The Billionaire's Bargain (4 page)

She tried shaking off the doomed feeling, but it followed her for the
rest of the day. Before she went home she stopped off at the supermarket. She’d
booked a day off at the library. The rest of the day would be spent baking at
home.

Once inside her small apartment, Tess went straight to the kitchen. She
tore her jacket off then turned on the oven. All of the ingredients she’d
purchased at the supermarket were spread out on the counter. Tess gathered her
bowls and began measuring out everything she needed. While she gave herself up
to the pleasure of the kitchen she could forget about the meeting she’d had
with
Duncan
.

She
zested
lemons and squeezed the juice. For
the rest of the morning and into the afternoon she absorbed herself in the
pleasure of the kitchen. When everything was done she collapsed on her sofa.
All the energy had been sucked out of her from that meeting and the cooking.

Then her predicament dawned on her.

She was getting married.

It seemed so surreal. In two weeks she would be married to one of the
most ruthless but wealthiest of businessmen, Duncan James.

Tess took a moment to think about him. He held so much control in his
large frame. He’d startled her with his presence. The way he’d stared at her
had made her feel bare. It was like he’d stripped off all of her clothes, and
she was naked in front of him.

Her nipples hardened as she remembered the way he’d stared at her. The
desire pouring from his eyes had startled her. No other man had looked at her
like she was something to eat.
 

Her mind was awhirl, and she was so preoccupied with her upcoming
nuptials she didn’t hear the phone. She jumped when the ring of her telephone
finally invaded her mind. Tess nearly fell off the sofa in her rush to answer
the call.

Her nerves were completely fried. No wonder
Duncan
was so powerful and a force to reckon
with. He never showed any fear, whereas she felt ready to crumble at the sound
of the telephone.
 

She groaned as she banged her knee on the floor then moved to pick up
the phone. “Hello,” she said, hoping it wasn’t some salesperson.

“Tess?
Honey?
Are you all right?”

“Dad?”
She ran her fingers through her hair. The wild
curls fought against the clip she’d put them in when she’d started baking and
cooking. He sounded panicked. It was the first time he’d called her “honey”. He
must really be rooting for her. “No, I’m fine. The phone just startled me. I
wasn’t expecting anyone to call me.”

Erik was silent on the other end. Tess could almost sense his
embarrassment. She knew he hated the fact his daughter was coming to the
rescue. What other choice did he have?
Prison?
The
thought almost made her laugh—almost. His situation was stupid. She couldn’t
believe he’d gotten in so deep.

“I sorted it, Dad.” She felt her anger rising. The only reason he’d
called was to get an update on his situation. Erik didn’t care about her. For
the last couple of years he’d barely talked to her. He was so silent because of
his embarrassment, and yet she’d not only had to feel the humiliation of having
to go and grovel to his boss, she also had to listen to the rants that
shouldn’t have been aimed at her at all.

She had nothing to do with his business. Tess never got involved with
anything Erik had going on. He was happy for her to feel as if she’d committed
the horrid crime.
 

Her father was getting off scot-free while she had to sacrifice her
freedom in order for him to get it.

Her precious freedom was being sacrificed for his greed.

“What did you need all that money for?” Tess demanded from him, no
longer caring about his feelings. She deserved to know the answers.

Thinking about her predicament made her scared. She had a right to know
where the money had gone.
 

Tess deserved answers.
 

“That’s none of your business,” he yelled down the line.

Enough was enough.

“None of my business?
I’ve just gone and sorted out all
your problems. I’ve sacrificed my freedom so you won’t go to prison, and you’re
telling me it’s none of my business?” Tess heard the anger rising inside her
voice. She was tired of constantly being made to feel like a spare part. When
she was growing up Erik made it abundantly clear she wasn’t the ideal daughter.
After everything he’d done she was still trying to gain his approval.

A knock at the door cut off Tess’s rant. She growled in frustration and
anger. Tess rarely got chance to voice her opinions to her father. The one time
she finally got the courage she was interrupted by the door. She answered the
door, fuming at her father’s stubbornness. He was moaning down the phone at
her. Tess planned to ignore him until she got rid of whoever it was on the
other side of the door.

Not only was she his daughter, but
she was the one who would suffer from his actions. Why couldn’t he be grateful?
So many thoughts ran ‘round her head as she opened the door.

Then she froze. Her world crashed
around her. Duncan James was standing in her doorway.

Shocked, she just stood staring at
him with the phone placed at her ear.

“Tess, Tess,
are
you still there?” Erik said.

She stared at the phone, ending the
call without speaking. The last thing she needed was for
Duncan
to get hold of her father. Erik
wouldn’t be forthcoming no matter how many times she asked him what he’d spent
the money on.

Tess would have to deal with her
father later. She wasn’t going to allow him to get away with what he’d done.
There was no way she’d be around next time to sacrifice herself in order to
pick up the pieces.

“Problems?”
Duncan
asked. He leaned against her
doorframe. He was so tall and wide he covered the entire door. She stared at
the phone then ran a hand through her hair. She wore the coverall she’d put on
earlier for baking and cooking. Compared to
Duncan
, Tess felt small. With him standing in
her doorway she was trapped in her apartment.

She placed the phone on the table
then turned back to him. Inviting him in would be a mistake. The bulky jacket
he wore did little to hide the thick muscles underneath. She crossed her arms
trying to protect herself from the nerves that were getting the better of
her.
 

