Million Dollar Mistake (6 page)

“Let’s just say it’s in everyone’s best welfare to see Jackson’s interest in you terminated. Including mine.”

Raven was quiet for a moment. “I think my father will be disappointed.”

“I’m sure he will.” Nicholas tried to keep the cynicism from his voice, if not his expression.
The Exeter family is worth very big bucks, and Sebastian needs cash fast
. The sour thought stuck in his throat as he looked at Raven.

Raven sighed. “I wish…”

Once again she’d seemed to drop her shell, exposing her vulnerable side. He wished she’d stop doing that. He liked it better when he wanted to lock her up and torture her every time he saw her.

“Did your father encourage you to get involved with Jackson?”

Raven sidestepped the question. “Daddy met him in Denver and invited him up to see Ravens Nest. I’d met Jackson before and I was home at the time, so I gave him a tour at Daddy’s request.” She shrugged. “Next thing I knew, I was accepting an offer to go skiing in New York.”

Nicholas wondered why Raven couldn’t see through her father’s game. But then she’d always adored the man, if he remembered right. While her father had always adored himself.

Raven shifted her weight under Nicholas’s steady stare, an uncomfortable expression settling on her face. “I didn’t bargain on a family party, though. I expected casual fun, with no—”

“Strings attached?”

“You got it.”

Nicholas grinned. “Same old
love’em and leave’em
Raven.”

Raven straightened her spine and gave it right back. “You have no room to talk.”

“But I’m not the leading story in the papers each week.”

Raven batted her eyelashes and cooed, “Maybe I can help you change all that, darling.”

Nicholas laughed. “No thanks, sweetheart. I’ll leave the headlines to you.”

Raven opened her mouth to respond and then seemed to think better of it. “Why don’t we find everyone and announce our engagement so we can leave now?”

“No. We’ll drop the bomb tomorrow after a good night’s sleep.” He glanced toward the window. “Besides, the roads are beyond treacherous. We’ll give the snowplows time to work overnight.”

Nicholas watched as Raven climbed the staircase to her bedroom. He started to follow her, but decided to have another drink instead. He had a lot to think about. He went back into the drawing room, unsurprised to discover that J.R. had entered the room behind him.

“I’ll have some of that scotch too,” J.R. said, indicating the bottle Nicholas was holding.

Nicholas nodded and poured two drinks, handing one to J.R. who took a large sip before saying, “You see the problem, don’t you?”

“Judging from my reception by Raven, I don’t think the problem is as disastrous as you’d indicated.”

“That’s because you weren’t watching my son when your cousin jumped on you and stuck her tongue down your throat.”

“I was a little busy at the time,” Nicholas murmured, still remembering the feeling of her lips on his.

J.R. snorted. “I can tell he’s still determined to have her, and it would ruin all my plans for his future.”

Nicholas arched a brow. “You’re planning his future?”

J.R. gave him an arrogant look. “Of course. Jackson would be announcing his engagement if it weren’t for your…damned relative.” J.R. practically spat the word, which caused Nicholas to bristle.
 

“Be careful,” Nicholas warned. He might want to strangle Raven, but he’d be damned if he’d let anyone else say anything about her.

J.R. continued without acknowledging Nicholas’s comment. “Lorianne is very important to our future plans, mine and the Sterling’s.”

 
“What plans?”

“Jackson is going to be President of the United States someday. But not if your wild-as-be-damned cousin drags his name into the tabloids.”

 
“Plenty of politicians have been tabloid fodder, J.R.,“ Nicholas said.

“Not in my family, and certainly not in the Sterling family. And if my son is still as infatuated with your cousin as he is now, a reporter is sure to catch wind of it.”

There was a freezing silence for a few moments.

Nicholas’s mind clicked like a computer. J.R. was right. The Sterling family was about as straightlaced and conservative as you could get. And talk about connected. They made Exeter look like a country cousin, something that didn’t happen easily.

 
“I know you can’t choose your relatives—”

“That’s the truth,” Nicholas muttered, pouring another drink.

“But I expect you to put a stop to this situation.”

Nicholas faced J.R. “I have put a stop to it.”

“I’m not so sure. I know my son. When he gets an idea in his head, he’s like a dog with a bone.”

 
“You don’t have to worry about Raven. She’s no man’s bone.”

J.R. shook his head, pushing his glass forward for another refill. “I wish I was as sure of that as you are.“

Nicholas hoped he was sure of it also. But who was ever sure of anything with that unpredictable wench?

“Uh…” Nicholas took a sip of his drink. “How did your son meet Raven?”

“He was in Denver on business, took one of those tours of silver mines and historical houses. I think he met her at your family estates.”

Nicholas shook his head. “Not my family. We come from opposite branches of the Kristof tree. I’m not sure we’re really related.”

He came from the mongrel branch, while Raven descended from the “gilded age American Silver Mine heiress” who went shopping for an English title and a husband in that order, before eventually moving the family back to Colorado to live on her daddy’s money.

“I don’t give a damn who’s related to who in your family,” J.R. exploded. “All I know is I don’t want this woman related to me. My son mentioned marriage and—”

Nicholas slammed his drink down on the bar so hard it was a miracle the glass didn’t break. “Holy hell. You didn’t tell me that.”

“I didn’t? Well, he told me he wanted to marry her. I’m telling you, if Jackson put half as much passion into politics as he’s putting into chasing your cousin, the sky is the limit for the boy.”

“Marriage,” Nicholas muttered. He had to admit that J.R. had a point. Jackson had made it clear that he still wanted Raven, regardless of Nicholas. This could be a bit trickier than he thought.

“I don’t mind telling you that if you don’t take her away from him permanently, I might have to make other arrangements when it comes to our business.”

