Billionaire Unmasked(25)

Jason picked up the keys to his rented vehicle, his heart heavy. So, Hope was going to end up hating him. Well, that would make two people in this house who hated him, because he detested himself right now, too.

Granted, he hadn’t exactly lied. He’d just let her think he hadn’t been coherent when they’d married, agreeing with her assumptions. Hell, she’d been pissed off enough because he forced her to stay. He could only imagine her fury when she discovered that he’d not only been totally sober, but that he’d orchestrated the whole thing from the beginning, made the marriage happen.

Jason had needed to remind himself that she’d lied, that she wasn’t the woman he thought she was. That, and the fact that if he didn’t do something now, she’d be miserable with a loser for the rest of her life, had made him capable of being a heartless bastard.

Yet, through the anger, Jason could see her disappointment, and it killed him.

His hand went to his still stinging, reddened cheek, and he smiled. The pain reminded him Hope could hold her own when she was furious. He could handle that. It was far better than the disillusioned look he’d seen her shoot at him, an expression that said she no longer trusted him.

Jason tried not to let that look haunt him as he walked out the door and locked it behind him.





I can’t hide in the bathroom forever.

Feeling much improved after her shower, Hope didn’t even bother with makeup or drying her hair. She still felt lethargic from her hangover, and she wasn’t looking forward to facing Jason again right now.

I need to find a way to keep him from talking to my brothers. There was a time when he could keep a secret. Can he do it now?

It rankled to give in to his demands, but she already knew she wouldn’t have sex with him. Could she still trust him if she gave him the time and he didn’t get what he wanted? Did she have enough faith to believe he wouldn’t out her to her brothers or anyone else? The problem was, this was a different Jason from the young man she’d known as a child, and he wasn’t even similar to the man who had rocked her world months ago with intimacies that she now craved.

So who the hell is the real Jason Sutherland? And how did I end up married to him?

How had she ever let that happen? Stupid, stupid woman. What was I thinking? Problem was, she obviously hadn’t been thinking at all. She’d been severely impaired by way too much alcohol. The accidental meeting in Las Vegas with Jason had thrown her off balance. She didn’t remember much after he’d taken her into the hotel bar for a drink, but she remembered her fear that he’d discover her secrets. That’s why she’d had one more drink—way too many times—to relax.

Somehow, it was hard to picture Jason getting so plastered that he’d married her, but he obviously had. He was a man who liked control, and it was difficult to imagine him giving that up and ending up married to her.

She stared at the glittering diamond on her left hand. The large stone winked back at her mockingly. It was beautiful in its simplicity, a single diamond set in a band engraved with delicate Celtic knots, yet she knew the large stone and intricate design had been expensive. “I have to end this,” she whispered to herself fiercely. Her hand lowered to her side. It didn’t really matter how this marriage had happened. What mattered was how fast she could get it dissolved and get Jason to not reveal her lies to her brothers. She needed to get back to the business of running her own life, even if Jason didn’t approve.

Why did Jason even care? Obviously, he wanted to sleep with her, but what guy—what billionaire who could have any woman he wanted—married a woman like her, even if his brain had been temporarily incapacitated? Honestly, she couldn’t begin to understand why he was threatening her just to spend time with her. Jason could make almost any woman drop her panties instantly. Why would he want to keep dragging this mistake out further just in an attempt to have sex with her—which was pointless anyway. It wasn’t going to happen.

Pushy, arrogant, know-it-all man!

Maybe he was hurt and angry because he’d found out she was a liar, even though she wasn’t sure why. Her lies hadn’t really affected his life at all, although he was friends with her brothers. Maybe he was ticked because she’d lied to them, and perhaps he was a little bit justified if he was defending friends. Honestly, she’d probably always known that one day her lies would come back to bite her in the ass. She just hadn’t known it would happen exactly like this. There was nobody she wanted to be indebted to less than Jason.