His Contract Bride, The Real Heiress

Vesper noticed

surized silence. The kind of silence that only existed seventy floors up, behind tr

ng she noticed

tried to open her eyes, but the light filtering through the gap in the blackout curtains felt like a

were Egyptian cotton, far softer than

e was n

er held her breath. Her lungs burned with the effort to remain perfe

t, a man l

looked like it had been carved out of marble and tension. Broad shoulders tapered down to a narrow waist. Musc

sn't

nds and a softer back. This man

gala. The champagne that tasted slightly metallic. The sudden dizziness that had made t

avy and sour. She had cheated. After three years of a sexless, loveless ma

d to g

the rustle of fabric sounding like a gunshot in the quiet room. She put one f

a silver slip of silk she hated, was in a heap n

n. Of course it was broken. She found a safety pin in her clutch and secure

e up. Before she had to look him in the

She reached for it, intending to writ

embossed letterhead:

Her blood ran

ly name. It was the name

. Could it be? A cousin? A distant relative visiting from Europ

f him. He didn't look like the soft, pampered men

told herself frantically. *Its th

. If this man knew Julian

er wallet lay open. Inside, a stack of crisp h

d thought took r

unaway wife who had made a m

ipped the intimacy away. It turned a sin into a purchase. And if he *was*

three bills. Thr

tinum Rolex and a heavy crystal tumbler ha

her hand shaking as sh

vice. Keep

e note on top

dn't moved. He was a stranger. He had

she was in the elevator, watching the numbers descend,

p, Damon Sterlin

ening to her erratic breathing, feeling

controlled. He reached out to the space

red his beda rare, almost non-existent occurrence given his conditionhe would feel the

No nausea. No panic. Jus

nded on the

icked up the bills. Benjamin Fra

undred

t. It was a rusty sound. He couldn't

o controlled half the city's skyline, the man whose net worth

The handwriting was e

he se

s fist. His eyes, the colo

e. He didn't dial a number; he

leep and menace. "There was a woman in my r

istant's voice

anded. "I don't care w