Terms of a Texas Marriage

“You gave her no choice at all and you know it,” Ben argued. “What kind of man are you to take advantage of her like this?”

Alec pointedly ignored the question. “I’d like to speak with Ms. Hardin in private.” His eyes never left her face.

“You can discuss anything that needs saying in front of—”

“No, Ben. It’s all right,” Shea interrupted. This was her battle now. If she had any hope of making Morreston back down, she couldn’t do it hiding behind her attorney. “Shall we step into the next room, Mr. Morreston?”

Alec followed her into the small, adjacent conference room and closed the door behind them with a resounding click. For a few moments they faced each other in silence.

“Are you really serious about this?”

“Yes,” Shea replied without hesitation. “I am.”

“You would marry a complete stranger in order to keep the land?”

“Yes.”

“There is other land.”

“Then perhaps you should go and find it.”

Alec stared at her. “How much more do you want?” he asked quietly.

Had this man never loved anything in his life that didn’t have a price tag attached to it? Could he not understand the legacy she was fighting to save?

“Two million,” she said flippantly, and immediately saw a knowing look cross his face. The slight nod of his head indicated his initial acceptance of her outlandish but bogus demand. She was tempted to see how far he would go to buy her off but common sense came rushing forward.

“I don’t want your money, Mr. Morreston. This is not about money. It’s about my home. My life. Family values and tradition. Things you, apparently, don’t know anything about.”

He shoved his hands into the pockets of his slacks and walked past her to stand gazing out the large window on the opposite wall. For long moments, he stood there, saying nothing. From the corner of her eye, she watched as he rubbed the back of his neck. His shirt did little to hide the muscular tone of his arms and back. The silky texture of his dark hair caught the subtle light coming through the window, accentuating deep auburn highlights. As he turned toward her, she quickly looked away.

“It won’t work, you know.” His voice had a slight raspy quality, which, under different circumstances, she might have found extremely sensual. “Even if I agree to this, no marriage can survive for a year under these circumstances. Eventually you’ll concede defeat and the land will revert to me. It’s inevitable. Why put yourself through it?”

“That’s a very chauvinistic attitude, Mr. Morreston. What makes you so sure I’ll be the one to call it quits?”

He didn’t immediately answer as a look of indulgent amusement crossed his features. Then all traces of humor disappeared. Slowly, he closed in until barely a foot separated them. Without any warning, he reached out and stroked the side of her face.

She inhaled sharply and adjusted her stance at the unexpected contact but determinedly held her ground. His hand slid from her face to cup the back of her neck and, applying the slightest pressure, drew her even closer to him. She watched his gaze roam over each detail of her face before coming to rest on her mouth. She noted the faint shadow that darkened his face as he bent his head toward her. His lips, wide and defined, parted slightly as if intending to kiss her, but stopped a mere breath away, and only his thumb touched her mouth, tracing the curving fullness in an incredibly intimate gesture.

Time stood still. The close physical contact brought her challenge into clear focus. The pulse hammered in her throat. She swallowed back the overwhelming sensation of panic that rose within her and tried to look away.

Alec gently tilted her chin upward, forcing her to look into the golden depths of his eyes. The bittersweet fragrance of his cologne teased her senses. She could sense the disciplined power and virility of his body as he stood mere inches away from her. There was no doubt he was all male. Her stomach muscles involuntarily contracted as a shaft of sexual awareness shot through her. An intense heat seemed to envelop her as her breath became shallow, almost nonexistent. A little voice inside screamed to run while she could.

Three (#ulink_b404f003-c0ad-5e64-b674-6443cd3fb872)

“All right, Ms. Hardin.” His throaty voice penetrated the silence of the room. “We’ll play this one your way and see what happens. I’ll honor the conditions as set forth by our ancestors and we will be married. And there will be no development on any of the land as long as the marriage continues or if this...union...should exceed one year.”

