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Alex smiled. It wasn’t Christmas, although he wouldn’t mind unwrapping Sophie under a tree.
He tried to focus on the figures on the computer screen, but he couldn’t concentrate. The image of Sophie dancing across the floor as if she were making love to the music, left him with a consuming ache. A kind of hunger he hadn’t felt in a long time. If she was brought here to seduce him, she had made one hell of a good start. But to what end?
“I thought you were on vacation.” Damon strode into the library and flopped down in a chair.
Alex kept his gaze on the screen. “I didn’t close the company down.”
“Business good?”
“Yeah.” He logged off and leaned back in his seat. “So when’s the big day?”
‘What big day?”
“Your wedding.”
“Oh,” Damon mumbled. “Sophie hasn’t set a date yet.”
Alex laughed. “Smart girl.”
“You don’t believe I’ll go through with it.”
“I never gave it a thought either way,” he lied smoothly.
“So, what do you think? Does she remind you of anyone?”
Although Alex’s first glimpse had brought back old memories, Sophie affected him in a way no other woman ever had. On second thought, there hadn’t been much of a resemblance at all. Whereas his ex had been a cool, regal beauty, Sophie was the personification of wild passion. “Should she?”
“Don’t you think she looks like Marie?”
He feigned bewilderment. “Who?”
“Your ex-fiancée.”
“You mean your ex-lover.”
“Still holding that against me?” Damon gave him a wounded frown that he pulled off with such practiced ease. “Isn’t five years a bit long to be carrying a grudge?”
Alex shrugged as if he couldn’t care less. He was grateful he’d found out before the wedding instead of after. Last he heard, his faithless ex was on her third marriage. “You brought her name up, not me.”
“You’re right. Besides, Sophie is nothing like Marie.”
“You mean she’s not trying to figure out how much you’re worth in alimony before the wedding?”
Damon laughed. “Cheap shot—but true. Marie was a cold bitch.” He seemed to have conveniently forgotten his own part in that fiasco.
“Why don’t you save yourself the trouble and tell me what this visit is really about?”
“I wanted Sophie to meet my family. Nothing more.”
Alex noted that his brother hadn’t mentioned any words of love, or even lust. Lord knew, he could sympathize with that. “All right. Play it your way. So, what does she do?”
“She’s a graphic artist by trade. Freelance, mostly. But if you’re nice to her, you might get her to tell your fortune. She has a real gift for seeing into the future.”
“Is that right?” Alex wouldn’t mind a peek into the future. Say, one week from today to see what this charade was really about. “I might just ask her.”
“She’s got real Gypsy blood in her.”
A grin pulled at the corners of his mouth. “I don’t doubt that. She does make quite an impression.” An impression that affected him physically whenever he remembered their encounter.
“So you don’t mind if we settle here after the wedding?”
“You’ll have to run that past Elaine. Two queens in one castle could make for strained living conditions. Are you sure your little Gypsy will want to live with her mother-in-law?”
“What about you?” Damon’s question held a trace of challenge. He was apparently searching for something he could exploit to his benefit.
Alex curled his fingers around a crystal paperweight and tapped it against the oak desk. “It’s a big house. I’ll adjust when I’m around.”
“Of course, I’d prefer to give my wife her own house, but I can’t while my money is tied up in this one.”
He had wondered how long it would take before Damon brought up the subject. “Your track record with money hasn’t been a winning one. You might thank me one day for keeping a roof over your head. Especially if you have a wife to take care of.”
“Don’t you think it’s time you stop trying to protect me from myself? The restaurant was a good investment. I just got in too deep.”
Alex refrained from reminding his brother that living way above his means would always get him in too deep. Six years earlier, he had bought out Damon’s and Elaine’s shares of the company, and neither one had a dime left of their substantial inheritance. Alex would have given in to pressure to sell the estate, too, only he’d promised his father he would look out for his stepfamily. Problem was, they didn’t want his help. They wanted unconditional access to his money.
“You come talk to me after the wedding and we’ll discuss this again.”
Damon slumped forward in the chair. “Why wait? You always said you’d sell when one of us got married.”
“And I will, when you’re married. Call it my wedding present to the two of you.” Alex was relatively sure his brother wouldn’t be collecting on the gift. But if he was wrong...? He wasn’t ready to contemplate the answer.
