Million Dollar Mistake

cash fast. The sour thought stuck in his throat as he looked at Raven.
Raven sighed. “I wish…”
Once again she’d seemed to drop her shell, exposing her vulnerable side. He
wished she’d stop doing that. He liked it better when he wanted to lock her up
and torture her every time he saw her.
“Did your father encourage you to get involved with Jackson?”
Raven sidestepped the question. “Daddy met him in Denver and invited him
up to see Ravens Nest. I’d met Jackson before and I was home at the time, so I
gave him a tour at Daddy’s request.” She shrugged. “Next thing I knew, I was
accepting an offer to go skiing in New York.”
Nicholas wondered why Raven couldn’t see through her father’s game. But
then she’d always adored the man, if he remembered right. While her father had
always adored himself.
Raven shifted her weight under Nicholas’s steady stare, an uncomfortable
expression settling on her face. “I didn’t bargain on a family party, though. I
expected casual fun, with no—”
“Strings attached?”
“You got it.”
Nicholas grinned. “Same old love’em and leave’em Raven.”
Raven straightened her spine and gave it right back. “You have no room to

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talk.”
“But I’m not the leading story in the papers each week.”
Raven batted her eyelashes and cooed, “Maybe I can help you change all that,
darling.”
Nicholas laughed. “No thanks, sweetheart. I’ll leave the headlines to you.”
Raven opened her mouth to respond and then seemed to think better of it.
“Why don’t we find everyone and announce our engagement so we can leave
now?”
“No. We’ll drop the bomb tomorrow after a good night’s sleep.” He glanced
toward the window. “Besides, the roads are beyond treacherous. We’ll give the
snowplows time to work overnight.”
Nicholas watched as Raven climbed the staircase to her bedroom. He started
to follow her, but decided to have another drink instead. He had a lot to think
about. He went back into the drawing room, unsurprised to discover that J.R. had
entered the room behind him.
“I’ll have some of that scotch too,” J.R. said, indicating the bottle Nicholas
was holding.
Nicholas nodded and poured two drinks, handing one to J.R. who took a large
sip before saying, “You see the problem, don’t you?”
“Judging from my reception by Raven, I don’t think the problem is as
disastrous as you’d indicated.”
“That’s because you weren’t watching my son when your cousin jumped on
you and stuck her tongue down your throat.”
“I was a little busy at the time,” Nicholas murmured, still remembering the
feeling of her lips on his.
J.R. snorted. “I can tell he’s still determined to have her, and it would ruin all
my plans for his future.”
Nicholas arched a brow. “You’re planning his future?”
J.R. gave him an arrogant look. “Of course. Jackson would be announcing his
engagement if it weren’t for your…damned relative.” J.R. practically spat the
word, which caused Nicholas to bristle.
“Be careful,” Nicholas warned. He might want to strangle Raven, but he’d be
damned if he’d let anyone else say anything about her.
J.R. continued without acknowledging Nicholas’s comment. “Lorianne is very
important to our future plans, mine and the Sterling’s.”
“What plans?”
“Jackson is going to be President of the United States someday. But not if

---

your wild-as-be-damned cousin drags his name into the tabloids.”
“Plenty of politicians have been tabloid fodder, J.R.,“ Nicholas said.
“Not in my family, and certainly not in the Sterling family. And if my son is
still as infatuated with your cousin as he is now, a reporter is sure to catch wind
of it.”
There was a freezing silence for a few moments.
Nicholas’s mind clicked like a computer. J.R. was right. The Sterling family
was about as straightlaced and conservative as you could get. And talk about
connected. They made Exeter look like a country cousin, something that didn’t
happen easily.
“I know you can’t choose your relatives—”
“That’s the truth,” Nicholas muttered, pouring another drink.
“But I expect you to put a stop to this situation.”
Nicholas faced J.R. “I have put a stop to it.”
“I’m not so sure. I know my son. When he gets an idea in his head, he’s like a
dog with a bone.”
“You don’t have to worry about Raven. She’s no man’s bone.”
J.R. shook his head, pushing his glass forward for another refill. “I wish I was
as sure of that as you are.“
Nicholas hoped he was sure of it also. But who was ever sure of anything with
that unpredictable wench?
“Uh…” Nicholas took a sip of his drink. “How did your son meet Raven?”
“He was in Denver on business, took one of those tours of silver mines and
historical houses. I think he met her at your family estates.”
Nicholas shook his head. “Not my family. We come from opposite branches of
the Kristof tree. I’m not sure we’re really related.”
He came from the mongrel branch, while Raven descended from the “gilded
age American Silver Mine heiress” who went shopping for an English title and a
husband in that order, before eventually moving the family back to Colorado to
live on her daddy’s money.
“I don’t give a damn who’s related to who in your family,” J.R. exploded. “All
I know is I don’t want this woman related to me. My son mentioned marriage
and—”
Nicholas slammed his drink down on the bar so hard it was a miracle the glass
didn’t break. “Holy hell. You didn’t tell me that.”
“I didn’t? Well, he told me he wanted to marry her. I’m telling you, if Jackson
put half as much passion into politics as he’s putting into chasing your cousin,
the sky is the limit for the boy.”
“Marriage,” Nicholas muttered. He had to admit that J.R. had a point. Jackson

---

had made it clear that he still wanted Raven, regardless of Nicholas. This could
be a bit trickier than he thought.
“I don’t mind telling you that if you don’t take her away from him
permanently, I might have to make other arrangements when it comes to our
business.”
His eyes narrowed, nostrils flaring as J.R.’s statement hit him like a line drive.
“Is that a threat?”
“Take it any way you want.”
With effort, Nicholas smoothed his expression to bland interest. “I see.”
“That’s all you’ve got to say?”
“Not quite.” J.R.’s terse expression brought Nicholas back to the business at
hand. He could see it now. Months of work and millions of dollars of potential
profit swirling away like rainwater into a sewer pipe. “I’ve given you a proposal
for a very lucrative deal, J.R. Worth a small fortune in fact. If you’re not
interested, we’ll find someone else who is.”
Nicholas clamped down the momentary panic of starting from scratch. The
Kristofs needed Exeter’s political clout, as well as his business expertise to pull
off this deal. Nicholas hoped his hard line wasn’t a mistake.
J.R. stared at him for a long moment. “Well, you’ve got guts, Demetrious. My
people told me you’re a cool customer.“
Nicholas said nothing. He only waited. He’d had to teach himself to wait over
the years. In the right circumstances, it was as bold a tactic as aggressive action.
“Okay.” J.R. nodded as he met Nicholas’s steely gaze. “I’m going to take you
at your word regarding Raven. You said you’d take care of her and from what
I’ve seen, you’re doing that. Make sure you continue doing it.” He paused.
“You’re right, the deal is a good one. If it goes as expected, the profit and
business impact will even be valuable for my son’s political campaign.”
Nicholas still waited.
Finally, J.R. said, “Okay, as far as the deal goes, I’m in as long as Raven is out
of the picture–permanently.”
Nicholas tossed back his drink, then placed his glass on the bar. “Don’t worry.
Raven’s my problem now.”
Raven was changing into her nightclothes, a practical—for her—long satin
slip cut up to the thigh on either side and down toward the waist to give her full
breasts lots of breathing room. She smoothed the fabric down over her hips,
loving the feeling of the cool material on her bare skin. The sleek satin was
claret red, one of her favorite colors. Not the shade to wear if you wanted to
blend into the background, which Raven didn’t. She’d spent too many years as

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