Susan Mallery - Under Her Skin

Winner take all, she thought. Which meant two of them got nothing. They had joked that Lexi wanted the business, Skye wanted Glory’s Gate and Izzy wanted the world. In truth, what they wanted was a father who loved them. Winner take all.

She shook off the depressing subject. “Izzy, do you know Garth Duncan?”

Her baby sister turned to face her. “I’ve heard of him but I don’t think we’ve met. Why? Would I like him?”

Lexi laughed. “I have no idea. I just wondered.”

“Will I like Cruz?”

“Yes.”

“You didn’t hesitate,” Skye said. “You’re that sure?”

Lexi worried about a lot of things, but her sisters meeting her fiancé, as fake as that relationship might be, wasn’t one of them.

“I’m that sure,” she said.

They went downstairs. Cruz stood by the bar, talking to another man. Skye pointed him out to Izzy.

“That’s the one.”

Cruz must have sensed their interest. He turned and flashed his killer smile. Lexi quivered all the way down to her toes. Beside her, Izzy used her fingers as a fan.

“When you’re done with him, can I have him?” her baby sister asked in a whisper. “Just for sex. It wouldn’t be serious. He’s gorgeous.”

“That is beyond tacky,” Skye muttered. “Izzy, you’re impossible.”

“That’s why I have the most fun.”

Cruz moved toward them. Lexi made the introductions. He was charming, as ever, but only seemed to be looking at her. She felt the heat in his gaze. The wanting. Her body stirred in response and for a moment she had trouble remembering why she bothered resisting him at all.

CRUZ ACCEPTED THE congratulations of men he’d done business with for years. He saw them assessing him, thinking that now they would have to accept him. Some made the change easily, others resisted.

The engagement party was as elegant as he’d imagined, with about two hundred people there to wish him and Lexi well. Most of the women looked at him as if they understood why she would want him in her bed, while the men wondered if they’d made a mistake in letting her stay single so long.

This was everything he’d claimed to want, he reminded himself as he took a glass of champagne from a passing waiter. Or nearly everything. The engagement was a means to an end. He would go through this all again when he found the woman he wanted to marry.

But that was for later. Right now, he found himself watching Lexi as she spoke with various guests.

She wore white, a short cocktail dress that showed off her legs and made him think about backing her up against the wall in the guest bath. He was reasonably sure she would protest, claiming some medical or emotional reason for not being able to have sex with him at that moment.

She’d been playing the game for two weeks now, putting him off. After the first night, he’d realized she wasn’t trying to back out on their agreement-she was terrified. He didn’t know why, but he knew he had to give her time. Despite their initial encounter, he didn’t think she was the kind of woman who jumped in bed with a stranger. And they didn’t know all that much about each other.

So he’d backed off, trying not to look amused as she’d come up with one excuse after the other to avoid having him in her bed. When the prize was worthy, he could be a patient man. So he would wait…for now.

“You’re looking predatory about something.”

He watched as Izzy, Lexi’s youngest sister, strolled up to him.

“Am I?”

She followed his gaze to Lexi. “Most men don’t see her as a…passionate woman.”

“Most men are blind.”

“Not you?”

“Obviously not.”

Lexi joined them. “Is Izzy scaring you?” she asked, smiling at her sister.

“I’m not scary.” She grinned at Cruz. “I’m intense. Some guys can’t handle that. I think they’re afraid I want to tie them up and whip them into submission.”

“Do you?”

Her grin broadened. “Sometimes.” With that, she strolled away.

Lexi watched her go. “There’s something just not normal about her.”

“I find her charming.”

“Interesting.” She linked her arm with his. “It’s probably good that you’ve been distracted by Izzy. It kept you from noticing my father waiting impatiently for the formal introduction.”

Cruz shrugged. “Jed Titan is no different than any other man.”

“If you say so.”

She led him over to a corner, where her father stood surrounded by his friends.

They were all tall men, well-dressed and overfed. The air was thick with old money. There was a time when he would have been nervous, worried about what he was wearing and what he would say. Not anymore. He was worth more than some of them and by the time he was their age, he would dominate them all. Except maybe Jed. The Titan fortune stretched back generations. It would take a while to compete with that.

Lexi waited for a break in the conversation. “Daddy, this is Cruz Rodriguez. Cruz, my father, Jed.”

