The Marriage Ultimatum (City of Dreams Series) by Charlotte O'Shay Read Free Book Online

such things or she’d fallen prey to a bribe from those who wanted to tar his reputation.
    Either way, he would discover every detail of her plan and crush whoever had the balls to play with his life like this. He would crush them.
    He felt the rage build inside his chest and shoved it back down, breathing deep. He was far from the helpless boy he’d been then. He’d worked and learned and created an empire that was larger and more powerful than his every bold imagining. Childish imaginings he’d once cherished somewhere that consisted of nothing more than having a family. But that desire turned out to be a pipe dream and he’d put it aside long ago.
    What he had now was a solid reality, a business he himself created which would be more lasting and more controllable than the ephemera that had clouded his boyish thoughts.
    “What I meant to say,” she said, reaching over to touch his forearm.
    Vlad flinched and turned obsidian eyes on her.
    “The last thing I want is to father a child with you, or anyone else, but the world now believes otherwise,” he said.
    “Not because of me.” Her voice was fierce and she gave him back the stubborn look that was becoming all too familiar to him. He almost smiled at her intense expression before a grating sound had him wrenching his gaze back to the road. A gigantic pine creaked with ear splittingly violent suction as its massive base parted with the earth in front of them.
    Vlad hit the brakes and pulled hard left to avoid the tree as it hit the ground with a thunderous bounce.
    Sabrina’s body jolted forward even as Vlad’s right arm shot out in a reflexive protective motion across her chest.
    He yanked the car into park.
    “Are you okay?” he forced out a harsh breath and looked over at her. She seemed small sitting on the enormous bucket seat of the Navigator. She had such a bossy mouth he forgot she couldn’t be more than five-five.
    “Fine,” she retorted shaking her hair back. “Wearing a seat belt. Better than whoever owns that tree is gonna feel.”
    The huge pine had tumbled across the road near a long winding driveway crushing several smaller bushes in its path before starting a slow sink into the muddy earth.
    “That would be me. This is my house.”
    She sat up straighter and peered through the windshield. The wipers were off and sheets of water ran non-stop across the glass with varying shades of unfocused gray visible beyond.
    The pine blocked the driveway. Leaving the car where it was, they made their way up the saturated driveway toward the house. The golf umbrella Vlad pulled from the backseat provided some protection from the driving rain, but it was slow going against the wind, as they squelched through the muck.
    “What the hell are you wearing on your feet?” The black lace-up boots were almost completely submerged in the mud as they trudged along.
    “Combat boots,” she said.
    “Combat? They’re losing the battle,” he said. “You really should have worn something more practical.” The useless footwear was going to be ruined.
    “I never expected to be high-jacked into the middle of a hurricane and have to creep along a muddy track with—ooohh, what’re you doing?”
    He’d lifted her into his arms and was striding with much more purpose than she’d managed toward the house.
    “Getting us there. Maybe saving those boots for another battle.”
    “Put me down, Vlad. I can walk.”
    She was wiggling and it was distracting. God help him but he was getting turned on. The heat of her body roused him even through the clammy denim of his jeans.
    “Question—did you bring anything else for your feet?”
    “You hustled me out before I could do much more than pack a toothbrush so the answer is no. Put me down, Vlad. I’m heavy.”
    “You don’t really believe that do you? Stop wiggling. We’re almost there.” Aside from her very feminine curves, she didn’t have any spare flesh anywhere. He’d seriously thought she might sink in the