Page 5 of Fast-Track Fiancé

‘Are you trying to puncture my ego on purpose?’ He feigned injury, pressing a tanned hand to his chest. ‘Or is this how you flirt?’

‘I think you know that I’m not here for vacuous flirtation.’

‘No, I can tell that you’re different. You’re here with a purpose, aren’t you?’ he said softly. ‘How lucky that we find ourselves having a rare and magical moment on this deserted terrace.’

‘Of course.’ She let out another tinny breath of laughter. ‘I’m different. I’m special.’

‘You are...certainly fascinating,’ he countered. ‘And not at all what I expected to find when I lured you out here.’

‘I was not lured, I followed you.’ She paused, a blush climbing her cheeks at the immediate expression of victory on his smug face. Damn him. Fully tired of this game, as he’d called it, she swept the white mask from her face and waited for his immediate recognition and apology. None came.

His eyes roamed her face, the tense silence that followed making her feel as if she were under a microscope. When he finally spoke, his voice held an odd rasp, as though it vibrated directly out from the depths of his chest.

‘There you are, belleza.’

There was something familiar about her. Something he couldn’t quite put his finger on. As though they had met before, but he knew all too well that if they had, he would have remembered her. He was not a man prone to fascination. He had become jaded with the frequency of intimate situations such as this, of people practically throwing themselves in his path once they had heard the rumours of his sensual prowess. Rumours that had begun during a particularly intense time in his life and had never quite left him.

Of course, many of the things that had been said about him were completely true. But that was beside the point.

Perhaps that was why this delectable woman was making him feel as if his chest were suddenly too tight beneath his skin. She was young and beautiful and yet she seemed entirely unimpressed by him, almost irritated by his silky words and practised compliments. It was refreshing... And did absolutely nothing to calm the raging heat that had been steadily building within him from the moment he’d seen her delicate features up close.

Without the mask, the full perfection of her face had assaulted him, those focused obsidian eyes perfectly framed by dark brows and delicately rounded cheeks. Her lips were lush and full, certainly kissable, but it was the small dimple in her chin that caught his attention most. A stubborn chin, currently tilted up at him as if to emphasise that very fact.

She hadn’t made any move to push him away, or go back inside, so he knew that her protestations were likely a part of her gambit. Perhaps she had heard the rumours that he was seeking a wife and was fearlessly offering herself up for the cause.

He would reward her bravery, quite thoroughly if given the chance. Images of peeling her out of that sparkling blue confection sprang to his mind, not doing anything to help the rather pressing situation threatening below his belt.

‘Nothing to say?’ she asked, a strangely expectant expression on her pixie-like face. The make-up she wore was pronounced, too pronounced for his liking. He had the sudden urge to see her freshly washed, scrubbed free of any excess. In his shower preferably after a night of vigorous lovemaking.

‘I would offer up more compliments, but you’ve made it clear you have no need for them. Instead, let’s talk about why you’re here,’ he said simply.

‘I would think it’s quite obvious why I’m here,’ she answered softly. ‘You’re a notoriously difficult man to pin down.’

‘And you believe that you are the woman for the job?’

‘I wouldn’t have come all this way if I didn’t. Of course, I’m quite busy and would have preferred for you to come to me...for us to have discussed this in a more appropriate setting. But this will have to do.’

Tristan smiled, surprised at how very much he was enjoying her directness. For a man in urgent need of a fiancée to put his mother’s matchmaking to rest, he couldn’t do much better than this woman if he’d tried. He wouldn’t do something so foolish as to actually marry her, of course. But he could enjoy exploring this hypothetical negotiation of theirs for a little longer.

‘A more formal setting?’ he asked silkily. ‘The nearest courthouse perhaps?’

‘There’s no need to rush straight to legalities. I heard you were a more skilled negotiator than that?’ She looked away, a small frown appearing between her brows. ‘I’m not interested in a public spectacle. I followed you here tonight to discuss the benefits for us both in getting this done quickly.’

Again, words left him for a moment. He simply stared, utterly baffled at the rush of exhilaration coursing through him. She was speaking of marriage, for goodness’ sake. He should be running a mile. Just what kind of spell had she put over him?

‘Are you expecting a proposal right here on this terrace?’

She frowned at his words. ‘At the very least I’m expecting an attempt at negotiation. A display of your notorious skills before you allow me to walk away. Because, trust me, I am fully prepared to do that.’

‘You would deny yourself the experience of my...skills so easily?’ He stepped forward, close enough that the skirt of her dress pooled against his knees. ‘Are you not curious to see me in action?’

Her eyes widened, her neck lengthening prettily as she looked up at him through hooded lashes. Ah yes, the guile of innocence... Not one of his favourite performances but one that he could appreciate, nonetheless. Here she was waylaying him with the hopes of dazzling him into a proposal and when all else failed she would play the naïve damsel, completely unaware of her sensual prowess.

‘I’m sure you’re quite impressive,’ she said breathlessly, her eyes still trained on his lips. ‘I don’t want to walk away, allow me to be perfectly clear on that point. But I know that you’d be a fool to let me go. I know how valuable I am.’

‘Like a rare gem, in fact?’

Her nostrils flared, one pointed finger rising to poke him in the chest. ‘Don’t mock me, Falco. I’m not here to play.’

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