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Jake's face darkened thunderously, and his grip on her arm tightened till she cried out in pain. Abruptly he dropped his hand, but his black eyes burned like living coals. Never had she seen such rage.
'Don't ever swear at me again... or you will pay for that and every other insult you have offered me a hundred times over.' The sibilant softness of his voice was more deadly than anger. 'Sit down.' He indicated a chair and moved fluidly to resume his seat at the head of the table. 'First, I do not own the company.'
Katy's eyes widened. 'But...then what was all the liquidation business?' she burst out. She had been so smug, so self-satisfied with her new job that she had ignored all the warning signs her father had been giving out over the last few weeks. She cringed at her own stupidity. She had moved into her new apartment, and had never even questioned why only half a dozen of the others were occupied.
'Secondly.. .1 do have the majority vote,' Jake continued, ignoring her interruption. 'I own thirty-five per cent—I bought John's shares. As the company accountant he is well aware of the dire state of the firm, and with retirement looming he was more than happy to sell.'
'In that case,' Katy interrupted triumphantly, 'my thirty per cent and father's...' She stopped as Jake's eyes rested almost pityingly on her flushed cheeks.
'Your father owns eighteen per cent. No more. The other seventeen per cent went to Monica in the divorce settlement, and I hold her proxy.' His dark eyes narrowed intently on her flushed face. 'Now are you ready to listen?' he asked mockingly, not bothering to disguise the triumph in his eyes.
At the mention of her ex-stepmother all the angry indignation deserted Katy. Monica! Somehow it came as no surprise to find that woman involved in the mess at Meldenton.
'When did you buy John's shares?' she asked.
'Six weeks ago.'
After the fiasco in the hotel bedroom. It did not surprise her—she had guessed as much: he was out for vengeance. For the first time in Katy's life she really sympathised with her father; he hadn't a chance against such opponents. There was nothing more to be said, and, rising to her feet, she prepared to leave with what little pride she had left.
She searched Jake's harshly set features. 'Listen! I don't see the point.' She returned to his earlier demand. 'I know you can afford to lose what little the shares are now apparently worth without a second thought. So I am forced to conclude it suits you to put the firm in the hands of the receivers. I accept your decision.'
Pride held her head high, but inside she was shaking, and to think this man had twice proposed marriage to her, she thought bitterly. 'You,' she almost added 'and Monica', but stopped herself in time, 'have planned this well,' she accused coldly. 'I trust you're satisfied.'
'Satisfied? No, but I hope to be.' Cold black eyes glittered with a calculating, sinister light. 'I could with the right encouragement be persuaded to advance the money needed to keep the firm afloat.' There was no mistaking Jake's meaning. A flick of his lashes sent his gaze skimming over her assessingly. 'I have a proposal for you.'
The blood drained from her face; she was trembling, her hatred for the man almost choking her. She swallowed hard, and her green eyes flashed at him. 'A proposal from you.. .I would rather die than marry you,' she vowed, and, turning, she picked up her briefcase, intent on getting out of the room.
For a long moment there was complete silence, then Jake's mocking laughter rang in her ears. What the hell was so funny? She could find nothing amusing in the situation at all. In fact she was on the verge of tears, and if she did not get away from his hateful presence soon she would lose what little self-control she had left.
'You flatter yourself, Katy; I have no desire to marry you. If I marry it will be some young innocent female, not a shop-worn model,' he drawled silkily as his hand closed firmly over her shoulder and spun her round to face him. 'The proposal I had in mind was a way to save the factory and the china clay part of the business in Cornwall. I know you will not want the responsibility of putting so many people out of work.'
Fury at his insult and embarrassment turned her face scarlet. What on earth had made her automatically think he wanted to marry her? Dear heaven, she groaned inwardly, she had forgotten about the employees in her agitation with Jake. Forcing her turbulent thoughts into some kind of order, she tilted her head back and looked at him sharply. At five feet nine she was no midget, but Jake towered over her like some dark avenging angel.
Unease stirred inside her; an inexplicable dread. There was no trace of the laughing companion of her youth in his austere features—she could not read this man at all. But she owed it to the people who worked at Meldenton to hear what he had to say. 'All right, I will listen to your plan,' she acquiesced, swallowing her anger.
'It's quite simple. I will personally purchase the two apartment buildings from the company. This would solve the cash-flow problem, and Meldenton China would operate as it always has.'
Confused, she surveyed him. 'And that's it...'
One dark brow arched sardonically, a ruthless smile curving his sensuous mouth. 'Not quite. I said earlier I had no desire to marry you. But I do desire you, Katy...
In return for saving the firm and your father's good name, you will become my mistress.'
She stared at him, her strained features reflecting her shocked horror. He could not be serious. Her lips parted. 'That is blackmail...' she whispered.
'Call it what you will, Katy, but that's the deal,' Jake responded hardily, not in the least fazed by her condemnation. 'Take it or leave it.' And, withdrawing a card from his inside jacket pocket, he pressed it into her numb hand. 'My address; any time after six this evening I will be available. At nine tomorrow morning I will call the receivers' office. You have until then to make your decision.'
It was unthinkable. Jake meant to use her, humiliate her, so why was she standing like an idiot, listening to him? Her eyes searched his face, looking for some sign, some indication that it was just a terrible joke, but she could see nothing in his expression but ruthless determination.
She shrank back from him, her body frozen with shock and, though she hated to admit it, fear. Fear of herself, because for one brief moment the thought of sharing Jake's bed, his magnificent body, had stirred an unwanted response inside her. 'Why?' she protested thickly as his hands moved around her waist, drawing her towards him.
'Because you're here, available, and you owe me...'
His dark head bent and his mouth moved over hers with determined expertise. His hands slid down her back to cup her buttocks and pull her hard against his thighs. A shocked gasp escaped her and she trembled as the evidence of his masculine arousal pressed against her flat stomach. His mouth quickly grasped the advantage as his tongue thrust savagely between her parted lips, demanding she accept and abandon herself to the sweet torture of his touch.
Desire and disgust fought inside her; a surging tide of excitement swept through her love-starved body. She must not let him know how easily he could reduce her to the wanton he had so often called her, she told herself, but it was a hopeless task. Her body, with a will of its own, pressed against his hard frame; her full lips softened and clung to his. As he held her with one hand his other hand slid inside her jacket, stroking her full breast through the fine silk of her blouse.
'Oops! Sorry.'