Two
Sophie slowly opened her eyes. Disoriented, she stared for a few groggy seconds before she realized the white tile ceiling was not her own. After stretching the last of the sleep from her body, she slid her legs over the edge of the bed. How long had she been asleep? A glance out the window gave her the answer. The flaming sun hovered just above the horizon. The long car ride must have wiped her out. It had to be close to eight o’clock.
Why hadn’t Damon called her for dinner?
She shed her wrinkled clothes in favor of a pair of black jeans and pale yellow blouse and ran a brush through her hair. She hoped her absence from dinner hadn’t been taken as an insult.
As she stepped into the hall, she was surprised by the quiet. No music or sounds of television. Not even the drifting hums of conversation could be heard. Where was everybody? The clack of her sandals echoed off the high walls. As she descended the stairs, she repressed the urge to hop on the solid oak banister and ride to the bottom.
The only signs of life seemed to be coming from the kitchen. She entered the room to find the butler and an older woman enjoying a cup of coffee. They both rose quickly to their feet.
“I’m sorry,” Sophie stammered. “I guess I missed dinner.”
“Master Damon said you weren’t to be disturbed,” the butler said. “I’ll have Cook bring a plate to the dining room for you.”
It was bad enough she had rudely slept through her hosts’ evening meal, she wasn’t about to have the staff go out of their way on her behalf. “I’m not hungry. Where is Damon?”
“He went to the club with his mother for a while. Master Alexander is around somewhere. Would you like me to find him?” Such formality seemed more suited to a feudal system. Did the family always demand such propriety?
“No. I’ll just grab an apple or two and take a walk around.”
“As you like, miss.”
“Sophie,” she corrected.
She swiped two Granny Smiths from the counter and slipped out the back door. The air, clean and fresh from the earlier rain, cooled her skin. She leaned against the stone facade of the house and ate one of the tart apples to relieve the growling in her stomach. Her hunger sated, she began exploring the well-manicured grounds.
Red and white rosebushes ran the outside perimeter of the house. She stroked her fingers over the velvety petals and inhaled the floral scent. Such beauty hidden from the rest of the world, she thought.
The deep purple sky silhouetted a stable and paddock in the distance. She sprinted down the driveway, past the six-car garage and along the worn path to the open door. The wooden building smelled of hay, manure and saddle soap, reminding her of the caravan days of childhood she had spent with her mother. An odd sensation, like a low-voltage shock, ran though her as she stepped inside.
Brass lanterns lit the interior with muted light. The horses shifted nervously at the entrance of a stranger. A chestnut bay poked his nose out of the stall.
“Hello there, fellow.” She stroked the hair at his forehead. He snorted and bit the apple out of her hand that rested on top of the gate. “Hey, you big thief. That was my dinner.”
He nudged her shoulder.
“Too late, you beggar. I ate the other one.”
She raised to her toes and the animal nuzzled its head against her shoulder. “So, what do you do for fun around here? I know. Not much you can do when you’re closed in by four walls. I quite understand how you feel.”
She scooted down the concrete center aisle to the next stall. “Hey, girl. Don’t be shy.” She extended her hand and waited for the Appaloosa to come to her. The horse’s eyes looked sad and lonely.
“So, what’s your problem?” Sophie glanced toward the bay, then back. “Your boyfriend? Just a friend, you say. You have your eye on the Arabian stud?” She sighed. “Stay away from the wild ones. They’ll break your heart every time.”
The animal’s ears perked up and she tapped her hoof several times.
“Feeling restless? Why don’t I open all the gates and we’ll make a run for it?”
“You’ll never clear the wall.”
At the sound of Alex’s deep voice, Sophie’s breath caught in her throat. She wiped her hands along her jeans and turned to face him. He was leaning against the wall behind her, his arms folded casually over the wide expanse of his chest. A blatantly sexual grin lifted the corners of his mouth.
“Master Alexander. Please except my humble apologies for missing dinner this evening.”
He let out a hearty chuckle. “An apology’s not necessary, and call me Alex. I’ve been trying to stop William for the past twenty-five years, but he insists on the formal title.”
“Okay. Alex.”
