The Billionaire's Marriage Bargain

‘No, thank you,’ she snapped. ‘This was a mistake—’

‘How do you know that when I haven’t even given you my answer yet?’ he challenged huskily.

She shook her head. ‘You’re just playing with me, Dominick. You’re taking some sort of perverted pleasure in making me squirm, when all the time you know you’re going to say no—’

‘I don’t know that,’ he cut in softly. ‘And neither do you,’ he added.

Kenzie sighed in frustration. ‘I don’t know why I ever thought appealing to your better nature would work—’

‘Considering we both know I don’t have a better nature?’

Dominick put in scornfully.

That wasn’t true. Dominick had his faults, but she could never have fallen in love with him if he didn’t have a softer, more charming side to him.

But being with him again now she realized what a fool she had been to ever hope that Dominick would want her back, and to believe that she was the one woman that Dominick could love, when it was obvious he had never been in love before. Yes, she had been a fool. A silly, romantic fool.

And she hadn’t seen that softer, more charming side to him since that day, four months ago, when she had told him she had decided to accept the offer from Carlton Cosmetics, an offer that would take her to America for a month.

They had been going through a difficult patch in their marriage, and she had thought that month apart would give them a breathing space away from each other, for them both to sit and reflect, and perhaps to come to some sort of compromise concerning their differences over the subject of having children.

Instead Dominick had accused her of being involved with Jerome Carlton personally rather than just his company, of having an affair with the other man, refusing to believe her denials.

‘You weren’t sarcastic and hurtful like this when we met, Dominick.’ She gave a pained frown.

‘Maybe I was just being charming then because I wanted to get you into bed?’ he derided. ‘Or maybe it’s just that having your wife leave you for the bed of another man has this effect on you! Tell me, Kenzie, is he a good lover?’ He studied her between narrowed lids. ‘A better lover than me?’

Just the thought of Kenzie in the arms of the charismatically handsome Jerome Carlton had driven Dominick to say things, do things, he might otherwise not have done. But having said them, there had been no going back.

The arrival of the divorce papers three months after their separation only confirmed her intention to marry the other man as far as Dominick was concerned.

‘I hope he found me a satisfactory teacher!’ Dominick bit out harshly at her continued silence at his taunt, determinedly ignoring the way her cheeks had paled at his words.

He still couldn’t bear the thought of any other man touching her and caressing her in the way he liked to.

Was he going insane? He groaned inwardly as he turned away abruptly. Had seeing Kenzie again driven him over the edge of some precipice he had been fighting against for the last four months as he had considered his plans of retribution?

That had to be it.

There could be no other explanation for the jealousy he felt.

‘Look, Dominick.’ She spoke woodenly. ‘Other than continuing to assure you that Jerome and I have never been lovers, not when the two of us were married, or since, I don’t have any other way of convincing you that you are completely wrong about my involvement with him!’

Assurances that were a complete waste of time when her lover had no such qualms about acknowledging their involvement!

Besides, it was too late for that. It had been too late the very first moment Kenzie had responded to Jerome Carlton’s seduction.

Dominick had believed that Kenzie’s lack of physical involvement with men before their marriage meant that the least he could expect from her was fidelity. Knowing of her affair with Jerome Carlton just made her as untrustworthy as every other woman, including his own mother, he had ever been close to.

‘I think perhaps I should leave now, Dominick,’ Kenzie said softly. ‘Before this conversation becomes any more insulting!’

They were deliberately hurting each other, he knew, and he forced the tension to leave his shoulders as he turned back to face her, coming to his decision. ‘What time is Kathy’s wedding on Saturday?’ he prompted abruptly.

Kenzie’s eyes widened. ‘Why do you want to know…?’ she asked warily.

Dominick’s mouth twisted derisively. ‘It’s hardly going to serve its purpose if I arrive too late for the wedding, now, is it?’

He was going to help her out, after all? He was going to help her protect her father from the truth, in this charade that she should have ended long ago and now couldn’t find the right words, or time, in which to do so?

She swallowed hard. ‘If you’re serious—if you’re really willing to do this—my parents are expecting us both down for a family dinner on Friday evening,’ she told him, frowning.

‘Kenzie, you said you wanted me to accompany you to the wedding, and presumably you would expect me to stay on for the reception afterwards. Isn’t wanting me to go to your parents’ home on the Friday evening, as well, a little above and beyond…?’ he mocked scathingly.

She grimaced. ‘It’s worse than that, I’m afraid; we’re expected to stay overnight at my parents’ house on the Friday evening, too.’

Which, if Dominick agreed, she had already known was going to be something of a problem. Although not an insurmountable one. All three of her parents’ guest bedrooms had twin beds, so they wouldn’t actually be sharing a bed, just the room.

Although Dominick’s cool control, and her own quivering response just to the touch of his hand on her arm and back, said she was the one in more danger of finding their proximity overwhelming…

Dominick continued to look at her for several long seconds, his expression guarded as he took in her silken hair, before his gaze shifted slightly to her face, and then he wished it hadn’t as he felt almost as if he were drowning in the depths of her eyes, those incredible, emerald-coloured eyes.

