MARRIAGE-BARGAIN

chapter 13

NICK POV

Nick watched her stalk across the room and cursed under his breath. Hell, he'd done it again. He should've complimented her on the damn

dress. But nothing had prepared him for her entrance as she walked down the stairs, ready for the party.

The electric blue dress dipped low in the front, clung to the edge of her shoulders, and fell down to the floor in magnificent, flowing folds

of shimmering material shot with silver thread. Strappy silver sandals encased her feet, her hot pink toenails peeking out and playing hide and

seek as she walked. Her hair was pinned high on her head, with corkscrew curls tumbling around her ears and caressing the back of her neck.

Her lips were painted red. When she blinked, her silver shadow threw sparkles over her lashes and caught the light. He bet she'd also catch

the attention of every man in the place.

He'd almost ordered her to change. This was no cool sophisticate he could control. This was a full-blown Eve, who dared a man to Hell and

made a poison apple seem as sweet as candy. Instead, he'd muttered some remark under his breath and let the subject matter drop. He

wondered if that was a flash of hurt in her eyes, but when he looked again, she was the same troublesome, sarcastic woman he'd married.

Anger cut through him at her constant ability to make him feel like shit. He hadn't said anything wrong. She married for money, and freely

admitted it. Why did she have to pretend to play the innocent victim in this whole mess?

He forced thoughts of his wife out of his mind and concentrated on the group of businessmen circling Hyoshi Komo. Nick sensed one

important factor to secure the Japanese man's vote.

Excitement.

Get Hyoshi Komo excited, and Nick had the job.

The last and final piece in the puzzle was Michael Conte. The famous count was well known in the business world for his charm, money,

and sharp intelligence. He believed in passion, not preciseness, and behaved completely different from his other two partners. Nick hoped a

lively conversation with his wife might help him gain a bit of an edge, especially since gossip pegged Conte as a womanizer. He stifled the

quick flare of guilt and stepped into the group of men to speak.

...

ALEXA POV

Alexa decided it was time to find her husband.

Besides the brief time seated beside him at dinner, they'd been out of each other's company the whole night. Humming under her breath to

the strains of "I Get a Kick out of You", she checked the room but couldn't pick him out of the crowd. She decided to make her way down the

elaborate hallway. Maybe he'd gone to the bathroom.

Her heels clicked against polished marble. The sounds of the music faded, and she studied the paintings on the wall with pleasure,

murmuring to herself when she found one she recognized. Her steps carried her around the next corner into a room that looked more like a

gallery, filled with shelves of old, bound books carefully displayed. She held her breath as her fingers itched to caress the binding of old