Blackmailed Into His Arms: Blackmailed into Bed / The Billionaire's Blackmail Bargain / Blackmailed For Her Baby

“I spent a dime,” she corrected. “Quite a few of them. It just happened to be my money instead of yours.”

She slid around, straightening her leg to rest between both of his and splaying herself more fully across his chest. Propping her chin on top of her hands, she met his gaze and said, “Although, I did use some of your cash for a cab and a bit of lunch yesterday. Hope you don’t mind.”

A flicker of annoyance flashed through his system. She was being purposely obtuse.

“I don’t care about the money. I wouldn’t have given it to you if I did. I want to know what you were doing at a school for deaf children, when most women with an unlimited line of someone else’s credit would have cleared out every boutique in a ten-mile radius.”

One corner of her mouth twisted up in a mocking grin. “What kind of girl do you take me for?”

“A spoiled, self-absorbed debutante,” he replied, not even needing to think about it. Pain flickered across her eyes, but he wouldn’t let himself be moved by the reaction.

With a sigh, she pushed away from him and sat up, taking the satin sheet with her.

“You’re right. That’s exactly what I was. Maybe I still am, I don’t know.”

He watched her cross her legs and fold the sheet more fully around her body, moving just far enough on the wide, firm mattress that they were no longer touching. Using his forearms, he pushed himself into a sitting position, stuffing an extra pillow behind his back so he could recline against the headboard.

“You’re a social worker. You know sign language. And you somehow managed to find probably the only special-needs school within the city limits on your first day in town. None of those are things I ever would have expected from the girl I knew in junior high.”

“Well, to be honest, I’ve known about the school for years. A friend of mine used to teach there, and even though she doesn’t live in Nevada anymore, I still like to drop by and spend time with the kids whenever I’m in the area.”

She clutched the sheet tighter against her breasts and readjusted her legs. The fire engine-red polish on her toenails peeked out briefly before disappearing again.

“And a lot has happened since we were teenagers. A lot has changed.”

Enough to turn a cruel, selfish brat into a kind, selfless woman? He wasn’t sure he believed such a drastic shift in personality was possible.

“I know this is almost twenty years too late,” she said softly, “but I’m sorry for the way I treated you at that Christmas party when we were kids. You’re right—I was spoiled and selfish and every other nasty word you can think of. My parents had money and were important in the community, and I thought that made me rich and important, too.” Her usually bright eyes darkened, and for a moment, she wouldn’t meet his gaze. “But it only made me a bitch.”

Since that was exactly what he’d always thought of her, he didn’t bother trying to correct her or make her feel better. It was only slightly gratifying to hear her admit the same.

“What I said to you that night … it was cruel and unnecessary and unforgivable. And even though I know it can’t make up for the pain and humiliation I caused you, I am sorry.”

Chase gritted his teeth, his hands fisting unconsciously at his sides. Moisture played along her lashes, adding sincerity to her already heartfelt words. But he’d be damned if he’d let a few tears and a long overdue apology convince him that she’d turned over a new leaf and no longer possessed any of those negative, stuck-up teenage traits.

“So what happened to bring about this remarkable transformation?” he asked, his voice sounding acerbic even to his own ears.

Her answer, when it came, was short and without embellishment—and immediately made him feel like a first-class heel.

“My mother died.”

Lips thinning, he muttered a curse. “I’m sorry.”

“Thank you,” she murmured quietly. The long curtain of her hair hid her face as she turned her gaze to her lap, toying with a corner of the sheet.

“She was sick for quite a while, and that sort of experience changes a person. One minute, I was a carefree prima donna, and the next my whole world was falling apart. That’s when I realized the whole world didn’t revolve around my wants and needs, and that there are more important things in life than money or social status.”

He wasn’t sure he agreed with that sentiment. He’d spent his entire adult life working to make money and build his social status in an attempt to prove to the Elenas of the world that he wasn’t just a poor rancher’s son. He was an industrious businessman, who—in recent years, at least—had become one of the wealthiest men in Texas.

It was no small coincidence that the Ramsey Corporation happened to be the company poised to overtake Sanchez Restaurant Supply. Chase had been keeping an eye on Elena’s family for years, not only so he would know when he’d surpassed them financially, but in hopes that just such an opportunity would present itself.

He wanted nothing more than to thumb his nose at them—at Elena—and show them all what he’d become. Not just a stinking rich tycoon in his own right, but a man to be respected and admired.

Which didn’t explain why he was suddenly feeling pangs of guilt over his plans for revenge against this woman.

So she’d suffered a loss. Didn’t everyone at some point in their lives?

So he found her irresistible in bed. What red-blooded American male wouldn’t?

It didn’t make her a saint, and it didn’t make him a bad guy.

“The things I’d always thought were so important,” she continued, “weren’t anymore. And no amount of my father’s wealth or prestige could make my mother better. She had the best medical care money could buy and still it wasn’t enough.”

“So you became a social worker,” he said, tamping down on the sympathies threatening to overwhelm his better senses. “To try to save the world in other ways?”

“Not save the world,” she said softly. “But I did want to help people. Our family has more than enough money to get by. Even if we lost the business—which I don’t want us to do because of how important it is to my father—” she added with a meaningful glance, “we’d still be okay financially. I wanted to do something with my life that made a difference.”

“And I’ll bet you do. Make a difference, I mean.”

A small smile played over her face. “I try. There are so many kids in trouble out there, so many families with problems. I just do what I can—and what the law allows—to make things a little better for them.”

“And you don’t turn down awkward teenage boys when they ask you to dance, just because their parents aren’t as rich as yours?”

She flushed, her cheeks turning pink with embarrassment. “I’m not sure how many teenage boys would ask me to dance these days, but no. I wouldn’t turn anyone down based on their upbringing or bank account. Especially you.”

“But I’ve got money now,” he pointed out, arching a brow. “Doesn’t that make me more acceptable?”

“No more and no less. I don’t judge people that way anymore and I never should have to begin with.”

Wiggling around the bed, she pulled the sheet with her as she once again took up position along his side, one leg draped over his thigh, her breasts pressing into his chest.

“At the risk of making you even angrier about that night,” she told him, turning her head to rest on his shoulder, “I really did think you were cute back then. If it hadn’t been for my friends and my fear of what they might say, I probably would have danced with you—and enjoyed every minute of it.”

He didn’t reply; instead he let the room fall into silence and her words sink deep into his bones. Beside him, Elena’s breathing turned deep and even, and he knew she’d fallen asleep.

But Chase couldn’t sleep; his mind wouldn’t let him. Into the wee hours of the night, he stayed awake, trying to make sense of what she’d told him, of the thoughts and feelings ricocheting through him like a pinball in an arcade game. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t seem to reconcile this “new” Elena with the memories he had of her and the woman he’d expected her to be.

All he knew was that the emotions this Elena was churning up inside him made him distinctly uncomfortable.

Eight

The next few days in Las Vegas passed easily. Chase spent his days in business meetings, while Elena made one more trip to play with the children at the hearing-impaired school, then did a bit of window shopping. She sent postcards to some friends, even knowing she’d likely be home before they arrived. And she bought a pair of silver and amethyst swing earrings for Alandra from a boutique in the Wynn.

In the evenings she would accompany Chase to any dinner functions he needed to attend. Once or twice, they even ordered in, eating from the room service cart while they sat in front of the television in nightgown and boxer shorts.

And at night, they made love.

There was no more talk of that Christmas dance at her parents’ house nearly twenty years ago, or the type of person she’d been as a teen. Chase seemed satisfied with the answers she’d given him about her mother’s death and her change of heart. At least for the moment.