A CONTRACT ENGAGEMENT

His fixation with her couldn’t be readily explained. It wasn’t as though he lived as a monk. He had sex. He never lacked for partners. Sex was good. And all this while when she hadn’t been in his life, he had been seeing women.

But he knew that sex with Nina would never be just good. It would be lush and delicious. The kind of experience a man would sell his soul for.

She was indeed a beautiful woman. Tall, but not too tall. She would fit perfectly against him, her head tucked just underneath his chin. The girl he had once known had become a woman… A beautiful woman. She often wore her long red hair up in a loose style that told him she didn’t pay a lot of attention to whether every strand was in place. It kinda reminded him of her ponytail back in high school.

He wanted to take that damn clip out, toss it in the garbage and watch as her silken mass spilled down her back. Or better yet, let it spill over him while they made love.

He cursed under his breath when his body reacted to that image. Cold showers didn’t do a thing for his hunger. He ought to know. He’d taken enough of them over the last few weeks.

Perhaps her most mesmerizing feature was her eyes. An unusual shade of green. At times they looked more blue but in certain lighting they were vivid green. The more cynical side of him wondered why she hadn’t tried to use the fact that they knew each other or seduced him into hiring her agency. It wasn’t like it hadn’t been attempted before. In fact, he’d received two such propositions tonight at the fund-raiser.

He wasn’t saying he’d mind. Right now he’d use just about any reason to get into Nina Taylor’s bed. But there was a reserve about her that intrigued him. She was a cool customer, and he admired that. She wanted the account. She’d made no bones about that. But she hadn’t actively pursued him, even if that was what he had expected her to do.

No, she’d waited for him to come to her, and maybe that made her damn smart since he’d done just that.

The ring of his phone disturbed his fantasy and brought him sharply back to the present. He looked down in disgust at the unmistakable ridge in his trousers then reached into his pocket for his phone.

His mother. He frowned. He wasn’t really in the mood for anything to do with his family right now, but he loved his mother dearly, and he couldn’t very well ignore her.

With a resigned sigh, he punched the answer button and put the phone to his ear.ConTEent bel0ngs to Nôv(e)lD/rama(.)Org .

“Hello, Mom.” he said.

“Julian! I’m so glad I caught you. You’re so busy these days.” Elizabeth Martin said.

He could hear the disapproval and worry in her voice.

“The business doesn’t run itself,” he reminded her.

She made a low sound of exasperation. “You sound so much like your father. I wanted to call to make sure you hadn’t forgotten about this weekend. It’s important to Samuel that you be there.” She said,

There was a note of anxiety in her voice that always seemed to creep in when his cousin was mentioned.

“You can’t think I’d actually go to their wedding,” Julian said mildly. And the only important thing to Sam was that Julian be there to see his triumph.

His mother made a disapproving sound. “I know it won’t be easy for you, Julian. But don’t you think you should forgive him? It has been so long, you know. It’s obvious he and Loveth belong together. It would be so nice to have the whole family back together again and I would really love to see you.” She said,

“Easy? It won’t be easy or difficult, Mom. I don’t care, and frankly they’re welcome to each other. I simply don’t have the time or the desire to attend.” Julian replied.

“Would you do it for me?” she begged. “Please. I want just one time to see you both in the same room. You guys are related whether you like it or not… you know I hate enmity between family members. He’s still your cousin.”

Julian sank onto the edge of the bed and pinched the bridge of his nose between two fingers. If his dad had called, he would have had no problem refusing. If Sam had called, Julian nearly laughed at that idea. Sam wouldn’t be calling him for anything after Julian had told him to go to hell and take his faithless fiancée with him. But this was his mother, whom he harbored so much affection for. His mother, who was always caught in the middle of the tension that existed between him and his cousin, Sam.

“All right, Mom. I’ll come. But I’ll be bringing someone with me. I hope you don’t mind.” he said.

He could practically see her beam right through the phone.

“Why, Julian, you didn’t tell me you were seeing someone new! Of course you’re welcome to bring her. I’ll very much look forward to meeting her.”

“Can you forward all the details to my assistant so she can make arrangements?” he asked.

His mom sighed. “How did I know you wouldn’t have kept the original email?”

Because he’d immediately sent it to the trash folder? Of course he wouldn’t tell her that.

“Send it to Maggie and I’ll see you on Friday. I love you,” he said after a short pause.

“I love you too, son. I’m so very glad you’re coming.”

He ended the call and stared down at his phone. Friday. Hell. Friday was when he was meeting Nina.

He’d planned meticulously, not wanting to seem over anxious. He’d flirted, exchanged long, seeking glances and had spent a lot of damn time in the shower. He was surprised he hadn’t come down with hypothermia.

And now he was going to have to cancel because his mother thought that he should go see the woman he was supposed to have married instead marry his cousin.

He needed to find a date. Preferably one who would convince his mother he wasn’t secretly pining over Loveth. He wasn’t. He’d gotten over her the moment she’d dumped him for his cousin when Sam was appointed the CEO position in their family jewelry business.