So?Am I going to sit here feeling sorry for myself, or am I going to strip off this ridiculous gown, shower, and change my clothes before exploring the rest of this house and garden?
My garden now.
The improbability of that glorious fact hit her when she opened the window.The view over the garden was spectacular.Beautiful lawns and colorful flowerbeds stretched as far as the eye could see.Her heart lifted at the sight of it.She had so many reasons to be grateful, and at least now there was a chance she could help the captives at the embassy.
To hell with her bruised heart.This wasn’t about Karolina.She’d made the mistake of casting Conor in the role of romantic hero when all he wanted was to profit from a deal.Was she going to waste this chance?No way.
He tracked Karolina down at the lakeside pavilion, which was at the far end of his grounds.She looked hot in jeans.When he drew closer, he could see how shabby and faded they were.Anna had remarked on how few possessions Conor’s new wife had brought with her, which had prompted him to describe Karolina in the vaguest of terms as a refugee, which in many ways he guessed she was.
“But I thought your new wife is the ambassador of Kasiki’s daughter?”Anna had pressed with concern.
There was no hiding anything from his switched-on housekeeper.“The term still applies.”
“I’ll take special care of her,” Anna had promised, “as you took care of me when I had nowhere else to go.”
“You take special care of everyone,” he’d answered dryly.“That’s your gift.”
So now he had a wife he didn’t want, a wife who didn’t want him, and that should have suited them both, except it didn’t.Electricity crackled between them each time they were close.And it wasn’t just sexual attraction, but some deeper connection that joined them.But could he trust her?That was his main concern.
Blood and Thunder had been charged with dismantling the ambassador’s empire.Permission had been granted by a top-secret department in the British establishment to use any and all methods necessary.His team wouldn’t be the first guns for hire to dismantle a sensitive organization.When crime and diplomatic relations between countries became inextricably tangled, it wasn’t possible to use regular forces that could too easily be held to account.
The team’s mission was specific.They must capture a man who’d escaped justice for too long.On the face of it, Blood and Thunder was a world-class polo team composed of ex-special forces operatives.If a government called upon Blood and Thunder to solve a problem, it was a guaranteed crisis situation.This case had been complicated by his feelings for Karolina.There wasn’t enough time to discover if his new wife had been trapped in a situation, or if Karolina had been aware of her father’s activities all along and had chosen to remain silent.He wanted nothing more than to believe in her innocence, but that didn’t change the fact that he would head up the team assigned to bring her father down.
“You look better,” he commented with approval as she sensed him behind her and swung around.She looked amazing.Fresh faced and restored, as if the weight of the world had been lifted from her shoulders.
“You look better too,” she said, staring him up and down.“You’ve showered and changed your clothes, and you’ve even had a shave.Isn’t that supposed to come before the wedding?”
“My apologies.Business took longer than I imagined.”
She raised a brow.“Long enough to almost miss the ceremony?”
“The delay was unavoidable.”
“As was the fresh-from-the-stable tang you wore as your cologne for the occasion.Are you here to make amends?”
“I’m here to make sure my bride has everything she needs.”
“Such as a husband?”she suggested.“This is our wedding night, or had you forgotten?”
“I’ve forgotten nothing,” he assured her, feasting his eyes on her upturned face.
Her hands were balled into fists, he noticed.Karolina Karolides, slaver’s daughter and now his wife, was a beautiful, passionate woman who was equally uncertain about him.Once her passion was unleashed, all hell would let loose.When that happened, he planned to be around.
