A Seductive Arrangement, page 1
A Seductive Arrangement
Dara Girard
Contents
A Seductive Arrangement
Dedication
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
A Tempting Proposal Sneak Peek
Also Available
About the Author
Copyright Information
A Seductive Arrangement
Dara Girard
* * *
Published by ILORI PRESS BOOKS LLC
www.iloripressbooks.com
Smashwords Edition
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means without the prior written consent of the Author.
* * *
About the book
Flashy playboy Jackson Fortune never expected to wake up with a wife. But when she arrives at his apartment one morning he can’t ignore her.
* * *
Toyin Jacobs planned to quietly annul her secret Vegas wedding to Jackson. But when her nosy sister discovers the truth and posts it online, Toyin rushes to warn him.
* * *
In danger of losing his position in the family business because of his reckless ways, Jackson can’t afford a scandal. He quickly offers Toyin a special arrangement.
* * *
One too irresistible to resist…
Dedication
For Kemi
Rest in peace
Chapter 1
“Your wife is here.”
Jackson Fortune lazily rolled onto his side and squinted up at his personal assistant. The bedroom in his apartment was so bright it felt like a thousand lights had burst into his room all at once, trying their best to sear his pupils.
He closed his eyes with a groan and waved towards the lamp. “Turn that off.”
“It is off.”
Jackson carefully opened one eye wondering why the room was so bright then realized he hadn’t closed the blinds last night. The morning’s sun rays ate up every shadow in the room. He feebly gestured to the window, desperate for relief. “You know what to do.”
He heard his assistant’s steady gait as he walked over to the blinds. “These blinds are the least of your worries. You have a very urgent matter to deal with right now.”
Jackson absently rubbed his forehead, wishing his assistant didn’t feel the need to use so many words so early in the morning. “Yeah…right. What did you just say?”
The painful sunlight disappeared as he heard the blinds close then his assistant return to the side of his bed. “I said your wife is here.”
Jackson blinked waiting for the punch line. Before he could respond, he heard the bed sheets shift next to him and felt a warm, smooth leg brush against his. He turned to his bedmate and blinked. He’d forgotten he hadn’t been sleeping alone. She was pretty with light cocoa skin and dark hair that was pleasantly tousled around her head and her name was…
She had a name. Of course she had a name. They always had a name. What was her name?
Her eyes narrowed. Not a good sign. “I didn’t know you had a wife.”
Jackson blinked quickly, trying to clear his fuzzy brain. Right…a wife. That’s why he’d been shaken awake when he’d hoped to sleep in a few more hours. He turned back to his assistant. At least he knew his name. It was Reginald Bowler, but he called him “Bo” because he didn’t like the sound of his surname and thought his first name had too many syllables. Bo hadn’t worked for him very long. Was it eight months now? The length of his service was about as unremarkable as the man. He wasn’t very tall, had a slightly ruddy complexion, tufts of grey hair and serious features. Serious was good.
His previous assistant had disappeared without explanation. Just left a resignation letter on the kitchen countertop without even the decency to at least let the chef know what to prepare for dinner. That had been annoying. The entire reason he had an assistant was to handle the issues he didn’t want to. He had better things to do with his time.
Perhaps Bo had a hidden sense of humor and was playing a joke on him. He could take a joke.
Jackson yawned and rubbed his eyes. “I don’t,” he said, flashing her a smile. “Bo’s just teasing.”
Reginald cleared his throat and shook his head. “Teasing isn’t part of my job description. I left her in the living room.”
Jackson became a little more awake. “A woman’s really here?”
“Yes.”
He sat up. “Saying she’s my wife?”
Reginald nodded.
“Tell her she has the wrong address.”
“I also came to that conclusion, but she’s very insistent. She won’t leave until you see her.”
Jackson slid back under the covers and rested his head on the pillow. “Then make her feel comfortable until she comes to her senses.” He was too tired to deal with a crazy woman right now.
“Is that all?”
“Yes.”
Jackson heard Reginald’s footsteps leave before he closed his eyes. He sighed in frustration when he felt his bedmate nudge him with her foot.
“What?” he mumbled. He just wanted to sleep. It had been a wild night.
“What are you doing?” she asked.
He pulled up the sheet to his chin. “Do I really have to answer that?”
“Aren’t you even curious?”
“Curious about what?”
She pulled the sheet down to his waist. “The woman.”
Jackson rolled onto his back and looked up at her. Ooh…pretty eyes. Nice breasts. Damn what was her name? “No.”
