The Valquez Bride. Melanie Milburne

and his responsibilities at home. There was nothing he liked more than a challenge—the harder the quest the better. It made claiming the victory all the more satisfying.

      He knew he could have her if he made a play for her. He could have any woman he wanted. Vanity had nothing to do with it. He could look as ugly as sin and he would still be able to draw a woman into his sensual web.

      Ever since his broken engagement he had made it his business to select and seduce. He never stayed with a lover more than a couple of weeks. He was a sexual grazer. He took what was on offer and moved on before expectations made things messy.

      ‘What do you plan to do about this...er...vexing situation we find ourselves in?’ he said.

      Her chin was thrust at a pugnacious height, her eyes glittering with such defiance and spirit he felt a tingling sensation at the base of his spine. ‘I’m seeking legal advice.’

      ‘Good luck with that.’

      Her forehead puckered. ‘What’s that supposed to mean?’

      Alejandro wandered over to the bookshelves to see what her taste was in reading. All the classics were there. No surprise. There was a scattering of modern works, mostly thrillers and adventure and a larger selection of romance. Interesting. Did Miss Uptight Teddy Marlstone have a secret desire to be wooed and won?

      ‘I said, what’s that supposed to mean?’

      He smiled as he pushed the spine of the book he’d inspected back in alignment with the others. Now he was getting somewhere. Getting under that starchy façade to see who she really was when she wasn’t trying to be a pain in the butt. He slowly turned and ran his gaze over her assessingly. ‘In my experience, lawyers drive expensive cars paid for by their clients.’

      Her throat moved up and down like a small creature under a rug, the only crack so far in her cool composure. ‘So?’

      ‘Are you sure you can afford it?’

      Two spots of rosy pink stained her cheeks but her gaze was as caustic as ever. ‘I haven’t sponged off my father, if that’s what you’re implying. I have my own source of income.’

      ‘As a children’s book illustrator, right?’

      ‘That’s correct.’

      ‘I’ve never seen any of your work.’

      Her eyes pulsated with dislike. ‘I can assure you I’m quite popular with whom it counts.’

      Alejandro suppressed a smile. He was enjoying their verbal stoush much more than he’d expected to. She was prim and proper and yet fiercely proud. He liked someone who could stand up for what they believed in. Who wasn’t intimidated or put off by others’ egos or agendas. She wasn’t fazed by him or by his reputation. She was making no attempt to disguise her dislike of him. He liked that. He liked it a lot. ‘We have a month to decide what to do.’

      Her chin came up again and stayed up. ‘I have already decided.’

      So had he...or so he’d thought.

      Maybe a short-term marriage on paper would be worth considering after all.

      He wanted that land.

      It was a thousand hectares of prime real estate that had been in his family for generations, and would still have been except for Teddy’s father’s underhand dealings. Alejandro’s plans to extend his polo pony-breeding stud with an exclusive resort attached couldn’t go ahead without that land. It was perfectly positioned, with good grazing and access, and wouldn’t interfere or compromise the rest of his estate. Sustainable farming was an important issue to him and without that land being returned to his possession he couldn’t rest easy that it would be taken care of in the best way possible. What if Teddy’s relative sold it to a developer? There were plenty about, looking for properties to exploit. The place would be desecrated and his along with it. He had to stop that happening. He would do anything to stop that happening.

      Almost anything.

      ‘Are you really prepared to throw all of this away?’ He waved a hand to encompass her gracious surroundings.

      She eyeballed him with that same piercing intensity. ‘Are you really prepared to marry a perfect stranger in exchange for a plot of land?’

      He sent his gaze over her in a long lazy sweep, taking in the swell of her small pert breasts the voluminous sweater couldn’t quite conceal. ‘I’m thinking about it.’

      Her eyes flickered and then widened as if she couldn’t quite believe her ears.

      Alejandro was with her on that. He couldn’t believe his either. Had he really just said he was thinking about it? Red flag. Panic button. Exit stage left.

      He was thinking about the M word?

      ‘Why is the land of such importance to you?’ she asked.

      The one thing Alejandro had learned in business was not to show how much you wanted something. It gave the opposition too much power. It was better to act cool and indifferent, as if this was just another business transaction. Nothing out of the ordinary. Easy come, easy go.

      ‘The land is not the issue. The issue is whether I would feel comfortable watching you lose everything for the sake of six months in a paper marriage.’

      Her throat rose and fell again as she made a little gulping sound. ‘Did you say...paper?’

       CHAPTER TWO

      ‘BUT OF COURSE.’ Alejandro hooked a pitch-black eyebrow upwards. ‘You surely weren’t expecting anything else?’

      Teddy tried to read his glinting expression. Was he mocking her or baiting her?

      It didn’t take her long to decide. He was mocking her. Bastard. Did he have to make it so plainly obvious she was not his type? Grr. She had deliberately made herself look as unappealing as possible when she’d seen his top end sports car prowl up the long driveway. Well, even more unappealing given her damaged hip was no doubt the biggest turn-off for a man who only dated long-legged blondes.

      The arrogance of him! He hadn’t even called first to make an appointment to see her. What sort of person did that? What did he think she did all day? Swan around the manor with a champagne cocktail in her hand?

      How hard would it have been to call and make a time? What right did he have to come barging in demanding she see him? Did he think she was hanging out here with her heart all aflutter, waiting for him to turn up and dash her off to the nearest register office?

      If so, he had better think again. She was determined to show him she wasn’t one of his brainless bimbos who drooled at the mere sight of him.

      He might be quite possibly the most gorgeous-looking man she had ever seen, even more gorgeous than those hot male models who advertised aftershave or designer brand sunglasses. He might have the most amazingly dark brown eyes that made her think of strong espresso coffee, and a mouth that made her think of sex, which was a little bit shocking because she never thought of sex. He might have a body that would make Michelangelo make a dash for the nearest chisel and a block of marble, but she was not going to be swooning or fainting any time soon.

      No way.

      She was going to show him he couldn’t just waltz into her house and tell her how high to jump.

      Firstly, she couldn’t jump.

      And secondly...well, a girl had her pride, didn’t she? She didn’t want to be handed over like a raffle prize. He didn’t want her. He wanted the land his father had sold to her father. He wanted it more than he was letting on.

      That was the thing about being a wallflower. Teddy got to stand back and observe people. To see all the nuances that gave them away. He was better than most at keeping his cards concealed, but she knew he was a powerful and ruthlessly dangerous opponent.