Mail-order Bridegroom Part 60

Damon had done his best with her father, that was certain. It wasn't his fault that Eugene DeMo may hadn't believed for a minute that Damon was serious.

What would the old barracuda, as Damon had called him, say when he found out that she and Damon had actually gone through with it? She stifled a laugh."Things looking up, are they?" Damon's voice was husky with sleep. Heseemed in no hurry to lift his head as he regarded her through bloodshot eyes.

Startled at the sound of his voice, Kate turned to look at him. The hint of

innocence was gone. The mouth was thin again, the jaw hard.

But she couldn't quite forget the other, younger man she'd glimpsed when he was asleep.

She shifted so that he had to lift his head.

"Just thinking about what our families are going to say. Sophia, Stephanos.Your mother.Your sisters. My father. Jeffrey. "Damon's mouth twisted."I'm sure it'll be interesting.""Married? To Damon?" Sophia stared, then began to giggle."Oh, my.Oh, my dear! ""You're married? to K-KateT Stephanos's face went white. He licked his lips nervously and eased his collar away from his neck.

"Married? Damon's married^ To who?" One of the sisters stood stock-still and stared. Electra, Kate thought. She wasn't sure. It didn't matter. The three they'd found had said more or less the same thing.

"Married? Oh, for heaven's sake, Kate." For once Jeffrey didn't look smugat all.

"You never learn, do you, Katherine? Well, it's your bed. Lie in it."

Eugene DeMornay shook his head. He walked them to the door of his office,holding Kate back for a moment after Damon had gone ahead.

"If Jeffrey's still here when Alexakis divorces you, we can see if he'll haveyou then."

Kate didn't reply. She was too tired.

She and Damon had gone straight from the airport to beard them all, one afteranother, starting with Sophia and Stephanos at breakfast.

They'd moved on to whichever of Damon's sisters he could find, then drivenstraight to the head office of DeMornay Enterprises. Kate hadn't wanted to,protesting that it was already mid-afternoon and surely it could wait. But Damon had insisted.

In retrospect, Kate supposed she was glad they'd gone. Now, except fortelling Damon's mother on Friday, the hard part was over with.

Their families' reactions had hardly been surprising. Still Kate found she was trembling by early evening when Damon took her back to her apartment toget an overnight case.

The moment she opened the door she felt her strength desert her.

She'cTbnIy been home one night a week since she'd started taking care of thetwins, but this was the closest thing to a refuge she had, and now she sankdown on the sofa in blessed relief.

Damon stood silently right inside the door, staring down at her, his.e.xpression brooding. Kate shut her eyes.

"Don't go to sleep," Damon said.

"Get what you need and let's go."

"Can't," Kate mumbled. She wanted nothing more than to crawl into her bed,

pull the covers over her head and not surface again until Christmas. Perhaps

not even then.

"We've been through that. You're coming with me. If they call looking for us and we're not there-' " We could pretend we weren't answering the phone. "

"My housekeeper will."

"So let's both stay here. I know it's not a penthouse, but it's comfortable, " Kate said quickly.

"Besides, don't you think it will be better to let her tell them we're gone?

After all, who would be expecting us to spend the first night we're homechaperoned by a housekeeper? Here we have the place all to ourselves. Much more romantic," she added wryly.

One of Damon's brows lifted."And that's what you want?""Of course not. I want to sleep in my own bed." Kate yawned hugely."I'm sorry." She gave him a wan smile. "I'm afraid I'm not a very good co conspirator

Damon hesitated, pacing around the small living- room, rubbing a hand throughhis hair. Finally he sighed."Maybe you're right. OK. One night."Kate smiled, this time with more enthusiasm. She hauled herself to her feet."I'll make up the sofa for you. It won't take a minute."Damon stared at her."The sofa?"She stopped and stared at him."This is a one- bedroom apartment.""I'm supposed to spend my wedding-night on a sofa?""You spent your wedding-night on a jet," she reminded him with some asperity."You're the one who wanted to get back as quickly as possible. Besides, this marriage is business, remember?"

Heaven help her, he couldn't be thinking of changing the rules now, could he?

"Right," Damon muttered. He dropped down on the sofa and grimaced, thenbegan to take off his shoes.

Kate went into the bedroom and sank down on to the bed. She felt as if she'd been awake forever. She kicked off her shoes, then stood up again to shedthe wrinkled shirt waister she'd been wearing for the last thirty-six hours.

