'Slade?' She tried to hide how shaken she felt. 'You're the last person I expected to see.'
'Why?' He stopped beside her, viewing her startled expression with an indulgent smile.
As his mouth quirked with amusement, his impregnable confidence made her suddenly angry. Her blue eyes flashed. 'You haven't been here for three weeks and you ask me that!'
'Business kept me away,' he muttered, his glance becoming as intent as her own as he towered above her.
Lee's pulses raced, refusing to be unmoved by him. He was wearing dark jeans which clung to his powerful thighs, blatantly outlining his aggressive masculinity. The black shirt moulding his broad shoulders lay open at the neck, revealing the strength of his throat and the dark shading of hair on his chest. 'You didn't ring.' There was reproach in her voice.
'Did you expect me to?'
'After our last conversation,' she said, more sharply, 'I thought you might.'
'I've been busy,' he replied absently.
He was staring at her oddly, his eyes fixed on her face. He seemed to be drinking her in. Lee had the strange feeling that his mind was only half on what he was saying. His close glance went over her quickly, then slowed, like that of a hungry man confronted by a wonderful feast and bent on savouring every delicious morsel of it. Up from her slender body, his gaze lingered on high cheekbones, the thick, dark lashes framing wide-set eyes. Her face had a delicate, exotic quality which combined with a willowy yet voluptuous figure gave her a haunting beauty that Slade was never able to forget for long. She dimmed every other woman's appeal for him and, as always, he resented it, especially when, as though amused by his resistance, his own body hardened against his wishes.
'You can't have been that busy!' she retorted.
'No,' he agreed, frustration edging the glint of anger from his eyes. 'You're quite right, I could have made time, and God knows there were plenty of times when I wanted to speak to you, but I knew there was only one thing you would want to talk about.'
'Matt.'
'I had no particular wish to hear how he'd reacted after you told him you couldn't marry him. I thought I'd give you time to forget.'
A terrible coldness invaded her that he could be so utterly callous. The nerves in her stomach might knot at the sight of him, her heart race, but she would be very foolish to have anything more to do with him. 'How do you know I'm not still engaged to Matt?' she cried recklessly.
'I have my spies,' he smiled smugly. 'And my mother told me—and,' he caught her hand, bringing her fingers, in a gesture she knew so well, to his lips, 'you aren't wearing his ring.'
Was he pleased because she was free again or only because he'd got his own way? 'I should never have given Matt up,' she fretted, her fingers curling against the sensation shooting up her arm from Slade's lingering lips.
He released her hand with a cruel twist. 'Let's forget Matt. Have you missed me?'
She grabbed the chance of tit for tat. 'I've been busy.'
He saw no humour in her subtle revenge, his eyes darkened as he took his. 'I might have known you wouldn't be honest.'
Lee's voice shook with rage. 'If I told you how much I missed you, where would that get me?'
Throwing back his head, he laughed dryly, 'A lot closer than your temper!' He let go of her hand and lifted his arms. 'Come here.'
Not ready yet to be so acquiescent, she tried to retreat, but as their eyes met and his desire was instantly communicated, she also recognised the power he had over her. When his hands closed over her shoulders, his touch weakened her control and she couldn't fight it. Liquid fire began spreading to every part of her body, rendering her helpless. Aware of the compelling danger, she tried to stiffen her vacillating senses. Slade knew about Matt and hadn't even the decency to pretend he was sorry! It annoyed her that he could interfere so ruthlessly in other people's lives and set it behind him so easily. Everything about him should be a warning, so why didn't she have the sense to take proper precautions?
He didn't try to hold her. She had withdrawn, but he sensed her fluctuating inclinations as expertly as he read weather signs at sea. When she frowned as he released her, unable to hide a contrary dismay, his appealing smile was a masterpiece of triumph delayed. 'Why won't you say you've missed me?'
'Why did you come?' she countered, unsteadily, feeling that if she answered him she might be completely lost.