Deceptively honest eyes, he reminded himself with cold determination, thinking of how she continued to lie about her involvement with Jerome.

But now Kenzie was here, however briefly, and was willingly, if unwittingly, putting herself back in his power…

‘I’m sure staying over won’t be a problem, Kenzie,’ he accepted dismissively.

She eyed him thoughtfully, at last seeming to realize something of what she was doing. ‘It won’t?’

‘Not at all,’ he drawled with satisfaction. ‘We shared a bed for nine months, I’m sure we can share a bedroom again for a single night only.’

Kenzie felt knocked slightly off balance by his sudden acquiescence, as she had been sure she would have to do some more quick talking once Dominick knew the full extent of the commitment she was asking him to make.

‘I—fine,’ she accepted awkwardly, too relieved right now that he had agreed to come to the wedding with her to want to stand and dissect his response. No doubt she would have plenty of time to reflect on that later! All that was important at the moment was her father’s continuing peace of mind. ‘We’re expected in Worcestershire for about seven o’clock…’

‘I’ll drive us there.’ He nodded. ‘Does a four o’clock departure suit you?’

‘Perfect.’ She nodded, still frowning, but unable to read any of Dominick’s own thoughts from his deliberately closed expression.

‘My address in London is—’

‘I know your address, Kenzie,’ he cut in disparagingly.

He knew where she lived…? He knew of the apartment she had bought and moved into when she’d returned from the States?

‘It was on the divorce papers,’ Dominick reminded her grimly, all teasing gone now. ‘Now, if you wouldn’t mind…?’ he added tersely. ‘I’ve already wasted enough time on this subject this evening. I have some work I need to do.’

Her creamy brow cleared of its frown as she gave a derisive smile. ‘Of course you do,’ she accepted ruefully, turning to leave.

‘Oh, and, Kenzie…?’ He stopped her before she had taken two steps.

She turned back slowly, warily. ‘Yes…?’

His mouth twisted mockingly. ‘I’ll let you know what I want in return for—helping you out, in this way.’

Kenzie felt the colour drain from her cheeks. ‘What you want in return…?’ she repeated carefully.

‘Of course,’ Dominick replied. ‘You didn’t seriously think I was going to inconvenience myself in this way for nothing?’

She hadn’t had any thoughts at all beyond getting him to agree to come to the wedding on Saturday!

He shook his head as he stared at her. ‘How naïve you still are, Kenzie,’ he taunted. ‘I’ll give it some thought in the next few days and let you know what I decide is an appropriate payment.’

And until then she would have to be satisfied, Kenzie accepted wearily as she collected her clutch bag from the table in the hallway and let herself into the lift. She didn’t doubt that the payment Dominick would extract from her would be something she didn’t want to give.

Or worse, it would be something she did want to give, but would be opening herself up to all sorts of pain if she did so!

CHAPTER FOUR

‘CHEER up, Kenzie,’ Dominick said, turning in his car seat to look at her, having parked his black Ferrari in the driveway behind her father’s more sedate Mercedes. ‘For God’s sake, smile!’ he added impatiently. Instead of appearing excited and happy to be home for her sister’s wedding, Kenzie had the look of a prisoner about to be taken to the gallows. ‘I’m willing to do my part to convince your family that we’re still a happily married couple, but I’m going to be wasting my time if you continue to look like a whipped puppy!’ He scowled.

Heaven knew he was already finding this much more difficult than he had thought it was going to be.

He had viewed with cool detachment several photographs of Kenzie in magazines or on billboards the last four months—it was impossible not to see photographs of her when she was the face of the moment!—but those photographs had been studied perfection, and, while showing a beautiful woman, also gave her an air of untouchability.

He had forgotten just how sexy she looked with her hair wild down her back, and wearing the minimum of make-up. She was dressed in a tight white tee shirt, and faded jeans that fitted low down on her slender hips, their fashionable raggedness only adding to the air of sensuality around her.

An air he had been very much aware of as she sat beside him in the car on the two-hour drive they had just taken together!

Not that he had any intention of letting Kenzie see how much her appearance affected him, talking to her only when necessary, and then only tersely as he’d asked to be reminded of the directions to her parents’ home.

‘Sorry.’ Kenzie grimaced in apology now for her air of preoccupation. ‘I was miles away,’ she added, knowing by the way Dominick’s expression tightened that he wasn’t pleased at being told this.

No doubt he imagined she was thinking about her supposed lover, Jerome, and that she was eager to have this weekend over so that she could return to the other man’s arms!

The truth was she could think of nothing but Dominick, of how aware she was of him, of how just being with him again like this set her senses tingling.

No doubt Dominick would be extremely amused if he knew how his close proximity had been disturbing her the last two hours, the black tee shirt and faded jeans he wore giving him a much more approachable air—a sexually approachable air!—than his usual formal business suits.

She also couldn’t stop thinking, as she hadn’t been able to the last couple of days, of what he was going to demand from her in return for being here with her this weekend.

She wondered when he intended exacting that payment!

Dominick gave her one last impatient glance before getting out of the car, having already taken their bags and put them down on the driveway by the time he opened Kenzie’s car door and she scrambled out to join him.

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