For You I Do (7 page)

London felt his indignation grow. Marriage was the last thing on his mind, yet here he was trying to help her and she had the nerve to laugh at his offer. Fine, he didn’t want to get married, anyway, or did he? No, of course not, yet he felt somewhat responsible for ruining her engagement, although, as far as he was concerned, he had saved her from a disaster.

It wasn’t a totally ridiculous idea. Getting married was not a bad idea at all. It could be a business arrangement. People did that all the time. Bianca, however, did not seem to see the sense in it. Bianca needed a husband, yet she laughed at the idea of marrying him. He tilted his chin stubbornly. Almost every single woman in Sheraton Beach was throwing herself at him, hoping to catch his attention. “Because of
what?
”

Bianca’s laughter died away slowly as she suddenly realized that he wasn’t joking. “Because we aren’t right for each other,”

she said. “You’re a…” He raised an eyebrow at her hesitation and she sighed. “You didn’t mean it, did you?”

His silence was her only answer.

Bianca noticed the sober expression on his face and stared wordlessly across the room, almost certain that her expression mirrored her shock. His proposal had caught her completely by surprise. Never in a million years would she have expected him to offer to marry her. Was he for real?

Bianca gazed over at him, taking in the stubborn set of his eyes and his handsome features—a stubborn jaw, a sensual lower lip.

Fitted together, it was an attractive package. Very attractive. She
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swallowed as she found her body responding to the possibilities.

There was no way she could be married to him and not be tempted to…

“You can’t be serious.”

When she finally turned her gaze back to meet his eyes, he eyed her warily and waited. “I wouldn’t have asked you if I wasn’t serious.”

Pulling her thoughts together, she gave him a critical squint.

“You and I wouldn’t last twenty-four hours and you know it.”

“Why not?” Those two words were layered with a thread of annoyance.

She gave him a dismissive wave as she carried her mug over to the microwave, stuck it inside and set the timer. “I’m too independent and strong-minded. If I’m going to agree to an arranged marriage, it needs to be with a man who’s going to leave me alone for the next six months. Not to mention sleep in the spare bedroom.”

“Not happening,” he snapped. “No real man would even consider that. If you’re my wife, I plan to be your husband, which means you would be sharing my bed.”

Her stomach churned at the possibility. At the heat in his eyes, she quickly turned away. “No way. I will never give my heart to another man.”

“I didn’t say anything about your heart.”

Bianca swallowed at the intensity of his gaze. And wondered why on earth he was making this discussion so difficult. “I do not wish to marry a man unless he understands that it is strictly a business arrangement. I’ll even pay him if I have to. The marriage would be in name only. He sleeps in one room and me in the other.”

London chuckled. “He is not going to agree to that.”

“For the right price he will.”

She turned and he couldn’t speak from staring. Through her snug T-shirt, he could see her body was already changing.

Studying her carefully, he realized that her small breasts were fuller and more generous. Now that she was pregnant, he bet he could fit one in the palm of his hand.

Within seconds, his body betrayed him. Bianca was the best thing he’d ever laid eyes on. Staring at her, desire hardened the
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flesh pulsing between his thighs. London forced his gaze back up to her face, lingering on the tempting curve of her lower lip before returning to her mesmerizing walnut-colored eyes. He couldn’t speak, so instead he drank in the sight of her.

Bianca was oblivious to him as she fussed with the sugar bowl. Finally, the bell on the microwave went off and she carefully removed her mug. “London?”

“Huh?”

“You weren’t really serious about getting married, were you?”

He clamped his teeth together and forced a deep breath. “Yes, I am,” he replied after recovering his voice.

A smile trembled on her lips. She was clearly surprised and flattered by his offer. Even if it was for all the wrong reasons.

“You just feel sorry for me.”

He gave a snort. “Feel sorry for you?”

“Because I’m pregnant by a jerk.”

Feeling more at ease, London crossed his ankles, and leaned back against the counter. “Bianca, my offer of marriage was sincere. Feeling sorry for you is the last thing you would ever allow a man to feel. You’re too strong a woman for that. I am confident that everything will work out for you.” He waved her worries aside. “You are one of the most headstrong women I have ever met. You’re definitely no pushover. I’m simply offering you a solution. Not because I think you need help caring for your baby, but because I know how important it is to you to protect your baby and your family from scandal.”

Capturing her questioning gaze and holding it with his, he continued, “I know this is not at all how you had it planned, but you’re in a bind and I think this arrangement could work if you’d let it. We can get married and live together until the baby is born.

Once you’re settled, you could file for a divorce. Hell, I’ll even say it was my fault that our marriage didn’t work.”

Bianca’s heart wrenched as she considered what he offered.

Lowering her head slightly, she took a deep calming breath. The playboy was not at all father material, but she was certainly grateful for London’s willingness to help her.

A tense silence enveloped the room. London was the first to say something.

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“So what do you say, Bianca?”

As he spoke her name, it became a caress, one that sent shivers of warning down her spine. She looked up again and blushed pro-fusely when she caught him staring. She half turned, stood there for a moment, utterly speechless as the room seemed to shrink in size. It reminded her of when she was seventeen and she thought she was madly in love with him. Back then, London only had eyes for Tiffany Spires. Now, his steady gaze was focused intently on her. She shivered. Realizing that she was holding her breath, she exhaled and hot air gushed from her lungs.

Bianca drew herself up sharply. This would not do, it simply would not do. London was a friend of hers and she was supposed to be in love with another man. Of course, she was still feeling the sting of Collin’s betrayal. That was the only excuse she had for feeling this…this vulnerable. It didn’t help that London was staring at her with hunger burning from the depths of his eyes.

