by Penny Jordan
‘I want to talk to you,’ she told him angrily.
Her sharp ears just caught his ruefully murmured, ‘Talk... That makes a change.’
It took a monumental effort for her not to respond. It infuriated her that he should somehow have managed to turn his refusal to have sex with her into a totally false assumption that she was desperate to have sex with him. There had never been anything personal in her determination to arouse him; all she had wanted to do was unmask him as the deceiver she knew him to be.
‘If it’s about the advertising campaign,’ he told her quickly, checking his watch, ‘I’m afraid—’
‘No, it’s not about the advertising campaign,’ Star interrupted him fiercely. ‘It’s about—’
Downstairs someone had opened the entrance door, causing a sudden gust of wind to rattle the window on the landing and her half-open front door to slam shut.
Star frowned as the unexpected noise interrupted her and then gasped as she realised what had happened. She had been in such a hurry to intercept Kyle that she had neglected to put her door on the latch. Now it was not just closed but locked as well, with her on the wrong side of it, without her keys, without anything other than the clothes she stood up in. She looked disbelievingly at the door and then accusingly at Kyle.
‘That’s your fault,’ she told him forcefully. ‘Thanks to you, I’m locked out of my flat.’
‘Thanks to me...?’
‘Yes,’ Star fumed. ‘If you hadn’t had the gall to interfere and telephone my father with that stupid message about us attending the wedding... How did you know where to telephone him anyway?’ she demanded suspiciously, and then answered her own question, her eyes widening in disbelief as she accused him, ‘You took my letter; you stole it. You—’
‘Hey, hang on a minute,’ Kyle interrupted her. ‘I did no such thing. As it happens, I found the letter caught up in my jacket, and when I realised what it was—’
‘You read it and—’
‘I thought it would be a good idea to ring your father and introduce myself to him, explain what we planned to do.’
‘What we planned to do?’ Star was thoroughly outraged. ‘We planned to do nothing,’ she protested bitterly.
Kyle looked pained. ‘You’d already agreed that we should attend the wedding together.’
‘I agreed no such thing.’ Star could feel her face growing red with temper. ‘You know what my father thinks now, don’t you?’ she almost howled in fury. ‘He thinks that you and I... That we’re... I’m not going,’ she told him vehemently. ‘You do realise, don’t you, that he’s booked us a suite, no less, and not two separate bedrooms?’
‘Well, he did explain that they were a little short of space,’ Kyle acknowledged, completely missing the point that she was trying to make. ‘And, to be honest, I thought you’d prefer the hotel...’
‘What I prefer is for you not to interfere in my life. You had no right. I’m not going. There’s no way that you can make me,’ she told him aggressively, before turning round to walk back into her own flat.
Only, of course, she couldn’t, could she? She paused, mentally consigning him to the deepest, blackest depths of hell, and then gritted her teeth, turned round and told Kyle crankily, ‘I need to use your phone...’
‘I’m afraid you can’t,’ Kyle told her politely.
Star stared at him. ‘What you mean, I can’t? I’ve got to. I’ve locked myself out of my flat, thanks to you. I need to ring a locksmith.’
‘Doesn’t anyone have a spare?’ Kyle asked her.
‘No,’ Star told him. That was against the rules, of course. They were supposed to deposit a spare with a trusted key-holder, only she balked at the idea of anyone—anyone at all—having access to her most private domain and so she had never supplied one.
‘I need to use your phone,’ she repeated, but Kyle was adamant.
‘You can’t...’
‘Just try stopping me,’ Star challenged him angrily, marching past him and straight into his flat, where upon she came to an abrupt halt. The hall and the sitting room beyond were both completely empty.
‘What’s happening?’ she demanded. ‘Where’s the furniture?’
‘Gone,’ Kyle told her ruefully. ‘Apparently your late neighbours neglected to settle all their bills before they left and this morning the bailiffs arrived and removed their furniture...’
‘And the telephone?’ Star protested. ‘But that’s...’
