“A woman like you can’t live without passion...”

He knows her weaknesses. And he knows he’s one of them.

Maddie Mallory is on her way to marry a man she doesn’t love—it’s the only way to save her father’s company—when sexy, stone-cold businessman Gabe Harrington “rescues” her by whisking her off to Monaco. The same gorgeous, arrogant Gabe who rocked her world for a week and then left her to pick up the pieces.

All Gabe wants is to save Maddie. From herself. From the corrupt fiancé who would ruin her and her father’s company. And Gabe thought he could do it without remembering the heady nights, tangled limbs and hot kisses they once shared. But Maddie isn’t about to take this “rescue” lying down—not unless it’s on her terms.

Now Gabe has one week to prove that he’s not the heartless scoundrel she thinks he is. And Maddie has one week to take what she wants from Gabe...if she can keep herself from falling for him all over again.

Sexy. Passionate. Bold. Discover Harlequin DARE, a new line of fun, edgy and sexually explicit romances for the fearless female.

FAYE AVALON lives in southwest England with her super-ace husband and one beloved, ridiculously spoiled golden retriever. She worked as cabin crew, detoured into property development, public relations, court reporting and education, before finally finding her passion: writing steamy romantic fiction. Between writing, practising yoga, trying to remember the difference between a plié and relevé in ballet class and keeping the keyboard free of dog hair, Faye can be found checking out Pinterest for hero inspiration. Visit her at www.fayeavalon.com.

Rescue Me

Faye Avalon

www.millsandboon.co.uk

ISBN: 978-1-474-08699-8

RESCUE ME

© 2019 Faye Avalon

Published in Great Britain 2019

by Mills & Boon, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers 1 London Bridge Street, London, SE1 9GF

All rights reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. This edition is published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, locations and incidents are purely fictional and bear no relationship to any real life individuals, living or dead, or to any actual places, business establishments, locations, events or incidents. Any resemblance is entirely coincidental.

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Version: 2020-03-02

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For AJ—as always.

And for Rosemary, Kit, Laurie and Lavada.

You ladies rock big-time!

Special thanks to Dana Grimaldi for making my first

Dare experience such an enjoyable one.

Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text

About the Author

Title Page

Copyright

Dedication

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER EIGHT

CHAPTER NINE

CHAPTER TEN

CHAPTER ELEVEN

About the Publisher

CHAPTER ONE

“THIS ISN’T THE way to the church.”

Had she not been contemplating her impending marriage to a man several years her father’s senior and fighting off a headache made worse by the cloying scent of the wedding bouquet at her side, Maddie Mallory might have noticed earlier the detour the limousine had taken. Noticed that they were heading away from central London and the centuries-old church where she would say I do in a little over fifteen minutes’ time. She might even have grown a bit alarmed.

As it was, she glanced beyond the tinted windows searching for road signs verifying the change of route, but everything seemed normal outside the limo’s claustrophobic interior. Car horns blasted, lorries drove too close to other vehicles, cyclists took their lives in their hands weaving in and out of the traffic, and pedestrians played vehicular dodge as they zigzagged across the busy road. Yes, a normal Friday afternoon in the nation’s capital.

Except it wasn’t normal. Not for Maddie. It wasn’t normal to be signing her life away to become someone’s wife, at least on paper.

She glanced over her shoulder, some part of her celebrating the diminishing blur of the church’s steeple as they travelled away from it. For one exhilarating moment, she wondered if she was being kidnapped. Whisked away from this farcical wedding and all it entailed.

The relief that trembled through her was palpable.

If only...

Of course, her failure to show up at the church and go through with the sham ceremony in front of the distinguished guests meant her father risked everything.

Since she was largely to blame, it fell to her to rectify the situation now. But did the price have to be so high? Marrying a man she didn’t care two hoots for? Signing away her freedom?

Which reminded her...

Shifting layers of organza and satin out of the way, Maddie leaned forward and pushed aside the glass privacy panel to get the chauffeur’s attention. “Didn’t you hear me? I said this isn’t the way to the church.”

When the man showed no indication of having heard her, let alone answering her, Maddie met his dark gaze in the rearview mirror.

The peak of his uniform hat shaded his forehead, but the slash of eyebrows above a considered glance from steely grey eyes moved through her like a distant bitter memory. It coiled in her stomach, shivered in her limbs and sent awareness from her breasts to her core.