“There’s a woman in your living room claiming to be your wife and you can just lie here and try to go back to sleep?”
“You say that as if it were a problem.”
“Are you sure you’re not married?”
“Of course I’m sure…” He stopped and bit his lip, wishing he could come up with a name. He’d sound more sincere that way. He swore. What was her name? She had a West African look and her accent sounded French. So he knew she was from one of those French speaking countries.
“I’m not sure I believe you.” She turned her back to him and swung her legs over the side of the bed. “I’m going.” She stood and began to change.
The bed felt cold without her and he hated feeling cold. Did she have a French name? Estelle? Coline? Marie? Probably not. Perhaps if he could remember what country she came from that could give him a clue. Was it Benin? Burundi? Niger?
“You don’t have to go yet. It’s all a misunderstanding I’m sure. I enjoyed last night.” What I can remember of it. “And I’d like to see you again. Are you traveling back home to…” He let his words trail off hoping she’d fill in the blanks.
She zipped up her formfitting red dress. “No, I have work in Sweden.”
Damn. “I’d like to see you again.”
“Take care of your wife first.” She stepped into her matching heels.
“I told you I don’t have a—”
She grabbed her black clutch from off of his dresser. “Adieu.”
He felt the finality in her word. “Don’t you mean Au revoir?”
“No.” She left and closed the door behind her.
Damn and he still didn’t know what her name was. Too bad. He pulled the sheets back up and closed his eyes. It didn’t work. He couldn’t go back to sleep. This stranger, possibly some tipsy ex-girlfriend of his that Bo couldn’t identify, had ruined a perfect morning. Jackson kicked the bed sheets off in frustration. He just wanted to sleep.
He wasn’t a morning person; he could barely function before ten and it was…
He glanced at his clock and saw it said ten thirty-six. Okay, but it was Saturday and he usually got up after twelve on a weekend. Plus, he’d had a late night. He wasn’t like his brother James who would be showered, dressed and have solved the mystery of the confused woman who thought she was his wife by now.
Another couple of minutes and then he’d deal with her. If he was lucky, she’d give up and go home. The thought brought a smile to his face as he reached over, pulled up the sheets and sunk back into his pillow.
An hour later he woke up feeling refreshed. He took a shower, grabbed a robe and headed for the kitchen ready for something to eat.
He walked past the living room and paused when he saw a woman sitting there reading a book. A woman! A woman he didn’t recognize because her head was lowered and her long dark hair framed her face, putting it in shadow. He swore. He’d forgotten about her. He dashed into the kitchen before she looked up and spotted him.
He rushed over to Reginald who stood at the sink washing a glass. Jackson gestured to the living room. “Who is that?”
Reginald set the glass on the drying rack before turning to him. “Your wife.”
Jackson’s brows shot up. “That lunatic is still here?”
“You told me to tell her to wait.”
“I was kidding.”
“You didn’t tell me that.”
“I didn’t think she’d stay.” He rested his hip against the counter. “Did she tell you what she wanted?”
“Only to see you. I told you she was insistent.”
Fine. He’d deal with her after he’d eaten. Maybe waiting a little longer may encourage her to leave.
But she was still there after his breakfast of avocado toast with egg. He walked into the living room, annoyed when she sent him a quick disinterested glance before she returned her gaze to the book. He could tell by the colorful imagery it was a graphic novel. She was probably mad at him. Served her right for playing this prank. He sat down in the soft recliner in front of her.
“What do you want?”
She closed the book but didn’t lift her head, keeping her face hidden. “You don’t remember me, do you?” she said in a low voice.
That voice stirred something deep inside him. It had a sensual, husky edge that made him think of hot wax and black silk sheets.
He looked her up and down. Her voice was more memorable than the rest of her. She did a disservice to the purple mohair velvet sofa which she sat on and the 1920s Persian carpet her heeled boots rested on. She looked like she was dressed for a job interview in a straight black skirt, blue satin blouse and black boots which suited Virginia in the fall. She was pleasantly proportioned with brown skin and clear manicured nails. If he could see more of her face, maybe he’d remember something.
“If you’d look at me that may help.”
She lifted her head and tossed her hair over her shoulder. She wore more makeup than a drag queen.
Nope, that didn’t help. She seemed a little familiar but something was off. He could pretend, but then she’d know he was lying. “No.”
She tossed the book on the oval shaped table with a sigh. He noticed it was a graphic novel he hadn’t finished reading yet. “I was afraid of that.”
“Are you sure you haven’t confused me with someone else?”
“No, Jackson. I know who you are.”