A long silence followed. A few sentences with the man and she had run out of conversation. Her body, on the other hand, had just begun to state its case. Her pulse beat a little faster, her stomach fluttered, and a warm tingling sensation washed over her.
Her conscience warned her to tell him the truth, but she remained silent. The money Damon would donate to the youth center was one reason, but not the only one. This intense and irrational attraction left her confused, an emotion that led to foolish mistakes. She needed the protection her sham engagement afforded her until she figured out how to control the carnal impulses Alex’s nearness inspired.
A shove to her back sent her stumbling forward. She steadied herself by grabbing onto Alex’s shoulders. His hands came up to encircle her waist.
“What the heck...” She glanced back to see the Appaloosa shaking her head.
“Now, now, Delilah. She’s Damon’s woman. No matchmaking.”
“Is that what she’s doing?” The animal had good aim—and even better instincts, Sophie decided.
She held on to Alex longer than necessary. While her mind willed her to step back to regain her senses, her body begged her to stay put, surrounded by warmth, protected by strength.
Reason prevailed and she wriggled out of his arms. “Sorry.”
“So, you want to make a break from this place already?” He reached into his vest pocket for a sugar cube and offered it to Delilah.
Sophie stood next to him and scratched the animal behind the ear. “I was just making conversation with them.”
“Do you ride?”
“Yes.”
“English or Western?”
“Bareback, mostly.”
“Really?” He couldn’t keep the surprise from his voice.
“Really.”
“You’re welcome to ride while you’re here.”
“I’d like to.” Sophie smiled at him and Alex was stunned by the way his body reacted to the genuine excitement he saw in her flushed face. “Maybe I’ll get Damon to take me.”
The mention of his brother deflated some of the air from his ego. “He doesn’t ride. But don’t let that stop you.”
“I wouldn’t.”
Alex swallowed a chuckle. He would guess the lady did as she pleased. Not for the first time, he wondered why she had chosen to involve herself with Damon. “I wonder if my brother knows what he’s gotten himself into.”
“He should. I’ve known him for four years. We have an understanding.”
He arched his eyebrow. “What kind of understanding?”
“Obviously not the kind you’re thinking of.” She rolled her eyes. “We have different interests that we pursue separately.”
“That would explain why he’s at the country club playing racquetball while you’re here trying to incite a rebellion among my horses.”
Her soft exhale of laughter caressed his cheek. “I couldn’t interest them. They must like living with walls.”
“Which, I gather, you don’t?”
“I don’t have to, do I?”
“My brother seems to think you’re going to settle here after the wedding.” Her guilty expression was telling. He suspected that she and Damon hadn’t synchronized their stories.
She shrugged and raked a handful of curls from her face. “Actually, we didn’t discuss it. We haven’t had time to figure out our future yet.”
Nice recovery. She wouldn’t have to worry now if they contradicted each other. The woman was bright. He would have an easier time tripping up Damon. Something shady was going on and Alex meant to find out what before his conniving brother did any damage. Any more damage, he mentally corrected.
“Come on. I’ll take you up to the house so you can get something to eat. Samson ate your apple.”
“Samson and Delilah. That’s cute. What are the other two called?”
“Windancer,” he said, pointing to a jet-black Arabian. “And...Elvis.”
“Elvis,” she cried out, sending a sympathetic smile to the gelding. “Oh, the indignity of it all. No wonder he’s so shy.” Dramatic sighs and theatrical gestures punctuated her words.
“He was already named when I got him.”
“Poor thing.” She locked her fingers together behind her back and walked alongside Alex to the house. Darkness had descended and a starry landscape sparkled above.
“So, how did you and Damon meet?” he asked to break the silence.
“I worked for him at the restaurant while I was going to school. We remained good friends after he sold the place.”
Sold the place. Is that what Damon had told her? Alex opened the back door and waited for her to enter. “Have a seat. I’ll get you something—”
“No need.”
“Cook already made the plate. I’m just going to stick it in the microwave.”
“Yum. Radioactive food,” she muttered, and lowered herself into a chair at the drop-leaf table.
Alex put the covered plate in the oven and thanks to modern technology, served her a hot meal in mere minutes. After pouring two glasses of wine, he joined her at the table. “Go ahead. Eat.”