Kyle shook his head. ‘No, that’s been cut off. Apparently they didn’t pay that bill either. I’ve made arrangements to have it reinstated and to have new furniture delivered but unfortunately not until tomorrow.’
‘They must have left something,’ Star said weakly as she stared around the empty rooms.
‘They did,’ Kyle agreed. ‘The bed,’ he told her when she looked questioningly at him. ‘I bought a new one. The one they left wasn’t very comfortable.’
‘The bed... That’s all the furniture you’ve got...a bed...?’
‘Well, they left the kitchen fitments as well,’ Kyle informed her. ‘So at least we can eat as well as sleep.’
‘We?’ Star glared at him. ‘If you think I’m sharing a bed with you...’ she began.
But Kyle reminded her, ‘It’s either that or the floor.’
‘You’ve got a car,’ Star pointed out. ‘You could take me to a hotel.’
‘I could, but I doubt that they’d allow you to book in...not dressed like that...not without any money.’
‘Dressed like what?’ Star glanced down at herself and realised that he did have a point. She had no shoes on, her feet were bare and she was wearing a loose, soft cotton top and an old pair of leggings—hardly the kind of apparel to inspire financial confidence.
‘You could lend me some money; in fact I could stay here and you could book into a hotel room,’ she told him.
Kyle shook his head. ‘No way,’ he told her firmly. ‘This is my flat and my bed—a new bed, an extremely comfortable bed, a bed I am not prepared to give up for a demanding termagant who—’
‘Oh, very chivalrous,’ Star interrupted him, angry colour scorching her face. How dared he refer to her as a termagant? She had every right to be angry with him after what he had done.
‘I could go to Sally’s,’ she told him.
‘You could,’ he agreed, looking down at her feet. ‘But it’s quite a long walk, at least five miles.’
Star gritted her teeth. ‘You’re enjoying this, aren’t you?’ she challenged him bitterly, and the smile that curled his mouth and his open acceptance of her accusation did nothing to alleviate her rising temper.
‘Do you blame me?’ he asked her drily. ‘After all, would you turn down an opportunity to put one over on me, Star... to have me at a disadvantage? Don’t perjure yourself,’ he advised her kindly. ‘We both already know the answer...’
He was right, of course, but that didn’t make it any easier to bear. How could she have been so stupid as to forget her keys or, at the very least, to put the door on the latch? She knew how, of course: she had been in such a steam of temper, so seriously determined to vent her anger on him, that she hadn’t stopped to think. That nasty, niggling awareness that she was very much the author of her own misfortune couldn’t be denied—at least, not to herself—but she was damned if she was going to admit it to him.
‘If you hadn’t made that idiotic telephone call to my father, none of this would have happened. Why did you?’ she demanded.
‘I thought it was what you wanted,’ he told her innocently. He was playing with her, deliberately baiting her; Star knew that.
She breathed in slowly and tried to count to ten.
‘Really?’ She gave him a saccharine smile, her teeth snapping together audibly as she told him, ‘I don’t believe you; you’re just trying to...’
‘To what?’ he queried. ‘To do a little game-playing of my own...a little truth-outing? Aha. You don’t like it when the boot is on the other f
oot, do you?’ he taunted her as he saw the way her eyes flashed.
‘What do you mean, “a little truth-outing”?’ Star asked him grimly, ignoring his mockery.
‘You said you wanted to have sex with me to prove that I was lying when I said I didn’t want sex without emotion or commitment,’ he reminded her.
‘Yes,’ Star agreed doggedly.
‘Well, perhaps I have a little theory testing of my own I want to put into practice.’
“Theory-testing? What kind of theory-testing?’ Star asked suspiciously.
‘Well, now...’ he drawled. ‘I kinda think that that’s for me to know and for you to think about, don’t you?’
For once Star was bereft of any suitable reply; her mouth opened and then closed again, her temper reaching boiling point and running over it as she realised that somehow or other he had wrestled control of the situation from her and that there wasn’t a damn thing she could do about it.
