was her usual
efficient self and followed
behind
him.
“I’ve
rescheduled the meeting with
Cooper for ten o’clock
tomorrow and…” she went
down the list of issues that
had changed over the past
hour since he’d spoken with
heronthephone.“AndIcan
have the usual present
wrappedupandsentto…”
“No,”
Dante
interrupted her immediately.
“Just have a representative
here.I’llmakethechoice.”
Ellen was so stunned
by that announcement that
she almost forgot to follow
him into the conference
room.Butshesnappedoutof
her shock and hurried after
him. “Oh, and the account
still hasn’t been touched so
there’s no need to transfer
any money into…” She
almostslammedintohisback
when her boss, who never
stopped moving, suddenly
stoppedinmidstride.
“Whatthehelldoyou
mean?”
Shelookedupathim,
her pen poised over the
notebook and blinked in
surprise. “No money has
been withdrawn or checks
written on the account you
establishedforMs.Liakos.”
He thought about that
foramoment,thenshrugged.
“She’ssendingthebillstothe
accounting department?” he
asked.
Ellen continued to
lookupathim,notsurewhat
hewastalkingabout.“What
bills?Andwho?”
“My wife,” Dante
snapped.“Whoispayingoff
thecreditcardbills?”
Ellenshookherhead.
“Shehasn’tchargedanything
onthecreditcards,sir.There
haven’t been any bills to
pay.”
Dante listened to the
words but didn’t understand.
His wife wasn’t spending his
money? Money that he’d
specifically given to her for
spending money? “How is
she buying things then?” he
demanded, getting angry
abouttheissue.
Ellen shrugged her
shoulders, growing wary of
this conversation. Dante
Liakoswasoneofthosemen
who rarely showed emotion
so seeing the anger build up
inthoseblueeyesofhismade
her take a step backwards.
“I’mnotaware,sir.”
Dante looked at the
conferenceroomwhereabout
a dozen people were waiting
tostartameeting.Hewanted
to storm out of the building
and demand an answer from
Jayden,butheforcedhimself
to go into the meeting. He
would question her when he
metherforlunchandhewas
damnwellgoingtogettothe
bottomofherspending.
He sat through the
meeting, but the whole time,
his mood vacillated between
different emotions. Initially,
he thought that perhaps she
just wasn’t spending any
money. But that was so
foreign to his knowledge of
women, he dismissed it as
impossible. It occurred to
him that she might be seeing
someoneelseandthatperson
had provided her with
spending money. The idea
that Jayden, his legally
wedded wife, was letting
anyone else touch her
delectable body infuriated
him so much that he could
barelycontrolhisanger.
Sobythetimehewas
walking back into his office,
he almost yelled at the two
strangers standing by his
desk. “Who the hell are
you?” he demanded. “Never
mind, I don’t care,” he told
the two men who looked
completelystunned.“Justget
out,” he said, determined to
leave for his lunch with
Jayden and get to the bottom
of the money situation. She
damn well better not be two
timinghim.Hewouldknock
her adorable butt to the curb,
destroyanychanceshehadof
continuingacateringbusiness
in this city, or any other city
for that matter and force her
out of that lovely new house
shelovedsomuch.
No, he thought as he
stormed into the restaurant,
he refused to allow that to
happen. Jayden was his
wife! If she needed
something, she could damn
wellcometohim!
He was just about to
followthehostesstohistable
when he saw her walking
down the sidewalk. He
waited, watching her and
fighting
his
body’s
instantaneous reaction to her
soft, lush body. Dante
refused to be cuckolded or
manipulated!
So he was struck
dumb when she walked in
and he watched her eager
eyeslookaround.Whenshe
caught him standing in the
middle of the lobby area, he
almost cursed under his
breath when her cheeks
pinkenedagain.Anditwasa
true testament to his selfcontrol when she walked
right up to him, stood on her
tiptoesandkissedhimlightly,
then stepped back. “Hello,”
shesaidsoftlyingreeting,her
prettygreeneyesglancingup
at him through those thick,
darklashes.
Dante thought about
thatkissandimmediatelylost
the battle he was having
insidehishead.Grabbingher
around the waist, he hauled
her back up against him and
kissed her thoroughly. For
the first time in his life, he
was unconcerned about who
might witness this public
display.Allheknewwasthat
he wasn’t satisfied with
Jayden’s innocent peck and
needed a more thorough
caress.Andhetookit.
When
she
immediatelyrespondedtohis
kiss,somethinginsidehisgut
relaxed. Surely she couldn’t
respondtohimlikethisifshe
were sleeping with someone
else,hethoughtangrily.
Pulling back, he
maintained his hold around
her waist as they stared at
eachother.“That’smorelike
it,” he told her with a husky
growl.
Stepping back, he
releasedher,butkeptonearm
around her waist while he
nodded to the hostess,
indicatingthatshecouldtake
themtotheirtablenow.
When they were
sittingdownacrossfromeach
other, Jayden looked at his
angry countenance and
started worrying. “Did you
haveabadflight?”sheasked
softly, trying to determine
whathadsethismoodoff.
“Itwasfine,”hesaid.
To the waiter, “Bottle of
Intraset White,” and quickly
dismissed the man from his
awareness of the world,
lookingbackathiswife.He
wasn’t aware of the
possessive gleam or that his
lips were compressed into a
frown.
Jayden cringed at the
expense of the wine Dante
had just ordered as if it were
water. She never could have
afforded even a glass of that
wine,andhe’ddemandedthe
whole bottle. “Did your
business
not
conclude
properly?Doyouneedtogo
backorfindanotherbuyer?”
Dantelookedatheras
ifshe’dgrownanotherhead.
“Business was concluded
satisfactorily.”
“Did you have to pay
more than you’d expected?”
she asked. He’d casually
mentionedthathewasbuying
a company in France and
she’d been astounded by the
pricepersharehewaswilling
topay.
“I got the company
for ten percent under my
highest offer,” he told her
with impatience. “Why the
hell aren’t you using the
credit card I gave you? And
you haven’t touched the
money I set up for you in a
checking account. What is
goingon,Jayden?”
Money? He was
angry because she hadn’t
spenthismoney?Again?Oh
goodness! What a surprise!
Shealmostclappedherhands
with relief now that she
understood
what
was
upsetting him. They’d had a
similar conversation about
using his assistant right
before
the
renovations
started. In this instance, she
would put her foot down
though.
Smiling gently she
said, “I don’t need your
money, Dante. You’ve done
too much already to help me
out. An allowance wasn’t
partofthedeal.”
“The hell it wasn’t,”
he told her through gritted
teeth. “It was written out
very plainly in the contract
we both signed. So the
question still has not been
answered. Why the hell
aren’t you spending the
moneyIgaveyou?”
She looked at him
acrossthetable,sostrongand
confident, so handsome and
powerful. She admired him
on so many levels, but she
was starting to understand a
few things about this
complicated man. He was
stern and cold, but only on
theoutside.Inside,therewas
a man who enjoyed the way
shetouchedhim,thefactthat
she cared about what he was
doingandwouldcheckinon
him to make sure he was
getting enough sleep. He’d
chuckleoverthephonewhen
sheaskedhimwhattimehe’d
gottentosleep.Initially,he’d
triedtohidethesmallnumber
of hours he slept by telling
her the time in the time zone
in which he currently was.
But she’d figured it out and
would calculate the hours,
admonishing him for not
takingbettercareofhimself.
She’d actually called his
assistant and asked if she
wouldn’t mind scheduling a
few less hours. He’d only
laughed at her during their
next phone call. But he’d
texted her the following
night,lettingherknowthathe
was getting to bed. Since
he’d done it at midnight
wherehewas,she’dtoldhim
tosleepin.Hehadn’t.
As she watched his
eyes flash with his anger,
something occurred to her.
“Dante, do you want me to
spend your money?” she
askedcarefully.
Heshiftedinhischair,
trying to figure out why that
question bothered him so
much. “I want you to spend
my money rather than
someone else’s money,” he
snapped.
She
wasn’t
completely sure what he was
saying, but underneath, she
realized that he equated her
spendinghismoneywithhim
makingherhappy.
Biting her lip, trying
to traverse this problem
carefully so that she didn’t
hurt his feelings, she said,
“WhydoIneedtospendyour
money?”
He glared at her, not
really understanding her
question.“Ihavenoidea,but
gogetyournailsdoneorbuy
anewpairofshoes.Adress
orsomething.Dowhateverit
isthatmakesyouhappy.”
Jayden
almost
laughedwiththejoythatwas
zingingthroughherbody.He
wanted to make her happy!
He’d given her an allowance
andacreditcardsoshecould
slip out of work and do
something that he perceived
wasfun!
Every time she was
around this man, her heart
melted just a little bit more.
“Dante, I think you need to
understand something,” she
said softly and clenched her
hands together under the
table. “I don’t need your
money to make me happy.
WhatI’dreallylikeislunches
likethiswhenyouhavetime,
orafternoonslikethelastone
wespentatyourplace.”She
blushed and looked down at
herplatebecauseshecouldn’t
hold his eye contact any
longer.“Ijustlikebeingwith
you. You make me happy,”
shefinishedoff.
The silence at the
table after her announcement
waspulsating.Shecouldfeel
him looking at her but she
was too embarrassed by all
that she’d revealed to him
with
her
statement.
“Anyway…”
“Lookatme,Jayden,”
he told her. She would have
ignoredhiscommand,butshe
heardsomethinginhisvoice,
something that struck her so
deeply that she couldn’t
ignore it. Looking up, she
sawtheheatinhisblueeyes,
buttherewassomethingelse.
Something more important.
“Do you really mean that?”
heasked.
She nodded her head,
stillholdinghiseyes.“Yes,”
shesaidabitbreathlessly.
The waiter arrived
with their food at that
moment and the spell was
broken. They ate lunch and
Dante quizzed her on her
clients, on the meals they
were preparing for the
various events and the times
thoseeventswerehappening.
“Iwantyoutoaddsecurityto
your events,” he told her as
hewipedhismouth,finishing
hismeal.
She laid her fork
down on the plate, unable to
eat very much when he was
around.Thetensionwasstill
tingling between them even
though the table separated
their bodies. It didn’t matter
though. Just being close to
Dantemadehersofocusedon
him,onhispresenceandhow
muchshewantedtobealone
with him that food seemed
likesuchapoorsubstitutefor
what she really wanted. So
she’d barely eaten half her
meal, but she couldn’t eat
another bite. She was too
hopefulthatDantemightkiss
her before he left for
whatever part of the country
he was heading to next. She
wantedthatkisssobadly,she
couldalmosttasteit.
“Why do we need
security?” she asked, a little
breathlessasshelookedathis
mouth, thinking about the
way he might hold her when
hekissedher.Thosehandsof
his were…amazing, she
thought.
She
shivered,
thinkingthatshewishedthey
were alone right now. She
wishedthathewouldtakeher
intohisarmsand…
She looked up at his
eyesandrecognizedtheheat.
Shefeltexactlythesameway
andshecouldfeelhisenergy
surgethroughher.
He quickly signed the
checkthewaiterbroughtthen
took her hand as he led her
out of the restaurant. “First
ofall,youaremywifeandI
want to protect you.” He
didn’t wait for a response on
that issue, but continued on.
“Andsecondly,yougetoutof
theseeventstoolateatnight.
Idon’tlikeknowingthatyou
are alone on the streets at
night.”
He’d tucked her hand
onto his arm, leading her
through the restaurant. With
his words, she squeezed his
bicepandlaidherheadonhis
shoulder ever so briefly. “I
promiseI’mneveralone,”she
told him. “I’m always with
my sisters and several of the
wait staff.” She saw his
limousine and her heart sank
because there were too many
people on the street. He
wouldn’t ever kiss her in
front of so many people.
He’d kissed her in the lobby
but she knew how much he
hatedpublicdisplays.
“Where is your car?”
hedemandedwhentheywere
standingoutonthestreet.
She waved that
problem aside. “I took the
subway. It was just easier
than trying to get a parking
space.”
Dante’s
lips
compressed and Jayden
instantly knew that she’d
made a mistake. What that
mistakewas,shewasn’tquite
sure. The subway in
Washington, D.C. was much
more efficient that many
othercities.ButDante’sjaw
wastenseashelookeddown
ather.“No.Mywifeisnot
taking the subway,” he
commanded with absolute
resolve.“Youneedadriver.”
Jayden laid her other
hand on his arm and laughed
softly. “Dante, I’m perfectly
safe.Peopletakethesubway
aroundtownallthetime.I’m
more likely to get into a car
accidentthananyproblemon
thesubway.”
He shook his head.
“Jayden, get in the car.” He
looked down at her, daring
hertodenyhiscommand.
