Kitabı oku: «King's Price», sayfa 2
‘He wants those investors, Vita.’ Dad’s expression was nothing but sure. ‘He’ll go through with it. Don’t worry about that.’
That...wasn’t exactly what I was worried about, though I wasn’t sure what I was worried about or why I was afraid.
I didn’t know Leon King so his opinion of me—if he had one at all—didn’t count. All I had to do was say the words, get the ring, live in his stupid house and then it would be done.
No big deal.
Except Leon King was newsworthy, and no doubt the media would be very interested if he suddenly turned up with a fiancée. Especially a fiancée like me.
There goes your nice quiet life.
My heart was suddenly beating fast and my palms were damp and sweaty. I gritted my teeth, reining in my flailing emotions and shoving them aside.
I needed to be cool about this. Logical. Practical. I was a scientist now, not a shamed and humiliated teenager that the entire world had seen naked.
I was stronger than that—much stronger.
There is a way out of this.
An idea opened up inside me like an elegant solution to a difficult research question, or the missing ingredient in a recipe I hadn’t managed to perfect.
Leon King wasn’t a man who’d appreciate being played the way my father was intending to play him. And he certainly wouldn’t be pleased to find out he’d be getting me, not Clara.
But what if I approached him myself and told him what my father was planning? What if I gave him a heads-up? He’d probably take one look at me, realise I was no Clara and decide he didn’t want to get married after all. There was the issue of Dad’s debts, but maybe he’d simply be happy to have Dad talk him up in return for paying those off. He didn’t need to marry me.
It might not work. Leon King was, after all, a notoriously ruthless businessman and I was simply a research assistant. But I was sure I could make him see reason. Once I explained it all logically, he’d understand.
‘Well?’ Dad said sharply. ‘Think of your sister. Are you going to do this for us or not?’
I lifted my gaze from my hands and met Dad’s. ‘Okay,’ I said. ‘So, what do I need to do?’
He looked away. ‘Nothing at the moment. Just keep your head down until the big day.’
Of course I would.
After I’d let Leon King know exactly what was going on.
CHAPTER THREE
Leon
‘SHE’S NOT HERE,’ Xander said, his clear, cold voice cutting through the hard beat of the nightclub’s music.
I ignored him, looking out over the heaving crowd and trying to figure out which of the blondes on the dance floor was Clara Hamilton. It was difficult to tell since there were a lot of blondes and the dim lighting made their faces hard to recognise.
We were sitting in the VIP area of Red Door, the city’s current nightclub du jour, and pretty little Clara was supposed to be here—at least that was what Hamilton had assured me. But, as my younger brother had so eloquently pointed out, she wasn’t.
Annoying.
I’d sent Hamilton an email detailing the number of dates Clara and I were to go on, the locations and what would be expected of her in order to make this look real. And he’d sent me a response letting me know that Clara had agreed to my terms and that she’d be there for the first date, tonight, at Red Door.
But I’d been here a good hour already and there was no sign of her.
I was beginning to wonder if good old Tommy Hamilton had lied and hidden his daughter from me. If so, there would be words to be had. A great many fucking words and none of them to his liking.
Xander sat opposite me, stone-faced as usual, his dark eyes glittering as the club’s lights flashed. It wasn’t his scene—he spent most nights holed up in his office since he was a total workaholic—so I was surprised he’d decided to come with me tonight.
‘Do you have a reason for being here?’ I asked. ‘Or is it to sit around pointing out stuff I’m already aware of?’
‘I wanted to meet her.’ He didn’t look at me, too busy studying the dance floor. ‘Make sure she’s no threat to us.’
‘She’s a pretty socialite, Xan. How much threat could she possibly be?’
His gaze met mine. ‘Some women are dangerous.’
He would say that since he was currently having issues with our stepsister, Poppy. As in he hated her and she hated him.
I grinned. ‘Relax, brother. She’s my beautiful bride. Of course she’s not dangerous.’
I’d given him the run-down of my plan, along with Ajax, and both of them were on board with it, though Ajax more than Xander. Ajax liked the idea of rubbing our status in the noses of those who’d once been our enemies, while Xander didn’t much care. He was all about the money and protecting our investments.