Going into the bathroom, she splashed water on her face, ran a brush throughher hair, then slipped on a thin cotton nightgown and a pale blue terry clothrobe. Feeling almost human once more, she grabbed clean sheets and a pillowand went back to the living-room.

Damon was lying on the sofa, his tie loose, his collar b.u.t.ton open.

His eyes had been closed, but when he heard her approach he opened them. The clear male admiration in his gaze made Kate suddenly self conscious "I was grubby. I needed a change."

"Am I complaining?"

She ignored the appreciation in his voice. Damon Alexakis wasn't interested in her--not that way. Not really. He already had her in the only way thatmattered to him: on a marriage licence. She wasn't his type. When it came time to choose the real Alexakis Bride, she was sure the woman would benothing like her.

"Get up, and I'll make the bed for you."

He stood, scowling now, his gaze never leaving her. Kate had seen picturesof him in the business weeklies where he looked like that--a sort of dangerous modern-day pirate. Not a man to tangle with.

She turned her back, trying to pretend he was just another overnight guest,like her college roommate Missy or her prep school friend, Antonia. But when he cleared his throat, it was difficult to pretend he was anything less than he was--a strong, virile adult male.

She tried to forget he was also her husband.

No matter what he'd said about how businesslike their arrangement was, she couldn't help but recall how married couples often spent the night.

"Are you hungry? You can check the fridge if you want, but I doubt ifthere's much here. I've been eating most of my meals at Sophia's."She knew she was babbling. She couldn't help it.

"I'm not hungry." His Voice was flat.Kate ventured a sideways glance in his direction. He was staring at thecleavage where her robe gapped. "Are you th-thirsty?"

"I'm fine." His voice was brusque. He stepped around her, careful not to touch her, s.n.a.t.c.hed up one of the pillows and shoved it into the pillowcase.

"Let's get on with this."

They made up the bed together, not speaking. When they finished, Kate nodded towards the bathroom.

"There are fresh towels in the cupboard and new toothbrushes in the medicine cabinet."

"You have a lot of sleep-over guests, do you?"

"Sometimes I have friends who-' " Spare me the details," he said harshly.

"Just remember: there won't be any " sleep-over" guests while you're married to me."

Kate stared at him, astonished. How dared he misunderstand her? How dared he a.s.sume- ?

Damon apparently took her stunned silence for guilt.

"I told you: there won't be, any women in my life while I'm married to you.

I expect the same courtesy in return." He fixed her with a hard glare.

"In fact, I demand it."

Kate slapped her hands on her hips.

"Demand what

you d.a.m.ned well please. I don't have to run my life to suit you, Damon Alexakis!"

"Yes, my dear Mrs Alexakis, you do." He reached for her then, taking her chin between his thumb and forefinger, holding her so that she would be looking straight into his eyes unless she panicked and looked away.

She wouldn't give him the satisfaction."As long as you're my wife, the only bed you'll be sharing is mine.Got that? " he asked softly.Kate jerked her chin out of his grasp."I'm not sharing a bed with you. And you can stop jumping to conclusions. I don't sleep around."

Her tone was sullen. But she wasn't going to let him think he'd cowed herinto behaving according to his dictates.He looked at her long and hard. It was a hungry look, a possessive look. It looked like more than business.

"Good. Then we should get along fine." He brushed past her and headed forthe bathroom.Get along fine? Sure. Right.Damon was up and gone by the time Kate had awakened the following morning.

The sheets and blankets were folded and sitting on the end table when she

came into the living-room. On top of them was a note.I'll pick you up at Sophia's for dinner at seven. Have your bags packed.Damon.

Simple and to the point. It made Kate grit her teeth, but in a way she was glad. It meant that thingswere only business after all. She didn't need to worry. She'd been overwrought last night, thinking Damon wanted her. She crossed two days offon her calendar. Only three hundred and sixty-three more.

She took her bags with her to Sophia's where she spent the day deflecting all manner of questions from Sophia, the girls and, even Stephanos, who was clearly worried about how much she might have told his brother-in-law about his pursuit of her.

By seven that evening she was so tired of trying to play the besotted bride and reply to the countless questions that she was almost ready to' fling herself into Damon's arms in her eagerness to get out of there.

Damon went one better. He opened the door, spotted her across the room and, ignoring his sister and brother-in-law completely, he strode right over, hauled her straight into his arms and kissed her.

Whatever Kate had been expecting, it wasn't that.

Business, her mind screamed. It's only business.