Bride, Bought and Paid For

For an age he merely subjected her to an all-encompassing appraisal, almost daring her to lower her gaze and back down.

‘No?’

He was a powerful force, one only a fool would disregard…yet she refused to subjugate herself. If this was a battle of wills, then she’d fight him to the bitter end.

‘Three years ago you chose to cut and run,’ Xavier reminded her with deceptive mildness. ‘And refused to acknowledge any of my calls.’

Her eyes deepened to a brilliant sapphire. ‘I’m surprised you remember.’

Yet he did, more vividly than he was prepared to admit. Her sweet mouth, the taste of her, the way she fit in his arms…her smile, how her eyes lit up with pleasure whenever she was in his presence.

He’d been her first lover, Xavier reflected. A fact that had alternately delighted and dismayed him, for he’d always dealt with women who knew the score and that what he offered them was a pleasant interlude for however long the relationship lasted, with no strings attached.

Romy had been different. Something he’d only begun to realise after she had ended their brief affair. That had been a rare, almost unknown occurrence, for in the past it had been he who had called time, presented a parting gift and moved on.

‘What of your father’s gambling debts?’ Xavier pursued. ‘Do you intend presenting his loan shark with a similar deal?’ He was already aware of the facts, except he wanted to hear them directly from her.

Romy bore his appraisal with equanimity, holding those dark almost black eyes in a determined effort not to be diminished in any way. ‘Yes.’

‘You have to know they won’t buy it.’ Quiet, deliberately stark words that accelerated her anxiety factor to new heights.

She’d already paid over a reasonable sum, but it had been made painfully clear what would happen if the outstanding balance wasn’t paid on time.

‘They might if I can negotiate reasonable terms with you.’

His eyes narrowed. ‘You don’t have the means to negotiate.’ Didn’t she know what she was up against? Or fully realize the consequences her father faced at the hands of a loan shark, who, after subjecting Andre Picard to a brutal lesson, would have no scruples in enforcing the lesson on Andre’s daughter?

‘That’s your final answer?’ Each word uttered caused her immeasurable pain, evidenced in the paleness of her features, the pulse jumping at the base of her throat.

Xavier bit back a pithy oath…more in anger at the situation she found herself in, than sympathy for the man who’d inadvertently put her there.

‘Your expectation of my generosity is too high.’

‘How much too high?’

She had courage, a quality he admired. Except she was way off base if she imagined any help he might be predisposed to offer came without a price.

Every risk Xavier took, and he admitted to many along the way, involved deliberate calculation. It was the basis of his success, the code by which he ran his business interests.

He knew all the angles, every devious aspect of human nature. Hadn’t he worked them to his advantage in his early days on the streets of New York? It was also the reason no woman had managed to capture his heart as he climbed high among the social echelon.

Yet recently he’d experienced an unaccustomed restlessness. He owned a luxury mansion in one of Melbourne’s prime waterfront suburbs, houses and apartments in various cities around the world, his own jet, expensive cars, an art collection worth millions. All he had to do was indicate he needed a woman in his bed, and several lined up to please him, aware the gift of jewellery and an all-expenses-paid sojourn in a spa resort were the only price he was prepared to pay.

While his business interests continued to challenge him, his personal life had become predictable, even boring. Was he sliding towards a mid-life crisis in his late thirties? Evaluating what he really wanted when, if appearances meant anything, he had it all?

In spite of the acquired sophistication, his generosity to select charitable causes, and the numerous acquaintances who sought his attention, his favour, he retained a degree of cynicism. Aware there were few women who would see past the size of his bank balance.

He owned a multi-national business enterprise, yet there was no child of his blood to take the reins in future and forge a dynasty.

His eyes narrowed thoughtfully as he regarded the young woman facing him. Affection, sexual compatibility…weren’t those qualities realistically attainable in a relationship? And honesty…a quality Romy Picard possessed in spades.

‘What if I were to put forward a proposal?’

For a moment she was prepared to swear her heart stopped beating. ‘Proposing what, precisely?’ The query held caution and an elevated degree of suspicion.