Her skin heated, and she was tempted to order him out of her kitchen and push him out the front door. Besides, it wouldn’t work between them. London Brown loved women and she had sense enough to know there was no way he could stay committed to her for a year without feeling tempted to mess around.

Then she would be back at square one, right where she started.

If that was the case, she might as well just marry Collin. At least no one around here knew him or his reputation. But then there was that determined look in London’s eyes that told her that London was a man of his word and that was what almost made her almost willing to take a chance. Having him by her side would make dealing with her parents so much easier. The only problem was that there was no way she could protect her heart for that long a time. She had run away from him before, but if she agreed to marry him there was no way she would be able to control her feelings, especially now that she was pregnant and her hormones were all out of whack.

As if he knew that she was considering his offer, London closed the distance between them and there was nowhere for her to go. Her eyes met his and held. She shivered uncontrollably, ripples of something she shouldn’t feel for London shimmering through her body. He clasped her gently at the waist and pulled
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her into the circle of his arms. His breath was so close to her nose that his lips actually brushed it. She was stunned speechless.

“We would be good together,” he said as he backed her hips against the counter.

Her mind unable to actually grasp what he had said, she leaned into him, her breasts rising and falling quickly. “I…uh.”

She then gasped in surprise as his lips closed on the rim of her ear. He held on to her waist while he did some erotic things to her earlobe that made her turn into pudding in his hands.

Moaning, mindlessly, she let her head drop limply back.

She arched against his body, her breasts pushing against the thin fabric of her T-shirt. When his mouth covered hers and his tongue slid out to trace her lips, she willingly opened for him. She suddenly came alive in his arms, a hungry groan slipping from her mouth while his strong hands moved up and down her spine curving her to conform to his own body. With him so close, there was no mistaking the hard, rigid length of him pressed against her.

“What are you doing?”

“Showing you how serious I really am.”

He tasted so good she didn’t want the kiss to end. One hand remained flat against the small of her back, arching her against him, while the other slid up to her neck, his fingers burrowing into the soft thickness of her hair.

Abruptly, London drew back and she stared up at him. There was no mistaking the hunger in his eyes. It shook her to the core.

He gave her a few seconds to object before he leaned forward and took possession of her mouth once more. Bianca stiffened defensively, not daring to move. Stubbornly, she tried to stay in control and she refused to return his kiss. The pad of his thumb caressed the vulnerable flesh of her neck, and a small betraying shudder of reaction trembled through her entire body.

A sigh escaped her lips and she no longer had the desire to fight the moment. Giving in, she wrapped her arms around his neck, and allowed London to devour her mouth with a passion that stole all her breath and left her panting. The sudden fierce sexual thrust of his tongue against hers brought her up intimately against him, her breath escaping on a soft shiver of pleasure.

She wasn’t quite sure what he was doing, but she didn’t seem
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to be able to find the presence of mind to care. All that mattered was how good he made her feel and she hardly noticed as his hands inched their way beneath her T-shirt. When London’s thumb grazed her nipple with deliberate emphasis, she gasped while her body quivered.

“What’s wrong?” he whispered. “You like me playing with your nipples. Yes? No?” As he was whispering to her, London’s hand moved over and found her other breast.

Bianca gasped as London plucked at one and again the other.

It was like some sort of madness. He wasn’t what she wanted or needed, and yet she wanted and needed him with a violence that would have scared her, had she seen it coming.

Then suddenly London released her.

Blinking, Bianca opened her eyes, her chest heaving with her gasps as she saw London back away with his hands buried in his pockets as he, too, struggled for air. The look in his eyes told her that he had felt the same intensity.

“I just thought I’d leave you with something to think about,”

he said with a wink and a victorious smile. London then turned on his heels and headed out the front door.

Chapter 9

London pulled away from the curb and blew out a long, frustrated breath. To be totally honest, he had been a little offended at her for laughing at his offer. He was simply trying to do her a favor. Save her the embarrassment of the town finding out about her dilemma.

Turning the corner, he let out a harsh laugh. He could have anyone he wanted, but he ran away from any woman who even hinted at love and marriage. Glancing up into the rearview mirror, he tilted his chin proudly. He was one of the most eligible bachelors in Sheraton Beach, and he preferred to keep it that way. The last thing he needed was a wife and a child. As he thought about the mess he got himself into, he squeezed the steering wheel until his knuckles turned white. He had to force himself to loosen his grip.

As he drew closer to his house, he decided that he had to have his head examined. He had just asked his best friend’s sister to marry him.
And she turned you down.
Maybe it was a good thing that she’d rejected his offer, because the three J’s would have found out and he would have a lot of explaining to do.

Five minutes later, he pulled into his two-car garage and got
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out. As he stepped into his comfortable, three-bedroom house, he looked around.
Did he really want to give up his life?
he wondered.

Why are you worried about it? Bianca rejected your offer, so
relax.

He couldn’t relax—not as long as he knew he was responsible for ruining Bianca’s evening. Before he had showed up at her door, she was planning to marry her baby’s father. Now, after he had shoved the manila envelope in her face, her entire future was uncertain. And it was all his fault.

The cell phone rang and London reached inside his pocket and took it out. He looked down to see who was calling and swore under his breath.

Tracina.

Damn, he was supposed to be at her house, in her bed an hour ago.

“Hey, Tracina.”

“London, sweetie, where are you? I’m lying here waiting on you.”

He blew out a deep breath. The carefree life of a bachelor. Did he really want to give that up? He took a moment to think about that and all he could see was Bianca looking so small and all alone curled up on the couch. He’d had a lot of women in his life, but never had a female’s femininity cried out to his manhood the way Bianca’s had. For some strange reason, her being pregnant made him want her more than anything.

“I can’t tonight. Something’s come up.”

“Anything I can do to help change your mind?” she purred.