Million Dollar Mistake

Close call.
She leaned back against the wood, praying he hadn’t changed his mind and
followed her. All she could hear was her own tense breath in the darkness,
accompanied by confused thoughts. Jackson wasn’t playing by the normal fun-
and-games rules of seduction. He’d jumped right to the last act before the curtain
raised. Even though she’d had a minor engagement here and there, no relatives
had been involved, just hot-blooded hunks. She wasn’t sure how to handle this.
Raven walked across the room, undressing as she went, tossing her clothes on
a chair before wrapping a silk robe around her as she replayed the dinner
disaster. Lorianne adored Jackson and tried to show him, while he…
She frowned, fighting an uncomfortable sympathy for Lorianne. Raven
recognized a woman with little self-confidence where men were concerned—
hell, with everyone—so she pushed too hard to gain acceptance. Raven
recognized it too well. It brought back many painful memories.
She sighed and sat on the edge of her bed, reaching to turn on the side table
lamp. Pulling the pins from her hair, her tempestuous mass fell to curl around her
shoulders. She tapped a scarlet nail against her lips as she considered the
situation. Lorianne obviously wanted a “happily-ever-after” with Jackson, while
Raven only wanted a “friend with benefits”. To avoid an even messier scene,
she’d have to find a way to convince Jackson she was the wrong woman for his
future.
The bad weather had changed Nicholas’s plans. Since he’d left New York later
than he’d expected due to some personal business, the gale-like winds and
blowing snow he’d encountered in upstate New York had forced him to stop
overnight.
The weather was more wild and wooly the next day as Nicholas left the
highway to access the roads leading to J.R.’s country estate. His rented Land
Rover slipped on one of the curvy mountain roads. He peered through the
windshield at the dense snow. Although the highway system up here was used to
handling a great deal of snowfall, it was now falling too fast for them to make a
dent, according to the radio.
“Raven Rutledge,” he snarled. “Just wait—”
If it weren’t for her, he’d be tucked up in a lovely suite, enjoying a gorgeous
woman, swilling champagne and celebrating a successful closure to his business
deal with J.R. Exeter. Instead, he was blinded by snow and getting a pounding
headache.
When he got his hands on Little Miss Trouble—
Nicholas occupied the next few miles happily deciding what to do with

---

Raven, what tortures to inflict, before he saw a sign that identified J.R.’s country
home. Downshifting to accommodate the sharp curve, he turned onto a blacktop
road. Nicholas traversed a long drive that meandered through the woods before
the trees parted to reveal a huge, old Tudor mansion tucked into a cozy pocket
meadow created by rising cliffs on either side. The place rambled like a bit of
architecture gone mad. But there was an air of expectation, as if the house had
been waiting for him. Nicholas snorted, “Yeah, right.”
Another bit of insightful fancy that could have come straight from a dashing
Romany ancestor, according to family legend. Personally, Nicholas thought
someone had romanticized the family background to include a clairvoyant gypsy
prince, but occasionally…
He pulled to a stop in front of the house and sat for a moment leaning
forward, arms resting on the steering wheel. His breath quickened as he stared at
the house. There was something he couldn’t put his finger on. A feeling that
something was waiting for him, drawing him closer.
The unexpected sound of a car’s horn echoed, snapping him back to the
present. He’d accidentally hit the center of the steering wheel with his elbow. He
lifted his forearms, sat back and blinked. Get a grip.
Nicholas grabbed the keys and opened the door, turning to remove his luggage
from the backseat. Something waiting for him? That sounded like his old man
talking. An excuse for his bad luck at the tables, the slots, with a sure-fire
investment. Always looking for an easy ride, even at the end.
Nicholas’s head pounded. He closed his eyes for a brief instant and focused on
steadying his breathing until he felt the emotions twisting inside him begin to
straighten.
It’s history. Dead, done, gone and buried.
Nicholas stared up at the house, slightly less visible in the driving snow. Still
— Something’s waiting raced through his mind in a driving rhythm. “Some—”
Then the pounding stopped and his head cleared. Back to normal. His lips
quirked as he took a firmer grip on his leather bag and approached the front door.
The only thing waiting for him inside this place was a siren named Raven,
singing her seductive song to any male susceptible enough to listen. And that
sure-as-hell didn’t include him.
He grinned as he rang the bell. “Get ready, sweetheart. It’s time to face the
music and learn a new tune.”

