Read In Wilde Country for Free Online Page B

could hear a bell ringing, a Christmas bell rung by a sidewalk Santa. It made everything that was happening even more surreal.
    “That’s just it,” she whispered. “I don’t know what kind of man you are.”
    “I am not doing this for money. I’ve already told you that.”
    “Then, why? Why do it at all?”
    “Because I said that I would. I gave my word.”
    She laughed. At least, it sounded like a laugh, that choked little sound she made even as tears rolled down her cheeks.
    “Yes. And so did I. Forget what I said. You can’t let me go. Even if you did, I can’t run away. The betrothal ceremony, the marriage… They are my duty.”
    “Jesus.” His voice roughened. “Ekaterina. Katie. I’m lost. You have to tell me what’s happening. Does your father know how you feel about this marriage?”
    “He knows.”
    “That you don’t want to go through with it?”
    A shudder went through her. ”Yes.”
    “Then why are you doing it?”
    “I have no choice.”
    “Of course you have a choice! This is America. And even if we were in Sardovia—”
    “My father has told my mother that this marriage is everything she ever wanted for me.”
    “Well, dammit, tell her the truth.”
    “She is dying.” Her voice broke. “She is dying, Kaz, and I cannot break her heart. She would hate my father; she would die hating him and worrying about my future.”
    The sorrow in her lovely eyes was like a knife to his heart. She began to weep. He felt his last bit of control slip away. It was gone, beyond his reach and he didn’t even try to get it back.
    Instead, he slid his hands into her hair, lowered his head to hers, and kissed her.
    For one terrible moment, he thought he’d made a mistake.
    Then he felt the sweet sigh of her breath. Her lips parted, and she kissed him back.
    * * * *
    They walked to the Plaza.
    It was only a few blocks away, and it was faster than trying to find an empty cab. Kaz kept his arm tightly around Katie’s shoulders, not to keep her from fleeing but because he needed the feel of her against him.
    Crazy as it was, she belonged there, at his side, in the protective curve of his arm.
    The hint of snow had gone from being a possibility to a reality. Feathery flakes drifted from the sky and fell lightly over Fifth Avenue and Central Park.
    The hotel doorman smiled as they entered the enormous, elegant lobby.
    Katie was cold, but she knew she was trembling because of more than that.
    She had shocked Kaz with the story of what awaited her in Sardovia, but she had shocked herself even more. She had no really close friends—it had always been best to keep people at a distance—and even if she had, she’d never have told them the truth of what was happening to her.
    What was the point? No one could help her. They’d offer pity, and pity was the last thing she wanted.
    And yet she’d told this stranger everything, this stranger charged with delivering her into the hands of the man who would control her life.
    Why?
    Was it something in his eyes, a way of looking at her as if he saw beyond the icy exterior that had always kept her safe? Was it that amazing combination of tough and tender in the way he spoke?
    She didn’t know.
    The only certainty was that they were alone now, that when he had kissed her a little while ago she’d wanted the kiss to go on and on and on…
    He closed the door after them.
    She felt his hands on her shoulders, drawing her coat away.
    Her heart was pounding. What would happen next? What would he do? What did she want?
    He tossed her coat on a chair. Swept her hair away from the back of her neck. She felt the warmth of his breath against her nape, then the whisper of his lips.
    Her lashes fell to her cheeks.
    “Kazimir,” she murmured.
    He lifted his head. Turned her to him. His eyes were deep and dark.
    He kissed her. Lightly. Gently. Then he stepped back.
    “I’m going to phone down for something to eat. And something hot to drink. Coffee? Tea?”
    It wasn’t what