What did he really want with me? Was he hoping for an alliance, some kind of family merger, or was marrying me like picking off one of the heirs, which would weaken the family and therefore make a business takeover more likely? Clint had wanted me for my body. He was very simple compared to Dirk Dagger, who had left me mostly untouched. What would he get out of a marriage to me? He couldn’t think that I’d actually help him in business warfare, did he?
It was a puzzle. I knew that Dirk did tech, that his family company was everything cutting-edge, but I only knew what was public and what I’d gotten from Toni’s dig using FBI resources. I should get Felicia to do a thorough dossier on him so I could tell exactly what he wanted, what my piece was in the puzzle. I probably wasn’t a direct target, just a piece that fit into the greater plan.
I was getting tired after four hours of travelling over rough terrain, and I was no closer to figuring out what Dirk wantedand what I could do to stop him. If I wanted to. Maybe his entire purpose in marrying me was to antagonize his mother. Maybe he’d always wanted to marry a cellist.
A thud on the roof was the only warning we had before Dirk opened the passenger door and climbed inside. “Good afternoon,” he said with a snobbish accent, in spite of wearing a sheen of sweet under a fine layer of grime. He looked so good, all rumpled and wild.
I raised a brow and tried to look like my heart hadn’t turned into a fluttering mess at the sight of him, swinging in like a billionaire tech Tarzan. “Good afternoon. What do you think of the weather we’ve been having?”
“Shocking, just shocking.” He brushed my nose with his, then hesitated and kissed me, only for a second, because Jezebel opened her door, while the truck was still speeding through the desert, and then she swung out.
Dirk slid into the driver’s seat and took over steering and braking, and other important things you need to do with vehicles before I could do more than sputter. Were they both crazy? Apparently.
“Let me know when you’re ready,” he called out the open door, then slammed it closed and turned to give me a cheerful smile. “I still have no idea how she makes such good time on that horse. How has your drive been so far?”
“You just landed on the roof.”
“That’s right. Haven’t you ever watched the Three-Hundred?”
“I was at that one a few years ago, but that was just the beginning and ending.”
“You didn’t catch the film footage? There’s a lot of jumping out of helicopters. Right now, Nix is fighting through the valley of ninjas while we get set up for the horse bit.”
I frowned at him. I wouldn’t admit how much I’d obsessively watched the three hundred in the past, particularly him. “How can you figure out who the winner is if it takes place all over?”
“Time averages compiled at the end. Everything’s recorded, at least almost everything. The real winners get the sponsors and the media deals, although the prize money is a nice bonus.”
Yes, I’m sure he cared about media deals when his real business was actually making real money. Also, why did he take off his shirt so much so the whole world wanted him? He was mine. Why did he have to look so good? I should put him in a straitjacket that he couldn’t escape. “So, husband, how did you sleep last night?” Was that too possessive?
He smiled at me, flashing that dimple and those mischievous eyes. “Very sweetly. No ninja stealth moves or anything else adventurous. You?”
“Same. Why don’t you kiss me?”
“Excellent question. Perhaps it has something to do with something inconsequential, such as… Hold on a moment.”
A thud came as the trailer released from the truck, and then Jezebel came flying out of the trailer on a black horse that looked like it was out for blood. Snowdrop. Jezebel made it look easy. She could have been getting her nails done with the intensity she put into it.
Other trucks and trailers were already there, waiting for the drivers to arrive.
He’d just ignored my demand to kiss me. Should I stab him to get his attention? No, then there certainly would be more surgery than kissing. And he was in the middle of a job. I should respect that even if it made absolutely no sense for a man with brains, looks, and money to be brawling in the desert for peanuts.
It made about as much sense as Jezabel turning vigilante. “Why doesn’t she have the trailer waiting for her?” I asked.Everyone else had the horses brought separately. The horse might not be so grumpy if it hadn’t had to be in a truck that was racing across the desert over deep grooves and rocks.
Dirk spun the truck’s wheel and hit the brake. We sat parked in a cloud of dust while he popped open the sunroof and stood to take some good video of Jezebel riding her horse towards and past us.
It gave me the chance to stare at his pink pants. Why pink pants? There was a reason for everything he did. Like Scooby Doo. That’s what was playing on the tower of carnival rides the night he saved me from my fear and kissed me whole. He remembered all the little details. Why pink? And why did he want me in Las Vegas?
When he came back down into the truck, he handed me the small camera.
His rakish smile was so punchable. Also kissable. “She brings her trailer because it’s more dramatic, and she doesn’t like anyone else taking care of that particular horse. He loves human flesh almost as much as the camel does. It helps to keep down efforts at sabotage, but it makes it difficult for her to find any other handlers. Not that she trusts anyone else.”
“How sensible not to trust anyone. How is business going?”
He took my hand, strong fingers spreading mine so we were entangled. My heart pounded at that touch- strong, gentle, and warm. “The race or other things?”
“You had a merger with one of Harrison’s subsidiaries. Why? Geotech doesn’t usually deal with medical tech.”
“Medical is one of the fastest-growing sectors. You don’t know everything Geotech does.”