---

Chapter Two
That afternoon, Raven had escaped to the library. As a child, she’d spent many
hours among the books at her home, both from inclination and from a need to
hide from her family, think things over and dream. Funny how she never
outgrew some childhood experiences, regardless of how far she came. She rolled
her eyes. A psychologist would probably explain that she was still hiding from
reality, judging by her adult behavior.
Up in the loft, Raven tucked herself deeper into a wing chair placed in an
alcove of books located near the top of the winding stairs. She was well hidden
up here in her cozy haven, but could still see some of the room below. Rubbing
her chin, she considered her awkward situation. Since the snow was falling more
heavily, all thoughts of leaving immediately were out. She’d have to think on her
feet and improvise.
She started to rise when the strident sound of angry voices changed her mind.
Jackson and his father entered the library in the midst of a volatile argument. She
shrunk farther into her chair, praying no one would see her.
“Save your breath, Father,” Jackson said. “I’m an adult. I will see whom I
wish, when I wish.”
“Goddammit, Jackson,” J.R. exploded. “You’re playing with fire here, don’t
you know that? Have you any idea of this woman’s reputation? What she could
do to you?”
“She makes me laugh and takes my breath away when I look at her. That’s
what she does to me.”
“Hell’s Bells, son, I could introduce you to a dozen high-priced whores who
could do the same thing.”
“Watch yourself,” Jackson warned. “You’re talking about the woman I’m
considering marrying.”
Raven almost jumped out of her chair. Marry? Ohmigod. She was right.
“Marry, is it? Have you lost every bit of sense you were born with? You can’t
marry her. I forbid it.”
“You forbid it? I’m not a child, I’m twenty-eight. I’ll marry anyone I damn
well please.”
“No, you won’t. I control the money, Jackson. And I’m still the head of the
family. I haven’t worked all these years to see my son throw it away because the
front of his pants are too tight.”

---

“I haven’t even had sex with her. My feelings are stronger than that.”
“Oh, listen to yourself. You sound like a lovesick calf. If you want to moon
over someone, moon about Lorianne. She’s someone who can do you some
good.”
“Will you stop shoving Lorianne down my throat every two seconds?”
Jackson snapped.
“Not till you come to your senses.”
“Lorianne is part of my childhood. I grew up.”
“Grown-ups fulfill their obligations, son.”
“Their obligations?” Jackson’s voice was not only hot with temper, it dripped
with sarcasm. “Don’t you mean I’m supposed to fulfill your political ambitions?
Did you ever ask me if it’s what I want?”
“It’s always been understood that—”
Jackson gave a sharp, unpleasant laugh. “If it means so much to you, Father,
why the hell don’t you run for office instead of laying it all on me?” A slamming
door punctuated the end of Jackson’s statement.
“Son of a bitch,” J.R. swore, “what did I ever do to have such an ungrateful,
idiotic pup? Damn boy takes after his mother.” Leaving that statement hanging
in the air like wet wash on a line, J.R. left the library, too.
Only then did Raven dare exhale. She could practically feel the scorch marks
where J.R.’s tongue had flicked fire at her character, or lack thereof. Her face
flushed with shame. She didn’t want to be the object of derision. No one did.
Nor did she want to be a chisel prying a father and son apart. Snow or not, she’d
have to pack and leave.
That decided, Raven rose and tiptoed across the loft toward the second floor
doorway, which she’d discovered the day before. She eased the door open,
glancing in each direction before setting a cautious foot into the hallway. She
skulked along the corridor. Just as she passed the stairs to the main floor
entrance hall, the doorbell rang, its distinctive sound echoing around the huge
center foyer below her. Raven stopped, turning to glance over her shoulder,
looking down at the people below. Lorianne and Margaret had just wandered in
from the sitting room when the bell peeled, while Jackson was crossing the hall
toward the back of the house, his father in hot pursuit. The only person missing
was Nana, who had retired to her room for a brief rest after lunch.
Lorianne pulled open the door, stepping back out of the way as a gust of wind
and snow blew in along with a six-foot-two inch male. He was clapping his
hands to rid his gloves of snowflakes, then he stopped and shook his broad
shoulders and dark head like a dog coming in from the rain.
“Oh,” Lorianne gasped, struggling with the door as the wind continued to

---

gust. The man merely stretched a long arm and closed the door in a competent
manner. “Oh, thank you. The wind’s very strong.”
Nicholas Demetrious looked down, giving Lorianne a charming smile, his
teeth very white against his dark tanned skin, his eyes warm and amused. “My
pleasure,” he said, his voice smooth chocolate liqueur mingling with the rich
cream of a slight southern drawl.
Devastating.
Stunned by his sudden appearance, Raven shivered as she watched Nicholas
work his sexy magic on Lorianne. There was power there. Power accompanied
by a sense of humor that always made Raven wonder what he found so amusing.
He set her teeth on edge and had since he’d first turned his quizzical glance on
her as a child. She and Nicholas were like oil and water after the match was
dropped. He was a magnificent and very sexy animal. She could appreciate him,
even as she was wary enough to keep her distance. For all of Nicholas’s smooth
sophistication and charm, he reminded her of a panther dressed in a too-tight
tuxedo. If he ever really unbuttoned—
Raven shivered again.
“Good timing. Got here just ahead of another big storm, I see,” J.R. said.
“Barely. I got caught in one on the way here yesterday. I had to stay in some
little motel last night.” Nicholas unbuttoned his overcoat and removed his gloves
to hand both to a hovering Lorianne. “The roads are really getting treacherous.”
Raven shook her head and recovered her wits. What the bloody hell is