Tempting Fate (8 page)

“I’m suggesting that a silk dress of that particular shade would trick me into thinking you already were,” he said. “And not just me, but every other man we meet, all of whom will suffer immediate heartbreak when they realize you’re on a date with me. Just think what Jean’s response would be when you returned home, dressed like a goddess.”

“Are you hoping for competition, or do you just want to make him horribly jealous?”

Adam grinned. “After giving you up so easily, I think he deserves to regret it, don’t you?”

“And what happens when he tries to steal me away?” she asked, turning to face him.

“Then he’ll just have to suffer the disappointment of knowing he’s too late,” Adam said, closing the distance between them. “Because I’m not letting you go without a fight, Miss Watson. Not after all this.”

She arched an eyebrow. “Do you promise?”

He traced the shape of her lips with his fingertip, perfect for pouting, for teasing and laughter and many more things, not so innocent. And then he leaned down to kiss her, hoping he wouldn’t be disappointed.

Her lips parted, her fingers sliding through his hair, as she pulled him closer, and Adam obliged. Because as drunk as she was, she tasted as good as she looked, and even the sharp edge of bitterness in her thoughts melted away into sweet, soft wonder and dark, hungry need.

It would be a very easy promise to keep, he decided. Whether Eve and her Lions liked it or not.

Nine

Mia

Mia got back late, humming to herself as she slipped in through the back door. She’d had much too much wine, but Ethan kept ordering bottles and insisting she have more. And it was very, very good wine. She hadn’t been able to bring herself to refuse it. Just like she hadn’t been able to refuse the thousand euro dress she was still wearing, or the three hundred euro shoes on her feet.

Abby wasn’t going to like it. Not at all. But Mia didn’t care in the slightest. It was her turn to meet someone. Her turn to be swept off her feet. Her turn to fall in love. There was certainly no point in wasting any more time with Jean. And if Ethan wanted her, she was a fool to say no because her sister wouldn’t like it.

She stumbled and caught herself on the counter before kicking the shoes off and sighing with relief that her toes were no longer pinched and she could put her weight on her heels again.

“I didn’t realize you would be gone all day,” Jean said, closing a book and setting it aside. She could feel his eyes tracing her body beneath the dress. “And if I had known you were going to be dressed like that, I would have insisted that you let me join you.
Tu es ravissante.
”

She ignored the French. His expression said it all just as eloquently and flattery would get him nowhere. Not tonight. “You didn’t have to wait up.”

He smiled and rose, collecting her shoes as he did so. “My cousin would never forgive me if I allowed you to go missing.”

“Is that why you’re lurking around?” She cocked her head and fiddled with her earring, but her fingers were too thick with the wine to get it off, and she fumbled it.

Jean set her shoes down on the chair he’d just abandoned and brushed her hair back over her shoulder. “
Laissez-moi faire.
”

She stilled while he gently freed the earring. First one, then the other. He was standing so near she could feel the warmth of his body, and his face was so close to hers. She could still feel Ethan’s kiss on her lips, but Jean seemed like a better idea all the time. One last hurrah, maybe?

He stepped back, his dark hair falling into his eyes as he pinned the earrings back together in his palm. They were diamonds. Another gift from Ethan, who had spoiled her more in one day than she had been all her life. It was something she could get used to.

“Your friend must be very generous to give you such gifts,” Jean said softly.

“Yes.”

“Is he really from London, or just some Frenchman you met last night?”

She shrugged. “Does it really matter?”

He half smiled. “I’m more inclined to trust a friend of yours from London than a wealthy Parisian you picked up at a bar, but I have a hard time believing someone would come all this way to spend so much money on you. Not that you aren’t worth every
centime.
”

“How do you know I didn’t pay for it myself?” she asked.

Jean held up one of the earrings, letting it catch the light. “This one is a carat at least, and very fine. You’ve been careful with your money since we arrived in Paris, and Abby told me you did not have much. The earrings alone are more than you could afford on your own.”

“Abby should keep her mouth shut.” She swiped the earrings from his hand, nearly dropping them in the process, and went around him. “I don’t think what I do with my time is any of your business, or hers.”

“I gave Garrit my word that you would be looked after.”

She whirled. “Is that really the only reason you care? Or are you jealous that I found someone else to spend my time with? Someone who hasn’t slept with half the women in Paris.”

“No man buys gifts like these without expecting something in return, Mia, no matter how rich he is. Especially not for a woman he’s only just met.”

“Fine,” she said. “I’ll be careful.”

He frowned, his gaze drifting down. “
Qu’est-ce qui s’est passé?
”

She followed his eyes and saw her hand, a bruise blossoming across the first knuckles. She opened her hand and closed it again, trying to remember anything she might have done to hurt herself. Ethan had been holding it all day, but she hardly thought that would leave a mark. A burn seemed more likely. His touch felt like fire.

“That is a very strange place for a bruise, Mia.”

“I must have bumped into something.”

“Not once in all the days we spent together have you come home with a mark on your body. One day with this man, whoever he is, and your hand looks as though it has been crushed.”

“It’s nothing, Jean. I don’t know why you’re being so dramatic about all of this.”

