Bought for His Bed. Kate Hardy

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СКАЧАТЬ said in a brittle voice, ‘I don’t think I can quite manage soulful. Would languishing do?’

      Amusement deepened his voice. ‘No, too Victorian. You’re not the languishing or soulful sort anyway. Perhaps we should just try talking to each other like sensible beings. Have you enjoyed the evening so far?’

      Sensible? How could she mimic being sensible, when a divine recklessness was smashing through her inhibitions and barriers as though they were matchwood?

      So she found him hugely attractive. According to the magazines, lots of other women did, too. Why should she be any different?

      And accepting that she was just one of many didn’t mean she had to surrender to this tantalising expectancy. She had little enough experience, but she wasn’t stupid; women as well as men could desire without wanting any sort of relationship. She’d only known Luke for a few days—far too early to form any sort of attachment.

      Wrap this fierce, uncontrollable response up as prettily as you might—call it desire, fascination, need—but it was only packaging, the longing for closeness and commitment just another manifestation of hormones.

      She could cope with it.

      Chapter Eight

      ‘I’M ENJOYING the evening very much,’ Fleur said sedately. ‘I think it’s a great way to raise money for charity. Everyone seems to be having a wonderful time.’

      Luke’s arm flexed as they swung around in an elegant pivot that brought her even closer to him. Another feverish shiver drove every thought from her head.

      ‘I don’t think sensible is the right word to use for us at the moment,’ he said thoughtfully, as though they were discussing some matter of politics.

      The hand in the small of her back moved a few inches lower, holding her against him so that she felt every movement of his big, lean body.

      Still with that considering inflection, he went on, ‘Stimulated might be the right word, or perhaps aware—extremely aware. Your hand’s trembling.’

      Fleur swallowed to ease her dry throat and looked at the hand on his upper arm. It was clenching, and the muscles beneath were like iron.

      She forced her fingers straight on the white sleeve of his jacket and said thinly, ‘I’m scared.’

      ‘What of?’ This time his voice was cold and sure and very formidable. ‘You’re completely safe, Fleur.’

      ‘From—this?’

      He didn’t pretend not to know what she was talking about. ‘Yes,’ he said crisply. ‘I don’t go in for casual affairs and I despise people who do. I’m attracted to you, but you’ve made it quite obvious that although you feel the same way you don’t want to act on it. That’s fine.’

      She should have been relieved instead of feeling let down. Collecting her thoughts, she said, ‘I didn’t think you were going to leap on me or anything, but…’

      ‘You wondered,’ he supplied when she dried up, her tongue tangling with the words as she realised where her thoughts were tending. ‘You don’t strike me as being very experienced. Or could it be that you’ve had some bad experiences?’

      ‘No,’ she said uneasily. Apart from the usual high school crushes, she’d had no experience at all.

      She closed her mouth with a determination that came close to a snap. Until instinct leaped into the breach and warned her that such frankness might be dangerous, she’d been about to admit that she’d never felt like this before. She went on clumsily, ‘I do trust you.’

      ‘I’m glad. Trust me further, and rest your head on my chest,’ he said, and when she obeyed, he lowered his head so that his breath fanned across her skin. ‘Nobody can see what we’re talking about, and it looks good.’

      Fleur almost cringed. Here she was, afire with dangerous, forbidden need, yet he was so controlled he could talk about how they appeared to onlookers.

      She caught the flash of a bulb. ‘I didn’t realise there’d be photographers here.’

      ‘Some people like being in magazines,’ he said aloofly, his tone revealing he wasn’t one of them.

      Surprised, she watched a woman working the crowd while Luke said, ‘She has strict instructions. No shots of anyone dancing, and permission has to be given first. And the magazine is donating a hefty sum to the charity.’

      ‘So everyone wins. From your tone, I gather you didn’t want them here.’

      ‘They leave a nasty taste in my mouth. I’ve been stung too many times by magazines that use innuendo and gossip to sell copies. Apparently people actually believe what they print,’ he said, each word edged with contempt. ‘If I’d bedded as many women as I’ve been linked with I’d be dead of exhaustion by now. Apart from anything else, I’m too busy.’

      ‘So you won’t be selling the rights to your wedding to one of them,’ she said.

      ‘Believe it. When I get married it will be here, where I can control the exposure.’ He paused, then said, ‘And when I decide to marry I want what my parents have—a good marriage based on complete trust.’

      ‘You’re lucky,’ she said bleakly, trying to ignore the surge of pleasure building deep inside her, insidious as a fire smouldering beneath the earth. ‘My parents taught me that marriages fall apart and that children can be used as weapons.’

      Luke lifted his head and looked down at her bright crown of hair. Her dossier had been brief; she’d led a blameless, rather constricted life after her parents had divorced. Money had been scarce as her father had skipped to Australia to avoid paying support. The bitter parting was probably the reason she’d had no relationships in her year at university. Looking after her invalid mother meant that she’d had no time for any since then.

      Was she a virgin?

      A pang of fierce desire tightened his body. Hell, he thought disgustedly, he was turning into a satyr. He’d always steered clear of innocents, preferring lovers who were satisfied with what they were getting—fidelity as long as the relationship lasted, generosity and good sex. Most of them were still friends.

      ‘That’s tough,’ he said quietly. ‘Divorce is bad enough, but kids need to know they mean more to their parents than convenient weapons.’

      ‘I’m over it now. Tell me, who is Janna? I asked before, but you managed to avoid answering.’

      Luke thought of the message he’d been handed as they left the house. ‘She’s an old friend,’ he said, ‘who happens to have hair the same colour as yours, only hers isn’t natural.’

      She looked at him with raised brows and a hint of mockery that gave her green eyes a swift, inviting feline quality. ‘What makes you think mine is?’

      ‘The fact that you blush so easily.’ Sure enough, her magnificent cheekbones heated under his amused scrutiny.

      ‘You know it’s the bane of my life,’ she said ruefully. ‘Were you expecting her to visit you? Is that why the man took me to your house СКАЧАТЬ