‘Involving you.’

No. The word echoed through her mind as a silent scream. He was toying with her, like a butterfly in captivity as he waited for the moment he would pin her to the wall.

‘I don’t enter the equation.’

He continued to study her in silence, until she felt close to hitting him. Had he any idea how impossibly angry she was at having to confront him? In normal circumstances, she’d take extreme pleasure in telling him to go to hell.

‘No?’ Xavier posed with deceptive mildness. ‘You represent the only tangible entity your father possesses of any worth to me.’

Something deep inside curled into a tight, painful ball, and she wanted nothing more than to turn and walk from the room, the building…anything to escape the compelling man who held her father’s fate in his hands.

‘You’re suggesting I become a form of payment in human kind?’ Each word took immense effort to enunciate and emerged in faintly strangled tones.

‘Your words, not mine.’

His drawled voice held an indolence that caused the pulse at the base of her throat to quicken to a hammered beat.

‘Prostitute myself by becoming your current mistress?’

‘And bear me a child,’ Xavier continued silkily.

It took enormous effort to resist the urge to slap his face, and for a heart-stopping moment time stood still, becoming a suspended entity when electric awareness pulsed heavily in the air.

Restrained anger emanated from her slender frame, and her eyes darkened to a vivid blue sapphire. ‘Are you insane?’

‘You beg leniency and attempt to bargain by offering nothing in return?’

Her eyes speared his, their blue depths intensely fiery with incredible fury. ‘What you’re suggesting amounts to blackmail.’

‘I prefer to call it a negotiated deal between two consenting adults.’

‘Bastard.’

His eyebrows rose. ‘Erroneous,’ he relayed in a musing drawl. ‘Given my parents were married at the time of my birth.’ The fact his father had abandoned mother and child within weeks no longer seemed relevant, or that his mother had been forced to do menial work for long hours in order to survive a trailer-park existence, and had died young.

Romy took a deep, calming breath, aware it didn’t come close to enough. Did he have any idea how much she wanted to rail against him? Even in her most trying moments in the classroom with students from hell, she hadn’t come this close to physically lashing out. And that was saying something!

‘You demand too much.’

He rose and indicated the door. ‘Then we have nothing more to discuss.’

Words temporarily failed her, and she could only look at him with stark disbelief. ‘You’re asking me to become pregnant with your child,’ she demanded with incredulity. ‘Give it up after birth…then be cast out of its life?’

‘Why would I cast a wife aside?’

The colour leeched from her face. ‘What do you mean—wife?’

‘Marriage,’ Xavier clarified succinctly. ‘Adequate recompense for me dropping all charges against your father,’ he added in dry mocking tones. ‘And clearing his gambling debts.’

For a moment she lost the power to think as erotic images filled her mind…images she’d never been able to erase, and words tumbled from her lips without thought. ‘I don’t want to marry you.’

‘Consider the advantages.’

‘At the moment, I can’t think of one.’

Was that a quick gleam of amusement she glimpsed on his face or merely a trick of the light?

‘No?’

Romy swept his impressive form a deliberate appraisal, and successfully tamped down the unbidden emotion threatening to consume her body. ‘What we shared wasn’t anything special.’

Liar, she silently castigated. Once, just once she’d attempted to erase his lovemaking from her mind by superimposing it by having sex with someone else…and the memory still gave her cause to regret the experience.

Xavier tamped down the urge to pull her in close and take possession of her mouth, to tame her fine anger and turn it into purring pleasure. Instead, he reached out a hand and trailed light fingers down her cheek, then he cupped her chin and eased his thumb-pad gently over the soft fullness of her lower lip. He watched her eyes darken and sensed the faint hitch in her breath.

So much for thinking she was immune to his touch! Strength of spirit ensured she stood perfectly still, her eyes steady as she held his gaze, and she wondered if he had any inkling just how much it cost her to do so.

‘You want a deal for your father,’ Xavier reiterated quietly. ‘I’ve offered a solution. Take it or leave it.’