Oh my! And just that
fast,theheatwasbackinhis
eyes. That look that
promised her heaven. It was
simply too tempting to
ignore. “I’d be happy to get
into the car as long as you
have a few hours to spare,”
she whispered and moved
closer to him, her hand
restingonhischest.
Dante
breathed
deeply, not sure how to
handlesuchoutrightaffection
and honesty. “You can’t be
real,” he said, the thought
poppingintohisheadandout
hismouthbeforeheknewhe
wasgoingtosayit.
She smiled up at him
and stepped closer. “I
actually feel the same way
aboutyou,Dante.You’reso
sweetandkind,sogenerous.”
“Get in the car,” he
commanded again, but his
voice was softer this time,
although
no
less
authoritative.
Jayden’s
smile
brightened,herbodyswaying
towards his but she took a
deepbreathandmovedback.
“Car,” she sighed. “Into the
car.”
She stepped through
the open door and almost
melted onto the leather seat.
When she turned to face
Dante, he didn’t give her a
momenttoacclimateherself.
Even before the car was
moving, he’d lifted her into
hisarmsandwaskissingher,
his hands moving across her
body and lighting her on fire
withhistouch.
When the vehicle
stopped at his house, she
almostjumpedoutofthecar,
not waiting for his driver to
come around and open the
door. She didn’t care. He
was right behind her, leading
herpastthehousekeeperwho
nodded politely to both of
them. With her head down
andherbodyshaking,Jayden
walkedasquicklyaspossible
towards the staircase. When
they were halfway up the
stairway, she almost threw
herself into his arms again,
needinghistouch.Hishands
werepressingherhipsagainst
his and she was already
pushing the jacket off of his
shoulders,walkingbackwards
while she struggled with his
tie.
Dantealmostlaughed,
buthewasintoomuchpain.
He had to be inside this
woman. Now! Backing her
up,hepressedheragainstthe
table in the hallway, lifting
her higher and sliding her
skirt up around her waist.
With a flick of his wrist, her
underwearwaswhiskedaway
and his fingers delved into
her heat while his mouth
absorbed her gasp. “Damn,
you’re so wet for me,” he
growled. “Why don’t you
ever play hard to get?” he
demanded.
She was fumbling
with his belt and her eyes
almostwentcross-eyedwhen
she felt his fingers sliding
into her core, his thumb
teasingthatsensitivespotand
she
screamed,
leaning
backwards. His other hand
pressed against the center of
herchest,pushinghersothat
she was lying all the way
back on the table. When he
looked down at her, he felt a
waveofpleasuresointenseat
hersplayedoutlikethis.For
him!Onlyforhim!Shewas
allhis.
He curled his hand
aroundherkneeandawicked
smile formed on his lips. “I
don’tthinkI’veeverseenyou
look more beautiful than you
do at this moment,” he said
and a split second later, he
tasted her, almost laughing
when she screamed out and
arched into his mouth. He
definitely hadn’t had his fill
ofthiswoman,buthe’dmade
lovetoherenoughsohewas
starting to know what she
liked. And he used that
knowledge to his advantage,
hismouthandfingersmoving
in unison, playing her body
like the most priceless
instrument.
When she splintered
apart,heabsorbedthatclimax
with his mouth and his
fingers,
enjoying
the
incredible feeling of his wife
inhisarms.Neverwouldhe
have thought that he could
lose his head over a woman,
but here he was, missing an
important meeting because
making love to his wife was
at the top of his priority list
right now. And nothing,
absolutelynothing,wasgoing
togethimtostop.
When he felt the
tightening of her body again,
Dante ripped at his clothes,
burying himself inside of her
heat as she arched into
another climax. But he
wouldn’t let her come down
from that one before he was
teasingherbodyintothenext
one. Dante was merciless,
thinking of her soft eyes
begging him from across the
table during lunch. Never
had a woman wanted just
him, he thought. Only
Jayden. And damn, he was
goingtoshowherhowmuch
hecouldgiveher.Evenifit
was just his body, he was
going to give her everything
shewanted.
As she tightened
around him again, Dante felt
her fingernails bite into his
shoulders and that was all it
took to take him over the
edgeaswell.
Holding her close, he
looked down at her, a smile
lighting up his eyes as he
caught the satisfied look in
hersoft,greeneyes.
“Youdidn’ttakeyour
clothes off,” she said. He
suspected that she was more
than a little horrified at that,
but he only chuckled.
“Neither did you,” he told
her.
Jayden looked up and
realized that he was right.
Their bodies were still
intimately connected, but all
oftheirclotheswerestillon.
Outofplaceandrumpled,but
stillbasicallyontheirbodies.
“Oh goodness,” she gasped
andtriedtositup.
But Dante wasn’t
finished with her yet. He
lifted her into his arms and
kissed her as he carried her
down the hallway to his
bedroom.
This time, it was
slower.Hetookhistimeand
explored her body. But the
end result was no less
explosive, no less satisfying.
And for a long time
afterwards,heheldherinhis
arms, just touching her soft
skin and reveling in the
wonderofJayden.Hiswife.
Chapter10
Jayden stood up and
wiped her mouth, taking
slow, deep breaths as she
tried to calm her roiling
stomach. “It can’t be true,”
shewhisperedtoherself.
Butshewasn’talone.
“It’strue,”Janinesaid
from the doorway of the
bathroom.
Jayden looked up
slowly, turning her head as
she took in her sister’s stern
expression.
“I’m fine,” she said
and forced herself to stand
up. She’d raced to the
bathroom, her stomach
protesting the oatmeal she’d
eatenforbreakfast.
She found Jasmine
standingoutsidethedoorway,
her arms also crossed over
her chest and a concerned
expression on her almost
identical features. “You’re
pregnant,”shesaidandglared
at her sister, daring her to
admitthetruth.
Jayden froze, leaning
against the metal counter.
Their new kitchen was
finished and they were all
moved in. New clients were
calling up and Jayden had
hired several new staff
memberstokeepupwiththe
additional work load. The
only fly in the ointment was
this persistent sickness that
she refused to believe was
related to her relationship
withDante.
“You have to tell
him,”Janinesaidfirmly.
Jayden sat down
carefullyononeofthestools,
proppingherheadupwithher
palms. “Tell who? And tell
himwhat?”
Janine pulled up a
stool to the side of Jayden,
concern all over her face.
“You have to tell Dante that
you’repregnant,”shesaid.
Jayden’s horror at
such a possibility was huge.
“I’m not!” she gasped and
reared back, only to let her
head fall back to her palms
becausethemovementcaused
her stomach to protest
violently.
Jasmine sat down on
the other side of her.
“Jayden, you can’t keep
anything down during the
mornings and yet, you’re a
ravenous
beast
every
afternoon.”
“I am not,” she
argued.
Janine and Jasmine
gave each other a look over
Jayden’shead.
Jasmine wasn’t going
toallowhersistertoburyher
headinthesand.“Yesterday
afternoon, you ate two
cinnamonrolls,threesausage
biscuits and an entire roasted
chicken.Byyourself.”
Jayden groaned at the
reminderoffood,wishingher
sisters would just leave her
alone. “Don’t speak,” she
begged.
“And the day before,
you sat down and ate olives
andbroccoli.”
Jayden
couldn’t
ignore that. “You guys are
alwaystryingtogetmetoeat
more vegetables. What’s
wrongwiththat?”
Janine rolled her
eyes. “You hate broccoli.
And normally, you gag at
olives. Especially the green
ones.”
Jaydencringed.“The
greenonesareslimy.”
“Sowhydidyoueata
wholejarofthem?”
“I
didn’t!”
she
protested. At Jasmine’s look
of disagreement, Jayden
explained, “There were three
more in the jar when I put
thembackintothefridge.”
Janine sighed and
shook her head. “Okay,
you’reforcingmetotakeout
the big guns,” she said and
stoodup.
Jaydenpeeredthrough
her fingers warily, not sure
what her sister was going to
do. When she saw Janine
headingtothewallinsteadof
the fridge, she thought she
was safe. But Janine was
playing dirty. She turned
aroundwithanenormouscup
ofcoffeeinherhand.
“Don’t,”
Jayden
begged, covering her mouth
and gauging the distance to
thebathroomagain.
“Admit it!” Janine
threatened. “Or I’m coming
closer!”
Jayden nodded her
head very slightly. “Okay!
I’ll go to the store and get a
pregnancytest!”
Janine took pity on
her sister and put the coffee
cup back on the table. “So
when are you going to tell
him?”sheasked,crossingher
arms and trying to appear
mean, but the best her sisters
could produce was worried,
whichwasjustasbad.
Jayden sighed and let
her face fall to the metal
countertop, feeling the cold
seep into her skin. It felt
good,shethought.Whilethe
idea of telling Dante, tall,
dark,handsomeandterrifying
Dante,thatshewaspregnant,
didnotfeelgood.
“You have to do it,”
Jasmine said, taking the
coffee Janine had just pulled
awayandtakingasip.“You
know it is the right thing to
do.”
Jayden sighed and let
a tear fall from her eye. “I
know,” she told her sisters,
notbotheringtoliftherhead.
“But just because it is the
right thing to do, doesn’t
makeitanylessscary.”
Janine walked over to
putherarmgentlyacrossher
sister’sshoulders.“Itwillbe
okay. You guys got me
through my pregnancy and
thefirstfewyears.We’llall
get you through the same
period.”
Jayden wanted to cry
even harder because she
couldn’t tell her sisters, the
two women she shared
everythingwith,thatshewas
actually married to the father
ofherunbornchild.
“Oh
goodness,”
Jasmine gasped, her eyes
wide as she looked from
Janine to Jayden. “What
if…”
Janine gasped at the
same time. And just at that
moment, Dana and Dalia
came storming down the
stairs. Jayden had the same
thought and she just turned
her face into the countertop,
letting the tears fall. She
wanted
to
hide
her
desperation from her nieces,
but it was useless. She
couldn’t hide anything any
longer.Verysoon,thewhole
world would know of her
stupidity. Because until this
moment, the idea of
contraceptionhadn’toccurred
to her. Only Dante, his
hands, his mouth and his
amazingpresence,wasapart
of her consciousness when
theyweretogether.
Hercellphonewasset
down next to her head and
Jayden swiveled her neck to
see what the thunk was.
“Call
him,”
Jasmine
commanded.
Jaydentookthephone
inherhands,butshecouldn’t
dialthenumber.Shefeltlike
an idiot. She’d gotten
pregnant, was in a secret
relationship and…yes, she
wasinlovewithherhusband
thatnooneknewabout.
Could her life be
messedupanyworse?
She took the phone
and trembled all the way to
heroffice.Shedidn’twantto
make this phone call, but
there was no way she was
going to do it amidst the
chaos of their kitchen. Not
with her nieces listening in
while they ate their oatmeal
and raisins. Besides, the
smell of food right now was
makinghersickagainandshe
wastiredofthrowingup.
“What’s wrong with
Aunt Jayden?” she heard
Dalia ask a moment before
she shut her office door.
Goodness, she wished things
were different. If she and
Dantehadbeenarealcouple,
two people who weren’t
afraid to shout out their
feelings for each other to the
world, and if they’d married
for real instead of for
business reasons, she would
be thrilled, ecstatic even, to
behavinghisbaby.
Orbabies,shesighed,
resting her head against her
handagain.Oh,howwasshe
going to do this? She didn’t
want Dante to be angry with
her.Butshe’dbeenafoolto
not consider birth control.
Unfortunately, when he was
around, she only thought of
him. And when he wasn’t
around, all she thought about
waswantingtobewithhim.
“Dial the number!”
sheheardJaninecallthrough
thecloseddoor.
Jayden
almost
smiled.Therewasasenseof
reassurance in knowing that
hersistersknewhersowell.
“I’m bringing you
coffee!”shecalledout.
Jaydensobbedbutthis
threat was effective. She
started dialing the number
Dantehadgiventoher.
The horrible thing
was, she might be pregnant
with the man’s child, or
children, and she might be
marriedtohim.Andyes,she
might actually be hopelessly
inlovewiththeman,butshe
had no idea where he was.
He could be in Hong Kong
rightnow!
“Jayden,” his deep
voiceansweredthephoneand
she was reassured by the
warmthinhisvoice.
“Dante,” she sighed,
sniffing and feeling horrible
about what she had to tell
him.Wouldhebeangry?Of
course he was going to be
angry.Thiswasnothisplan.
This was supposed to be a
temporary marriage. And
now it would be…well, she
had no idea what would
happenorhowhewouldtake
the news. It wasn’t like
they’d actually discussed
children. Or a future. Or
love.
“Jayden,
what’s
wrong?” he demanded as
soon as he heard her voice.
“Talktome,love.Ipromise
I’llfixwhateveriswrong.”
Jayden
laughed,
feelingbetterwithhiswords.
“Whereareyou?”sheasked.
“I’m right here, in
Washington,D.C.”
She wiped her nose,
relieved that she didn’t need
to wait to tell him her news.