'There's a party you're invited to, remember?'
She frowned as he watched her intently. 'I wasn't going.'
'But you are now, with me.'
She smiled, unable to restrain a sudden bubbling happiness. That Slade had come to accompany her to one of his mother's parties must mean something. She heard his quick intake of breath at the sheer loveliness of her face when she smiled. It seemed to confirm what she had just been thinking, and she made no further attempt to evade him as he drew her close again. The raw sexuality he exuded was an almost tangible force that reached out and captured her with its very intensity, making her realise the futility of continuing to oppose him.
He held her firmly with one hand while the fingers of his other laced through her hair. As his mouth lowered to meet hers she saw something in his eyes that tore down the barricade she had erected round her heart. Wordlessly she returned his kiss, and everything faded; the river, the softly rustling trees along its bank, the whispering wind. Slade's closeness was like a balm to the loneliness she had suffered over the past weeks. As he filled her with warmth she let the pain flow out of her and welcomed it rapturously. When his arms tightened and his kiss deepened, she matched him in ardency.
The passion of his kiss was so overwhelming that she couldn't immediately pull herself together when he raised his head. 'Now tell me you haven't missed me,' he said.
'I have,' she confessed at last, wondering why he was so insistent. He had so much self-confidence, didn't he take it for granted that she had missed him?
'Why wouldn't you say so straight away?' he demanded, 'You'd like me to believe you care for me, yet you're always reluctant to show it.'
'Perhaps I'm frightened,' she sighed, recognising her own vulnerability if he didn't.
'I'd never do anything to harm you,' he said, refusing to look under the surface of her words. 'Lee,' his voice thickened, 'I want you.'
'Yes,' her smile was tremulous, her hand trembled as she brought it from behind his neck and played with a button on his shirt.
He captured her hand and stared at her, his breathing deepening, his eyes black. 'You're sure?'
She hesitated, but he captured her mouth again and she was lost. 'Come back to the house,' he said hoarsely, 'I've been through hell without you.'
Lee tried to think clearly. 'I'll have to go back to change. Julia and Sandra dressed up.'
'Yes,' he muttered, but didn't move.
She felt tremors ripping through him, from his taut stomach to his muscular thighs, and her desire for him flamed to life, like an explosion of fireworks. All her resolutions to keep him at a distance faded. He had stopped talking and held her as though she was all he ever wanted. His arms locked about her as though he would never let her go, and her arms stole round his neck and drew his head towards hers.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Slade understood her silent plea only too well. Their mouths met and joined in a searing alliance that blazed a fiery streak right through her. She reached on her toes to get even closer to him than his straining arms allowed. She had never experienced such a volume of feeling from a single kiss. They seemed to be merging as a single unit of fire and flame and intense need.
When Slade ended the kiss he was breathing hard and the hand he placed under her chin, unsteady. Silence hung heavily between them as they gazed into each other's eyes, trying to read behind their individual masks.
'Why can't you be honest with me, Lee?' he asked, his voice tight and hard. 'You have some feelings for me, yet you delight in denying them. You treat me like a new date instead of someone you know intimately.'
Lee took a deep breath, being even less adept at reading his thoughts than he was of hers. Did it really matter to him whether she cared for him or not? He always told her he didn't know how he felt, so why was the way she felt important to him? She shook her head uncertainly and evaded his hand to rest her cheek on his chest. The disturbed beat of his heart surprised her and set her own off at a similar speed.
'We have no time to talk now,' she protested evasively.
'Talking won't be necessary if you're prepared to be sensible.'
He took her face in his steely hands and slowly lowered his mouth to open hers. He was rapidly tearing down all her defences, but for the moment she was helpless to stop him.
'The barbecue?' she reminded him, without stirring. She wanted to go to the barbecue now, she knew a wild joy that he wanted to take her, but she found it difficult to move.
He stared down at her. 'It can wait. The grass is dry.' He pressed her against him.
