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Appalled by what her unruly tongue had trapped her in, Christy blazed furiously, 'What could I be jealous of? The fact that she goes to bed with you? I was the one who turned down that opportunity—remember?'
He was across the room in half a dozen strides, gripping her arms in a hurtful furious strength.
'My God, you just don't know when to stop, do you?' he breathed thickly.
She struggled against him, fear and desire mingling in almost equal quantities, but her struggles seemed only to incite the fires she could see blazing in the depths of his eyes.
'Stop it, Christy!' He shook her almost as though she weighed no more than a rag doll, and in an agony of bitterness, she raised her hand to claw desperately at his face. He jerked his head out of the way just in time, and then Christy heard him swear and saw the dark fury in his face.
It was too late to protest or plead for mercy, and time seemed to stand still in a preternatural silence as he slowly lowered his head towards her. She could hear the fiery crackle of the logs, and the agonised sound of her own breathing. A tortured moan was smothered in her throat as she felt the savagely harsh pressure of his mouth against her own.
There was nothing sensual or arousing about the way he kissed her ; he was punishing her, deriding her, but in spite of everything she could feel the sudden upsurge of passion flooding through her, as though her body had starved so long for his touch that it was ready even to respond to this… this parody of passionate need.
She could feel the edge of his teeth against her mouth, and felt herself shiver in physical response as he used them without compunction to part the swollen softness of her lips. When his tongue thrust possessively into her mouth, she felt the molten heat slide through her veins.
Against her body she could feel the rapid, uneven thud of Dominic's heart. Somehow her arms had locked round his neck, holding him against her. His tongue touched her lips, tracing their swollen curves. She felt the shiver that ran through him, hardly recognising the husky, raw note of pain in his voice as he muttered against her mouth, 'God, Christy… what is it you do to me?'
His mouth touched hers again, gently this time as though he wanted to caress away her pain. She could easily have pulled away from him, but she didn't, abandoning herself instead to the heady tide of pleasure that swept her away from reality as his mouth lingered on hers.
'Christy…'
She shivered responsively to the note of need deepening the way he said her name. She could feel the heat of his hands where they held her, and beneath the bodice of her gown her breasts ached to be caressed.
His mouth was no longer punishing as it moved on hers, all anger and contempt expunged by the need that seemed to engulf them both. Without him saying it she could sense his desire, feel it in the way his hands stroked over her back, moulding her against him. She clung to him in the firelight, giving herself up completely into fate's hands, wanting him too much to fight any longer.
'Christy, you've no idea what you do to me. I've wanted you for so long.'
The muttered words shivered across her skin, her head falling back against his shoulder as his mouth explored the soft column of her throat. Tiny spears of delight shafted through her, her body so responsive to his touch that he made a sound of muttered frustration against her skin.
'Let me make love to you, Christy. Let me show you how much I want you.' His hands reached for the fastenings at the back of her dress, his body tensing as she stepped gently away from him.
She couldn't stop herself from blushing softly as she saw him looking at her. A dark flush of passion stained his cheekbones, his eyes feverishly alight as he reached for her.
'Let me unfasten it,' she said softly. 'The catches…'
She had stepped into a pool of light cast by the fire, and suddenly his expression darkened. Fear, and remembrance of that earlier rejection, held her immobile, her lips trembling as she asked huskily, 'What is it, Dominic, what's wrong?'
'It's that damned dress…'
She stared at him, ridiculously hurt. 'What's wrong with it?'
'He bought it for you,' Dominic told her savagely. 'That's what's wrong with it.' He moved towards her, his face contorting paganly as he reached for the front of her gown, and with one savage wrench ripped the bodice open.
Too shocked to correct him Christy could only stare down at the destruction he had wrought.
'Dominic!'
'Take it off, for God's sake,' he demanded thickly. 'I can't bear seeing you in it, Christy… I can't bear knowing…' He made a raw, thick sound in his throat and reached for her again, dragging the expensive fabric away from her body, until it fell in a pool at her feet.
For what seemed like a long time she was too stunned to move. The firelight played softly on the creamy contours of her breasts, but she was barely aware of the look in Dominic's eyes as his gaze absorbed their rounded perfection crowned with the pouting provocation of her erect nipples.
'Christy… My God… you're so beautiful. More beautiful than I could ever have imagined.' He moved to her then, lifting her away from the desecration of her gown. 'To think I once refused all this.' He closed his eyes and she saw him swallow painfully, that tiny vulnerable movement in his throat cutting through her shock.
'Do you still hate me for that?' His fingers seemed to shake slightly as they caressed her throat and moved up to tilt her face so that she was forced to look at him.
Hate him? She stared into the brilliance of his eyes, and moistened her dry lips with the tip of her tongue. His eyes followed the movement intently, heat shooting through her as he pulled her hard against him and she felt the surge of his desire against her body. His hands slid down to her hips, urging her closer to him. His eyes closed so that his dark lashes lay vulnerably against the tautness of his skin as he bent his head and kissed her with a fierce and totally overwhelming passion.
She had no thought of holding back, of even trying to stop him. Her body surrendered eagerly to his touch, her breasts crushed against his chest.