Was she finally losing it? Had she conjured him up in her fevered brain? Because no way on earth could it be him. She was seeing things.

Shit. This was no time for hallucinations. Most certainly not the kind that involved Gabe Harrington. If it wasn’t for him, she wouldn’t be in her current predicament.

She wanted to blame him entirely, but really she was the one who’d messed up. Big-time. Largely because she’d been unable to hold her stupid hormones in check. Instead of keeping her eye on the ball, she’d hooked up with a man who had given her the most devastatingly erotic week of her life—before taking what he really wanted.

The limo turned at traffic lights toward City Airport, cutting through the tunnel of unwanted memories. This was most definitely not a detour to her nuptials.

Panic started to edge along her spine. What the hell was happening?

She leaned farther forward, virtually poking her head through the opening. “You’d better stop this car right now.”

Still no reaction.

Turning, she reached for the door handle and tugged hard, but it wouldn’t budge. Was she really being kidnapped? Abducted? Had she somehow brought her fevered wishes into reality?

She tried the door again, pushed the button for the window release, but that was locked, too. Rapping on the windows to get attention from passers-by would be futile, since nobody noticed much of anything but their own business in London.

The limo had picked up speed and was nudging the outskirts of the airport.

Maddie searched around, looking for her phone. She had a vague memory of putting it in the bag which Laura, her bestie, had taken to the church for her. All she had was the stupid bouquet.

“Stop this bloody car,” she shouted. “Or I’ll have you up on charges.”

In the mirror she met his gaze again. Dark eyes glittered back at her, making the ominous feeling escalate.

“And just how do you intend on doing that, princess?”

Everything inside her went cold. It couldn’t be. Just couldn’t be. Yet that voice, trickling over her like warm rich chocolate, with just a hint of bad boy beneath the cultivated exterior, was unmistakable. As was the deep grey gaze, the one that had slid over every inch of her naked body while she’d lain depleted beneath him.

Hell.

She was definitely hallucinating. Had slipped into some kind of parallel universe. It was the only explanation. Or maybe she was dehydrated. People saw weird things when they were dehydrated.

It was difficult to breathe. All the air seemed to have been sucked out of the car’s interior. Brilliant. Add hyperventilating to the dehydration. This was exactly the time to lose her bloody mind.

When his focus turned to the road again, putting his profile in shadow, she could think a little straighter. There was no way it could be him. What the heck would he be doing driving a bridal car? He’d be brokering some deal in the Far East, or New York, or wherever else he could dip his talented fingers into some lucrative pie. She’d obviously superimposed Gabe’s face on the driver, heard his disembodied voice projected by her own imaginings. She even thought she could smell him. That masculine, citrusy cologne he favoured, mixed with the intoxicating scent of...him.

Briefly, she closed her eyes. Fire shot through every nerve ending, making her senses reel. Her heart squeezed so tightly she thought she might pass out.

Hell, but life was cruel, choosing this moment to make her remember one of the happiest yet most painful periods of her life.

Opening her eyes, she forced herself to focus. She had enough problems right now without resurrecting old wounds, especially when they had the power to slice her in half.

All that mattered was getting to the church. Except they were so far away from it now, and the car’s doors and windows were locked. And...

The limo came to an abrupt halt at a red light. His gaze lifted to hers again, and despite her determination to focus on the present, she was immediately transported back to heady nights, tangled limbs, hot kisses. Of lying naked with him alone on a yacht off the coast of Monaco, the sun beating down on their sated bodies. Of the trickle of champagne over her breasts, sinking into her navel, dripping between her opened legs. The feel of his hot, wet tongue licking along the Moët’s path, the thrust of his rigid cock inside her as she gave herself over to his adept skills...

“Your veil’s slipped, princess.”

Maddie jerked. The heavy sarcasm dumped her straight back into the middle of the dark pit she had fought to crawl out of.

It was him. Gabe Harrington.

“What?”

“Your veil,” he said and tapped his own head. “It’s skewed.”

Instinctively, she reached up and adjusted the veil, her heart hammering both from the effects of her erotic memories and from having the source of them show up completely out of the blue.

The bastard.

