CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SIX
A STON SAT WITH Ana at his favourite Paris café, drinking coffee after eating a late lunch. They’d taken a spot on the pavement under some umbrellas, allowing Ana to people-watch, which she appeared to enjoy. Usually he didn’t have time to simply sit, but today he hoped it would be another beginning of sorts.
‘No’ is a complete sentence, Mr Lane.
He’d taken care in the few days since leaving the yacht not to press Ana, accepting the firm boundary she’d put between them. The ‘Mr Lane’ had stung in surprising ways, as it hadn’t been said with flirtation, but he knew what she’d been doing—protecting herself—so he’d kept any conversations between them neutral. Talk about where she might like an office, were she to set one up—in his apartment or Girard’s Paris headquarters. Nothing difficult to answer because there was more to the story behind the scar on her temple, her fear.
He could work on her fears once she trusted him a little.
Building that had started when they’d made landfall. She’d blushed as he’d handed her a credit card in her name, but it gave her freedom. He wanted to show her a possible future, not dwell too much on the past.
‘I hope I look suitable for whatever outing this is. You’ve been very mysterious,’ she said, smoothing her hands over the skirt of a demure, pale-grey suit. It had three-quarter sleeves that he had little doubt hid more scars. He ached inside at the way the accident seemed to have changed her from the confident, sensual young woman he’d first met, to someone filled with uncertainty.
‘Business wear’ was all he’d told her, and he was wearing a suit himself. He’d wanted this to be a surprise, one he hoped would be a breakthrough between them.
He smiled. ‘You look perfect.’
Yesterday he’d sent Ana with his secretary and security to do some shopping, whilst he’d worked and trained in his home gym. She’d come home with a few packages, fewer than he might have liked, but she looked pleased. Had she bought the suit then? He liked to think that she might have. She’d been a little mysterious about what she’d purchased but he’d been telling the truth when he’d said everyone was entitled to their secrets. He hoped she’d tell him hers in time.
Something about her was still wary, hesitant. He knew what she needed—an unmistakeable commitment. He’d realised now why her hair had changed, why she covered herself. Why she might want to hide the scar on her temple she refused to talk about, and others that he suspected her body bore. To him, it hadn’t changed her desirability. He simply had to show her.
‘I’m still curious about whether you’ve had any other Australian fauna mishaps.’
He chuckled. ‘Nothing, other than walking into a large spider’s web at night. That wasn’t pleasant.’
She shuddered. ‘No, I’m guessing not. I’m a bit disappointed you don’t have other stories.’
‘I have plenty of stories.’
He’d like to make more with her. He had his diving certification. They could swim with dolphins or whale sharks any time she wanted.
‘Stories... What mountains have you climbed?’
Some days he thought too many, both physically and emotionally. He had many more to go. He wasn’t sure why that thought exhausted him, when once standing on top of a mountain had only filled him with exhilaration.
‘Those you may know? The Matterhorn, Mont Blanc, Kilimanjaro...’ There’d been others, difficult climbs, all leading to his quest for Everest.
‘Is there a next mountain?’
‘There’s always another,’ he said, deliberately vaguely. She didn’t need to know, not now. He wasn’t sure what he’d do if she expressed any concern about his intentions.
‘I just thought, with all the training... I wondered what you had planned.’
Ana’s phone buzzed an alert. She bit her lower lip, grabbed it and checked the notification, seeming satisfied. She put it back down. He hadn’t missed that a notification in the maze seemed to have been the catalyst for her leaving with him...
Time—that was all she needed.
‘All I have plans for is today.’
Aston checked the time, his heartbeat kicking up in his chest in anticipation. His car would be coming round the corner soon. Today would be their first public outing together, and by the end of it he felt assured things between them would have changed for the better. He needed them to, if he was to take Ana to meet his parents. He couldn’t have her looking like a terrified rabbit in a snare. What would that say to his mother and father about him? He wanted a woman, if not in love, then in lust. Though why he should care, he wasn’t sure. It wasn’t as if he’d sought out a relationship based on love at first sight, like his parents.
