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“We’ll see,” she said tightly.
He gave her a long, probing look and she wondered what he was thinking. Then he reached for the door.
“I don’t need to ask if you’re ready to go, so shall we leave?”
She nodded and set her alarm, going out ahead of Ryan. In his sleek, black sports car, she sat far on her side, riding in silence, letting anger smolder and wondering how long he was going to put up with her fury. Or would it wear him down enough that he’d withdraw his offer? She’d soon see.
Then she realized they’d been driving a long time, and she glanced at him with curiosity. “Where are we going?”
“Someplace that I hope is special,” he replied easily.
“If you’re trying to bribe me into a good humor about this, it won’t work,” she said, frowning at him.
“Not at all. I want to show you a good time and a night to remember.”
“Ryan, how can I possibly forget one moment with you?” she asked in a tight voice.
Then she watched as they swung into the lane for the airport. Her amazement grew when they pulled up to a hangar and crossed the tarmac to a dazzling white jet.
“What are we doing?” she asked, realizing he was completely unpredictable to her.
“I’m just taking you to dinner at a place I hope you like.” He took her arm, leading her to the plane while the sun slanted toward the horizon on the warm spring afternoon.
In minutes they were airborne in his private jet. Ashley watched Dallas slip away below, and realized they had banked and were heading south toward the Gulf.
She turned from the window to find Ryan watching her. Her racing heartbeat was one thing that her anger with him hadn’t changed. Whenever the magnetic tug of his bedroom eyes focused on her, her pulse accelerated, no matter what she thought about him.
He sat across from her in a plush seat, and the well-decorated, comfortable interior of the plane reminded her of his money everywhere she looked. His money, and she was marrying into it. The idea amazed her, but didn’t help her ruffled feelings over his authoritarian manner. She could get along without Ryan and his money. She always had. And she had a family who would love her baby and support her, whether Ryan was on the scene or not.
“Penny for your thoughts,” he said.
“I’m still fuming and wondering how you can possibly expect this marriage to work.”
“The chances of my marriage to you being happy are vastly greater than the chances for success I figured I had when I was a kid—so much so that this wedding prospect doesn’t give me many qualms.”
“You have done a complete turnaround since that weekend when you let me know you preferred to remain a bachelor for many years to come.”
“I didn’t know you then—or had known you only a few hours. I wasn’t expecting a baby and I didn’t see the great possibilities for the future.”
She rolled her eyes and shook her head. “And you expect me to simply turn my life over to you and let you make all the decisions.”
“Hardly,” he said, smiling at her. He moved to the seat beside her and turned her swivel chair to face him, then cupped her chin in his hand. “Just this one thing. I have to get my way on marriage because it’s what’s best for all concerned, and I expect the day to come when you’ll agree. I don’t think we have time to wait and hash it over.”
“Yes, we do,” she said. “You could take time to court me. We could get to know each other, and then you could propose like a normal person, instead of taking charge and getting your way.”
“By offering to end your family’s problems? I don’t think that’s too evil.” He was close and his gaze bored into her, making her weak-kneed as she argued with him. When he looked down at her mouth, taunting memories seized her. Her lips parted, tingled, and she couldn’t repress her blatant physical response. “Ashley,” he whispered, “You’re pregnant. Face it, I can make things easier for you.”
“It’s not evil, Ryan. It’s generous and wonderful, but arrogant, and you don’t know whether you’re getting us into a lasting relationship or not.”
“Who knows that for certain when they marry?” he asked, but she focused on his mouth and couldn’t think about his question.
“I’d like you in my arms and in my bed,” he said. “I want to love you and I don’t intend to wait.” He touched her cheek lightly. “You have no idea what you do to me.”
Her heart thudded at the last and she couldn’t get her breath. She ached to reach for him, yet knew this wasn’t the time nor place.
“You’re a handsome charmer who weaves spells,” she accused. “I’m caught in one and don’t like it.”
“Stop fighting me. Stop resisting both of us. You feel some of what I do. I can see it in your eyes and hear it in your voice and feel it in your throbbing veins.”
She turned away. “That has little to do with what I want,” she said.
She saw him study her. “Did you go to work today?”
“Yes, I did,” she replied stiffly.
“That surprises me. I thought you might stay home.”
“I left the office early,” she said coolly. “And I didn’t share my plans with anyone.”
“Did you leave ahead of time to get ready for tonight, or because you couldn’t work for thinking about our marriage?”
“If you must know, I couldn’t work. It was not to get ready for a big evening out with you,” she lied.
He fanned himself with his hand. “If mere looks could set me on fire, I’d be blazing away right now.”
