The Disobedient Virgin - The Ramirez Brides 03 Page 14
He felt a surge of joy so powerful it made him grin…and then his grin faded.
He knew what he wanted, but the choice had to be Cat’s.
For all he knew, her inheritance—the freedom and the independence it represented—meant more to her than he did.
Cat woke alone.
Jake was gone. So was the storm. The snow had stopped falling and the city must have been plowed, because she could hear the sounds of night-time traffic.
Life was returning to normal. Why was the thought so depressing?
She pushed aside the blankets and sat up. Her clothing was everywhere. Bits and pieces lay on the floor—they hadn’t made it all the way to the bed before Jake began undressing her.
Before they began undressing each other.
She’d been as eager to strip him naked as he’d been to strip her. She loved feeling his skin against hers, loved seeing his strong male body, loved…loved—
Cat swallowed hard and got to her feet. The robe Jake had bundled her into early this morning, after he’d bathed her, was draped across the back of a chair. She put it on, rolled up the sleeves, tied the sash securely at her waist and started down the hall to her rooms.
“Supper’s almost ready.”
She spun around. Jake stood at the foot of the stairs, looking up at her. He was wearing jeans and a dark blue sweater; his jaw was shadowed with stubble, his hair was wet from, she supposed, a shower, and he looked so beautiful he made her heartbeat stumble.
“Oh,” she said foolishly. “That’s—that’s nice.”
“Scrambled eggs and toast. Anna called a little while ago. She can’t get in. The storm—”
“Of course.” Why was he looking at her that way? Why wasn’t he smiling? She was a mess, she knew, her hair all tangled, no makeup, wearing this silly robe…“Great. Just—just let me take five minutes for a shower, okay?”
“Five minutes,” he said—and then he muttered something, bounded up the stairs and caught her in his arms and kissed her until she melted against him. “Five minutes,” he repeated gruffly, and by the time her pulse returned to normal he was down the steps and out of sight.
Cat showered quickly, left her hair loose to air dry, pulled on jeans and a cashmere sweater and went down to the kitchen. Jake was just scooping mounds of scrambled eggs onto two plates. A platter of bacon, two mugs of coffee, napkins, silverware and a small wicker basket of toast were already on the counter.
But something was in the kitchen with them. Something dark and unpleasant. It had shown itself in those first seconds a little while ago, when Jake had looked at her, his face set and unsmiling.
Cat’s nerves hummed in anticipation as she climbed onto a stool, opened a napkin and spread it in her lap.
“Mmm,” she said brightly, “this looks wonderful.”
“Dig in before it gets cold.”
The eggs really were good. At school, scrambled eggs had been hard lumps. These were fluffy and light—and lodged in her throat just the same.
“Where’d you learn to make eggs like this?” she said, in the same artificial voice.
“I put in some time working in a restaurant when I was a kid.”
“You? Working in a restaurant?”
Her surprise was genuine. Despite his mood, despite what he had to tell her, he couldn’t keep from smiling.
“I worked at a lot of things growing up.”
“Did your family believe work would be good for you?”
Jake laughed. “My family consisted of one person. My mother. She worked her tail off to support us. When I was old enough, or maybe I should say when I finally figured out that it was time to get my act together, I worked to help put food on the table.” His tone gentled. “Don’t look at me that way, Cat. We’re not all born rich.”
“Of course not. I just thought…” She expelled a long breath. “I don’t know what I thought,” she said truthfully “Except…except that something’s very wrong and I want you to tell me what it is.”
“Finish your supper first.”
“No.” Her fork clattered against her plate. “Jake. If you regret what—what we did—”
She cried out as his hands bit into her shoulders. “Regret it? Sweetheart, how could I regret something so wonderful?”
“Then what is it? You look so—so unhappy.”
“Yeah.” His hands dropped away from her and he got to his feet, picked up their plates and took them to the sink. “Lucas called.”
It took her a moment even to remember who Lucas was.
