Love is a Battlefield: Games of Love, Book 1 (24 page)

“No. I’m not. And I’ve never been to Scotland.”

A heavy pause filled the air between them that Julian knew he had to fill. This was it. His opportunity.

“It was another one of the gifts my stepfather gave me,” Julian said. “An introduction to this way of life. That’s the best part about it—you don’t have to go back in time two hundred and fifty years or be born with a name like Wallace. You can earn it. I
earned
it, Kate. And I’m not going to dishonor Harold by giving it away now.”

Kate’s legs, which had been swinging gently where they dangled from the rocky ruins, stopped. “I know what you want me to say, Julian. I’m not stupid.”

“You have no idea what I want.”
He
didn’t even know that.

“You want me to pack up my things and go. You want me to find a new venue. And you’re absolutely correct. It would be the right thing to do—the fair thing to do. You’ve been here for years, and your claim is older than mine. You’ve got more people coming to your event than I do. I don’t matter any more than a little bump in the road.”

“That’s not—”

She held up a hand, stopping him from continuing. “But you’re forgetting one tiny thing.”

“What?”

“Duke Kilroy III.”

All of the intimacy that had been building between them vanished like a puff of smoke, that quick bit of ignition all it needed to lose its potency. Julian’s fists balled up at his sides, and his entire body tensed.

“What about him?”

“That warrior code of honor you’re always going on about? The need for you to prove yourself as a man? It’s not the virtue you think it is.” She rapped his head with her knuckles. “It’s turned you into an obstinate little boy.”

He grabbed her by the wrist and stared right into her eyes. They were plain hazel now. “One date with that man does not make you an expert on my motivations. You have no idea what Kilroy is capable of.”

“I know he recently made you an offer that would solve all our problems—yours and mine.”

Julian released her arm and hopped down from the turret, his back to hers, his blood changing from hot to cold and back again until he felt like a victim of torture. The nerve of that bastard, recruiting Kate to his cause, using her to try to get Julian to forfeit from the Games. That Kilroy might have put his arms around her, whispered into the warm nape of her neck all his desires and plans for bringing Julian to his knees…

That Kate might have let him. Laughed with him.

A deep and shuddering breath shook his body, and he whirled around. “This whole time, is that what this has been about—Kilroy’s offer?”

“Well, not all of it, but you can hardly expect me to pretend it doesn’t exist. You have to admit, Julian, it’s hard to ignore the easy solution when it’s standing right there, looking you directly in the face.”

He offered Kate his arms to help her down, grabbing her around the waist and settling her to the ground below. But once she was firmly in place, he severed all physical ties between them. He couldn’t bear touching her when she’d been so clearly branded by Kilroy and his manipulations.

“If you think anything that has to do with Duke Kilroy is the easy solution, you’re in for a lot of heartache, Kate. That man is not everything he seems.”

She didn’t move, her eyes narrowed as she studied him. He stood proud and tall—there was nothing in either his stature or his bearing he was ashamed for her to examine. He was true to his body and true to his spirit in all things.

“You’re not everything you seem, either, Julian Wallace. That’s the problem.”

A hundred retorts formed on his lips, but none more insistent than that he was hers for the taking—she could examine, ask, probe until he was a bleeding, pulpy mass of his former self.

But of course he didn’t speak.

And she was already halfway across the field, little more than a muddled shape in the darkness, by the time he was able to move again.

Chapter Twelve

Youthful Passions

“I cannot believe you didn’t tell us about this guy before,” Anne scolded.

All three of the women stood in a line, staring at the red sports car that had pulled into Cornwall Park’s lot with a contented purr.

“What did you say his name was again?” Anne asked. She fanned herself lightly with her hand, dark hair fluttering in the breeze. “King?”

“It’s Duke,” Kate hissed. “And don’t say it so loud. He’s coming over here.”