“That’s
good,”
she
whispered, closing her eyes.
“CanIseeyou?”
“Of course. I’ll have
Stevecomeoutandgetyou.
What’swrong?”
“I just need to talk to
you.Whenareyoufree?”
He hesitated for a
long moment. “Steve is on
theway.Whenyougethere,
justhavemyassistantgetme
out of whatever meeting I’m
in.”Therewasanotherpause
before he said, “Are you
okay?”
She laughed and
closedhereyes.“Ijustneed
totalktoyou.”
Dante felt his gut
tighten and he wasn’t sure
what to say or to think.
“Okay, well, Steve will get
you here safely. Is there
anythingyouneed?”
She bit her lip before
she said, “Just you,” and she
pressedtheendbutton.
Thirty minutes later,
Stevewalkedintothekitchen
and Jayden’s heart skipped a
beat.Thiswasit.
“Good luck,” Janine
whispered, giving Jayden a
quick hug before moving off
to pull her salmon out of the
ovenformoremarinade.
“Hey, call us as soon
as you’re finished, okay?”
Jasmine said, giving her a
hugaswell.
Jaydennoddedtoboth
ofhersistersasshefollowed
Steveoutthedoor.
The drive downtown
was easy and over much too
quickly. Before she was
ready, Steve was pulling into
the underground parking
garageatDante’sbuilding.
Getting out, she rode
the elevator up to the top
floor,herheartracingandher
stomach churning. She
probably should have done
thisintheafternoonwhenher
stomachwasn’tsoqueasy.
As soon as she
stepped out of the elevator,
she was surrounded by the
tense quiet of the executive
floor. Everyone bustled
around,hurryingtotheirnext
meeting or trying to finish a
task.Itwasasiftherewasan
oddsenseofurgencyhereon
this floor that translated into
analmosttangibletension.
“Good morning, Ms.
Liakos,” Ellen said, always
themodelofefficiency.
Jayden
wasn’t
expectingDante’sassistantto
be standing there by the
elevator. “Good morning,
Ellen,” she replied, feeling
horrible. “Am I disrupting
the morning schedule?” she
asked.Jaydenhadspokento
this woman on the phone
numerous times, trying to
reach Dante but they’d never
actuallymetinperson.
Ellen waved away
Jayden’s concerns. “Not at
all.Mr.Liakosinstructedme
togethimoutofameetingas
soon as you arrived. This
way,” she said and led the
waydownthelonghallwayto
the corner office that looked
out over the Washington,
D.C. skyline. From this
height, she could see all the
waytoNationalCathedral.
As she stood in
Dante’soffice,lookingoutat
thescenebutnotreallyseeing
anything, she wondered what
Dante’s reaction might be.
Shewasprettysurehewould
beangry.Whywouldn’the?
He had specifically said that
this was a temporary
marriage. And she had no
idea what problems their
marriage had resolved, but
she was pretty sure that
adding
an
unplanned
pregnancy to the mix would
causeevenmoreproblems.
“Jayden!”
Dante
called out as soon as he
stepped into his office,
closingthedoorbehindhim.
“What’s wrong? What’s
happened?” he demanded,
stridingovertoherandtaking
herhandsinhis.
Jayden’s
chin
quivered as she looked up at
him. “I’m so sorry, Dante,”
shewhispered.
Dante had no idea
whatwaswrong,butthatwas
neveragoodwaytostartoff
a conversation. “Tell me
what’swrong.”
“Imessedup.”
He
immediately
assumed she’d been with
another man. “You’ve been
with someone else,” he
snapped, his lips compressed
as he tried to deal with her
betrayal.
Jayden’s
eyes
widened. “What?” she
gasped. “No! Absolutely
not!Iwouldneverdothatto
you!”
Dante looked at her
pleading green eyes and
relaxed.Shewastellinghim
the truth and the relief that
surged through him with that
reassurancemadehimalmost
dizzy. “Okay, so if it isn’t
another man, then what’s
wrong?Whatcouldpossibly
besobad?”
She sighed and
walked away from him, not
sure how he was going to
react. “I’m pregnant,” she
whispered, looking at him as
if he might explode with
angerathernews.
Dante heard the
words.Hiseyesmoveddown
toherstomachasifhecould
see into her womb.
“Pregnant?” he asked, trying
out the word. It sounded
foreignonhislips.“Areyou
sure?”
Jayden
nodded
slowly, still not sure what he
was thinking. She might
have spent hours in this
man’sarmsbuthewasstilla
mystery to her. “Are you
furiouswithme?”
Dante stood up and
pulled her into his arms.
“WhywouldIbefuriouswith
you?” he asked gently,
kissing the top of her head.
“I believe I was a pretty
active participant in the
activity that got you into this
predicament.”
Jayden didn’t like
hearing this pregnancy
describedinthatwaybutshe
was appeased since he was
holding her. “I should have
beenusingbirthcontrol,”she
said but the words were
muffledagainsthisshirt.
Danteclosedhiseyes,
beating himself up mentally.
“That wasn’t your sole
responsibility,” he came
back. “In fact, I can’t
rememberasingletimewhen
Ididn’tuseprotectionexcept
whenI’maroundyou.”
Jayden
laughed,
feeling exactly the same
way. “I guess we kind of
messedup,eh?”
“Absolutely not,” he
told her. He pulled back
slightly and looked down at
her. “Good thing we’re
alreadymarried.”
Jaydenlaughedagain,
shakingherhead.“Notreally
though.”
Dante took her hand
and pulled her over to the
sitting area. Sitting down on
oneofthesofas,hepulledher
down onto his lap. “I guess
we’re going to have to make
it into a real marriage,” he
suggestedwithahalf-smileto
his normally grim looking
lips. “I’ll throw a party and
announce it to my business
acquaintances.”
She didn’t think that
was the best approach.
“Dante,whatifwe…”
“There’s no way we
cankeepitasecret,Jayden,”
he told her, interrupting
whateverargumentshemight
make.“Andyoucanmovein
with me this weekend. In
fact, I’ll have someone move
yourthingsintomyplacethis
afternoon.”
She pulled out of his
arms and slid onto the
cushion next to him. “I can’t
dothat.”
“Whynot?”heasked,
suddenlybecomingangrythat
she wanted to keep their
marriage a secret. She was
pregnant!Withhischild!He
wanted no doubt that they
were well and truly married.
And he would be proud to
have her on his arm at social
functions.Hewassickofthe
women throwing themselves
at him. With Jayden on his
arm, they would stay away,
respecther.Besides,shewas
the only woman he wanted.
All the other women he ran
into
lately
paled
in
comparisontoJayden’sgreen
eyedbeautyandhersoft,lush
bodythathecouldn’tseemto
get enough of. He’d
originally thought that they
could spend a few nights in
bed and she’d be out of his
system. But the more he
madelovetothiswoman,the
morehewantedher.Thesex
just seemed to be getting
better and better. She still
drove him crazy with her
innocent touches that were
slowly changing, becoming
more assertive. And that was
making his desire even more
insatiable. He wanted more
of her, to be with her and
showherdifferentthings.
Jayden pulled away
fromhimagainandhehadto
grit his teeth when she did
that. In fact, he would be
perfectly happy if there was
absolutely no space between
them. Or clothes for that
matter.
“We
can’t
just
announce to the world that
we’ve been married for
severalweeks.”
“Idon’tseewhynot,”
he countered, trying not to
sound argumentative, but he
was getting angrier as she
triedtodenytheirmarriage.
She laughed softly,
enormously relieved that he
wasn’t angry but still
confused about how she felt
abouteverything.“Becauseit
would hurt my family’s
feelings to know that I hid
something like that. My
sisters might understand, but
then I’d have to explain to
them why I did it.” She
looked down at her fingers,
still ashamed that she hadn’t
beenabletofigureoutaway
around that horrible man’s
threats. “And my parents
would be hurt. They have
been planning our weddings
foralongtime.”Shesighed,
running a hand through her
hair. “But on the other side,
they already have one
daughter who had children
out of wedlock. I’m sure
they’d be thrilled to know
that at least one of their
daughters was being even
slightly traditional.” She
slumped back down onto the
chairacrossfromhim.“Oh,I
don’tknowwhattodo.”
Her
explanation
appeased his pride and
temperedhisneedtoshoutto
the world that this was his
woman. And he almost
laughedatherfrustration.He
knew it was wrong, but she
looked pretty cute with her
hair sticking up like that.
“How about if you trust me
on this, Jayden?” he
suggested.
Shelookedupathim,
not sure what was going
throughhismind.“Trustyou
todowhat?”sheasked.
He pulled her back
ontohislap.“I’lltalktoyour
parents. I’ll explain the
situation and make things
right.”
Jayden wasn’t sure
what“right”wouldbebutshe
laid her head on his chest,
enjoying the moment. “I’m
just relieved that you’re not
angry,”shesaid.
The rumbling in his
chestmadeherfeelwarmand
cozy. “No. I’m not angry.
Infact,I’mthrilled.”Helaid
a hand on her stomach,
exactly as she’d done when
she’d accepted the news.
“Have you been to see a
doctoryet?”heasked,kissing
herneck.
Jayden shifted her
head, still not sure her
stomach would cooperate but
alltheotherpartsofherbody
were in full agreement with
the way he was kissing her.
“No.”
“But you’re sure that
you are pregnant?” he asked,
sliding his hand up further.
His palm cupped her breast
andhewasprettyshockedto
realize that her breasts were
fuller.Heavier.
“I took a pregnancy
test.Theyarejustasaccurate
asabloodtestnow.”
“But you’re going to
see a doctor, right?” he
cautioned, his hand moving
down again to cover her
stomach.
Jayden’s hand moved
to cover his hand as well,
looking up at him. “I’ll call
my doctor first thing
tomorrow.”
“I want to be there.
When
you
have
an
appointment,letmeknowthe
timeandaddress.”
She thought that was
really sweet. The man was
horrendously busy and had a
mind-boggling schedule, but
he seemed eager to be with
her for this appointment. It
would be really nice and she
always felt stronger when he
wasnear.
“That would be
wonderful.”
Chapter11
Jayden put the plate
on the table, careful to
balance the tray carefully.
“Are we all ready?” she
called out. She’d been
walking around in a haze of
happinessforthepasttwentyfourhours.She’dbeentothe
doctor with Dante and
everything seemed to be
okay. She’d even heard the
heartbeat! The doctor said
they would do an ultrasound
in the next week or two, just
to make sure there was only
one baby. Her family’s
historyofmultiplebirthswas
a concern. It took several
minutes to soothe Dante’s
worry over that comment,
telling him that her mother
and sister had both given
birth to multiples and
everything
turned
out
perfectlyfine.
There was a noise in
the front of the store and
Jayden tried to peer around
the wall that separated the
front of the store from the
kitchens.
“Where is she?!” a
loudfemalevoicecalledout.
Jayden, Janine and
Jasmine all looked at each
other, wondering if the other
recognized the voice. When
they all three shrugged,
Jayden stepped closer to the
door,buthersisters,knowing
about her pregnancy, stepped
up as well. None were
willingtoletJaydenconfront
what sounded like an angry
client.
“Can I help you?”
Jaydenasked,steppingcloser
to pull the angry woman
away from Laura who was
working the front area
tonight.
The blond woman –
who looked to be in her late
fifties – stepped around the
deli counters, her eyes
shooting daggers at Jayden.
But when she saw three
women looking almost
identical, she stopped in her
tracks. “What the hell?” she
snapped.“Whichoneofyou
is Jayden Hart?” she
demanded, scowling because
herwrathhadbeenputofffor
amoment.
Jayden
stepped
forward, angry with the
womanshedidn’trecognize.
If the stranger had been one
of their customers, Jayden
would be worried that the
woman wasn’t satisfied with
their business but since she
was a stranger, she had no
idea why this woman was
acting so inappropriately.
“I’m Jayden.” She started to
say“Hart”butsheandDante
had discussed her using his
last name now that a baby
was on the way. Still, it
sounded strange to say
“Liakos” especially since she
hadn’t had a chance to
explain everything to her
sisters. It was a tricky thing
totellhersistersthatshewas
alreadymarried.Thatkindof
news had to be timed
carefully.
The woman’s eyes
actually became more evil.
Jayden hadn’t thought that
was possible but this woman
actuallylookedlikeshemight
hit her. “So you’re the bitch
who is stealing away my
money!”
Jayden had no idea
what she was talking about.
Surely she was too old to be
one of Dante’s lovers. She
was at least twenty years his
senior. “I’m sorry, can you
be more specific?” Jayden
was back to thinking this
womanwasaclient.“Didwe
cater a function for you
recently?”
The woman’s hands
flailed wildly, causing all of
her gold bracelets, not to
mention the dozen or more
necklaces, to jangle loudly.
