A Contract for His Runaway Bride

Lincoln was reading through some paperwork in his home office when he caught sight of Elodie on the security camera screen on his desk. He dropped the pen he was holding and stared at her for a long moment, drinking in her feminine form like a badly dehydrated man might stare at a long, cool glass of water, hardly daring to believe it was real.

She was dressed in a stunning green dress that left little to the imagination—and he didn’t need much imagination, because he remembered every sexy curve of her body. He had explored and tasted every inch of it, and spent many a night since their breakup aching to do so again. No one had ever worked him up as much as Elodie Campbell. And that irritated the hell out of him.

The desire to settle down had come upon him the moment he’d met her. At twenty-one, she’d been bright and funny and wildly entertaining. He’d been twenty-eight years old, and still reeling from the sudden death of his adoptive mother. Falling fast and hard for Elodie had made him long to recreate the secure family unit he had grown up with. And watching his father slide into a deep depression had only reinforced Lincoln’s desire to settle down. He’d figured it would offer his dad some hope for the future—a beautiful daughter-in-law, grandkids at some point...

Elodie’s energy and vitality had lifted him out of his own funk of grief and within a couple of months he’d found himself on bended knee with an expensive diamond ring in his hand. He had never been the impulsive, spur-of-the-moment type, but something about her bewitching personality had unlocked the armour around his heart.

It was a decision he had come to regret, and bitterly, but now he had the power to end their relationship—this time around on his terms.

The only thing he was grateful for was he had never actually told her he loved her out loud. He had shown it in a thousand ways, but saying the words had been difficult for him. Elodie, on the other hand, had professed to love him many times—which just showed how empty those three little words could be. They were cheap, and overused, and he had been fooled by them, but he would not allow himself to be taken in by them again.

Elodie used people to get where she wanted to go, and she had used him callously and deceptively. She had been a virtual unknown before her fling with him, but her career had taken off after she’d jilted him. She had ruthlessly used him to get the social exposure she’d craved. That was the thing that niggled at him the most—she had used his public humiliation to launch her career.

Now she needed him in her quest for a career-change and he was happy to help. More than happy to help. Because this time around he would call the shots. Each and every one of them. Or die trying.

***

Elodie shifted her weight from foot to foot, annoyed that Lincoln was keeping her waiting again. She knew he was home, for his top-model sports car was parked in the driveway and there were lights on in his Victorian mansion.

She pressed her finger on the bell once more and looked directly into the security camera positioned above the entrance. She considered waving, but then the stained-glass and glossy black arched double front doors suddenly opened automatically, and she stepped inside.

The doors whispered shut behind her with a barely audible click, somehow giving her a vague sense of being imprisoned. She shook off the sensation and straightened her shoulders. She wasn’t one to be intimidated by anyone or anything—even if this house did hold some memories she wished she could forget. Disturbingly sexy memories that made her body feel hot all over.

‘Hello?’ Elodie’s voice echoed eerily in the spacious foyer.

The floor was light-coloured Italian marble with grey flecks and the walls a chalk-white. From the high ceiling hung a large crystal chandelier, and a grand sweeping staircase with black balustrading wound its way to the upper floors. A walnut and brass inlaid drum table with curved pedestal legs was positioned in front of the staircase, and a cymbidium orchid in luscious full bloom was situated on top, with a selection of hardback wildlife and wilderness books.

On the other side of the foyer there was a large brass inlaid dresser with twin crystal lamps either side of a gold-framed mirror that made the area seem even more spacious. Another orchid was positioned between the lamps, and either side of the dresser were two dark grey velvet wing chairs, which gave a welcoming and balanced feel to the formal entrance.

The sound of a footfall on the staircase brought her gaze up and she watched as Lincoln came towards her. She was glad it was him and not his crotchety old housekeeper, who had never made her feel welcome in the past. Hopefully Mean Morag had long gone.

Lincoln was wearing casual latte-coloured chinos with a light blue open-necked casual shirt that made the blue in his eyes dominate the green. The shirt was rolled halfway up his strong tanned forearms, the rich dusting of masculine hair spreading from his arms to the backs of his hands and along each of his fingers reminding her of the potent male hormones surging through his body.

‘I’ve been expecting you.’

His voice held a trace of amusement, and she wondered how long he had been watching her via the security camera.

‘It took you long enough to open the door.’ Elodie threw him a churlish look. ‘I was freezing my butt off out there.’

His eyes ran over her outfit from head to toe, lingering a moment on the deep valley of her cleavage. ‘Then maybe you should have worn a coat.’

And spoil the knock-his-socks-off effect? No way.

Elodie sent her gaze around the foyer once more. ‘You’ve redecorated since I was here last.’

No doubt he’d gone to great expense to rid his house of every trace of her. She seemed to recall he’d had a fling with an interior designer a few years ago. One of many glamourous women he’d been seen out and about with in the seven years since their cancelled wedding. Lincoln could barely change his brand of toothpaste without the press commenting on it, which was why her decision to accept his proposal would be so lucrative and important for launching her label.

‘What do you think?’ he asked.

She gave an indifferent shrug. ‘It’s nice enough.’

Lincoln’s smile was sardonic, making her wonder if he could read her mind. ‘Would you like a drink?’

‘Sure.’

He led the way to a grand sitting room off the foyer, which had three large windows on one side overlooking the formal garden. A large sofa and matching armchairs were positioned in the middle of the room on a luxurious rug that left a wide boundary of the parquet floor on show. The grand fireplace had a large mirror above the mantelpiece and another crystal chandelier hung from the ceiling. Lamps were tastefully situated between each of the three large windows, on antique tables, and there were fresh flowers on the round coffee table in front of the sofa and chairs.

Elodie plonked herself down on one of the chairs and crossed her legs, watching as Lincoln went to a cleverly hidden drinks cabinet complete with fridge on the wall further along from the fireplace. ‘Have you still got the same housekeeper?’

‘I have, actually.’ Lincoln took out a bottle of champagne and set it on the top of the cabinet with two tall crystal flutes. ‘Will that be a problem for you?’

Elodie inspected her nails rather than meet his gaze. ‘Why should it be?’