CHAPTERTWO
“Why aren’t you two dancing?”A familiar note in her father’s voice warned Karolina to spring into action, particularly when he added, “I’m waiting for you to lead my guests onto the floor.Show them how it’s done, eh, Conor?”
“My apologies.”Karolina rose to her feet.“I didn’t mean to appear reluctant.”
“Then you should have no problem dancing with me,” Conor murmured with faint amusement as he pushed back his chair.
But she did, and would have to work hard at hiding her feelings.The man who had been selected to cover her must have more to offer her father than millions in the bank or even the ponies Kaspar Karolides adored.As guest of honor, Conor Murphy had to be her father’s equal in some way.Yes, Conor was famous for the money he made from his tech company and for being one of the top polo players in the world, but what else was he into?Drugs?Protection racket?Prostitution?Money laundering?Or all of the above?
“What type of business are you in?”she asked casually as they left the table, heading for the dance floor at the far end of the sumptuous banqueting hall.
“Don’t you read the press?”
“I read widely.”
“Lighten up, Karolina, or this will be a long night,” Conor advised when they stood facing each other on the dance floor.“I’m in tech and I play polo, as I’m sure you already know.The ambassador is waiting for you to grace the dance floor with your beauty, while I’m waiting for you to fill my arms with your pound of flesh.”
“In exchange for how many pieces of silver?”she fired back.“Or ponies, in your case.You don’t have to pretend.I know you’re as enthusiastic about this as I am.”
“It’s a means to an end for me.”
“What do you hope to get out of it?”She quickly added a light laugh when she saw the ambassador watching them.
“The same thing you do.A result.”
Conor’s smile was as fake as her own.Placing her hand in his with as much enthusiasm as she might slap a dead fish onto a counter, she was unprepared for the thrill that raced up her arm when his fist closed around her hand.Conor Murphy was ridiculously attractive, but what she was experiencing was pure, unadulterated lust.
“Something troubling you?”he inquired in a tone that suggested he knew very well the effect he had on women.“My advice is to at least act as if you’re enjoying this encounter, or our deal will be dead in the water.”
“I’m expected to care one way or the other?”
“You do care.For whatever reason, you care.There has to be a very good reason for you to consider marrying a man you hardly know.”
“Consider?I should be so lucky.”If she refused, she had a pretty good idea what would happen to the women in the cellar below their well-shod feet.Marrying Conor was the best, perhaps the only chance to escape the ambassador and help those women.She might not know more than the scraps her father had told her about him and what she’d read in the press, but whatever it took, she had to make this work
The fact that Conor was a world-class polo player must account for the sensitivity in his hands, she reasoned.His grip was light yet firm and allowed him to direct her around the dancefloor with barely any effort at all.And he never allowed their bodies to brush.Did he find her unattractive?And again, why should she care?
“Must I remind you that your father is watching us?”Conor asked when she pulled away.
“I’m not frightened of him.”
“Then, you’re a fool.”
Conor’s remark startled her.Her comment had been pure bravado.Conor was right in saying that only a fool didn’t know fear, and Karolina had every reason to fear her father.
“Do you tango?”
Hearing the beat of the music had changed, she laughed tensely.“Not if I can help it, and never with a man I don’t know.”
“You’ll make an exception to that rule tonight.”
“Is that an order?”
“Careful,” Conor cautioned with his mouth dangerously close to hers.“Where’s that sugary smile disappeared to?”
To the same place her tolerance for play-acting had gone, but she had to keep up the pretense while the ambassador was studying their every move.
He was starting to enjoy himself.Karolina might look like an angel in her shimmering floor-length white gown, but she danced like a siren from a candlelit club in Buenos Aires.Starting off stiffly, she had allowed the music to infect her, and as the beat cast its spell, she transformed from a tense young woman into a creature of fire who stalked the dance floor with command and style.Having anticipated a low-key shuffle with an amateur, merely to satisfy her father on the success of their upcoming nuptials, he was pleasantly surprised to find himself dancing with an expert who kept him on his toes.“You’re good at this.”
