“But you already have everything you wanted from me! The house, the listing in the social register, the trophy wife on your arm at parties—for heaven’s sake, Sloan, they’re going to ask you to be one of the official hosts at the Carousel Ball!”
He was momentarily distracted. “I must admit I’d like to know how you pulled that one off, Morganna. But what makes you think that’s all I wanted?”
“What else is there?”
He said, slowly and very deliberately, “I want the Montgomery name to have the same respect in future generations that the Ashworths have had in the past. In short, I want my children to be accepted as the cream of Lakemont society.”
Her eyes were wide and unfocused, as if she was looking at a scene too awful to comprehend. “Your children—and mine, you mean? No.”
“Why? Because you think your bloodline is too rarefied to mix with a barbarian’s?”
The dart struck home; he saw her shudder. “Because you’re not interested in me that way.”
“Of course I am. I’m no monk, and you’re a very attractive woman.”
“But in six months you’ve never even suggested…You only kissed me tonight because Mother was watching.”
“I’ve been biding my time, waiting for the right moment to take the next step. Tonight just made me think about what I’ve been missing and decide that the time is now. As for the idea that I’m not interested in you—I’ll be happy to demonstrate how very wrong you are about that. Come here.”
She backed up instead. “Please, Sloan—don’t be insulting. We both know I’m hardly the only woman who would have satisfied your requirements for a wife. I’m only here because at the moment you started shopping, I was available and my price was lower than most.”
“Oh, I wouldn’t say that. Do you have any idea what your father has cost me already? And I’m not nearly done clearing up the mess he left behind.”
Her eyes widened. “If you think you can blackmail me into your bed by threatening to stop paying the debts you took over—”
“Coerce you by going back on the terms of our deal? Of course not. I wouldn’t do that any more than I’d use force.”
He saw relief register in her face.
“I’ve been very patient, Morganna. You’ve had six months to get used to the situation. I’ve given you every opportunity to see the advantages of being married to me, and I’ve made it plain that I intend this to be a long-term bargain. It’s time to move on to the next stage of the relationship. Make it a real marriage.”
“I suppose you set this up.” She sounded bitter. “Inviting my mother, I mean, so she’d put pressure on me.”
“Not guilty. As a matter of fact, Abigail’s visit startled me just as much as it did you. I’ll admit if I’d thought of the scheme, I might have engineered it—”
“That’s certainly no surprise.”
“But I didn’t think of it. Her timing is very convenient for my purposes, but then it’s no crime to take advantage of handy accidents. Do you know, I think I’ve looked at that dress quite long enough for one evening. Shall I help you out of it, my dear?”
She folded her arms across her chest. “You said you wouldn’t use force.”
“And I won’t—because I don’t need to. You’ll come to me, Morganna.”
“I’m leaving now.” Her voice was shaky.
He didn’t move to intercept her as she made her way across the room, but he didn’t step out of her path, either. “You’ll come to me,” he repeated softly, “because if you don’t—”
She stopped less than two feet away and turned to face him. “Because if I don’t—then what? You’ll tell my mother on me? How ludicrous can you get, Sloan?”
Sloan shook his head. “Because if you don’t, you’ll regret it. Not because of anything I’ll do, but because of what you’ll be missing, Morganna.” With a single step he closed the distance between them and cupped her cheeks in his hands. Her breath was shallow and uneven; he could feel her panic in the rigidity of her face. “Whether you know it or not, you have appetites, my dear. And I intend to be the man who satisfies them.”
CHAPTER THREE
WHERE his fingertips had rested, Morganna’s skin burned as if he had branded her. And by simply cupping her face in his hands, he’d apparently done something to her balance, too, for she stumbled over thin air as she fled down the hall to the quiet safety of her own bedroom.
Her mind was spinning. She’d known from the beginning that Sloan drove a hard bargain, but she had assumed that he would stand by his word. She hadn’t realized till tonight that the man was a snake—keeping his real agenda hidden until it was too late for her to back out of their deal.
I want my children to be accepted…
She shuddered at the very idea. How she had managed to keep her voice steady enough even to answer him was beyond her comprehension.
My children, he had said. Not our children. That had stung. Not that she’d have found the more inclusive description any more inviting, of course. No matter what the circumstances, she was hardly likely to grow starry-eyed over the notion that Sloan wanted her to carry his child. Even if he’d pretended romantic interest in her, she wouldn’t have been swayed.
In fact, however, the phrase was simple confirmation of what Morganna had known all along—that to Sloan she was nothing more than a means to an end. Any of a half-dozen other women she could think of would have been just as acceptable to him as Morganna was—as his wife, his ticket into Lakemont society, the mother of his children….
Children. The nerve of the man!
But he had made one mistake, Morganna told herself. In his almighty confidence, believing that all he had to do was crook his finger and she would fall into his arms like an overripe fruit, Sloan had sworn off the one approach that might have actually gotten him what he wanted. He had disdained the entire idea of using force. And he had scorned the use of coercion—which in Morganna’s opinion was just about the same thing.
You’ll come to me, he had said, without either pressure or duress being brought to bear. But in that, he was dead wrong. Morganna could not imagine any circumstances which would make the idea of a real marriage palatable to her. The notion that she would cheerfully volunteer for wifely duties was farcical.
It was long past time for Sloan Montgomery to be taken down a notch. Now Morganna just had to figure out exactly how to do it.
Morganna had finally gone to sleep, repeating over and over her determination to wake early enough to be downstairs before her mother rose. It shouldn’t be difficult, she told herself, no matter what Sloan thought. Her mother was no more a morning person than Morganna herself was. Besides, Phoenix was two time zones later than Lakemont, and Abigail’s internal clock would take a few days to adjust. She might even sleep till noon.
But Morganna’s rest had been fitful, and somewhere in the middle of the night her subconscious decided to ignore the orders she’d given. As a result, the household was wide-awake by the time Morganna roused. The first thing she heard, in fact, was Sloan’s voice just outside her bedroom door, and the novelty of it made her abruptly sit upright, her heart pounding. He never came to her room. For him to be there this morning, after the incredible demands he’d made last night—
“I’ll take that tray, Selby,” Sloan said. “Good morning, Abigail. I’m sure Morganna will want you to come in, but let me check first to be sure she’s at least got