“Very much like your halo,” she said, narrowing her eyes. “Except that’s not skewed, it’s totally invisible. Covered by a chauffeur’s hat. Fallen on hard times, have you? The touch-shit-and-turn-it-to-gold Gabe Harrington forced into chauffeuring brides to church? I hope it pays well.”

The words projected like bullets across the space that divided them, propelled by each thunderous beat of her heart and the desperate need to lash out.

She couldn’t see his mouth in the mirror, but his eyes crinkled at the corners and did ridiculous things to her stomach.

“Except, as you’ve no doubt worked out, you’re not going to the church, are you?”

She tried to think, fought to remain calm as the car sped off when the light turned green.

“I don’t know what the hell you think you’re doing.”

“Saving you.”

She glared back at his reflection in the mirror. “Kidnapping me, more like. Is that how you get your kicks now? What? Did the property investment business lose its charm? Or did you just run out of people to swindle.”

He had the audacity to laugh. Full out. It cut through her ribs like the sharpest blade. How could he find humour in what he’d done to her father? To her?

“Let’s just say I consider it my public duty to save a woman from doing something that can’t possibly be in her best interests.”

Indignation rose thick and fast. She was so sick of people—men—telling her what was in her best interests. “Oh, I get it. One week spent fucking me and you think you’re an expert on what’s good for me, on what I want?”

“I know you don’t want a man old enough to be your frigging grandfather.”

Arrogant bastard. “So what’s this theatrical display really about? And don’t give me any bullshit about it being in my best interests. As I recall, you don’t do other people’s best interests.”

“Maybe things change.”

“But you don’t. You’re not the type. If you must know, you’re keeping me from marrying a man who has given me more respect and consideration than someone like you would ever be capable of doing.”

“I don’t remember you complaining.”

“There wasn’t much in the way of opportunity. Seeing as you had me on my back every damn minute you could.”

“And again. I didn’t hear any complaints.”

The bastard was right. She couldn’t deny it. No man had ever made her feel the way Gabe had. She suspected no man ever would.

“I suggest you save yourself the trouble of having to bail yourself out of jail and get me back where I belong.”

The corners of his eyes crinkled all out now. “Exactly the point of the exercise.”

Shivers ran down her spine, not just because they were passing through the airport’s gates, but she guessed he planned to take her back to Monaco.

She glanced at the dashboard clock. Far too late now to get to the church and slide Oscar’s ring on her finger. She didn’t want to think about the consequences of that, nor did she particularly want to focus on the overwhelming feeling of relief that rippled through her. Not that she would let Gabe know that.

“The minute you stop this car and let me out, I’m going to have you arrested.”

* * *

Gabe might have laughed at the futility behind Maddie’s threat, but he’d caught the worry in her tone. He remembered how her voice changed when she was upset, how she tried so hard to stop the tremor that snatched her breath away.

He hated the cloak-and-dagger approach, but it was the only way. She wouldn’t have listened to reason, would have charged in with guns blazing if it meant helping her father. He wasn’t in possession of all the facts, although he knew enough to put two and two together. Maddie wasn’t the type to get herself hitched to a man she didn’t love.

So, until he did know all the facts, he intended to keep her from making one hell of a mistake.

“How are you planning to alert the cops?” he asked conversationally as he pulled off his hat. “Send up a distress flare?”

He glanced in the mirror and saw the fierce burn in her amber eyes. If she lifted her chin any higher, that damned veil would slip off completely.

She opened her mouth to say something, probably uncomplimentary, then glared at him before slumping back in her seat and turning to look out the side window.

Her blond hair was drawn sharply back from her face in an elegant updo, making him remember how he’d enjoyed taking the tie from her hair whenever she’d worn it in the ponytail she favoured. It had become a kind of battle of wills for them. He loved the feel of the silky strands between his fingers, loved curling the satin locks around his fists and drawing her head back to kiss the delicate skin of her throat.

Despite her savvy wit, her steely strength, her sharp intellect, there was a vulnerability about her. It made him want to protect her. To act like a fucking knight in shining armour. Which was why he was here now. He had been powerless to resist.

She might have considered it sarcasm when he declared that he intended to save her, but that was exactly what he was doing. Hearing she was to marry had pushed his buttons like nothing else ever had, but then he’d discovered who the groom was and fury had sent him into a tailspin.

