He knew she’d give him the right answer. Duncan picked up the phone and began speaking to his secretary. His secretary questioned him on a few points. He made sure to keep his eyes on Tess at all times. Her eyes widened when he said the word marriage. She really had no clue as to what she was getting herself into. Erik should have warned his daughter that he didn’t like to play fair. Duncan got what he wanted by being ruthless. Every person who lived on earth had a price. Duncan always found the sum and was willing to use it to his advantage. Tess’s price was the freedom of her father. She would do as she was told or risk losing her parent. He didn’t see the real connection. Erik rarely talked about his daughter. He’d visited the man’s desk a few times. He possessed no photos of his family at all.
Tess was prepared to do anything for a man who didn’t really acknowledge her as a daughter. Duncan found her circumstance sad but to his benefit.
Another five minutes and the conversation ended with his secretary. Jane was going to make sure to purchase a marriage license along with the essentials to get him married very soon. He looked at her, and his words would shock her. Duncan knew he needed the element of surprise on his side. “In two weeks, we will be married at the local church across the street on the corner. I’ll organise a dress to be delivered to you by the end of the day. The wedding will be at ten on Friday morning.” His words were short and sharp.
He carried on with his work while he waited for her reaction. Everything in his mind had to be planned.
“What do you mean we will be married?”
“You said you will do anything for your father.”
“Not marriage—” Her voice took on a hysterical tone. Duncan felt his heart ache. For a split second he considered backing out. Tess Williams had done nothing to him. She was a daughter trying to help her parent. She didn’t deserve it.
Use her, and get your revenge. Your mother deserves to be in her rightful place at the villa.
“Shall I cancel the arrangements and get in contact with the police? I’m sure you’d like to spend the next ten years seeing your father in an orange suit.” He picked up the phone as if to phone them. Duncan saw her panic. Within seconds she’d grabbed the phone from his hand and slammed it back in its cradle. Her breathing was deep and troubled.
Duncan was right. Tess Williams had some fire in her. He couldn’t wait to see how much fire she possessed.
“Why do you want me to marry you?” She stayed standing near his chair looking down at him. A layer of sweat covered her brow. Her scent invaded him. She smelt like vanilla and honey, a savoury sweetness he wanted to taste.
Looking up at her Duncan saw the outline of her body. His assumptions had been correct. She had a full figure. Her hips were large. He knew she would be able to take a hard fucking without breaking. Models were too thin. Their bones always made him feel if he pushed too hard they’d snap in two. Duncan wasn’t a weak man. He worked hard, and when he fucked a woman, he liked to get dirty doing it. There was something about a hard fuck that set his mind at ease.
“I have found that it’s something I need to do. You’re in a predicament where I can help you. This is a win/win situation for us.” His answer sounded vague. He wouldn’t tell her the truth.
“Why do you need to get married?”
He contemplated telling her about his own deceased father’s will and the terms surrounding it in order for him to gain his inheritance. He decided against it. She didn’t need to know how much he needed this marriage. It kept him in control of their affair and brief marriage.
“It’s time for me to be married. A marriage will keep the press off my back and cleans up this bad boy image I’ve been tarred with. If you marry me I’ll not press charges against your father. Any debt that he has created would be wiped clean. I’ll settle everything. All you need to do is marry me.” He made a point of mentioning her father’s predicament. Duncan might be a ruthless businessman, but he kept to his word. He wouldn’t go back on his word.
He stood, which forced her to take a step back. Her scent was everywhere he turned. Her hand rested on his desk. Her cheeks were flushed. Duncan stared down at her chest and saw her nipples were pressed against the fabric of her shirt. She was turned on by him.
****
Tess stared at his chest. He was so close it disturbed her train of thought. His expensive designer suit did nothing to disguise how magnificent his body was. Tess felt an incredible urge to stroke her hand down the hard press of his chest. His suit jacket would feel soft against her fingers. His chest would press against her finger tips showing her how hard this man was, in body and in his presence. She knew he was known for getting what he wanted. She had never thought it would involve her.
He stood close to her. His masculine scent invaded her senses. She knew he was strong, but being surrounded by him made it hard for her to concentrate.
No matter how many diets she went on she’d never been able to shift her extra pounds. While she was growing up her father had used to tease her about her extra weight. Over time it had been easy for her to stop thinking about her body and just hide away in books. When she was in a fantasy world no one could hurt her. In romance books for a short while she could pretend to be heroine. She knew it was naïve, but being consumed by the fantasy world meant she didn’t have to deal with the bitter sting of rejection, which hurt so much more.
She knew her body, and she was aroused at the sudden image of them together, naked. The chance of Duncan James ever wanting anything to do with her was incredibly slim. She shook her head to remove the erotic images from her mind. Never before had she felt intrigued by a man. He stood in front of her with his dominant attitude, which terrified her. He made her think about herself as a woman and not just someone else within the scheme of things. For the first time since high school she wanted to be someone other than Tess Williams, the motherless fat girl.
She moved around his desk to sit back in her seat. The more distance she put between them the better she’d feel. Her whole body quivered at the passionate possession still alive in her mind. No matter how hard she tried to shut it off, the images kept coming back. Her hands shook as she clasped them on her lap.
“All I have to do is marry you, and you will wipe my father’s slate clean. No debt and no charges?” He nodded his head. Tess knew it couldn’t be that simple. Nothing in life ever was. She had only come here to try to stop her father going to prison. She now got all the debt cleared provided she married the man with a reputation worse than the devil. Tess knew she should be celebrating. How could she celebrate? On the one hand her father would be free, while on the other, she’d be trapped with a man who had no respect for a woman.
“How long will we be married?”
“For as long as we wish.”
So vague, so tempting, and so obviously the thing to do. She could fight him, and then her father would be in prison.
Or she could be married to this man and be free within the next few years. Marriage to this man would be a hardship. From the short time she’d spent in his office she knew he liked to control. He didn’t give anything away. It’s not as if he would demand marital rights from her. He could have any woman he wanted, which left her free to fulfil her own responsibilities. He probably wouldn’t even want to share a house. Nothing in her life would have to change. Her last name and a ring on her wedding finger was all that was required of her. Tess felt her heart lifting. She could do this. It was the only solution, and it had been offered by Duncan James himself. All she needed to do was keep visions of them intimate together out of her mind and she would be fine.
She wondered what could possibly go wrong. It all sounded so clear in her mind. What other choice did she really have? Tess couldn’t let her father rot in some prison cell. Anyway she had heard enough of the awful things that happened in prisons from her own father.
The thought of him going to a place like that made her sick to her stomach. If she had to give up her freedom to protect the only parent she had then she’d do whatever it took.
Chapter Three
Duncan watched her as she worked out his proposal in her mind. He knew she would accept his proposal. She didn’t have any other solution to her father’s immediate problems. He held all the cards. Just the way he liked it. Erik would see the inside of a prison cell if she refused. He’d make sure of it. Tess was on his radar now.
They would be married within the next two weeks. Any longer would risk her backing out. Duncan had everything prepared. Once their meeting was over he’d phone Mark to give him an update. Soon after his signature was taken on the wedding certificate, he would have the family estate that he’d waited so long to possess. The only other problem in his path was getting Tess to bear him a child.
The only solution he saw would be to make her fall in love with him. He would spend a great deal of time to make certain Tess Williams wouldn’t be able to leave him. Duncan knew she’d never leave a child. She had that maternal instinct he’d heard Mark talk about. He knew he could do it, and within no time he would have her in his bed, and then before she knew what was happening they could conceive his first child. All parts of his father’s will would be met.