Xander snorted and looked away, studying the dance floor again.
‘Have a drink,’ I said. ‘In fact, have two. Maybe they’ll dissolve that stick currently jammed up your ass.’
Ajax would have told me to fuck off. Xander merely ignored me, then, without a word, pushed himself up off the couch and disappeared through the crowd, heading towards the bar.
Good. I could use some time to myself to figure out what to do about Clara’s non-appearance.
I sat back on the couch, reaching for the glass of very expensive single malt I preferred and, as I did so, I caught the gaze of a woman sitting at a table near the stairs to the VIP area.
She was staring very hard at me.
Stares weren’t unusual—I got them a lot, especially from women—but I never looked back unless the woman was worth a second glance. And this one wasn’t.
Yet I found myself looking back now, unable to put my finger on why. She definitely wasn’t my type. At all. She wore a close-fitting black dress, more suited to a funeral dinner than a nightclub, that highlighted a body that was all angles and no curves. Her dark hair had been drawn back unflatteringly tight against her skull, making her plain, sharp face seem even more disapproving than it already was.
She looked like an offended nun.
Why the hell was I staring at her?
Christ, I had no idea. Maybe it was the way she was staring at me: intense, direct. No blushing and looking away like some women did, or lowering her lashes and shooting me flirtatious glances from underneath them. No come-and-get-me smiles or looking past me, pretending she hadn’t been staring.
No, she simply stared. Then she slid off her stool and headed towards the stairs to the VIP area.
Shit. She was coming up here?
Intrigued despite myself, I watched her make her way to the top of the stairs and talk to the bouncer who was guarding the area. She pointed at me as she did so, an earnest expression on her face and, sure enough, the bouncer glanced at me then headed in my direction.
Interesting. What could this woman possibly want? Other than the usual. But then there hadn’t been anything flirtatious or sexual in her gaze. No, it wasn’t sex she wanted, I was sure.
‘Mr King?’ The bouncer came to a stop in front of my table. ‘There’s a woman here who wants to talk to you. She says it’s about Clara Hamilton.’
I stilled. Looked like my evening was about to get even more interesting.
‘Send her over.’ I glanced past him to where she stood, looking in my direction. There was a crease between her brows that disappeared as the bouncer signalled to her, then she started forward without hesitation.
Keen little thing, wasn’t she?
Though, as she got closer, it soon became clear she wasn’t little. Tall. Taller even than I’d thought at first and her heels weren’t exactly high. She moved with purpose too, as if she knew exactly where she was going and why.
‘Mr King.’ She came to a stop in front of my table. ‘Thanks for seeing me.’ Without waiting for me to reply, she held out her hand. ‘I’m Vita Hamilton.’
I made no move to get up or take her hand, settling for staring at her instead.
She had dark eyes, almost as dark as Xander’s yet without the black hole effect his had. Hers were very bright, as if there were tiny stars dancing in the depths. And she didn’t smile, merely pinned me with those dark, bright eyes, her hand held out steadily.
People didn’t hold my gaze for long. They didn’t like what they saw in it, especially when I smiled.
I stared right back. And grinned.
There was a tiny flicker of response, but that was it. She didn’t look away or drop her gaze. Or her hand.
Hell, that was...intriguing.
A woman of determination, obviously.
I leaned back in my seat, raising my glass and sipping again, pointedly ignoring her hand just to be a prick.
A flash of irritation crossed her face. Again, intriguing. People were too afraid to get irritated with me. Instead, they either got embarrassed or pretended whatever I’d said or done hadn’t happened.
Vita Hamilton didn’t pretend.
‘Well.’ Her voice was clear and bright like her eyes. ‘I was only trying to be polite. You don’t have to be rude.’
Was she reprimanding me?
Holy shit, she was.
Without waiting for a reply, she dropped her hand then sat down on the seat that Xander had vacated, opposite me, leaning forward and once again pinning me with that dark, starlit stare. ‘Now,’ she said seriously. ‘Like I said, my name is Vita Hamilton and I—’
‘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.’
CHAPTER FOUR
Vita
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.
