Married Again to the Millionaire (8 page)

As far as he was concerned, though, nothing had changed. And the stakes were high.

Adam wanted Ethan. And if Ethan came with his mother then so be it. She was good in bed and that was enough.

It was all he had ever wanted her for! It was a disheartening thought. And the more she thought about it, the truer she knew it was.

They stopped for lunch at a riverside café but as they made their way back afterwards Ethan began to complain of a headache.

‘I knew it would be too much for him.’ Sienna’s eyes flared as she faced Adam.

‘Sienna, he’ll be all right.’ Adam kept his tone calm, his whole demeanour suggesting that she was worrying for nothing.

‘I’ll take him into the cabin and see if he’ll go to sleep,’ she announced, her eyes flaring a magnificent blue. ‘He’s over-excited. Didn’t the doctor say he should be kept quiet?’

She did not wait for Adam’s answer, holding her son’s hand as they descended into the cabin. Here she laid Ethan down on one of the couches and sat beside him, smoothing his brow and singing softly.

Within a few minutes he was fast asleep.

‘I didn’t realise you could sing. You have an amazing voice, Sienna.’

With a start she realised that Adam was standing at the top of the steps, looking at her. And she realised also that the boat was no longer moving. ‘Why have we stopped? I want to get Ethan home.’

‘I thought I’d check that he was all right.’ He came slowly down the steps, his eyes never leaving her face. ‘But now I’d like you to sing for me.’

‘I don’t think so.’ Sienna looked defiantly into his eyes. ‘Let’s go, Adam. It was kind of you to suggest this boat trip but I was crazy to agree. Ethan’s clearly not up to it after his accident. ‘

‘I guess the little guy’s just tired after his disturbed night.’

He was probably right but she didn’t need him telling her what was wrong with Ethan. ‘I want to get him home.’

‘Have you any idea how fantastic you look when you’re angry, Sienna?’

If he thought flattery would get him any where he was grossly mistaken. ‘You never used to think that. You always said I made myself ugly when I shouted.’

‘I said many things I shouldn’t have said,’ he
admitted with a rueful grimace, his eyes shadowed for a brief moment. ‘But I’ve grown up too, Sienna. We’re two different people now.’

Maybe they were, but it didn’t mean that they were going to get back together.

Almost as though he had read her mind, Adam said softly, ‘I meant what I said last night, I can’t change that, but for Ethan’s sake I think we should give our marriage another try. He deserves both parents.’

‘You mean you’re going to
try
to fall in love with me?’

Anger flared from his eyes then, fierce blue sparks that spelled trouble. ‘I didn’t say that. You know my feelings on the matter. But we make a good pair, Sienna.’

‘You mean in bed?’ she tossed hotly. ‘And that’s all you really want me for, isn’t it? Go to hell, Adam.’

‘Mummy, why are you shouting?’

Sienna groaned. She flayed Adam with her eyes and turned to her son. ‘I’m sorry, my darling. How are you feeling?’

‘My head still hurts.’

Again Sienna turned a recriminating stare on Adam. ‘We need to go home.’

Another glare and he had gone.

Adam had thought that for Ethan’s sake Sienna would jump at the chance of reviving their marriage. Last night in bed she had proved that the spark between them had never died. It had ignited into glorious passion and he wouldn’t be human if he didn’t want more of the same.

God, she excited him. It was a different Sienna who had embraced their love-making with open arms. Either that or he’d never realised her full potential. Maybe he shouldn’t have admitted his inability to fall in love. Was
it this that was holding her back now? Would she never walk into his arms again? Never share his home?

And how he wanted her!

Every time he thought about last night a treacherous hunger filled his body. In fact, he had only to look at Sienna, to catch her eye, and he was ready.

He wanted her back in his home and in his bed. Tonight preferably.

Today had started with such promise that he felt cheated when they arrived back and Sienna barely spoke to him as he tied up the boat, and when he suggested that they go back to his apartment as it was nearer she flatly refused.

‘Ethan needs his own bed,’ she declared emphatically.

It was always Ethan, thought Adam, and he couldn’t help wondering whether she was using their son as a barrier to hide her own feelings. He smiled inwardly. If it was her feelings she was afraid of, it was all to the good. Time would tell. All he needed was patience.

The trouble was patience wasn’t one of his strong points. When he wanted something he usually went all out to get it.

When they reached Sienna’s flat and he made to follow her indoors she turned to him. ‘I want you to go home, Adam. I want peace and quiet for Ethan—he’s had quite a day.’

