by Meg Lacey
“Make-believe wedding.”
He sent her a fierce stare. “It sure as hell is.”
She recoiled at the expression on his face, but then recovered. “A conversation you started, remember?”
“What was I supposed to do with you flirting with him as if nothing had ever happened?”
“I was not flirting.”
“What do you call it then?”
She lifted her chin. “I was trying to be nice.”
He slipped the bits from the horses’ mouths and began to remove the leather traces from their harnesses. “Being nice is saying please and thank you. You were saying ‘let’s start again’.”
“Well, so what if I was?” Raven fisted her hands on her hips. “Not that I was. But if I was, it was my choice.”
Nicholas snorted as he finished unhitching the horses. “That sentence made even less sense than the thought of you and Jackson.”
Angling her chin at him, Raven gave him her haughtiest expression. “Maybe I was too hasty in my decision about him. Maybe I should have given him more of a chance. See if he could grow on me.”
He glanced over his shoulder as he moved to the hooks to hang the leathers. “Like a fungus?”
Raven’s lips twitched. “That makes him sound dependent and easily led. He has more spine than that.”
“I’m sure he does,” Nicholas agreed in a smooth tone, “only not with you. The poor guy is putty in your hands.”
“So?”
“So I thought we straightened this out before. How we were going to handle things.”
“Our strategy, you mean?”
He grabbed the horses and began leading them down the barn with Raven following on his heels. “That’s right.”
“You know, Nicholas, I don’t see why everything always has to be your way.”
“My way? When you got us into this mess with your reckless behavior?”
Raven lifted her chin. “Perhaps I’ve changed my mind about our pretend engagement—about Jackson, about everything.”
“I’m sorry, but I can’t allow that.” Nicholas found the stall labeled Oscar and placed the horse inside, then continued to the next before urging Ophelia through the door.
“You…you can’t allow that?” Raven sputtered. “What am I, six? Who are you to tell me what I can and cannot do? I didn’t ask you to come up here, you know.”
“But you were pretty damn glad when I showed up, weren’t you?”
“Maybe at the time, but now I’m having second thoughts.”
“No, you’re not. You’re having a tantrum and doing everything in your power to wind me up too.” He turned toward her. “I don’t know what set you off because when I left you in the conservatory, I could have sworn we’d come to terms with the situation.”
“Oh yes, I remember how you ‘came to terms’ with it.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
She hunched a shoulder. “Nothing.”
“Oh yes, it did.”
“It’s not important.”
Nicholas could have sworn she looked hurt, but couldn’t figure out what about. Even the most open of women were a complete mystery, but when he tried to figure out a complex puzzle like Raven, it was almost hopeless, no matter how much experience he’d had with women.
He studied her more closely, thinking back to discover what might have happened to cause her mood, besides their usual picking at each other. The only thing that jumped out at him was their kiss. That kiss had unnerved the hell out of him. Had it unnerved her as well? Had she felt something? Had he? Or was it just the natural male reaction to a sexy female?
Nicholas cleared his throat, suddenly not sure of what he wanted to say. He closed the stall door and stepped toward her. “Uh, look, Raven.”
“Aren’t you going to groom them?”
“What?”
“You can’t just stick them in there and walk away.”
At her superior tone, he bristled. “Oh please—I do know what to do with a horse.”
Raven sniffed. “Just like you know what to do with a woman, I suppose.”
“I can handle a woman”—he sent her a sidelong glance—”as long as she’s reasonable.”
“Are you implying I’m not?”
“Did I use your name?”
“No, but I know—”
“No, you don’t. The things you don’t know are legendary.”
“I know you’re a bossy, opinionated—”
Nicholas shrugged. “Yeah, so you’ve said.”
“It bears repeating.”
He couldn’t help but grin at that. He stared at her for a moment, noticing her lips were twitching with reluctant humor. “Point taken.”
“Good.”
Nicholas thrust a hand through his hair. “You know, Raven, I don’t know how you do this to me. Every time I think I’m on the right track you switch me to another one.”
“It’s good for you to be off balance.”
He stared at her, his eyes warming as his gaze skimmed her from the top of her wild curly mane of hair to the neat snow boots. She looked delicious, her cheeks flushed with cold and annoyance, her eyes bright and wary, and her mouth… Good Christ, what could he say about her mouth except he wanted to taste it again. He brushed her jaw with his knuckles, forcing her to look at him. “With you, I’m starting to get used to it.”
Raven met his gaze, then pulled hers away. “Would you like some help?”
“I’m beginning to think I might,” he said in a whimsical way.
She flushed. “With the horses, I mean.”
He sent her an easy smile. “Sure. Want to help groom them?”
Raven nodded and got two livery brushes, handing one to Nicholas. “You take care of that horse and I’ll do the other.”
“Sounds good,” he said, taking the brush and entering the stall behind him. He needed some time to think before he resumed his dealings with Raven. There was something about her that threw him off, intellectually, physically and emotionally. Every time he thought he had it under control, it slipped away. If he were honest with himself, he’d admit that she’d always been able to create chaos with his emotions.
