Chapter 6

"Do not move."

Caius's voice was a low, sleep roughened rasp right against Elowen's ear. His grip on her waist did not loosen by a single millimeter.

"Let go of me, Caius," Elowen whispered, her voice tight with panic as she tried to wriggle out from under his heavy arm. "The pillows are at the foot of the bed. You completely crossed over."

"You were shivering at three in the morning," he murmured, his thumb drawing a slow, absent circle against her bare hip before he finally released her and sat up. "I solved the problem."

Elowen scrambled off the mattress, grabbing her robe and tying it tight around her waist. Her cheeks felt like they were on fire.

"We need a bigger blanket."

"We need to get ready," Caius said, sliding out of bed without an ounce of self consciousness. "My grandfather summoned us to the estate for dinner tonight. Seven sharp."

"Tonight? Caius, I have nothing to wear to a billionaire's estate. I have three cotton shirts and two pairs of jeans."

"Marcus is already handling it," Caius replied, heading toward the en suite shower. "Just be dressed and downstairs by six."

By five that afternoon, Marcus had delivered three garment bags to the penthouse dressing room.

"Mr. Arthur Ashbourne does not tolerate tardiness, ma'am," Marcus explained as he handed Elowen a pair of diamond drop earrings. "He will also have Mr. Julian Ashbourne, Caius's cousin, and Victoria Sterling at the table. Julian manages the European portfolio and wants Caius's seat as CEO."

"Why would Victoria be at a family dinner?" Elowen asked, adjusting the neckline of the emerald green silk dress Marcus had selected.

"Victoria's father owns fifteen percent of the voting shares," Caius said, stepping into the room while fastening the cuffs of his black suit jacket. "She considers herself an honorary Ashbourne. Do not let her get inside your head."

"I ran a business in a bad neighborhood for two years, Caius. I know how to deal with bullies."

"These people do not throw punches, Elowen. They use trust funds and family lawyers to cut your throat with a smile. They will look for any crack in our story, any sign that you are nervous, and they will tear into it until you break."

"I am not going to break."

Caius stepped closer, reaching out to smooth the collar of her green dress, his knuckles lingering against the bare skin of her collarbone.

"Good. Because if you flinch, they win."

An hour later, the Maybach pulled up the long, winding driveway of the Ashbourne ancestral estate on the north shore.

The dining room looked like something out of a period film. A massive crystal chandelier hung over a twenty seat mahogany table. At the head of the table sat Arthur Ashbourne, an eighty year old man with snow white hair, sharp blue eyes, and an expression carved from solid granite.

"So this is the baker," Arthur said, barely looking up from his silver soup spoon as Caius pulled out a heavy chair for Elowen.

"Her name is Elowen, grandfather," Caius said, taking the seat beside her and immediately resting his hand over hers on the white tablecloth. "And she is my wife."

Julian, a slick man in his mid thirties with slicked back hair, let out a sharp scoff from across the table.

"A sudden registry wedding with a girl who owes three hundred grand to bankrupt lenders. You are getting desperate, cousin. Victoria would have brought twenty million in liquid assets to the merger."

"Julian is right," Victoria said, sitting next to Julian in a dazzling red dress and offering a thin, venomous smile. "We all know Caius has strange tastes when he is backed into a corner. Tell me, Elowen, do you even know which fork to use for the salad, or should the butler bring you a paper napkin?"

The table fell completely silent.

Elowen felt the heat rising in her chest. She pulled her shoulders back, staring right across the crystal centerpieces at Victoria.

"I use the same fork everyone else uses, Victoria. And unlike you, I actually earned every single dollar I ever spent before the bank called in my loan. I do not need a twenty million dollar dowry to justify my place at any table."

Julian let out a harsh bark of laughter. "Listen to her. Feisty little thing, isn't she? Did you find her standing in the unemployment line, Caius?"

Before Elowen could open her mouth again, Caius set his crystal water glass down with a sharp, heavy thud that rattled the silverware across the polished mahogany.

"Speak to my wife with respect, Victoria, or Marcus will have security walk you off this property before the soup gets cold."

"Caius, please," Julian started, half rising from his chair.

"I am not debating this," Caius cut him off, his gray eyes flashing with lethal cold. "Elowen is the lady of the Ashbourne estate now. Anyone who forgets that will find their trust distribution frozen by the end of the business day."

The room went dead quiet. Victoria looked down at her plate, her knuckles white around her silver knife. Julian looked away, visibly swallowing his anger.

At the head of the table, Arthur Ashbourne wiped his mouth with a linen napkin and leaned back slowly.

"You have a sharp tongue when you are protecting your assets, Caius," the old man said, his voice dry and ancient. "A commendable trait in a CEO. But a ring on a woman's finger does not secure the Ashbourne legacy."

Arthur set down his glass, the heavy crystal ringing softly in the tense room.

"The marriage requirement is only the beginning."

His cold, calculating eyes moved from Caius and settled squarely on Elowen's face.

"If there is no confirmed heir within twelve months, Caius loses everything."