Sophie nodded her thanks and enthusiastically dug in. She polished off the veal and sautéed potatoes with a fervor that nearly rivaled her dancing. In his experience, most women became falsely modest when eating in front of a man. Sophie became downright sexy. Did she devote the same passion to every aspect of her life?
Alex swallowed a grunt. Thoughts like that would land him in trouble. “Damon tells me you have Gypsy blood.”
She put down her fork and knife. “Yes. And we’re notorious thieves, so you better hide the family silver.”
He thought perhaps he had insulted her, but when she glanced up, her eyes shone with mischievous humor. “I’m not worried. So, will you look into your crystal ball and tell me my future?”
“I don’t use a crystal ball, and I can’t see the future. But I sometimes get strong impressions about people.”
He leaned closer until his shoulder brushed hers. “What about me?”
She smiled and took his hand. Her sensual touch, as she stroked her thumb over his palm and wrist, sent his pulse racing. She inched closer until her leg made contact with his. Her delicate eyebrow raised in a perplexed arch. “I’m getting something.”
“What?”
During the long pause, she stared at him. She ran her tongue nervously over her full lips, leaving a glistening shine. He swallowed hard. She continued to caress his calloused flesh, sending jolting electrodes through his entire being. He shifted in the wooden chair to relieve the tightening in his groin.
Suddenly she dropped his hand, looking startled and gasping for breath. Her round emerald eyes, hypnotic, exotic and blatantly erotic, held him spellbound.
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
“I’m getting a really strong impression...” She paused, and inhaled deeply. Her gaze locked with his. “That you’re patronizing me.”
He blinked slowly and let out a groan. Perhaps he had been humoring her, but she had paid him back with interest. She’d had him so mesmerized, she could have told him aliens were attacking and he would have believed her.
“All right. Let’s talk about something else.”
She lifted her wineglass toward him in a salute, then took a sip. “Should we play twenty questions?”
“How else will I get to know my future sister-in-law?”
“When do we get to the part about how I’m totally wrong for Damon?”
“I don’t believe that.”
“You don’t?”
He believed Damon was wrong for her. Damon hadn’t grown up yet. And Alex wouldn’t be the least bit surprised if his brother had used his charm to convince Sophie to go through with the marriage just to get him to sell the house.
“I’m looking forward to your wedding.” He managed to say the words without gagging. “When are you going to set a date?”
Absently, she chewed her bottom lip and toyed with the gold chain around her neck. “Ah...um...”
“In this millennium or the next?”
“I’m only twenty-six. My biological clock isn’t ticking away. Besides, I haven’t even met his mother yet. She might want some input on the time and place.”
Alex tipped his head. “I’m sure Elaine will have something to say.”
“Is that a warning?”
“No.” He took a gulp of his wine.
“Damon said she’s anxious for grandchildren.”
Alex nearly choked. He slapped his hand to his chest. “Excuse me. Swallowed wrong.”
Elaine was about as anxious to be a grandmother as she was to get another wrinkle on her surgically lifted face. She didn’t even like to admit to having a thirty-year-old son.
Sophie collected her dishes from the table and loaded them into the dishwasher. “Thanks for dinner. I guess Damon and his mom will be late. I’m going to turn in.”
Alex rose and walked her to the staircase. Since she had spent most of the afternoon sleeping, he figured she wanted to avoid him. Apparently his comments and questions were in contrast to what Damon had told her. Why would his brother lie to his fiancée? Or, more important, to his accomplice?
“Good night,” she called over her shoulder as she ascended the stairs.
Once she reached the top landing, Sophie darted down the hall to her room. Damn Damon and the awkward position he had put her in! She let out a groan. Face it, Sophie. You’re the one who’s pretending to be somebody you’re not.
Perhaps a look into the cards would help, she decided, as she reached for the silk pouch on the dresser. She untied the ribbon and removed her tarot cards. Her mother had presented her with the deck on her eighteenth birthday. A piece of her past to guide her future. While she absently shuffled, she tried to formulate a question in her mind.
Do I have reason to worry about my actions?