A kind of dull ache settled in his chest, almost like regret. He ignored it.
‘Time to go?’ she asked.
‘Oui.’ He stood and helped her from her chair, and she gifted him one of her rare and precious smiles. Had she been freer with them before her accident? He wasn’t sure. He hoped by the end of today he’d be granted more of them. When he’d gone through the catalogue after it had been delivered to his office, he’d known this was an event he wouldn’t miss. He’d registered immediately.
Aston held out his arm, as Ana wore heels and the footpath was a little uneven. She took it, walking down a side street as their car eased into place. His driver opened the door for them, and Ana got in.
Aston took a long, slow breath. He had his own journey to take, mapped out years before, but he could give Ana beginnings—a life of her own, a fresh start. Reasons for her to agree to this marriage, her future. It all began with success this afternoon, and he was not a man to fail.
When he succeeded, everything would fall into place.
Their car pulled up at gleaming white building with blue awnings. A uniformed man opened the door and Aston exited the vehicle, holding out his hand. Without thinking, Ana placed hers in his. Aston’s warmth engulfed her. His fingers gripped hers gently, yet she could feel the strength in him, his solidity. She looked up at him, his eyes the same glorious blue as the sky on this bright autumn day. The faintest of smiles hovered on his too-tempting lips. She could sit and simply gaze at him, like her favourite piece of artwork.
He raised an eyebrow and his smile deepened. His masculine features seeming to soften. Ana came to her senses. She couldn’t sit here in the car all day. She got out and stood. His height and breadth and all that banked strength somehow made her feel safe.
The man was temptation personified. Why not simply give in?
Her stomach twisted in uncomfortable knots. He wasn’t horrified by the red, still angry-looking scar on her temple. After the initial questions, he’d been happy to give her space, to divulge what she wanted to in her own time. It had been considerate. He’d placed no pressure on her at all, letting her set the pace. Yet, she held herself so tightly, she wasn’t sure she knew how to undo herself and let go.
Convenient doesn’t have to mean cold...
The man would have warmth enough for both of them.
Aston led her into the building through a magnificent foyer. A floor of black-and-cream marble polished to a mirror shine. Huge vases of opulent blooms dotted through the space.
‘What are we doing here?’ Ana asked. Aston seemed to know where he was going as he led her down a corridor.
‘We’re going to an auction.’
‘Why?’
‘You’ll see.’ He gave her another blinding grin, one that seemed full of self-satisfaction and...mischief. A smile that set her heart thumping. Being around this man was an adventure in itself.
Everyone seemed to know him here; he was acknowledged with knowing nods by staff. They were directed to a room at the top of a winding marble staircase, and Aston led her through the assembled crowd of people, his hand gently resting on her lower back. The atmosphere was a rarefied one yet bristling with energy and excitement. Just the place that Aston would enjoy... She didn’t know why she thought that, whilst knowing it with certainty.
He guided her to the side of the room with another group of people. ‘I’ll be back in a moment,’ Aston said. ‘Save me a seat.’
He walked away, and she couldn’t help but admire his broad shoulders, hugged lovingly by a dark suit jacket. The length of his legs and how he always seemed to stride with such confidence and authority. Yet he’d left her to herself and her thoughts. Not really a pleasant place to reside.
Ana glanced at the people round her and took a deep breath, trying to settle her growing nerves that twisted higher and tighter. When she’d been shopping, Aston had sent her with his private secretary and a discreet personal protection officer. Today, they’d come here alone. Still, there was no reason to think anyone would know where she was. In Halrovia, all her moves were diarised in a court circular, her royal engagements publicised. With Aston, no one knew what they were doing. None of their time was advertised or documented. She couldn’t help feeling thankful at the anonymity of it all, keeping her safe.
