The Wedding Night by Unknown Read Free Book Online

mean."
    "Let’s try this from a different angle," he muttered.
    Angie turned to look at him, propping herself up on her elbow. Her first sight of him lying there, big and dark and dangerous against the snowy pillows, made her catch her breath.
    Owen had undressed in the shadows last night, and she had carefully not looked at him as he’d climbed into bed beside her. Now she realized he was not wearing anything above the waist. She could not tell if he was wearing anything below the waist because the lower half of his lean, hard body was cloaked in a white satin sheet.
    "Angie, are you listening to me?"
    She realized she was staring at the broad expanse of his chest, thinking about what it would be like to twine her fingers in the crisp, curling dark hair there. She jerked her gaze up quickly, aware that she was turning pink. "Yes, of course."
    He studied her, his crystal eyes narrowed behind his dark lashes. He had his hands laced behind his head and he looked very much at ease lying there in a strange bed with a woman who was not quite his wife. "All right, here’s what we’re going to do. I’m taking you to Jade Lake until after the stock offering."
    "Jade Lake? I thought your stepmother lived there. And your aunt and uncle."
    "They do. One big happy family. If we’re real lucky my stepsister and her husband might drop in."
    "If you don’t like your family all that much why are we going to spend three weeks with them?"
    "You said you wanted to get to know them, as I recall. I’ve got an office at the house. I don’t use it very much because I don’t go to Jade Lake often. But I should be able to get some work done from there during the next few weeks so the time won’t be entirely wasted."
    Angie sat up suddenly, pushing the strap of her silver nightgown hastily back up on her shoulder. She saw Owen’s gaze rest on her breasts and realized her nipples must be thrusting at the silk. She hunched her shoulders to reduce the stress on the fabric.
    "Now hold on just a minute," Angie said. "You’re not going to dump me into a houseful of strangers for the next three weeks while you bury yourself in an office."
    "This is the most logical way of dealing with the problem. It’ll give you the chance to meet my family, and it will give you the time you said you needed to come to a decision. It will also keep our
    relationship offstage while we wait for the stock offering."
    "I'm not so sure I like this. I think you’ve decided to stash me out of sight until after the new company goes public. You’re afraid I’ll jeopardize the interest in the stock, aren’t you? People will start to question the strength of the merger if everyone starts talking about our shaky marriage, won’t they?"
    He shrugged against the pillows. "It’s a strong possibility."
    "Right. And if they question the merger, then they’ll question the value of the stock. If they question the stock, you and Dad won’t be able to get a good price for it when it goes public. And if the stock doesn’t do well in the market, Sutherland and Townsend won’t raise the capital it needs to expand."
    "You’ve got it in one," Owen said roughly.
    "I am not nearly as naive about corporate business matters as everyone likes to think," Angie declared with a touch of pride.
    Owen inclined his head mockingly, but his eyes were grim. "The bottom line is that I sure as hell don’t want you running around giving interviews for the next three weeks."
    Angie was outraged. "I wouldn’t give interviews."
    "Reporters and competitors have a way of getting innocents like you to talk. If you were a starry-eyed bride who thought I was Prince Charming, that would be one thing. You’d just be shoring up the image of love conquering all every time you opened your mouth. But in your present mood I’m not taking any chances. I want you under lock and key until this whole deal is concluded."
    "Lock and key."
    "A figure of speech. Let’s just say I want us to have a lot of