What the fuck was she thinking? A woman as vital and passionate as Maddie tying herself up with a conniving fucktard like Oscar Kingston? No freaking way. Not while Gabe drew breath.

He pulled into the hangar and parked up. One of his engineers came forward while others sprang into action near his jet.

“All ready,” the engineer said when Gabe opened the driver’s door. “We’ve got a slot in fifty-five minutes.”

The engineer slid a look toward Maddie sitting in the back seat, her arms still folded and a look of stoic determination on her face. “Everything all right, boss?”

“All good,” Gabe said. “We’ll go straight on board. Weather okay?”

“Yeah. Smooth sailing all the way.”

Not bloody likely, Gabe thought as his engineer went off whistling a happy tune. Maddie looked fit to spit nails.

He opened the car door and leaned in. Resting one hand on the soft leather at her back and the other on the edge of her seat, he brought his face close to hers. His gaze dropped to her mouth, those plump, kissable lips he loved to torture. The same lips that could so easily return the favour, wrapping around his cock and propelling him straight to the promised land.

She shifted away, looking him up and down as if he were the devil incarnate.

“Behave yourself, princess. You’ll hurt my feelings.”

Defiance shining bright in her beautiful eyes, she held his gaze. “I don’t give a flying fig about your feelings, you bastard. And there’s no way I’m getting out of this car.”

She turned her head away, the movement wafting her fragrance until it settled in his nostrils. He’d read somewhere that smell could transport a person back through the past and toss him slap-bang into a memory. That happened now, launching him back two years to when Maddie had pressed up tight against him, her naked body warm and languid following a bout of especially athletic lovemaking. The musky scent of her arousal remained thick in the air, and her damp heat pressed against him as she gyrated softly against his hip making those little purring sounds of contentment.

Fuck. He wanted that again. Wanted Maddie wrapped around him, over him, under him. He wanted to be inside her, pushing her to the limits, until neither of them could think straight.

“I could make you get out of the car,” he said, battening down his inappropriate arousal. “Maybe even put you over my shoulder if I need to.”

She whipped her gaze back to his. “Huh. You can try, but I’ll bring the whole airport running with the noise I’ll be making.”

“Not if I gag you first.” Her eyes went wide, but he didn’t see fear—he saw excitement. “You’re not completely averse to that, as I recall.”

Her cheeks flushed, her breasts rising and falling as her breathing picked up. He was having trouble with his own damn breathing, and his cock went rock-hard now, pressing painfully against his fly.

“Hard to forget, isn’t it?” He didn’t know why he was baiting her, tormenting himself. The answer throbbed in his trousers. “You weren’t able to scream. And boy, did you love to scream. Especially when I went down on you. Couldn’t get enough of that, could you, princess?”

Pink slashed high across her cheekbones. “I don’t recall you being especially silent on occasions,” she said, raising her eyebrows. “Especially when I had your cock in my mouth. Couldn’t get enough of that, could you, lover?”

His breathing lodged in his throat, his trousers growing unbearably tight. He curled his fingers deep into the soft leather upholstery, when really he wanted them curling around her. He wanted his hands, his tongue and his cock on her. In her. Every damn thing. Every damn where.

“Maddie...”

“I hope you’ve got a good lawyer, because you’re going to need one when I’m done pressing charges for kidnapping and molestation.”

“I haven’t touched you.” He let that hang in the air. “And I’m not going to touch you...unless that’s what you want.”

She turned her head away, but he held her chin between his fingers, bringing her back to face him. “You’re getting on that plane.”

She stared back at him. “Looks like you’ll have to make me, then, doesn’t it? But let me warn you, I can scream loud enough to alert most of London. Being abducted on the way to your wedding can do that to a girl.”

“Give it a rest. You weren’t going through with it out of choice.”

Her mouth dropped open, but she quickly closed it.

No argument? He took it as a sign of progress. For now. “Okay, so this is what we’re going to do. We’re getting out of this car and walking over to the plane. Got that?”

She brushed her tongue along her lower lip, making his cock throb. “I have to wonder why you’re doing this. What’s in it for you?”

The six-million-dollar question.

“Get on that plane and maybe you’ll find out.”

CHAPTER TWO

GABE LED MADDIE to the centre of the cabin and indicated one of the cream-coloured leather chairs.

