Marry in Haste... (2 page)

Draping the sheet across her shoulders, she scrambled into her bra next, but as she fastened the catch, the sheet slipped to the floor. “You certainly did. I told you champagne went to my head and still you kept pouring.
Now
I know why.”

When he slid his legs over the side of the bed and stood, looking much too male and intimidating, she grabbed her sundress and backed up a few steps, trying to keep her gaze above his waist.

“You don't know anything,” he growled.

Stepping into her dress, she quickly slid her arms under the straps and zipped up the back. “That's possibly quite true. I can't believe I ended up in a motel room with a strange man.”

“You didn't think I was strange last night,” he argued with the lift of a brow, obviously unconcerned that he was naked.

She slipped into her sandals. “I must have been drunk last night. I've never been drunk before and I've never ever—” Tears caught in her throat and this time she couldn't blink them away as they welled up in her eyes. “I was…I was saving myself for someone special. For someone I was committed to and
wanted to spend a lifetime with.” She now realized she'd ducked Winston's advances these past few months because she hadn't been committed to him, not in her heart. Finally she'd run because a lifetime with him had seemed unbearable.

If she didn't get out of here, she'd make more of a fool of herself. The last thing she wanted to do was to let this man see her cry. Her purse lay on the nightstand. Snatching it up, she turned and headed for the door.

“Mallory,” Reed called.

But she wouldn't stop. She couldn't stop. Not with tears rolling down her cheeks. Not with her head throbbing and her emotions in so much chaos. She didn't think they'd ever settle down. It wasn't until she closed the door behind her that she realized she didn't even know where she was. But as she raced down two flights of steps and found herself across the street from the Golden Spur Saloon, she got her bearings.

Running down the sidewalk to her motel, she realized Reed's room had been posh compared to the one she'd rented. It had had a sitting area, deep pile carpeting and a nice quality of furnishings. As an interior designer, she recognized quality when she saw it. Unbidden, a vivid picture of a naked Reed popped up before her eyes and she shook her head to clear it. All she wanted to do was to get to San Antonio and her half brother Dawson and put some order back into her life.

The bright sun made Mallory shade her eyes with her hand. As she hurried past the White Dove Wedding Chapel, the cool morning air raised goose bumps
on her arms. She remembered feeling chilled last night outside under the stars, and Reed putting his arm around her….

But there wasn't anything else. Maybe in time she would remember her whole sordid night with him. Why had she ever thought dancing and flirting with a stranger wouldn't be dangerous?

When she reached her motel, she breathed a sigh of relief and opened the heavy glass door that led into the lobby. The Sierra Inn wasn't fancy. It had been inexpensive and clean, exactly what she'd been looking for. But instead of spending three days here, she was going to check out early and head for San Antonio.

Fighting off her headache, still feeling off balance and vulnerable because she couldn't remember anything that had happened late last night, she was oblivious to everything around her. How could she not remember a man such as Reed undressing her, touching her—

Someone took hold of her arm in a hard grip and she came to an abrupt halt. Her mind still filled with visions of Reed, she was startled to look up and see—Winston! He was wearing a suit—he always wore a suit—and his grip tightened even more as he said, “I found you.”

Winston Bentley IV was handsome in a
G.Q.
kind of way. His curly dark brown hair was perfectly parted to the side and his dark brown eyes were angry.

She knew she was in deep trouble, but she told herself she could handle it. “Winston. What are you doing here?”

He didn't ease his grip. “More importantly, what are
you
doing here?”

Her conscience told her she owed him an explanation. He had been a diligent suitor, and she'd convinced herself she should marry him because he'd done and said everything right. Her mother and stepfather had approved of him…
more
than approved. But after last night and the attraction she'd felt toward Reed, she decided she'd left San Francisco in the nick of time. “I did both of us an injustice by becoming engaged to you, Winston. I had doubts and I didn't express them.”

“Tell me your doubts and I'll put them to rest.”

She tried to take the tactful route. “You can't. We're just not right for each other.”

“You're very right for me,” he said cajolingly. Though his voice was less steely, there was something in it that scared her.

“I can't be, Winston, because I don't really love you.”

Releasing her arm, he studied her. “Love? That doesn't enter into this, Mallory. Your marriage to me would be the best thing for both of us. You are exactly what I need in a wife—well-bred, intelligent, poised, sophisticated. I'm not going to let you throw away a future together simply because you have prewedding jitters.”

