Jasper chuckled, the sound a deep, rich timbre that turned her insides into mush. Who the hell was this guy? And why did he have such a hold on her? She should be out the door with Maddie. She should be packing their things and heading to a new location.
But where would they go? What would she do?
They’d spent time in Boston, Seattle, Los Angeles, Detroit, Chicago, Nashville, Louisville, and Houston before coming to Denver. And he’d found them every single time. Jasper was offering them the opportunity to leave the country using his last name. Surely they could hide from him on the other side of the world, and she could stop looking over her shoulder every minute of every day. The thought of having a cottage by the sea in a small Scottish town where they could truly make a fresh start would be a dream come true.
“Why me? You’re not an unattractive man. I mean, you could get any woman in the world.” If she hadn’t sworn off men, he was someone she would definitely go for, because he was smoking hot. He filled out his jeans with thighs the size of tree trunks. He was powerfully built and had an ass she could bounce a nickel off—if she had a nickel to her name to use.
And he kissed like a wet dream. She could still taste his seductive flavor on her lips. Because kissing him had been like a shot of tequila and twice as potent.
Jasper smirked at her comment. His cobalt eyes filled with mirth at her offhand compliment. She’d bet he’d give a woman a fun ride. Not that she would experience it firsthand, but between that kiss and his body, she saw his smoldering appeal.
“Yes, that is all true. But most women want things I can’t give them,” he replied with a shake of his head, shifting the tousled waves of his inky hair.
Freya had had her fingers in that silken hair. And that mouth and—gah! What the hell was happening to her? A single kiss shouldn’t make her go gaga over a man.
Her heart clenched because she perceived an unspoken sorrow deep within him. It made her want to cuddle him. “Like what?”
“Permanence. For me to fall for them, when I’m simply not capable of softer emotions.” He shrugged like it was no big deal.
“Of what, love?” she asked, shocked that he believed that statement. Everyone was capable of romantic love. It was more that some people that didn’t deserve love from you. Because they only knew how to take and hurt and belittle you. They allowed their fear and their self-hatred to spill over onto you.
“I love plenty, my brother and family. But when it comes to women, I might care for them and enjoy their company in bed, but in my thirty-three years on this Earth, not a single woman has ever made me fall for them. I don’t believe I’m capable of it.”
Wow!
All this money, yet he was lonely beyond measure. It was there in the hard lines of his body. This was a man who ached to be loved but didn’t believe he would ever experience the real thing.
That made two of them. Freya thought she’d found it. She’d believed Ian’s lies. All the pretty words he’d used to draw her in, only to destroy her belief in love’s existence in the romantic sense of things. “I see. And you think I would be a good fit?”
She wasn’t sold on this harebrained idea. She wanted the money. Because with money came power, the power to determine her future and that of her daughter.
Jasper’s expression was unreadable. He said, “It’s a business arrangement, pure and simple. We each have something we want. You need money and a safe haven. I need a wife to claim my inheritance. It’s a win-win in my book.”
“Hmm.” She couldn’t possibly be considering this, could she? Marrying a man she just met for no other reason than cold hard cash. A metric ton of cold hard cash. It all sounded far too good to be true. No one coughed up that much money unless they had an angle. “What’s the catch?”
“I’m sorry?”
She finished getting Maddie set up in the chair with her hotdog sliced into bite-sized pieces and macaroni and cheese before she responded. “The catch. What are you not telling me?”
Consternation filtered across his face until he settled on serious. “We need to pretend we’re in love. In public, we’ll need to be seen holding hands, kissing, and the like. We’ll also share a bedroom for appearance’s sake. As far as most of my family will believe, we’re madly in love. Which means you can’t fool around with anyone else.”
That wouldn’t be hard on her part since she’d sworn off men. She wasn’t sure about kissing him, though. She lost her head with that one kiss. If she had to kiss him all the time, she might wind up dragging him into the bedroom and having her way with him.
“And what about you?” She was a tit-for-tat kind of girl. If she wasn’t getting any, then neither should he.
“You don’t have to worry about me.” He replied mulishly, like that was the end of the conversation.
Freya crossed her arms and shook her head. “Nope. If we’re doing this and we need to fool everyone, there’ll be no indiscretions on your part.” They’d just have to take care of themselves in the shower—like normal people. It wouldn’t necessarily be fun, but it was only a year.
He regarded her coolly. She squirmed, uncomfortable at being the focus of such a testosterone-laden male. “Fine. I’ll agree to that condition. So, what’s it to be? Are you going to marry me?”
She glanced at Maddie, happily stuffing her face with noodles. She grinned and knew her daughter was happy because of Jasper. Because of the food she could give her little girl. How could she possibly turn down an offer like this? It was a godsend. There was no way she could turn his foolish offer down. It might be the craziest thing she’d ever done. She was doing it not for herself, but for Maddie. It was only one year, and then they’d be free. She could see the two of them in their own home in a foreign country, living a happy, peaceful life. And she wanted it with a fierceness that struck at the very heart of her being.
“All right, Jasper Campbell, you have yourself a deal. I’ll marry you.”
4
Jasper sat across from his future wife at his desk while they hashed out their agreement. They were back in the office. Her daughter was napping in a playpen that had seen better days, the cheerful pattern faded.
What was he thinking, marrying a woman he barely knew who tried to steal from him? Other than he’d taken one look at her and wanted her, even with her hand caught in the proverbial biscuit jar. Jasper wasn’t a man who denied himself something he wanted. And he wanted her, plain and simple—especially after that kiss. At least up at the cabin, without outside interference, he could monitor her and his belongings.
Besides, something about Freya and her kid called to him on a fundamental level.
“Are you sure about this?” she asked skeptically, glancing up from the list they’d compromised on that he’d have Josh add to the marriage contract.
Bollocks no! He wasn’t certain about his plan by a long shot. But then, what was life without a little risk?
What he knew was he’d never met anyone with such a fierce heart. Someone who will put herself into the line of fire to protect the person she loved most was a person he wanted to know better. It was that nugget, the love she clearly held for her child, that swayed his hand. “Aye, I’m sure. We’re each going to get something we want and need out of this bargain. I’ve emailed my attorney and will talk to them tomorrow morning. Why don’t we pull your van into my garage? I need to pack a bag. And I want to take all the leftovers and produce with us.”