“If it’s nothing, let me see for myself that he will not mistreat you. It would do you no harm for him to know someone watches out for you, whoever he is.”

She rolled her eyes. “You’re worse than Abby.”

“
Non,
” he said. “If I were Abby I would already know who you had seen, and what kind of person he was, from the moment you walked through the door if not before. She would not need to argue with you, and if she did not think the man was worthy, she would stop you from seeing him at once.”

“She didn’t stop me from seeing you.”

He grimaced. “Whether she likes it or not, I am her family. There is little she can do about me.”

“You’re barely her cousin by marriage. I’m her sister!”

“All the more reason,” he said. “Do you think she would forgive me if I let you run off with someone who might harm you?”

“Ugh!” Her headache was returning, and she wished she had more wine. What had been left of the buzz from earlier had been burned off by this irritation. He acted as though Abby had some kind of magic power. “Fine. If you absolutely have to meet him, I’ll arrange it. But if you do anything to ruin this, Jean, I swear you’ll regret it. I will never, ever, forgive you.”

“I wouldn’t dream of it.”

She glared at him, and the smile lurking around the corners of his mouth. “If I had known you were going to be so impossible, I never would have slept with you to begin with.”

His mouth twitched. “
Si tu le dis.
”

Somehow, she didn’t think he was agreeing.

Ethan wasn’t pleased at all by the idea of meeting Jean and the next day it slipped her mind entirely after she had brought it up. Jean, however, did not forget. And when she confessed that she had, his eyes narrowed and all the humor left his expression. She didn’t know why he was so upset about it all.

When she forgot again the second day, coming home drunk on wine and what she suspected to be the first pangs of true love, he lost his patience.

“I’m coming with you tomorrow,” he said, and she knew there wouldn’t be any arguing with him. Abby had told her once that DeLeon men were some of the most determined people she had ever known, and Mia was witnessing it firsthand.

She shrugged and went up to bed, leaving him in the kitchen to brood. He was quite accomplished at that too, really. Brooding looked good on him, but she’d lost her affection for it. French men were so high maintenance.

Mia tried to sneak out the next morning, but Jean was dressed and waiting.

“Shall I drive you?”

She sighed. “I suppose there’s no stopping you?”

He smiled, but it wasn’t at all nice. “From meeting this man?
Non.
”

“Then by all means.” She waved to the car. “Drive.”

Even as irritated as she was sure they both were, he still opened the car door for her and saw her seated comfortably before getting in himself. It just made her feel guiltier, though she didn’t know why. It wasn’t as if she had made him any promises, and he certainly hadn’t made her any.

She grimaced. This was Abby’s fault. If she weren’t so overly protective and needlessly concerned, Garrit wouldn’t have felt compelled to make Jean promise to look after her, and Jean wouldn’t feel obligated to involve himself now. She sighed again as they drove away from the house.

“I don’t know why you have to do this.” She stared out the window. “It isn’t as though I’m going to go running back to Abby to tell her you didn’t screen everyone I met.”

He laughed. “Always
tellement cynique.
”

“In English, if you don’t mind.”

“What kind of man would I be if I did not do what I could to protect you?” he asked. “Not everything I do is dictated by your sister, or my cousin, or my aunt. Sometimes, it is just the right thing.”

“I’m not yours to protect, Jean. You made it abundantly clear that we didn’t have that kind of relationship.”

“You cannot expect me to let you run off with some stranger. If you had any idea what the events of your sister’s wedding meant, you would not be so quick to do so either.”

She glared at him. “And how can I understand when no one will tell me anything?”

“That is not by my choice.” His hands were so tight on the steering wheel that his knuckles turned white and the plastic creaked. “You are Abby’s sister. You deserve to know what threatens you. What threatens all of us. And if I had my way, you would.” He swore. “For all the good it would do. You probably would not even know him if you saw him again. He would make sure of it.”

“Who?”

“
L’homme.
Who else?”

She frowned. “What?”

“The stranger.” He glanced at her. “The man who interrupted the wedding.”

She shook her head. “Who?”

Jean gave her a hard look, nearly running up on a curb. “The one Lars Owen hauled away. Before Abby fainted.”

Her forehead creased. She couldn’t remember anything like that. “That must have been before the ceremony began, while I was with Abby.”

Jean stared at her for another moment, the car slowing to a crawl as he did so. “Mia,” he said, his voice low. “Tell me you’re only joking.”

“I honestly have no idea what you’re talking about. I remember Abby fainting, and that Lars Owen being incredibly rude to my mother and giving me a death glare. But if anything happened before that, I wasn’t there for it.”

He looked away, his brow furrowed. When he spoke, his words were measured. “This man you’re seeing. What color are his eyes?”

She laughed. “Why?”

“What color,” he said through his teeth, “are his eyes?”

She had never seen him so tense. His jaw was set, his shoulders bunched, as if he were readying himself for a fight. He looked terrifying.

“Stone gray,” she admitted.

Jean cursed. He jerked the wheel, pulling them off the road and stopping the car. His fingers wrapped around the steering wheel and he stared out the windshield, his face lined and white.

“What’s his name?”

“Ethan Hastings.” She didn’t dare to refuse him, the way he looked. Somewhere between sick and enraged. “He said he knew your family, just in passing.”