He forced himself to curry Oscar, methodically working the brush with long strokes over his hide. In the stall next to them, Raven was murmuring to Ophelia, the horse responding to her with small whickers. To Nicholas’s amusement, Oscar looked toward his feminine counterpart then gave a bit of a sigh. Nicholas grinned. “Yeah, I know how you feel, pal.”
“Did you say something?” Raven asked, glancing in his direction.
“I was talking to the horse.”
“Oh.”
He watched her work for a moment. “How’re you doing over there?”
“Why,” Raven bristled, “do you think I don’t know how to groom a horse?”
“I didn’t say that. All I said was—”
“I’m a competent woman. I may not be a captain of industry like some people I know, but—”
Nicholas rolled his eyes. “Oh here we go. Are you always this much of a shrew, or is it just with me?”
“It’s probably you.” She tossed her head, making her hair bounce. “Most people think I’m charming and adorable.”
Nicholas snorted, and so did the horse. “I have to hand it to you, Raven. You run the biggest con of any woman I know.”
“I do not. I am charming…just not all the time.” She groomed furiously, finishing up before sailing out of Ophelia’s stall and marching into Oscar’s.
Chin up, fighting stance ready, she demanded, “Why do you have to bait me every minute?”
“Is that what I’m doing? I thought it was the other way around.” Nicholas continued to brush Oscar, not even glancing her way. He knew that would make her nuts. When Raven lost control, interesting things happened. He might not always understand her, but he did have a good idea of how to confuse her. He grinned to himself as he felt her impatience.
“Sometimes I ju
st don’t know what to think of you,” she finally muttered.
“I thought what you see is what you get?”
“Usually it is, but now…” Raven scuffed her toe in the dirt, reminding Nicholas of the child she’d been. “You opened up before and told me something about yourself, about your family. Something I’d never expected, that no one in the family had ever talked about.”
“Yeah, well…” Nicholas gave an uncomfortable squirm, realizing he’d acted very out of character when he told her about his family circumstances. Thank God he didn’t tell her the rest.
“I…I was intrigued. I’d never thought of you as anything other than what you’ve always wanted me to think.”
“Bossy, controlling, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera.”
“Goes without saying.” She smiled, stepping closer to him. “But also cool and a bit remote. You’re a watcher, Nicholas. You watch, analyze, and then act. And if you must know, that irritates the hell out of me.”
Nicholas gave her a half smile. “Sometimes it irritates the hell out of me too.”
“Is it because of your father? Is that why you pull back before you go too far?”
He shrugged that off. “Some sense of caution isn’t a sin, Raven. It’s a hell of a lot more comfortable than always being reckless.”
“But not as much fun.”
“There are more important things than fun.”
“My father always said life is to enjoy.”
Nicholas glanced over. “I wouldn’t take your father as the ideal role model.”
Raven frowned. “What do you mean by that? My father is the most wonderful man in the world.”
Nicholas looked away. Should he tell her that her father was headed down the same road his own father had taken? He wanted to give Raven’s father the chance to come clean with his family himself, not have Nicholas do it for him. Not that Nicholas had much hope of that. It was a far-fetched wish, from what he knew and had recently learned about Raven’s father. Especially after he discovered his little matchmaking scheme between Raven and Jackson. That pissed him off for a whole new set of reasons that he didn’t want to examine too closely.
“Hello,” she barked, walking over and thumping him on the arm. “Are you in there?”
He pulled himself from his own world and rubbed his arm. “Ouch.”
“Just wanted to see if you were awake.”
“I was thinking of something else,” he said to divert her from a conversation about her father.
It worked. “What?”
“Jackson and Lorianne.”
“Oh.”
“The more I see of her, the more I think she’s right for Jackson.”
“You wouldn’t think so if you’d heard them sniping at each other in the hall a little while ago.”
“True love doesn’t always run smooth. Or quiet.” He sent her a whimsical look. “We should know.”
Raven folded her arms. “You don’t have to pretend. There’s no one around to watch.”
“Getting into practice.”
“Yes,” Raven said, her tone dark as a winter storm, “I know how you practice.”
What did she mean by that? Was it really the kiss in the conservatory that set her off? Is that what her bad temper and flirting with Jackson were all about? The thought lifted his mood. If she was that upset about it, it must have shaken her as much as it had shaken him.
“Besides,” Raven continued, “if it was anything else but friendship, seeing Lorianne lying on the ice would have done something more than make him angry.”
“Anger can hide all kinds of emotions.” He knew that firsthand. He’d spent most of his life angry at Raven, even as he spent the rest of it obsessing about her.
Raven met his gaze. “I get that.”
“I think there’s something there, but Jackson doesn’t quite know…” Nicholas trailed off as he tried to put his impressions into words.
“He’s known her forever.”
“But his father was pushing her down his throat. Has he ever really looked at her as anything other than a childhood friend?”
Raven hunched her shoulders. “How should I know? Jackson and I didn’t spend our time talking about Lorianne. I didn’t even know she existed until she showed up on the doorstep the other night.”
