The Billionaire's Bargain (8 page)

“Yes, it did cost a small fortune, and we both know I can afford it.” He
motioned for the waiter to come.

“But I can’t have—” She stopped talking as the waiter handed them both a
menu. She opened the menu and saw it was food. She thanked him before he left
them alone again.

“If our marriage doesn’t last I’ll make sure the ring comes back to you
in one piece,” she said.

“You won’t want to sell it on? Or are you planning on taking me for more
money?”

She noticed he didn’t mention anything about her marriage comment. What were
his thoughts about their upcoming nuptials?

“I don’t want anything from you. You’ve given my father freedom. I hope
he doesn’t do anything else. I’m grateful for that.” She gazed down at her
menu.

“You don’t have to order for yourself, and you can keep the ring,” he
said.
Duncan
took her menu from her then opened his own menu.

“I can’t keep the ring. People will think—” She stopped when he looked
at her. His stare was hard. She was looking at the businessman.
 

“People will think you are nothing but a gold-digger. In all my life I
have found it easier to allow people to think what they want. That way you
won’t spend your time telling people who won’t listen that they are wrong. It
is a waste of time. They will all soon realise you aren’t a gold-digger. You’re
my wife. Now, what do you want to eat?” He motioned for the waiter to come
back.
Duncan
ordered himself a large steak meal. Tess had the same as he did, only with a
smaller steak for her.

“So no salad sticks for you?” he asked. There was a teasing glint in his
eye.

“Well, from my size I think it shows that I don’t go for salad sticks.
I’m surprised you were able to find a dress in my size,” she said. Diets were
pointless. No matter how little she ate or all the exercise she did nothing
stopped her size. She’d had to accept she’d always be bigger and have womanly
curves. Tess was learning to accept she would never be model thin. Some days it
was harder to accept than others.
 

“I’ve noticed your body, Tess. I’ve felt your curves in my hands, and I
have to say I love the fact that you eat more than salad sticks.” He
complimented her. A red blush spread up her chest to her cheeks.

Tess was self-conscious. She felt his gaze on her. He made her nervous
no matter what he did. His comment about her body made her really happy. He
liked the look of her body. For a split second she was able to bask in his
compliment before the old insecurities began to rear their ugly heads.

Was he taking pity on her?

She picked up her glass of water and took a generous sip. She wasn’t used
to being around anyone like
Duncan
.
 

“Be careful with the water. You don’t want to drink too much before your
meal arrives,” he said.
 

She nodded then put the glass down. Tess wished she’d kept the
foul-tasting wine. Maybe it would have helped her get through the rest of the
evening. When the waiter brought their steaks through and placed them on the
table,
Duncan
asked for a glass of cold mineral water.

The waiter came back with his water, and then they started to eat. It
was steak with small potatoes and a green salad. It smelled delicious and
tasted wonderful. The food wasn’t classic French food, but she wouldn’t be able
to appreciate the taste and flavours with
Duncan
looking on.

The steak was cooked how she liked it, on the griddle with a wonderful
pink centre. The potatoes were savoury and buttery, and the salad finished off
the meal to perfection.

“Do you like it?”
Duncan
asked.

“Yes, it’s the best steak I’ve ever
tasted,” she said, taking another bite of her steak. While they ate Tess could
almost forget what was happening between them. The diamond ring on her finger
kept catching her eye, which made her very much aware of their current
situation.

****

Tess was too busy looking at the
diamond and eating her meal to see the worry in his eyes.
Duncan
was concerned at whether she would
like the ring or not. He’d spent a lot of time trying to find the right ring.
He’d spent more time trying to find the right one for her than he’d ever spent
trying to find anything for any other woman.
Duncan
never personally went and bought gifts
for his women. Tess was different, and he needed to find something personal to
fit the woman to be his wife.

He’d noticed she didn’t seem to like
the attention they got at the restaurant. She tried to hide away from all the
onlookers. He’d seen the women who had sent her scornful looks. Other women
would have basked in the attention this place had to offer. He hadn’t been
lying when he’d said she was the first woman he’d brought here. She was
refreshing to him after being around so much superficiality. He knew she spoke
the truth about giving him back his ring. She wouldn’t want anything from him
other than what he was willing to give.

Tess cut into her steak, the hunger
on her face refreshing. He glanced at the tables near to him to see most of the
women had a salad or were pushing their food around.
Duncan
loved watching her eat. It was a new
experience to watch a woman eat. All his other dates that he took to other
restaurants ordered salads with no dressings with no
carbs
,
no fats. The chef’s were always at their wits’ end by the last course of the
meal.
 

It had become an embarrassment to
have his companion order something on the menu and then list more things not to
have.

Model thin maybe the fashion, but it
was no longer part of his fashion. He stared at Tess knowing her curves were a
huge feature in all of his future fantasies. She looked good enough to eat. He
couldn’t wait to get his ring on her finger.
  

His appreciation was interrupted by
an old friend.
“
Duncan
,
what a pleasure to see you here.”

Duncan
greeted Carlos but didn’t bother to
get up from his table.

Now was a better time than any to
introduce Tess.

