Free Her Enemy Protector by Cindy Dees

hostility toward her and her family.
    Joe’s hand appeared in front of her face and she reached out to take it. His fingers were warm and deceptively strong as they wrapped around hers. But then all of Joe was deceptively strong. She’d been surprised a couple of times when they’d been dancing just how easily he picked her up and swung her around, as if he hardly noticed her weight.
    Panic jumped and kicked like a scared colt in her stomach again. “Are you sure about this?” she asked him one last time.
    His gaze met hers. For a moment, his black eyes were as hard as nails. But the expression in them melted so quickly into a warm smile that she almost wasn’t sure she’d seen the former.
    “I’m sure, princess.”
    She noted the fact that he didn’t ask her the same question. Not interested in giving her any opportunity to back out, was he? Smart man. Because right about now, the long driveway stretching into the night behind her was looking really good.
    The sprawling house’s front door opened and a gray-haired man wearing neatly pressed chino slacks and a block polo shirt stepped out onto the covered porch.
    “Carina, mi querida! You’re looking as lovely as ever. Come in, come in.”
    She wasn’t his dear, thank you very much. He was as corrupt as they came, using his courtroom as a weapon to promote crime and suffering among the people of Gavarone. Given her druthers, she’d spit in his face. “Judge Cabot,” she said warmly. “I’m so sorry to interrupt your evening at this late hour, but I need your help.”
    The judge gave a worried look around at the night, as if ears were growing on the gardenia bushes by the front door. “Let us speak inside of how I may help you.”
    Joe’s hand slipped under her elbow as they walked up the front steps, ostensibly to help her, but she’d lay odds he was worried about her bolting. She walked past the heavy, sweet scent of the gardenias and inside to dim lamplight. The hand-distressed hardwood floors and broad hallway running straight back into the house, with its plantation shutters and mahogany furniture, gave it a tropical, colonial feel. Under other circumstances, she’d have liked this place.
    She was surprised to see that Colonel Folly—if that’s who he really was—had followed her and Joe inside. Normally, a chauffeur would stay with his car. She should probably pass him off as her bodyguard so Judge Cabot wouldn’t get suspicious.
    She looked over her shoulder at the American colonel. “I’m perfectly safe inside the judge’s house. But if my father’s orders are to stick with me at all times, do stay out of the way, all right?”
    Folly’s eyes registered surprise for the slightest instant, but then it was replaced by approval. “Yes, ma’am,” he replied gruffly.
    The judge led them to a combination library/office lined with law books and sporting a giant cluttered desk. It was an insult to the law to have this man purport to actually care what was inside those leather-bound volumes. Aloud, Cari simpered, “What a lovely room! Look at all those pretty books!”
    Judge Cabot smiled, his gaze sharp but his voice obsequious. “What can I do for you at this unusual hour, my dear?”
    “I want you to marry me.”
    Cabot gaped. “I beg your pardon?”
    She laughed gaily. “I don’t mean I want you to be my husband. I mean I want you to perform a marriage ceremony for me and my boyfriend…my fiancé.” She dragged Joe forward by the arm to stand beside her.
    Cabot paused, obviously thinking fast. She could see the wheels turning, assessing how her father would react if he went through with her request. Doubt and fear trickled across his features before he finally said heavily, “Ah. Well, my dear, there are certain legalities that must be observed. I’m afraid it will be impossible for me to marry you two lovebirds this evening….”
    Joe reached into his back pant pocket and pulled out a folded piece of paper. “If it’s the