“Nothing I can’t handle,” she said.
“Why are you here?”

He lifted up a lady’s handbag. “You
left this in my office. I thought I’d do the right thing and see that my
fiancée got her purse back. I was also curious to see where you lived. It looks
to me that Erik didn’t spend a cent of that money on you.”

She reached to take the bag from
him.
Duncan
moved her purse out of reach. Tess stood her ground, her hands going to her
hips. She wouldn’t press her whole body over him to try to get her purse back.

“How old are you? Just give me my
purse back.” Tess made another grab for it only to be stopped.

“I’m forty years old. How about
you?” he asked.

“Seriously?
You’ve asked me to marry you, and
only now you’re asking my age?” She folded her arms furious with herself for
letting him bait her.

“Yes, I never said I was
conventional. How old are you?” He held her bag out of reach.

She moaned in frustration then
stared at him.

“I’m twenty-three,” she said.

“Are you going to invite me in,
Tess? That’s a usual polite response when a person shows up at your door.”

“You’re not the normal kind of
person who shows up at someone’s door,” she said.

“I’m your fiancé.”

She stared into his mocking eyes,
taking in the slight lift of his lips showing his amusement.

“Why should I let you in?” she
asked. Tess glared at him. She was tired of men trying to control her. Tess
folded her arms under her breasts. She hated feeling like this. She’d only
known him a few short hours. But her body had other ideas. She felt her nipples
getting hard. Her mind was shutting down to common sense. Her body responded to
him even though she didn’t like him very much.

Attraction has nothing to do with liking him as a man
.

“Tess, we’re to be married. We
should get to know each other, and to do that we need to be allowed access into
each other’s lives.”

His argument sounded good to her,
but she was still reluctant to allow him in her home.

“You know you didn’t give me a
choice. I either marry you, or my father goes to prison.”

“And you don’t think he deserves
it?”

“I don’t know what to think,” she
said to him. All argument left her. She stared at him a few more seconds. He
watched her with his dark, intense eyes. Tess didn’t want him in her small
apartment. She knew he’d dominate her space. Her apartment was her own, the
small piece of heaven she’d carved out for herself.

Seeing no other choice Tess gestured
for him to enter her small living space. Tess no longer had the willpower to
keep him out.
Duncan
had stopped by for a reason. Trying to stop him would use all of her reserve
energy, which she needed to keep preserved in order to deal with him.

“I thought your secretary was
sorting everything out,” she said to his back as she closed the door behind
him.

“I changed my mind. Is Tess short
for anything?” He moved into her living room. The quaint room had two small,
fluffy chairs. She couldn’t afford a sofa. A sofa wouldn’t fit in her small
place anyway. Before he walked round her small room she’d never had a problem
with her lack of furniture. Now she felt embarrassed.
 

“No, just Tess.”
She moved a stray strand of her
wild hair out of her face removing the clip in the process. It had been useless
to try to contain her hair.
 

“Strange.” He continued to walk
around the room looking at her books and then at the pictures dotting the
surface by her fake fireplace. She had central heating but liked the look of
the small fireplace in her sitting room. One day she hoped to have a proper
home with a full open fire and a family of her own.
 

“What? My name is perfectly normal.”

“Not your name. I expected some
stuffy, pretentious apartment, but it’s quite nice.
A bit
small for my tastes, but convenient in size.”

Tess didn’t know whether to take
that as a compliment or as an insult.
 

“Thank you, I think.” She was really
confused. “
Duncan
,
why are you here? And how did you know where I lived?” Tess wanted to say so
much more. She kept it locked inside.

He turned, putting his hands in his
jacket pockets which reminded her she hadn’t offered to take his coat. He
looked out of place in her small apartment.

“If you came by to see if I was
responsible for my dad taking that money then you’re wrong. This is it.” She
raised her arms to emphasise her point. “I can’t afford a car or the money to
buy this place. I pay rent. Whatever he spent the money on, I don’t know.”

“I didn’t come here to find the
money. I’ve sorted everything out with regards to your father.” He stared at
her, his gaze unwavering. How did he manage to affect her with simply staring
at her?

“Then why did you come here?” she
asked.

“I came to bring your purse. I tried
looking for more information on you in Erik’s file. He has nothing on you.

“That wouldn’t surprise me. My dad
doesn’t like me all that much.” She snorted at the thought of her father even
giving a damn.

“And yet, you’re prepared to do
everything to keep him out of prison.”

Tears filled her eyes. Over the
years she’d learnt to deal with the disappointment from her father. No person
can be perfect. Erik had proven more than once that she couldn’t trust him.
Just once she wished there would be another human being out there who’d look
beyond her visual flaws and see the woman underneath. Tess knew it was lame,
but all she wanted was to be loved. For one person to turn ‘round and care
about her. She bit her lip trying to stop the emotion from clawing at her.

“He’s still my father.” She
whispered the words even as they burnt inside her throat. How many more excuses
was she going to make for a man who’d made it blatantly clear he didn’t care
about her?

“I looked in your bag to see where
you lived. I wanted your address so I could return it to you.”

“You had no right to look—” She stopped,
knowing he had every right. He was helping her in every way imaginable. Looking
in her bag was his right. She’d be married to him in two weeks. Soon he’d have
more rights than looking in her bag and knowing where she lived.