The thought of her father having to appear in court again, be escorted under police guard to prison, suffer indignities, fear, not to mention several years incarceration, possibly die there, was more than Romy could bear.

‘Do you need me to spell out what form of reminder the loan shark will serve Andre, and ultimately you, if payment isn’t forthcoming on time?’ Xavier queried and saw her features pale.

She had until midnight tomorrow to produce a large sum of money neither she nor Andre could scrape together.

Face it, she reminded herself grimly. Every possible resource had been explored. Xavier DeVasquez was their last hope for any form of rescue package that would help her father.

A hollow sensation settled in her stomach as desperate reality hit home. She had a choice, which was really no choice at all. The question had to be—did she have sufficient courage to take what Xavier offered? Yet how could she not?

The faint burr of his phone intruded, and he picked it up, listened, offered a curt instruction, then he ended the call.

There was little to be gained from his expression, and she didn’t even attempt to hazard a guess as she bore his measured scrutiny.

‘I have an important meeting scheduled.’ He paused fractionally. ‘Your answer, Romy?’

This was it, she recognized with a sense of fatalism. She’d come this far and would gain much—at considerable personal cost—if she agreed to the deal. A deal which didn’t need to be a life sentence, for marriage carried an escape clause. There was always the option of divorce.

Her eyes sparked brilliant blue fire. ‘Yes…damn you.’

For a brief second she thought she glimpsed humour in those dark eyes, then it was gone.

‘I don’t recall you being quite so verbally explicit,’ Xavier drawled and watched as she made a concentrated attempt to rein in her anger.

‘It’s the effect you have on me.’ Calm, she had to remain calm. Difficult when she was filled with mixed emotions…not one of them good.

‘I need a contact phone number before you walk out the door.’ His voice was like silk and sent her stress levels up a few notches.

‘I’ll leave it with your PA.’

Xavier withdrew a card and handed it to her. ‘I prefer to keep my personal life and business matters separate.’

Romy took the pen he offered, scrawled her mobile number onto the back of the card, and placed both on his desk, then she turned, walked unseeing out to main Reception and took a lift down to the ground level.

She’d succeeded in gaining her father a reprieve.

It should have felt like victory…instead it felt like hell.

CHAPTER THREE

THE phone pealed as Romy was about to step into the shower back at her St Kilda apartment, and she quickly pulled on a robe then raced into the bedroom to pick up her mobile, checked caller ID and failed to recognize the number.

‘Romy.’

Xavier.

There was no doubting the male voice, or to whom it belonged, and she drew in a deep breath, then slowly released it.

‘What do you want?’

‘We’re due to meet with my lawyer in half an hour.’ He moved fast…but what else did she expect?

‘I have plans,’ she said coolly. She didn’t, except he wasn’t to know that.

‘Do you really want to do this the hard way?’

If only she didn’t have to do it at all!

‘I’ll be at your apartment in fifteen minutes.’

‘You don’t know the address.’ Empty words, given he’d already cut the connection.

A soft oath escaped her lips in the knowledge he had the means to discover almost anything he wanted to know including her new place of residence.

For a few timeless seconds she considered slipping out before Xavier arrived only to give up the idea almost as soon as it occurred.

Fool, she silently berated herself as she stepped into the shower stall. Such an action could lead to financial suicide.

The in-house phone pealed as Romy was putting the finishing touches to her hair, and she picked up, identified Xavier and quickly announced she was on her way down.

Tailored trousers, neatly buttoned blouse beneath a jacket, killer heels, with her hair swept into a careless knot held in place by a large clasp. Casual, yet chic. Minimal make-up.

Good to go, she decided as she picked up her keys and tossed them into her clutch as she exited her apartment.

Xavier was waiting for her when the lift doors slid open at ground level, and she tamped down the sudden quiver in her stomach at the sight of him.

He bore the look of a man whose sophisticated exterior belied the dangerous earthy quality that lay beneath the surface.

Black trousers, an open-necked shirt and a black softleather jacket replaced the formal business suit. Attire which did little to lessen the lethal impact of the man.