Yet the way Leon King was looking at me, so blatantly sexual... No one had looked at me like that in a long time, if ever. But what was even worse was the sudden wave of heat that licked over my skin in response. Like I’d been caught in the backdraught of a wildfire.
It was so intense I looked away despite all my determination not to, my cheeks getting hot.
Hell. I was blushing. When was the last time that had happened?
Pretending I was studying the crowd and not avoiding his gaze, I said, ‘I don’t want to marry you. Insurance policy or not.’
‘Why not?’
The question irritated me. Was he stupid? Did he really not know?
I steeled myself yet again to meet his dark golden eyes. ‘Why do you think? I don’t even know you.’
He gave an elegant shrug. ‘So?’
‘What do you mean “so”? You’re a complete stranger.’
‘Why does that matter? Complete strangers marry each other every day.’ He tilted his head, the lights striking deep gold from his hair, his gaze gleaming. ‘I presume your father told you that you’ll get my house. Plus I can throw in some more money to sweeten the deal.’
‘I don’t want your house and I don’t want your money,’ I said flatly.
‘Sex then. You can have me.’ That smile lost its edge, became warmer, which somehow made it seem even more terrifying than before. ‘I assure you I’m worth it.’
He was so damn arrogant that I should have laughed. If he’d been another man, I would have. But again that strange heat licked up inside me at the words, a pull deep inside.
Yes, and remember what happened last time you felt that?
Shame. Humiliation. Pain.
No, I shouldn’t think of that. Chemicals, that was all this reaction was. Serotonin. Adrenaline. Dopamine. Nothing more.
‘No.’ I put every ounce of denial I could into the word, sitting up straight and tall to show him I meant business. ‘I don’t want you either.’
He laughed, a soft sound that made me shiver. ‘Then maybe your poor father doesn’t get his money.’
‘Why not? You’d really pull out just because I won’t marry you?’
He gave another shrug as if it wasn’t a big deal. ‘I’m not risking my money to your father’s promises, not without some guarantee.’
Dammit.
I shifted on the chair then rubbed my temples with one hand. The relentless beat of the music was giving me a headache and this was...not going like I’d planned. I’d thought he’d be a typical man, only concerned with having the beautiful trophy woman on his arm. But apparently he was different for some reason. Which was irritating.
Tell him it’s all off. Leave Dad to get out of this one himself.
I could. Except then the debt I owed Dad would still be there, hanging over my head. He’d got me away during the media storm, tried to cover my tracks and get rid of that recording. All the while facing the bankruptcy that I’d caused. I did owe him something.
Leon watched me, his gaze a searchlight uncovering all kinds of things I’d prefer to keep hidden.
‘What, exactly, is your problem?’ he asked. ‘I won’t touch you if you don’t want me to, and at the end of six months you can have my house and a divorce. I’ll be leaving the country after that anyway. You’ll barely see me.’
He made it sound so reasonable. Why was I balking? I didn’t have any particular beliefs around marriage and love wasn’t real anyway. So what did it matter?
‘I don’t like...the attention,’ I said lamely, settling on the most logical reason for my reluctance. ‘I’m not comfortable being in the spotlight. And marrying you will draw attention.’
‘Of course it will. I want it to.’ His gaze wandered over me again and I felt my skin prickle in response. ‘I want people to think we’re in love, not that I married you purely to get an in with your father.’
Well, Dad had not mentioned anything about a love affair.
‘But that’s why you are marrying me,’ I pointed out.
‘Well, yes. I just don’t want other people to know that.’
‘Why not? Why should you care?’
He gave another of those soft laughs, his eyes gleaming. ‘The King family has changed, Miss Hamilton. We’re not the criminals everyone seems to think we are, not any more. And what better way to illustrate that than for one of us to fall desperately in love and marry a good woman from a very good family?’
‘Not to mention getting investors for your company’s expansion,’ I said dryly.
‘That too.’ He swirled the liquid in his glass. ‘It’s a multi-layered, complicated problem. I wouldn’t think too hard about it if I were you.’
Was that a not-so-subtle dig at my intelligence? ‘Not to worry my pretty little head, you mean?’
He shrugged, his gaze guileless, and didn’t answer. ‘Did you know I was supposed to be meeting Clara for our first public date tonight?’ he asked instead. ‘She didn’t turn up, but you did.’