Even though she wanted him out of the way he was determined not to go. He could see no reason why he should not stay a while.

And in the end Sienna gave in. She decided that here was no sense in arguing in front of Ethan, who by this time looked very pale and tired. But she ignored Adam
as she gave Ethan some medicine for his headache then undressed him and put him to bed.

Adam waited patiently, putting on the kettle and making tea because Sienna looked as though she needed it.

‘It was too much for him today,’ she said quietly.

‘It was my fault.’

She said nothing, she did not want to start another argument. Instead, she sipped her hot, strong tea, which was just as she liked it, and slowly began to relax.

After they had finished and put their cups down on the table, Adam took her into his arms and fool that she was she let him. She needed comfort, she needed reassurance. Last night and today had taken their toll.

Adam stroked her hair back from her face with warm, gentle fingers, and his closeness began working its magic. Already she could feel herself relaxing, feel the heat of him warming her, the clean male smell that was essentially Adam filling her nostrils.

But then amazingly, surprisingly, he announced that he was leaving. ‘You need your rest too, Sienna. You look tired.’

He was right, she was tired. Contrarily, though, she could think of nothing better than Adam joining her in bed tonight.

He smiled, as though he had read her thoughts. ‘Goodnight, Sienna. I’ll be in touch.’

I
T WAS
almost mid-morning and Sienna was keeping Ethan home again. He had looked pale when he had woken up and she didn’t think it fair to send him to school. They had just finished breakfast when the doorbell rang.

‘Don’t tell me you’re taking another day off?’ were her first words when she discovered Adam on the doorstep. If one small boy had made this much difference to his life then maybe they should have started a family straight away when they had first married. And maybe their lives would never have changed. She would not have walked out on him.

Maybe!

‘How’s Ethan?’

Sienna appreciated his concern but she couldn’t help wondering whether Adam had an ulterior motive in turning up here today. He had made it clear that he wanted them to give their marriage another go and that he wanted them all to live together as one big happy family.

Which was not what she wanted. Even though she had longed for him in bed last night. Even though she had imagined him at her side, and replayed in her mind the amazing way he made love.

It had been a frustrating exercise. It had made sleep impossible and left her feeling tired and out of sorts this morning.

And now he had turned up again!

‘You could have phoned to ask that.’ She didn’t want Adam calling on them at any odd time. It was disrupting for her and had to be the same for Ethan.

Not that Ethan minded. He heard his father’s voice and came running. Adam scooped him up in his arms with a big grin on his face. ‘How’s my injured soldier this morning?’

‘I’m good, Daddy. Have you come to take us out again?’

‘No!’ It was Sienna who spoke. ‘You need a quiet, relaxing day, Ethan. And I’m sure your father has much better things to do. Shouldn’t you be at work?’ she asked Adam pointedly.

He wore a blue short-sleeved shirt that matched his eyes and did nothing to hide his muscular chest, and a pair of navy linen trousers that sat low on his narrow hips. There was a raw sexiness about him that triggered an unfortunate response.

Sienna dashed it away. ‘Adam?’

‘I’m going in later,’ he told her, his lips curved in a mysterious smile. ‘There’s something I want to show you first. Both of you.’

‘Then I suppose you’d better come in.’ She turned back into the room, hating herself for feeling anything other than animosity towards Adam. ‘What is it?’

Another secret smile as he put Ethan down. ‘We need to go and take a look.’

Ethan looked at his father. ‘Where are we going?’

‘It’s a surprise.’

‘I like surprises. Will I like it?’

‘I jolly well hope so.’

‘Come on, then, let’s go.’ And he tugged at his father’s hand.

Sienna was less eager. There was something about Adam that worried her. He had an air of the cat who had stolen the cream. He was planning something and she couldn’t help feeling that she was not going to like it.

‘So where is this surprise taking us?’ she asked, attempting to keep her tone light, aware that she failed miserably.

Adam grinned again, one of those grins that seriously creased his eyes and made him look as sexy as hell.

Sienna felt like hitting him.

‘You’ll have to wait and see.’

‘You’re worrying me, Adam, do you know that?’ she asked as soon as they were alone, whilst Ethan went to grab his things. ‘Are you the same man who would never take a day off?’

‘The very same,’ he agreed. ‘But I have a family to look after now.’

‘To look after?’ Her eyes widened. ‘We don’t need looking after, Adam. I only told you about your son because—’

‘Because he almost died and your conscience was bothering you,’ he cut in swiftly and harshly, his smile fading. ‘But the fact is that now I know about him I intend behaving like a responsible parent. You cannot take that away from me. I will not let you.’