“You’re immune to looks from me.”
“Au contraire,” he said in a lower voice, leaning forward. “You give me looks that can melt me or fry me to a crisp.”
“I don’t believe that,” she said, but there wasn’t any firmness in her voice, and warmth stole along her veins at his statement. Could she really have that effect on him? She turned away to look out the window in silence.
When they flew over Houston, the sun had set and lights had blinked on, a dazzling display far below. Ashley watched for a few minutes, entranced by the sparkle before she turned around. Her heart missed a beat when she met Ryan’s steady gaze.
“I wondered if you’re as dazzled as I am by this scene out the window, but I see you’re not. You’re burned out on flying, I suppose.”
“No,” he said, leaning closer. “I’ll never get enough of this view,” he said, looking directly at her.
She inhaled swiftly. “Stop flirting, Ryan.”
“Why? That’s the sizzle in life—getting to flirt with you, seeing where I can go with it, letting my imagination run.”
She smiled and received an enticing, warm grin from him as he leaned forward to touch the corner of her mouth with the tip of his finger. “That’s more like it.”
The announcement from the pilot about landing broke into their conversation, and they both tightened their seat belts.
A uniformed driver in a limousine met Ryan and Ashley and drove them to a hotel. At the top-floor restaurant they were seated at a linen-covered table in a quiet corner. A pianist played old favorites in the background; candles burned at the tables; and fresh roses filled the centerpiece vases.
“If you’re trying to impress me, you’re succeeding,” she said, watching two couples circling the small dance floor across the room.
“Good. I hope I can impress you a great deal more than this.” Candlelight flickered, highlighting his prominent cheekbones and causing his black lashes to cast shadows there. If only he hadn’t insisted on marriage, she thought, and then realized she was succumbing to the seductive trappings and to Ryan.
Their waiter brought menus, and after they had placed orders and were alone, Ryan stood and took her hand. “Let’s dance before dinner,” he suggested. Her immediate reaction was eagerness, swiftly tempered by caution as she placed her hand in his and went to the dance floor.
She walked into his arms and into memories of his lean, muscular body.
This was the second time she’d danced with him and it opened a Pandora’s box of devilish longing that taunted her. Yet she was as conscious of the present as the past. She was aware of the warmth of his body, the cottony smell of his freshly laundered shirt, the strong column of his neck where her hand rested. Their legs brushed and she looked up to meet his gaze, and then couldn’t look away, caught completely, enveloped in desire.
“Stop fighting me, Ashley,” he whispered. “We’re good together, and you know it. And this is the best of all possible solutions.”
“Solutions? There, that says it all,” she exclaimed. “Am I the problem? Is the baby a problem?”
“I’m going to try my damnedest to win you over, because I know it’ll be worth every minute and all my efforts.”
He pulled her closer, wrapping her in his arms and putting his head against hers. Dancing was marvelous, another irresistible temptation with him. She relished being in his embrace and swaying with him, and there was no way she could deny it. Recollections swirled like smoke as she recalled too clearly being held close in his embrace when they had been naked in bed. Steadily and slowly, bit by bit, he was taking chunks of her heart now.
When the song stopped, a faster number started and Ashley danced with him, sexual tension building as she watched him move around her. The devouring looks he gave her made her fluttery and conjured up more memories of seductive moments with him. She felt needed and knew he had turned on the charm to get what he wished, but underneath all that appeal was a man of steel who was going to get his way no matter what he had to do.
With a pounding heart, she gazed up at him and wanted him. In spite of all her anger, she thrilled to his kisses and enjoyed being with him.
When the dance ended, she turned abruptly for their table. He caught up with her and took her arm.
“Now maybe I’ve worked up some kind of appetite,” he said when they’d sat. In minutes, he had his red wine and her water poured. He raised his glass in a toast. “Here’s to a fabulous marriage,” he said, waiting while she glared at him.
“How can you toast a sham marriage when you’ve coerced me into accepting?”
“Make the best of it,” he said lightly, still waiting.
Exasperated, she picked up her glass, touched his and took a sip.
With deliberation he set down his glass and reached across the table. “Give me your hand.”
Mystified, she did as he asked, watching his warm fingers encircle hers. “Since when do you want to hold hands through dinner? But then, I don’t really know you.”
“You will. We’ll discover each other, and that’s an exciting prospect. It’ll be a fulfillment of dreams.” His strong, warm hand closed gently around hers while he gazed into her eyes. “Ashley, marry me.”
“You’re asking again? I told you this morning I would. I assume this request comes with the same conditions.”