“Carlos, I’d like to introduce you
to my fiancée, Tess.”
Duncan
reached for her hand while Carlos took her other, placing a kiss on her
fingers.

Duncan
watched as Carlos was startled by
his news before he covered up his surprise with a smile.

“You’re finally going to get
married, and to this exquisite woman.” Tess pulled her hand away but smiled. He
saw she didn’t like the other man’s attention. The fact she allowed him to
touch and kiss her meant a lot to him.
Duncan
noticed all the other guests listening.

Duncan
kept a hold of her hand knowing she
didn’t like being on public display. She depended on him to keep her safe.

“I just saw her and fell instantly.
I knew then and there that I wanted her for myself and no other. She’ll be my
wife very soon.” He made sure to speak louder so most of the guests nearby
would hear his news. The sooner he got Tess by his side and in his bed the
happier he would be.

He was certain his impending
marriage would be all across the news by tomorrow. He wanted Tess with a
passion. The sooner he started her seduction the better. She was ripe and ready
to be plucked. Her response to him made it all the more essential for him to
get her where he wanted her.

Carlos gave his congratulations then
left them to finish their meal.

Duncan
saw how nervous Tess was. Her hand
shook ever so slightly as she lifted her glass of water and took a large
gulp.
    

He wanted her in his bed.
Duncan
wanted to take care
of her. He wanted to own and possess her. There was so much he wanted to teach
and explore with her. His revenge would come against Miranda and his father.
Tess would be the icing on his cake.

In two weeks he’d be able to have it
all.
 

He was not the most patient man.
Duncan
was desperate to
have her.

Chapter Seven

Two weeks later

The church was full of his relatives
and business associates. There were a handful of friends and her father there
to watch her sell her soul to the devil. In a few short hours she’d no longer
be a single woman. She’d be Duncan James’s wife. She took a deep breath to try
to contain her nerves.

Tess closed the door then glanced at
her reflection in the mirrors provided. It was moments like these where she
wished she had a mother. Her mother should be with her on this day. It didn’t
matter the marriage was a farce. What mattered was the fact she would be
married. When she was satisfied that she looked the part as Duncan James’s new
bride she went and took a seat near the window overlooking the cemetery at the
back of the church.

His secretary sure worked fast. The
clock on the wall confirmed it was ten o’clock. It was a bigger sign of the
power and money
Duncan
possessed. In minutes she’d be married, and Tess Williams would be a million
miles away.

He didn’t know anything about her.
Duncan
didn’t know her
favourite colour, favourite meal, or any of her hobbies. The more she thought
about how unsuitable they were as a couple the more her fears were constantly
getting the better of her. For the past two weeks she’d been bombarded with
calls from so-called friends and magazines asking about her upcoming wedding
with the bachelor of the year.

All of their attention was false and
devoted to the imaginary woman she was pretending to be. She wasn’t the Tess
Williams who’d managed to snag the multi-millionaire. She was Tess Williams the
librarian. Tess hadn’t seen
Duncan
since the night he had given her a ring and took her to dinner. Not one phone
call, nothing. The distance he’d created between them unnerved her.

Her dreams were filled with his
kisses and daring touches. She’d had no choice but to hand in her notice at the
library. The press were stalking her wherever she went. She’d spent the last
week trapped in her apartment. His secretary had assured her
Duncan
was handling the situation.

She wished she hated her father
enough to tell him to go to prison.

Tess had convinced herself the
wedding was a fantasy. There was no way the most eligible bachelor would ever
consider her as a wife. Then today, stylists and designers had turned up to her
small apartment. They’d all surrounded her, pulling at her hair or plucking
this or that until she had finally turned up as the bride-to-be. The paparazzi
had followed her from her apartment to the church. She’d heard most of the
events of her upcoming wedding from the news. The press had fired questions at
her asking
Duncan
’s
reputation. They’d made sure she’d heard about the gossip surrounding the
recent story of his conquest with the latest fashion model. Each question
making her wonder if this decision was an act of desperation or the right one?

All she had to do was think of her
father, and she knew she was making the right decision. No matter what he’d
done to her, he was still her father, and she loved him.

It was desperation, but being
married to
Duncan
couldn’t be that much of a hardship?

A busy man like
Duncan
would never spend more than a month in
one place. Surely most of the time he’d be too busy travelling to even
remember
he had a wife. It would give her the time she
needed to dedicate to her passion.
Writing.
She loved
creating magical worlds where she could get lost. No matter what happened in
the story the characters in her mind would always get a happy ending. She’d
loved books for so long that her passion had soon turned to trying to pen one
herself. Becoming a writer would be a dream come true. His secretary had
informed her that her life at the library would have to end. Duncan James’s
wife couldn’t work.

She’d decided to use her time
married to him by trying to find her own dream. Her only other wish was to have
a family of her own with a husband to love and a couple of children.

Tess stared out at the priest as he
gazed out at the gravestones.
Duncan
stood by the priest for several moments. She wasn’t able to make out what they
were saying. Tess stared at her soon-to-be husband. He looked handsome from
what she was able to see.