Harlequin Presents--July 2021--Box Set 1 of 2 Read online

  Her headache was blasted away by a jolt of adrenalin and astonishment. She was acutely aware of her mother beside her. Nervously she shot her a glance only to be hit by another wave of astonishment. Why was her mother suddenly so pale?

  The elevator chimed and the doors slid open but none of them moved. It was as if they were all frozen.

  ‘After you, ladies,’ he eventually said.

  It should’ve been the epitome of polite, yet there was a drawling sarcasm about the way he said ‘ladies’. It was unfathomable. Her mother hesitated then walked out onto the landing. But then she turned to face the man who’d followed them both out.

  ‘You’ve not met my daughter, Rose.’

  Rosanna’s jaw dropped. Did her mother know him? But her mother didn’t do the helpful thing and introduce him to her. He was the security specialist, wasn’t he?

  He glanced at Rosanna. His eyes narrowed and there was a stiffness in his stance that made her even more wary. He looked like a predator about to attack. There was no reason to attack. No reason to embarrass her—surely?

  ‘Actually, Danielle, I have met your daughter. We met at the Kingston Towers opening. Didn’t we, Rose?’

  Time stopped completely. All Rosanna could hear was the rush of her own blood pulsing too fast.

  ‘You did? Rose?’ Her mother sounded startled and expectant for more information.

  But Rosanna couldn’t take her gaze off the man before her. How did he know her mother’s name? Why did he look so grim? There was no sign of that dimple now, only cold anger. Suddenly she was afraid of what he might reveal.

  ‘Briefly,’ she said faintly.

  Don’t say it. Please don’t say it.

  That burning nauseous feeling returned. But he was still watching her and something raw flickered in his face before the rigid lethality in his gaze intensified.

  ‘Is there anything I can help you with today?’ he asked coolly. His glance flickered from her to her mother and back again.

  Rosanna had lost all power of speech. Why would he be able to help them?

  ‘No.’ Her mother pushed the elevator button. It hadn’t had time to go anywhere so the doors immediately reopened. ‘I’ve just realised we need to be elsewhere. I’ve got my meetings muddled. My apologies.’

  Why was her mother apologising? Why was she so flustered and in such a hurry to leave?

  ‘Actually, I wouldn’t mind a few minutes to catch up with Rose again. Just briefly.’ He stressed the word lightly but that lethal look in his eyes didn’t lessen as he stepped nearer to her. ‘That’s if you can spare her, Danielle?’

  ‘Oh?’ Her mother sounded shocked and then shot Rosanna a sharp look. ‘Then I’ll see you at home later, Rose.’

  Rosanna was too stunned to move but the moment the elevator doors shut—blocking her mother from view—the security guard grabbed her arm and marched her away from the weirdly absorbed attention of the two women staffing reception.

  ‘What’s going on?’ she hissed as he opened a door.

  He didn’t answer. He guided her into a room and closed the door behind them both. Rosanna’s uneasiness grew. Worse, so did the awareness within her body.

  Who on earth was he and what on earth did he want?

  CHAPTER FIVE

  ROSANNA GLANCED ABOUT the room, desperate to give her eyes respite and her brain a second to catch up. Ash’s office was stunning, she had no idea how he got any work done with that view to distract him. Except it wasn’t the view commanding her attention now.

  ‘What’s going on?’ she asked again.

  ‘Isn’t that my question?’ the tall security man countered as he leaned back against the door, blocking her exit. ‘I have the impression you’ve not told your mother what really went down at the party.’

  His choice of words was inappropriate. And deliberate. She fought off the immediate blush and inevitably failed.

  ‘We came to see Mr Castle,’ she said, ignoring the reference.

  He stared at her fixedly for a moment. ‘Mr Castle?’

  ‘Yes. Ash Castle, the man whose office we’re currently standing in.’

  Why hadn’t the receptionists stopped them? Where was Ash?

  He blinked and lifted away from the door to take a step nearer her. ‘Are you applying for a job?’