She had jitters, all right, but they had nothing to do with her wedding, not anymore. They had to do with that phone conversation she'd overheard. In the iciest voice she could imagine, Winston had told one of his associates, “Do whatever you have to do to get
him to sell. Even a little physical persuasion if necessary. Understand?”

She was sure his associate had understood, and so had she. Winston hadn't gotten rich by being honest or nice. Apparently he used force when he felt it was necessary. Looking into his eyes now, she was worried that he wouldn't hesitate to use force on her. But she tried to keep from panicking and reminded herself to stay calm.

Glancing around, she realized the lobby was empty at the moment and no one even stood as sentinel at the desk. She had to do this on her own. “I didn't have prewedding jitters. I realized I was marrying you because my parents wanted the union more than I did.”

“Your parents are very wise.”

Nothing she said was sinking in. “I'm not going to marry you, Winston.”

“If you need more time, Mallory, I'll give it to you, though it's damn embarrassing to have a wedding set up and my bride run off to God knows where.”

“How
did
you find me?”

“Apparently you weren't trying to hide. You used your credit card and your own name. It was very easy.”

His voice was so matter-of-fact, it scared her. She suddenly understood that he could buy almost anything he wanted, including information and flunkies who would do his dirty work for him. Yet he had come here for her himself.

Possibly he really had feelings for her. “Winston, I really am sorry. More time isn't going to help. I'm sure marriage isn't in the cards for us.”

His cheeks flushed, his eyes glinted, and he clasped her arm again. “Oh, yes, it is, Mallory. And I'm going to tell you all the reasons why it is once we're in the car. Come on.”

Attempting to wrench away, she said, “I won't go with you.”

Although Winston was only about five-ten, he was strong. She knew he worked out at least three times a week at a men's club that he belonged to with her stepfather. She tried her best to keep her sandals firmly planted on the floor, but at five-five and one hundred and ten pounds, she was no match and he managed to easily pull her along.

“Winston, I said no!” But her words didn't make an impression any more than her wrenches and shoves did. Circling her waist with his arm, he practically carried her to the door. Pushing it open with his knee, he dragged her with him and she was all too aware that she was in a serious situation. A luxury car was parked directly in front of them, and she knew he intended to get her into it one way or another.

“No,” she said again. “No!” Realizing he was intent on kidnapping her, she yelled, “Help!” But the streets this time of the morning were dead and there was no one in sight.

Again she tried reason. “Winston, you can't do this. What are you going to do with me once we're back in San Francisco? Keep me locked up?” With a quick glance at him, she immediately realized it wasn't beyond the realm of possibility.

As she squirmed, he somehow managed to hold her tightly while he opened the back car door, and she
knew she might not be strong enough to get away. She could be his prisoner—

Fearing her fate was sealed, fearing what Winston would do with her once he got her into his car, she was startled by a familiar deep voice.

“What's going on here?” Reed asked, his expression grim.

“It's none of your business,” Winston snapped.

This time Mallory managed to wrench away from him. “I was engaged to him, but I'm not anymore, and I don't want to be, and he's trying to make me go with him.” She knew she had no right to ask, but her eyes pleaded with Reed to help her. He wore a tan Stetson this morning with his jeans, boots and blue plaid Western-cut shirt, and she'd never been so happy in her life to see anyone.

Reed pinned Winston with a hard stare. “It seems as if the lady doesn't want to go with you.”

“The lady doesn't know what she wants. She's confused.”

“Are you confused, Mallory?” Reed asked.

Winston's eyes widened with Reed's use of her first name. Her ex-fiancé had been about to make her out as a whimpering, panicked bride-to-be who didn't know her own mind. She wouldn't let him get away with that. “No, I'm not confused. I do
not
want to marry him, and I'm not going back to San Francisco.”

“That's that, then,” Reed said with a shrug. “You heard the lady, Mr….”

“Winston Bentley the Fourth, and I might have heard the lady but she doesn't know her own mind. Her stepfather is
the
George Pennington Smythe from
San Francisco, and he sent me after her. He's worried about her.” Winston leaned forward as if to confide in Reed man-to-man. “She's been on edge, nervous, on tranquilizers. Once I get her home—”

Mallory stepped forward, closer to Reed and away from Winston. “I've never taken a tranquilizer in my life and if I hadn't been sure about not marrying him before this, I certainly would be now.”