Aston returned after a few short minutes and took a seat beside her. The smile on his face was warm and genuine, self-satisfied. It made her heart flutter in anticipation, his mood so infectious. In his hand he held a paddle with a number on it.
Ana frowned. ‘What’s that for?’
He sat next to her. ‘I’m bidding.’
‘What are you buying?’
‘An engagement ring for you.’
Her heart stopped for a second, then bounded to restart, as if it had been shocked.
‘But...but...why?’
‘Don’t you believe you deserve it?’
Ana had no words. She leaned back in her comfortable seat, looking at the people around them all with paddles of their own, oblivious, flipping through catalogues, talking. Whereas she sat silently, unable to say a word. She hated that this was even a question for her. Once, her first thought would always have been, of course I deserve it . Now? She didn’t feel worthy.
‘But nothing’s agreed.’
‘I’m a man who likes to be well prepared, but you’re under no obligation to accept me. Still, there’s no harm in having the perfect ring in case you do. I saw the auction advertised and thought of you immediately.’
Had he?
Aston leaned over to her, so close, she could sense him. That smell...was cool, like the granite of the mountains surrounding Halrovia’s capital. The slight salt of an ocean breeze, the wild and enticing scent of spice... She could breathe him in for days and never get tired of it.
‘Sit back and enjoy. Auctions are fun—the thrill of the chase.’
‘Where’s your catalogue?’
‘I don’t need one. I know exactly what I want.’ She didn’t think he was talking about the jewellery. His eyes darkened. Goose bumps peppered her skin at the intensity of his attention.
‘What if we don’t win?’
‘I won’t fail because what I have in mind is perfect for you. Nothing else will be good enough. You’ll soon discover when I want something, I do everything in my power to get it.’
Aston’s intensity thrilled her. Even more so, the realisation that he’d thought about this, planned it for her benefit. When had anyone ever done anything like that? Never, that was when. Most of the time people only expected things of her. They didn’t much think of what she wanted at all.
The auction began with a fanfare. Exquisite jewels were projected onto a large screen, diamonds bigger than quail’s eggs. The jewellery twinkled like constellations as the auctioneer coaxed the best price for the purchases. She couldn’t help being caught up in the bidding. All the while, Aston quietly narrated the purchases—who had bought a diamond brooch for his mistress, what collector had won an emerald-and-diamond rivière to lock away in some vault.
He was expressive as he spoke, and at first she was terrified that with an errant flick of his hand he might purchase something he didn’t mean to. Aston had laughed, deeply and throatily, reassuring her that that only happened in the movies. After that, she’d allowed herself to get carried away by the excitement as jewel after jewel sold to a hammer strike.
Then the auctioneer began to speak. Aston stiffened, alert, like a predator waiting to pounce.
‘Now for lot twenty-one. This is a six-carat, internally flawless, cushion cut, fancy vivid-blue diamond set in platinum...’
A picture flashed up on the screen of a ring being modelled by a woman. Ana couldn’t help herself; she gave a little gasp and stopped focussing on what the auctioneer was saying. She turned all her attention to the magnificent stone of deep-blue with an extraordinary internal fire. Had she been asked to choose her own engagement ring, she couldn’t have imagined anything more perfect.
Ana knew without any doubt this was the ring Aston would bid on for her. He looked over at her with an intensity that burned. She realised then that the vivid blue of the diamond was the same colour as his eyes. It would be a reminder of him on her finger for ever.
‘We’ll start the bidding at two million.’
Two million ? Suddenly it was hard to breathe. Aston did nothing, lounging back and watching the bids progress higher and higher, although the tension remained. He was coiled like a spring. The bids reached five million and he still hadn’t made a move. It was too much money, that was why. She didn’t know why her heart sank a little. Perhaps it was the thought of having something so beautiful on her finger before realising it wasn’t going to happen. She might have worn all manner of precious gems, but none of them had been her own.
