The Ruthless Billionaire’s Redemption

Her head came up and she forced herself to meet his smile with an aloof one of her own. ‘Not at all,’ she said calmly. ‘I was just wondering why anyone would drive a thing like this. It doesn’t look very comfortable.’

He laughed as he went around to the driver’s side and slipped behind the wheel. ‘Comfort hasn’t a thing to do with it.’

He was right, of course. It hadn’t, and Danielle knew it. The car was made for speed. But speed was impossible along the heavily trafficked roads leading from the airport. She could feel Lee’s barely contained impatience: the fingers of his left hand tapped a restive tattoo on the steering wheel while his right clenched and unclenched on the gear shifter. He changed position in his seat, easing his long legs under the dashboard, then leaned forward and pressed a button on the instrument panel. A motor whined softly, and part of the roof overhead slid back.

A luxuriant floral scent filled the car. Danielle drew a deep breath. ‘What’s that lovely smell?’ she said softly.

Bradford glanced at her, then at the road. ‘Flowers. All kinds of flowers. And herbs—rosemary, thyme, sage—Provence is like an enormous garden. Why don’t you sit back and enjoy it?’

‘I am.’

He smiled. ‘No, you’re not. You’re too busy trying to keep your skirt over your knees. I assure you, Miss Nichols, I’ve seen women with more than their legs bare.’ His teeth flashed in a quick grin. ‘You might as well relax.’

She stared at him, then looked quickly back at the road. If only she could think of some clever reply, if only she could turn his teasing jibes back on him. But she’d tried that, and it had only backfired. The best thing to do was just to keep still.

Traffic was still heavy, but Lee took advantage of every opening in the clotted flow, surging in and out of the stream of cars with quick bursts of speed. The car seemed as impatient as its driver. The engine growled like a mean thing trapped in a cage, occasionally: rising to what seemed to her ears an angry scream. Danielle glanced at Lee’s profile. He looked tense; his mouth was hard, his jaw was set with concentration.

Finally, they shot past the last automobile. His foot came down harder on the accelerator and the car leaped eagerly ahead. They were speeding along a road so narrow and winding that she could only hope they would meet no car coming in the other direction. Carefully, Danielle glanced at Lee Bradford. All his attention was on the road, but there was nothing tense about him now. He was sitting back almost lazily, his left hand lying loosely on the steering wheel, his right on the gear shifter. He looked relaxed, but she knew he was totally in command of the swift-moving car which responded to his touch, purring beneath his hand like a satisfied cat.

Or like a contented woman.

The thought came swiftly and unexpectedly. At first, she was afraid she’d spoken aloud. But another look at him assured her she hadn’t. His eyes were still on the road, and there was a look on his face that told her he was as much caught up in the pleasure of the swift-moving car as she was in thinking about him.

Danielle felt a sudden sweep of irrational anger. ‘Must you drive so fast?’ she said sharply.

He glanced at her. ‘We’re not going fast at all, Miss Nichols.’ His eyes went to the speedometer, as did hers. ‘We’ve barely hit ninety.’

Ninety! How could they have reached such speed without her even noticing? Had she left her senses behind in the States? she thought, and her irritation grew.

‘I’d appreciate it if you’d slow down, Mr Bradford.’

Lee laughed. ‘What’s the matter, little girl? Are you scared?’

‘No.’ Her voice was cool, which amazed her, because his assessment was right on target. ‘You don’t scare me, you amaze me. Why should a grown man want to risk his neck playing such foolish games?’

A muscle knotted in his jaw. ‘High-stakes games are the only ones worth playing,’ he said softly, but even as he spoke his foot eased on the pedal and the car slowed to a more respectable seventy-five. ‘But you’re right, Miss Nichols. All you signed on for was a ride to Ste Agathe, not the Grand Prix.’ They rode in silence, and then he looked at her. ‘I take it you’ve never been to the Côte d’Azur before.’

Was he going to try and make pleasant conversation? If he was, he’d end up talking to himself.

‘No,’ Danielle said, staring straight ahead.

‘Are you on vacation, then?’

‘Yes.’

He sighed. ‘And you’re going to Ste Agathe as your first stop.’

‘Yes.’

The road lifted ahead, uncoiling like a grey ribbon as it entered the mountains. Bradford down-shifted and the engine hummed softly in accord.

‘Do you have a dog?’

Despite herself, Danielle turned and stared at him. ‘What?’

‘A dog,’ he said patiently. ‘Do you have one?’

Her brows drew together. ‘No.’

Bradford shrugged. ‘A pity,’ he said softly. ‘I was going to ask if you still beat him.’

Her eyes fastened on his impassive profile. ‘If I had a dog, I’d never beat him. Besides, that’s a stupid question to ask someone. You can’t give a “yes” or a “no” answer to something like that, you have to…’ Her voice faded as he began to chuckle. Danielle glared at him for a few seconds, and then a smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. ‘Touché, Mr Bradford.’

‘Lee.’ He glanced at her and smiled. ‘You might as well call me that. Ste Agathe has a population that would fit into a sardine tin. Calling me Mr Bradford is going to mark you as an outsider.’

Danielle shifted towards him. ‘Is it really small?’

Lee nodded. ‘It is—or it was, until the film crew arrived.’

‘You know about the film they’re shooting there?’

He grinned. ‘Oh, yes, Miss Nichols. I do, indeed.’

‘Danielle,’ she said without thinking.

His eyes met hers. ‘What’s that?’

‘Danielle. It’s my name. If I’m going to call you by your first name, you—’ She broke off and a light blush rose in her cheeks. ‘You knew that was my name.’

The slow smile she already knew well curved across Lee’s mouth. ‘Yes,’ he said softly, ‘I did. But I wanted to hear you ask me to say it.’

Their eyes met. Danielle’s breath caught; her name had become a caress when he used it. And the way he was looking at her made her feel—made her feel…

She turned away quickly and stared straight ahead. They were climbing higher and higher into the mountains—she could see the rocky drop to the valley. It was a sight she’d always longed to see, but now it was all a blur. The only thing she could see clearly was the man seated beside her.

She lay her head back and inhaled deeply. What was the matter with her? Exhaustion, probably. One way or another, she’d spent most of the past day in the air. And she was wary about seeing Val again. Yes. Exhaustion, that was it. That was why she felt so—so confused, so vulnerable. It had nothing to do with Lee Bradford. Nothing…

‘…history buff?’

Danielle moistened her lips with her tongue. ‘Sorry,’ she said brightly. ‘I was thinking about—about Ste Agathe. Did you ask me something?’

He smiled. ‘Yes. I asked if you were a history buff.’

She shook her head. ‘No,’ she said slowly, ‘not especially. Why do you ask?’

Lee shrugged his shoulders. ‘Ste Agathe doesn’t get many tourists. The ones who come are usually interested in the walls.’ He glanced at her. ‘The Roman walls,’ he said, ‘the ones left standing around the western portion of the town.’

‘I didn’t know there were any.’