Her feelings regarding Duke’s unheralded arrival that morning were a little mixed. He had impeccable timing on top of impeccable everything else, that was for sure. If there was one man who could force Julian to a point, it was this one right here, and he could do it with such attention for Kate’s comfort she’d hardly even feel a pinch of guilt. But the part of her, the soft, squishy part that wouldn’t stop replaying the kiss from several nights ago, wasn’t entirely happy to see him.

“Kate!” Duke called, his arms outstretched. All the women sighed as he swooped in and grabbed her hand, bestowing it with a chaste peck before stepping back and admiring the line of them standing there.

“It’s so lovely to see you again. Are you going to introduce me to your beautiful friends?”

Kate made the introductions, smiling behind her hand as Duke provided each woman with the same grand treatment—a kiss to the hand, a flirtatious smile, the full force of his charm. They wilted, one by one, underneath the theatricality of it all.

“Please tell me you’ve come to demonstrate your support for the SHS,” Jada said with a sultry smile. “If there’s one thing we need more of here, it’s large men who know how to throw their weight around.”

“Is that an invitation?” Duke laughed.

“Honey, if you look as good with your shirt off as you do with it on, you’re invited to do anything you want to me.”

“Okay, Jada. Down, girl.” Kate grabbed Duke by the arm and angled him away from her friends. “Can you give us a minute?”

“Take an hour, Kate. Who am I kidding? Take three.”

Duke gave a deep chuckle as he allowed Kate to lead him to a semiprivate place at the base of the ruins. The camp was growing in numbers—two more men had joined the enemy camp the day before, and they had three more JARRS members squeezed into their own tent—and it was getting more difficult to find privacy around here.

Privacy, she was willing to admit, might be overrated in this particular scenario. So many people staying at the camp meant there was an increased likelihood that someone was around to prevent a little one-on-one Kate-and-Julian time. And that could only be considered a good thing. She couldn’t trust her natural reaction when he was near. If he had pursued it the other night, she was absolutely certain she’d have let him take her, right there under the moon, feet away from the party in the hot tub.

That was not like her. The most adventurous place she’d ever had sex before was the kitchen counter, and that had hardly been the erotic experience she’d expected. She’d found wilted pieces of lettuce clinging to her body for hours afterward. Julian had been right when he said her whole life was a testament to careful planning and calculated risks.

And he was the biggest risk of all. Especially since she still didn’t know if it was
her
he wanted, or her acquiescence.

“I like your friend, Jada. She seems…nice,” Duke said, bringing Kate’s attention back to the present. She shook herself and tried to focus on his wide smile.

“Nice is one word for it. But I am curious about what she asked.
Are
you here to support the SHS?”

He leaned closer, the scent of his spiced cologne washing over her. It didn’t seem quite right—the heavy, artificial smell out here in the great outdoors, but it fit him well. He didn’t belong out here either.

“I’m here for you, Kate. Surely you know that.”

She hesitated. “Well, I’m happy to see you, no matter whose side you’re on.”

“Has Wallace been giving you any trouble?”

Yes. A thousand times over, yes.

Everywhere she turned, he was right there, never watching, precisely, but definitely oppressing. Whereas before she thought he displaced the air with each movement of his body, she now thought he sucked it all up, depriving her of the oxygen she needed to breathe. To think.

“No,” she lied. “Julian is fine. Outdoor living is a bit more challenging than I thought it would be, that’s all.”

Duke offered her a sympathetic smile. “You’re not made for a cot in the woods, Kate. You’re so lovely. You deserve a lot more.”

A cot? Now that was a good idea—why hadn’t she thought of that before? That had to be more comfortable than the cold, hard ground.

Duke watched her patiently, awaiting a response. It was obvious what he wanted to hear—a flutter of delight at his well-placed compliment, a girlish laugh—but she couldn’t quite muster one up. It was hard to accept flattery when the skin was peeling off her shoulders like she was a bird during molting season, her bruise was now a brownish-yellow that seeped down her forehead, and her hair smelled like the campfire no matter how many times she washed it. Her bag of clothes was getting perilously low on options too, and she’d settled for wearing a pair of Jada’s workout shorts and a tank top. Hardly the stuff of romantic illusions.