For a wild moment she considered telling him she’d changed her mind. Except doing so wasn’t an option.

Her chin lifted fractionally, and she met and held his level gaze with equanimity as she crossed to his side.

Stilettos added inches to her petite height, but even so the top of her head barely reached his shoulder. Three years ago she’d felt protected, whereas now it merely enhanced her vulnerability.

Did he pick up on it? Possibly. Vulnerable wasn’t an emotion she wanted to impart.

‘I hope this won’t take long,’ Romy began, and saw his eyes narrow.

‘We settle the legal issues,’ Xavier reiterated as he ushered her through the foyer to the security-controlled entry. ‘Then we share dinner.’

They exited the building, and he indicated a sleek Mercedes Maybach resting in a nearby reserved-parking bay.

‘I don’t want to have dinner with you.’ Romy waited as he disengaged the locking mechanism and opened the front passenger door.

‘Tough,’ he dismissed coolly as she moved past him and slid into the seat.

The door closed with a refined clunk, and she delayed her response until he slipped into the adjoining seat.

‘I get the need for a pre-nup,’ she managed with deliberate calm as her eyes speared his. ‘As to the marriage…when do you envisage the ceremony will take place?’

Xavier engaged the engine and spared her a cool glance. ‘This weekend.’

Her stomach did a slow somersault as he eased the car out onto the street and headed towards the city.

‘Why so soon?’ Her life was moving so fast it felt as if she’d boarded a runaway train!

‘You need me to spell it out?’

It was simple maths: Andre needed a large sum of money fast; Romy represented the surety…and Xavier didn’t negotiate an unsecured deal.

Dear God, the enormity of what she’d agreed to do acquired momentous proportion!

‘You’ve informed Andre?’

Romy closed her eyes, then opened them again. ‘Yes.’ Only that she’d succeeded in clearing his debts…not the price she had to pay. Although no matter what spin she put on it, her father was unlikely to be fooled. Nor would he approve her decision. The reason she had elected to relay the details to him in person.

Two weeks ago she’d been looking forward to returning home, reconnecting with her father, and had viewed the challenge of a different school, new students with enthusiasm.

Her life, as she’d envisaged it to be, had quickly taken a dramatic about-turn…irrevocably, she reflected pensively. At least, for a while.

Marriage. What young woman didn’t dream of meeting the man of her dreams, falling in love, and living the happy ever after?

Once, more than three years ago, she’d imagined she was living the dream, only to discover the man she loved wasn’t on the same page…let alone reading the same book!

Now, through circumstance, she was soon to be legally linked to him in a loveless union based on thinly disguised blackmail.

What on earth was she getting herself into?

A faintly hysterical laugh rose and died in her throat. Emotional insanity…nothing more, or less.

The question had to be…could she survive with dignity and some of her emotions intact?

A few years tops, she reminded herself. Then she’d file for divorce. Irreconcilable differences, a sufficiently ambiguous blanket covering a multitude of sins.

The image of a baby filled her mind, and her heart plummeted along with her resolve. A child…how could she give up a child? Share custody, time, not be there every day, every night, only when designated by a court of law?

But what if there wasn’t a child? What if she took steps to ensure she didn’t conceive?

Would Xavier choose divorce in order to select any one of several women who would bear him a child?

‘Your silence is telling.’

The faintly accented drawl interrupted her introspection, and she turned her head to offer him a cool look.

‘Really?’

Xavier checked the rear-vision mirror, indicated and drew the car into the kerb, killed the engine, then he turned towards her.

‘If you’re having second thoughts, now’s the time to say so.’

Deadly calm words which ricocheted inside her brain and succeeded in freezing the blood in her veins.

Oh dear Lord. What was she doing?

She couldn’t afford to lose control…or change the goal posts in this diabolical game.

Any self-indulgent time-out was merely a whiplash reaction. So…get over it.

‘Your call, Romy.’

When thrust between a rock and a hard place…what did you choose?

There was only one answer she could give. ‘I imagine your lawyer is waiting for us,’ she managed quietly.

