‘YOU want me to what? Offer sex lessons in exchange for your presence at the ball?’ Cade’s scandalised expression said it all; she’d gone too far this time.
‘I’m serious, Cade.’ Liv hardly had chance to get the words out before Cade grabbed hold of her.
‘Tell me I didn’t hear you right.’
‘You did…You did hear me correctly. You need me to accompany you to the ball…Well, that’s my condition.’
Cade shook his head with a look that said the world had gone mad. Then there was an explosion out of which words like ‘insane’…‘cold-blooded’…and ‘blackmail’ were fired at her.
‘Not blackmail, Cade,’ she quietly assured him. ‘This will be a verbal contract between us with benefits on both sides—’
‘A verbal contract?’ His laugh had turned ugly. ‘You’re out of your mind!’
‘Maybe,’ Liv agreed. ‘But that’s my condition.’
‘So let me get this right,’ Cade demanded icily. ‘You want me to have sex with you in exchange for your coming to the ball?’
‘Oh, no, Cade,’ Liv told him softly. ‘I’m expecting a lot more of you than that…’
He stifled the urge to roar with anger. He wanted to rant at fate and kick the nearest wall down. He’d found Liv in pieces at her home where she should have been safe. He blamed himself for that, and now this. Didn’t she have any feelings of self-worth? Was he partly to blame for Liv’s state of mind? If that were the case he would never forgive himself.
‘Will you do it?’ she pressed.
To save her from a worse fate, and he had to get her out of here one way or another. He could hardly bear to look into Liv’s steady gaze. He was a novice where bravery was concerned. He had encountered all sorts of courage, but the fact that this good, gentle girl had been made to feel such a failure by so many people, including him, tore at his heart. Yes, he had a heart. He’d just discovered it.
‘I want to help you, Cade, but I need help too—’
‘Don’t,’ he warned her, holding out his hand to stem the tide of humiliation for her. ‘Don’t say any more. You know I’ll help you—’
‘You’ll agree to my terms?’
She spoke so seriously about a problem only she believed she had. Sadness welled up inside him, mixing with the anger already there. ‘You’ve got a deal,’ he managed roughly. All he wanted was to take her home with him and keep her safe; the rest, he’d sort out later.
‘Thank you…’
He ignored the whispered thanks, and the hand she offered for him to shake. Protecting Liv was his only thought now.
‘You haven’t changed your mind?’ she said, stuffing her hand back in her pocket.
‘No, I haven’t changed my mind.’ He glanced back at the house and then at Liv. He couldn’t have found her in a more vulnerable position. But he also had to consider the duke’s words about his rehabilitation centres needing a heart. Perhaps if he explained his plan more fully Liv would see how badly he needed her back at the hall, and forget this crazy idea of hers. ‘I have a dream, Liv.’
As Cade kept talking and the tension between the two of them slipped away Liv hardly dared to breathe in case she stopped him confiding in her. The fact that this big, scarred man had a dream, and was ready to share it with her, touched her deeply. They stood on the pavement, barely aware of the passage of time, and when he ran out of words she knew she would have supported him at the ball without any conditions. ‘I’ll help you any way I can. But if I’m to do that you must involve me fully. I have to know everything there is to know.’
‘Such as?’
Cade was immediately suspicious. The precious interlude of trust between them was so easily broken. She hastened to reassure him. ‘All I’m asking is that you put me in the picture. I won’t follow blindly where you lead, Cade.’ Not as she’d done her whole life up to now, for where had that got her? ‘If you want my cooperation you must involve me—’
‘I have to sleep with you, don’t you mean?’
He sounded bitter, and, after everything Cade had confided in her, she could only agree that her part of the bargain sounded shallow.
‘Don’t worry,’ he said, easing onto one hip in a sensual reminder of what she had invited him to do. ‘I won’t let you down…’
The tone of his voice made her shrink inwardly. Cade was battle-worn and highly sexed, while she was a cosseted home bird and, she was ready to admit now, a fantasist. She tried brushing off her fears with a careless shrug, but that only made his gaze sharpen on her face, and she didn’t want her motives examining, least of all by Cade. She didn’t want him guessing she had fallen in love with him to the point where she was willing to humiliate herself for the sake of that one night in his arms.
She gasped in shock as he pinned her against a neighbour’s wall.
‘You have no idea what you’re playing with, Liv!’
Cade’s fists were planted either side of her face. She couldn’t look at him; she couldn’t get away. She was too ashamed to admit she wanted more than a brief encounter in the kitchen and that she wanted to feel like a real woman.