“Don’t be stupid!” she
sneered,barelyholdingoffon
amajortantrum.“Youknow
exactlywhoIam!Andthis
ridiculousclaimofpregnancy
isn’t going to work! Those
shares are mine! I earned
them! And no bastard child
of Dante’s is going to take
them away from me!” She
moved even closer and both
JanineandJasminemovedin
as well, blocking the woman
fromtheirsister.Shelooked
like she was about to say
something more but her eyes
darted suddenly to the other
two,almostmirrorimages,of
her enemy and her mouth
snappedshut.
“I think you’d better
leave,” Jasmine said with a
cold tone, obviously not
takinganyargumentfromthe
crazy woman that wasn’t
making any sense. Jasmine
had always been the spunky
one, but never before had
Jaydeneverbeensoproudof
her sister’s energy and
fearlessness. She was
glorious as she faced down
thiscrazystranger!
Unfortunately,
the
cracked woman ignored her,
keeping her eyes on Jayden
alone.“Heonlyknockedyou
up to get back at me. He
wantedmysharesandthiskid
is his way of getting them!
But it isn’t going to work! I
havetimeonmyside.Either
the pregnancy will prove to
beafakeandI’llgettokeep
all of my precious shares,”
andthewomanlookedupand
downJayden’sslenderfigure,
obviously not believing that
the pregnancy was real, “or
I’lljusthavetohandlethings
inamorepersonalway.”She
nodded her head as if to
reinforce her claim. “And if
something were to,” she
laughed, “well, accidentally
happentoyouandyoureally
are pregnant, well,” she
wavedherhandupintheair,
those gold bands sounding
obnoxiousandreinforcingher
air of insanity, “then there’s
nobaby!AndI’llgettokeep
allofmyshares.”Shelooked
at Jayden’s sisters, her face
becoming an ugly mask of
anger.
Jasmine shook her
head.“Thebabyisreal,”she
stated emphatically. “None
of us know what you’re
talkingaboutwithshares,but
I’m pretty clear that you just
threatened the safety of my
sister.” She moved even
closer, her shoulders twisting
backandforthasifshewere
ready to physically fight this
woman. “That’s not
something we take casually,
lady.”
Whoever she was,
Jasmine’s attitude was not
slowingherdown.“Imarried
thebastard’sfather.Ihadto
dealwithhisdisgustinghands
allovermybody.”Shetook
a deep breath, closing her
eyes and trying to soothe
herself.“IcanseenowthatI
should have produced a
child.”Shesniffedandshook
herheadasifrepulsedbythe
very idea. “But no matter.
Thatmighthavesavedmefor
a while, but I am still in
control. Until that baby is a
reality,there’snowayyouor
that unborn brat are going to
see any of the money from
those shares. Got it?” she
said, leaning forward and
poking a red tipped talon
towardsJayden.
“Getout,”Janinesaid
with more anger in her voice
than Jayden had ever heard.
“We’ll make sure to get a
restrainingordersogetoutof
ourstore.”
Thewomansmoothed
downherblondhairandtook
another
deep
breath.
“Gladly,” she said and spun
around, her gold bracelets
jangling noisily again. “But
I’ve given you fair warning,
littlelady!”
The door slamming
caused all three of them to
jerkslightly.Jaydenwasthe
worst off. She just stared at
the door through which the
vilewomanhadleft,notsure
whattothink.
Jasmine and Janine
looked at her worriedly.
“You need to call Dante,”
Janine said. “He’ll need to
know what that woman
threatened.”
Jayden nodded her
head. She agreed, at least in
theory, but the other things
she’dsaid…theydidn’tmake
anysense.“Whatshareswas
she talking about?” Jayden
asked,almostfallingontothe
stoolbyoneofthecounters.
JasmineandJaninesat
down next to her, each one
putting her arm protectively
around Jayden’s shoulders.
“Noclue.”
Janine looked across
theroomwheretheblondhad
exited. “I’m not even sure
she was sane, Jayden. I
wouldn’t put too much
energyintofiguringherout.”
Jayden bit her lower
lip, wishing that Janine’s
words were true. “I suppose
you’re right.” But there was
somethingaboutthewoman’s
words, something that just
didn’tfeelright.
“Don’t start making
more of this until you talk to
Dante,”
Jasmine
said,
squeezing
Jayden’s
shoulders. “In fact, why
don’t you call him and ask
him to come pick you up. I
don’t want you alone tonight
andIdon’twantyoucoming
to the event. I’m not sure
what that woman is capable
of, but you can’t stay here
without us, and Dante needs
toknowwhatjusthappened.”
Janine agreed. “I’m
with Jaz,” she said. “Call
himandlethimsortthisout.
If it has anything to do with
shares, he’ll be able to find
out the truth. He’s pretty
smartaboutthosethings,”she
said. Neither Jasmine nor
Jayden saw the sad look in
hereyesasshethoughtabout
another man who was pretty
good with business and
stocks. Shaking her head,
Janine stood up. “No matter
what, you’re taking the night
off. So call Dante and get
himoverheretopickyouup.
We’re going to be late as it
is.”
Jayden lifted her cell
phoneandcalledDantewhile
she wandered into her office
forsomeprivacy.
“Hi beautiful,” Dante
answeredwithhisdeepvoice.
Jayden
smiled,
thinking that it sounded like
he had a smile in his voice.
In fact, he normally sounded
quite cheerful when she
called lately, which hadn’t
alwaysbeenthecasewiththis
man.He’dbeenalmostmean
whenshe’dfirstmethim.
“Dante,” she sighed,
feelingbetterjusthearinghis
voice. “You sound good,”
sheblurtedout.
“What’s
wrong,
Jayden?” he demanded,
instantly hearing the tremble
in her voice. “What’s
happened?”
Jayden
laughed,
wondering about how they
could hear each other’s
moods through the tone of
voice. “I’m fine, Dante.
Just…”
“You’re not fine. I
can hear that something is
wrong in your voice. Is the
babyokay?”
“Yes. The baby is
fine,” she said, laughing and
covering her hand over her
stomach. “At least, I think
so. It’s the afternoon so I
have a small reprieve on the
sickness.”
“Sowhatiswrong?”
Shesighedandleaned
her head back against the
wall. “A woman came into
the kitchen a few minutes
ago. I’m not sure what her
issuewas,butsheseemed…”
Jayden hesitated. “Well, she
seemed a bit demented. Off
balance.”
“Inwhatway?”
“She started ranting
about stocks and…” she
paused, “well, she actually
threatened the baby, Dante.
At least, that’s what it
sounded like. I’m probably
makingtoomuchofthis.”
There was silence for
a moment before Dante
asked, “What did she look
like?”
Jayden pictured the
womaninhermind.“Lotsof
gold jewelry, blond hair, lots
ofmakeup,maybeaboutfifty
or fifty-five years old. She
was lovely, but she was
furious with me although I
knowthatI’venevermether
beforeinmylife.”
Dantesatup,hiseyes
narrowing. “Where are you
now?”hedemanded.
“I’minmyoffice.”
“Isanyonewithyou?”
“Yes. Jaz and Janine
arehere.”
“Good. I’m coming
over there. And I’m getting
someone to watch the
building.”
Jayden didn’t like the
sound of that. It made her
fears over this woman’s visit
abittooreal.“What’sgoing
on?”
“Just stay there,
Jayden.I’monmyway.”
Jayden wasn’t sure
what to think but she tucked
herphoneintoherpocketand
walked
back
outside.
Jasmine and Janine were
talking quietly to each other,
obviously trying to come up
with a plan because they
stopped talking when Jayden
walkedout.
“Whatever you are
planning, don’t!” she told
them and forced a smile to
herface.“You’rebothgoing
totheeventtonight.Melissa
cantakeoverformypartand
Danteiscomingoverhereto
helpme.Sodon’teventhink
aboutskippingtheevent.We
can’thandlethatrightnow.”
“Forget the business
issues, Jayden,” Jasmine said
andcrossedherarmsoverher
chest. “Your safety is more
important than a catering
event.”
“You’re
going!”
Jayden commanded in her
best Dante-like voice, her
hands fisting on her hips as
sheglaredbackatbothofher
sisters.
“We’restayinghereto
protect you until Dante gets
here,” Janine countered,
mimickingJayden’sposition.
“I’m here,” a deep
voicesaidfrombehindher.
All three women
turned to watch as Dante
walked through the doors.
Jayden was stunned. “How
did you get here so quickly?
I just got off the phone with
you less than five minutes
ago.”
Dante took her into
hisarmsandkissedthetopof
herhead.“Iwasonmyway
to a meeting nearby and just
turned in this direction.”
Looking at Janine and
Jasmine, he nodded. “Thank
you ladies. I have a security
teamonthewaytowatchthe
houseforaslongasittakes.
Mylawyersareintheprocess
offilingarestrainingorderon
the woman and we’ll press
charges for uttering a
physical threat.” His eyes
hardened. “The two of you
might need to testify, but I’ll
try and keep this out of the
courts.”
Jasmine
smiled
brightly. “Oh, I hope this
does go to court. I would
absolutely love to see the
woman’s face when she’s
accused!”
Janine
chuckled.
“Could you imagine the
judge’s expression when he
or she orders the woman to
take off all of those noisy
bracelets?”
Janine and Jasmine
both moved off to finish
loading up the catering van.
Obviously, Jayden was in
good hands now that Dante
had arrived so they moved
through the loading process,
bothofthemcomingupwith
horrible punishments for the
woman in question. They
still had no idea what her
name was, but they didn’t
care.Theysimplyreferredto
her as “The Crazy Chic” and
moved on. Details were so
unimportantsometimes.
Jayden
watched,
amused and grateful for such
loyalty with her siblings.
EvenDantechuckledatsome
of their “punishments”. But
fifteenminuteslater,thetruck
was loaded up, hugs were
given, even Dante received a
hug from both of her sisters
now that he’d stepped in as
the big, amazing “hero”.
Then they were gone. Laura
wasstilloutfrontbutshewas
closingdownthedelishop.
“Let’s go,” Dante
said.
Jaydenlookedaround,
still not sure what was
happening. “So who are the
guardsoutside?”
“I’ll introduce you.
They’re from Hamilton
Securities which is the best
security company in the
world. These guys are
professionals and they’ll
protectyoursistershere.The
police will also be patrolling
the area so they will be safe
enough.”
Jayden knew that
Dante was trying to be
reassuring,buthiswordsonly
scared her more. “Why do
we need security guards
patrolling the outside of the
house?” she asked, letting
himleadheroutofthehouse
and into the back of his
limousine, but she was
worried. The grim look on
his face made her stomach
clench with nervousness.
Something was very wrong!
Something he didn’t want to
tell her and that made her
evenmoreworried.
“We’ll talk when we
get home,” he said and
slammedthedoorshut.
His driver pulled
away and Dante poured a bit
of brandy into a crystal
tumbler. “Here, have a
drink”hetoldher.
Jaydentooktheglass,
but she didn’t take a sip.
“Dante, you remember that
I’m pregnant, right?” she
teased, trying to lighten his
mood.
Dante grimaced and
took the tumbler back. A
split second later, he downed
the brandy and set the glass
back into the holder. “Good
point.”
“Talk to me,” she
urged, placing a hand on his
arm. “Who was the woman
andwhat’sgoingon?”
Danteshookhishead.
“When we get to my place,”
hetoldher.Hestaredahead.
“Movers are also coming
tonight. They’re packing up
allofyourclothesandyou’re
movinginwithmetonight.”
Sheshivered.“But…”
“No
more
procrastinating,
Jayden.
We’re going to make this
work.”
He took her hand in
hisandshesensedsomething
strange in his touch.
Something that hadn’t been
therebeforeanditscaredher
evenmore.
“Dante,tellmewhat’s
goingon.”
In response, he lifted
herontohislapandhekissed
her.Hedidn’tletupuntilshe
was clinging to him and he
heardhersighintohismouth,
her arms wrapped around his
neck.“You’regoingtofallin
love with me, Jayden,” he
toldhersternly.
Jayden thought that
wasthecutestthinghe’dever
saidandshelaughed,placing
herhandonhisroughcheek.
“Dante, I’m already in love
with you,” she told him
gently.
Dantelookeddownat
the delicate beauty in his
arms. With her words, his
mindwhirledandhecouldn’t
believehisluck.Howwasit
possible that he’d finally
found the one woman in the
world that wanted him for
himself and not for anything
he could give her? She was
so completely opposite from
all of his step mothers, all of
the women he’d dated in the
past. Not a single mistress
from his past would have
worked the long hours or
resolved the minute details
that Jayden handled. They’d
only wanted him to support
them and be their private
bank while Jayden wouldn’t
endureanyinterferenceinher
business and still wouldn’t
spendanyofhismoney.She
was precious and wonderful
and he had a sneaking
suspicion that he’d royally
messed
up
the
one
relationship that could make
himwhole.
