The Dare Collection June 2019. Rachael Stewart

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СКАЧАТЬ darker than they’d been minutes ago rose from my hips, paused on the small but tasteful diamond pendant stroking my cleavage, to my face. ‘That’s a jaded way to approach life, isn’t it?’

      ‘Didn’t you refuse a drink I bought you back in Boston on those same grounds?’

      His eyes narrowed. ‘Those were different circumstances.’

      ‘And the rumour that you’ve resigned from six projects in the last month. Is that boredom or because you’ve stretched yourself too thin?’

      A watchful gleam entered his eyes. ‘It’s neither. Every partner I’ve dealt with has walked away more than content, not that I owe you an explanation for the way I operate.’

       But you owe me an explanation for why you stabbed me in the back for no reason!

      I reined in anger and hurt. ‘By the same token, I don’t owe you an explanation on how I approach my relationships.’

      We stared each other down for a long silent stretch. Then his mouth twitched. ‘If nothing else, our friction will make for good entertainment.’

      I forced a smile. ‘And that’s all that matters in the long run, isn’t it? Good entertainment?’

      Another frown attacked his forehead. ‘With all parties walking away with a handful of sound business deals, of course.’

      ‘Of course,’ I echoed, unable to keep bitterness from staining my voice.

      Damian rose and approached. A couple of feet from me, he stopped. This close, with the sun highlighting every feature, it was difficult to look away from his physical perfection. ‘I was under the impression that you were a strong, level-headed woman who wouldn’t let one encounter cloud her business judgment. Are you going to prove me wrong?’ he taunted baldly.

      God, I hate, hate, hate Damian Mortimer.

      By the skin of my teeth, I managed to pin my smile in place. ‘Are you referring to the same encounter where you played hard to get when I bought you a drink but couldn’t resist showing up at my hotel room afterwards with a hard cock and a couple of tired one-liners?’

      Annoyance flared his nostrils. ‘You think telling you you’re beautiful was a glib one-liner?’

      I cursed the heat staining my cheeks. ‘I’ve heard more original lines.’

      ‘It was true then. It’s true now. One thing you should know about me, I believe in the truth at all times, Neve. Even when it’s brutal to hear,’ he said in a deep matter-of-fact voice that still transmitted straight between my legs.

      God, how could he be so detached, so insufferable and yet virtually stroke my clit with a few choice words?

      My flush deepened. ‘But you believe I’m the type of woman to let flattery or sex get in the way of business? Or do you imagine I’m secretly holding out hope for something else?’

      His gaze blazed bright before it dropped to my lips. My stupidly tingling lips. ‘You didn’t exactly hate what happened between us,’ he murmured. ‘You were just as enthusiastic as I was once you let me in.’

      I didn’t. And I was. It was what happened the next morning I had a huge problem with. ‘Like you said, Mr Mortimer, whatever friction we create will play well for the cameras. So what are you worried about?’

      He visibly reined himself in, a stark look shadowing his eyes before he shook it off. ‘I don’t like surprises. If you’re hiding something up your sleeve...’

      I couldn’t help myself. I chuckled.

      Irritation sparked his eyes. ‘Did I say something amusing?’

      ‘Amusing? No. Ironic, yes. You want assurances? Well, I can assure you that it’s going to be one hell of a ride.’

       CHAPTER THREE

      Damian

      STUNNING. EXQUISITE. BREATHTAKING.

      Three inadequate words that sprung to mind when I first saw Neve Nolan in my hotel bar two years ago.

      Three words that still didn’t do justice to the woman staring me down with fire in her eyes and determination etched into her captivating face.

      My unfettered reaction to her then had propelled me to do the unthinkable. I’d dropped my guard. Put myself in a situation I’d known I’d regret the next morning without taking into account how much. Or the mess it would create in the wake of slowly uncovering the truth of what had happened the night I’d supposedly betrayed Gideon.

      The growing possibility that I might have been drugged by someone I’d trusted had fucked me up worse than I’d imagined.

      Long before that night in Boston, trust had been a shitty mirage I’d given up on. Once upon a time I’d had an innocent child’s trust that my parents would stick around, deliver a modicum of care and attention in a family seething in dysfunction and strife. They hadn’t.

      My only truth was hard work and the bone-deep knowledge that everyone in my life had an agenda and a price.

      Unsurprising, therefore, that I’d been in a worse than dire mood when Neve had crossed my path.

      I’d been reeling from the possibility that there might not be a way of repairing the bridges I’d burned, and my encounter with Neve couldn’t have come at a worse time. Compounding my mistakes by repeating them, by succumbing to that filthy temptation when I should’ve hit the button for my penthouse suite instead of the one that led to Suite 6799... Well, that had been yet another demon I’d been prepared to live with.

      But regardless of my personal foibles, I wasn’t a Mortimer in name only. Regardless of my mood, I’d achieved what I’d gone to Boston to do—assess the viability of merging one of Mortimer Group’s smaller but hugely successful companies with Cahill Hotels, and a lesser known outfit. I’d advised Cahill to reject the bid from Cephei in favour of another hotel chain who were a better fit. The Cahill deal was one of many successes that had fattened the family coffers while I’d continued to search for truth and answers.

      Now, three long years later, my investigators had exhausted every avenue to find the evidence of Penny’s treachery.

       Now Gideon would be forced to listen.

      Acid bitterness bit deep, as it did every time I remembered the consequences of letting down my guard.

      That particular mushroom cloud still hung above my head, contaminating my every interaction. My family hadn’t exactly shunned me, but it was probably because they didn’t know the full truth.

      I sucked in a breath, pulled myself together and refocused on Neve.

      She’d signed on the dotted line to participate in Raider’s Den before I had been made aware of her involvement. By then it had been too late to...what? Get her thrown off the show? Further complicate my life with a possible СКАЧАТЬ