Marrying the Enemy

Her eyes narrowed, sparking defiance. ‘I don’t like being mocked.’

‘And I don’t like being played for a fool.’

He stepped forward, enjoying having the upper hand when she backtracked a tad. ‘As a win-win business proposal, I can see the mutual benefits in this. But we’re adults. We’re attracted to one another. There’s no reason why we shouldn’t indulge in a little bedroom recreation while the marriage lasts.’

To her credit, she eyeballed him but he noted the nervous tics: the fingers plucking at her dress’s sash, the clenched jaw, the crimson staining her ears.

He decided to up the ante. ‘Of course, I might like it out of the bedroom too. Is that still viable in our agreement?’

She blushed but didn’t look away and his admiration notched higher.

‘So let me get this straight. According to your terms we marry, we have sex and we both gain from the arrangement businesswise.’

She made it sound like an unappealing transaction.

He admired her chutzpah but couldn’t shake the feeling she wasn’t telling him everything.

‘That’s it. Take it or leave it,’ he said flatly.

He could see an emotional battle warring in her expressive eyes. She’d do anything to save her family business, including propose an outlandish marriage to a guy she hardly knew, a guy whom she’d booted out of her apartment last night with a resounding ‘when hell freezes over’ in response to his takeover bid.

She had to be mighty desperate to do this, and the fact he’d pushed his luck by insisting on sex? Underhanded.

Not that she’d agree to it—but he enjoyed pushing her buttons.

‘No sex.’ Her fiery green-eyed gaze radiated enough heat to burn him to the core and he couldn’t help but fantasise how sensational those sparks would translate to the bedroom. ‘That’s a deal-breaker,’ she said.

‘You’re in no position to make or break this deal,’ he pointed out, ramming home his advantage.

She needed him to agree and, while he could see the logic of such an arrangement, he never capitulated easily.

‘Fine, I’ll take it,’ she said through gritted teeth, her expression mutinous.

He ignored her muttered addendum, ‘without sex.’ Let her think he’d acquiesced to that stipulation. He’d delight in taking up the challenge to prove her wrong. ‘Good.’ He folded his arms and leaned against the wall, his smugness registering if her deepening frown was any indication. ‘Though let’s make one thing clear. There’s no place in this marriage for emotion. Women are notorious for falling in love and complicating matters.’

She laughed, a harsh sound devoid of amusement. ‘Me, fall in love with you?’

She made it sound as likely as him orchestrating a jailbreak.

She patted his chest and he stilled. He hated being patronised. ‘Don’t worry, there’s no chance of that happening.’

She placed a hand over her eyes than yanked it away. ‘See? No wool over these peepers. I’m under no illusions what this marriage is: convenient and mutually beneficial businesswise. That’s it.’

For some strange, inexplicable reason, her adamant stance that she had absolutely no chance of falling for him rankled strongly.

Not that he wanted her to fall in love with him, but why did she have to make it sound so ludicrous? Was it possible deep down that Ruby Seaborn harboured the same prejudices about him that the rest of her class did? Once a Maroney always a Maroney?

‘Well?’ With arms crossed she drummed her fingers against her hip, shifting her weight from side to side.

‘You’re serious about this?’

She rolled her eyes. ‘Do you really think I’d humiliate myself like this if I wasn’t?’

‘Good point.’

A refusal hovered on his lips. While the possibility of sex with the firebrand in front of him strongly appealed, he could think of less complicated ways to get it.

As for being accepted in this town... He glanced up and saw the CEO of an international mining giant in deep conversation with a rival.

He stiffened and jammed his hands into his pockets. As long as he was on the outskirts, a pariah, he’d never gain access to the corporate world here.

And he needed that access desperately to take Maroney Mine global.

While this ludicrous proposal irked, he’d do whatever it took to get this job done.

‘What’s wrong?’

‘Nothing.’ He deliberately relaxed and rolled his shoulders. ‘Would this arrangement have a time limit?’

A slight dent slashed her brows. ‘How long are you in town for?’

‘My original plan was three to six months.’

Her obvious relief annoyed him more than he cared to admit. ‘That gives us plenty of time for our objectives to be met, then you can head back to your precious mine and pretend we have a long-distance relationship.’

‘I said my original plan. My new plan involves sticking around longer than that.’

That floored her. She gaped and he placed a fingertip under her chin to close her mouth.

He chuckled. ‘You don’t honestly think I’d go through all this trouble to gain entry into moneyed circles only to bolt in a few months’ time?’ He shook his head. ‘Uh-uh. I’m here to stay.’

When she remained silent, continuing to stare at him as if he’d sprouted horns, he ducked down to whisper in her ear.

‘Still want to be my wife? Indefinitely?’

He expected her to retract, to bluster, to bolt.

He should’ve known she’d one-up him.

Sliding a hand around his neck to anchor him, she stood on tiptoes.

‘I do,’ she murmured against the side of his mouth, a moment before she kissed him.

CHAPTER FIVE

‘WHO’S the hot blonde you were lip-locking?’

Jax depended on Murray, his manager in Melbourne, but that didn’t mean he had to like him. The guy had waltzed into this shindig, shaken hands with half the crowd before eventually sidling up to his boss.