Millionaire's Women Part 47

Ellie didn't budge. "Garek will leave, Robbie. You don't need a gun."

"Who said I want him to leave? Caspar and I came up with a better idea." His gaze on Garek, Robbie ground a dirt clod from the sculpture under his heel. "My aim has improved since the business with Rafe, perro. perro. You better do what I tell you, or you'll be sorry." You better do what I tell you, or you'll be sorry."

"What is it you want?"

"You're going to marry Ellie," Robbie said deliberately. "My friend Caspar here is an ordained minister."

Caspar gave a little wave from the bedroom.

"Robbie!" Ellie was horrified. "Are you insane?" She sniffed the air, then looked at him suspiciously. "Were you smoking something while you were in the bedroom?"

"No way," Robbie said. "I'm clean. I just want your baby to have a daddy."

Ellie felt, rather than saw, Garek turn to stare at her. Her cheeks burned, but she didn't look away from her cousin. "Robbie, I told you before I'm not not pregnant. Put that gun down right now-" She started forward, only to stop when Garek put his arm around her shoulders. She glanced up at him and received a shock. In spite of his cool facade, a muscle ticced in his jaw, and fury blazed in his eyes. A sick feeling of dread rose insideher. pregnant. Put that gun down right now-" She started forward, only to stop when Garek put his arm around her shoulders. She glanced up at him and received a shock. In spite of his cool facade, a muscle ticced in his jaw, and fury blazed in his eyes. A sick feeling of dread rose insideher.

"Very well," he said to Robbie. "Let's hurry up and get this over with, then."

Triumph flashed in Robbie's eyes. Keeping the gun trained on Garek, he stepped aside so Caspar could emerge from the room. The tall thin man approached the happy couple and opened a white leather prayer book.

"Dearly beloved..." he proclaimed.

Ellie's body jerked in silent protest. The arm around her shoulders tightened.

"Better to play along," Garek said to her under cover of Caspar's booming voice, "than to risk someone getting hurt. We can deal with it afterward."

"No," she said stubbornly. "Robbie, I refuse to go through with this ceremony. What are you going to do about it? Shoot me?"

His big brown eyes took on a wounded look. "You know I would never hurt you, Ellie," he said indignantly. "I would just have to shoot your boyfriend."

"That's not funny, Robbie." She knew he didn't really mean it. But then he hadn't really meant to shoot Rafe, either. Could she ever forgive herself if he accidentally hurt Garek?

When she didn't say anything for a few seconds, Caspar cleared his throat. "Do you, Garek, take this woman..."

"This is ridiculous!" she burst out. "It's completely illegal. Don't we have to have blood tests or something?"

Caspar shook his head. "The law is much more lenient nowadays. Blood tests aren't required."

"But what about a license? We have to have a license!"

"Don't worry," Caspar informed her. "I can print a blank one off the Internet. They're good in any state."

As Caspar proceeded with the ceremony, Ellie glanced despairingly at Garek, hoping for some help.

He was watching her with a cynical twist to his mouth that made her stiffen. How dare he look at her like that? As if...as if he thought she wanted wanted to marry him. to marry him.

Garek made his responses in a calm, cool voice that caused her to grit her teeth. She had to choke out the words.

"I now p.r.o.nounce you husband and wife," Caspar said.

"Congratulations," Robbie said, beaming at the two of them over the top of his gun.

"Thanks," Garek said, his voice full of sarcasm. "We appreciate your...good wishes. You two can leave now. My...wife and I would like to be alone." and I would like to be alone."

Robbie shook his head. "No way. We've got to make sure this marriage starts off right."

Ellie didn't know what he was talking about and at this point she didn't care. She felt completely drained. This night that she'd so looked forward to had turned into a nightmare. The only good thing about it was that it couldn't possibly get any worse...

"You two need a wedding night." Robbie sat down on a chair and used the gun to motion the couple toward Ellie's bedroom. "And I'm goingto make sure you get it."

Inside the bedroom, the newlyweds stared at each other for a long moment.

Ellie broke the silence first. "So what do we do now?"

He shrugged. "Go to bed." He sat down on the mattress and lay back, watching her. "I hope you don't snore."

She stared at him. "You've got to be joking."

"No, I'm not. I'm a light sleeper and snoring keeps me awake-"

"Not about that. that." She waved her hand impatiently. "I mean about spending the night here. Together."

He put his hands behind his head. "I don't see that we have much choice."

"Are you crazy? We do have a choice. We can wait until Robbie falls asleep. Or we can try to go through the window-"

"Too dangerous. I have no desire to risk waking your trigger-happy cousin, or to get shot in the rear as I try to shimmy out the window." He dismissed her plans with a yawn, then patted the mattress beside him. "Come to bed...wife."

