Yahrah St. John - His Marriage Demand

His breathing was ragged but he managed to say, “I’ve proven you are interested, but I’ll give you some time to think about my offer.”

Fallon looked up, dazed and confused. “Wait a minute.” How could he compose himself after that kiss? “How much time?” she croaked out.

“Forty-eight hours.”

She shook her head. “I can’t make a decision about the rest of my life in two days.”

“Well, that’s too damn bad because that’s my offer,” Gage responded. “You can take it or leave it. It’s up to you.” He tapped the face of his Rolex watch. Then he reached inside his suit jacket and pulled out his business card. “My personal cell. Call me when you’re ready to say yes.”

* * *

A whirlwind of thoughts swirled around Fallon’s mind as she somehow managed to drive herself home from her dinner with Gage. When she got back to the cottage she kicked off her heels, undressed and removed her makeup, and put on her old college T-shirt. Sliding into her king-size platform bed and falling back against the pillows, Fallon recalled the bombshell Gage dropped.

Marry me.

Gage had proposed marriage in exchange for saving Stewart Technologies, the company her father started forty years ago. Could she let it slip through her fingers without a fight? But Gage wasn’t offering a marriage in name only. He wanted them to become lovers.

The thought both excited and terrified her, especially after that hot kiss at the restaurant. Her attempt to appear unaffected had been smashed to smithereens. The chemistry between them was off the charts. He’d smelled and tasted so good. And the way he’d held her close, her heart had fluttered unlike anything she’d ever felt with other men. Had his one life-changing kiss all those years ago ruined her for anyone else? Because there hadn’t been many men. Since Gage she’d never succeeded in finding someone who could fulfill an ache. So instead she focused on her career at the expense of her personal life. Work was her baby, so much so she hadn’t given much thought to marriage or children.

Would Gage want children?

No, no, no. She shook her head. She wouldn’t have children with a man as part of a business arrangement or for money like her mother had. She was no fool. She knew Nora hadn’t married her father for love. Instead she’d married him for the life he could give her. Fallon wouldn’t want that for herself or for Gage. And why would he want to marry her anyway? She’d lied and cost his family their livelihood. He should hate her but instead he was offering her a way out. It didn’t make sense. He could be setting her up for failure so he could give her the comeuppance he thought she deserved.

Was she honestly giving Gage’s proposal serious consideration? She couldn’t. Shouldn’t. He’d been a brute, only giving her forty-eight hours to make a life-changing decision. Marry him or risk losing the company. Marry him and agree to be his wife, his lover . He could have been her first if they hadn’t been interrupted by her parents. Fallon remembered the passion she’d felt in his arms then and now. Was it fate they would end up in this predicament? Was she always destined to be his?

* * *

Unable to sleep, Gage restlessly prowled his penthouse. Wondering. Wishing. Hoping.

Would Fallon say yes?

Would she agree to marry him?

He knew it was wrong to give her an ultimatum but he’d had to. Once she committed, he didn’t want her to change her mind. When she agreed to be his and his alone, they would have a quick engagement, a big splashy wedding and a satisfying honeymoon. He wanted the entire community and all of Austin society to know he , the maid’s son, had bagged Fallon Stewart, heiress to Stewart Technologies. He would rub it in all their faces that the young man they’d bullied because of his humble background had turned into a successful and wealthy entrepreneur.

Fallon needed to agree. She wasn’t going to get a better offer. She’d exhausted every avenue. No one was going to lend her the amount of money required to turn the company around. A personal gift from him to Fallon would ensure Stewart Technologies stayed viable. In the meantime, since most investors were ditching shares, he would gobble them up until he owned the majority interest. Once he owned enough shares in the company, he would ensure it turned a profit or he’d die trying.

The best part of the deal was that he would finally take Fallon to bed. It was long overdue and very, very necessary. Tonight, when they’d kissed, he’d nearly combusted. She’d tasted exquisite and he remembered how her nipples had turned to stiff peaks against his chest. He’d wanted to break through the icy barrier she’d erected and find the passionate girl who’d stolen into his bedroom. And he had. When she’d opened her mouth to let him in, he’d taken all she’d had to give. He still had a thick, hard erection to prove it. If they hadn’t been in a restaurant, Gage would have ravished her where she stood. But he was no animal. He was willing to wait. Hell, he’d waited nearly two decades to be with her—another few weeks wouldn’t make much difference.

Four

“He did what?” With a look of shock on her face, Shana sat back on the couch in Fallon’s cottage the following evening. She’d arrived a half hour ago. After the pleasantries were over, Fallon had uncorked a vintage bottle of Merlot and gotten right down to the matter at hand.

“There’s nothing wrong with your hearing, Shana,” Fallon replied. “I was just as floored as you were.”

“When I mentioned Gage the other day, I was trying to get a rise out of you. I never dreamed he’d ever loan you the money let alone ask you to marry him. It’s crazy!”

Fallon nodded. “I thought the same thing.”

“Thought?” Shana peered at her strangely. “As in past tense?”

“Yes. But after considering it—and trust me, I couldn’t sleep a wink last night—it kind of came to me.”

Shana’s eyes grew wide. “What came to you?”

“It makes an odd sort of sense in a way,” Fallon responded. “Gage has always wanted to be part of the in crowd , but growing up on the estate, he was always thought of as the help. Marriage to me would be a way for him to even the scales.”

“And make you pay on your back.”

“Shana!”

“C’mon, doll.” Shana scooted closer to Fallon on the sofa. “Don’t tell me Gage didn’t make a play for you. You’re a grown woman now and a beautiful one, I might add. There’s no way he’s not trying to tap that.” She patted Fallon on the behind.

“My God, Shana. Have you no shame?”

“Do you? Because it sounds to me like you’re giving Gage’s offer some serious thought.”

“Wouldn’t you?” Fallon asked. “A sexy, gorgeous, rich man is offering to solve my financial problem and save my family. How can I let the company fail under my watch?”

“See?” Shana pointed her index finger at her. “That’s how he got you. He’s tapping into all your fears and insecurities. Let it fail, Fallon. You didn’t create this mess, your father did. You inherited it. And now you’re supposed to—what? Give up your chance of finding Mr. Right and settle for Mr. Payback? Because that’s exactly what this is. Mark my words. Gage wants revenge for how your family wronged him and he’s using all the weapons in his arsenal.”

“You make it sound like we’re at war.”

“You are. Think about all the anger, hurt and humiliation he must feel after you threw yourself at him and caused him and his mother to be kicked out on the street. The man must despise you, but clearly he wants you in equal measure. It’s all kinds of messed up.”