‘What do you think you’re doing?’ She pulled away from him, pushing against his chest. ‘Brian, let me go!’
‘I can’t,’ he rained kisses over her face and down her throat, ‘and you don’t really want me to. Oh, Kate, it’s been so awful without you. I’ve missed you so. Darling …!’
‘No, Brian! No—!’ She cringed away from him, trying desperately to avoid his questing lips. ‘Stop it,.’ she cried. ‘For God’s sake stop it!’
His arms were like steel bands, holding her to him, refusing to release her. ‘I want you so much, Kate. I need you. Remember how it used to be, Kate?’ He looked down at her with fevered eyes. ‘Remember how good it used to be, the fun we had together? It could be like that again. I made a mistake, but we don’t both have to pay for it for the rest of our lives.’
‘Brian, stop this …’ She was beginning to feel faint, overpowered by the fierceness of his kisses, the strength of his arms that wouldn’t relinquish her, crushing her against him.
‘You don’t really mean that,’ he told her confidently. ‘I’ll divorce Coral and marry you. It can all be as it used to be, just the two of us. You have the agency, and I can concentrate on getting ready for a new exhibition.’ Enthusiasm fired his voice, his face glowing. ‘I could move in here straight away, and we could turn the spare bedroom into a studio—’
‘Brian!’
At last her lack of enthusiasm for the plans he was so feveredly making seemed to get through to him. ‘You don’t like that idea, hmm?’ he frowned thoughtfully. ‘Well, I suppose I could always arrange to rent a studio. The security on that could be a little hard to organise, but I—’
‘Brian. I don’t think I’m getting through to you!’ Kate was breathing hard in her vehemence. ‘There isn’t going to be a studio here or anywhere else as far as I’m concerned,’ she glared at him with fury. ‘Because you aren’t coming here either. Have I made myself clear enough?’ she demanded angrily.
He slowly released her, looking down at her with dazed eyes. ‘What do you mean?’
‘You mean you don’t know?’ she said with bitter sarcasm.
Lord, this man must think she was a complete idiot where he was concerned! She had to admit that for a moment she had been tempted to respond to his kisses, to give in to the impulse and to hell with his marriage to Coral. But that impulse had only been fleeting, knowing that what she was doing was wrong.
And thank God she had. What Brian was proposing was to use her once again, to let her be his meal ticket, knowing she would never be as forceful or pushy as Coral appeared to have been. Perhaps she hadn’t been that way once, but that had all changed in the last three months, the blinkers of a blind, mindless love had at last lifted to show her the true man. Brian was everything that was shallow in a man; he simply used people and gave nothing in return. She had known that three months ago, all he had done was confirm it. He had also shown her that in marrying Richard she was acting as shallowly as he, that to marry him without loving him would be unfair to them both.
‘Kate …?’ He still looked puzzled about her attitude to what he had thought was a good plan.
‘I’ll say it a little more plainly for you, Brian,’ she told him between gritted teeth. ‘Just so that there’ll be no more misunderstandings, no more visits like this one. Three months ago you made a decision to break our engagement and marry Coral, as far as I’m concerned you’re stuck with it!’
‘Darling …!’
How could he manage to sound so reproachful, so hurt! His conceit was truly incredible.
‘Let me show you how good it always was between us—’
‘Keep away from me!’ She backed off, her face twisted with contempt as he tried once again to take her into his arms. ‘I can’t believe you, Brian, I really can’t,’ she shook her head. ‘I thought I knew you. I really thought I finally did, but I didn’t think even you could go this far. Two months ago you married the woman you’re supposed to love—doesn’t that mean anything to you?’ She looked at him with incredulous eyes.
‘It means I made a mistake—’
‘And you made an even bigger one when you decided to come here tonight,’ she told him vehemently. ‘I don’t want you back, Brian,’ she scorned. ‘In fact, I don’t know what I ever saw in you in the first place!’
He looked stunned. ‘You can’t really mean that—’
‘Every word,’ Kate snapped, losing her patience completely. ‘There’s more I would like to say, but I’m too much of a lady to use such language. I’d like you to leave now,’ she added woodenly.
