Kate Walker - The Hired Husband

‘Sienna…’ Lucille was holding out her hand. ‘It’s wonderful to meet you at last. I was beginning to wonder if I would ever get to see you at all. But now that I have I can quite understand why Keir wanted to keep you all to himself.’

‘I doubt if you understand anything at all,’ Keir put in with biting cynicism. ‘And if I’d had my way you would never have been invited to the wedding. But Sienna wanted all my family here and, much as I hate to acknowledge it, you are family, if only by marriage…’

‘Keir…!’ Sienna put in reproachfully.

But Keir ignored her, his attention still fixed on Lucille.

‘But, seeing as you are here, perhaps it’s just as well. There’s a small matter of business we can get out of the way. If you’ll just follow me.’

Once again he clamped his hand over Sienna’s arm, forcing her to go with him as he turned and marched towards the door. It was either that or be dragged inelegantly and embarrassingly in his wake. He didn’t pause to look back and see if Lucille had followed them, apparently totally confident that she would do just that.

And it appeared that his confidence was not misplaced. When he finally came to a halt in the small private room the hotel had put aside for the bride and groom’s use, Lucille was only seconds behind them. She was barely through the door before Keir kicked it shut, blocking off the noise and bustle of the reception.

‘Now…’

Releasing Sienna abruptly, he reached into his inner jacket pocket, pulling out a long white envelope that he dropped onto the highly polished surface of a nearby table.

‘This is what you’re really interested in, dear stepmother. Oh, it’s all right…’ he added, seeing Lucille’s curious glance in Sienna’s direction. ‘My wife and I have no secrets from each other. Quite the contrary. As a matter of fact, it’s Sienna, not me, who’s buying you out, at the price we agreed last night. Darling…’

It took Sienna the space of a couple of uneven heartbeats to realise that Keir was now speaking to her. And even when she had registered that fact she found herself staring at the fine silver pen he held out to her, unable to comprehend just what he had in mind.

‘Sienna,’ Keir urged softly. ‘I need your signature. The document’s all prepared. All you have to do is sign.’

And then it finally dawned on her just what he meant. Of course. This was what she had promised him in return for his agreement to go through with the wedding, his name on the marriage certificate.

But she hadn’t expected him to hold her to her promise quite so soon. The ring was barely on her finger, the ink on that certificate barely dry, and already he was pushing her to complete her half of the bargain. She was quite unprepared for how much that hurt.

‘Sienna,’ Keir urged again, more forcefully this time. ‘Sign it please.’

For a second or two Sienna was tempted to rebel. Let him wait for his money! He hadn’t done anything to earn it!

But then Lucille spoke, and suddenly Sienna found that her mood had changed dramatically.

‘So the little bride is bailing you out, is she Keir, darling? What a generous wedding present—I only hope she thinks you’re worth it. But I’m sure you will be—in one important area of marriage at least.’

Her lascivious tone, the way her eyes gleamed, her pink tongue positively licking her lips, made it only too plain exactly what area she meant. Sienna could only stare, transfixed, unable to believe her eyes. It seemed as if the Lucille she had first met had vanished and another woman entirely had taken her place. This was the real stepmother, then, and she was beginning to understand just why Keir detested her so.

‘You always did give great value there, didn’t you, dearest? But I did wonder what had persuaded you to sign your freedom away like this…’

‘I’m not signing anything away.’

Belatedly, it appeared that Keir had remembered the part he was supposed to be playing. Moving behind Sienna, he looped his arms around her waist, fastening his hands together under her breasts and pulling her back against him.

‘On the contrary, I’m gaining everything I ever wanted. A beautiful wife, a new life with her, the prospect of a wonderful future…’

The sensual magic of his touch was working its spell all over again. Already Sienna could feel her body respond to the warmth of his, to the strength of his arms around her, the faint crisp scent of his cologne, so subtle and clean in contrast to the overwhelming reek of Lucille’s perfume.

Instinctively she laid her head back against his shoulder, feeling his lips brush against her cheek as she did so. In this moment she could almost believe Keir had meant what he’d said. Could almost imagine that this was a real marriage, not the cold-blooded business deal Keir had just proved it to be.

‘And naturally you’re besotted with him.’ Lucille turned a look of scorn on her. ‘Well, I just hope you think you’ve got a good deal on this—that he’s worth what you’re paying him.’

Behind her, Sienna felt Keir’s hard body stiffen in swift rejection. But his face showed no sign of what he was feeling and his hands continued their warm caresses over her arms and tracing the delicate lines of her neck.

‘I’m not paying him,’ she managed, her voice rather breathless as a result of the heightened, erratic beat of her heart. ‘Nor am I bailing him out. What I’m doing is making our partnership a financial one as well as a personal one. An investment for our future.’

She must have sounded more convincing than she had hoped, because against her back she felt Keir’s chest move in a silent, secret laugh of triumph.

For the first time Sienna felt a sense of unity with him. A feeling that they were both in this together, united against a common enemy. The sensation sent her spirits soaring, and impulsively she twisted in his grasp so that she could brush a kiss against the softness of his mouth.

‘Give me the pen, darling, and show me where to sign. I want the business side of things over with so that we can concentrate on more personal matters.’

In a haze of euphoria she signed her name with a flourish, folded up the document and thrust it back at Lucille, feeling a sense of exhilaration as the other woman took it and deposited it in her smart cream handbag.

‘Well, I’ll wish you every happiness together.’ Lucille’s tone implied exactly the opposite. ‘You’re obviously made for each other.’

It was as the door swung to behind her that Keir moved suddenly and unexpectedly. Sienna found herself gathered up into his arms and enclosed in a bear hug that drove all the breath from her body.

‘Brilliant! You were quite perfect! You even had me convinced that you were crazy about me.’

‘I did, didn’t I?’

The warmth of his approval was doing strange things to her. The light in his eyes, the smile that curved the wide sensual mouth were as intoxicating as the fine champagne she had drunk earlier. She felt as if she was bathed in the warmth of the August sun outside, her skin glowing, her blood heating in response. It was a heady, thrilling sensation and she wanted more of it.

‘And believe me, sweetheart, if you can convince my dear stepmother you can convince anyone. We might actually get away with this charade after all.’

Charade. Just one single word but it had an effect like the dash of icy water in her face. Sobering immediately, she felt herself come back down to earth with a sudden and very painful thud. His approval hadn’t been for her, but for the performance he believed she had delivered.

Charade. Just for a second she had allowed herself to believe there was something else between them, some unity other than the one that linked them as partners in a scam to enable her to collect her inheritance. Something that would make the coming twelve months easier to live through. But she had only been fooling herself. Keir obviously wanted no such thing.