  She bristled at his unfriendly tone. ‘No, Mr Castle is a friend of mine.’

  ‘You’re friends with Ash?’ His frown deepened. ‘And your mother is Danielle Gold. So I presume your father is Red Gold, of Gold Style.’

  She nodded. She had no idea why her mother had suddenly changed her mind about trying to see Ash. Or why she’d shot her that killer look when she’d left so quickly.

  ‘And you’re Rose.’

  Why was he glaring at her like that?

  ‘I prefer Rosanna,’ she said stiffly, still feeling the heat of the flush in her face. Not that it was any of his business. She really didn’t want to look into his eyes, but she couldn’t break away from the intensity of his gaze.

  He was staring at her as if she were a human Rubik’s cube with one infuriating square that couldn’t be turned into the right place. The silence stretched until she couldn’t stand it any longer.

  ‘Look, I’m here to see Ash—’

  ‘He’s not here,’ he interrupted.

  ‘Why are you here?’ she demanded, patience lost. ‘I thought you worked at Kingston Towers.’

  He stared at her for another moment. ‘You really don’t know?’

  ‘Know what?’

  ‘That I’m also Mr Castle. I’m Leo Castle.’

  She stared at him. ‘What?’

  The reddening over his sharp cheekbones stunned her even more. People couldn’t prevent blushing, she knew well. She blushed when she felt things strongly and when she had to admit awkward things. So what he’d said was true. He was Leo Castle—Ash’s illegitimate half-brother. The man whose father had denied his existence for his whole life. Who’d fought for recognition and finally won it—the ‘workaholic control freak’ who’d taken over the company and terminated her parents’ contracts. The man she was supposed to have impressed that night. The room tilted.

  ‘No. That’s impossible.’ But the seriousness in his expression made her pause. ‘You’re not on the security team?’

  ‘I’m on every team working in Castle Holdings,’ he said. ‘I’m the captain.’

  ‘But you told me you were the security guy.’ Her voice was a pathetic whisper, while a wave of anger arced and crashed through her.

  ‘You assumed I was the security guy. I didn’t correct you. Just as you didn’t correct me when you told me you were working service that night. I soon found out that wasn’t the case.’

  Service.

  She’d given him one sort of service, hadn’t she? Oh, hell, it had been the most amazing moment of her life and the most intimate. And now he’d wrecked it—he’d lied to her.

  ‘You know I wasn’t?’ she asked. ‘You knew who I was?’

  ‘None of the other waitresses knew anyone who matched your description.’

  ‘You tried to find me?’

  His mouth compressed.

  It wasn’t just nausea she felt now, but dizziness too. She swayed slightly and had to furiously blink.

  Bad things came in threes, right? So here it was. She’d not got the job she’d been striving for. Her parents had lost their business. And now she’d come face to face with her one and only one-night stand—only to discover that, not only was he responsible for her parents’ devastation, but he’d lied to her.

  ‘Did you know who I was?’ he asked.

  She couldn’t comprehend the question. Couldn’t believe any of this was real. She’d been coming to see Ash Castle to support her mother. Even when she knew he wouldn’t give a damn and would do nothing, at lea
st she’d have tried. But this was Leo Castle himself. The man in charge. And if she asked him? After what had occurred between them? It was horribly sticky. Now she knew why her mother had left so quickly. She’d known they were facing defeat.

  ‘Why did you want to see Ash?’ he asked when she didn’t answer.

  She didn’t want to go into it. There was no point.

  ‘Tell me and I’ll see if I can help,’ he pressed. More than serious now, he was thunderous and definitely didn’t sound inclined to help. ‘Or shall I guess?’

  She looked up at him.

  ‘It’s about the tender for the Melbourne building. And the cessation of Gold Style’s other contracts with Castle Holdings,’ he clipped. ‘Are you aware of the reasons why they’ve been dropped?’

  The floor seemed to be crumbling beneath her feet. She was suddenly on a precipice without knowledge or power to protect herself. Instinctively she knew he was going to tell her something she wasn’t going to like. The way her mother had abandoned her quest with such haste and discomfort?

