The Tycoon's Marriage Exchange (9 page)

As she tied the sash on her coat, Hector’s hands lingered for a moment on her shoulders.  She glanced at his hands, then her eyes traveled higher to look at his eyes, trying to figure out what he was thinking, why he was touching her this way.  He rarely touched her unless he was leading her into or out of a building, or helping her step into a limousine.  And even then, his hand barely touched the small of her
back or grazed her hand.  This touch was more firm, more definite.  And the light in his eyes made her st
omach tighten, her body shiver
in response. 

As soon as she shivered, he dropped his hands and turned away, putting that gentle, almost-not-there hand to the small of her back, then even that dropped away when she was heading down the stairs. 

What would he do if she pretended to trip?  Would he catch her?  Would she feel his strong hands holding her?  Maybe he would even pull her closer, let her feel his chest or his arms.  She could grab his arm just turning the corner at the bottom of her stairs, she thought, pretend that something had caught the heel of her shoe. 

A moment later
they were off the stairs, the
possibility
was gone
as
they were walking towards the parking lot.  Kallista sighed heavily as she looked around for his limousine, wishing she had more courage around this man.  He was such an enigma.  An enticing, fascinating mystery that she desperately wanted to understand. 

She was surprised when she considered telling Hector about the story she was working on.  Not the one she’d just submitted to her editor which was a fluff piece about the various animals available for adoption at the animal shelters.  But the other one, the one
only
her editor knew about with the drug cartels and the secret stashes, all the illegal activities in areas one wouldn’t
normally
expect
because they were so open, so suburban and not the dangerous underbelly of the inner city where people might expect to find illegal drug activities
.  She had pictures and testimonials, she’d seen drug deals in some of the less expected areas and this story was going to be a real breakthrough for her career. 

She wasn’t supposed to tell anyone about the story, on orders from her editor.  The man didn’t want her to reveal her sources, nor did he want her to accidentally tell the wrong person and get hurt.  As she walked beside Hector, she wondered what he would think if she told him that she was more than just a fluff reporter.  Would he be angry?  Or impressed that she was pushing the limits on her writing and investigating capabilities? 

She wasn’t sure what his opinion was about a wife working, especially in a position like she had, something that might be visible.  She didn’t care if he didn’t like it though.  There wasn’t much he could do to force her to quit.

Or could he? 

She would have to bring that up with her editor, find out what kind of pull Hector had with her newspaper. 
And if he did have the power to get her kicked off the staff, she’d have to talk with him about that.  She didn’t want her husband interfering in her career, especially if she was out with him each night, on his arm and giving up her free time to help him with his business interests.  Fair is fair she told herself. 

“Where are we going for dinner tonight?” she asked, smiling her thanks when he held open the door to a powerful looking black vehicle.  She suspected she might be in trouble when she noticed there were only two seats in this car.  A car with only two sea
ts, that meant power and speed, which only added to
Hector’s appeal.  She never would have expected this man to drive a car like this.  Limousines, yes.  Powerful cars that could probably reach over two hundred miles an hour?  Not at all! 

He waited until he was seated next to her and pulling out of the parking lot before answering.  “I thought we could eat at my place where we can talk without interruptions.  But if you’d like to go to a restaurant, I can arrange that.”

She swallowed slightly and shook her head. “No, your place would be nice.  I’d love to see more of your home.”  She only said that to give herself something to do instead of just sitting across the table from the man.  Maybe he could explain why he lived in such a huge house all by himself. 

He’d mentioned a quiet dinner earlier and this was basically what Kallista had been thinking would happen for the evening, but hearing him say the words, and seeing in her mind what she really wanted to happen, which was him taking her into his arms and kissing her so she knew what she was getting into….well, that was a whole different issue.  Reality was much more terrifying that her imaginings. 

“Great,” he said and then
Kallista
’s mind just about went blank.  He pulled onto the highway and, within moments, they were flying down the road, passing by the other cars at a rate that made her head spin.  The powerful car was so fast and so smooth it almost felt like they were flying, the tires no longer pulling against the
asphalt
and
Kallista
could feel her body starting to tingle with excitement. 

She wasn’t one of those people who thrived on an adrenaline rush, but she really, really loved a powerful car.  And men who could confidently handle a powerful car?  Good grief, she looked over at Hector and smiled inwardly!  She might have just found the sexiest man alive. 

At least when he was driving, she corrected.  She was disappointed when they slowed down and turned off the highway.  When they entered a gated street with a guard that saluted Hector as they passed,
Kallista
sighed with disappointment knowing that the ride was almost over. 

He laughed softly when he came around and opened her car door for her.  “I didn’t know you were a speed junky,” he said softly in her ear
as she stepped out onto the driveway next to him
.

She pulled away and shook her head. “I’m …..”

“Don’t deny it,” he said and stood in front of her. “I think it’s kind of cute.  I finally have something you like.”

He offered her his arm and she had to laugh as she tucked her hand onto the elbow.  “There are other things about you that I like,” she replied, ignoring the blush that stained her cheeks.
Now that he knew that she loved speed, she would have to be careful he didn’t think she was…unladylike?  Would Hector thin
k she wasn’t worthy if she weren’
t so proper?  That thought was daunting, because she really wasn’t this formal all the time. She loved waking up and going for a run in her workout clothes, of tying back her hair and trudging through some difficult writing wearing yoga pants and tee shirts or sweats and comfortable clothes.  She’d never dared to appear like that in front of him yet. 

