Infamous Bargain. Daphne Clair

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СКАЧАТЬ felt almost dizzy. Anger brought a flush to her cheeks and buzzed in her head. She wanted to hit him, lash out with her hands, wipe the cool, scornful smile from his handsome face.

      She clenched her fists at her sides, but her voice, a notch higher than usual, shook. ‘I don’t know how you usually conduct your business, Mr Roth, but I assure you that my father would never expect me to lower myself to that level. I suggest you get your mind out of the gutter! Or better still, crawl back in there where you belong. Excuse me, I need some clean air.’

      She turned, making for the door, but was brought up short by a hard hand on her wrist pulling her about to face him.

      Tugging at it, she said, eyes blazing, ‘Don’t you touch me!’

      ‘Hang on there.’ He easily swung her to one side, reaching over to push the door shut.

      Alarmed, she tried to kick out at him, but he evaded it and let her go so suddenly that she almost lost her balance.

      Now he was standing against the door, leaning on the panels with his hands in his pockets and his burnished-pewter eyes alert and bright.

      ‘If you don’t get away from that door I’ll scream,’ she threatened.

      ‘Don’t be silly, I’m not hurting you. Not even touching you, in fact.’

      Her head went up, her mouth stubbornly set. ‘I want to leave.’

      ‘In a minute.’ He was regarding her with speculation. ‘Are you mad because I called your bluff, or because I was wrong in my assumptions?’

      Briar’s hand clenched. ‘I’m not going to defend myself to you. You probably wouldn’t believe me, anyway.’

      ‘Try me,’ he offered.

      She debated trying to shove him aside, but although she was no weakling, he had the edge over her in both size and strength. She’d felt the power in his grip as he held her. ‘You were wrong,’ she said, her voice very even although she was sizzling inside. ‘Totally, completely wrong.’

      He seemed to be weighing that up, still steadily watching her. ‘Your father didn’t tell you to give me a good time?’

      Briar felt her cheeks burn again. ‘He didn’t mean what you think.’

      Softly, Kynan asked, ‘Are you sure?’

      An insidious doubt crept into her mind. Shaking it off, she said, ‘Of course I’m sure. He wouldn’t...and anyway, I wouldn’t...’

      Something like a grin briefly appeared on the chiselled mouth. ‘I’m beginning to believe that you wouldn’t.’ He paused. ‘I apologise.’

      An apology was certainly due. ‘Am I supposed to thank you for that?’ she enquired.

      The grin widened slightly. ‘Not necessarily.’

      ‘Good.’ She was still simmering. ‘Might I suggest you refrain from jumping to bizarre conclusions next time someone offers you their normal hospitality?’

      ‘Oh, come on, Briar.’ He folded his arms and crossed one ankle over the other, looking at her. ‘What was I supposed to think? Your father was throwing you at me at every turn, and you certainly didn’t seem to be objecting. You brought me in here on the flimsiest excuse—’

      ‘He told me to—’

      Kynan nodded. ‘Are you always such a dutiful daughter? You seemed to be quite pleased with the idea.’

      ‘I’m a good actress.’

      He smiled openly at her tart tone. It made him look considerably less formidable. ‘A natural,’ he agreed. ‘So...you don’t really like me at all?’

      ‘Should I?’

      ‘Ouch!’ he murmured. ‘What should I do? Go down on my knees?’

      She could hardly imagine it. ‘You could start by moving away from the door.’

      For a second or two he stayed there, then he unfolded his arms and stood aside, waiting.

      Briar took an uncertain step forward, and Kynan leaned over and turned the handle, throwing the door wide.

      ‘Thank you,’ she said, sweeping past him into the passageway.

      He closed the door and came to her side, saying nothing as they returned to the other room.

      Some people were leaving, and Kynan took her arm in a light hold, drawing her closer to him to make way for them. Her father and Laura were seeing them out, Xavier casting Briar and Kynan a sharp glance.

      ‘I should be going, too,’ Kynan murmured. ‘I think I may have outstayed my welcome.’

      She gave him a sarcastic look, and he laughed. ‘I’ll go home and find some sackcloth and ashes,’ he promised. ‘Can you bear to say goodnight to me civilly?’

      Briar regarded him stony-faced. It seemed to her he was taking the whole thing rather casually. He was doubtless used to charming birds from trees when he took a mind to it, but it would take more than a smile and a careless apology to mollify her. ‘Goodnight,’ she said, and held out her hand.

      He looked down at it, smiling faintly, before he took it in his. ‘Goodnight, Briar.’ He turned her hand over, and raised her fingers fleetingly to his lips. She felt the warm brush of his mouth against her skin, and some unidentifiable sensation passed through her body. Then he released her and went to say goodnight to her father and stepmother.

      * * *

      Next day two huge florist’s bouquets arrived at the house. One was addressed to Laura, with a card thanking her for dinner and an enjoyable evening, signed Kynan Roth. The other was for Briar.

      She opened the envelope and read the card. There was nothing on it but his name. She supposed it was a reinforcement of his apology.

      ‘Aren’t they lovely?’ Laura breathed in the scent of pink roses and carnations as she arranged them in a white porcelain vase. ‘That’s a man with style!’ She looked sidelong at Briar. ‘Did you...get along with him?’

      ‘Does it matter?’ Briar asked, tucking the card back into its envelope. Her bouquet featured yellow irises and deep creamy roses shading to gold in the centre. She wondered if he’d chosen the flowers himself.

      ‘Oh, no! Not specially. Your father seemed to think...’ Laura pushed a tall carnation into the vase, and the stem snapped in two. ‘Oh, I’m so clumsy!’

      ‘You’re not. It was too long,’ Briar pointed out absently. ‘What’s going on, Laura? Has Dad told you?’

      ‘He doesn’t tell me about his business affairs, you know that. But something has been bothering him.’ Laura twiddled with the broken stem she had pulled from the vase, then dropped it and picked up the piece with the flower on it, regarding the arrangement uncertainly.

      ‘What did he say?’

      ‘Nothing СКАЧАТЬ