“Maybe we should help Jackson discover what’s under his nose.”
“What are you, a boy scout all of a sudden?”
Nicholas flushed. “Think about it.”
Rolling her eyes, Raven asked, “What are you going to do, flirt with Lorianne to show Jackson what he’s missing?”
“That could work. Use the old two dogs after one bone stuff. It might be a way to wake him up.”
“And what? I’m supposed to flirt with Jackson while you’re making eyes at Lorianne?”
“I hadn’t gotten that—”
“World-class bad plan. Jackson will just think I’m in love with him, instead of thinking I’m supposed to be in love with you. Which is what he’s supposed to be thinking, right?” She worried her ring finger with her other hand, finally waving her ring in his face. “What about your brilliant strategy then, huh?”
“You’ve got a point. You do tend to blind a man.” He broke off and stood thinking for a moment then brightened. “I was just joking before, but maybe we could help them out.”
Like a fly being pulled into a spider web, Raven was intrigued enough to ask, “How?”
“First, we work on convincing them we’re madly in love, then we could have an argument or something.” He grinned and winked at her. “At least we’ve got the arguing part down pat.”
“That’s the only thing you’ve said that I agree with.”
“We could turn away from each other and flirt with them.”
“Flirt? For real?” She puffed up, giving him an indignant glare. “After you just yelled about my flirting with Jackson?”
“That’s different.” Nicholas was warming up. He loved creating plans and putting them in motion, almost as much as negotiating. “We flirt, but after a while you and I wake up and turn back to each other. And so will they.”
Raven gave a disbelieving, “Uh-huh. And they’re going to do that because?”
“Because Lorianne and Jackson will realize that we’re just playing with them for our amusement.” Raven stared at him as if he’d grown three extra heads. He ignored her reaction and continued improvising. “They’ll realize that neither of us is worth a damn and discover they’re right for each other after all.”
“You’re kidding?”
Nicholas shoved both of his hands through his hair trying to ease the strain of what was rapidly becoming a full-out complex battle plan instead of the simple little deception they’d started. Getting Jackson and Lorianne together would further cement his business dealings with J.R., not to mention furthering the emotional stake he now had in the situation.
Raven prodded, “Right?”
He grimaced, wondering if Raven had finally driven him out of his mind. “I know it’s a bit more complicated than just convincing people we’re in love and now we’re leaving, good-bye and have a nice life.”
“Just a bit,” Raven scoffed.
“So what do you think?” Nicholas had a nagging feeling that disaster was just around the corner, but ignored it.
“I think you’d need a cupid’s costume to pull this idiotic notion off. And since I’m not sure I even want to continue with our fake engagement or anything else…I’ll pass.”
He glanced at her. “You don’t have a choice, sweetheart.”
“I do too.”
“No, you don’t.”
She turned into a haughty princess before his eyes as she sniffed, “I can sit in my room until the roads clear and not talk to anyone.”
“Yeah, that’ll happen.” He laughed. “Look, you needed a knight in shining armor to come to your rescue”—he spread his arms wide—”I’m it.”
“And if I’ve changed my mind?”
>
“It’s too late. Once a knight is on a quest, nothing else matters.”
“You’re too annoying to be a fairy-tale hero.”
“And you’re no fairy-tale heroine, believe me.” He stroked her cheek. “Look at the bright side. We could be here for a few days, so this’ll make the time pass faster.”
“Well…” her voice faltered as he cupped her face, rubbing his thumbs over her lips.
“Wouldn’t you like to do a good deed for someone, sweetheart?”
“I do plenty of good…” She stumbled to a stop as his fingers explored.
“Your skin is so soft,” Nicholas whispered, his eyes intent on hers.
“Uh, new skin cream,” she wheezed as he thumbed open her bottom lip.
“So soft.” He wanted more of it, all of it. How could he talk of flirting with another woman when he knew she was flirting with another man? He leaned down to take a bite of those ripe lips. He watched her eyes widen in surprise, then begin to darken. The tip of her tongue touched his thumb, adding to the churning feeling inside him.
“Raven,” he whispered. Unable to stop himself, he pulled her closer, settling her into his embrace. He licked her lips, feeling her instinctive response before taking them completely. She stiffened for a moment, before sinking into the kiss, giving him taste for taste, sensation for sensation. Mentally, he lost his balance as she almost blew the top of his head off. Hungry for her, he opened her mouth wider to his caress, pulling her against him, wanting to rip her jacket off so he could see if the skin beneath was as hot as her lips. Wanting—
Raven jerked back. Surprised, he released her, staring into her passion-filled face.
Breathing ragged, her face a mixture of hunger, anger and hurt, she asked, “Who’s watching now, Nicholas?”
Her words hit him like a bucket of ice water. “What?”
She turned around and peered through the dim light. “Who are we impressing? Did Jackson come in again?”
“Huh?”
“Like in the conservatory earlier?”
“I don’t—”
“Don’t deny it. Jackson told me you saw him right before you kissed me.”
“Yes.” As her expression changed he said, “But that’s not why I—”