“He wanted to apologize to you. To me, too. He said—well, he said a lot of things. Mostly he said he regrets leaving you with the wrong impression. He was—he was very taken with you, Cat.”
What was this? Jake speaking on behalf of another man? Jake, who’d held her in his arms for hours and hours, telling her that someone else was taken with her?
Making love with Jake had pushed her problem aside. Now it came rushing back.
Jake had made love to her, but nothing had changed. She had to find a man to marry, and he had to see to it that she did. Otherwise she’d lose her inheritance.
But she didn’t care about her inheritance. To hell with it! She’d give it up gladly to stay with Jake. How could money be more important than a once-in-a-lifetime love her lonely heart had always believed existed only in fairytales?
The question was, would Jake walk away from the pledge he’d made to Javier Estes? Would he give up whatever had made him agree to find her a husband in the first place? Was he willing to lose…?
Well, she didn’t know what he’d lose. He still hadn’t told her.
“Jake,” she said quickly. “Jake, listen—”
“Lucas wants to see you. Tonight. He has a townhouse just a few blocks away. He’s having some people in. A spur-of-the-minute blizzard party, he called it. And…” Jake’s voice trailed off. He came toward her slowly, his eyes locked to her face. “If you want your inheritance,” he said gruffly, “it has to be this way.”
He didn’t say the rest. He didn’t have to. It had to be this way so that he could meet his commitment to marry her off. Whatever he’d get for that, it meant more to him than she did.
It broke her heart, but how could she fault him for it? She’d almost forgotten that she was the one in love, not Jake.
“Cat? You said you’ve dreamed of the freedom your inheritance will bring you. You told me that you didn’t want to be trapped in yet another cage.” He hesitated. “That’s right, isn’t it?”
“Yes,” she said briskly, “it is.”
“Yeah.” Jake cleared his throat. It had been foolish to expect her to say anything else. He’d spent a lot of time figuring out just how to phrase the question. He wanted her to make the choice between him and her freedom rationally.
The last thing he wanted to do was play on her emotions.
He had to accept that he’d awakened her to passion, not to love. She was too young for love, too inexperienced to be tied to one man. Life, the world, all the things she’d never known, stretched ahead of her.
He loved her too much to deny her any of it.
Jake took a deep breath. “I know—I know that I took what you intended to offer to the man who marries you.”
“Don’t! Please—”
“I’m not going to apologize for it.” Damned right he wasn’t. He didn’t even want to think about Cat in another man’s arms. “But there has to be another way. Something else you can use to get a guy like Lucas to—to cooperate.”
Catarina shook her head. “I’ll just have to go through with a real marriage,” she said in a small voice.
“No!” Jake took a deep breath. “No,” he said, more calmly. “There must be something a rich man would—a rich man would…” He paused. A slow smile angled across his mouth. “Of course! That’s it.”
“What’s it? What idea? What could I possibly offer? I don’t have—”
“But I do.” He clasped her shoulders, lifted h
er to her toes. “I own some land, Cat. On Maui. Beachfront property in an area where there’s nothing left for sale. Lucas knows about it. We talked about it, he and I—you know, small talk at some charity thing. Hawaii, how we both liked it, how he wished he owned land there…” Jake’s eyes met hers. “Lucas and I can strike a deal.”
Her heart twisted with pain. A piece of land. Jake would sell it to Lucas, Lucas would agree to a marriage followed by divorce, and this would be over.
“Cat? Do you understand?”
She nodded, afraid to speak for fear she would weep instead.
“You’ll get your inheritance. Your fortune. You’ll be free. You’ll never have to be left on the wrong side of the gates again.” A muscle flickered in his jaw. His hands seemed to tighten on her. “That’s what you want most in the world, you said. Isn’t that right?”
Their eyes met and she waited for him to say, Forget your inheritance, sweetheart. The only thing you need is me.
But he didn’t. He didn’t say anything. Finally, when all eternity seemed to have gone by, Catarina lifted her chin and forced a little smile to her lips.
