The Marriage Bargain Read Online Free PDF Page A

chateau itself, I will double your pay.”
    Finally, her jaw dropped. “Are you serious?”
    “Entirely.”
    “And just so we’re clear.” She paused, fidgeting in her seat. “What exactly do you get if I am somehow mesmerized?” She covered her mouth and coughed out something that sounded a lot like, “ Bullshit .”
    “Nothing quite so dark and lurid.” He propped his elbow atop the couch and chuckled before taking on a more serious tone. “Our six month marriage will begin on the day we are wed in France.”
    She reached for his forehead like his mother used to do when he was a child, but Camille’s touch was different. It sparked hunger, warm and soft and unfamiliar, and sent it surging through to his core. He grabbed her wrist, a feeble attempt to distract himself from his intense emotions.
    “I haven’t known you for very long,” she said over a half-giggle rippling through the air, “but I think there might be something wrong with you.”
    He laughed and laced their fingers together. “Camille, you are going to drive my father insane.”
    Her face relaxed into a knowing expression. “I thought so.” She made no move to withdraw her hand.
    “You may not know as much as you think.”
    “You may be surprised.”
    “Hm...that’d be a first.” He wasn’t being terse. Women rarely surprised him. They were an open book, one that could be read from cover to cover in about five seconds but were seldom worth the time. Until now. Every word, action, hint and suggestion about Camille Chandler held him captive. He hoped he didn’t end up disappointed.
    “Well that’s a pretty cynical outlook for a guy who’s got the world at his feet.” The spunk in her tone had returned full-force.
    “The world at my feet?” he asked, more for amusement’s sake than curiosity.
    “Well, anybody that’ll wager five million dollars on a bet that can easily be fixed has to have the world at their feet.”
    She had a point. She could lie. He’d be surprised if she didn’t. Money had a way of motivating people to do strange things. His motivation was freedom. Luckily, he had a virtually unlimited supply of cash to support his quirks.
    But more than that, he got the impression she could use a break.
    “Being me is not all it’s cracked up to be.”
    “And why is that?”
    “Enough about me.” He leaned toward Camille and looked her over seductively. How he’d like to tangle his hand in those dark tresses and draw her to him. “Are you ready to leave the United States?”
    “Just as soon as we’re married.”
    Oh, that. “All right. I’ll leave the arrangements to you. It’s probably more efficient that way.” Julian had no interest in supervising the tedious preparations. The only thing he cared to oversee was the pre-nuptial agreement.
    “Vegas.”
    “Vegas?” What ? She wanted to gamble? Perhaps his instincts had failed him and he’d made a bad choice.
    “Vegas. It’s the quickest, easiest, simplest way to get hitched.”
    Hitched? Oh, yes, an American idiom. Relief washed over Julian and relaxed his shoulders. Thank God. He’d hate to think he’d lost his edge.
    “Vegas. That’s where we want to go.” Her eyes lit up, like she was enjoying herself. He liked it. “When do you want to go? Today? Tomorrow? I’m not sure when we can get a flight out.”
    “Oh, we can go anytime you’re ready—”
    “Let me guess.” She cut him off. “You have your own plane?”
    “That I do, Chéri.”
    “Look.” Her shoulders dropped and she blew out an exasperated sigh. “You’ve got to stop calling me that.”
    “Why?”
    “I don’t know. It just doesn’t seem right.”
    “Why?”
    “I’m not really your darling . It’s not like we’re a real couple or anything.”
    “For the next six months, Chéri, we will give every appearance of being just that.”
    And if she succumbed to his charms during that time, so much the better.
    She was beginning to blush a little and when she started to