The Texas Millionaire's Runaway Wife by Mary Malcolm Read Free Book Online Page A

in the check-out line is truth.”
    She rolled her eyes. “If a man tells you he’s a liar, he’s a liar. Didn’t you tell me that once?”
    He narrowed his gaze. “What are you driving at, Cassandra?”
    “Those pictures told a thousand words. You don’t have to actually cop to being a womanizer for me to know who you are.” Finally, for the first time that day, she felt as if she had the upper hand. “Expect a lot of lonely nights, Stephen.”
    “I’m not in a relationship, if that’s what you’re wondering.”
    “Oh no,” she said as she moved to the window. “I expect you aren’t. Now you’re married. And you’re a very virile man. I won’t ever forget that. You’re right that stories can be made up, but I’ve never groped one of my friends in the alley behind Don Juan’s. You did. That same night.”
    He stepped back into the closet and came out wearing a shirt. “What’s the deal, Cassie? Are you trying to assure that I won’t cheat on you? Because I won’t. It isn’t my intention to be the one to ruin this marriage. You already did that.”
    She smiled and stepped away from the window. “You said it would last as long as it needs to last?”
    He pulled on a pair of sneakers and tucked his wallet into his back pocket. “Dammit, Cassie, I don’t have time for this. What are you driving at?”
    She could still win this. She could still get out of this ridiculous arrangement. If Cassie could convince Stephen that it would be worse being married to her than not, she could absolutely go back to her own life. “I’m not having sex with you, Stephen.”
    He grinned. “You already told me that. And I disagree.”
    “No, I don’t think you understand. I will not have sex with you. So I’m thinking,” she held up her fingers and calculated, “how long would we have to be together to make this not seem like a quickie marriage? A year? Two?”
    His eyes darkened and a tick formed along his jaw.
    “That’s a long time for you to be celibate, Stephen.”
    He moved in on her again. “Cassie, if you think you’re going to get out of this simply by threatening me, you are mistaken. We will have sex. And you’ll be the one to ask for it.”
    With that he bent over her and captured her lips again. She tried to pull away, but his hand fastened behind her back. One cradled her bottom and drew her against him, she felt the weight of his attraction as she allowed herself to relax into his grasp.
    He pulled away. A smug, self-satisfied smile burned across his face. “You can’t ignore our attraction, Cassie. If you could, you wouldn’t kiss me so freely.”
    She felt like a wanton fool. She wanted so much more than to kiss him. It wasn’t even about the sex, it was about having control over this situation.
    But God , his lips felt good. His hand on her backside left her burning and she knew she hadn’t found a way to be the one in control yet. The cradle of his erection did nothing to erase the memories of their lovemaking nor make her feel she truly would hold out the way she’d promised.
    Why’d she have to be so quick to give in? Why couldn’t she stand up against this man?
    “Stephen, stop kissing me like that.” God she wanted to wipe that cocky smile off his face.
    “You’re my wife,” he said simply, “how should I kiss you?”
    She narrowed her gaze. “Not at all. I’m not your wife. I’m the woman who should have filed for divorce the minute I left Las Vegas.” Instead she was the woman who didn’t, because she couldn’t imagine having to face him again. The dark truth, one she scarcely admitted to herself except for those rare instances when she couldn’t hide any longer was that Stephen Sands was the love of her life. She knew it just as well as she knew she could never be with him. He simply couldn’t risk everything to be with her. She knew where his heart was, and it wasn’t with her. “Why do you want me here, Stephen?”
    “I already told you.”
    “No, there