“Mallory, honey,” Winston said engagingly. “We'll talk this all out. If you don't want to live in my penthouse, we'll buy a house somewhere—”

“She's not going anywhere with you, Bentley.” Reed's voice was firm and steady, and Mallory breathed a sigh of relief because this handsome Aussie believed she
did
know her own mind.

Winston's expression was almost a snarl. “Look here, you…whatever your name is.”

“Reed Fortune.”

“Fortune?” Mallory gasped at the same time as Winston.

“The Texas Fortunes?” Winston asked. “The ones in all the newspapers and tabloids last year?”

“My branch is from Sydney, Australia.”

“I don't care who you are or where you're from,” Winston retorted. “She's
my
fiancée.”

Reed's voice was calm as he reached into the back pocket of his jeans and produced a paper that was folded into quarters. “Not anymore.” He unfolded the piece of paper slowly, then handed it to Winston Bentley IV with the announcement, “Mallory and I got married last night.”

M
allory's face turned so pale, Reed thought she would faint. He convinced himself that that was the reason he circled her waist and held her close to him. Of course, Winston Bentley IV was another. “There's no point in your sticking around, Bentley. She's
my
wife now.”

The angry man looked from one to the other. “Something's not right here. Mallory, tell me you didn't marry this man.”

Mallory still looked stunned, and Reed answered for her. “You have the proof in your hands.”

After examining the document, Bentley thrust it at Reed. “Don't think this is over. I always get what I want, and Mallory Prescott is the woman I want for my wife.”

Last night when she'd signed her name, Reed had wondered if she was related to the Dawson Prescott who worked for Fortune TX, Ltd. But that hadn't been foremost on his mind, and he'd expected there would be time enough for questions and explanations this morning. Now they'd have to wait until he sent Bentley on his way. It was a good thing he'd caught sight of Mallory running down the street as he'd looked out his motel room window. He'd been able to follow her. “I hear bigamy is illegal in the United
States. Since Mallory has a husband, she won't be taking another.”

Bentley's face flushed redder. “You haven't heard the end of this.”

“I expect not,” Reed muttered as he guided Mallory toward the door of the motel.

“Her stepfather won't stand for this,” Bentley called after them, then added, “Don't think you can hide from me, Mallory. Because I'll find you.”

Reed could feel the shudder that trembled through Mallory, and he only had one thought. He had to protect her.

Once inside the motel lobby, he spotted Bentley still watching them. Leaning close to Mallory, Reed asked, “What room are you in?”

She looked up at him as if she was seeing him for the first time. Her expression was troubled, perplexed and very vulnerable. She still smelled of flowers, and he vividly remembered her curled against him in sleep.

“Your ex-fiancé is still watching us,” he murmured in her ear. “Let's go to your room for your things so I can get you out of here.”

Without a word she opened her purse and handed him her key. Her room was on the second floor.

As soon as they reached it and Reed closed the door behind them, she turned to face him. “Married? We can't be.”

He couldn't believe she didn't remember finishing the bottle of champagne, leaving the Golden Spur, and walking in the star-filled night. He'd wanted her badly. Dancing had primed him and the longer he'd been with her, the more aroused he'd become. Out
side she'd shivered and he'd put his arm around her, feeling protective and powerful and everything else a man should feel when he wanted a woman and guessed that that woman wanted him.

Yet something about Mallory had made it impossible for him to simply take her to his room. He'd never done anything so impulsive in his life, but he'd asked her to marry him. Maybe it was Stephanie's rejection that had prompted it. Maybe it was the fact that Mallory was more beautiful to him than any woman he'd ever laid eyes on. Maybe it was because he'd wanted her too badly to let her slip out of his life in the morning. Whatever it had been, it had been sheer craziness, but she'd agreed.

Had the tequila and champagne led him to hail a cab to take them to the courthouse, then return to the White Dove Wedding Chapel a few doors down from his motel? Another question he couldn't answer. It didn't much matter because now they
were
married. Taking the paper out of his pocket again, he handed it to her.

She examined it, studied her signature, then sank onto the bed. “Oh, my heavens,” she murmured, looking dumbfounded.