He was in torment. ‘You don’t understand what you’re asking—’
‘I know what I feel in here, Cade.’ Clenching her fist, she held it against her heart. ‘Don’t you dare tell me I don’t understand—’
‘You don’t—’
‘Prove it!’
‘Let’s start with this—’ The passion of their anger gave way to Liv’s soft moan as he brushed her mouth with his lips.
‘No,’ she murmured, making a half-hearted attempt to push him away. ‘Not like this, Cade.’
‘No?’ he challenged. The way her eyes were darkening, the way she licked her lips told him a different story. But, desperate to make her see sense, he mimicked her husky whisper. ‘Not like this…How, then? Will you give me instruction? Will you tell me when it’s safe to stop?’
Her face reddened guiltily. ‘I need you to do this one thing for me, Cade, just as you need me to do something for you.’
Cupping her chin, he brought her back to face him. ‘This is nothing like the same,’ he told her fiercely. No, it was a fiendish reversal of those films and books she loved, and made him mad as hell. ‘This is wrong, Liv! Wrong! And worse than that, it’s dangerous for you—’
‘But I trust you,’ she protested.
‘You don’t know me,’ he said flatly. ‘And you have no idea how you’ll feel when our one night is over.’ Pulling back, he shook his head. ‘Complete? Is that what you think you’ll feel?’ It was no good; he could see she wasn’t interested in listening.
‘If you don’t want to…’ She paled. ‘If you can’t bring yourself to—’
‘Who says I can’t?’ He dragged her to him. Kissing Liv came as naturally as breathing to him, with the need to protect her driving him. She felt exquisite and tasted better. Her sweetness washed through him like a tidal wave of innocence that carried all the ugliness away. Lacing his fingers through her hair, he cupped her head, loving the feel and the scent of her, and when he pulled back he closed his eyes, with a smile on his lips as he tried to keep the sensation alive so he could relish it a little longer.
Misunderstanding the look on his face, and perhaps taking it for a very masculine brand of triumph, she reacted in the way he should have expected from Liv by now. With a sound of fury she stamped on his foot, and no sooner had she done that than she brought up her knee. He dodged aside, grinning. ‘Whoah! Unarmed combat!’
Planting his fists on his hips, he stood facing her—or, at least, the tiger she had become. There was so much spirit left even after all Liv had endured, he wanted to laugh out loud he was so happy for her. It also changed things radically for him, because this was no lamb to the slaughter, this was a woman who had decided to take charge of her life. He realized then that she wasn’t the only one taking a risk by spending the night together…
‘Don’t you dare touch me,’ she warned him, stepping back. ‘I’m not—’
‘Ready for more?’ he challenged. Liv still had the back of her hand covering her mouth as if she couldn’t believe what he’d done and didn’t want to share the proof that she’d been kissed quite so thoroughly.
‘I just need more warning when you do that,’ she exclaimed, clearly flustered.
‘Well, that’s no fun,’ he argued dryly.
Cade was the worst type of alpha male! And she had just appointed him her sex tutor? What was she thinking?
It was too late for regrets. Too late to worry that she was panting with excitement as if she’d run a mile. She’d had no idea it would feel like this to challenge Cade to give her sex lessons. She felt alive, as if anything were possible. She felt fantastic. Her lips were swollen and tingling along with other parts of her body she didn’t even dare think about right now. ‘Don’t you dare try that again without warning me first,’ she managed shakily.
‘Or, you’ll do what?’
The humour in his eyes really threw her. Or she would melt and lock her fingers in his hair, making him her prisoner for ever—‘Or I’ll not miss my aim next time.’
Cade’s grin only grew broader. ‘You’ll have to forgive me getting carried away,’ he mocked. ‘I forgot we haven’t set a time for our contract to go live yet.’
Liv was still struggling to breathe evenly when she realised they would have to sleep together before the ball. It would have to be tonight! Definitely tonight, before she lost her nerve completely. ‘How about straight after dinner?’ she suggested.
‘Suits me. I like the idea of an appointment.’
Seeing the tug at one corner of his mouth, Liv knew Cade was starting to enjoy himself. And she had no one to blame for that but herself.
It was hard to believe everything had happened so fast, Liv reflected as they drew to a halt outside her house. Did Cade act this way on a regular basis? Her stomach clenched at the thought that he might. ‘I don’t have anything to wear…’ She was rapidly going off the idea of returning to Featherstone. Making a fool of herself once was bad enough, but twice?
‘A trip to the shops will sort that out.’
‘They’ll be closed before we can get there.’