  ‘They betrayed Castle Holdings,’ he said. ‘Your father took confidential information to a competitor.’

  Rosanna shook her head.

  ‘They didn’t tell you that bit, huh?’ He watched her relentlessly. ‘Moreover that competitor has already had several failed contracts and has been charged for breaking commercial law,’ he said. ‘I can’t have Castle Holdings having anything to do with that mess. I won’t have the name dragged into it.’

  It surprised her that he cared so much about a name that his own father had refused to give him.

  But she had to protect her own father. ‘It sounds like he made a mistake. Maybe he was desperate and made a rash decision.’ She shot him a pointed look. ‘Haven’t you ever acted on impulse?’

  He met her gaze coolly. ‘Not only did your father access confidential information that he gave to a direct competitor, he misrepresented his relationship with me to gain financial advantage for himself. There’s no place for him or your mother in our structure any more.’

  His coldness shocked her. He’d made up his mind and he wasn’t going to change it. The awful thing was Rosanna could well believe her father might have talked up his connection to the Castle family. He’d talk anything up if he thought it would get him a sale. While he had a brilliant flair for design, he was not so brilliant in business—hence spending all that money on their own redesigns. And it was why the Castle contracts were so important. No wonder her mother hadn’t wanted to face Leo. She’d not told Rosanna the whole truth. Yet while she understood how bad it looked, how Leo must feel a sense of betrayal, Rosanna felt awful for her father too. He must’ve felt desperate.

  ‘You hold my parents’ livelihoods in your hands,’ she said. ‘Their reputation. Their life’s work.’

  Leo shook his head. ‘Your father’s own choices have led him to the position in which he now finds himself.’

  ‘He’s been unwell.’

  ‘Then why not be honest?’

  Rosanna could only answer honestly. ‘Because he has a stupid amount of pride.’ She sighed. ‘They both do.’

  ‘Can you be honest?’ He watched her. ‘Because you’ve just shown up to talk to my brother, who has nothing to do with my business. Who wants no input or influence. And you wanted to ask him to intercede.’ His expression was stony. ‘Did you know who I was that night?’

  In the fairy tale, after her first experience of true lust, her life was supposed to have improved. There was supposed to have been some magical change—as if something had been unlocked within her—all positive radiance, right? That hadn’t happened. In fact, her world had worsened. Admittedly, not because she’d slept with him. Rather because he’d just destroyed her parents’ business. She knew it was wrong to hold him wholly responsible for that, yet at his questioning of her character now? She felt furious.

  ‘I had no idea,’ she said. ‘None.’

  He didn’t believe her. The scepticism was clear on his face and the arrogant judgement of the man grated on her nerves.

  ‘Was I supposed to have instantly recognised you?’ she demanded.

  ‘A lot of people do.’

  ‘I’m not like a lot of people,’ she said. ‘I don’t use social media. I don’t read newspapers or watch much TV. Forgive me for not knowing your face.’ She knew he still didn’t believe her. ‘Are you asking if I slept with you because of what you might be able to do for me in the future? If I used sex to get what I want?’

  ‘Did you?’

  She’d known he was going to ask but it shocked her anyway. ‘That might be how you operate, but it’s not my style. I had no idea who you were. If I had I never would’ve allowed what happened.’

  ‘Never?’ He suddenly smiled and it wasn’t pleasant. ‘What is it you think you know about me now that would change anything that happened that night?’ He stepped closer. ‘Because a name makes all the difference?’

  ‘I think you know better than anyone the difference a name can make,’ she replied.

  He froze and his expression turned grim again. ‘So you wanted to ask Ash to use his name and intervene?’

  She couldn’t answer that—he already knew.

  ‘And why did she bring you along?’ he continued sharply. ‘Looking so very society princess in your pretty pink suit. Are you the temptation on a platter? The sweetener for the deal? Because you “know” Ash as well?’

  That sick feeling swirled in her stomach.