“Don’tsaythatifyou
don’t mean it, Jayden,” he
growled,pullinghercloser.
Sheburiedherfacein
his neck, breathing in his
wonderful, male scent. “I
meanit,”shewhispered.
He held her close, his
heart thumping so hard that
hewasafraidshemightfeelit
and think something was
wrong with him. But he
couldn’tpullaway.
Jayden felt her heart
swell with the love she felt
for this man. She couldn’t
believe he’d come into her
life in such an extraordinary
way,butshelovedhim.She
hadn’t really thought about
how much, but when he’d
showeduplikethat,suddenly
and without question, she
knew that this was the man
she wanted in her life. He
was her prince riding in on a
white stallion, or limousine,
to help her out. She’d never
evenknownthatshewanteda
man to help her out until
Dante came around. But she
loved him. She loved his
strengthandhiswisdom.She
wasstillnotsurewhathefelt
for her, but it would all be
okay.Ithadtobeokay.
They arrived at his
beautiful house and he lifted
herupandoutofthebackof
the limousine. Taking her
hand, he led her through the
foyer. It took only moments
before they were once again
alone and she stood there,
nervously looking at him.
She’d just bared her soul to
him and he’d held her tight,
but he hadn’t said the same
backtoher.
Had she been wrong
about his feelings? Was she
makingtoomuchofthis?
“Don’tlookatmelike
that,Jayden,”hesaidandled
herthroughtohisoffice.
Shesighedandwaited
until the door was closed
behindthem.“Okay,sonow
thatwe’realone,howaboutif
youtellmewhat’sgoingon?”
Herubbedthebackof
his neck. “That’s fair,” he
told her, taking off his jacket
andlooseninghistie.
Still,shewaited.She
watched him as he paced
back and forth and not even
the amazing view could
distractherfromtheworryon
his handsome features.
“Dante, you’re scaring me.
What’sgoingon?”
Helookedoverather,
his lips compressed. “My
father really has to be the
biggest bastard in the history
oftheworld,”hegrumbled.
That wasn’t a good
start,shethought.“Okay,so
whatdidhedo?”
“He’s been married
six times,” he told her,
nodding his head when her
mouth fell open with shock.
“The first one was my
mother. I never knew her.
ShediedwhenIwasbornand
myfatherquicklymarriedhis
second wife. Probably to
ease the pain of losing my
mom, but he’s never said as
much and I don’t really care
either way. You’ve met her
already. She’s the woman
you met earlier today. And
she’s not the worst. She’s
just the one that was the
smartest.Ormaybeshe’sjust
theluckiest.”
When he didn’t
continue,shesaid,“Howwas
shetheluckiest?”
He sighed again and
leaned against the heavy
desk. “When I was in
college, my father ran the
family company. The best
onecansayabouthimisthat
he’sahopelessromantic.He
triedhardtofindlove,hejust
did it in a stupid way. By
marrying the worst females
around.”
“The worst?” she
asked, trying to tease him.
“Surely they weren’t that
bad.”
He looked at her and
nodded his head. “My
mother died when I was
young.Bythetimemyfather
married his second wife, I
was about eight years old.
And I was sent off to
boarding
school
in
Switzerland.”
Jayden gasped. “No!
Eightiswaytooyoungtobe
withoutparents,”sheargued.
“Iwouldagree,except
thatmydadwasofftryingto
tank the company business
and his wife was busy
screwing every male she ran
into. Behind his back, of
course. So it was probably
better that I was home only
duringthesummers.Butthat
timearoundthemwasenough
to give me a pretty good
education.”
She shook her head,
shivers running through her
body at all the horrors he
must have seen through his
young eyes. “What kind of
aneducation?”
A cynical half-smile
formed on his handsome
featuresashelookeddownat
her.“Thekindthatmademe
think that marriage was for
fools.”
Jayden
definitely
didn’t like the direction this
had just taken. “Okay,” she
replied, hoping he would
continue.
“That second wife
was smart, although the
lawyer my father hired to
draw up the prenuptial
agreementwassmarter.She
got thirty percent of the
company. But if she got
pregnant, the shares would
reverttomydad’sheir.”
Jaydenlookedathim,
confused. “But what about
you? I thought you owned
thecompany.”
His lips compressed
and she knew they were
finally coming to the issue.
Or she hoped. “I inherited
thirty percent on my twentyfirstbirthday.Itwasalsothe
day that I realized that the
company was basically
bankrupt. My dad was not a
good businessman. The
company had gone from
assets of about a billion
dollars when he took over
from his father when he was
thirty,toalmostnothingwhen
Iinheritedmythirtypercent.”
The cold was starting
to seep into her bones. She
wasafraidofwherethisstory
wasgoing."Okay,soyougot
thirty percent, your father
retained thirty percent and
your father’s children got
thirty percent, which were
held in trust by this…
woman.DoIhaveallofthis
rightsofar?”
“Yes,” he replied but
his eyes looked bleak.
“Remember
the
smart
lawyer?”
“Yes,”shewhispered.
“He put in a
stipulationthat,ifnochildren
were to come from my
father’s marriage, then she’d
retain the shares. Unless I
producedanheir.”
The cold was now
seeping into her body even
deeper. “I see,” she
whispered. Or maybe she
didn’tseeanything.Shewas
toostunned.Shemighthave
only said the words in her
mind because she couldn’t
look at Dante any longer.
She was cold and his words
weremakingitworse.
She’d just confessed
herloveforthismanandhe’d
admitted that this child, this
precious, unborn being
growing inside of her, might
haveonlybeenawayforhim
to gain total control of his
company.
She sat down, her
eyesstaringatthefloor.
“Jayden, talk to me,”
Dante urged, bending down
so he was at eye level with
her.
She looked up and
found him kneeling in front
ofher.Shehadnoideahow
he’d gotten from one side of
the room to here, but she
shivered, wrapping her arms
around her as if she needed
somewarmth.
“I’m not really sure
what to say,” she told him.
Shecouldn’tevenlookhimin
theeye.“Wouldyoumindif
I had some time alone? To
processallofthis?”
Dante looked at her.
He didn’t want to leave her
alone.Hewantedtopullher
into his arms and hold her.
He wanted to make love to
her and show her how he
felt. But he didn’t really
knowwhathefelt.Heknew
thathewasn’tgoingtolether
outofhislife.Shelovedhim
and she was staying with
him. That was an absolute.
Butotherthanthat,hewasin
murky,unfamiliarterritory.
“Will you tell me
what you’re thinking?” he
asked.Hestartedtotakeher
hand,butshemoveditaway,
telling him silently that she
didn’t want to be touched.
Byhim.
Sheopenedhermouth
but the pain was too much.
Didhefeelanythingforher?
Had this been his plan all
along to get control of his
company? An ugly thought
occurredtoher.
“What
was
the
business problem that our
marriage would solve?” she
asked.
His lips compressed
and he searched her eyes,
wishing there was a way for
him to not tell her this. But
he had to be honest. He
wasn’t sure why he felt the
need to tell her everything,
buthedidn’twanthertofind
out any other way. “My
father agreed to transfer
ownership of his thirty
percentofthecompanyafterI
married.”
The aching cold
seeped even deeper with
thosewords.“Isee,”shetold
himandlookedbackdownat
herhands.
“I’d like to go home
now.” She needed her
sisters. And she needed her
nieces,neededtheirunspoiled
happiness and innocence.
Sheneededtorememberthat
there was good in this world
because Dante’s words, his
manipulation of their entire
relationship was making her
doubt…everything.
Dante’s
chest
constrictedwiththosewords.
“No.”
Jayden jerked as if
he’d hit her and the band
tightened around his chest.
Bendingdownagain,hetook
her hand, refusing to give it
upevenwhenshetriedtopull
awayagain.
“I’m sorry, Jayden.
But I can’t let you leave
here. I don’t know what the
woman will do. I have
Mitch’s private investigators
trying to locate her and find
out what she’s planning but
untilthen,Ineedtokeepyou
safe.”
She heard the words,
but she also understood,
finally,whathemeant.“You
have to keep your heir safe,”
she said with a selfdeprecating grimace. “I
understand.”
Dante stood up and
ranhishandthroughhishair.
“NO!Thishasnothingtodo
withthebaby.”Hesighed.“I
mean,yesitdoes.Butnotin
thewayyouthink.”
Shelookedupathim,
willing him to say the words
she wanted, needed, to hear.
“How should I interpret this
then?”sheasked.
Dante looked back at
her. He saw the hope, the
sparkleinhereyesandknew
that he needed to say
something to her but he had
noideawhattosay.Heonly
knew that he couldn’t let her
go. “Jayden, this is
important.”
Her heart fell again
and she looked down at her
hands again. They were the
only safe place to look.
“Yes.Icanseethat.”
He knew that he’d
flubbed this again but he
didn’t know what to say.
Thiswasforeignterritoryfor
him. “Jayden, listen to
me…”
Jayden stood up and
shook her head. “I’m going
to make some tea,” she told
him, ignoring his look
because she refused to look
him in the eye. “Thank you
foryourhonesty.”
Dante watched her
walk to the door and knew
thattherewasonemorething
he needed to tell her.
“There’s more, Jayden,” he
saidalthoughhisstomachfelt
likeitwasinhisthroat.
Jayden’s hand froze
onthedoorknob.Sheheard
his words but the coldness
was too deep now. “I don’t
thinkIwanttohearmore,do
I?”sheaskedsoftly.
She turned around,
bothhandsbehindherbackas
shestaredathim.Shedidn’t
want him to see how badly
he’d hurt her with all of his
honesty. Her hands were
shaking and her whole body
feltlikeitmightjustbreakin
two. “Okay, give me the
rest.”
Dante rubbed his
face. He didn’t want to tell
her now. He wanted to just
hold her and tell her….Well,
hell, he had no idea what to
tellher.Hewasn’tsurehow
to make this right. He’d
messedupsocompletely.
“I could have stopped
McDonald,”heblurtedout.
Jayden didn’t even
blink. This wasn’t news to
her. He’d come in on his
whitehorseandresolvedthat
particularissuesobeautifully
thatshecouldn’tfaulthimfor
anything he’d done. “But
youdidstophim.Yousaved
me from going out of
business.” As soon as she
said the last word, her
stomach felt sick. The look
inhiseyestoldherthat,once
again, she’d been duped.
How, she wasn’t quite sure,
but she stood very still,
waiting for whatever new
wounds he was about to
inflictuponher.
Danterubbedhishand
over his face, searching for
the right words, something
that could ease all the things
he’d done to this incredible
woman. He didn’t deserve
her, but he damn well was
going to fight for her. How,
he had no idea. But the first
thing he had to do was
confess to what an enormous
bastard he really was. Only
then could he start fresh,
change for her, become the
manshedeserved.
Staring into her green
eyes that were bright from
unshed tears, he told her
everything else, holding
nothing back. “I own the
company.Youdidn’thaveto
movefromtheoldsite.You
couldhavestayedandIcould
have stopped it. McDonald
worksforme.”
She tried to swallow,
butthelumpinherthroatwas
choking her. She stared at
him for a long moment, still
notsurewhattosay.“Isee,”
she finally uttered since he
seemed to be waiting for her
tosaysomething.Shedidn’t
have words though. Jayden
stared at the floor right in
front of her shoes for a long
moment, all the things he’d
told her over the past half
hour flitting through her
mind. Nothing was right,
everything was wrong. “I’ll
gomakethatteanow.”
Shewalkedoutofthe
office, leaving Dante behind
andhopinghewouldn’tcome
out with her. She needed
time to process everything
he’dsaid.
But right now, she
wasn’t going to deal with it.
Openingthatdoorinherheart
might hurt too much. She
didn’t want to deal with his
confessions
or
the
implicationsofwhathe’dtold
hertonight.Nope,thiswasa
teamoment.Ahotcupoftea
could solve the problems of
theworld.Onesipatatime.
She boiled the water
and selected a flavor of tea,
focusing on doing each task
perfectly, carefully. She
filled the cup with steaming
water, added a touch of
honey, then curled her hands
around the cup, letting the
warmthseepintoherfingers.
Carryingtheteaoutof
the kitchen, she slipped her
shoes off of her feet and
curledherlegsupunderneath
her.Herhandsstartedtohurt
andsherealizedthatshewas
gripping the cup of tea too
tightly.
Jaydenjuststaredinto
nothing.Thesunsetoverthe
horizon but she didn’t see
that.Severaltimes,hermind
tried to sift through all the
details,tofigureoutwhatshe
was feeling, but as soon as
she opened the door in her
mind,shehadtoslamitshut.
Itwastoopainful.Thatway
led to heartache and she just
couldn’tdoit.