‘Not on this baby.’ Cade grinned at her and then glanced at his bike.
Liv’s eyes widened. ‘You can’t seriously expect me to ride to the shops with you on the back of that?’
‘Why not?’ Cade reasoned. ‘It’s the fastest way to cut through the weekend traffic. You’ve got five minutes to change,’ he rapped, turning off the charm.
She was in quite a state, Liz reflected, drowning in lust and paralysed with fear, and now she was expected to transform herself from home-bird to wild and wanton biker chick, which was quite a leap. And Cade straddling the saddle of a Harley was quite a distraction. But something in her said this was the moment when she should take a leap into the unknown. ‘You knew I’d come with you, didn’t you?’ She couldn’t help her suspicions seeing Cade so relaxed.
‘I didn’t factor your part of the bargain into my plan,’ he admitted.
‘And what if I’d refused?’
‘I’d find someone who would come with me.’ Cade glanced behind him to where two pretty girls were still giggling as they walked along the pavement arm in arm having given him the once-over twice.
‘Five minutes, you said?’ Liv confirmed, firming her jaw.
‘Whatever it takes to get you out of pale-blue woolly stuff and into something more appropriate for riding a motorbike into town.’
Pressed up against Cade with her arms around him? ‘I can do speedy.’
‘I’m counting on it.’
Did he have to look so good when he said that—all darkly smouldering and thick black ruffled hair, with a face that looked as if it hadn’t seen a razor in a week?
Yes, Cade looked good to her, but she could imagine some desk-bound general might find him intimidating. He really did need her on board.
‘Well?’ he pressed. ‘You haven’t made a good start on speedy so far.’ He consulted his watch. ‘Three minutes and counting, and then I’m out of here.’
‘Slow down, soldier, or you’ll meet yourself coming back…’
Playing it cool was one thing, but now her decision was made she had to try very hard not to run up the garden path. Wanting Cade was like a madness fizzing inside her. The ache his kiss had started up inside her was something only he could sort out. But could she do what she’d threatened and then cut off her feelings for him after one night in his bed? Could she sleep with him and then stand at his side during the ball pretending to be his girlfriend, knowing she meant nothing to him? Could she convince the army top brass to share Cade’s dream?
Selling the dream she could do, Liv concluded; anything more than that would be hell.
But wasn’t Cade’s dream worth a little hell?
‘The shops close soon,’ he called out as she reached the front door.
‘Three minutes,’ she confirmed, smiling. When Cade smiled back at her it warmed her through.
Cade’s smile kept her going through the hallway, past her mother and stayed with her as she ran up the stairs. It continued to warm her as she hunted for jeans in her bedroom. She found an old pair tucked away in the back of her wardrobe, and a pink furry sweater that made her smile as she remembered fighting with her sister Carly over who should wear it.
Stiletto-heeled boots to complete the outfit? Did biker chicks wear them? She put them on anyway, and struck a pose in the mirror. Playing this brazen role was new to her and perhaps she’d got everything wrong. It couldn’t be helped if she had, Liv concluded, taking one last look around the room before saying goodbye—for ever, she hoped—to Acacia Drive.
Cade was leaning against the bike when she got back. He didn’t seem to notice her transformation from Sandra Dee to biker babe. Perhaps that was just as well, Liv decided, because Cade in command of the Harley looked more aggressive than ever—quite deliciously dangerous, in fact. She inhaled shakily as she took the helmet he was holding out to her. ‘Do I put it on like this?’ Her fingers were trembling.
‘Let me help you,’ he said, bringing her close.
She didn’t breathe while Cade stared into her eyes as he helped her adjust the strap. She was in way too deep here. But wasn’t Cade and some excitement in her life what she’d been hankering for?
The breath left her lungs in a swoosh when he started the engine and roared off. There wasn’t time to think—she just had to hang on for dear life. She held him so tightly she could feel his muscles working beneath the leather jacket.
‘Did you like that?’ Cade asked her when he’d found a parking slot outside the store.
Like it? Should she answer truthfully, or not? Her legs were still shaking as she dismounted the bike, and her body was tingling everywhere after clinging onto Cade.
‘Yes,’ she answered firmly, seeing some of her mother’s cronies giving her scandalised glances. ‘That was the best fun I ever had,’ she announced in a louder, more defiant voice.
‘Then you should get out more,’ Cade observed dryly.
She wanted to batter him over the head with her handbag, but she loved the way his lips curved, even when he was mocking her. ‘Maybe I should,’ she agreed. Lifting off her helmet, she shook out her hair, and stood tall.