“Yes,” she said, “that’s exactly right, Jake. I get my money. You get—you get whatever it is you get. And then we’ll both be free.”
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CAT was the hit of the party.
Jake wasn’t surprised. She was bright, articulate, alive with vitality and incredibly beautiful—even in this crowd, where the faces of most of the women had graced magazine covers.
A dozen men were gathered around her, smiling when she smiled, laughing when she laughed—and she laughed and smiled a lot. It wasn’t because she’d had too much to drink. Not tonight. Lucas had poured her only one glass of champagne and she’d done little more than sip at it.
Tonight, Cat was laughing because she was happy. Why wouldn’t she be? Her freedom was on the horizon. He’d given her the chance to say that it wasn’t what she wanted…but it was.
So he’d done what he had to do. Brought her here. Handed her over to Lucas. Told him he was a good guy, that Cat liked him. The rest of it—the offer he was going to make to give Lucas those acres in Hawaii—would come later, if—hell—when Cat said she was ready for him to make the next move.
Talk to Lucas. Explain the situation.
Tell him he was going to give him millions of dollars’ worth of beachfront if he’d agree to marry Catarina but not touch her. Not touch her. Not…
Jake lifted his glass to his lips and took a long swallow. He wasn’t drinking champagne. He’d switched to Scotch. Not his favorite brand, but it didn’t matter. Anything that might burn away the tightness in his chest would do tonight. 155
He’d deliberately faded into the background as soon as they’d arrived, though he hadn’t taken his eyes from Cat. He was determined to protect her, to make sure there was no repetition of what had happened with Lucas the last time.
There wouldn’t be.
Lucas had changed. He was treating Catarina with the care he’d have accorded a piece of fine crystal. He hadn’t left her side, no matter how many admirers she drew. He had his arm around her waist, lightly enough to seem polite, but possessive enough so that his intentions were clear.
He was staking Cat out as his own.
Jake clenched his jaw and contemplated the pale amber liquid in his glass.
It was the best thing that could happen. Lucas was wealthy. He wouldn’t give a damn about Cat’s inheritance. He was a good guy, even if he hadn’t seemed it before. He’d been on the make then. Tonight, when he’d phoned with the party invitation, he’d made it clear that his intentions were honorable.
“Catarina is a special young woman,” he’d told Jake solemnly. “The man who wins her will be most fortunate.”
Meaning Lucas had thought it over and was considering being that man.
Jake swallowed some more whiskey.
Of course that might change once he knew that Cat wouldn’t be his wife in the real sense of the word. That she’d marry Lucas only if he agreed to a divorce ahead of time.
That she wouldn’t sleep with him.
Four acres on the Pacific would be the trade-off. Lucas, an astute businessman, would surely accept such a deal. Any man would.
Except me, thought Jake.
He wouldn’t trade the right to claim Cat as his own for acreage on the moon. She was more precious than that. She was—
Damn.
His glass was empty. He took one last look at Cat, then crossed the room to the bar, reached for the bottle of Scotch and poured.
Soon she’d belong to Lucas. Even if she never lay in his arms she’d belong to him. To another man. Not to him. Never to—
Jake took a long mouthful of whiskey, felt it burn cleanly down his throat.
It had to be like this. Cat wanted her inheritance. Her freedom. He wanted to find the two men who were his brothers. He had to find them. Knowing they were out there, that he could pass them on the street and not realize they shared the same blood, would be a torment he could not endure.
Enrique must have known that when he wrote his damnable will. What else had he known? Had he laughed, planning this? Had he known Jake would lose his heart to Catarina Mendes? That he’d fall in love with—in love with—
Jake’s hand trembled. He put down the glass.
That kind of thinking wasn’t going to get him anywhere. He had to concentrate on the things that mattered…and, damn it, where had Lucas and Cat gone? A couple of minutes ago they’d been standing on the other side of the room. Now they’d vanished.
