Jackie Ashenden - King's Price

‘I heard the first time, sweetheart,’ I interrupted. ‘You don’t have to say it again.’

She bristled, her mouth thinning in annoyance. ‘I’m not your sweetheart.’

That mouth... If the rest of her was sharp and angular, that mouth was not. It was full and very red and, like a particularly juicy apple, I wanted to take a bite out of it.

Maybe I would. Later.

I lifted my gaze to hers. ‘Since you’re only here with my permission, you’re whoever I want you to be.’

She sniffed, annoyance glittering in her eyes. That was different. Fear was the usual response to me, either that or sexual hunger. But I wasn’t getting either of those from her.

How fun. I hadn’t had a prim girl to play with in a long time.

‘Whatever,’ she said, clearly uninterested in flirting or any other kind of chit-chat. ‘I’m here to talk to you about Clara. I’m her sister.’

Well, that got me.

I gave her another once-over, trying to see the resemblance. Around the mouth maybe, but that was the only thing about her similar to Clara. The rest of her... She wasn’t at all like her pretty, curvy, sexy sister.

I took another long sip of my Scotch. ‘Perhaps you could tell me where she is then? She’s supposed to be here. With me,’ I added, just in case things needed clarifying.

Little Miss Vita didn’t blink or look away, which was strange when most people sensed what was beneath the mask I wore of the handsome, charming playboy. They could sense the predator, the shark beneath the surface of the beautiful blue sea. And, whether or not they knew what I truly was, they certainly feared it.

But not this woman. She either couldn’t see or sense my true self or...she wasn’t afraid.

A bolt of something electric, like lightning, went through me, making me go very, very still.

‘I don’t know where she is,’ Vita said, holding my gaze and not even flinching. ‘You’re supposed to be marrying her, though, aren’t you?’

Was she afraid? Did she really not see me?

I smiled wider, giving her a glimpse. ‘And?’

Again, not a blink. All I got back was another flicker of irritation. ‘Well, I’m here to warn you that you’re not.’ She hesitated only a fraction. ‘My father is planning on making you marry me instead.’

HE WAS LIKE a big cat about to pounce, and my heart started beating very loud and very fast in my ears.

Leon King was dangerous, that much I’d known from the moment I’d laid eyes on him. Very, very dangerous. And right now he was radiating that danger so intensely I could almost taste it.

It made me want to cower away like a frightened rabbit, but I was a professional woman of twenty-six and there was no way I was going to run so I kept staring at him instead, refusing to look away.

He was probably the most beautiful man I’d ever seen.

His features were strong, with a high forehead, chiselled jaw and cheekbones to die for. His eyes were a smoky amber, framed by thick dark lashes and straight dark brows and his hair was tawny, threads of gold and caramel gleaming in the nightclub’s dim lighting. Those flashes of gold looked like someone had taken a paintbrush to him and gilded his features.

He wore a white business shirt beneath his dark blue suit and it was open at the neck, exposing golden skin. And he sat there, all sprawled and lazy like a lion sunning himself on a rock.

A predator pretending not to notice its prey, as it readied itself to lunge.

That amber gaze was on mine and the air of danger around him was so thick I could barely breathe. The primitive fight or flight response was kicking in now, urging me to run, but I ignored it.

It was simply a chemical reaction and, as a chemist, I knew all about those. The danger wasn’t real so I stayed exactly where I was, determined to show this rude asshole I wasn’t intimidated.

‘I think you’d better explain, sweetheart.’ His voice was deep and rich and vaguely hypnotic. ‘Why is your father planning a bait and switch?’

I ignored the sweetheart thing. He was only doing it to get a rise out of me, I was sure. ‘Because he doesn’t want you to marry her.’ I didn’t add the fact that it was because I was more expendable. It certainly wasn’t about me being stronger than Clara, that was for sure.

‘Uh-huh.’ Leon King’s stare was absolutely relentless and completely terrifying. The smile that curved his beautiful, sensual mouth even more so. ‘You’re telling me this, why?’

That caught me off-balance. I thought he’d be angry about it and yet... I didn’t see anger in his dark golden eyes. No, it was worse. There was nothing in his eyes at all. Absolutely nothing.

I tried to get my thoughts together. ‘I’m telling you because I thought you’d want to know. And because...’ I steeled myself ‘...I thought that if you knew, maybe you’d change your mind about this marriage business.’

‘Right.’ He said the word slowly, drawing it out. ‘This marriage business...’ Raising his glass, he took another sip of the liquid, his movements unhurried, as if he had all the time in the world. ‘And why would I change my mind?’

I blinked, nonplussed and not sure what to say. ‘You wanted Clara. And instead you’ll get me.’ Surely he’d see he wasn’t exactly getting a bargain? ‘You can’t be happy with that. Anyway, I know you’re only marrying her to get what you want for your company.’ I leaned forward, keen to make him see reason. ‘Which makes it pretty simple. All you have to do is pay Dad the money you were going to and he’ll make his friends invest or whatever it is you want them to do. There’s no real need to marry her or anyone, in fact.’

‘You’re assuming that’s the only reason I wanted to marry her.’ He smiled that terrifying smile. ‘But it’s not.’

A kind of foreboding settled in my gut.

Maybe I didn’t want to know his real reason. Before I’d ventured into the city to find him I’d done a bit of research into him and his background, and what I’d found was every bit as terrifying as his smile.

His father had once run the biggest crime network in Sydney. Guns, prostitutes, drugs... You name it, Augustus King had been into it. And Leon had been part of that network, enforcing his father’s word as law. At least until he and his two brothers had taken their father down. They’d been granted immunity from prosecution—likely in return for testifying against their father—and had spent the last five years building up King Enterprises, their property development firm.

He was supposed to be going straight, but that smile of his told another story. A story I probably wouldn’t like.

‘Go on,’ he murmured when I didn’t say anything, watching me from over the rim of his glass. ‘Ask me what my other reason is.’

I wanted to refuse, but the scientist in me wouldn’t let it go. ‘Okay, so what’s your other reason, then?’

‘I don’t trust your father, sweetheart. I need an insurance policy. Something to make sure he keeps his word, if you understand me.’ He smiled yet again. I wished he’d stop doing that. ‘Clara was supposed to be my insurance policy. Sure, I would have preferred her but...’ His gaze dropped, running over me. ‘You’ll do. Yes, you’ll do very nicely indeed.’

At first, I didn’t know what he was talking about. Since the sex tape crap had hit the media and I’d hidden myself away, I’d cut men out of my life for good. I’d had less than no interest in them or dating, or any kind of relationship at all in fact.

I had good working relationships with my male colleagues, but I made sure to keep them at a distance. All my colleagues. I didn’t want anyone knowing about me. I didn’t want anyone interested in me. And for ten years that had worked well.