“Make yourself comfortable. We’ll be leaving shortly.”

She stood where she was. It was hard to ignore, let alone deny, the heady thrill of freedom that came with getting on the jet, the joy of being whisked away and not having to go through with the marriage to Oscar.

Except her escape brought with it a whole new set of problems. Not just the consequences of her failure to marry, but more troubling was being with Gabe again. Could she handle it? Would she be able to protect herself from getting hurt this time?

Gabe moved closer until his hand brushed the back of hers. “Maddie?”

“You haven’t told me where we’re going. I ought to know where I’m being taken.”

“You know where.”

She swallowed and took a steadying breath, not entirely sure what unsettled her most. The thought of heading back to Monaco? Or because Gabe was standing right up close and personal. “Why are we going there?”

He hesitated, then took a step back. “It makes things easier.”

“What things?”

“I’ll tell you when the time is right.”

“You said you’d tell me if I got on the plane. Well, I’m here. So tell me.”

“You’re not ready to know just yet.” He strode down the cabin toward the cockpit. “Buckle up.”

God. The man was insufferable. The epitome of arrogance.

Irritated, Maddie considered making a dash for it, but she’d delayed too long, and the steward closed and secured the cabin door. Briefly, she wondered what story Gabe had spun the crew about a strange woman in full wedding regalia joining him on the flight to the Côte d’Azur. But she knew only too well how easily he could lure people into believing just about anything, since she’d been a victim of that charm offensive herself.

She sat with some reluctance, still questioning her decision to get on the plane. Gabe strolled back, slipping out of his jacket and throwing it across the back of a chair before sitting opposite her.

She wasn’t going to watch as he yanked off his tie and undid the top buttons of the crisp white shirt. She didn’t want to remember the silky strands of chest hair visible from that sexy V, nor did she want to recall the way his forearms rippled when he rolled up the cuffs of his shirtsleeves.

“Like what you see?”

Maddie looked up and found Gabe watching her, a knowing smile on his sumptuous lips. She hated that he’d caught her staring. Hated her own weakness that she couldn’t seem to help it.

“Not particularly,” she lied. “I don’t find pseudo-macho displays appealing.”

“Nothing pseudo about it. You’re here, aren’t you? Sitting in my chair, on my aircraft, at my pleasure.”

“Well, enjoy it while you can, because by now my fiancé will have alerted the authorities to my disappearance. When he discovers what’s happened he’ll have your guts for garters, and I’ll enjoy watching him strap them on.”

“Please. Oscar Kingston couldn’t organize the proverbial piss-up in a brewery unless there’s a few million bucks riding on it.”

“Well, if there were a few million bucks riding on anything, I’d imagine you’d be right there at the starting gate.” She considered him. “Is that what this is all about? Money?”

“Like I said, I’m saving you from making a big mistake. You might want to buckle up.”

Maddie realized they were taxiing out onto the runway, and her already unsteady stomach gave a nauseous roll. Once they were airborne, there was no going back. The wedding would be well and truly off. Cancelled. Oscar would go through with his plans.

Unless...

“Let me borrow your phone. I want to call Oscar.”

“In your dreams.”

She waggled her fingers. “Then let me call my father.”

“If you don’t buckle up, you won’t be calling anyone.”

Maddie fastened her seat belt—physically and metaphorically—and stared Gabe down. “Even criminals get a phone call.”

“Maybe you’ll get one, too. Later.”

“My dad will be worried.”

Gabe’s grey eyes narrowed, his gaze unwavering as he locked it on her. He drew in a breath. “He knows you’re okay.”

Her heart thumped. “How does he know that?”

“Because I called him this morning. Now, why don’t you relax? As soon as we’re—”

“You called him?” Maddie’s pulse kicked hard. “To say what?”

“That you’d decided not to go through with the wedding, and you were coming to stay with me until the fuss died down.”

Her thoughts took on a frenzied path as the aircraft soared into the skies. Her father didn’t know about the deal she’d made with Oscar. As far as her father knew, it was a love match.

She shook her head, feeling the ridiculous veil wobble as it maintained its tenuous grip. It seemed to symbolise this whole situation. “I spoke to my dad this morning. He won’t believe I’ve changed my mind.”

“Your dad’s not a stupid man. Don’t think he won’t have seen through your little charade.”