Several hours later,
Dante ventured out of his
office. He’d tried to work,
buthehadn’tbeenabletoget
anythingdone.Hewantedto
be furious with Jayden for
making him feel so…
confused. But he couldn’t
blame her. This was his
mess. He should have been
more careful with her. He
should have been a better,
morecompassionatemanand
helpedheroutwhenhe’dfirst
discovered what her problem
waswiththebusiness.
Buthe’ddonenoneof
that. He’d used her and
abused her trust at every
opportunity.Andnowhehad
noideahowtofixthis.
How could he have
saved his family’s company,
grownitintoamulti-national
conglomerate with offices in
too many countries to name,
but he couldn’t treat Jayden
with the kindness that she
deserved?
He walked out and
lookedforherinthekitchen.
When he didn’t find her
there, he searched the rest of
the house. He started to
panic, going from room to
room when he couldn’t find
her but as he was racing
down the stairs, ready to call
the guards he’d hired to get
out into the city and find her
when he suddenly stopped in
histracks.
His eyes had sliced
across his great room and
almost missed her. She
looked so tiny sitting on the
leather sofa and his heart
ached to look at her with the
tear streaks down her pale,
perfectcheeks.
She was so beautiful,
hethoughtashelookeddown
ather.Shewascurledup,her
long,darkeyelashesfanning
outonhercheeksassheslept
away. The empty cup was
stillclutchedinherhandsand
he gently pried it out, the
reliefthatshewasstillherein
his
house
almost
overwhelminghim.
Hehadtoprotecther,
he thought as he lifted her
intohisarms.Hecarriedher
upthestairs,bringingherinto
hisbedroom.Hetoedoffhis
shoes, then laid down with
her still in his arms. He
wouldn’t let her go, he told
himself. Yes, he was a
bastard, but he needed her.
Somehow, some way, he
would show her how
important she was to him.
Jayden was his wife and he
would fight for her however
hehadto.
Chapter12
Jayden woke up,
feelingawarmththatseemed
to spread all over her body.
She sighed in her sleep, not
wanting to wake up because
of the wonderful dreams
she’d been having. And she
sensed that waking up would
mean that the pain would
come back. Sleep meant no
pain.Shedidn’tlikethepain.
The heartbeat under
her ear didn’t make sense.
Why would there be a
thumping? Hadn’t she slept
alone? And why wasn’t
RuffusbarkingatOdie?And
Cena? Cena wasn’t tapping
his little hooves all over the
woodenfloors.
Yes,somethingdidn’t
makesense.
The large, firm hand
smoothing up her back
caused her to wake up even
more.Shestirred,buttriedto
snuggle back to that
sleeplessness.
“Jayden,you’regoing
tohavetowakeupandtalkto
me eventually,” Dante said.
He wanted to laugh at the
way she was burrowing her
noseintohisneck,buthewas
in too much pain for
amusement. Her soft breasts
were plastered against him
and her hand was low on his
stomach,lowenoughthatthe
erectionthathadbeenaching
allnightstartedtothrobwith
need.
He knew that waking
up with Jayden in his arms
was possibly the most
wonderful thing he’d ever
experiencedinhislife.
Or it would be if he
could roll her onto her back
andmakelovetoher.
He didn’t, knowing
that there were too many
unresolvedissues.
But when her hand
movedhigherandshepressed
her hips against him, he
groanedoutloud,rousingher
evenmore.
She lifted her head
andlookeddownathim,then
around at the room. “What’s
going on?” she asked, her
voice husky with sleep and,
could he hope, something
more?
“You fell asleep on
the couch. I brought you up
here,” he said and couldn’t
stophishandfromsmoothing
downherback.
Shelookedathim,her
green eyes skimming along
his face as the conversation
from the previous evening
started to filter back into her
mind. With those memories
came all of the hurt and
resentment from the previous
nightandshepulledaway.“I
havetogo,”shetoldhimand
started to push against his
chest, trying to extricate
herselffromhisembrace.
“No,” he told her
firmly.
Jayden bit back the
sob.“PleaseDante.Don’tdo
this to me. I can’t handle
this.It…”
Rollingover,helifted
his weight off of her. “I’m
sorry, Jayden, but I won’t let
yougo.”
She shook her head,
fighting back the tears. “You
don’t have a choice, Dante.
Yougotwhatyouneeded.So
didI.Let’sjustmoveon.”
He hated this. He
hated the hurt in her pretty
green eyes and he hated the
way she was pulling away
fromhim.“No.”
She punched his arm
inanger.“Stopsayingthat!”
shesnapped.“Youcan’tstop
mefromleaving.”
He knew that was
true, but he had to figure
thingsout.Hehadtogether
tostayhere,withhim.
“I can’t let you go,”
hetoldher.
He stood up and
walked away. Both of them
were still fully clothed
although their clothes were
rumpled.“Jayden,damnit,I
know that I hurt you, but
you’ve got to believe me
when I say that this wasn’t
myintention.”
Sheclimbedoffofhis
bed as well, moving to the
othersideofthebedroomand
crossing her arms over her
chest. “I don’t believe you.
Younowhavefullcontrolof
your company, Dante.
Everything is perfect. You
have everything you want!”
She pushed her hair back,
wishingshehadabrush.And
atoothbrush.
And a bathroom, she
thought.
Dante immediately
knew what was going on.
“Through the door to the
right,”hetoldherwithahalfsmile.
Jayden
hurried
through the door and did her
business. When she looked
in the mirror, she was
horrified at her appearance.
Her hair was going
everywhere,hermascarawas
smeared underneath her eyes
and her nose was red from
crying. “Good grief,” she
mumbled and immediately
tried to spruce up a bit. She
found some mouthwash and
finger combed her hair,
cleared her makeup from
underneath her eyes, but she
still didn’t look very
presentable. At least she
wasn’t feeling sick. She
supposed she had Dante’s
harsh reality to thank for
that.
Shesighed,thinkingit
wasgoingtobehardtohave
a conversation with Dante,
who always looked amazing,
when she looked like death
warmedover.
Buttherewasnothing
she could do about it. And
she needed some tea. And
crackers. Her stomach was
not happy this morning but
shewasn’tthrowinganything
up,whichwasanicechange.
Stepping out of the
bathroom,shelookedaround,
hoping to find that he’d
alreadyleft.
Noluck.Hewasstill
there,pacingbackandforth.
When she’d opened
the door, he looked up and
shesawsomethingstrangein
his eyes. “I know, I look
horrible.”
He stopped and
stared. “You look beautiful
tome.”
That was such a
startling lie, she had to look
upathim.Buthiseyesdidn’t
seemtobelookingatherasif
he were teasing her. They
lookedsincere.
“Anyway,” she said,
changingthesubject.
Danteshookhishead.
“Jayden, you’re the most
beautiful woman I’ve ever
seen,”hesaidandthatsincere
lookwasrightbackagain.
“You’rebeing…’
“Honest. I’m being
honest with you. And I’m
sorry about yesterday. I
should have anticipated that
that woman would confront
you, but I hadn’t thought
beyondthefactthatyouwere
pregnant. I hadn’t gone
beyond anything to consider
anyramifications.”
Jayden paused and
looked into his eyes. “You
hadn’t
anticipated
full
ownership of your company
now that an heir was on the
way?” she asked, her voice
smallandwary.
“No. That ridiculous
prenup of my father’s hadn’t
entered my mind since the
day I flew out to Athens and
showed him our marriage
license. I haven’t even told
him that you’re pregnant
becauseIdon’tthinkitisany
ofhisbusiness.Idon’tknow
how my father’s ex-wife
foundoutaboutthebaby,but
Ididn’ttellher.She’dbethe
last person I’d inform
because she’s a horrible
humanbeing.”
“You haven’t told
your father about the baby?”
sheasked.
He walked over to
her,toweringoverherbuthe
didn’ttouchher.“Itisn’tthat
I’m not excited about this,
Jayden.ButIdon’twanthim
to have anything to do with
this child. He was such a
horrible role model that I
don’t want him to influence
ourbabyinanyway.Infact,
I want to protect both of you
frommyfather.”
She thought that was
sweet, in a twisted, horrible
sort of way. “Was he really
that bad?” she asked, her
heartmeltinginadvertently.
“Yes,” he stated
emphatically. “And this
whole mess with your
company’s location, it turned
out for the best, right? I
mean, I’m sorry that I was
suchanass,butyou’rehappy
in your new location, right?
Your business has been
growing over the past few
weeks, you’ve taken on new
personnelandhaveexpanded
intonewareas.Soitcan’tbe
allbad,right?”
He had a point, she
thought.“Well…”
Her words shot a ray
of hope straight through his
body and he pushed on,
tryinghardtofigureoutother
benefits to their relationship.
She’d heard all the bad but
there had to be something
good. “And we’re already
married,” he persisted. He
took her hand and led her
backovertothebed.“Iwill
makethisright,Jayden.”
They were almost the
wordsshewantedtohear.So
close. “Why? Why would
you do that? Why do you
evencare?”
Dante stood up and
walked around, his hand
messing up his hair even
more and endearing her
towardshimonceagain.She
tried to fight against those
feelings. She didn’t want to
love him. But she couldn’t
break the perception that,
deep down, he was a good
man.Awonderfulman.
“I
don’t
know,
Jayden. I don’t understand
what’sgoingoninmymind.
Thingsjust…theydon’tmake
sense.”
Thatlittlecrackinthe
dooropenedwider.“Canyou
tell me what you’re
feeling?”Ohplease,tellme
that you care just a tiny bit,
she thought, her eyes once
againfillingwithhope.
Dante saw the look
and shook his head. “I can’t
answer
that
question,
Jayden.”
Shefrowned,tryingto
understand. “You can’t? Or
youwon’t?”
He
shrugged,
struggling
to
figure
something out. “I can’t. I
don’t know. I don’t…” he
sighed and mussed his hair
again.“Jayden,look,you’ve
gottounderstandsomething.
Igrewuphatingmyfather.I
saw him go through women
as if they were some sort of
disposable asset. They said
they loved him until he
married each one and then
they turned into shrews.
They
were
mean,
manipulative
and
truly
disgustingindividuals.”
Oh what a horrible,
demoralizing childhood this
manhadendured!“Andyou
think that’s going to happen
to me?” she whispered,
fighting
back
that
excruciatingpainagain.
He shook his head,
knowing that she was the
complete opposite of the
women he’d known in the
past, both as his stepmothers
as well as his mistresses.
“No!Absolutelynot!Infact,
justtheopposite.That’spart
of the problem! Because I
knowthatyou’renotgoingto
turn into a shrew, I’m not
surewhatIfeelforyou.”
The relief she felt
almost made her dizzy.
“Okay,”shereplied,herhand
unconsciously covering her
stomach. “So…if you don’t
know what you are feeling,
how about if you tell me…”
shehesitated,afraidofasking
this question. “Well, maybe
justtellmehowyoupicturea
future between the two of
us.”
He bent down on one
knee in front of her. “I
picture growing old with
you. I see the two of us
cominghomeeverynightand
youinmyarms.Ineverwant
to let you go, Jayden. Even
last night when you were
sleeping on the sofa, I
couldn’tstandit.Iknewthat
you didn’t want me to touch
youbutIcouldn’tstop.”He
grippedherhandsinhisashe
said, “I want to protect you
andkeepyousafe.Iwantto
see you smile every morning
andIwanttokissyoubefore
youfallasleep.”
His words were
creating a crazy bubble of
happiness inside of her. But
his last words seemed a bit
incomplete. “Just kiss me
goodnight?” she asked,
thinkingofallthetimeshe’d
held her in his arms. Dante
wasnotamantobesatisfied
withasimplekissgoodnight.
He chuckled for the
first time in twenty-four
hours. “Okay, so I want to
makelovetoyoueverynight
before you fall asleep and I
want to make love to you in
the morning as well. Hell, I
want to make love to you
wheneverIseeyou.”
She held her breath
with those words. “So…you
wanttoloveme?”sheasked,
then froze, afraid of his
response.
The startled look in
his eyes made her heart
cringe. “Never mind,” she
told him and tried to step
aroundhim.Buthewouldn’t
let her go. His hands
tightened and he couldn’t
believewhathewasaboutto
say.
“Yes.”
Jayden froze as well.
She stopped trying to get
awayfromhimandlookedup
into his eyes. “Yes?” she
asked, not sure what he
meant.
He swallowed and
tested the word out in his
mind. When it didn’t make
himsickorfurious,hesaidit
again,mentallyapplyingitto
the way he felt towards this
beautiful woman. “Yes,” he
muttered. Then said it
louder. “Damn, yes!” he
almostshouted.
Hestoodupandlifted
herintohisarms,huggingher
as he buried his face in her
hair.“Ahhell,Jayden.Ilove
you!I’msuchanidiot!”He
swung her around, her feet
flying up into the air as he
hugged her. “I love you! I
can’tbelieveIdidn’trealizeit
beforebutyes.Iloveyou!I
loveeverythingaboutyou!”
