Secrets and Seductions (17 page)

“How?”

“Drugs, apparently.”

Mac stiffened, then shot to his feet. “No bloody way will they get their hands on Charlee. They’ll not take her from me. Not now. Not from us.”

“They want my baby, Mac, and the reality is, I have no say in the matter. I’m her mother, but in their eyes
and
the eyes of the law, I’m no one.”

“So you chose to run. You didn’t think to tell me, ask for my help?”

“Why would I? You only care about having me in your bed, about blaming me for something Curtis insinuated. You don’t believe me; you never have. So why would I turn to you for help?”

For the first time since he arrived home, a tiny smile tugged at his mouth. “Only slightly true. What we have in bed is…good. As for the other, well, let’s talk about that later. Right now, we have to sort this out. Do you think they’ll fight in court?”

“He threatened to and…well,” she said, looking away from him for a moment, “I can’t fight them. Not now.”

“You wanted to fight me. Why not them?”

“Because…oh Mac. My legal status is precarious at best, despite the fact that I love her and have cared for her and brought her up. I’m the only mother she knows.” Leah found herself wringing her hands. “What’s the saying about blood being thicker than water? What would the courts say?”

“No matter what people say, you are her
real
mother.”

That Mac said that warmed Leah right through, yet she couldn’t even manage a smile on her frozen lips. “Thank you.”

He stood before her and rested his hands on her shoulders, his sudden heat real and giving her strength as his unyielding expression at last softened. He said nothing, then turned away and drew an envelope from his pocket. He stared at it for a moment, and then he put it back and turned to face her, a formidable determination in his eyes.

“I see only one way out of this,” he said.

Only one? So much for choices.

“We get married.”

Shock hit her hard. No way had she expected that. “Pardon?”

“You heard me, Leah. We get married. Hitched.”

She shook her head. “No. No, that is just not going to happen. I can’t. Not again.” And never to a Grainger.

“You’ve done it before.”

“What about the Ten Commandments?” she threw at him in desperation

“Good try, sweetheart, but you’ve got that mixed up with thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s wife. So, now you marry me.”

“We don’t love—”

“Not necessary,” he said, cutting her off. “This will be a marriage of convenience.”

Relief surged. It wouldn’t be real but a fake marriage. She could face that. Maybe. “A business deal?” she asked, unsure what kind of answer she hoped for.

“If that’s what you want to call it.”

That was the problem. She didn’t want to call it anything. She wanted to run. But then when would the running stop?

“I’m Charlee’s uncle, and if you marry me, you’d become her legal relation and mother all rolled into one. We’d be a stronger force than grandparents who have had no contact whatsoever. This way it will become formalized. I’ll get my lawyer to begin the paperwork immediately. That’s what you want, isn’t it?”

“Legal, yes, but married?” That would break one of her rules—never to marry again.

His mouth thinned, eyes dark and disapproving as he stared down at her. “Don’t panic. Consider it temporary.”

“How long?”

“Maybe six months. It depends on how long the paperwork takes for you to gain guardianship of Charlee.” He shrugged as if it really didn’t matter.

Maybe not to him. But six months with Mac was six months more than she was sure she could cope with.

“Once your guardianship is legalized, you’re free.”

Six months. Six months of days…and nights. Then finally free.

But that wasn’t quite true. Leah inhaled a deep breath to steady her nerves. “Haven’t you forgotten something?” she asked. “You bought my debt. That ties me to you financially. Once we divorce, I’d be no freer than I was before you barged into our lives.”

“So?”

“I just want to make sure you understand, Mac. Once the six months are over, once I’ve paid you, it will be all over.”

“I never doubted it, sweetheart.”

“Good.”

“So it’s agreed we marry?” He held out his hand to her, and for some silly, stupid and exciting reason all rolled into one, Leah reached up and took it. Mac drew her from her seat, and she stood in front of him.

Close.

Almost touching.

All of a sudden, Leah couldn’t breathe. Marriage meant…screaming. Belittling. Hurting. She squeezed her eyes closed, desperate to shut out the memories. The hurt and pain, and the constant anxiety that hung over her head.

“Leah?”