He distracted her worrying with his deep voice saying,
“Name one other thing.”

She shrugged and looked at his broad shoulders in the sports coat. “I like your broad shoulders.  And I don’t know why you hide all those muscles underneath a suit or jacket.”

He tilted his head
to
the side and nodded. “I’ll take that
as a definite compliment
.”

They went inside and
Kallista
shivered when he took her coat, his fingers slipping against her neck and she stepped back quickly.  From the scowl on his rugged features she could tell that he’d caught the movement and wasn’t happy about it. 

She tried to smile up at him, to smooth out the reaction but he ignored the gesture and waved to the room on the left of the foyer.  “After you,” he said, a return to that painful politeness
of earlier, before the drive and their more casual, almost affectionate though brief conversation while walking into the house. 

She hesitated and looked around.  “I was hoping perhaps you could show me around the rest of your home.  I actually got lost the last time.  It would be nice if I could know my way through the halls a bit more easily.”
  She was proud that she didn’t start blushing at that admission, but her request didn’t bring back the friendly man she’d discovered outside, which was disappointing. 

He nodded and walked towards the long, center hallway.  He gave her a tour all right.  It was a march through each room while he walked silently beside her.  Every once in a while she thought up a question, but he answered it with one or two words, making conversation difficult.

When they were back in the foyer,
she had had enough of the stiff, angry formal guy who terrified her and made her wonder if he was just a really good looking robot.  S
he turned around and glared up at him
, poking him in the chest as her anger increased
. “Okay, look buddy!  Tonight is about getting to know each other and it would be great if we could be married not being strangers.  But we’re both doing this for reasons other than love, even though I have no idea what your motivation is.  So let’s at least try to talk to each other.  Otherwise, I’ll just head home right now and we can have these painfully stilted conversations after the wedding but I won’t waste my time trying before the ceremony.”

Hector almost laughed as this tiny little woman glared up at him, her hands fisted on her hips and challenging him in a way that no one had dared in quite a long time.  “Are you telling me my options are a cold wife now or a cold wife later on?”

She didn’t like the sound of either of those.  “How about if we just try to find some middle ground here so that neither one of us came across as
frosty
and unfeeling?”

“And are you?  Cold and unfeeling?” he asked.

“Only when shut out by a grouchy giant who doesn’t understand me and refuses to even try to communicate with me.  I don’t know what I did to anger you but I’m really sorry for whatever it was.  If you could just….relax with me, maybe we could at least be friends.”

He looked down at her, wanting desperately to pull her into his arms and kiss her.  But she disliked his touch, which is now glaringly clear to him.  So he pulled his hands back behind his back in an effort to keep from touching her once again, and considered his options.  She was right.  They had to find some middle ground, some way to break through this impasse they had with each other.  And the only way he was going to get through to her was to talk to her, under
s
tand her better and figure out what she might like in a man.  And maybe, if he was incredibly lucky, he could become that man. 

“Fair enough.  You’re right and we do need to get to know each other.  I apologize for deviating from my stated intent for the night.  Shall we continue?” he asked and gestured towards the living room off to the right. 

Hector walked into the room, leaving her to stand in the foyer or follow him.  He poured a scotch for himself, then handed her a glass of wine, white because that’s what she’d been drinking all the other times he’d seen her with a drink in her hands. 

“Thank you,”
she said stiffly, looking around at the white on white decorations, which were interrupted only by the dark wood of the furniture or table.  It would be a sterile room if it weren’t for the green plants that gave some welcome relief.  The shocking green leaves in the corners, plus the large off white hydrangeas gracing the middle of the table made the room more inviting, almost romantic. 

“You’re welcome.  Would
you like to sit down and talk?”  He gestured towards the white sofa facing the crackling fire.  It looked deep and comfortable and she wished that she could snuggle up to this man on that sofa.  She didn’t think Hector was a snuggling up kind of guy though.  And she still didn’t have the courage to touch him first.  Hopefully she could work up to that. 

She
sat
, but she was still more than a little irritated about the way their evening had started.  “Why do you ride around in a limousine all the time when you have that kind of car available?”

“If I answer that question, will you admit that you’re a speed junkie?”

She shrugged and watched him carefully.  “It depends.”

“On what?”

“On whether you’ll let me drive that toy some day.”

He laughed and shook his head. “I doubt it.  I don’t think my insurance could handle it.”

“I might be an extremely good driver,” she countered with a
hopeful
smile. 

He watched her closely. “How many speeding tickets have you received recently?”

She tilted her head and pretended to count.  “Define ‘recently’” she countered.
  She actually hadn’t had any speeding tickets, was in fact a very cautious driver but she liked hearing him laugh so she continued with the pretense. 

He groaned and shook his head. “You’re never getting into the driver’s seat of that vehicle,
Kallista
.”  But he laughed and led her over to the table. “Are you hungry?”

“Starving,” she relented and sat down across from him at a beautifully decorated table with white
roses and more of those lovely off-white hydrangeas along with
candles in the center.  It wasn’t a long table, actually just big enough for two, but she wasn’t surprised when a servant came out with two covered plates.