Jake walked through the arched doorway into the dining room. People were clustered around the table, helping themselves to the lavish buffet, but not Cat and Lucas.
The kitchen, then.
No. They weren’t there, either.
His pace quickened. The door to Lucas’s study was closed. He started to knock but he got a funny feeling, flung the door open…
And found them.
Cat and Lucas. Cat, standing in the loose circle of Lucas’s arms, her face turned up to his. Cat, swinging around to stare at him as the door banged against the wall, her cheeks flushed, her eyes dark with an emotion that could only be guilt.
Lucas, the son of a bitch, didn’t look guilty at all. He looked like a man who’d just hit the jackpot.
“Jake,” Cat said. “Jake—”
He had eyes only for Lucas. “Get your hands off her,” he growled.
“Jake,” Lucas said solemnly, “my friend—”
Jake grabbed Cat’s wrist, swung her away from Lucas.
“Don’t give me that ‘friend’ crap. I trusted you, you bastard. You said you understood Catarina was—”
“It’s you who doesn’t understand, Jake.” Lucas cleared his throat. “I have asked Catarina to be my wife.”
Jake blinked. How could things have moved so fast? “What?”
“She explained it all to me. I know that she must marry to gain her inheritance.”
Jake looked at Cat. “You told him everything? You didn’t wait to talk to me?”
“Why would I wait?” Her voice was a little shaky but her tone was defiant. “What is there to talk about?”
She was right. But so what? What did being right have to do with the growing knot of rage in Jake’s gut?
“And?” he said, trying to sound calm. “He agreed to the terms?”
Cat caught her bottom lip between her teeth. “Yes, but not—not quite the way you’d planned.”
Jake turned toward Lucas. “She needs to marry a Brazilian,” he said, as if perhaps Catarina hadn’t actually gone into the details.
“Yes. I understand that.”
“A man of good character.”
Lucas stood a little taller. “I am an attorney, a member of the trade delegation to the Embassy, and I am from an old and respected family.”
“Did she tell you the rest? That the man who marries her must agree to a marriage in name only?”
“And to an immediate divorce?”
“Yes.”
The anger inside Jake began to ease. “And you’ve agreed to all that?”
“For a consideration.”
“Okay. Fine.” He forced a smile. “I knew you’d want that property in—”
“What I want,” Lucas said quickly, “is the right to try and convince Catarina that our marriage should not be a temporary union.”
Jake narrowed his eyes. “The lady’s not interested.”
“I’ve told her that I care for her, that I am sure she will learn to care for me, and that I want her to be my wife in fact, not only in name.”
“Maybe you have a hearing problem, Estero. I just told you, the lady isn’t—”
Lucas took Cat’s hand. “Why not let her speak for herself?”
“I’m speaking for her,” Jake said coldly. “She’s my ward.”
“She’s not your ward, Jake. Not in the true sense of the word.”
Jake took a step forward. “Don’t start tossing legal crap at me. Catarina is my responsibility. I make decisions for her, not you.”
“Jake.” Cat’s voice was low. “Jake, listen to me—”
“Be quiet,” Jake said sharply.
“Watch how you speak to my fiancée, Ramirez.”
“She’s not your anything until I say she is.”
“Jake.” Catarina put her hand on his arm. “Please. We discussed this, remember? You and I agreed—”
“Let’s just assume I give my permission for this marriage,” Jake said, shaking off Cat’s hand. “Exactly how do you propose to convince her to make it real? Are you going to sit her down, talk her to death?”
“Catarina has agreed to remain married to me for six months.”
“The hell she will!”
“At the end of that time, if she still insists on divorce—”
“You want to sleep with her,” Jake said bluntly.
“If you mean, I want to make love to my wife,” Lucas said coldly, “you’re right.”
“She’ll never go along with it.” Jake leveled his gaze on Catarina. “Tell him,” he said. “Go on, damn it. Tell him you won’t sleep with him.”