‘But, darling—’
Her eyes were like gold—and just as hard, cutting off any further pleading on his part. ‘I believe you know the way out.’
‘But you—you love me!’ He sounded astounded now.
Her mouth twisted, with derision, for herself. ‘No, I don’t, Brian. I’m wondering now if I ever did.’ She was also wondering how she could have let a man like this influence the decisions she had made about her future life, how bitterness over losing him could make her enter into an engagement that meant nothing to her; she wasn’t even missing Richard; she knew she never would. ‘You have your rich and influential wife, Brian, I’d advise you to go back to her, before she decides she made a mistake too.’
He was breathing heavily, his eyes glittering venomously. ‘Damn you!’ he rasped raggedly.
‘And thank you,’ she told him quietly, ‘for saving me from the greatest unhappiness of my life.’ She knew now that even if she had married Brian he would still have betrayed her one day. He was that sort of man, always wanting what was just out of his grasp. He and Coral seemed to deserve each other.
‘You’ve become hard, Kate,’ he muttered as she moved to open the door for him to leave.
She nodded. ‘Perhaps. But it beats living in your world of makebelieve. Try and make a success of your marriage, Brian,’ she added in a softer voice. ‘I’m sure you could make it work if you wanted it to.’
‘Maybe I don’t want to,’ he growled aggressively on his way out of the door.
Kate quickly closed it after him, her breath leaving her in a relieved sigh; it could have turned out so much nastier than it had. Although she doubted Brian would ever ‘sing her praises night and day’ to Coral again!
And she—she had left that world of bitterness that had made her cold and calculating these last months. She looked down at the diamond ring on her finger, knowing she had no right to wear it. As soon as Richard returned she would tell him she couldn’t marry him and give him the ring back. The accusations Jared had levelled at her about her engagement were all true, but she had finally come to her senses. Was it too late? Had Jared gone for good? They could have had something special together, she knew that now. She might even one day have decided she wouldn’t mind living out of a suitcase with him!
The door behind her was suddenly kicked open with such violence that the force of it sent her crashing forward to sprawl on the floor. Her panicked gaze took in the lividly angry face, the usually laughing blue eyes like ice now, the sensual mouth a twist of vicious fury, the body beneath the faded denims and matching shirt tensed as if ready to spring at any moment.
Kate flinched as with two long strides Jared was inside her flat, the door seeming to rattle on its hinges as he slammed it behind him. She clutched at the lapels of her robe as he came to stand over her, unable to do anything about the bareness of her legs, the material somehow caught up beneath her. And she daren’t move; Jared’s anger was truly ominous.
His mouth twisted as he saw the fear in her eyes. ‘You’re right to be frightened of me,’ he bit out grimly. ‘When I lose my temper anything can happen!’
The warning was unnecessary, the clenched fists at his sides telling her well enough of the violence in him, a violence that could so easily be allowed its freedom. She daren’t move, daren’t speak; she just stared up at him with mute fear.
‘It’s only ever happened twice before,’
he continued in a dangerously soft voice. ‘The first time I broke my hand punching in another man’s jaw, the second time I crashed my car into a tree to stop myself from killing someone. Only tonight there’s no man to punch, and no tree to crash into.’ His eyes began to glow like sapphires. ‘There’s only you,’ he growled.
Kate swallowed hard, moistening her suddenly dry lips, looking up at him with stricken eyes. ‘What’s wrong, Jared?’ she pleaded weakly. ‘What’s happened?’
“‘What’s wrong, Jared? What’s happened"’ he cruelly mimicked the fear that shook her voice. ‘You really need to ask that?’
She swallowed again, not recognising the man usually filled with laughter in this coldly angry stranger. ‘Yes,’ she quivered, knowing by the fresh flare of anger in his eyes that just that one word had been the wrong thing to say. She began to tremble.