She felt his need matching her own and her blood surged in instant response. Lifting heavy lashes, she met his eyes. His were wild and strange. The astute, in-control-of-everything business man had gone, leaving a susceptible human being. He wanted her and in this way, at least, she was important to him.
A primitive longing welled up inside Lee, so strong that she offered no resistance when Slade lowered her to the soft grass under the trees.
'You're my woman,' he growled.
His words washed over her softly. If only she was, in every way! He made such a statement, possibly to rule out any further opposition. He didn't seem to realise she needed a sense of security.
Yet how could she argue with him when her senses were reeling and he was holding her so closely, as though he never intended letting her go? His hands travelled over every inch of her, weaving a spell with every light, tormenting stroke. All she could manage was strangled gasps as passion spiralled and threatened to consume her. Her arms wound round his neck as she met the savage demand of his kisses like an acceptance of all he was saying, without further demur.
She quaked as he swiftly undressed them and her slender frame met the hard planes of his naked body. His husky whispers proclaiming her beauty, the satiny feel of her skin, soon thickened unintelligibly, and the sheer intensity of his throbbing desire swept her into a realm of the senses where nothing else existed but his hands, mouth and voice. The feelings she had denied for so long rose to swamp any lingering trace of common sense. Their surroundings faded as he made passionate love to her, until eventually everything else was blotted out.
Later, Lee heard the leaves rustle above her head, but her eyes were focussed dreamily on Slade's face. In the pale glow of light from the rising moon she could see the fine film of sweat still on his brow as he lay down beside her. His strong body was relaxed against her and her eyes wandered until his sheer male magnificence began stirring a sharp awareness in her again, making her conscious of what she was doing.
As she flushed, he smiled lazily and kissed her as he read her mind. 'Don't worry, I feel the same way.'
'We shouldn't.'
'No?' he teased, then softly smoothed the tangled hair from off her damp forehead. 'You don't know how much I've longed to have you in my arms. I don't want to let you go.'
Lee was willing to believe him. His lovemaking had been so intense, it convinced her he hadn't been amusing himself with other women while he'd been away. Her colour deepened when she thought of the heights they had reached and she pulled the shirt he had wrapped protectively round her closer, as though to hide her confusion.
'I wanted to go slowly,' he told her, his eyes darkening, 'but I wanted you so badly. Do you have any idea what you do to me, Lee? I've been aching for you.'
She curled nearer, her fingers twisting in the fine matt of hair on his chest. He trembled, and the swiftness of his reaction thrilled her afresh. Did that mean he was beginning to love her? Hope soared. He had revealed that while he had been away she had never been far from his thoughts. Surely that must mean something?
He eased himself up a little and made her look at him, as if it was important that he saw her expression. Staring into her eyes, he commanded, 'Tell me you welcome me back.'
Lee sighed. 'Must we return to—that—'
His hurt bewilderment was reminiscent of a small boy's, but she wished he hadn't had a small boy's perseverance. 'When a man's important to a girl it usually shows.'
Lee marvelled, after the response she had just shown, that such a minor detail as this still bothered him. 'I think our relationship has made me cautious,' she replied honestly. 'I've been lonely…'
'You won't be again,' he cut in.
What exactly did that mean?
'Trust me, Lee.'
She wanted to. She loved him so much, she couldn't bear to think he would ever let her down, but she feared they weren't thinking along the same lines.
Slade nuzzled her neck, feeling the strain of the past weeks seep out of him. 'We have a party to go to.'
She heard him, but made no attempt to get up. His arms were locked around her, he didn't seem in a hurry to go anywhere, and she decided weakly to wait until he made the first move. Tentatively, she let her hand wander further, revelling in the luxury of having him with her again.
His dark eyes narrowed on her with a passionate intensity she hadn't encountered before and she couldn't look away. Instead she absorbed him into the depth of her, letting him become part of her. He lifted the shirt covering her and she basked in his rapt expression which sent her pulses hammering through her veins. She found herself dissolving under it and felt more helpless now than ever before. Simply by looking at her, it seemed, Slade could trap her in a whirlwind.