Her head snapped up, eyes blinking wide open. “Yes… I… Yes.” The words were a whisper, while inside her head it was as if a thunderous storm raged.

Married to Mac?

“Tell me when and where, and I’ll be there, but…” she said, gathering the last remnants of her courage from a place deep inside. If she were to have any essence of control over her future, she had to make a stand here and now. “You’re right. Charlee comes first, and since this marriage is nothing more than a business deal, I have a condition of my own that can be added to our contract.”

Suspicion tinted Mac’s eyes. “Such as?”

“There’ll be no more kissing in this marriage, Mac. No more sex.” Leah suddenly wondered if she’d gone too far. Mac had suggested marrying. He didn’t have to help her, yet he had offered. If she kept her distance from him, and they didn’t make love, it would be easier to walk out in six months’ time. “It’s only a business arrangement. Got it?”

For what seemed eternity, he said nothing, then at last he spoke, and with his first words, Leah realized her future had already changed. “You’re right,” he said, shrugging and confirming that it was truly a business deal to him. “This is the best option for both of us. Marry me, and Charlee gets to keep her mother.” Then he leaned forward and whispered in her ear. “No more kisses, huh? Are you sure you can resist, sweet Leah?”

Leah jerked backwards, aware of Mac’s heat, his scent. It hit her full force, threatening to topple her resolve. She clenched her fists, refusing to give in to temptation and fixed him with a hard glare. “Just watch me.”

Chapter Nine

Conflict soured in Mac’s gut. He should have told her about the investigation and the report that still burned in his jacket pocket.

Should have. But didn’t.

He’d chickened out the minute he’d seen the suitcase and realized she was about to leave him. Telling Leah would have given her another reason to hate him. So he’d panicked, and that scared the hell out of him.

He would tell her later.

But two days later, after putting his solicitors onto Charlee’s grandparents, later hadn’t come…and the truth remained a secret. Now, time had run out. He was about to get married.

Snatching up his phone, he punched the number for Connor Jackson. He didn’t wait for his friend’s response. “Did those pre-nup papers get signed?”

“Well hello to you too,” Connor quipped in his usual casual manner.

“I’m not in the mood.”

“The nervous groom?”

Mac’s stomach bunched in tight knots. “Cut it, buddy.” He and Connor went way back. They’d been childhood friends, and normally he’d take his friend’s chiding, but not today.

“You still there, Mac?”

Mac quenched the memories that had no place in his life today. “Yeah.”

“For a man about to tie the knot, you don’t sound too pleased.”

“And the custody papers?” he prompted.

“Don’t worry, they’re on hold.”

“Make sure of it, Connor.”

“You worried she’ll find out?”

“Definitely.”

“So tell her,” Connor prompted.

“No, not now. Later.”

Connor’s long, low whistle echoed down the phone line. “She sure must be a looker for you to make the jump, that’s all I can say. Thought you were a no-commitment kinda guy.”

“I was. Am.”

But with a last friendly chuckle, Connor cut the phone line, stamping out Mac’s acerbic response.

Mac never thought today would come. Hadn’t ever planned on it.

So why now?

Okay, so he’d tried to fool himself this was just about Charlee.

Wrong!

It was about him and Leah together. The thing was, he wasn’t sure if by marrying Leah, he’d be walking into the biggest mistake of his life.

The elevator doors slid open, and Leah had no chance to back out and run for the hills. Her groom stood inside, handsome as the devil in a charcoal gray suit, crisp white shirt and pink silk tie. “You’re here?”

“You were expecting someone else?” He lifted one brow. “Or perhaps you hoped I’d back out?”

Her mouth pursed, her response silence. Mac stepped aside, and clutching her bag in both hands as if it were a shield, she entered, turned and fixed her gaze on the closing doors. Flames of embarrassment colored her cheeks, because despite her vow, they’d made love this morning.

It had been almost a good-bye ritual.

They’d made love, not just had sex, but something quite different, with a slowness to it that was hauntingly beautiful. While they’d taken their fill of each other, neither uttered a word about what would soon take place and bring such a change to their lives.

But despite the beauty of the early hours and the almost regretful aura that hung over them, nothing had abated Leah’s rising panic or the dread at what she was about to do.

She was getting married. Again.

