Mishap Marriage. Helen Dickson

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СКАЧАТЬ her worth, and appeared dubious as his brows snapped together and a feral gleam appeared in his narrowed eyes as they locked on hers with angry disgust.

      ‘Now you do insult me,’ he said, his voice so controlled that Shona felt an icy chill sweep down her spine. ‘I cannot be bought, either. I have no need of your money. I have plenty of my own. However large your dowry, Miss McKenzie, what makes you think you are worth it?’

      Shona gasped, her humiliation complete. ‘Now it is you who insults me,’ she flared, a fresh surge of anger rising up inside her like flames licking round a dry log, furious with herself for being stupid enough to think he might help her.

      ‘If you have so much money, then what you do should not be a problem. You’ve had life handed to you on a silver platter. What more could you possibly want?’

      ‘Liberty,’ she cried passionately. ‘Freedom to do as I choose. Creature comforts are not all that matters to me.’

      ‘If you imagine that marriage will give you freedom, then think again. You will find yourself bound by shackles of a different kind. But if that’s what you want, then go ahead. You can live where you choose or buy yourself another husband—which shouldn’t be too difficult. You have other assets to your credit besides your substantial dowry,’ he ground out with suave brutality, his insolent, contemptuous gaze raking over her. ‘Another ship bound for England will drop her anchor in the cove before too long with some other fool on it for you to marry.’

      Captain Fitzgerald’s jibe, savage and taunting, flicked over Shona like a whiplash. Stung to anger by his harsh words, hot colour flooded her cheeks and her soft lips tightened as she exerted every ounce of her control to keep her temper and her emotions in check. Stiffening her spine and lifting her small chin, she looked at him directly. Zack saw her put up a valiant fight for control—a fight she won—and she looked as regally erect as a proud young queen. Her eyes frosted over.

      ‘I understand you perfectly, Captain Fitzgerald. You are a devil—a barbarian, a callous barbarian—and I am sorry I approached you. We will say no more on the matter. I will trouble you no further and I thank you for your time.’

      When she tried to sweep past him, his strong hand spun her around. ‘Barbarian? Believe me, Miss McKenzie, you have no idea how much of a barbarian I can be. You don’t want to be my wife, I assure you,’ he said, his voice rumbling soft above her like distant thunder.

      His hold on her arm tightened. Slowly, with menacing deliberation, he backed her against the balustrade. His grip wasn’t overly painful, but the casual strength exerted in his fingers startled her. His other hand rose to grasp her chin, but Shona turned her face away, eluding capture. When his hard fingers at last closed over her jaw, she gasped in alarm.

      ‘Let go of me. You are hurting my arm. I can’t fight you. You are much stronger than I.’

      Zack stared down at her. He hadn’t missed the flare of temper in her eyes, or the fear. He clenched his teeth in frustration. Impatiently he released his hold on her arm, his hand unintentionally brushing her breast. He was instantly aware of the contact, and so was she. He could tell by the furious blush that flooded her cheeks.

      Shona tried to ignore the effect of his touch. ‘I asked you to let go of me,’ she uttered icily. ‘Remove your hands from my person.’

      It was a supremely correct response, just the kind Zack would expect from a woman of her social standing. Perhaps he could turn her reticence to his own advantage.

      ‘I will do precisely that,’ he said, deliberately running his fingers along the side of her breast, ‘when I have made you realise your mistake in thinking you could manipulate me into marriage.’ Releasing his hold on her chin, with grim satisfaction he saw her flinch. He bent closer, his face dark and threatening and like granite in the moonlight. ‘As my wife you would be at my beck and call and I could take you any time I pleased. I would take my pleasure of you whenever I wanted. Shall I show you how I would assert my husbandly rights?’

      Dimly, Shona saw his mouth slowly descending to hers. He put an arm about her waist and pulled her to him, moulding her body against his. Her legs felt weak, the back of her knees aching. As she gazed into his hard face, some lambent protective instinct cried a warning that she was getting in too deep. Panicked, she turned her face away a scant instant before his lips touched hers, her breath coming in rapid gasps as if she was running. Undaunted, Zack tipped her face back to his and lowered his mouth to hers. He assaulted her lips with a controlled expertise that left her gasping, engulfing her in a heady scent of brandy and tobacco. She was too surprised to resist and hung limp in his embrace. With no protest forthcoming he asserted pressure, his kiss growing more dedicated to strengthening her response and nearly devouring her lips in a tantalising frenzy.

      His plundering, devouring kiss sent Shona spiralling off into a hot darkness where nothing mattered except his seductive, urgent mouth and knowledgeable hands. Overwhelmed by his raw, potent sexuality, she fed his hunger, her parted lips welcoming the thrusting invasion of his tongue, the sensations inside her mouth like tight buds that burst into blossom, filling her with splendour. She felt as if her whole being would melt, but her heart began to drum a faster rhythm as his fingers continued to stroke the side of her breast in a leisurely, erotic caress. From a low level of consciousness there grew a vague feeling of pleasure and, had the circumstances been different, she might have enjoyed the hard, wickedly masculine feel of his body against hers. But she reminded herself that he was doing this to abuse her, to demonstrate his power over her, to subdue her into a quivering wreck.

      Trailing his warm lips over her cheek, Zack felt himself weakening in response. Devil take it, he couldn’t keep his hands off her. This wasn’t working. He was losing the battle for control.

      Shona sensed his struggle. Through the haze in her mind, she heard him groan softly and, with an abruptness that left her swaying, he tore himself away. He stood there, staring down at her in silence as if seeing her for the first time, his look a mixture of pain and pleasure and anger. She was glad for the support of the balustrade against her back. Otherwise she might have fallen, her legs were so weak.

      ‘Why did you do that?’ she whispered. Her emotions seemed to be all over the place and a rogue tear trickled from the corner of her eye.

      Zack hardly knew why himself as he looked at her standing there, teary-eyed and vulnerable. And lovely. By God, she was so lovely. He wanted her with a fierceness that stole his breath. His mouth tightened as he stared at her softly heaving bosom and the tantalising mouth that was still full and hot from his angry kisses. Lifting his hand to wipe away the tear, he drew back when she wrapped her arms around her waist, as if trying to protect herself from him. His jaw hardened, trying not to feel as if he were abusing a stray dog.

      ‘Don’t be concerned, Miss McKenzie,’ he rasped, his voice low and harsh in the silence, ‘that my barbaric display will be repeated. I won’t touch you again. I have enough troubles on my plate just now without adding to them by taking a wife. I bid you goodnight.’

      Striding into the house in search of his first mate, intending to leave right away, he raked his fingers through his hair in frustration. The vexing tide of anger which had consumed him began to subside. Only the ragged pulse that had leapt to life in his throat attested to his disquiet as he looked ahead with feelings of regret. Miss McKenzie’s proposition pounded inside his head, combining with the torment of his own harsh rejection, and he wondered how she had managed to make him feel such a cad for refusing her.

      Dear Lord, she was a magnificent creature, but heaven help the poor devil who got landed with her as a wife. He liked his women quick-tempered, spirited and with fire in their veins. It made for a satisfying and exciting СКАЧАТЬ