She knew his name. Of course she knew his name. She also knew where he lived and the way she said his name felt familiar. Felt good. There was something very familiar about her. Something he couldn’t pinpoint. Yes, that voice…and those lips and that body…but it was also unfamiliar too.
He rubbed his forehead. “Lay it out for me. Why did you say we’re married?”
“Because we are. We got married in Las Vegas.”
She held up her hand and flashed the ring on her finger. “Don’t worry, I only just put it on to show you. I haven’t worn it since that night.”
That night. Suddenly, it all came flooding back to him. Sort of. He remembered the threat of tears (hers not his). A lot of liquor (definitely him). A limo ride and not much else.
“When?”
“Two months ago.”
He stared at her, stunned. “Two months ago and you’re just telling me now?”
“Yes, well the thing is…”
Two months ago. He couldn’t believe it. Wow. Okay, he had to think. Two months ago…hmm…two months…two months. Two months ago he remembered waking up alone in a hotel room in Las Vegas and catching a flight back to Kirkland before his stepfather gave him the riot act for missing a scheduled meeting. He did remember taking a ring off his finger and briefly feeling victorious for some reason, but it had been a crazy weekend and he was ready to go home so he hadn’t thought much of it.
“If we really did get married, why didn’t you stay around and—”
“That’s what I was trying to explain, if you were listening.”
“I wasn’t. Sorry. Start over. Why didn’t you stay the next morning?”
“That was not part of the deal.”
“Deal? You’re sure you married me?”
She showed him the papers.
He briefly scanned them then nodded. “Clearly we both made a mistake. What do you want? An annulment? That’s fine with me. I’ll squash this before anyone finds out.”
She bit her lip. “Might be too late for that. I came to apologize. I didn’t know who you were—are, and—”
Warning bells rang in his mind. She seemed nice and harmless, but he had to be careful. His tone sharpened. “You want money?”
“No.”
“Blackmail?”
“No,” she said losing patience. “I will explain everything but first you should change.”
“Change?”
“Get yourself together.”
“I am together.”
She gestured towards him. “You always go around in just your robe?”
He glanced down amused. “Yes.” He smiled at her. “Don’t worry you’re not going to see anything you shouldn’t. Now start talking.”
“What do you remember?”
He leaned back and rested his arm along the back of the couch. “Clearly not enough.”
“I am really sorry about this. I thought I should get to you before someone else does. It was a mistake. I should have erased the pictures from my cell phone. I am willing to get a quick annulment and disappear from your life. At least I would have done that. I didn’t expect my sister to see the pictures of us and then—”
Jackson shook his head. “Hold on. You’re not making any sense. Who would get to me?”
“You haven’t gotten any calls?”
“No.”
“How about—?”
The sound of the doorbell stopped her words.
Jackson stood. “I wonder who that is?”
She sent him a wary look. “Trouble.”
Chapter 2
For a moment Toyin thought she was hallucinating.
First there was one Jackson and now there were two. Except the man on the other side of the door seemed meaner and darker somehow. They both had the same tall, powerful physique; elegant, clean shaven features and smooth brown skin. But the other man wore a black sports jacket, somber colored grey shirt and trousers—a direct contrast to Jackson’s stripped red and yellow robe.
“What have you gotten yourself into?” the man said then stopped when he saw her. “I’m sorry. I didn’t realize it was true.”
“What’s true?” Jackson asked.
The man held out his hand to her. “I’m James Fortune by the way.”
“Toyin. Toyin um…” Dear God she’d forgotten her last name. Why did this guy scare her? She already knew she was in trouble but the presence of this man made it all feel worse. “Jacobs.”
He gestured to the sofa. “How long have you known my brother?”
She sat down, although she felt like running. “Not long.”
“I see.” He sat down beside her and turned to Jackson. “When were you going to tell us about her?”
“There’s nothing to tell,” Jackson said with a shrug. “I hardly know her.”
James motioned to Jackson’s robe. “You always entertain strangers like that?”
“I was with someone else when she just showed up out of the blue and—”
James surged to his feet. “You did what?”
“I didn’t expect her to come.”
James turned to her with regret. “I apologize on behalf of—”
“No, it’s okay,” Toyin said quickly, waving her hands. “It’s my fault. I surprised him.”
“He surprised all of us.”
“It wasn’t like that,” Jackson said. “I wasn’t cheating on her. I—”
James offered her a small smile of regret. “Will you excuse us for a minute?”
Toyin nodded, knowing it wasn’t a question. She watched him take his brother’s arm, lead him into another room and close the door.