Before Maddie could challenge that, the aircraft levelled out and the steward came into the cabin carrying wine in a cooler with two crystal glasses.

Absently, Maddie watched the man pour their drinks. Was Gabe right? Had her father worked out the real reason for her marriage? And what about Gabe? How did he know it was all a charade?

When the steward left, she pounced. “You have no bloody right to interfere with my plans, and you have no right to go bothering my father. My life is none of your business. You don’t know anything about it.”

“I know the reason you’re marrying Kingston is to get back controlling shares in Mallory Hotels.” He steepled his fingers and gave her an assessing look. “How was that going to work, princess? How long do you think it would take before word got around that you’d basically sold yourself for a few shares?”

She glared at him, hating the way he spelled it out so graphically, and hating even more the infuriatingly sexy stubble that shadowed across his firm jawline, making her remember how it felt to have him kiss her. “You’ve got a bloody nerve. Insinuating my reasons are tacky while yours are entirely altruistic? Give me a break. There must be some financial advantage for you in all this. Some deal you’ve made.”

His eyes flashed grey steel then, cool as you please, he picked up his glass. “Like what?”

“You tell me. I’ll bet anything that there’s profit in it for you.” She was distracted for a moment by the way his throat contracted as he sipped his drink, until the thoughts that had been slowly forming burst through with vicious intent. She leaned forward, her fingers curling around the arms of the soft leather seat. “If you’ve done anything to hurt my dad, so help me I’ll swing for you hard.”

“If things go to plan, he’ll be laughing all the way to the bank.”

The throbbing in Maddie’s temples intensified. Her father wasn’t in any position to make deals, not with Gabe or anyone else. Oscar held the sixty percent controlling share in Mallory Hotels, and she held the rest.

Unless... “Are you planning to grab what’s left of Mallory’s? Got your sights set on the remaining forty percent? Is that what this is all about?”

Again, steel flashed in his eyes then disappeared as fast as it had come. “You’re way off, princess. Right now, you’re the only one making deals.”

“Which you’ve cocked up.”

He shrugged and picked up his glass again. “One day you might just thank me for sweeping in on my white charger and saving you from a fate worse than just about anything you can imagine.”

“Please. Being here with you right now ticks that particular box. And I can’t imagine any circumstance where I’d need your brand of saving. In fact, after what you did, the only person I’d need saving from is you.”

He sipped his drink, making her pulse quicken as he looked at her with those lethal eyes. “You should learn to forgive and forget. It’ll stop those little lines forming between your eyes.”

In reflex, Maddie touched the spot he’d referred to before dropping her hands down to her lap again. She couldn’t afford to forget, or forgive. Two years ago, she had taken her eye off the ball. She’d been too infatuated with Gabe when she should have been looking out for her father. She should have spotted his growing fondness for gambling and stepped in to take control of the situation. Instead, her distraction had allowed Gabe to trick them both.

“I prefer to learn and remember.” She brushed strands of hair back from her forehead. “It’s safer that way.”

With another sip of his drink, he glanced down to her left hand and back to hold her gaze. “Where’s the ring? I would have expected a huge flashy diamond by way of Kingston staking his claim.”

“I didn’t want a ring. And I’m nobody’s claim.”

He shrugged. “Even a marriage of convenience needs some fripperies to make it look authentic.”

Why did he have to make it sound so grubby? She preferred to think there was a certain nobility in what she’d agreed to do, but he brought it all down to a base level.

“Convenience is as good a reason as any to tie yourself up with a man.”

“You’ve gotten cynical.”

She took a swig of her own drink, hoping it would salve her dry throat. “I prefer realistic.”

He drew in a long breath, bringing her attention to the breadth of his chest as it expanded beneath his shirt. Snapping off his seat belt, he stood. “Hungry?”

“No, I’m not fucking hungry.” Irritation warred with anger, which mixed headily with frustration.

“Your language is pretty ripe, princess. It doesn’t become that virginal little outfit you’re wearing.”

The dress felt like a strait-jacket now, tightening around her ribcage with each mile they flew farther away from London. She snapped off her seat belt, reached up and ripped off the stupid tiara along with the recalcitrant veil. “Well, we both know different, don’t we?”

He had the grace to look momentarily peeved, then a rakish smile stretched across his mouth. “And you loved every minute.”