He leaned his head
back. “I can’t believe what
an idiot I’ve been, Jayden.
AndI’msosorry!”
She
laughed,
delighted with his words.
That bubble had burst and
was showering sunshine
downonher.“Youloveme,”
shewhisperedhappily.
“Yes! I’ve been so
swamped with anger for my
father and disgust at the idea
of love that I hadn’t even
realizedthatI’minlove.The
possibilitywasabsolutelynot
something I would allow to
happen. Not after what my
father went through with all
ofhiswives.”
He set her down but
wouldn’t let her move away
from him. “Can you forgive
me for being so obtuse?” he
asked.
Jayden
laughed
delightedly. “Only if you
promisenevertodoitagain.”
He chuckled and took
her lips. “Promise,” he said
softly.
Suddenly, she fought
to get out of his arms. “Let
me go!” she almost yelled at
him.
Dante wasn’t sure
what was going on but he
released her, his mind trying
to figure out why she was
angrywithhimnow.
But all he saw was a
blur as the love of his life
raced towards the bathroom
again. And then he
understood. He almost
smacked his head as he
grasped that she was going
through morning sickness.
Somuchfornotbeingobtuse,
hethoughtashefollowedher
intothebathroom.
He found her leaning
against the wall of the
bathroom, her eyes closed
and her breathing slow and
steady. “Can I get you
anything?”heaskedgently.
She couldn’t answer
him, feeling as if she might
not be completely finished.
Soshejustshiftedherheadas
slightlyasshecouldandstill
get her message across to
him. He disappeared and
came back a few minutes
later. When the magnificent
man handed her a couple of
crackers, she thought she
might just weep with relief
but the only effort she could
managewastobringthemup
tohermouthandnibbleona
drycorner.
“I’m going to pick
youupnow,okay?”
Jayden wanted to tell
him no, but she really did
wanttofeelhiswarmth.She
couldn’t do anything to help
him at this point though.
Thankfully, Dante managed
to lift her up with barely any
jostling. The only thing she
had to do was lean her head
against one of his wonderful,
broad shoulders. He carried
herintothebedroomandshe
thoughthemightputherback
into bed but he walked over
to one of the chairs by the
window and just sat down
with her in his arms. He
didn’t move while she
nibbled on the crackers, just
heldhergentlyinhisarms.
A long time later, she
could breathe a bit more
deeply without her stomach
heaving. “I think I’m okay
for now,” she whispered to
him.
“Are you sure?” he
asked, still not moving or
touching her other than to
makesureshewassafe.
“No,”shelaughedbut
was able to turn her head
closer to him. “Thank you,”
shewhispered.
She felt is body
tighten up a moment before
he said, “I love you.” She
smiledbuthecouldn’tseeher
face since she was still
leaningagainsthischest.
“I love you too,” she
repliedwithfeeling.
“Ididn’tpurposelyget
you pregnant,” she felt his
hand on her head as his
fingers tangled in her hair,
“but I’m not sorry that you
are.”
Jayden
laughed
slightly. “Oh, you will be,”
sheteased.
He shifted so that he
could look into her eyes.
“Why?”
Jayden’s
grin
widened. “Well, you know
I’m one of a set of triplets,
right?”shepointedout.
Hestiffenedagainand
her smile grew even bigger.
“Yes.”
Jayden
snuggled
against him. “Well, my
mother is a twin. My sister
had twins. My grandmother
was one of a set. My aunt
had twins.” She let those
words sink in for a moment.
“Now, we won’t know for a
month or two, but,” she
shrugged,“youneverknow.”
Shethoughtshemight
bemakinghimnervousabout
the whole idea, but when his
handmovedoverherstomach
and a smile grew across his
handsome face, she sighed
withrelief.
“Twins, eh?” he
asked, thinking it over. “I
likethatidea.”
She
laughed.
“Probably twin girls,” she
warned.
That knocked the
smileoffofhisface.“No!”
She laughed, the
soundalmostagiggleandshe
leaned her head back against
hischest.“Yep.Twingirls.
Ormaybeeventripletgirls!”
Theideamadehershiverbut
she loved teasing him even
more.
“Stop it, Jayden,” he
warned, his arms wrapping
around her, pulling her
closer.
Jayden felt like the
world was a wonderful place
again.
Epilogue
“So you’re already
married,” Jasmine said,
taking the news smoothly.
“You’re still getting a huge
reception.”
Janine was nodding
her head in agreement.
“Huge!”shelaughed.
Dante stood to the
side, leaning one of those
magnificentshouldersagainst
the wall. While Jasmine and
Janine started planning,
Jaydenjuststaredathim,her
eyes telling him silently that
she wished they were alone.
And he relayed the same
messagerightbacktoher,but
he was more wicked. His
eyes moved lower, focusing
on her breasts, then back up
to her eyes and she held her
breath as she imagined what
he might be thinking about,
what they could be doing
rightaboutnow.
“What’s going on?”
Aunt Mary asked, leading in
Dana and Dalia who
immediately jumped up onto
thesteelcountertop.
“Aunt Jay is going to
have babies,” Dana said as
she picked up a carrot stick
andstartednibbling.
Therewasathumpin
the back doorway as Aunt
Marydroppedthetwobagsof
groceries as well as her
purse.
There had been chaos
a moment ago with several
people talking, the girls
giggling and rustling noises
all around. But with that
announcement, there was
absolute silence. Even Dana
and Dalia stopped crunching
their carrot sticks and looked
up,theirbig,blueeyestrying
tofigureoutwhatwaswrong
withtheadultsintheirlives.
“Pregnant?”
Aunt
Mary finally whispered. A
muffled cry came from their
mother standing right behind
hersister.
Janine and Jasmine
lookedatJayden,apologizing
withtheireyesbeforeturning
to their mother and aunt.
“Well, yes,” Janine said and
cleared her throat. “But take
heart!” she said with a huge,
fake smile. “She’s already
married!”
Mary and Maggie
looked at Jayden who was
now standing up, wringing
her hands nervously. “I can
explain,”shesaidquickly.
Walking over to
Dante,whohadbeenrelaxed,
almost amused, at the scene
unfolding around him. He
slipped his arm around her
waist protectively and kissed
the top of her head. “Mom,
Aunt Mary, this is Dante
Liakos.Myhusband.”
The two women,
mouths still hanging open,
were looking at Jayden, still
silent.Thatinitselfwasodd
because those women were
chatterboxes.
“Married?”
Mary
finallysaid.
“Pregnant?” Maggie
addedin.
Dante
stepped
forward and with his arm
wrapped around Jayden he
extendedhishandtohisnew
mother-in-law. “I know that
the way we did things was
unconventional, and when
you hear the whole story,
you’re not going to like me
very much, but I can assure
you that I love your
daughter.Witheverypartof
my being. And I will show
her how much I love her
everydayofmylife.”
MaggieandMarystill
continuedtostare.
Jayden
became
concerned as the two women
didn’t say a word. “Mom?
Aunt Mary, this is a good
thing,”shetoldthem.
Dana giggled and
Dalia shushed her. “They’re
doing ‘dult things!” she told
hertwin.
Dana got that look in
hereyes,thelookthatalways
meant trouble. “I think she
should get married again,”
she told everyone. “Dalia
and I should be flower girls
together. We can put down
doublethepetalsthatway.”
Maggie and Mary
both turned to look at the
girlsandthatseemedtobreak
thesilence.Chaosonceagain
erupted.“Youcandamnwell
be sure that you’ll be getting
married again!” Mary said,
stepping forward. Maggie
benttopickupthegroceries.
“And a reception!”
theirmotherdeclared.These
two women weren’t backing
downeither.
Dante chuckled and
squeezedJayden.“Youwere
right,” he said in her ear.
“Theyarewonderful.”
Jayden laughed and
hugged him, feeling like the
world was perfect once
again.
Excerpt from The
Italian’s
Twin
Surprise, Book 2 in
The Hart Sisters
Trilogy
“Ciao, bella,” a deep
voicesaidfromthedoorway.
Janine’s hands froze.
Her whole body froze. Her
mind froze. That voice! It
couldn’t be him! She hadn’t
heard that voice since…Oh
no!
When the shock
dissipatedslightly,sheturned
her head and looked towards
thedoor.Itwashim!Itwas
Micah! Tall, rugged, sexy
and raw! A wicked alpha
male all wrapped up in an
elegant suit that tried and
failed to mask the savage
sexuality of the man she’d
painfully, brutally left in her
past.
“You!” she gasped.
Her flight or fight instincts
clicked in as adrenaline shot
throughherwholebody.“Get
out!” she almost screamed,
grabbingwhateverwashandy
touseasaweapon.Hedidn’t
move, and if she’d been
thinkingrationally,shewould
haveanticipatedthat.Noone
gave orders to Micah.
Absolutely no one! But she
wasn’tinherrightmind.She
was fighting now, desperate
togethimoutofherlifeonce
more. The last time, he had
turnedherworldupsidedown
and she absolutely refused to
givehimthatpoweroverher
again.
“Get
out!”
she
repeated, glaring at him with
hurt and anger when that
black eyebrow went up in
reaction. “You’re not
welcomehere!”
Janine shivered with
unwelcome awareness when
thosesinfullydark,blueeyes
moved down her body,
pausing at her breasts. She
hatedthefactthattheremight
be some reaction to him that
wasvisiblethroughherwhite
tee-shirt, and cursed herself
for not donning her apron
beforeshestartedcooking.
Micah moved further
into the large, brightly lit
kitchen. It smelled like
vanilla and chives. An odd
combination,
but
he
remembered that this woman
had never been particularly
conventional. Sexy, alluring
andunsettlinglybeautiful,but
never predictable. “After all
these years, that’s the
welcomeIget?Stomale,”he
saidinItalian.“I’mhurt.”
She glared right back
at him, shaking her head.
“You’re not hurt! You’re
impervious to pain or
criticism. So don’t you dare
pretend otherwise.” She
wishedoneofhersisterswas
nearby. They were triplets
who had created a catering
company together, and
usually they were almost
tripping over each other as
they worked in the kitchen,
creating gourmet delicacies
for their clients. This just
happened to be one of those
rare times when she was
alone. Even her wonderful
twin daughters, Dana and
Dalia,wereoffatpreschool.
Oh, why had she
decidedtocooktodayinstead
of taking the day off like
everyone else had done?
Now she was alone with the
onemanwhocouldhurther.
The one man who had done
such horrible damage to her
the last time he’d come into
herlife.Andshehadnoidea
how to handle him. Not
when he was looking so…
amazing.
Micah looked at the
woman who had haunted his
dreams for the past five
years. It was still there, he
realized. Possibly even
stronger than before. That
attraction that had lured him
into her sphere back in Italy
was still there and he almost
cursed that fact. He wanted
this woman with a painful
lust that surged through him
whenevershewasnear.Five
years ago, he hadn’t even
needed to see her and his
body would react to her
presence. Back then, there
had been times when she
would be walking down the
hallwaytomeethimforlunch
ordinnerandhewouldsense
her presence. Every part of
his body immediately primed
forhertouch,herkiss.
Micah moved closer,
his eyes taking in all the
changesinherfigureandher
pretty,greeneyes.Itseemed
impossible,
but
Micah
thought she was actually
more beautiful now than she
had been five years ago.
There was a maturity now.
Before, she’d been all
innocence and sensuality.
Now, she was pure woman
with fuller breasts and hips
that he ached to touch. “I
tried to stay away, mia
amore. But you win. I’m
here.Istillwantyou.”
She gasped and
gripped the wooden spoon
harder. “Don’t you dare say
words like that!” she almost
screamedathim,paintearing
throughherattheideathathe
still wanted her. She was
blinded by that pain, by the
simple announcement that
he’d casually dropped in on
herlife.“Idon’t!Anddon’t
youdarecallme‘yourlove’,
youbastard.Lovewasnever
apartofourrelationship.”At
least not on his part, she
thought with agonizing
resentment. She’d loved this
man with every fiber of her
being, but he’d only wanted
sex. And for three glorious
months, she’d pretended that
sex was enough. That she
lovedhimenoughforbothof
them. But between the
realization that he would
never love her back and that
his parents despised her, she
acceptedthattheirmadaffair
needed to come to an end.
Well, and the fact that he
didn’t want children. Or
marriage.Oranysortoflong
termcommitment.
Hemovedfurtherinto
the kitchen, with scents
reminding him of onions and
cupcakes.Micahwantedthis
woman. He remembered
watching her cook for him,
herpassioninthekitchenand
the way she would put her
heart and soul into her food.
And into the way she made
love to him. Holding her in
his arms had been like
holding the sun, all heat and
almost
uncontrollable
flames.Ithadbeeninspiring,
and never had he reacted to
any woman the same way.
Notbeforeherandnotsince.
