No. It couldn’t be. Not here. Not now. Not him. Anyone but him.
A man so devilishly handsome that she crossed her legs at the sight of him. Here he was. Her competition’s fancy lawyer. Mr. One Thousand Dollars an Hour himself. The worst man in the world. Gabriel Ross.
2
She stared at him in wide-eyed surprise, her chest heaving, disbelief flashing in her eyes.
Gabriel Ross forced his gaze back up to her face, hoping like hell she hadn’t caught his accidental glance at the swell of her breasts. Not that he was complaining about looking at her face. It was quite a captivating face. That pink mouth was its most prominent feature. Full and inviting, he had fantasized about kissing that mouth at his leisure. Taking his time to taste its sweetness. Then there were those brown eyes that, for some reason, reminded him of fall foliage. All of it topped off with a mane of dark hair that gleamed copper in the firelight.
Right now, the shock on her lovely face mirrored his own. He hadn’t expected to see her here. But he wasn’t going to reveal how stunned he was to find her in Wintergarten’s great hall.
He wondered what would come next. They had taken part in this dance for two months now. Each of them battling to take the lead. Most of the time she’d kill him with kindness first before letting fly some choice verbal jabs. But maybe she was so shocked by his presence that she’d give him a different sort of welcome. Would she finally lose her temper? Or would she compose herself and give him a chilly reception?
“You,” she said in an accusatory tone.
He granted her a mildly amused smile. “Janet was it? Great to see you again.”
“It’s Jane,” she said sharply.
He knew damn well it was, but keeping his enemies off balance was part of his job. And Jane Westen was definitely an enemy. Her combination of beauty and brains made her just as dangerous as the best opposing counsel he had ever encountered.
Gabriel shrugged. “Whatever you say.”
“What are you doing here?” she demanded, brown eyes narrowing.
“Working vacation,” he replied smoothly.
“Working to take the castle, you mean.”
He took a seat in the armchair opposite her. “Isn’t that why you’re here?”
“I’m here to see my inheritance,” she said sweetly, her face the very picture of innocence.
Oh, she was damned good at this. Jane seemed to know when to turn up the heat and when to retreat. Probably why he could never quite anticipate when she was going for the jugular. She kept him on his toes, which was getting increasingly rare in his line of work. Legal battles were getting less challenging as time went on. Which meant a hell of a lot more boring. Mind-numbing, if he was going to be honest. He had only ever gotten into law to make his parents proud. Not because he had much interest in it. His talent for it had come as a surprise. Maybe because he had spent so many years lying to his parents. Even more years lying to himself.
“Careful. You wouldn’t be the first invader to try, and ultimately fail, to win Wintergarten.”
An angry flash in her eyes vanished as quickly as it had appeared. “And what about you? Are you invading the castle with your client?”
“You mean your cousin? No, he isn’t here,” Gabriel returned. “He got tied up with work matters and couldn’t leave New York.”
“Oh, so that’s why my distant cousin sent a lackey in his place. What a shame,” she said, looking him directly in the eye. Clearly, she was trying to get a rise out of him.
No matter how much she stirred his blood, Gabriel wasn’t going to take the bait. He’d play it cool. After all, he had the upper hand here. As impressive as Jane’s verbal sparring was, she didn’t have the resources to keep this going. Without the money to afford a halfway decent lawyer, she was basically acting as her own legal representative. Eventually she’d see reason and give up. Then the castle would be won and Gabriel would make partner at his law firm.
That thought left him feeling a little hollow. He was going to miss their encounters and all the sexual tension that came with them.
“Lackey. Lawyer. As long as I get paid handsomely. Which I will be. Soon enough.” He flashed her his most winning smile. A disarming weapon he deployed whenever he was ready to get his way.