  Rosanna worried that in a way that was exactly what she’d been here to do. Not to support her mother, but to use a relationship to gain advantage. Only there wasn’t quite the relationship anyone thought there was between her and Ash. Never had been. It was Leo who was the one she’d been intimate with. The only one.

  Rosanna was feeling hotter and hotter and not in a good way. The perfectly air-conditioned office was stuffy. She wriggled her toes in her shoes but it didn’t make any difference. The blood wasn’t moving oxygen around her body. That dizziness swept over her again and trying to blink it away barely worked.

  ‘Do you seduce many of your contractors?’ she asked.

  A spark ignited in his eyes.

  ‘I think we could debate who seduced whom for hours and never declare the winner.’ The muscle in his jaw twitched. ‘The fact is we both won that night. You loved it. So did I.’

  There was a roar of awareness at his assessment of their night. She remembered her pleasure as he’d come apart inside her. But that man was so far removed from the angry man standing in front of her now.

  ‘Is it a weekly thing?’ She persisted, refusing to succumb to those memories. ‘Monthly?’

  Grim. Furious. Still. He glared at her. ‘Never before. Never since. You already know that.’

  She fought the fierce pleasure his words brought, denying understanding anything of him.

  ‘I don’t know anything about you,’ she said.

  Except he was ruthless and unrepentant about it. And he had an unforgiving streak. He was not the wholly controlled, responsible man that people said he was.

  ‘We’ll put it behind us now,’ she added determinedly. ‘Forget it ever happened.’

  ‘Do you believe that’s possible?’

  ‘Of course,’ she lied. ‘Now please let me leave.’

  They didn’t need to see each other again. Ever.

  CHAPTER SIX

  LEO DIDN’T WANT to believe her. Maybe he was arrogant, but people knew who he was. Given certain people had spent most of his life brazenly lying to his face, trust didn’t come easily to him. Yet...no way was she that good an actress—the shock on her face when he’d walked into the elevator had been genuine.

  His blood bubbled, heated by anger and by that other thing he was trying to ignore. But it was impossible to stop the memories spinning. He’d not been able to stop the
m all these weeks. They teased when he was too tired to resist. For a while he’d wondered if she’d walk into Kingston Towers again. He’d spent too many minutes indulging in that frivolous fantasy. He’d even briefed the security desk that if a blushing redhead ever appeared and asked for a security guy, they were to summon him immediately. She hadn’t, of course. And now here she was attempting to go behind his back, to his half-brother, Ash. And what was their relationship, exactly? He didn’t like the thought of Ash knowing this woman when he knew how the guy operated.

  ‘How do you know Ash?’ He couldn’t help asking.

  The wash of colour in her cheeks made him grit his teeth.

  ‘We were at school together,’ she said.

  School acquaintances? Her blush suggested there was more to it than that. Jealousy flared instantly. He froze, furious with himself. Leo had worked hard not to be jealous of the half-brother who’d had everything Leo hadn’t—legitimacy, two parents, the best education money could buy. But since getting to know Ash, Leo had learned those things weren’t always all that awesome. He and his half-brother had more in common that they’d imagined, so he couldn’t let this matter get in the way. His relationship with his brother was more important than this was.

  ‘Ash isn’t here,’ he said harshly. ‘He’s in New Zealand with his girlfriend.’

  Which was why Leo was in Ash’s offices today. Ash had phoned for Leo’s help with a work issue and of course Leo had agreed. He was happy the guy had worked it out with the woman he wanted. Even happier now, to be truthful.

  Rosanna’s eyes widened. Yeah, the words ‘Ash’ and ‘girlfriend’ hadn’t ever been put together in a sentence before. But even that couldn’t wash away the anger at the thought of her with Ash, no matter that it had been years ago. Ash wasn’t having her again. Leo was. He’d make her forget any other man she’d known. He had to turn on his heel to mentally slap some sense into himself. Since when was he such a possessive brute? Normally he never gave a damn about a woman, never took the time to allow a relationship to develop. He was too consumed with work.