So he’d finally given
in and came to find the
womanhewanteddesperately
backinhisbed.“Perhapswe
could start again and we
might fall in love this time,”
he said, moving closer,
slowly as if he were
approaching a wounded
animal.
Janine’s fury reared
upagainathisstatement.His
callous words, the same
words she’d desperately
wantedtohearfiveyearsago,
slashedopenthewoundsthat
had never completely healed
andshefoughtthetearsathis
new betrayal. “Perhaps you
should just turn right around
andleavemealone.”
He chuckled, the
sound low and sexy. It sent
fresh singes of excitement
throughout her body. She’d
heard that sound so many
times while wrapped in his
arms. He’d been her first
lover….and her last. Oh,
how many times had he
shown her something new
sexually and she’d blushed?
Then he’d made that sound
when she’d liked whatever
he’d shown her. Goodness,
she couldn’t even count the
number of times that had
happened and her face
suffused with traitorous
color.
He was close now,
towering over her with both
his height and his broad
shoulders. She remembered
holding those expansive,
muscular shoulders when
theyweremakinglove.He’d
taken her so high, she’d
thought she was falling from
heavenaftereveryexperience
with him. His eyes, always
soobservant,instantlycaught
the blush that stained her
cheeksatthememory.
His deep, husky
chuckle startled her and her
green eyes snapped up to his
darker blue ones. “I see you
arerememberinghowgoodit
was between us. Are you
willing to throw that away
again?I’mhere.I’mwilling
tolistenandfindoutwhatto
do to make you happy this
time.”
That only infuriated
her further. She’d gone
through hell getting over this
man the first time, only to
discover weeks later that she
was pregnant. For months
she’dcriedovertheheartache
of leaving him, of losing the
hopes and dreams that she
hadn’t even imagined until
he’d walked into her life.
There was also the fear, the
humiliation of coming back
from Italy pregnant. She’d
been attending culinary
school, full of hopes and
dreams, and then suddenly
hadtotellherparentsandher
sisters about stupidly falling
inlovewithamanwhodidn’t
love her. And now he was
here again, tearing up her
newfound peace with a
simple, “I’m here.” As if she
should just drop everything
she’d been doing and
planningwithherlifebecause
he’d come back?! No way!
“Perhaps I’m no longer
willing.”
He laughed softly
again. “Perhaps I could
remind you of how it was
betweenus.Howitcouldbe
again.” He moved even
closerandJaninepanicked.
“Don’t come any
closer! And don’t you dare
comeinhereandassumethat
wecanpickupwhereweleft
off! You gave up that right
when you let me go the last
time.”
He didn’t stop, but
movedseveralfeetcloser.So
close she was now craning
her head back to search his
eyes, needing to gauge his
next move. “Things were
difficult back then,” he
explained, his dark eyes not
leaving her face. “And you
ran away before we could
discusswhatyouwanted.”
Thathurt!Morethan
she wanted to admit, his
words wounded her right to
the bone. Good grief, how
she’d loved him and she’d
onlybeenyetanotherloverin
a long line that had skipped
through his bedroom. Her
green eyes blazed with fury.
“Oh, and you’re willing to
give me everything I want
now?”
She saw those dark,
sexy eyes shutter at that
question. “I’m willing to
try,” he replied smoothly.
“Let’s see what happens this
timearound.”
She couldn’t believe
her ears. The man might be
crazywealthyandbrilliantat
business, but he was clueless
when it came to women. Or
more specifically, with her.
He had no idea how she had
felt about him, how she’d
loved him with all of her
heart.Norwouldsheeverlet
himknow.Hedidn’tdeserve
to know since he’d let her
go. He hadn’t tried to find
her and when she’d tried to
contact him, he hadn’t taken
hercalls.He’drejectedherat
a time when she was
vulnerable,
scared
and
desperate. That panic and
dismissalhadhelpedherheal,
helped her become angry at
hisrejection.She’dusedthat
anger to regain her life, to
start all over again and get
over the man who had hurt
hersocompletely.
She straightened her
shoulders, determined to get
himbackoutofherlife.Her
chin went up defiantly and
she was unaware of how her
greeneyeschallengedhim.If
she’d known, she probably
wouldhaveputsunglasseson
so that he couldn’t see her
eyes. She didn’t want this
man in her life. Once had
been too much for her
vulnerable,
tender
and
romantic heart. She would
protectherselfthistimefrom
this heartless, soulless man.
“No. We’re not testing the
waters,we’renotgettingback
together. Just turn around
and get the hell out of my
kitchen.” She grabbed the
nearest hard object and
stepped farther away from
him, lifting her spoon back
overherheadinathreatening
manner.
His eyes moved
upwards where her hand was
still gripping the wooden
spoon raised high over her
head.“Orwhat?You’llbash
mewiththespoon?”heasked
withthatroguishsmile.
She didn’t know that
itwasaspoonshe’dgrabbed
asaweapon.Itseemedsilly
right now, but it was all she
had at the moment. “Yes,”
she whispered nervously
because he was coming
closer. She tried to back up
but she was already cornered
by the stove. “Leave me
alone,”shedemanded,almost
pleading with him now
because he was so close, she
couldsmellhim,couldalmost
taste him and that was bad!
Smelling that amazing, citrus
aftershave that he preferred
tantalized all of her senses,
made her head spin with a
need that had been viciously
suppressed for five, long
years. Five years during
which she’d ached to have
him hold her in his arms
again,tofeelhisheatkeeping
herwarmatnight.Fiveyears
when she’d cried herself to
sleep too many times,
wishing that she’d been
enoughforhim,thathecould
have loved her just a small
amount.
“I don’t think I can,”
he replied softly. A moment
later,onearmswoopedupto
capture the wrist holding the
woodenspoonwhilehisother
grabbed her around her
waist.Onemoment,shewas
standing there threatening
him.Thenext,shewasinhis
arms and he was kissing her
likehewasravenousforher.
Janine had always
been weak where this man
was concerned and she
couldn’t fight the need, the
desperate, clawing craving
that surged up at the first
touchofhislipsagainsthers.
His hand slid up her arm,
taking the wooden spoon out
of her hand and placing her
palmagainsthisneck,telling
her exactly how he wanted
her to touch him. Memories
swarmed her mind and her
body pressed against his,
shiftingeversoslightlytoget
a better feel for his hard
frame. He was bigger, she
thought. More muscular and
stronger. She was almost
dizzy with need for him, so
when he lifted her onto the
counter and moved her legs
apart so his hips could slip
between them, she just about
cried out with the new
pleasure.
“Why are you doing
this?” she sobbed even while
her hands moved down his
chest and his own hands
movedtoherbottom,pulling
her heat closer to his
hardness. She gasped, her
eyes closing, and she had to
bite down hard on her lower
lip to stop herself from
screamingout.
“Because I can’t
stop,” he explained with a
rough voice. Gone was the
suave, sophisticated man that
hadswampedhersenseswith
sensuality. This was raw
passion, painful desire. He
kissed her again, his hands
cupping her bottom so that
their bodies were lined up
perfectly. The man was a
sensualist extraordinaire and
just the slightest shift, the
smallest movement was
perfectly placed to give her
pleasure so intense, she was
shaking and begging him for
moreofthesame.
The
back
door
slamming was like a bucket
of ice water raining down
overherhead.Foramoment,
they stared into each other’s
eyesbutthenmoremovement
indicating that someone was
coming into the kitchen
spurred Janine into action.
Shejerkedbackwards,almost
toppling off of the metal
counter in her effort to get
awayfromMicah,horrifiedat
what they’d just been doing.
“I couldn’t find the truffles,”
her Aunt Mary called out.
“Oh!”
Janine jerked back,
pushing an equally startled
Micah away from her so she
could jump down off of the
counter. She started to walk
away,butstoppedandhurried
back, grabbing the counter
because her knees weren’t
quite up for the challenge of
holding her upright after
beinginMicah’sarmsagain.
AuntMarystoppedin
the doorway leading to the
kitchen,hereyestakinginher
beautifulnieceandastrange,
very tall, very powerful
lookingman.Somethingwas
going on. A strange, almost
tangibletensionwasintheair
betweenthesetwopeoplethat
could easily be described as
combatants because of the
waytheywereglaringateach
other, then at her. “I’m
sorry. Did I interrupt
something important?” Her
green eyes were bouncing
between Janine and the tall,
astonishingly attractive man
standing next to her niece.
“I’ll just go,” she started to
say.
“No!” Janine almost
yelled, her hands moving
forward to stop the only
protection she had against
Micah starting his seduction
again. “No,” she repeated
less forcefully. “This man
wasjustleaving.”
His black eyebrow
went up with that statement.
“Iwas?”
Shelookedupathim,
then at her aunt who was
glancing between her and
Micahwithgrowinginterest.
“Yes. You were leaving
because we’ve discussed
everything we needed to
discuss.Issuefinished.Case
closed.”
Micah grabbed her
around the waist again,
unconcerned
about
his
audience now. He was
furiousthathislovelyJanine,
the woman who had melted
whenhe’dbarelyevenlooked
atherandhadjustsuccumbed
inhisarmsmomentsago,was
tryingtodismisshim.Noone
dismissed him! He did the
dismissing! He was the one
in control. “Case is not
closed. Issues are wide
open. And don’t you forget
it,” he said, his hand moving
alongherskin.Heknewshe
was trying not to shiver in
reaction, but he knew her
body too well. He knew all
the places that would give
him the response he wanted.
So when his hand hit that
place on her side, just above
her hip bone, he smiled
triumphantly as her jaw
clenched and her eyes
closed.
List of Elizabeth
LennoxBooks
TheTexasTycoon’s
Temptation
TheRoyalCordova
Trilogy
EscapingaRoyal
Wedding
TheMan’s
OutrageousDemands
MistresstothePrince
TheAttracelli
FamilySeries
NeverDareATycoon
FallingForTheBoss
RiskyNegotiations
ProposalToLove
Love'sNotTerrifying
RomanticAcquisition
TheBillionaire's
Terms:PrisonOrPassion
TheSheik'sLove
Child
TheSheik's
UnfinishedBusiness
TheGreekTycoon's
Lover
TheSheik'sSensuous
Trap
TheGreek'sBaby
Bargain
TheItalian'sBedroom
Deal
TheBillionaire's
Gamble
TheTycoon's
SeductionPlan
TheSheik's
RebelliousMistress
TheSheik'sMissing
Bride
BlackmailedByThe
Billionaire
TheBillionaire's
RunawayBride
TheBillionaire's
ElusiveLover
TheIntimate,Intricate
Rescue
TheSisterhood
Trilogy
TheSheik'sVirgin
Lover
TheBillionaire's
ImpulsiveLover
TheRussian'sTender
Lover
TheBillionaire's
GentleRescue
TheTycoon'sToddler
Surprise
TheTycoon'sTender
Triumph
TheFriendsForever
Series
TheSheik's
MysteriousMistress
TheDuke'sWillful
Wife
TheTycoon's
MarriageExchange
TheSheik'sSecret
Twins
TheRussian'sFurious
Fiancée
TheTycoon's
MisunderstoodBride
LoveByAccident
Series
TheSheik'sPregnant
Lover
TheSheik'sFurious
Bride
TheDuke'sRunaway
Princess
TheRussian's
PregnantMistress
TheLovers
ExchangeSeries
TheEarl'sOutrageous
Lover
TheTycoon's
ResistantLover
TheSheik'sReluctant
Lover
TheSpanishTycoon's
Temptress
TheBerutelliEscape
ResistingThe
Tycoon'sSeduction
TheBillionaire’s
SecretiveEnchantress
TheBillionaire’s
PregnantLover
TheSheik’s
RediscoveredLover
TheTycoon’sDefiant
SouthernBelle
TheSheik’s
DangerousLover(Novella)
TheThorpe
Brothers
HisCaptiveLover
HisUnexpectedLover
HisSecretiveLover
HisChallenging
Lover
TheSheik’sDefiant
Fiancée(Novella)
ThePrince’sResistant
Lover(Novella)
TheTycoon’sMakeBelieveFiancée(Novella)
TheFriendship
Series
TheBillionaire’s
Masquerade
TheRussian’s
DangerousGame
TheSheik’sBeautiful
Intruder
TheLoveand
DangerSeries–Romantic
Mysteries
IntimateDesires
IntimateCaresses
IntimateSecrets
IntimateWhispers
TheAlfieriSaga
TheItalian’s
PassionateReturn(Novella)
HerGentleCapture
HisReluctantLover
HerUnexpected
Admirer
HerTenderTyrant
Releasingthe
Billionaire’sPassion
(Novella)
HisExpectantLover
(January2015)
TheSheik’sIntimate
Proposition(Novella)
TheHartSistersTrilogy
TheBillionaire’sSecret
Marriage
TheItalian’sTwinSurprise
(March,2015)
TheForbiddenRussianLover
(April,2015)