say.’
‘ That’s paranoid.’ She shrugged, looking at him with indifferent eyes. ‘What on earth can it be that is so secret?’
‘ Let me be the judge about what is and isn’t needed, Kate.’ He looked around again, pressed his lips together in a determined grimace. ‘For now, let’s go somewhere more private. Do you live far away from here?’
She gasped in outrage, and he grinned swiftly.
‘No, I don’t intend to seduce you , Kate. I thought we’d established that already. There are enough willing women in this world without me having to desperately try to bed one who so obviously detests me. You have my word on that.’
‘I don’t really care what kind of women you bed.’ She stepped toward the exit, her high heels making a clicking sound against the glossy, perfectly polished floor. She wrapped her silky, gossamer-thin wrap tighter around her shoulders and cast him a glance from under her long eyelashes. ‘We can talk about whatever it is that is so important on the way out of here, or in a restaurant. I just don’t want you in my house. Do you understand?’
He understood, of course. She didn’t want him anywhere near her private life. And while a part of him had to admit that she had a right to protect herself from his interference, another more impatient side of him rebelled against that kind of treatment.
He cursed his inability to control the anger that had led to the kiss. It should have been avoided; it had opened the door to the forbidden realm of desires and needs that he had learned to repress. Slamming it closed and pretending that nothing had changed wouldn’t work. Tasting her once was not enough. The fever in his blood awakened into a rushing stream of red-hot lava.
‘We can talk at my hotel room th en,’ he offered, only to be rewarded with her definite refusal. ‘No? You think I’m trying to get you there to have my wicked way with you? Dios , do you really think I’m so desperate?’
Actually , I am. He watched her chew her bottom lip in hesitation. He could tell his sarcasm was doing little to calm her doubts about his intent.
‘ We can talk in your hotel, and that is all, Raoul,’ she managed finally, surprising him with her sudden defeat. ‘As long as you promise not to make it too long and don’t dwell on the past. I don’t want you anywhere near my flat, not now and not ever.’
‘I told you already that what concerns me most is the presen t and the future, Kate.’ He tried very hard not to show how pleased he was with her unexpected agreement. ‘I’m giving you a chance to choose yours here, so it’s up to you how you plan to deal with it. You can treat it as my belated compensation for any discomfort I might have caused you. Vamanos !
……………………
Kate’s anger swallowed her with a strength that left her speechless. His arrogant statement was nothing short of a slap in the face. He called it a discomfort and used the word might , implying he wasn’t even sure she felt that way at all. For a second, she had to fight the temptation to yell back at him that he was absolutely wrong.
H is deceit had been not only uncomfortable, but also totally devastating. It had destroyed her life and trust in people. All her hopes and plans for the future had depended on one glance of his imperial eyes. She had loved him as she had never loved anyone before, barely allowing herself to believe that it was possible she could be so lucky to find a man she cared for and have him love her right back with equal fire and tenderness. As she’d listened to his peaceful breathing in the bedroom they so often shared, she’d often thought it was too good to be true. In the end, it proved to be exactly that.
But admitting that would allow him to see the full exten t of her misery and her love for him, which he obviously didn’t return. Having him understand that he was so much more than just a summer fling would be utterly humiliating.
‘Ten minutes .’
‘ That’s paranoid.’ She shrugged, looking at him with indifferent eyes. ‘What on earth can it be that is so secret?’
‘ Let me be the judge about what is and isn’t needed, Kate.’ He looked around again, pressed his lips together in a determined grimace. ‘For now, let’s go somewhere more private. Do you live far away from here?’
She gasped in outrage, and he grinned swiftly.
‘No, I don’t intend to seduce you , Kate. I thought we’d established that already. There are enough willing women in this world without me having to desperately try to bed one who so obviously detests me. You have my word on that.’
‘I don’t really care what kind of women you bed.’ She stepped toward the exit, her high heels making a clicking sound against the glossy, perfectly polished floor. She wrapped her silky, gossamer-thin wrap tighter around her shoulders and cast him a glance from under her long eyelashes. ‘We can talk about whatever it is that is so important on the way out of here, or in a restaurant. I just don’t want you in my house. Do you understand?’
He understood, of course. She didn’t want him anywhere near her private life. And while a part of him had to admit that she had a right to protect herself from his interference, another more impatient side of him rebelled against that kind of treatment.
He cursed his inability to control the anger that had led to the kiss. It should have been avoided; it had opened the door to the forbidden realm of desires and needs that he had learned to repress. Slamming it closed and pretending that nothing had changed wouldn’t work. Tasting her once was not enough. The fever in his blood awakened into a rushing stream of red-hot lava.
‘We can talk at my hotel room th en,’ he offered, only to be rewarded with her definite refusal. ‘No? You think I’m trying to get you there to have my wicked way with you? Dios , do you really think I’m so desperate?’
Actually , I am. He watched her chew her bottom lip in hesitation. He could tell his sarcasm was doing little to calm her doubts about his intent.
‘ We can talk in your hotel, and that is all, Raoul,’ she managed finally, surprising him with her sudden defeat. ‘As long as you promise not to make it too long and don’t dwell on the past. I don’t want you anywhere near my flat, not now and not ever.’
‘I told you already that what concerns me most is the presen t and the future, Kate.’ He tried very hard not to show how pleased he was with her unexpected agreement. ‘I’m giving you a chance to choose yours here, so it’s up to you how you plan to deal with it. You can treat it as my belated compensation for any discomfort I might have caused you. Vamanos !
……………………
Kate’s anger swallowed her with a strength that left her speechless. His arrogant statement was nothing short of a slap in the face. He called it a discomfort and used the word might , implying he wasn’t even sure she felt that way at all. For a second, she had to fight the temptation to yell back at him that he was absolutely wrong.
H is deceit had been not only uncomfortable, but also totally devastating. It had destroyed her life and trust in people. All her hopes and plans for the future had depended on one glance of his imperial eyes. She had loved him as she had never loved anyone before, barely allowing herself to believe that it was possible she could be so lucky to find a man she cared for and have him love her right back with equal fire and tenderness. As she’d listened to his peaceful breathing in the bedroom they so often shared, she’d often thought it was too good to be true. In the end, it proved to be exactly that.
But admitting that would allow him to see the full exten t of her misery and her love for him, which he obviously didn’t return. Having him understand that he was so much more than just a summer fling would be utterly humiliating.
‘Ten minutes .’
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