Last night Mallory's flirting and sparkling, desire-filled hazel eyes had made Reed feel ten feet tall. Now her stricken expression made him feel much the same as Stephanie's letter had. “You don't remember any of it?” he asked her.

Gazing up at him, she shook her head. “I never drink. One glass usually makes me fall asleep.”

“Yeah, well you had more than one glass,” he
mumbled. “You don't remember finishing the bottle?”

She sighed, then shook her head again. “Tell me what happened, Reed. I have to know.”

She looked mortified, and he couldn't help but sit beside her on the bed, though no part of them touched. That could be entirely too dangerous right now. “We drank. We danced. We kissed. We danced. We drank some more. We started walking to my motel and…I asked you to marry me.”

“Why?”

Her surprise was so genuine that he knew he had to be honest with her. “I wanted to have sex with you, but you were so sweet and such a lady, that I guess I didn't feel I could unless I asked you to marry me.”

She was silent for a few moments. Then she asked, “So we…slept together?”

“Sleep is
all
we did.”

“I don't understand. I thought you said—”

“I said I wanted to have sex with you. But after our visit to the courthouse and the wedding chapel, we came back to my motel room. I went into the bathroom, and when I came out, you had taken off your clothes and crawled into bed and were fast asleep.”

“So you just crawled in beside me?”

He shrugged. “That's about it. Look, I knew you'd had too much champagne, and I guess deep down I knew you'd want a divorce in the morning.”

“So you didn't take advantage of me,” she responded with a relieved look.

“I'm no saint. I guess I hoped that when we awakened, I wouldn't
have
to take advantage of you.”

She thought about that for a moment. “Reed, all I can say is thank you for being more than an honorable man last night, as well as for rescuing me this morning.”

“Bentley is dangerous,” Reed said with certainty.

“I just realized how dangerous,” Mallory murmured. She looked lost in thought, but then she turned toward him slightly on the bed. “Your name's really ‘Fortune'?”

“So my father tells me,” he said with a smile, glad she wasn't looking quite as shaken or panicked.

“Do you know the Texas Fortunes?”

He nodded. “It's a long story, but Ryan Fortune and my father, Teddy, are long-lost half brothers. Ryan and Dad were just reunited about six months ago at Ryan and Lily's wedding. I'm visiting, getting to know the family, learning about the horse operation here, hoping I can convince my father to modernize back home.”

Mallory shook her head and smiled. “It's a small world. My half brother works for the Fortunes in San Antonio.”

“Would his name be Dawson Prescott?”

“How did you know?”

“You said you were on your way to San Antonio. When I saw your last name, I wondered if you were related to Dawson. I've spent some weekends with him on the Double Crown.”

With Mallory's face turned up to him, her hazel eyes now devoid of fear, Reed found himself as attracted to her as he had been last night. But the sit
uation had gotten complicated and they would have to unravel it piece by piece. Standing, he said, “You'd better get your things together. Bentley might return with reinforcements. I'll call the airport and tell them to get the jet ready.”

“Jet?”

“I flew the company jet up here.”

Her back straightening, she pushed her hair behind her ear. “I can pack my things, load up the car and drive to Texas. I don't want to interrupt your plans.”

“I think you already have.” As soon as he said it, he saw a look in her eyes that he decided was pure determination.

“I left San Francisco to make my own decisions, Reed, and to start a new life in Texas on my own.”

“That's going to be a little tough with Bentley on your heels, don't you think? What if you stop for a meal and he pulls the same thing he pulled here? If you drive away from Reno alone, you won't have any protection against him. He'll know our marriage isn't a marriage.”

“I don't want to get you mixed up in this.”

She was dismissing the idea of their marriage as if it had never happened, and he probably should, too. But he couldn't. Not when Bentley was on her tail. “At least let me deliver you to Dawson safely, then you can decide what you want to do next.”

“But my car is here, and I'm going to need it in San Antonio.”

“If I can find someone to drive it to Texas for you, will you fly home with me?”

“Only if the driver is reliable and will get my car there in one piece.”

“I know someone who can take care of it.”

When Reed had first arrived in Reno and looked up Matt Conroy, the owner of the Golden Spur, they'd had a lengthy conversation. Matt had told him he was aiming to visit some relatives in Texas very soon. Maybe now would be a good time if Reed offered to pay his airfare back.