“Didn’t you want Charlee at our wedding?”

The threat of hysterical laughter closed her throat. “This isn’t something I’d want my daughter exposed to. It’s a business deal, after all.” She tried desperately to relax. She should be happy. She was a bride. But it was because of that exact fact that she struggled to latch on to any semblance of calm.

Married to a Grainger.

Okay, so Curtis and Mac were brothers, but so very different, she reasoned, trying for any semblance of sanity. A tiny part of her, however, couldn’t let go of that familial tie or allow herself to totally trust Mac, and she found a ubiquitous sadness corralling any joy because of that reality. A lifetime ago, her hopes and dreams had been decimated, snatched from her heart by a Grainger.

When Curtis died, she had vowed never to marry again. But then she’d vowed lots of things. To keep her daughter safe, to hold on to her haven. She’d failed at both.

A few weeks ago, everything she’d heard of Mac Grainger had been negative.

Bad boy. Rebel. The black sheep of the family. The ultimate male. Arrogant. Powerful.

Now she was ensconced in his bed and about to become his wife.

That was when she’d realized she had to take charge and put in her own rule to safeguard her heart. A rule not to be broken. She knew her reasoning was off kilter, but she’d had enough of being vulnerable.

Marrying Mac was simply a means to protect Charlee. Everything would always be about Charlee.

The door of the elevator opened to the lobby of Jackson and Partners.

“Mr. Jackson is in his office. We’re just waiting for the celebrant,” Connor’s secretary announced as Leah walked at Mac’s side into the vast reception area.

He cupped her elbow with a firm grip.

“I’m not going to jump ship,” she whispered, which only earned her a hard smile in return, a rebuke that said hell would freeze over before he let her go.

“I didn’t think you would. You need me, after all.”

To her chagrin, he was right.

Connor Jackson offered a broad grin as he stepped toward them with an outstretched hand. “Right on time, I see.”

For a few minutes, he and Mac talked in hushed tones; then Mac’s best man exited the office. The moment the door closed, fear pinned her in its clutches.

“Leah?”

Battling to refocus, she found herself staring up at her groom. How come he could remain calm when inside her nerves rioted a thousand-fold? There wasn’t a hair out of place, a wrinkle in his suit. Mac Grainger was polished to perfection.

“It’s almost over,” he said.

“Can’t come soon enough,” she shot back at him.

His mouth curled at each corner, his dimples deepening. He was enjoying her discomfort, that was obvious. He leaned a fraction closer, the fingers of his left hand caressing the side of her cheek, as he whispered, “Eager for our wedding night, sweetheart?”

Leah almost choked aloud. “This is a marriage of convenience. There won’t be one. We discussed it, remember?”

Dark eyes twinkled down at her. “Shame. I kinda liked the idea of a repeat performance of this morning, wouldn’t you?”

Leah’s throat tightened at the excitement his words prompted.
Fight it, Leah.
“We have a certain rule,” she said, breaking his sensual hold on her.

He pulled back and crossed his arms. “And rules are made to be broken.”

“Not this one.” This rule had to stay in place. “Sex won’t be part of
this
deal.” He might want her in his bed for a while, but what happened when a replacement came along? Where would her heart be then? Broken, that’s where.

He shrugged. “Okay.”

Just okay? Leah couldn’t hold back her shock and her eyes widened. She knew she should be relieved. And she was. Mostly.

Rubbish.

In truth, part of her felt…deflated. Let down. He hadn’t even tried to argue the point, declare he really wanted her.

But you wanted no sex.

Just then, Connor and another man walked in—Leah realized it had to be the celebrant—and reality hit hard, a cannonball hurtling around her stomach. This was real. Happening. Now.

Mac’s strong fingers circled her wrist once more. There was nothing subtle about his intention. He leaned into her body, his heat enveloping her. Instinctively, she pulled back, though not far enough, as his breath fanned her skin in an intimate gesture.

Leah squeezed her eyes closed and tried to block out the swirl of activity: Mac talking to Connor and the celebrant, and Rowena, Connor’s secretary, entering the room and flirting with Mac.

The sounds became a chaotic tangle in her brain, firing the threat of a headache.
Concentrate. Get married. Get out.