She sat cross-legged on the bed and dealt out ten cards in a semicircle. Each of the first nine cards represented the influence going on around her and the last, her answer. She flipped over the first one and let out a nervous laugh. The Four of Wands. An interlude with a man. She didn’t need the tarot to tell her that. What kind of interlude? Next, she turned the Ten of Cups, upside down, which symbolized a betrayal. Damon? Or Alex? The cards weren’t clear.
The Two of Wands, meant to indicate her fears, pointed to the lord of the manor. A chill ran along her spine. Alex was definitely at the root of her fears, but she didn’t know why. Having a serious case of the hots for a man wasn’t lethal as long as she kept her head clear.
The rest of the reading wasn’t any more encouraging than the beginning. The cards predicted an upheaval in her entire way of life. The sooner she left The Sanctuary, the better.
A sharp knock on her door gave Sophie a start. She scooped the deck back into a neat pile. “It’s open,” she called out.
Damon sauntered inside. “Hey, Soph, you finally rose from the dead.”
She shot him an icy glare. “With no help from you. Why didn’t you wake me for dinner?”
He eyed her as if she was crazy. “I’ve called you in the morning. I know what you’re like when you wake up.”
“Okay. That’s fair,” she grumbled. “So, did you speak with your mother?”
He leaned against the rolltop desk and grinned. “She’s not happy. Kept trying to introduce me to suitable girls from the club, but I told her it was you or no one.”
“Good.” She slipped off the bed and took a seat by the window. “Because your brother doesn’t seem all that opposed to this marriage.”
“Stepbrother,” Damon corrected.
“Funny. Alex never makes that distinction.”
“He might say he doesn’t care, but give him a few days. He’ll change his tune. He won’t be able to resist the opportunity to blow something he thinks I want.”
She raised her head. “And you plan to convince him you couldn’t live without me by leaving me alone and going off to the club on your first night here?”
“Are you mad at me? I thought you hated places like that.”
“I do. And I’m not mad. I’m just questioning your methods. He already suspects something’s not right.”
“Even better. He’ll think you’re after my money.”
“Oh, great.” she let out on a frustrated exhale of breath. “Being unorthodox isn’t enough. I have to be a social-climbing weirdo. I thought I wouldn’t mind, but I don’t like lying.” At least, not to Alex.
“Let me ease your conscience.” He dropped to one knee. “Sophie Anders, will you marry me? There, I proposed. Now you’re not lying.”
“And you’d bolt like lightning if I said yes.”
He chuckled. “After I stopped laughing. You want to get married even less than I do. That’s one of the main reasons I asked you to help me.”
“That, and I’m the strangest person you know.”
“True.” He stood up and brushed the wrinkles from his designer jeans. “Who else would spend her vacation traveling with a carnival?”
“I was visiting my mother,” she corrected with a defiant lift of her chin.
“And reading tarot cards on the side,” he reminded her.
She waved an accusing finger at him. “It paid better than you did.”
“I give up.” He paced around the room. “So, what did you do while I was out?”
“Visited the stables.”
“Passed the time with Alex, huh?”
She drew her brows together. “Why would you say that?”
“He’s always with those horses when he’s home. I’m surprised he doesn’t sleep in a stall.” Damon grimaced in distaste. “So, what did you talk about?”
“Check your ego. We talked more about the horses than we did about you.” She nestled herself into the window seat and gazed at the glittering sky. At night, when she couldn’t see the wall, the place didn’t seem so bad. “Alex said I was welcome to ride while I was here.”
“Good. Then I don’t feel so bad that I signed up for a racquetball tournament at the club for the next couple of days.”
“You wouldn’t have felt bad anyway.”
“You’re right.” He gave her a boyish grin, then saluted as he left the room. She didn’t return the smile.
Strange. The very qualities she had once admired in Damon weren’t quite so endearing anymore. He could be funny, charming—the life of any party. As long as he got what he wanted and didn’t have to give of himself in return. More unsettling was the realization that she could easily become like him if she continued with her current life-style.
Three
Sophie hovered just outside the dining room door. The aroma of cinnamon hung in the air. She had been awake for nearly three hours, waiting for Damon and his mother to get up. She understood that the family was on vacation, but sleeping in until almost noon blew the best part of the day. Taking a deep breath for courage, she entered the room. The conversation came to an abrupt end.