Brides for the Billionaires: The Billionaire's Marriage Bargain / The Billionaire's Marriage Mission / Bedded at the Billionaire's Convenience

Kenzie had been doing nothing all week but trying to think what his ‘plans’ could possibly be—except to know by his comments that those plans seemed to imply he intended taking her to bed at some time in the near future!

Just thinking about that the last three days had been enough to fray her already jangling nerves, until Stella’s telephone call earlier today had jettisoned her into doing something about it.

Coming to Dominick’s office and confronting him with the situation had seemed to be the answer.

Except it was getting her precisely nowhere. As it was designed not to do, she was sure.

‘Have you kept the weekend free as I asked you to do?’ he asked.

‘Ordered me to do,’ she corrected firmly. ‘But I don’t intend going anywhere with you until I know where and why.’

Dominick put his elbows on his desk, and rested his chin on his laced fingers as he contemplated her through narrowed lids. It was a gaze she easily withstood, her chin raised defiantly. ‘You don’t seem quite so willing to keep your side of the bargain now that your sister’s wedding is over,’ he finally murmured dryly.

Kenzie gave a shrug, her head tilted challengingly. ‘Maybe I’m not.’

His mouth hardened. ‘And maybe I’ll just go down and visit your parents tomorrow and explain to them what a sham the two of us being together last weekend actually was!’

Kenzie searched his face, seeing only cold implacability in his hard gaze, his mouth a thin, uncompromising line.

‘You would do that too, wouldn’t you?’ she accepted heavily as she dropped down onto the chair that faced his desk, the anger draining out of her.

She had thought about all of this long and hard since he’d left her apartment three days ago, and had decided that there was no way Dominick could force her into anything, least of all going to bed with him. Even if he had already made it clear that force wasn’t what he had in mind at all where that was concerned!

Somewhere in all her thinking she had forgotten how ruthlessly determined Dominick could be when he felt the situation warranted it. Like now …

‘You know that I would,’ Dominick confirmed as he saw that knowledge in the pallor of her cheeks. ‘Why are you really here, Kenzie?’ he prompted with interest, becoming more and more convinced that there was more to her anger than pique over Stella’s telephone call.

Kenzie gave him a startled look, like a fawn caught in the headlights of a car. ‘I already told you—’

‘I heard you,’ Dominick cut in dismissively, getting up to come round the desk to stand next to her chair, reaching out to place his hand beneath her chin and lift her face up to his. ‘Why, Kenzie?’ he repeated harshly, sure that he already knew the answer to that question, but determined to hear her say it nonetheless.

Kenzie tried to move away from the hand beneath her chin, but failed as Dominick’s fingers tightened in determination. ‘I told you, I don’t like being played with—’

‘You also told me that you’re busy this evening,’ he rasped. ‘Could I take a guess as to who you’re going to be busy with?’ he added.

She frowned at him, wondering how he had known, how he could have guessed—

‘How could you possibly know Jerome is coming to England?’ she said slowly.

Because she was sure that he did know; she could see it in his coldly glittering eyes …

It had been far from ideal timing when Jerome had telephoned her yesterday to inform her he would be arriving in England later today. He wanted to see her this evening to discuss when she would be returning to the States to fulfil her contract for Carlton Cosmetics.

Not having heard from Dominick at the time, and knowing that as he was her current employer she would obviously have to see Jerome some time while he was in England, she had reluctantly agreed. At the same time she had known that it was not a good idea for her to see Jerome at all when Dominick was back in her life, however briefly.

Knowing what Dominick believed her relationship with Jerome to be, the last thing she needed was for the two men to accidentally meet at her apartment of all places!

Stella’s phone call earlier this morning, when Kenzie had already agreed to meet Jerome this evening, couldn’t have come at a worse time!

Dominick’s lips pinched together. ‘Just a lucky guess,’ he growled, releasing her chin to move back behind his desk. ‘Do you still deny that the two of you are involved?’

‘Yes, of course I deny it!’ Kenzie snapped impatiently. ‘Jerome is coming to England on business, and dinner with me this evening is just incidental.’

Dominick looked at her from behind his hooded eyelids, wondering how anyone so beautiful, so innocently beautiful, could at the same time be so deceitful.

‘Really?’ he questioned scathingly.

‘Yes—really!’ she echoed irritably. ‘Not that I expect you to believe me.’ She shook her head. ‘You seem to take some sort of delight in not believing me!’

‘I don’t take delight in it at all, Kenzie,’ he said bitterly. ‘I had believed there was honesty between us if nothing else. Obviously I was proved wrong,’ he added harshly, very aware of just how wrong he had been.

Kenzie had lied to him, had deceived him with another man—with Jerome Carlton, a man who had taken great delight in not lying to Dominick when he had confronted the other man over the affair. Both of them had made a fool of him. And that was something Dominick simply couldn’t allow to go unchallenged.

He was so hard, so implacable, Kenzie realized achingly as she looked at Dominick’s unyielding expression. Had he always been this way? Possibly. Except in the past that hard implacability hadn’t been directed at her. But now it most assuredly was.

She sighed. ‘I don’t think discussing the past solves anything, Dominick—’

‘I agree,’ he said brusquely, straightening. ‘We should forget dinner this evening and discuss the arrangements for this weekend now.’ His tone was completely businesslike. ‘I’ll call at your apartment for you at three o’clock on Saturday afternoon. You can expect to be away until Sunday.’

Kenzie gave a pained frown. ‘But—I haven’t—exactly where are we going, Dominick?’

He shrugged. ‘I don’t think you really need to know that—’

‘Oh, yes, I do,’ she assured him forcefully.

He raised his dark brows. ‘Frightened that I might hide the body where no one can find it?’ he taunted.

Kenzie stood up impatiently. ‘You’re being ridiculous now—’

‘Am I?’ He looked across at her carefully. ‘Haven’t you realized yet, Kenzie, that no one crosses me and just walks away?’

She felt a shiver of apprehension down her spine. ‘It’s been four months, Dominick—’

‘I’m well aware of how long it’s been, Kenzie,’ he said grimly.

Kenzie looked at him in frustration, wishing for just a glimpse of the softer, more indulgent Dominick that she had seen during their marriage, and on occasion during last weekend at her parents’ house. She knew the latter, at least, had all been an act for her family’s benefit, an act that had put her totally in Dominick’s debt. If Dominick felt any emotion towards her at all now, it was hate.

But he had given her a weekend, and now she owed him a weekend in return …

She drew in a determined breath. ‘What sort of clothes will I need to bring with me?’

He shrugged nonchalantly. ‘Something to wear for Saturday evening. A swimming costume, perhaps. Or not,’ he added throatily as he moved his gaze deliberately down the length of her body.

Kenzie withstood his examination with a determined rise of her chin, although she was a little puzzled as to where he could be taking her if she was going to need an evening dress and a swimming costume—the two didn’t seem to go together somehow.

‘Dominick, I know you accompanied me to the wedding last weekend, but I really don’t think I’m up to a weekend being social with business acquaintances of yours.’

His mouth twisted humourlessly. ‘I assure you, Kenzie, the only person you’re going to be social with this weekend is me.’