The bidding slowed when Aston raised his paddle.
‘Six million.’
There was a collective gasp in the room, excited chatter at a new bidder entering the fray. Aston’s bid seemed to reignite interest. The ring hit almost eight million euros.
‘What are you doing?’ she whispered.
‘Bidding on your ring,’ he replied with a grin, although his focus was all on the auctioneer. ‘Eight-seven-five.’
‘Eight million seven hundred and fifty thousand.’
His jaw was hard, his concentration intense as he watched the other bidders around him. That sort of money, all for a ring to grace her finger? She thought of what that sum could do for a charity instead of her. This was a convenient relationship, all fake. A wall of guilt crashed over her like a tidal wave. Carla was in hospital and here she was in an auction, with a man bidding on such an extravagance...
‘You need to stop,’ she snapped.
‘Nine-point-two,’ he said, and turned to her, eyebrow cocked. ‘Why?’
‘It’s over nine million euros to put a ring on my finger. Think of what that could do for a charity.’
‘I’ll donate an equivalent amount to a charity of your choice. Just name it. Because I see this as an investment.’
‘In what?’
‘In you. This is your ring, ma chèrie . If you don’t want it, let me know. Ten-point-one.’
The atmosphere changed again. She could sense the thrill rippling through the room. She wanted the ring, wanted him to keep bidding to see how much he was willing to pay. But at the same time a voice began to whisper nastily... No one will love you now... And, once she thought it, she couldn’t shut the voice down. It repeated over and over, making a farce of everything, especially since it was the truth—Aston didn’t love her.
He held up his paddle again. Another number, another increment. It was a fight between a phone bidder and him as to who would win the prize, when all Aston would win was her.
‘Stop,’ she said.
‘I’ll stop if you kiss me.’
She was aware of the hum of the room but, at his words, all her focus fell to Aston’s lips—how perfectly etched they were, how full. Would they be soft or hard against her own?
A bid was raised by another party. Aston’s pupils dilated. ‘Twelve million.’
He didn’t take his eyes from her, as if daring her to stop him. Ana didn’t know what to do. All she knew was that she needed this riot of sensations to stop because they threatened to overwhelm her. Part of her wanted simply to fade away but Aston was pushing her into the blazing spotlight.
She was dimly aware of the auctioneer calling for more bids. The corner of Aston’s lips curled and she knew she had to end this. She grabbed the front of Aston’s shirt and tugged. His nostrils flared for a brief moment as he descended on her. There was no finesse in what she did as their lips crashed together.
It was only then she realised her fundamental mistake, her belief that she had any control here. The kiss had been designed to stop things, yet she was flung into a maelstrom. She hadn’t known what to expect from a man whose body looked as hard as Aston’s, a man who she was coming to learn worked out for a few hours every day in the early morning, but it hadn’t been tenderness.
His free hand cupped her cheek, holding her close. His lips were feather-light on hers, so gentle, so soft. Such a contrast to the strength of him under her palm. There was so much banked power in him. She could sense a quiver of his muscles, as if he was holding back when her brain kept crying more.
She began to tremble against him as the heat roared through her, burning any hurt and fear away to nothingness. How she craved the abyss. Her lips parted and their tongues touched. She wanted so much more, becoming lost in it, all slick and hot. The world was simply white noise around her. She wanted him like nothing she’d ever wanted before. It consumed her, a craving so sharp and intense it hurt. This was a need that reached inside and tried to tear out her soul.
Then things slowed once more and became syrupy. Aston eased away and all she wanted to do was chase the kiss. She noticed then how heavy his breaths were, panting gusts matching hers. She stared into his eyes, into those deep pools of blue. She wanted to drown in them. A smattering of laughter sounded through the assembled crowd. The room slowly eased back into focus.
‘No more bids?’ The sharp fall of a hammer cracked through the room. ‘Sold to Aston Lane for twelve million euros.’