‘I’m not going to let you get away with this,’ she warned him darkly when she had finally got her voice back. ‘Whatever it is...’
To her chagrin, she saw that Kyle was actually daring to laugh at her.
‘You know what you need, don’t you?’ he advised her solemnly. ‘A cool shower, a hot drink and a good night’s sleep.’
He was treating her like an overwrought child, Star recognised as she contrasted his cheerful good temper with her own impotent fury.
‘What I want,’ she told him through gritted teeth, ‘is to remove you from my life...permanently and preferably immediately...’
‘Ah, but, you see, you were the one who invited me into it,’ Kyle reminded her.
‘I invited you into my bed...not my life,’ Star corrected him, determined to have the last word.
‘Mmm... Well, now it’s my turn to invite you into mine... What’s wrong?’ he asked when he saw the look that she was giving him. ‘I promise you, you have nothing to fear. Your virtue is completely safe with me.’
Star glared at him. ‘Don’t be ridiculous,’ she told him witheringly. ‘And, for your information, I have never been afraid of a man making unwanted sexual advances to me.’
She had intended her statement to be a contemptuous put-down but somehow or other she must have missed her mark, she decided as Kyle responded gently, ‘No, I don’t suppose you have.’
CHAPTER EIGHT
IRRITATINGLY, Kyle had insisted that there was no way she could go to bed until she had had something to eat, and, ignominiously, Star had been so hungry that she had practically fallen on the simple meal of scrambled eggs and toast that he had made for her.
He was like a mother hen the way he fussed, Star decided waspishly now as he handed her a milky bedtime drink which she grimaced over before drinking. Not like a real man at all. Surprisingly the drink tasted delicious; she sniffed it suspiciously and accused him, ‘You’ve put something in this, haven’t you? Brandy...’
‘The classic seducer’s trick,’ Kyle agreed solemnly, and then added, ‘I’m surprised you never tried that one on me...’
‘I was not trying to seduce you,’ she reminded him. ‘I simply wanted to prove...’
‘Go on,’ Kyle encouraged her. ‘You wanted to prove...?’
‘I’ve had enough of this,’ Star told him, finishing her drink. ‘I’m going to bed.’
She was undressed and in the shower before she remembered that she had nothing to sleep in—not that that would normally have bothered her; it was just that on this occasion... The thought of having to sleep in her bulky top was totally unappealing and as for her briefs... Well, she had already rinsed them out so that they would be fresh for the morning.
Wrapping a towel around her body, she went in search of Kyle. He was in the kitchen, predictably tidying up. What a man... Just as well they hadn’t had sex; it would have been bound to be a disaster...
‘I need something to wear,’ she told him aggressively.
His eyebrows rose.
‘Such as...?’
‘Something,’ she insisted. ‘Anything... You must have a pair of pyjamas somewhere.’
‘Nope,’ Kyle denied.
‘But you must have... What if you had to go into hospital?’
‘What an optimist,’ Kyle laughed. ‘The best I can do is a T-shirt.’
‘I suppose it will have to do,’ Star told him ungraciously, following as he went into the bedroom and pulled open a cupboard door.
The T-shirt he handed her was soft and white and extremely large. She frowned slightly, remembering how snugly she had seen a similar T-shirt fitting him. She wasn’t exactly minute and yet to judge from the width of the fabric she was holding...
She saw the way Kyle was watching her and stated crossly, ‘I can’t put it on until you’ve gone.’
Infuriatingly he started to laugh.
‘Now I’ve heard everything,’ he told her. ‘You’re quite happy to have sex with me—an act for which, presumably, you initially remove your clothes—and yet the mere thought that I might actually see your naked body throws you into a girlish display of maidenly modesty that wouldn’t disgrace a virginal sixteen-year-old. Amazing...’
‘No, it isn’t; it’s a perfectly normal female reaction,’ Star corrected him, throwing him a look of vitriolic hatred.