Ellie couldn't stop staring at him. Was he insane? She knew he was angry. Why wasn't he yelling at her? Why was he pretending this marriage was real? "Garek, stop fooling around."

"Who's fooling?" In one swift, graceful motion, he rose to his feet and crossed the room to where she still stood by the door. He put his hands on the wooden panel on either side of her head and bent down to touch his mouth lightly to hers. "We have all night-let's make the most of it."

His mouth closed over hers, and she forgot to think. The attraction that she'd tried to deny flared up immediately, swamping her brain with Technicolor emotions, flooding her body with fluorescent sensations.

She responded blindly, instinctively. His arms came around her, hers curled around his neck. His grip on her tightened; then suddenly, he lifted her and carried her across the room.

He laid her gently on the bed, still kissing her, pulling off his coat and shirt and quickly unb.u.t.toning her blouse. His warm hand cupped the curve of her breast.

Air grated in her lungs. She felt as though she were on fire. His kiss wasn't gentle. It wasn't tentative or kind or respectful. Instead, it was hungry, carnal, overwhelming, unstoppable. His mouth pulled on hers, as if trying to suck the very soul out of her, so he could take possession of it, take possession of her...

She broke away, gasping for air. "Stop," she panted. "We can't do this..."

He kissed the line of her throat, down to the curves of her lace-covered b.r.e.a.s.t.s. His fingers undid the b.u.t.ton of her skirt, and eased down the zipper, spreading the fabric to expose a sc.r.a.p of silk and a line of lace. "Why not? You got what you wanted, didn't you? Marriage to Chicago's Most Eligible Bachelor..."

The sarcasm in his voice broke through the haze threatening to envelope her. What was he talking about? Did the conceited jerk really think she wanted this? That she wanted to marry him him, a man who was using her to punish his sister?

She pushed at his shoulders.

He resisted. His fingers teased under the line of lace, pausing to splay across the indentation between her hip and abdomen, before drifting lower still...

Flattening her palms against his chest, she shoved harder.

With a curse, he rolled away. She scrambled onto her knees, ready to flee the bed if he made any move toward her. But he didn't. He lay there, his breathing harsh, his arm thrown over his eyes. His whole aspect was one of pain.

The frantic racing of her heart slowed. Uncertainty trickled through her. She touched his arm tentatively. "Garek?"

He stiffened under her touch. He lowered his arm and looked at her, his eyes cold and hard. "Next time you plan to trap a man into marriage," he said, his voice like shards of gla.s.s, "make sure you have the guts to go through with it."

Ellie's hand fell to her side. "What are you talking about?"

He stood up and gestured toward the door and where her cousin had positioned himself outside. "The shotgun wedding. The reluctant bride. I thought I'd seen every trick in the book when it came to women trying to ensnare me, but this one, I admit, was brilliant." He looked down at her, his gaze traveling from her face to her chest. "You're one hot little witch when you want to be."

Realizing her blouse was hanging open, she flushed and pulled the edges together. Then she paled. "Surely you don't think I planned planned this. You're the one that barged in here-" this. You're the one that barged in here-"

"Yeah, after you left that message that ensured that I would-I was actually feeling guilty for having used you-for misjudging you. But I got it right the first time, didn't I? You're a greedy, manipulative little gold digger, out to make a quick buck."

"I don't care about your money-"

"It's a little late for the innocent act. You set me up. You don't really expect me to believe that your witless cousin came up with this marriage idea on his own? Or that the presence of Caspar, the friendly minister, was merely a coincidence? Oh, and let's not forget the icing on the wedding cake-you, the pregnant pregnant bride. Tell me something-are you really pregnant? Did some guy knock you up and you decided to pa.s.s the baby off as mine? Or was the whole thing a story you invented to get your cousin and his friend to go along with your plan?" bride. Tell me something-are you really pregnant? Did some guy knock you up and you decided to pa.s.s the baby off as mine? Or was the whole thing a story you invented to get your cousin and his friend to go along with your plan?"

Her face felt frozen. "You...you conceited a.s.s. This whole mess is your your fault. None of this would have happened if you hadn't decided to play such a nasty trick on your sister. Even if I fault. None of this would have happened if you hadn't decided to play such a nasty trick on your sister. Even if I were were pregnant, I would never marry you. I wouldn't marry you for all the sculptures in the Metropolitan. I wouldn't marry you for all the paintings in the Louvre. I wouldn't marry you-" pregnant, I would never marry you. I wouldn't marry you for all the sculptures in the Metropolitan. I wouldn't marry you for all the paintings in the Louvre. I wouldn't marry you-"

"I get the idea. If you don't mind, I'm going to get some sleep. I have to work tomorrow."

