Free Million Dollar Mistake by Meg Lacey Page B

here anyway?”
    “Not important.”
    “It is too.”
    “No, the only thing that’s important is that you are now my problem.”
    She started wiggling under him, trying to get loose. “I’m nobody’s problem. I’m a free and independent woman.”
    “Yeah, well Jackson is planning to change all that. Will you stop wiggling?”
    Her squirming movements intensified as she panted, “Maybe your little announcement of our engagement has taken care of Jackson.”
    “Nice thought, but I doubt it.”
    She tried to buck him off. “Will you get up?”
    He scowled down at her as his swollen member pressed against her hip. “Thanks to you, I am up.”
    She went as still as a deep lake for a moment. Then a little mischievous grin escaped. “Again?”
    Nicholas let her go, rolled to the side with a disgusted grunt and stood with his back to her. He grabbed his robe from the bottom of the bed, shrugged it on before turning to face her. Lord, but she was tempting. She lay there, all tousled and flushed, her eyes shining, laughter trembling on her lips. He started to say something that would cut her down to size, then changed his mind. “All right. It wasn’t just an automatic response. Satisfied?”
    She lifted onto her elbows. “No. Continue.”
    He glared at her for a moment, before admitting what he’d kept to himself when he’d seen her over the past few years. “You turned me on, okay?”
    Pointing at her breast, she breathed, “Little ole me?”
    “Don’t get too carried away,” he said, his tone dry as dust. “I might like touching the merchandise, but that doesn’t mean I’m buying.”
    Her eyes met his, the light in them fading away. After a minute she said, “That’s good, because I’m not for sale.”
    “Tell that to your father.” He could have cut out his tongue for allowing that remark to escape.
    “What? What do you mean by that?”
    “Nothing,” he said, turning away.
    She scrambled out of bed and grabbed his arm. “What are you implying?”
    “Nothing.” He’d said enough, more than he’d intended. He was reluctant to tell her the truth about her father, about the man she’d always adored. She’d find out about her family’s financial situation and her father’s scheming soon enough.
    “Nicholas.”
    With a gentle movement, he removed her hand from his arm. “Get dressed and packed, Raven. After breakfast, we’re out of here.”
     
     
    Jackson ran into Lorianne just outside the dining room. “Hi, you’re up early.”
    Lorianne gave him a patient look. “I’m always up early.”
    “Oh, oh, that’s right.” He rubbed his forehead. “You’re an early bird, aren’t you?”
    Lorianne studied him for a moment before answering, “Are you feeling all right, Jackson?”
    “Sure, why?”
    Lorianne tilted her head to the side, wrinkling her nose. “You don’t look well. As a matter of fact you look like you haven’t slept at all. It’s the same way you used to look when our parents had parties when we were kids. Remember, after our duty appearances, we wanted to disappear so we could stay up to watch horror films all night.”
    Jackson grinned at her. “You used to hide your eyes when the scary parts came on. Then you fell asleep on the sofa.”
    “I did not. You imagined that.”
    “No, I didn’t. You even snored.”
    Lorianne punched his arm. “You take that back.”
    Jackson faked a flinch, then said, “Those were happy times, weren’t they?”
    “You sound as if happy times are over.”
    “It feels like it.”
    Lorianne frowned. “Jackson, what happened to your positive attitude?”
    “It sank when Nicholas showed up last night. Do you really believe they’re involved?”
    Lorianne stared at him and then turned on her heel to enter the dining room. She paused at the door, quoting over her shoulder, “There’s none so blind as those who will not see.”
     
     
    Nicholas and Raven paused in the entrance of the dining room. The entire family was assembled