God. She had. Every single hot and hormone-rattling moment. He’d brought out some kind of sex-crazed woman she hadn’t been aware lived inside her, and nobody else had come close to resurrecting that part of her since. She’d reconciled herself to the thought that maybe she’d fallen so hard for Gabe because he’d been so incredibly good at sex. No other man made her feel a fraction of the intensity she’d enjoyed with Gabe.

“I won’t insult us both by trying to insinuate that I didn’t enjoy sex with you. And I’m not bolstering your ego, because it’s already floating amongst the planets. I’m simply stating a fact.”

Now his smile positively flashed, sexy and wicked.

She turned away from his sinfully handsome face, already out of sorts without adding her physical reaction to Gabe to the mix.

Her breathing deepened, a surge of desire smouldering through her veins. If the damn dress got any tighter around her chest, she would likely collapse from lack of air. Which reminded her...

“What happens when we land? Am I expected to parade around Monte Carlo looking like some crazed reject from Bridezilla?”

“Now, there’s a thought.”

“Considering all this must have been planned, I assume you took into account that I’d need a change of clothes.”

“Of course.”

She huffed. “What? Did you break into my apartment and rifle around in my wardrobe?”

“As much fun as rummaging around in your underwear would be, I didn’t choose that particular route.” His raunchy grin made her stomach flutter ridiculously. “Why don’t you go change before we land?”

She stood, gathering up her skirts. He gave her a quick once-over, an appreciative gleam lighting his eyes. “Want me to unzip you?”

The question zoomed her back two years to when he’d first undressed her. Slowly. She’d been incredibly nervous for some reason, but after they’d made love, she’d barely made it out of his bed for the whole week.

Best to cut off that particular line of thought before it led her down the road to emotional ruin. “I think you’ve done enough, thanks. I don’t want you doing anything for me. Except to give me a phone, lend me some money and hand over my passport, which I assume you have, since I’m not sure even you can wangle your way through airport security without one.”

“I needed to get you away. It’s for your own good, Maddie. You’ll soon see that.”

She chose not to respond to that, since she couldn’t do anything thousands of feet in the air. Once they landed, she would get back control of the situation.

The prospect of that renewed her energy levels, but for effect she subjected him to a steady glower, then turned toward the back of the plane.

“First door on the left.”

She resisted the urge to flip him the finger and instead gathered up her skirts and walked, as dignified as she could, toward the bathroom.

Inside she slid the lock and looked around. Marble sinks and surrounds, gleaming steel fittings—nothing less would satisfy someone of Gabe’s exacting tastes. Heeling off her shoes, she sighed as her feet touched the cool marble-tiled floor. After wriggling her toes, she reached around and unhooked the catch on the dress. With some difficulty she managed to get the zipper down, slipped the dress over her hips and stepped out. It felt so good to be out of that damn dress.

She looked around, searching for the change of clothes Gabe had arranged. Finding nothing hanging up, she went to the floor-to-ceiling cupboard in the corner and found that empty, too.

A tap sounded at the door.

Since she was in her underwear, she grabbed a nearby towel and wrapped it around herself. “What?”

“Everything okay?”

“Where’s that change of clothes you said you had for me?”

“Open the door.”

Which probably meant he was about to give them to her. She tightened the towel, clung to the fastening between her breasts and slid open the lock. Teasing open the door a measly few inches, she stuck her free hand through and grabbed hold of what he offered before slamming the door shut again.

Stepping back, she held out the fabric and recognised a man’s white linen shirt. “Is this supposed to be funny?” She crumpled the shirt in her hands. “You said you had fresh clothes for me.”

“That shirt’s fresh. Cleaned and pressed.”

She barely resisted the urge to scream out her frustration, but that would give him exactly what he wanted. She wouldn’t give him the satisfaction. Since she had no intention of getting back into the wedding gown, which was strewn on the floor where she’d left it, she held up the shirt and gauged that it would at least cover the essentials. Since he was playing her, she would return the compliment. “Do you have a spare belt?”

“Belt?”

“Yeah. If I’m going to wear this shirt in public, it needs a belt. Something to make it look chic.”

It was hard to resist smiling at the sound of his muffled curse. Spurred on by the feel-good factor of having him on his back foot, she stepped closer to the closed door.

