Barbara McCauley - Blackhawk's Sweet Revenge

She stiffened, whirled to face him. Immediately realized what a mistake she’d made with him standing so close. Their bodies touched, front to front, and he made no move to back off.

“So there is heat under that cold exterior,” he said thoughtfully, keeping his dark gaze on her. “And there is something you care about.”

How could he not know? she thought frantically. How could he be so blind? Her heart pounded in her chest, in her head. “Dammit, name your price.”

“All right.” He brought his hand to her face, softly ran his knuckle over her cheek. “The price is you. I want you to marry me.”

Three

His words shocked him as much as they had obviously shocked her. He watched her face turn ashen, felt her body go still against his. For a long moment it even seemed as though she’d stopped breathing.

“What did you say?” she whispered.

He could simply laugh now, tell her he’d gotten the response from her he’d been looking for. sheer terror. That he’d wanted to rattle her perfect composure, shake up her cool self-control.

Instead, he smiled and tucked a loose strand of silken blond hair behind her ear. She winced at his touch, as if he’d scorched her.

“You want something from me.” He let his finger skim her earlobe, then move down her neck. “Maybe I want something from you, too.”

Color flushed her pale cheeks. “You don’t have to marry me for that.”

“Don’t flatter yourself. I’m not talking about sex.” He leaned in closer. “Though, if we did marry, I would certainly expect that. In fact—” he watched her eyelids flutter as he brought his lips close to her ear “—I would insist on it.”

“You’ve ruined my father.” Her voice shook. “Isn’t that enough?”

“Mason Hadley manipulated paperwork to steal my father’s ranch, shot him, then had him falsely sent to prison where he died. Tell me what’s enough. How much will it take before that wrong is made right?”

Her eyes opened wide now in understanding. “And you’d use me to complete your revenge? Saddle yourself with a woman who would only remind you of that pain every day?”

“It’s your father who will be reminded every day,” he said harshly. “I’ll have his land and his daughter. And a man would hardly consider himself saddled to a woman with your looks, sweetheart. In fact, you could be quite an asset.”

He watched her close her eyes tightly, as if she were trying to shut out the horror of it all. He should feel extreme satisfaction at her obvious distaste of marriage to him, but he felt a cold rage instead. He could almost hear her thoughts. How dare the lowly half-breed propose marriage to a woman of her stature. How appalling. He could still hear her words to him this afternoon when he’d bent to help her pick up the broken coffee cup in her father’s office. Keep away from me, Lucas.

Remembering those words, he leaned in even closer to her. “It might not be awful,” he said huskily. “Women say I know how to please. I bet I could even please you.”

He brushed his lips over hers—barely a whisper of a touch—felt and heard her soft intake of breath. He lingered there a moment, surprised that she didn’t jerk away, that she didn’t raise her hand to slap his face. Even more surprised at the shudder he felt move through her body. Was it repulsion, he wondered, or desire? Either way, his own body responded instantly. He curled his hands around her arms, brought her up against him, a mixture of anger and longing raging through him. He could take her right here, right now. She’d let him, he was certain of that

Thunder shook the windows, and Julianna’s eyes opened wide. He saw the confusion there, the fear and something else, something he couldn’t name. A second crack of thunder brought him back to reality, and he released her.

She fell back against the bar, steadied herself as she drew in a long, slow breath. “I still don’t understand, Lucas. You wouldn’t have to marry me. You could just...I mean, I could...”

“Be my mistress?” he finished for her.

She nodded. “I would think that would be more convenient for you.”

“Let’s just call this a long-term investment. One that includes children.”

“Children?” she gasped. “You want me to have a child with you?”

He struggled to control his anger over the shocked tone in her voice. “I want a family, and their mother will be my wife, not my mistress. Though I see-no reason not to have both.” He smiled tightly, cupped her chin in his hand. “But make no mistake, Julianna. You will not be given that privilege. You will be mine, and mine alone.”

“And love, Lucas?” she asked, her voice barely audible. “What about love?”

He laughed dryly, shook his head. “Love is a fairy tale, sweetheart. We won’t be riding into any sunsets or spouting happily-ever-afters. You’ll take care of our home, raise our children—if there are any—and you’ll have your house.”

Her breathing quickened; he could see her mind racing. “But your business,” she argued, “you work in Dallas.”

“As soon as you’re settled here, I’ll spend most of my time there. I’m sure you won’t object to that.” He traced the delicate line of her jaw. “But don’t worry, I’ll be back to check up on you, just so you don’t get too lonely. So what’s your answer?”

What was her answer?

Dare she let him see that he’d just offered her more than she could have ever dreamed? Marriage, her grandparents’ house. Children. Dear God. Her chest tightened with the thought.

She’d never truly considered marriage or children while her mother was alive. Caring for her had been full-time, and Julianna had known that if she’d left, her father would have sent her mother to a home. Some place where no one would care about her or love her.

But during that time when she’d been looking after her mother, she’d never loved any of the men she’d occasionally gone out with.

Not like she’d loved Lucas.

What a laugh that would be for him, to know that she loved him. She’d only been nine when she’d watched him stand up to her father, watched him bravely keep his head high, even as he was taken off to the County Home for Boys. She’d always respected his honesty, admired his courage. He’d never given a damn what anyone thought, except maybe Nick Santos and Ian Shawnessy, his best friends. His only friends. Which was still two more than she’d ever had. She’d watched them together from afar, always envied their friendship.

She’d been a coward her entire life, had always been afraid to stand up for herself. Would she be afraid now, afraid to say yes, when that was what she really wanted?

But making her happy was certainly not part of Lucas’s revenge. She couldn’t let him know how much she wanted this, how much she wanted to be his wife, the mother of his children, even without love. To have her house and children, that would be happiness enough for her.

She breathed deeply, held his dark gaze. “Will you put it in writing, that the house will be mine after we marry?”

“As long as you accept my conditions, the house will be in both our names.” He touched her cheek, though gently this time. “And there’ll be no divorce, Julianna. Don’t even think about it. Till death do us part.”

Outside, the storm continued to rage. And here, inside, with Lucas, her heart pounding, her knees shaking, Julianna drew strength from a place deep within her that she’d never even known existed.

“All right, Lucas,” she said, her voice steady and clear. “I’ll marry you.”

Three days later, at four in the afternoon, Lucas stood shoulder to shoulder with Julianna in the Wolf River courthouse. Nick Santos, who’d arrived on his motorcycle only an hour earlier in a ground-trembling display of shiny chrome and black leather, stood to Lucas’s right. Judge Martin Winters, the white-haired, bushy-browed justice of the peace, frowned darkly through the entire ceremony, his hostility aimed directly at Lucas.