He had only just noticed the group of women watching them and he immediately wanted to defend Liv. What was happening to him? Putting his arm loosely, protectively, round her shoulders, he ushered her into the store.
He couldn’t remember when he’d had as much fun as that bike ride. Riding fast with Liv pressed up behind him was magic; she was magic—soft in all the right places, and he’d felt so good when she’d clung to him. And then the way she stood up to those women—everything about Liv put a smile on his face. He opened another door and stood back to let her through. Even with this crazy contract between them, with every moment he spent with her he liked her more and more. What he liked best—there was no surrender in her gaze, not even a hint of it. He liked it a lot. It made him want to suggest the time to make their contract live was now.
They took the elevator up to the second floor and somewhere along the way started racing each other like two over-excited children. He let her win and so she was standing waiting for him at the top of the moving staircase, with her head thrown back, laughing and relaxed. He stared up at her, wondering, as he loped past loaded down shoppers, if he had ever felt so light.
Once inside the designer gowns department he was ushered to a comfy chair, while Liv was led into a dressing room behind a screen. ‘I prefer to pace up and down,’ he told the sales assistant politely. As far as he was concerned this was a scouting mission for a subtle statement gown. The woman standing at his side at the ball must be discreet and possess an air of competence that gave people confidence. Something told him Liv was the woman to do that. Now all she needed was The Dress—something demure enough not to frighten the ladies, but feminine enough to intrigue the men. That last thought brought a roll call of eligible bachelors in uniform flooding into his mind. His leader of the herd instinct roared into full alert mode. No way was he going to lose Liv to a man with a smooth, scar-free face, or to any man, any time. At least, he tempered—not at the ball.
He’d nearly paced a hole in the beige patterned carpet by the time she emerged in the first of the outfits. His heart did a back flip. ‘Too short,’ he said, shaking his head; he hadn’t realised her legs went on for ever.
She tugged on the hem, looking gauche and shy. Pressing his lips down, he looked away, acting as if he disapproved of the revealing outfit, when in fact he was very much impressed.
‘I’ll try again,’ she said, backing away.
‘Okay, you do that.’ She looked so cutely awkward as the assistant ushered her away. He had to relax and stop looking at his watch. They’d made good time on the bike and the store didn’t close for a while. He guessed this might turn into a long session.
He was right.
‘Too tight,’ he said of the next gown, wishing she could wear it in private just for him.
‘Too red.
‘Too old for you.
‘Too black.
‘Too…’ Words failed him. Who ever told her she looked good in frills? They ought to be lined up against a wall and—
‘You don’t like this one either?’
He was out of his chair like a rocket when he realised she was on the point of tears. How was he supposed to know frills were Liv’s thing? ‘If you like it…’ Reaching out, he adjusted the pie crust frill around her neck. His thumb wandered to trace a line down her jaw. He was consoling her, he told himself firmly. ‘I just think you don’t need this level of adornment…’
‘I don’t?’
‘Hey, stop sniffing.’ The assistant, who was clearly used to tears and tantrums, was at his elbow right away with a box of tissues. He plucked one out.
‘I’m fine,’ Liv told him, waving it away. She twirled slowly in front of the mirror, staring critically at her reflection. ‘I think you may be right. This one is very fussy.’
‘I am right,’ he assured her, getting a kick out of sharing a rare look of agreement with her.
‘Don’t worry, I’ve got plenty more gowns back there.’
Yet again she had rallied to issue the subtle threat. ‘Hmm-mmm…’ his lips curved as she looked at him ‘…I bet you have…’
When she appeared in the next dress he breathed a sigh and stopped pacing. She looked…beautiful. Ethereal and gorgeous, and very, very sexy. ‘That’s the one. How much?’ he said with relief. They told him and he hoped the hairs standing up on the back of his neck weren’t too obvious. ‘Okay, we’ll take it…’As the assistant turned to bestow a look of triumph on her manager he added in a whisper only Liv could hear, ‘Would you like me to help you take it off?’
‘That won’t be necessary,’ she told him primly.
He loved her prissy voice in situations like this. It was a real turn-on. ‘Wrap it up, please,’ he said to the assistant, glad of the distraction.
They bought shoes and a bag too, but not matching, because that wasn’t cool, Liv said. Okay, so what did he know about fashion? He gave in over the cashmere shawl as well. He’d seen her looking at it and trying to act as if she didn’t care about leaving it behind. He liked spoiling her. He liked seeing the look of surprise on her face when he did so. It was a huge and welcome contrast to the expression on Liv’s face when he’d found her at Acacia Drive.