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Yes, he would have her. He would. A seduction was in order.

He had to force himself to move away, going around the table to sit opposite her.

‘Thank you,’ she said as he pushed a mug of coffee in her direction. ‘I mean really and truly. I didn’t—’

‘Leave it,’ he interrupted, desire making him impatient, not helped by the irritating nag of guilt at the thought of the lie he’d told her. ‘You don’t need to keep thanking me. What you need is to make a decision.’

Her mouth tightened as she picked up her mug and sipped at her coffee. ‘I can’t make a decision, not just like that. I need some more time to think it over.’

‘Why? It’s a simple thing, isn’t it?’

‘For you maybe. Not for me.’

‘Well, then…’ He picked up his own cup, trying to think of how to convince her. ‘Do you have questions?’

She gave him a look over the top of her mug. ‘I read a lot about you and Neve Aarsland. That’s her portrait above the fire.’

He didn’t want to talk about Neve, but given that it was her will dictating his marriage request, he supposed he’d have to. ‘Yes,’ he said shortly.

‘It seems a weird thing to specify in a will, that you have to marry in order to inherit her companies.’

He kept his expression neutral. He wasn’t going to go into his feelings about the will, either. ‘Neve wanted a legacy,’ he said. ‘She couldn’t have children, so she wanted me to have them for her.’ It sounded cold and clinical spoken out loud, but that was Neve all-up. She’d wanted him to build the dynasty she’d never managed to build for herself.

Even though she could have. With you.

Yes, but she hadn’t. And there was no point going over that old ground.

Liberty’s clear amber gaze felt a little sharp for his liking, as if she could read his thoughts, so he met it with his own, a wall of ice to discourage her. She glanced away and helped herself to some eggs instead, and once again he felt a pinching sensation behind his breastbone, like…guilt.

She’s a guest. There is no need to continue being so hostile.

The thought irritated him. He wasn’t being hostile. He merely wasn’t used to guests, especially when he’d been planning on spending his time here alone. He wasn’t used to being denied what he wanted, either.

‘That’s…an interesting way of looking at it,’ Liberty said after a moment, her tone doubtful. ‘Why didn’t she just leave you the companies, though? Let you make your own decisions?’

‘Because nothing comes for free,’ he said automatically. ‘Not in life and not in business.’ And never with Neve.

She frowned. ‘That’s a very transactional way of looking at things.’

‘Yes.’ He stared back. ‘That’s the way the world works, Liberty.’

‘No, it isn’t.’ She kept frowning. ‘I don’t expect anything back from the kids I look after.’

‘But you receive a wage. It’s a job.’

‘Okay, yes, but there are other jobs I could get that would pay me more. I choose to stay at Worthington because I like caring for the kids.’

‘And if you weren’t paid for it?’

Her chin lifted in a way that sent yet another flicker of heat through him. Neve had been a strong woman and had encouraged him to question her—to a point at least. She liked a fight and had instilled in him a certain love of the fray, too. ‘I would still do it,’ Liberty said forcefully. ‘I’d volunteer.’

Kaius studied her, noting the spark in her eyes. She had strong feelings about this. ‘Why?’ he asked bluntly.

She blinked as if the question surprised her. ‘What do you mean why? These are disadvantaged kids. Who need love and care and support. You were one yourself, don’t forget.’

Yes, he had been. Yet his memories of that time were few and far between. All he could recall was that little girl following him around, and then the day Neve had arrived. Tall and slender and dressed in an elegant white suit. All the children had stared at her as if she was an angel sent from God himself, and Kaius had, too.

Her pale, ice-blue eyes had met his, and he’d frozen where he was sitting, at the table with the other kids, showing them how to draw. She’d made a beeline for him, drawing him away from the other children, and they’d had a conversation. He’d been dazzled right from the start, and the one thing he did still remember was the leap in his heart when he’d been told that Neve Aarsland wanted to adopt him.