He would not let her! Sienna felt like telling him he
couldn’t stop her, but at that moment Ethan came running back. ‘I’m ready, Mummy. Can we go now?’

With reluctance she nodded, trailing them out of the house. Little though he was, Ethan had the same walk as Adam, even his shoulders squared in the same manner, and she couldn’t help feeling proud of him.

Adam had driven himself here today and Sienna lifted her eyebrows when she saw that a child booster seat had been fitted into the back of a silver limousine. She was impressed but not for the life of her would she admit it.

He drove no more than a few miles before pulling up outside a house in a leafy cul-de-sac where houses had walled gardens and electronically controlled gates.

Ethan’s jaw fell when the gates opened all by themselves and Sienna wondered what they were doing here, who it might be that he was taking them to see.

It was with great astonishment, therefore, when they walked up to the front door of an imposing red brick house and he presented her with a key. ‘Take a look at your new home.’

‘
My
new home?’ It was all she could manage. Her thoughts were racing at a mile a minute and her heartbeat was erratic. What the devil was he talking about? She knew he didn’t like her living where she did—but he wouldn’t really buy her a new house, would he?

A host of questions flitted through her mind, each one tumbling over the other in their haste to be heard. She turned on Adam with a questioning stare. ‘You’d better explain.’

‘I’ve bought it.’

It was a plain statement of fact. But all the more devastating because of it. ‘Why?’

‘I’ve bought it for us.’

Us!

It was the one word that registered in her mind. Us! Adam, Ethan and herself. The three of them. Living together. Here. Permanently.

‘You’re out of your mind.’ They were the first words she could think of. ‘I have no intention of living with you.’ Was he crazy or what? Did he really think she would agree to move in with him? Had he no real idea how she felt?

‘Not even for Ethan’s sake?’ His eyes locked with hers. Serious eyes, a serious face. ‘He needs both of us. And I need to get to know him better.’

‘Which you can do, gradually. It doesn’t mean we have to move house. You cannot manipulate me like this, Adam.’

‘It’s not manipulation, Sienna. It’s logic. It makes perfect sense.’

Sienna closed her eyes, praying she was dreaming, that the house and the situation were not real. Adam was being so reasonable that she wanted to scream. But she knew it would get her nowhere. She needed to meet calm with calm, especially with Ethan hopping excitedly from foot to foot.

‘Is this where we’re going to live?’ he asked excitedly.

Sienna put her hand on his shoulder. ‘I don’t know yet, sweetheart.’

‘Can we go in?’

Sienna realised she still had the key in her hand. Reluctantly she inserted it into the lock and pushed open the door. Ethan raced inside. She stepped over the threshold more slowly. The entrance hall was huge,
lofty and beautiful. Much as she was determined not to like this house, the immediate effect was one of awe.

The floor was tiled, the walls pale, and there was a profusion of pot plants. A staircase curved upwards from one side and several doors opened out on the other. There was a dark green leather settee and a table with a telephone and a lamp on it.

It was picture perfect and she guessed that the whole house would be the same.

‘What have you done, Adam? How could you buy this without consulting me?’ Ethan had skipped off to explore so she didn’t fear that he would overhear their conversation.

‘I don’t like where you are living.’

‘And you think that gives you the right to—to do this?’ Her throat felt tight and panic began to set in. ‘It’s very generous of you but—’

‘Generosity doesn’t come into it,’ interrupted Adam. ‘I will not have Ethan living in that lousy flat of yours.’

‘Lousy? We have managed fine there up until now, thank you very much,’ Sienna said, and glared into Adam’s eyes, which were almost navy and dangerously fierce. But deep down she knew that a part of what he said was true. Her flat was small and cramped and the area certainly left a lot to be desired. A number of times recently she had worried at how safe it really was for her and Ethan, but she couldn’t allow Adam to railroad her like this.

How she wished again that she had never gone to his damned too-grand penthouse that day. Adam had gone up in the world whereas she had gone down, but at least she’d been happy. Now he was taking that happiness away from her. He was making it his business to organise their lives.

‘Look, you’ve done a fantastic job with Ethan,’ he answered, his voice surprisingly calm. ‘But sometimes you need to accept help when it is offered. It isn’t always easy to see what’s best for us.’

‘And you’re saying that you know best?’ she asked, finding it difficult to keep her tone down. She did not want Ethan to hear them arguing, but on the other hand how impossible was it not to get irate?