“I can wear the heels again, so they’re okay, but I really need that belt.”

Opening the door, she reached her hand through again and waggled her fingers.

“You really like to test boundaries, don’t you, princess?”

Through the crack in the door, he gave her that sensual perusal again, making every inch of her flesh shiver in response. While she was perfectly decent, she was very aware of her near nakedness. He did that. He made her feel raw, exposed, vulnerable.

She clasped the towel tighter around herself. “Do you mind?”

His gaze slid across her bare shoulders, down to where the edge of the towel covered her breasts. “Not particularly.”

Refusing to look at him, she kept her attention on his chest. Big mistake. It was still as wide, still as formidable. Beneath that shirt she knew it was leanly muscled and so damn hot. She’d cuddled up against him enough times to remember the heat he emanated, to remember the strength of him, the feel of him.

Oh hell...

She gripped the towel so tightly her fingers hurt. It was difficult to get air into her lungs, and she knew her breasts rose and fell with the effort. Sensing his gaze remained fixed on her, she kept hers averted.

Only the gentle hiss of their breathing filled the space between them, yet it seemed to buzz with a heightened sense of awareness that felt decadent and dangerous.

Drawing in a breath, Gabe stepped back. “We’ll be landing soon.”

At the sharp change in his tone, Maddie looked up. There was no suggestive gleam in his eye, no arrogant slant to his mouth. What had happened? What had changed?

He reached behind him, then handed her a hanger with a dress covered in a thin layer of protective polythene. “Don’t take too long.”

Maddie grabbed the dress and closed the door. She ripped off the polythene and realised that the dress was actually hers. She might have recognised it sooner had she not been busy going all gaga remembering how toned his chest was.

He might have been extremely easy on the eye, and skilled between the sheets, but he wasn’t worth the effort of fathoming out. They were poles apart. He ate, slept and breathed business. Loved nothing more than analysing stock markets, projecting profit summaries, surveying property investment opportunities. Whereas she didn’t give a flying fuck about any of that stuff. She preferred creating things. Working with colour, shape and form to make something beautiful for people to enjoy.

Not that any of it mattered right then. Bigger fish to fry and all that.

She unzipped the dress, annoyed that despite what Gabe said, he must have gone to her apartment after all. The only other possibility was that he’d gotten someone else to do it for him. Laura? Her friend really disliked Oscar and had tried to talk Maddie out of the marriage. But Laura wasn’t a fan of Gabe’s, either, especially since she’d been the one to help pick up the pieces of Maddie’s heart two years ago.

Maddie added Laura’s name to her mental list of calls to make as she dressed in the plain blue shift dress and slipped her feet back into the wedding shoes.

While she hated being out of control like this, hated that Gabe was calling the shots, she knew that would change soon enough. Once they were in the South of France, she would arrange to return to London and smooth everything over with Oscar. She had to. Too much rested on her agreement with him.

With a sigh, she leaned back against the wall. The thought of going back didn’t exactly fill her with joy. What was she returning to? A loveless marriage with no prospect of sex. Not that sex was ever on the menu. She’d made damn sure Oscar hadn’t expected that to form part of their arrangement.

Maybe thinking about sex, or the impending lack of it, had made her hypersensitive or something, but a provocative thought lodged in her mind and refused to budge. Tapping a finger to her chin, Maddie considered her current position. Was she being hasty here? While this situation with Gabe hadn’t been of her choosing, it didn’t mean she couldn’t make the most of it. It could be a proverbial gift horse. The chance for some breathing space.

If, at the end of it all, marrying Oscar was still the best option, all well and good. In which case, this hiatus could provide an opportunity for a kind of last fling.

With Gabe.

Sex between them had been sensational. Off the wall. Who could blame her for wanting to repeat that experience before she settled for a sex-free future?

She tapped her chin some more, a little thrill tingling in her stomach at the thought of spending up close and personal time with Gabe. Now, wouldn’t that be fun? And didn’t she deserve it before hooking up in that loveless marriage? All she had to do was make sure she kept emotion out of it. A brief, temporary affair with absolutely no strings attached. How hard could that be?

Still considering her options, she walked to the door and stepped out. Her next move wasn’t entirely clear yet, but one thing was certain. It would most definitely be one of her choosing.

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