She Devil. Christy McKellen

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СКАЧАТЬ one breathless moment I thought I saw something like regret pass across his face, but I wasn’t prepared to hang around and find out. I was too afraid my insouciant front might completely crumble, so instead I pushed back my shoulders and said, ‘Well, Jamie, it was predictably unpleasant seeing you again. If those are all the snide remarks you have for me this time, I think I’ll be leaving now. I don’t want to keep you from your doting audience. I know how much you need to be adored.’

      ‘April. Wait...’

      As I turned away I saw him reach out as if to try and stop me leaving but, instead of his hand landing squarely on my arm, his fingers caught the thin spaghetti-strap of my dress. In my determination to get away from him I was moving too fast to give him a chance to untangle himself and I felt a sharp tug, then the strap give way on one side of the dress and slither down my back.

      I sucked in a breath of agitation and turned back to glare at him.

      ‘Oops.’ The twitch of a smile at the edge of his mouth was more than I could stand.

      ‘This is a five-thousand-pound, custom made, Eva Verdano dress!’ I yelped, anger and frustration at his unapologetic amusement making my voice unsteady.

      ‘It’s not as if you can’t get Daddy to stump up for another one,’ he said with a condescending flick of his eyebrow.

      ‘I can afford to buy my own clothes, you arrogant prick,’ I couldn’t help but retort, despite hating the fact I was rising to his goading, ‘Because I happen to be one of the highest paid businesswomen in the country.’ I pointed a shaky finger at him. ‘And before you try and say Daddy just handed me the job I’ll have you know I worked my arse off to be where I am today!’

      ‘Yeah, you keep telling yourself that, if it makes you feel better,’ he growled back.

      And that was it. I’d had enough of him. A blistering anger rose through me and without thinking I reached out and grabbed the front of his shirt and pulled with all my strength. The material must have had a high silk content because the top four buttons easily tore away, leaving his shirt gaping open and giving me a spectacular view of his muscular chest.

      Neither of us reacted at first, both of us too shocked by what I’d done. Then, before I had chance to stop him, Jamie reached out and grasped the front of my dress and did the same thing to me, tearing a deep valley down the front of it and exposing my breasts, which unfortunately I’d chosen not to encase in a bra that evening so as not to ruin the line of my outfit.

      I let out a low scream of frustration, not just because he’d totally ruined my beautiful dress, but because I was now completely exposed to his mocking gaze.

      Through the red haze that descended over my eyes, I saw him lift a hand in apology. ‘Shit, April, sorry, I didn’t—’

      But I didn’t want to hear it. I was way past trying to make any kind of peace with him. I wanted to hurt him, like he’d hurt me. Repeatedly. For years. But the words wouldn’t come. I couldn’t think of a single thing to say that would penetrate that thick hide of his so, in the absence of a better idea, I pulled back my arm and slapped him hard across the face.

      The violent sound of it rang around the small room, but somehow still failed to penetrate my rational consciousness. I seemed to be in some sort of incensed rage that incrementally had been building for years, so I simply swung my arm back again and attempted to repeat what I’d just done.

      This time he was too quick for me and managed to grab my wrist before my hand made contact with his cheek again. He gripped me tightly, staring into my eyes and shaking his head in silent warning. But I wasn’t having it. I wasn’t going to let him subdue me. So I raised my free arm and swung that towards the other side of his face.

      He seemed to be anticipating this, though, and managed to grab hold of that one as well then twist us round and pin me against the window, holding both of my wrists in his large hands, effectively confining my wrath.

      ‘Stop!’ he ordered me as anger and something that looked suspiciously like desire flashed in his eyes.

      We were both breathing hard now, the sound of it loud and raw in the otherwise silent room.

      I should have felt scared and defenceless, alone with him and physically overpowered like this.

      But I wasn’t afraid. In fact, I felt weirdly jubilant.

      I had the strangest urge to push him as far as I could, just to see what he’d do. I wanted to force him to act, force him to the very edge of his comfort zone, and perhaps even past it. To make him feel as off-balance as I did right then. I was determined not to be the only one fighting to stay in control.

      ‘What are you gonna do now, huh?’ I growled at him. ‘Now you have me trapped here, half-naked and vulnerable.’

      I stared into those striking eyes of his, hyper-aware of my bare breasts rising and falling only centimetres away from his own exposed chest. My nipples were rock-hard and felt super-sensitised and I was intensely conscious that it wasn’t just the cold breeze that was responsible.

      Something flickered in his eyes and they appeared to grow darker as his pupils dilated.

      It suddenly felt as if we were on the cusp of something—something new and dangerous.

      And my whole body ached for it.

      But to my frustration he loosened his grip on my wrists and backed away from me, his handsome face drawn into a deep scowl but his eyes still betraying a heated longing.

      A moment of pure, sweet wistfulness hit me as a memory flitted through my mind of how he used to look at me with the same kind of unadulterated need.

      We’d had a wild time together what felt like a lifetime ago now, experimenting with all kinds of crazy stuff—mostly power-play and some BDSM—which I’d loved at the time but had never wanted to do with a partner since. It reminded me too much of the time I’d spent with him—a happier, simpler, more naïve time, and one I’d been determined to forget. I’d needed to be emotionally rock-solid for my family’s sake since breaking up with him so I’d boxed up those desires and never peeked at them again.

      Until now.

      But to my raging disappointment he just shook his head and said, ‘I’m not going to do anything. I have zero interest in continuing this pathetic exchange, because I have zero interest in you. I don’t waste my time with cold-hearted bitches. Not any more.’

      The words stung like a thousand paper cuts and the red mist of anger swelled in me again.

      How dared he act as if this meant nothing to him? As if I meant nothing. Because I knew I did. He wouldn’t have acted this way towards me if he really didn’t feel anything.

      Without conscious thought, I strode forward and braced both hands against his shoulders, using the surprise of my attack to catch him off-balance so I was able to push him against the nearest wall.

      He let out a grunt of surprise as I pressed myself into him, jamming my pelvis up against his, jubilant to discover that his cock was as hard as I’d imagined it would be.

      ‘It doesn’t feel like you’re not interested in me,’ I goaded.

      He let out a huff of a laugh and, before I could СКАЧАТЬ