He gave an almost imperceptible nod as he reached in a pocket and produced a box. Opening it, he slid a ring on her finger.
Five
How many times was he going to surprise her? Stunned again, she stared for a moment at the sparkling, enormous diamond on a wide gold band, surrounded by a spray of smaller diamonds.
“Great heavens!” she exclaimed. She pulled her hand away to look down at the ring, which dazzled her. “That’s magnificent!” she exclaimed, glancing up at him. “I don’t understand.”
“What can’t you understand?” he asked, momentarily frowning. “I want you to be my wife. I’ve given you an engagement ring to seal the promise.”
“It’s worth a fortune, and there’s not one shred of love between us.”
“Stop reminding me,” he said somberly, and grasped her hand once more. “Look, I’ll ask you again to give us a chance to let love flourish. I wouldn’t do this otherwise.”
She wished she could believe him, but she couldn’t. “Ryan, if I weren’t pregnant, you’d pull out of this engagement so fast I’d be in a spin.”
Something flickered in the depths of his eyes, a confirmation to her of what she’d just declared. “I don’t know what I’d do, because I like the idea of marriage to you,” he said. “But that’s beside the point. There’s a baby to consider. Now, let’s make some plans.”
Shaking her head, she looked down at the ring, which was beautiful beyond her wildest dreams, and yet what she longed for, what was a lot more important than diamonds or a ring was his love.
Their waiter came and placed crystal plates with tossed greens in front of them.
As soon as they were alone again, Ryan took her hand once more. “Even if we break it off later, this will give the baby my name and a heritage. It will give me more rights to my child,” he said quietly, and she heard a note of steel in his voice that chilled her.
“Are you going to try to take this baby from me?” she asked, wondering about his intentions. Now that she’d discovered he had a ruthless streak, she found him an enigma.
“Never. I couldn’t ever hurt a child by taking it from its mother. This is my baby, and I’ll love it. You should know that much about me by now.”
“I know very little about you!” she exclaimed, and realized she needed to keep her voice down. Yet in spite of the remark she had flung at him, his statement relieved her beyond measure. “We didn’t spend that weekend in chitchat.”
“You know plenty about me,” he reminded her, his tone changing immediately. His voice dropped and his words were slower, and she knew he was recalling their weekend together. “You’ve learned what excites me. You know how I look naked. You know—”
“Don’t remind me!” she interrupted, wanting to stop words that conveyed their own magic and shifted the way she viewed him. “I don’t have any idea what you truly care about. I don’t like what you do when you’re out of the bedroom. I don’t know about your life or your family. That’s more important.”
“The prospect of learning about each other, and living together, I find fabulous. We’ve already started this and we’ll build our relationship. That’s a lifetime project.”
“Ryan, does everything in your life go the way you want it to?” she asked. He reeked of success, and she wondered if failure was ever a concern for him.
“Of course not. Life doesn’t unfold that way for anyone. But I get a reasonable return on my expectations. Now, let’s set a date and make it soon. Before the wedding, you’ll want to meet my father and brothers, and I need to meet your family.”
She stared at him while her anger returned. She wanted to refuse and tell him to stop meddling. Instead, she looked down at the ring on her finger, which seemed like a shackle that bound her, heart and soul, to Ryan.
“I leave town tomorrow, but I’ll be back late Friday night. That will give us the weekend to meet each other’s family. When would you prefer to go see yours? Or would you rather have them come to Dallas?”
“We’ll go there. I want you to see the farm. I’ll call them first, of course. Saturday with my family would be a good time. It’s a long drive, and I know them, they’ll want us to stay the night,” she said, realizing Ryan was going to charge right into marriage.
“We can stay, or I can drive back. I don’t mind night driving. Do what you want.”
“I can’t believe you’re even letting me decide,” she said.
“I can yield on things.”
Ashley shook her head. “Not on anything that really matters. But I’ll probably want to return to Dallas. Let’s try to arrive in late afternoon, because they eat supper and go to bed early.”
As she talked, she watched couples circling on the dance floor, and others quietly eating. She felt caught in a dream that she couldn’t wake from, yet it wasn’t a dream. She glanced at Ryan, and when her attention shifted to his mouth, she realized she wanted to kiss him and feel his lips and tongue on her. She looked up again to see his knowing gaze.
“So what do you prefer to do?” he asked with a thicker voice, and she suspected that he had making love on his mind, too.
She tried to get back to his question and make a decision before Ryan did. “Let’s go see your family on Sunday.”
“Excellent,” he replied, as he finished his salad and set his fork on his plate.