'You're beautiful, Lee,' his burning glance riveted on her high breasts and narrow waist, long, slender legs. 'You're a temptress, a witch, and I can't get enough of you.'
His fingers trembled as he traced the curves of her tender lips and a disturbing sensuality entered his face as he threaded his hand through the silken length of her hair, holding her head firmly. His mouth descended slowly towards hers, gently exploring, then boldly investigating the inner recesses of her parted lips. His kisses deepened as he lowered himself over the throbbing fullness of her breasts, only allowing himself room to test the hardening response of her betraying nipples with his hand.
'I want you again,' he groaned.
He knew she wanted him, so why deny it? As his kisses branded her with the stamp of his possession, she became less able to fight him. With each kiss she became more and more drugged, with every touch her breathing more laboured. When his mouth followed his fingers to her breast, she resisted no longer. She became lost to everything but her own desire.
'I need you, I love you,' she entreated hoarsely.
His mouth, which had been feathering her cheek, moved in a blazing path to her lips. His kisses stopped taunting and became savagely intense. He was either accepting or rejecting what she had said. Either way, he was allowing a savage physical reaction to blot out his thoughts. She was almost crushed by his strength before the onslaught of his mouth gentled and he exercised considerable restraint.
Nevertheless, he went on kissing her, though this time he slowed to let them savour more thoroughly the ever rising volume of feeling between them. His hands again travelled over every part of her, coming to rest between her thighs. Here, the exquisite ache at the bottom of her stomach demanded he should possess her immediately, but this time he made her wait. He appeared oblivious of her silent urges as he seemed bent on arousing her to the point of no return. Through the heated cloud of her mind, Lee was drunkenly amazed that he could hold out so long. As he held her tightly she was aware of his overwhelming desire.
Lee writhed and twisted under the sweet torment he was forcing her to endure. Her fingernails dug into the muscled contours of his back in an urgent attempt to force him to satisfy the clamouring of her senses which were now screaming for release. Finally, as she cried out his name,
he became wholly part of her, moving slowly and deeply, letting their combined and devastating sensuality carry them to the higher pinnacles they seemed to reach every time. Lee's whimpers of ecstasy were drowned by his groans of passionate satisfaction until at last, as if on wings, they both soared heavenwards, to find total completion together.
Afterwards he kissed her and lifted her reluctantly to her feet. 'Come on,' he teased gently, steadying her as she swayed. 'We can still make the party if we hurry. I'll help you change.'
'I'll make it quicker on my own,' she said dryly, but her fingers trembled as she zipped up her jeans.
'I'd better approve what you're wearing,' Slade insisted possessively as they began walking back to the house. 'Seeing you're going to be my partner.'
She was so pleased about this that she stifled further objections as he followed her upstairs. She even allowed him to select a dress, as he had often done, with unerring taste when they had lived together. She hadn't the selection now that she had had then, but he choose a strappy, ankle-length silk in dazzling shades of blue and green which made her look, he told her later, like some exotic bird of paradise.
'Don't take all night,' he ordered, so presumptuously that she might have thrown a pillow at him if he hadn't guessed her intention and his eyes warned her where that could lead! Instead, she smiled at him and contented herself with retreating to the bathroom and bolting the door. Her new docility appeared to please him, and she had no wish to disturb his present mood. He hadn't suggested they might live together again and the hope in her heart that had been wilting suddenly began to bloom.
She had no conscience over turning herself into the vision of loveliness Slade had been used to seeing in New York and Paris. No regret, either, for the way his breath caught audibly in his throat as she emerged from the bathroom, a radiantly beautiful woman yet looking not a day over eighteen.
'My God, Lee!' He was lounging in a chair, waiting impatiently, and when she entered he sprang to his feet. 'You look wonderful! I'm going to have a job fending other men off.'
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