She hated the indifference of his tone. She hated even more that she couldn't match it-her voice sounded slightly shrill as she asked, "But where are you going to sleep?"

"In the bed, of course." He picked up the pillow and punched it.

"This is my my bed." bed."

"I'm willing to share. Your virtue is safe with me."

She glared at him. "You can sleep on the floor."

"I'm not that chivalrous. You You sleep on the floor." sleep on the floor."

She watched with fury and dismay as he turned back the hand-st.i.tched quilt Aunt Alma had made and sat down to shuck off his shoes. The jerk. The cad. The- His hands went to the buckle of his belt.

Her cheeks burning again, she practically leaped off the bed and stood with her back to him. A few seconds later she heard the rustle of sheets and the click of the light. The room went dark.

Ellie hesitated, trying to decide what to do. She was not not going to share a bed with him. But the only other option was the bare wooden planks of the floor. going to share a bed with him. But the only other option was the bare wooden planks of the floor.

She considered marching out into the living room and taking the couch. She knew Robbie wouldn't stop her. The only problem was, he would probably come in and shoot Garek. Oh, she didn't think he would kill him-at least not intentionally. But it would be just like Robbie to accidentally shoot Garek in the foot or the hand. Or the rear...

She glanced at the black silhouette in her bed. For a second, she was tempted to go to the couch and leave Garek to his fate.

She sighed. She couldn't do that. No matter how much she hated Garek, she couldn't allow Robbie to shoot him.

An hour later, though, turning on the hard floor, she wasn't so sure. She was so cold, her bones ached with it. She couldn't stop shivering. She pulled her knees up to her chest, trying to conserve her body heat. She didn't remember ever being this cold. The clunky furnace must have conked out again. She would probably freeze by morning...

Warm arms suddenly encircled and lifted her. Shegave a little squeak, all she was capable of at the moment since she was shivering so badly. "Wh-what are you doing?"

"The chattering of your teeth is keeping me awake," he growled.

"W-well, isn't that just too bad?" She yelped as he dropped her and she hit the mattress. "I would rather freeze to death than share a bed with you," she informed him haughtily.

"If you insist. At least you'll save me the cost of a lawyer to dissolve this marriage. Just do it quietly."

Outraged, she sat up and glared through the dark at him. Suddenly, she was determined not not to freeze to death. She wouldn't give him the satisfaction. to freeze to death. She wouldn't give him the satisfaction.

Not to mention the warmth of the bed was so heavenly, she didn't think she could get up if she wanted to.

Carefully, she eased herself, still fully clothed, between the blanket and the sheet, trying to ignore the black bulk sprawled beside her in the spot on the mattress where she usually slept.

"You know," he drawled, "you might have grounds to claim the marriage is valid if we consummate it-"

"No, thank you!" she snapped.

He laughed softly, sardonically.

She turned on her side and scooted to the very edge of the mattress.

If he made one move one move toward her, she would shoot him herself. toward her, she would shoot him herself.

Ellie woke up slowly, aware that something was different than usual. Her nose twitched. What was that smell? It wasn't unpleasant exactly. It was more earthy. Musky. Masculine...

Her eyes flew open.

A brawny shoulder was only a few inches away from her own. Instinctively, she pulled away, then, as Garek stirred and rolled over, she grew still, holding her breath.

He didn't wake up, however, and she stared at him. In the clear light filtering through the blinds, she could see every detail. A cowlick spiked up on top of his head. His hair grew back from his wide forehead in a straight line. He frowned, even in his sleep, a crease showing between his eyebrows. He had short, dark lashes, a reasonably well-shaped nose and ears that stuck out slightly, giving him an almost boyish look. The boyishness was instantly belied, however, by the dark shadow of beard and mustache, and the clean line of his upper lip and the full, amazingly sensual curve of his lower lip.

Her chest began to hurt. Two days ago, she'd thought he was someone special. Two days ago, she might have welcomed last night's crazy ceremony-only without the gun.

How could she have been so stupid?

But there was no point in crying. She'd cried over Rafe. She wasn't going to cry over Garek Wisnewski.

She climbed out of the bed. Straightening her spine and smoothing her creased and twisted skirt as best she could, she went to the door and peeked out.

No gun-wielding madmen lurked in the hall.

She checked the other bedroom but saw no sign of Robbie or his friend. They must have decided to make themselves scarce.

Wisely, thought Ellie as she went into the kitchen and started some coffee. She was going to kill Robbie when she got her hands on him...

A sound made her turn. Garek stood in the doorway, b.u.t.toning his shirt, his coat over his arm. His hair was wet and slicked back, but dark stubble still covered his jaw.

"Your cousin decided not to stay for the rest of the honeymoon?"