‘That’s it?’

She gathered the tenuous threads of her emotions together and gave an affirmative. ‘Yes.’

Money, in excess, opened doors and provided services not usually offered outside normal business hours, Romy perceived a short while later as she preceded Xavier into a sumptuous office suite, where, introductions complete, she sank into a cushioned leather chair, listened carefully to the lawyer’s explanation of relevant documents, aware every possible contingency was covered in watertight legalese.

She almost baulked when the moment came to attach her signature. The enormity of her commitment seemed overwhelming, and for a wild moment she considered standing to her feet and walking out.

Except the ramification of such an action would be prohibitive and would destroy everything she’d strived to achieve.

So…pick up the offered pen and sign, a tiny voice prompted, and without further thought she did just that. Then she carefully replaced the pen on the desk.

The following minutes became a blur as both men conversed with an easy familiarity that spoke of friendship, and she rose to her feet automatically when Xavier indicated the session was at an end. She even smiled and offered a few polite words as the lawyer escorted them to the lift.

There wasn’t a word she could say as the lift took them down to ground level, and she bore Xavier’s unwavering scrutiny with equanimity.

‘I’ll take a cab back to my apartment.’

‘No,’ he refuted quietly. ‘We’ll eat, then visit your father.’

‘I’m not hungry.’

‘Opposing me just for the hell of it?’ Xavier’s voice held a touch of cynical humour, and she sent him a cursory look that spoke volumes.

He chose a restaurant at Southbank where the food was excellent and surpassed only by the dedicated service.

‘Shall I order for you?’

Romy offered him a speaking glance and pretended intense interest in the menu. Food of any kind held little appeal, although there was a need to select something, and she chose bruschetta, declined wine and settled for a nonalcoholic spritzer.

Lunch had comprised a slice of toast with honey, followed by a banana…all she’d felt her stomach could digest at the time.

There was, she perceived, nothing wrong with his appetite as he ordered a starter and followed it with a main. A dish she’d favoured during the brief time they’d been together.

Coincidence? Or was it a deliberate choice?

Like she cared!

Yet something tightened inside her stomach that he might have remembered a time when they’d shared food, forking a tempting morsel for sampling, delighting in knowing they’d share so much more at evening’s end.

Then she had been relaxed and in tune with him, just living to please and be pleasured.

A delicious tremor slid the length of her spine at the unbidden image, painfully vivid as memory resurfaced.

‘You’ve begun a new contract at a high school in the northern suburbs.’

Romy spared him a questioning look. ‘Your PA was instructed to determine the precise location and relevant details?’

Xavier lifted an eyebrow. ‘It bothers you that I did so?’

Yes. Although she’d expected it of him. Xavier had long gained a reputation for sourcing every detail, even the most seemingly inconsequential. Very little, if anything, escaped him, and heads were known to roll should any of his subordinates fail to deliver. Life and his climb to the top had fashioned him into the man he’d become.

‘Then you’ll be aware I have a contract to fullfil.’

‘A contract isn’t set in stone,’ he reminded her, and caught the way her eyes blazed blue fire.

‘I teach, it’s what I do,’ Romy vouchsafed.

He leaned back in his chair and regarded her steadily. ‘There’s no need for you to continue working.’

‘What else would you have me do? Become a social butterfly who spends her days having beauty treatments and shopping?’ She sent him a quelling look. ‘Forget it.’

‘You prefer attempting to impart enthusiasm for knowledge into young minds, controlling their behaviour, offering extra-curricular tutoring and immersing yourself in setting and marking numerous assignment papers?’

‘Yes.’ Among the students who slipped through the scholastic system, there were those who could excel, and she strived to give both at opposite ends of the scale her equal attention.

Statistics proved some would never make it, a fact which only made her try harder, to go beyond and above the call of duty.

‘There are those who baulk at the theory of learning, yet excel in practice.’

‘Such as yourself?’

‘The cut and thrust in the real business world, the challenge to succeed against the odds provides an adrenalin rush coveted by many.’