Public dates? Dad hadn’t mentioned anything about public dates.
Because he knew you’d refuse.
‘I didn’t know Clara was supposed to be here,’ I snapped, freshly annoyed at my father all over again. ‘Dad didn’t mention it to me. And I’m certainly not here to be her stand-in either.’
‘Clearly not.’ He tilted his head. ‘What have you got against a bit of attention, though?’
Great. That was all I needed. To drag up what had happened to me ten years ago. I didn’t want to talk about it and I especially didn’t want to talk about it to him.
‘I just don’t like it,’ I said.
‘Bullshit. Must be something pretty bad for it to involve coming to talk to me personally.’
Dammit. My options were either lying or simply not answering the question, but I was hopeless at lying and I had a feeling he wasn’t the type to simply drop a subject.
Hiding it wasn’t an option either, not when a quick search on my name would bring up the video. No matter how hard Dad had tried to scour it from the Internet, he hadn’t been able to. The Internet was for ever and so was my video.
He’ll see it if you tell him.
My jaw tightened. Well, everyone in creation had seen it, so why should I care if he did? Possibly he already had.
‘Google my name and you’ll find out.’ I lifted my chin and folded my hands in my lap so I wouldn’t be tempted to bite on my nails.
He gave me a long, silent, assessing look. Then he put down his glass and reached into his pocket, bringing out his phone.
I opened my mouth to tell him that he should wait until I wasn’t around at least. But his long fingers were already moving over the screen and a moment or two later he lifted his gaze from the phone and looked at me.
I blushed again, the old feelings of humiliation and shame washing over me, but I shoved them away. I wasn’t that girl in the video, not any more.
Instead, I stared, daring him to say a single word.
He merely lifted one dark brow. ‘So you had a sex tape drama. Who hasn’t?’
Was he being flippant? I couldn’t tell.
‘But you can see why I don’t want any kind of public attention. I don’t want anyone dragging that up again.’
‘You’re thinking about this all wrong, sweetheart.’ Casually, he dumped his phone on the table then sat back against the couch, lifting his arms along the back. ‘You could hide away for ever, afraid of all that coming back up again. Or you could go for a little revenge.’
It was not what I’d expected him to say.
‘Revenge? What do you mean revenge?’
‘A hot guy slept with you and humiliated you. And millions saw it. What better revenge than to show those millions of people another guy falling for you? Incredibly handsome, sickeningly rich.’ He gave another smile, utterly and completely charming, and not at all modest. ‘Notorious. Not a man anyone would mess with. Yet you’d have him wrapped around your little finger.’
The words slid under my skin in a way I wasn’t comfortable with. Revenge wasn’t what I wanted. Oblivion was, and I didn’t want anything to disrupt that. And yet...
‘I’d already planned some dates with Clara,’ he went on, that rich, deep voice of his winding around me. ‘Nothing major, just a few public outings to show people we’re in love. And then a big wedding to top it all off.’ His voice deepened, became softer. ‘Yes, it’s attention. But this time you get to call the shots. And it ends with you getting everything. The wedding, the mansion, the money.’ He paused, gold glimmering in his eyes, his smile making me feel hot, even though I wasn’t. ‘And, of course, you get the man.’
My instant response was to tell him no, that I didn’t care. I’d got past what had happened to me and what I wanted was to go back to my obscure life and carry on as if none of this had ever happened.
You could do that. Or you could rewrite your own story. And this time with the ending you want.
The thought hit me hard.
Back when I was seventeen, being Clara’s tall, gangly stick of a sister had been tough, and I’d longed to be like her. Pretty and curvy, popular with all the boys. I’d been an easy mark for Simon. Desperate for attention, insecure, a prime target for his manipulation. And he had manipulated me. He’d made me think he wanted me, that he loved me.
Then he’d used me, humiliated me, and all because he’d wanted my sister and she’d refused him. I’d been his revenge on her, too naive and stupid to understand what he was doing.
So, in a way, Leon King was right. This would be a perfect kind of revenge. And it would be my choice. Something I could do for myself.
Slowly, I let out a breath and looked at him. ‘So...when you say a few public dates, how many are we talking here?’
