Blackhawk's Sweet Revenge. Barbara McCauley

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СКАЧАТЬ with his. “I wouldn’t mind if you seduced me, Jule. I’ll bet when the Ice Princess steps off her throne, she heats up fast.”

      Her eyes closed, but not before he saw a shimmer there. Certainly not tears, Lucas thought. Not from Julianna Hadley.

      A knock at the door had them both jumping. Her eyes flew open in panic.

      “No one knows you’re here, huh?” He took her chin in his hand. “Don’t you need to tear your clothes or something, mess that perfect hair, cry?”

      “Room service,” a young, enthusiastic voice boomed from the other side of the door.

      She glared at him, knocked his hand away, then turned her back and stepped out onto the open balcony.

      Dammit. Lucas jerked open the door, bit back the urge to yell. What the hell, he thought, tolerating the young man’s cheerful greeting and food setup. Maybe he did need a minute to compose himself, to control the unexpected and unwanted response he’d had to Julianna. In fact, maybe he needed two minutes.

      Julianna forced herself to take slow breaths. She focused on the curtain of water falling from the canopy over the balcony, told herself it was the moist cold that had her shaking, not Lucas’s manhandling. His behavior was no less than she’d expected, certainly no less than she deserved. After what her father had put him through, why wouldn’t he hate her, too?

      At least he hadn’t thrown her out. Yet. If only he would listen to her, believe her, then maybe, just maybe, she could save the only thing in the world that mattered to her.

      “It’s cold out here.”

      She turned at the sound of his voice, hugged her coat tighter when he stepped closer. Too close. “Lucas, I need to speak with you.”

      He took hold of her hand, held firm when she attempted to pull away. “Does it hurt?”

      “Hurt?” she repeated mindlessly. His fingers were long, callused, warm over her own.

      He turned her palm up, circled the rough pad of his thumb over the sensitive, smooth flesh. “You cut yourself today. On the broken cup.”

      “A scratch, that’s all.” Every nerve in her palm and up her arm came alive at Lucas’s touch. Unable to stop herself, she trembled.

      “You’re freezing. Come inside.”

      She shook her head, pulled her hand away. “This won’t take long. I just have to—”

      “Julianna.” He frowned darkly. “Unless you’re planning to throw yourself off this balcony in a supreme sacrifice for your father, get inside now.”

      She almost laughed at the absurdity of his statement, but under the circumstances, thought it best to simply do as he asked. No, she corrected, brushing past him into the living area of the suite. As he’d demanded.

      She jumped when he moved behind her and put his hands on her shoulders.

      “Just taking your coat.” He tightened his hold, then added, “For now.”

      Bristling, she held on to her coat. “I’m not staying.”

      “Oh, but you are.” His hands stayed on her shoulders. “I insist.”

      She knew it would be useless to argue, that he would probably only enjoy it if she did. She let him take her coat, then stepped away. The wonderful scent of oregano and basil filled the room, but her stomach only clenched at the smell of food. “Your dinner will get cold”

      “Shall I order you something?” He tossed her coat over a barstool. “The food is excellent here. Especially the shrimp Alfredo and the chicken Madeira.”

      She wondered how he would know that. He’d only been here since this afternoon. Long enough to turn her world upside down and inside out. “No, thank you. I have to get back.”

      “When I say, Julianna. Now sit.” He gestured to the chair across from his plate. “You might not be hungry, but I’m starving. Chianti?”

      Even as she shook her head, he poured her a glass of wine and pressed it into her hands. “Sit.”

      Powerless to stop the humiliation, she took the chair at the farthest end of the glass dining room table. It would do no good to tell him that her father had been raging and half drunk when she’d left, that if he discovered she was gone, he’d only be more furious. And if he’d found out she’d come here...

      She didn’t want to think about it. She’d deal with that later.

      Lucas lifted the metal dome covering a china plate, releasing a cloud of fragrant steam. Steak, baked potato, herbed vegetables. “Sure you won’t have a bite? Filet, medium rare.”

      “You surprise me, Lucas,” she said without thinking. “I would have thought raw was more to your taste.”

      He raised a brow, smiled slowly. “Well, well, Miss Hadley. There is still a little fight in you. But you didn’t come here to irritate me, did you? So why don’t you tell me why you did come here?”

      Dammit. How could she be so stupid? The last thing she wanted to do was irritate him. Along with her pride, she took a swallow of wine. They both burned all the way down. “I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I... it’s the land. The five acres and house by the creek.”

      “What about it?” He cut into his steak, hefted a good bite into his mouth.

      “That property is mine.” She struggled to keep the desperation out of her voice. “It was my grandparents‘, then my mother’s. She left it to me after she died last year.”

      “I already told you. Your father’s name was on the title, not yours. Along with the Double H, he signed it over as collateral to First Financial.”

      “But he can’t do that.” This time it was impossible to keep the emotion out of her words. “It’s mine, Lucas. You can’t just take it.”

      “Why can’t I?” He reached for his own wine, kept his eyes on hers as he lifted the glass. “Why shouldn’t I?”

      “It’s useless to you. The roof leaks, the paint is nonexistent, the plumbing and electricity need repair.”

      “Exactly why I plan to tear it down.”

      “No.” She felt the blood drain from her face. “Let me buy it back from you.”

      He leaned back in his chair, studied her carefully. “I know every intimate detail of the Hadley finances. You don’t have a checking or savings account in your own name, no credit cards. You do own a six-yearold sedan. Are you planning on selling that as collateral?”

      “I’ll get the money.” Embarrassed that he knew so much about her dependency on her father, and because she thought she might explode if she sat any longer, she stood and moved to the bar, keeping her back to him as she struggled to compose herself.

      “Why is it so important to you?” he asked.

      Could she give him that kind of ammunition? Tell him that the house was СКАЧАТЬ