How dared he laugh at her? How dared he... How dared he...how dared he exist? she fumed a few minutes later when he had gone, leaving her free to drop her damp towel and pull on his T-shirt. It was enormous on her. It was probably one he deliberately kept to impress women, she decided balefully. It was probably enormous on him too.
She yawned sleepily and burrowed deeper into her pillow. How much brandy had he actually put in that drink? she wondered. She yawned again, her body starting to relax. He had been right about one thing: this bed...his bed...was blissfully comfortable.
Well, she looked as though she was asleep, Kyle decided fifteen minutes later, cautiously opening the bedroom door. She ought to be; he had given her enough brandy to knock out a horse—an invidious tactic, but it was either that or risk spending the whole night with her arguing with him. What a woman.
He padded silently to the bathroom and stripped off his clothes before turning on the shower.
He wondered how long it would be before she guessed what he was up to. There was no need to question what her reaction would be when she did. He was playing a mite unfairly, he had to admit that, but then desperate needs called for desperate measures and he was certainly desperate. Any man would have to be to get involved in what he was getting himself involved in, but he was determined to show her that her antagonism towards his sex sprang not from the conviction she clung so determinedly and defensively to—that none of his sex could be trusted—but rather from her fear of the pain she had experienced when her father had left.
Once he could show her that with him she had nothing to fear... That his feelings...his love... That he would always... Hang on there, he warned himself. There was still a hell of a lot of ground to cover before she was ready to listen to that kind of talk from him—one hell of a long way to go.
He looked down into her sleeping face and somehow managed to resist the temptation to kiss the tip of her nose before throwing back the covers and quietly sliding into bed beside her—alongside her. Alongside, when what he would have preferred to do...where he would have preferred to be... Determinedly, he closed his eyes.
Star smiled happily in her sleep and snuggled closer to the male body lying alongside her own. Mmm...it felt so delicious... all that warm, soft, furry male body hair against her skin, and that lovely, tantalisingly erotic man smell—so totally unfamiliar...and yet somehow, deep down inside herself, she instinctively and immediately recognised a sense of being safe and warm and wanted, had an awareness of the rightness of being where she was and with whom she was.
She made a soft sound of pleasure and burrowed even closer to the source of all those wonderful feel-good sensations and emotions whilst Kyle held his breath.
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He had woken up fifteen minutes ago, alerted to Star’s unconscious “sleepwalk” across the gap that he had left between them by the unmistakable physical response of his own body to her proximity. For once, he was able to acquit her of any attempt to manipulate or manoeuvre him—she was quite definitely deeply asleep—and if he hadn’t been finding it so damned hard to hold onto his self-control, or if he’d been a different type of man, he could have been giving himself a little bit of congratulation at the way Star’s sleeping expression and her small sounds of pleasure betrayed how much she was enjoying her unwitting physical contact with his body.
His body or just any male body? Kyle frowned. Despite everything he had heard about her and everything she had told him about herself, Kyle had guessed that emotionally, where it really counted, Star was completely untried and untouched—virginal in that in her previous relationships she had always withheld her real, deep, inner self. And, as he had already told her, that kind of shallow pseudo-intimacy could never be enough for him. He held his breath as she burrowed even closer against him.
If this carried on much longer...! It had been difficult enough for him to resist her when she’d been deliberately and cold bloodedly trying to arouse him, but what she was doing now, with that sweetly sensual look of desire on her sleeping face... If she moved against him like that just one more time...
Kyle knew that he was audibly grinding his teeth as she still tried to get closer, pushing his arm out of the way, a small pout puckering her mouth as she tugged on his hand. Obediently he raised it and then dropped it again as he realised what he was doing, but somehow or other his hand had already found the smooth curve of her hip, and once there it was impossible for him to resist the temptation to stroke her skin, so soft and warm and alive, so womanly and desirable...so...so Star.
Outside the birds had started to sing. Star’s pout dissolved into a dazzling smile as she rubbed her face against his chest, appreciatively breathing in his scent, nuzzling him and making soft, murmuring, cooing sounds of pleasure.