Adam lifted his wide shoulders and spread his hands wide. He did not speak.

Sienna pushed herself to her feet. ‘I suppose I’d better take a look round while I’m here.’ She needed to put distance between them and to her relief Adam let her go. He did not even follow. She explored each room—the fantastic kitchen, the three separate living areas, a massive conservatory overlooking a garden with a swimming pool and a tennis court, and that was only what she could see! Upstairs there were six bedrooms and the same number of bathrooms, all furnished to a very high specification.

And he had bought it! He’d clicked his fingers and it was a done deal. What did it feel like to have power like that? Money like that? And did she want to be a part of it? As far as she was concerned, money did not buy happiness.

She and Ethan had been very happy until Adam had appeared in their lives, and they had had nothing. Happiness was a state of mind, not how much money you had to spend.

‘Mummy, are we going to live here?
Mummy?
’ Ethan had trailed after her, running in and out of rooms, jumping on beds, so excited that she feared he might fall
and hurt his head again. At the very least she feared his headache would come back.

‘Mummy’s thinking about it.’

‘We’ll have to persuade her to say yes.’ Adam’s voice came from very close behind, a rough, deep growl. His persuasive voice. One that had once turned her limbs to jelly.

It seemed a long time ago now. When they had first married. She had thought he was the sexiest man on earth.

Actually, he still was sexy, but he was also aggravating and so damned sure of himself that she wanted to scream. If this was what money did, if it empowered him to such an extent that he thought he could do whatever he liked, have whomever he liked—which in this instance meant her—then she wished he was a pauper.

The man she had fallen in love with had had very little money. It had only been when making it had become his obsession that their marriage had failed.

Ethan ran away to explore some more and Adam turned her to face him. ‘Ethan loves it already.’

Sienna nodded. That was one thing she could not dispute.

‘So here’s the deal.’ He took her hands and although she would have dearly loved to snatch away Sienna remained still and silent, listening to her heart beat with sudden frantic haste. She wasn’t sure whether it was because of his nearness, his touch, or the thought of what he was going to say. Or maybe a combination of all three!

‘You and Ethan move in here and I pay all the bills.’

So he wasn’t moving in with them. It was as if a whole weight had lifted from her shoulders.

But her pleasure was short-lived.

‘In exchange we give our marriage another try.’

Sienna’s heart stopped beating. Her eyes fixed themselves on Adam’s face. He looked very pleased with himself, as well he might, but if he thought she was going to agree, he was seriously out of his mind.

‘You really think I’d do that?’ she asked, her eyes suddenly hostile. ‘It’s an impossible proposition. I’m wasting my time here, and I’m afraid you’ve wasted your money.’ There was the gravest danger that she would lose her heart to him again, only to have it once more broken when he went back to his old ways. It was something she dared not contemplate.

She loved the house and the area, it was such a far cry from where she lived now, and she would have no more financial worries. But as well as worrying about her heart she had Ethan’s emotional well-being to take into consideration. If it didn’t work out between her and Adam, she would be the one left picking up the pieces. She couldn’t do that to her son. She simply couldn’t.

She turned and was about to call Ethan to tell him that they were leaving when Adam spoke. ‘You’re making a mistake, Sienna.’

‘Am I?’ She drew herself up to her full height, which was still a few miserable inches shorter than he was. How she wished for high heels. But she met his eyes bravely, telling him without words that she did not agree.

‘You’re not thinking about Ethan.’

‘Oh, yes, I am,’ she declared firmly. ‘I’m only thinking about him.’

‘In which case you’ll realise that he’ll be far better off here.’ Adam’s eyes bored into hers. It was almost as if he was trying to hypnotise her into saying yes.

‘Not with an absentee father,’ she retorted, hearing
the sharpness in her tone but not caring. Adam was being impossible. How could she live here happily? ‘He’s already beginning to idolise you, Adam. You’d break his heart if you let him down.’

Adam’s eyes flickered a savage warning. ‘I have no intention of doing that.’

‘Easy words. You don’t know what you’re doing half the time. You think that putting food and money on the table is the be all and end all. You have no idea that it’s relationships that count.’

‘So you’d rather our son be bought up in a slum than—’

‘My flat is not a slum,’ cried Sienna, aghast that he should think that and deeply offended. And yet she could see why his thoughts went along those lines, living the way he did.

‘No, it isn’t, Sienna. You keep it beautifully. It’s the area you live in that worries me.’ His voice dropped to a low growl. ‘You could keep this house beautiful. Doesn’t it appeal? Would you like me to—?’