“What she deserves, Kilroy, and what she gets, are probably going to be one and the same. At least in the end.”

They both looked up sharply. Duke had on a pair of aviator sunglasses, but Kate had to shield her eyes from the glare of the sun with her hand. Julian looked down on them from the top of the ruins, hopping down the rocks like an agile and highly stubborn mountain goat.
Crap.
She forgot he’d taken refuge up there—he’d been looking down on the camp in judgment and derision for days.

“Wallace,” Duke called up at him congenially. “Good to see you again, though I see you’ve once again screwed everything up. Still not willing to take me up on my offer?”

Kate looked at Julian expectantly. He had the power to end this. With one simple word, he could get her home and in her nice, cozy bed, Gretna curled comfortably at her feet and a glass of chardonnay in hand.

“There was nothing wrong until you stepped out of your car. And I don’t need anything
you
have to offer, thank you very much.”

“Listen, boys,” Kate interrupted. Of course Julian wouldn’t take the easy route. It went against his ridiculous code of honor to do anything less. She understood there was a certain level of sentimentality associated with the Games, but it wasn’t as though he didn’t have other options. Refusing to even consider Duke’s offer to use his grounds was just an excuse to continue on in his overbearing way. It was one thing to be masterful. It was another to treat another person’s thoughts and opinions as meaningless.

Even Mr. Darcy eventually realized his insufferable pride wasn’t going to get him what he wanted. Julian had yet to budge even an inch.

“As much as I’d love to watch you two pretend not to hate one another, I’m going home to change.” She turned to Duke with a smile. “You’ll still be here when I get back?”

“Of course,” Duke said lightly. “I wouldn’t miss this for the world.”

He reached out and touched a lock of her hair, which was sticky and coated in the sunscreen spray she’d put on earlier. “You don’t have to go, though. You really do look lovely.”

Julian scowled. “She does not. She looks like she slept with her head under a kitchen sink.”

Kate couldn’t help but laugh, and she waggled her fingers good-naturedly to them both as she walked away.

“I don’t need you to come take a shower with me, Jada. Shouldn’t you be…I don’t know, working or something?” Kate sat in her car, but she couldn’t pull away with Jada hanging on to the window for dear life.

“Katy-did, there are a lot of things I will do for you, one of which is take the necessary days off for camping with that lot of manhood. But I expect a few things in return.” She pulled open the passenger door and got in next to her. “And one of those is information. Who is that gorgeous man, and where have you been hiding him?”

Kate sighed and backed out of the parking spot.

“He’s the man of my dreams, I’m afraid.”

Jada squealed so loud Kate slammed on the brakes. Kate’s head jerked backward and bounced on the headrest, her already battered body slumping like a rag doll against the seat.

Jada wasn’t even fazed. “Oh. My. God. No wonder why you didn’t mention him before—it’s not like you to be all secretive. Katy-did, is this the real thing?”

The real thing. A perfect man. Her Holy Grail of love.

She’d been after the real thing for years, ever since she first realized that the love existing on the pages of her favorite books had the potential to become real in ways that dragons and ladies in waiting never could. That love could lift her up and away from the dreary ordinariness of life, to a place where she felt whole and loved and cherished.

So far, she’d only been disappointed.

If a man wasn’t extolling her virtues of subservience, he was usually lacking in other important areas. Like personality. Or personal hygiene.

Duke brought all of her youthful fantasies of a perfectly heroic mate rushing back to the surface. He was handsome, he was rich and he had a kind of cultured manner Kate had never before encountered in real life. The compliments flowed like expensive wine, and he seemed more than willing to dash in to rescue her—and the entire JARRS group—from Julian’s evil clutches.