‘Much as it pleases me to have you at my feet,’ he ground out fiercely, ‘I’d much rather have you face me while I tell you what I think of you!’ He bent to grasp her arms with strong fingers, pulling her roughly to her feet, the indentation of his fingers biting into her arms as he began to shake her. ‘The first time I saw you I told myself you were different from any other woman I’d ever known. Different!’ he derided his own belief of her. ‘I had no idea just how different you are. You used me to salve your ego,’ he accused with contempt. ‘God, it could have been any one of the men staying in the hotel that you chose—’
‘No!’
‘Yes,’ he hissed. ‘Only it meant more to me than that, a lot more. At least, it did.’
‘D-did?’ Kate still trembled.
‘Yes—did. When we met again I told myself you’d been hurt, that you’d realise the mistake you were making before any marriage to Richard James could take place. Only you haven’t been making a mistake, have you, Kate, neither you or Linton? It all fell into place just now when I saw him leave your flat. Neither of you loses anything by marrying other people, you’ll still be able to keep each other, and you’ll get all that lovely money too. I was so wrong about you—I wasn’t to be your lover once you were married to James, Linton was!’
She shook her head. ‘No—’
‘Do you deny he was here just now?’ His eyes glittered down at her. ‘Or that you’ve been thoroughly kissed?’
‘No …’ She suddenly felt sick, her stomach doing somersaults. ‘Jared, please, it wasn’t that way! I had no idea Brian was going to come here—’
‘No?’ He looked sceptical.
‘No!’
‘I don’t believe you,’ he snarled. ‘But then that isn’t surprising, is it?’ he scorned. ‘You’ve had me labelled for a fool since we first met.’
‘Jared, that isn’t true,’ she cried pleadingly. ‘It isn’t true!’
‘Oh yes, it’s true,’ he said savagely. ‘When did you and Linton get back together, before or after his wedding to Coral? How did he persuade you to forgive him for marrying her in the first place? Do you love him so much you just don’t care?’
‘We aren’t back together—’
‘Liar!’ Jared shouted. ‘I know the way you look when you’ve been made love to, Kate, and you have that look now.’ His gaze moved insultingly over her body. ‘Do you have anything on under that robe?’ he taunted, strong hands pulling the material apart, her body bared to his contemptuous gaze. ‘I thought not.’ His mouth twisted. ‘And I suppose your bed is all rumpled from your lovemaking with Linton too.’ His voice hardened even more, ripping the robe from her altogether, her skin very pale in the warm light of a summer evening. ‘Well, that needn’t bother us,’ he rasped. ‘Because I don’t intend going as far as the bedroom, I’m going to take you right here on the floor!’
CHAPTER SEVEN
SHE cowered away from the savage intent in his eyes, not knowing him in this mood. This man was intent only on inflicting pain and retribution for a wrong he believed she had done him with Brian. She had to make him see sense before he did something they would both regret.—
‘Jared, please, you’re making a mistake—’
‘No, you did that, the moment you took me to be a simple fool!’ All the time he was talking he was ripping off his own clothes, first his shirt, his chest bronzed, fine copper-coloured hair covering the darkened skin, next came his denims and the navy blue underpants, and he stood before her now as naked as she was herself, feeling no embarrassment, his body lean and firmly muscled. And even now his arousal couldn’t be denied! ‘I told you once not to judge by appearances,’ he told her grimly as he pulled her roughly up against him, the hardness of his body bruising against her softer curves. ‘But you chose not to listen,’ he ground out. ‘Just because I’ve been indulgent with you, allowed you a certain amount of freedom, it doesn’t mean I’m stupid—’
‘Indulgent? Allowed me freedom?’ Kate knew that this was no time for her own anger, that gentle persuasion was likely to calm him down quicker, and yet she couldn’t help her indignant reaction to his arrogance. ‘You are a fool, Jared, if you think you allowed me anything!’ Gone was the need to tell him of her decision to break her engagement to Richard, to give the budding love she felt for him, Jared, a chance to flower and grow, and in their place was a fury that almost matched his own in intensity. ‘I’ve always done exactly what I wanted, when I wanted!’
‘Then let’s hope you want to lie on the floor and accept my body into yours,’ he bit out fiercely. ‘Because right now that’s exactly what’s going to happen to you!’