His eyes narrowed, nostrils flaring as J.R.’s statement hit him like a line drive. “Is that a threat?”
 

“Take it any way you want.”

With effort, Nicholas smoothed his expression to bland interest. “I see.”

“That’s all you’ve got to say?”

“Not quite.” J.R.’s terse expression brought Nicholas back to the business at hand. He could see it now. Months of work and millions of dollars of potential profit swirling away like rainwater into a sewer pipe. “I’ve given you a proposal for a very lucrative deal, J.R. Worth a small fortune in fact. If you’re not interested, we’ll find someone else who is.”
 

Nicholas clamped down the momentary panic of starting from scratch. The Kristofs needed Exeter’s political clout, as well as his business expertise to pull off this deal. Nicholas hoped his hard line wasn’t a mistake.

J.R. stared at him for a long moment. “Well, you’ve got guts, Demetrious. My people told me you’re a cool customer.“

Nicholas said nothing. He only waited. He’d had to teach himself to wait over the years. In the right circumstances, it was as bold a tactic as aggressive action.

“Okay.” J.R. nodded as he met Nicholas’s steely gaze. “I’m going to take you at your word regarding Raven. You said you’d take care of her and from what I’ve seen, you’re doing that. Make sure you continue doing it.” He paused. “You’re right, the deal is a good one. If it goes as expected, the profit and business impact will even be valuable for my son’s political campaign.”

Nicholas still waited.

Finally, J.R. said, “Okay, as far as the deal goes, I’m in as long as Raven is out of the picture–permanently.”

Nicholas tossed back his drink, then placed his glass on the bar. “Don’t worry. Raven’s my problem now.”

Raven was changing into her nightclothes, a practical—for her—long satin slip cut up to the thigh on either side and down toward the waist to give her full breasts lots of breathing room. She smoothed the fabric down over her hips, loving the feeling of the cool material on her bare skin. The sleek satin was claret red, one of her favorite colors. Not the shade to wear if you wanted to blend into the background, which Raven didn’t. She’d spent too many years as part of the woodwork. However, she couldn’t help a moment’s longing for the shy, gawky, ignored young woman she used to be. At least she wouldn’t have found herself in this situation. Her lips twisted. No, she’d have been lucky to find herself at all. She’d almost been invisible. She glanced in the mirror.

Well, not anymore
.

She’d be lying if she said she didn’t enjoy the attention she now received. There were times though when she wondered if she had gone much too far. This was one of them.

Her father had requested her to be nice to Jackson Exeter, so she was. Although when he first invited her to come skiing, she’d refused. Which only seemed to make Jackson more determined. He’d smiled, charmed and practically begged her to come.

Go, Daddy had said, enjoy yourself. As if she had nothing better to do than run around the world and play.

Truth was, she didn’t. She’d spent the past five years that way. It was beginning to pall. Same conversation, many of the same people, same concerns—nail, hair, wardrobe, who is sleeping with whom, did you know so-and-so got her eyes done, her face lifted, her butt tucked? And then there were the constant sleazebag reporters, whom she’d supplied with outrageous antics for years, always digging for new dirt.

But now when she saw her life reflected in Nicholas’s eyes, her impatience with her lifestyle was replaced by shame. She didn’t want her life remembered as this week’s headline or next week’s exposé photo op. There was more to her than that. A tear rolled down her cheek. She brushed it away.
Damn, Nicholas Demetrious. Who cares what he thinks?

She did, it seemed. She’d been fascinated by him as a child, on those occasions when she’d seen him at some extended family function. He was only five or six years older than her, but he’d always made an impression.

Tall, dark and handsome—the perfect cliché. Unfortunately it fit Nicholas to a T. So did cool and self-possessed, which only added to his attractiveness and his mystique. Then when he dropped his guard to reveal some vulnerability and sense of humor, Raven couldn’t help responding to him like a flower welcoming sunshine. But even so, she’d always had a feeling he was hiding part of himself. That underneath that smooth exterior was a street fighter decked out in leather and riding a big, bad, to-hell-and-back Harley. That hint of danger which he hid so well, pulled at her, made her itch to get his attention. She’d sensed the darkness rippling underneath and that was much more appealing than the silky side he showed the world. As a teenager, she’d watched from the shadows as her sisters fell all over him, only to have him smile and move on. She’d vowed to make him notice her when she grew up.

She’d succeeded.

Raven blinked rapidly to stop another tear from falling. Then she walked over to the dressing table for a tissue, sitting on the bench to blow her nose.

Yes, Nicholas noticed her all right. For years she’d lived for his disapproval, for the guilty pleasure of watching him lose his suave manner every time he showed up to deal with one of her
fiascoes
—as he called them—all of which he said reflected badly on the Kristof family. As the corporate watchdog, he had to think about things like that. The more exasperated he became at her behavior, the more she set out to annoy him. She wasn’t sure why. It just seemed the way it was. Getting under his skin was more fun than being ignored.
 

Raven grabbed her brush, ruthlessly pulling it through her hair. In a way, she shouldn’t have been surprised to see him today. He had an uncanny knack of showing up when least expected.

She smoothed gloss onto her lips to soften them and had just snatched a cotton ball to remove her eye makeup when a discrete knock on her bedroom door made her turn from the mirror. The knock came again, a bit louder. She rose and crossed the room to open the door.

Jackson stood on the other side, his gaze stunned, then hungry as it roamed over her. From the way his eyes were almost crossing, Raven realized she should have slipped into her robe.

She inhaled. “Jackson, what are you—”

He seemed transfixed for a moment, his eyes riveted on her chest before lifting his gaze to meet her eyes. “I had to see you.”

“Jackson, this isn’t a good idea.”

“May I come in?”

She denied him access with a sharp shake of her head. “I don’t think so.”