Chapter 5: Marry Me First

The auction began shortly after the dance.

Rosalie’s diamond rose brooch was saved for last. Under the spotlight, its layered petals scattered light across the stage, and the center stone drew a murmur from the room.

Bidding passed one million dollars within minutes. Rosalie watched the number climb, pleased when it crossed her estimate, then stunned when the room finally quieted at $1.8 million.

“Three million.”

Rosalie turned. Adrian had already lowered his paddle, his expression as calm as if he had ordered another drink.

The auctioneer brought down the gavel. Applause filled the ballroom, and the cameras returned to the head table, capturing Adrian’s blue tie beside Rosalie’s matching gown.

He glanced at her. “What?”

“Thank you for appreciating my work, Mr. Mercer.”

“It’s decent.”

Three million dollars for decent. Rosalie lifted her champagne to hide her smile.

After the auction, she went to the second-floor lounge as instructed. Nearly twenty minutes passed before Adrian appeared at the far end of the hall, Evan behind him carrying the brooch in its jewelry case.

Adrian still wore the charcoal suit, though the tie at his throat had been loosened.

Rosalie rose to meet him. “You kept me waiting. Don’t you think I deserve compensation?”

He walked straight past her. “Let’s go.”

“Where?”

“I’m taking you home.”

She stared after him. Surely he hadn’t summoned her upstairs just to offer her a ride.

Ten minutes later, the Bentley pulled away from the Halcyon. The driver checked the rearview mirror, then raised the privacy partition.

The moment it closed, Rosalie seized Adrian’s blue tie, pulled him toward her, and kissed him.

He went still for half a heartbeat. Then his hand locked around her waist and he kissed her back.

Five years of hunger broke loose at once. Adrian deepened the kiss, giving her barely enough time to breathe. Rosalie yielded beneath the force of it, but her grip on his tie only tightened, dragging him closer until there was no space left between them.

Then Adrian remembered the plan behind every smile she had given him tonight.

If he surrendered now, she might take what she wanted and disappear before morning. He had survived that once. He wouldn’t volunteer for it again.

He tore his mouth from hers and retreated toward the window.

Rosalie followed.

His sudden display of restraint made her feel like a shameless woman cornering an innocent man. Unfortunately for him, she had too much at stake to be embarrassed.

Still holding his tie, she cupped his jaw and kissed her way toward his ear. They were all tricks he had once used on her, and they had worked beautifully then.

Adrian’s shoulders met the door. When her free hand slipped down his chest, he caught her wrist and pulled it away.

“Adrian.” She struggled, then kicked him lightly in the shin. His hair was disordered, his tie hung crooked, and he still had the nerve to act unaffected. “Stop pretending you don’t want me.”

His gaze dropped to her swollen lips. “You came back because you wanted to sleep with me?”

His voice was rough enough to expose the lie of his composure.

“Is that what this is? You got lonely?”

Rosalie’s temper flared. “Yes. I came back to sleep with you.”

Adrian studied her, his expression hardening. “No one else could satisfy you?”

She froze, then yanked her hand free. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

“Answer me.”

“There hasn’t been anyone else.”

The tension that had followed Adrian all evening loosened at once. He turned toward the window before she could see the smile threatening at his mouth.

Rosalie narrowed her eyes. “Wait. Are you the one who has someone else?”

His head snapped back. “Of course not.”

“Then why are you resisting me?” Her gaze traveled down him deliberately. “You don’t exactly look desperate after five years.”

Any pretense of indifference vanished.

“Don’t accuse me of that. There has never been anyone but you.” The next words escaped before he could stop them. “I have always been yours.”

The car fell quiet.

Rosalie’s anger faded as she looked at him. They were still close enough for her to feel the unsteady rise of his chest. Adrian seemed to realize what he had admitted, but he didn’t take it back.

Unable to bear the sudden tenderness between them, she caught his tie again. “Then what are you waiting for?”

Her eyes dipped lower. “Unless you can’t anymore.”

Adrian shifted, blocking her view. “You can have me.”

Her eyes lit up.

“After you marry me.”

He looked entirely serious. Apparently Adrian Mercer intended to guard his virtue until she gave him legal status.

Rosalie stared at him. “You cannot be this old-fashioned.”

“Old-fashioned?” A humorless laugh left him. “You vanish for five years, come back, and try to get me into bed on the first night. What happens after you succeed?”

Her smile faded.

Adrian caught her wrist before she could release his tie and pulled her closer. “Tell me, Rosalie. If you won’t marry me, were you planning to sleep with me and run again?”

She opened her mouth, but no answer came.

He understood anyway. “Of course.”

The bitterness in his voice struck harder than anger.

“Adrian…”

“You did it five years ago. I spent a month in a hospital bed, and by the time I woke up, you were gone. You wouldn’t even let me see you once.”

The memory of antiseptic and his motionless body returned with brutal clarity. Rosalie’s hand slipped from his tie. She hadn’t looked back then because she knew one glance would have destroyed her resolve.

Adrian released her wrist and slid his hand behind her neck, drawing her close until their breath mingled again.

“I can’t gamble on you twice.”

His eyes held hers, wounded and unyielding. “You want me? Fine.”

His thumb rested against her pulse.

“Marry me first.”