‘I won’t let you—’
‘You won’t stop me,’ he hissed, his eyes glittering, easily picking her up in his arms to lay her on the carpeted floor, covering her body with his own as she threshed about beneath him in an effort to escape, pinning her arms above her head with just one of his hands, the other one moving to cup her breast, his breathing becoming ragged as his passion increased. ‘Your nipples fascinate me,’ he groaned as he slid down her body to kiss first one then the other of them, his thumb stroking across the hardening tip. ‘A dark dusky red,’ he murmured appreciatively. ‘And they react instinctively to my caress,’ he said with satisfaction as the taut nipples perked enticingly for his pleasure-giving mouth.
Kate knew exactly how the whole of her body reacted to his caresses, as she felt that familiar warmth beginning to spread through her body, already her hips wanting to arch against his.
‘You see,’ he continued to kiss her throat, ‘you may. have thought you were using me to get back at Linton when we were at the hotel, but you enjoyed it too much for it to be just that. It doesn’t take two days of being constantly in bed with a man to take revenge on another one,’ he taunted. ‘Just the once would have done!’
She could see the truth of his words, knew he was right, she had enjoyed being with him then, but her bitterness had blinded her to that fact.
She gasped as she felt the hot moistness of his tongue encircling her engorged nipple, and tiny rivulets of pleasure shuddered through her body at each tormenting caress.
‘You promised yourself you wouldn’t do this,’ she reminded him desperately, fighting to free her hands as he kissed further down her body, her navel having the full attention of his administrations now, his tongue probing the silken hollow.
‘That was to a different Kate,’ he rasped.
‘I shall hate you!’
Jared ceased the torment of his mouth for a moment as he gave a harsh shout of laughter, moving to look down at her, ‘Hate away, Kate,’ he taunted, ‘but I shall possess your loveliness once more. It’s haunted me for long enough!’
‘You might possess my body, but you won’t possess me!’ she groaned as his lips travelled down over the flatness of her stomach.
His eyes were contemptuous as he raised his head to meet her gaze down the length of her body. ‘Then I shall possess the only part of you worth having,’ he scorned. ‘And don’t worry about being unfaithful to your fiancé,’ he jeered. ‘Rumour has it that Richard is in Paris with the lovely Made
leine Duval. You know about her?’
She knew the other woman, one of Richard’s French designers, had once been his mistress too. It hadn’t occurred to her that he would see Madelaine while he was away. It didn’t matter to her now that she did think of it. ‘It makes no difference if I do—’
‘Of course it doesn’t,’ Jared’s mouth twisted. ‘You have Linton, don’t you? And now you’re going to have me too!’
He was past reasoning with, she could see that, and she knew she had to accept his strength over hers, crying out her heated desire as his gentle caresses continued remorselessly.
She shouldn’t be reacting this way to an aggressor, to a man who was forcing her to respond, to a man who would allow her no respite until she lay in mindless desire as spasms of pleasure ripped through her body. She shouldn’t be, but she couldn’t stop him!
He loomed over her now, his face as dark as that of the devil, satisfaction at her uncontrollable response to him gleaming from the deep blue eyes. ‘Are you tamed yet, wildcat?’ he mocked.
Her breath came in short gasps as she sought for normality, hating his lovemaking and yet unable to stop it. ‘I hate you!’ she spat the words at him.
He gave a wolfish grin, his free hand roaming down the length of her, lingering over the moist warmth of her body, resisting her efforts to hide it from him. ‘I can see that.’ His taunting gaze returned to her flushed face, darkening suddenly, his mouth tightening grimly. ‘I’m going to take you now,’ he told her coldly. ‘Scratch and claw all you want, it won’t stop me. Nothing will do that now.’
Scratching and clawing was all she could do as he released her hands to rest his body between her parted thighs, then possessing her with a fierceness that made her gasp. Her nails raked down his back, she heard him groan as she inflicted the pain, feeling a rough bite to her shoulder as her fingers dug into his buttocks like talons.
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