“Sir,” Cruz said, offering his hand.

The other men faded away as he and Jed shook hands.

Jed had dark blue eyes and a compelling gaze that measured a man. Cruz let him dominate the moment, not worried about being found wanting. He was very clear on what he had to offer Lexi and what Jed would think of him.

“So you’re the man who’s going to steal away my little girl,” Jed said, releasing him. “I’ve been checking up on you. You’re not after her money.”

“No, sir.”

Jed waved his drink. “You don’t need to call me sir. I’m not that old.”

“All right.”

“If you think you have what it takes to make Lexi happy, then have at it. You ever see my gun collection?”

“No.”

“It’s impressive. Just remember that.” He kissed Lexi on the cheek. “Now go show him off to your friends.”

“Yes, Daddy.”

They walked away. Lexi’s expression was troubled.

“What?” Cruz asked. “You were hoping for more of an explosion?”

“No. Of course not. He checked you out and threatened you. Now he can make the Texas father hall of fame.”

He pulled her into a corner and touched her chin until she looked at him. Sadness darkened her eyes.

“Tell me,” he insisted.

“He doesn’t mean it. The gun collection part. That would imply an interest he doesn’t have. On the bright side, I have a charming note from my mother congratulating me for my engagement to a man in the, and I quote, ‘car trade.’ She hopes we’ll be very happy.”

He hated to see her upset. The need to fix it surprised him. “Did you want her to come to the party?”

“I wanted one of them to give a damn. It doesn’t matter. I haven’t eaten today and the champagne has gone to my head. Forget I said anything. I’m fine. I have Skye and Izzy, right?”

He wanted to say she had him, if only for a few months, but he didn’t know if she would find that comforting. Not sure what else to do, he took her hand and led her to the dance floor. As if prearranged, the orchestra began a slow song.

He pulled her close, then placed his hand on her waist. She leaned against him. They didn’t speak as they moved together, their bodies swaying.

Around them other couples danced. Waiters circulated trays of appetizers and glasses of champagne. This was how the rich and connected partied. This was what he wanted. Acceptance, and the woman in his arms.

He bent down and kissed her, lightly brushing his mouth against hers. She responded by leaning closer. A faint shudder rippled through her body.

He should have been pleased by her reaction, secure in the knowledge that he was getting to her. The problem was, arousing her also left him hard and wanting. His erection pulsed painfully. Hunger burned. It had been like this every time he saw Lexi. She only had to be close to him to make him think about taking her over and over again.

Soon, he promised himself. He would take her soon.

“Better?” he asked when they left the dance floor.

She nodded, then smiled at him. “Thanks. I don’t usually crack over something this small. You’ve been-”

“I couldn’t believe it when I heard. Did you really catch him? I would have thought he would elude capture forever.”

Cruz didn’t have to turn to know who was speaking. Lexi looked at the woman standing next to him.

“Lexi, this is Sabrina,” he said. “An old friend of mine. Sabrina, Lexi, my fiancée.”

“Oh, I know who she is, Cruz. I’m impressed. A Titan.”

Lexi took a step back. “How nice of Cruz to invite you.” The words were right but the tone could have cut glass.

Sabrina gave a low laugh. “Don’t worry. He didn’t. I’m here with someone else. You know. Old. Rich. Not very smart. The best qualities in a man. Except for you, Cruz. I always made an exception for you.”

The two women couldn’t have been more different, he thought. Sabrina was overdressed in a beaded gown that was a size too small. Large diamonds glittered from her ears, her neck and her wrist. At one time, when he’d been young and foolish, he’d thought her worldly and sophisticated. They’d had an arrangement-one that pleased them both. One without commitment. Then Sabrina had tried to change the rules.

Lexi gave her a tight smile. “If you’ll excuse me, I want to check in the kitchen. It was lovely to meet you.”

She walked away.

“That one’s a prize, Cruz,” Sabrina said. “Well done.”

“Thank you.”

He watched Lexi until she disappeared into the rear of the house. Had she been upset? He told himself it didn’t matter if she was. They had a deal, nothing more. His past was irrelevant and something he couldn’t change, even if he wanted to. Which he didn’t. She would just have to get over it.

He turned back to Sabrina and asked her to dance.

“BITCH,” LEXI muttered from her place next to a tall plant, hating herself for hiding but not sure what else to do.