He paused, tilting his head slightly as though studying her reaction. “But know this—” the tone of his voice reflected the seriousness of his words “—you will be my wife as stipulated in the original lease. Legally and spiritually, body and soul. You’ll share my life, as well as my bed, for the duration. Do you understand what I’m saying?”

It was time to bail out. She knew it but couldn’t seem to move. He was telling her exactly what she would have to agree to, up front. He was giving her every opportunity to walk away. She took a deep breath and hoped her strength was as unfailing as her stubbornness.

“I understand.” Her voice was firm although barely above a whisper.

“Do you?” A sparkle glistened in Alec Morreston’s amber eyes. “I guess we’ll find out tonight, won’t we?”

He released her and stepped toward the door but hesitated before pulling it open. “One more thing. I’ll require a prenuptial agreement. Thomas should have time to fax one to your attorney’s office before—”

“No.”

His eyes narrowed, pinning her to the spot. “Excuse me?”

“You heard me. I said no.”

“Ms. Hardin, do you really expect me to marry a woman I don’t know and risk losing half of everything I have?”

“I’d say, after your earlier statement, you expect me to give up more than that. No prenup, Mr. Morreston. I want no part of anything you own, other than my ranch. You can trust me on that—” Shea eyed him coolly “—or you can book your flight home.”

She could see the muscles in his jaw working overtime as he apparently strove to keep his temper from exploding.

“My personal holdings have nothing to do with this land issue. If, as you say, you want nothing but the land, then signing a prenup should not be asking too much.”

“Neither is wanting to keep my home,” she countered. “Nothing in the contract said anything about a prenuptial agreement. I refuse to sign one. If you refuse to marry me because of that, then I guess the land is mine. Your call.”

Her heart beat so solidly against the wall of her chest she felt sure he could hear it from three feet away. She hoped she looked calmer on the outside than she felt on the inside.

Silence dominated the room. A barely perceivable change in his stance, from tense to an almost exaggerated casualness, conveyed the control he maintained on his emotions. His tawny eyes drifted over her as if trying to discover how much determination lay underneath. The burning strength of his gaze wandered insolently from her face to her breasts, down to her belly, to her hands—held tightly clenched at her sides—then down the legs of her jeans all the way to her feet. Shea could feel the blush spread across her face as he rudely inspected and silently weighed the feminine merchandise standing in front of him.

“All right, Ms. Hardin,” he said finally, his tone suddenly menacing. “We’ll play hardball if that’s what you want. You just upped the stakes and I’d be a fool not to call your bluff. Be ready tonight, honey. Be ready for me.”

He stepped back and opened the door. Shea shakily, but resolutely, walked through it. While temporarily disconcerted by his unexpected and candid proclamation, she knew the marriage would never be consummated. He was trying to intimidate her. That’s all it was. He would do well to remember that two could play this game.

She had no intention of letting herself become physically ensnared and used by an egotistical maniac. She may have been forced into making a pact with the devil, but he would quickly find she was anything but a sacrificial lamb. Alec Morreston was city bred and raised. He had no concept of the sometimes harsh realities of ranch life, and she’d bet he wouldn’t last a month.

In fact, she had just bet the ranch on it.

* * *

“Alec...” The heavy concern in Thomas’s voice was clearly evident through the telephone line. Alec could picture him gripping the receiver so tightly his knuckles were turning white. He was almost sorry he couldn’t be there in person to deliver the news of the pending wedding. “Are you certain you know what you’re doing?”

Because their client-attorney relationship had grown into a solid friendship over the years, Alec wasn’t insulted when Thomas questioned his sanity. Hell, in the past five hours, he’d begun to question it himself.

“I mean, what do we really know about this woman?”

“I think she’s okay, Thomas.”

“But what if she’s not? What if this is all a setup? Do you have to marry her, for God’s sake?” His tone was incredulous. “Maybe if you offered her more money?”

“She wouldn’t take two million.”