Sensing Mallory had an adventurous streak she was only beginning to discover, he upped the ante. “I could be persuaded to let you sit in the cockpit with me.”

She laughed. “That's a bribe, Reed Fortune.”

“Yes, it is, Mallory Prescott.”

With a smile, she stood and faced him toe to toe. “All right. I'll fly to San Antonio with you, but then I take care of myself.”

He'd let her take care of herself, but only if she was out of harm's way while she did it.

 

While Reed spoke with the men who were buzzing around the jet emblazoned with the Double Crown insignia, Mallory stood inside the airport trying to catch her breath. She couldn't believe she'd married this sexy Australian, and she vowed to herself she'd never touch liquor again.
A little late now that the damage is done,
she thought. Thank goodness Reed was an honorable man. Maybe they could both get out of this thing unscathed.

As she admired his tall, well-built frame, she remembered seeing him naked this morning, and she felt the heat rising inside her again. He wasn't
really
her husband.
Couldn't
be her husband. She didn't know anything about the Australian branch of the
Fortunes, but the Texas ones were certainly wealthy. The last thing she wanted was to be involved with another wealthy man. Winston and her stepfather seemed to think women were possessions. She was having none of that ever again. She'd make a life for herself on her own terms.

Reed saw her standing at the window and motioned for her to join him. A stiff breeze almost whipped her sweater from her shoulders as she stepped outside. She'd changed at her motel into mint-green slacks, a silk shirt and matching sweater. She'd only brought along clothes that she'd packed for her honeymoon. She and Winston were supposed to spend the week in Bermuda in a posh hotel that recommended dressing for high tea. When she'd emerged from the bathroom at the motel in this outfit, Reed had given her the once-over but hadn't said anything. She couldn't tell what he was thinking. He'd told her he'd made arrangements for her car, and they should leave for the airport immediately. Both lost in their own thoughts, they hadn't talked much on the drive.

Now Reed asked, “Do you still want to ride up front?”

She nodded.

“Go on up, then,” he said. “I'll be ready in a few minutes.”

Even she could tell the aircraft was state of the art as she settled in and fastened her seat belt. The instrument panel meant nothing to her. When Reed climbed inside, she gave him a tentative smile. “Do you do much of this?”

“Are you worrying about how experienced I am?”

The glimmer of amusement in his eyes made her
blush. She'd bet he was experienced in more than flying an airplane. “Do you fly in Australia?”

“As often as I can. I fly jets now and then on excursions, and we have a twin engine on the Crown Peak.”

“The Crown Peak?”

“The name of my family's ranch. Both Ryan and my dad, like all the Fortunes, have a hereditary birthmark in the shape of a crown.”

It was on the tip of her tongue to ask if Reed did. She'd tried so hard not to look at his naked body this morning…. Keeping her lips firmly closed to keep herself out of trouble, she stared straight ahead.

After Reed had done everything necessary for take-off and spoken with the tower, they taxied to the runway, then waited until he received a go-ahead. Looking over at her, he said, “Here we go. Are you nervous?”

She shook her head. “Excited.”

With that slip of a smile that made her stomach flip-flop, he focused his attention and they took off.

Leaving the Sierra Nevada behind them, Mallory couldn't help glancing at Reed as well as at the scenery. His hands were large and capable, his movements quick and deft. He'd taken off his Stetson and was wearing a headset. His profile was strong and defined. She might not remember marrying him, but she sure remembered kissing him, drowning in the sensuality of it—

Turning his head, he caught her looking. She quickly looked away.

After a few moments Reed remarked, “I suppose
you saw the articles about the Fortunes in the newspapers and tabloids that Bentley referred to.”

“About Ryan Fortune's grandson being kidnapped? Or about his fiancée, Lily Cassidy, being accused of murdering the wife he was divorcing? Sophia, I think.”

Reed grimaced. “Unfortunately, the Fortunes are newsworthy without the crises the family has been through.”

“The baby was returned unharmed, wasn't he?”

Reed nodded. “And Lily was cleared of Sophia's murder.”

“From what I read, Lily and your uncle Ryan knew each other when they were younger, before his two marriages.”

“They were much younger. Did Dawson tell you about the scandals?”

“Some. He said he knew Lily could never murder anyone. He was relieved when Clint Lockhart was arrested for murdering Sophia.”

“Lockhart had revenge on his mind for years. Another dangerous man.”