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‘You threw me out without a second thought,’ she said. ‘And now it suits your purpose you want me back.’
‘I don’t want you back,’ he said through gritted teeth.
‘But you still made me come here with you,’ Kerry said. ‘And you’re deliberately messing with my head—acting like a devoted lover and trying to seduce me.’
‘You understood the situation when you came here,’ he said. ‘So don’t act surprised by the way I’ve treated you in public. And in private you want me just as much as you ever did.’
Kerry bit her lip and stared at Theo, feeling lost and utterly humiliated.
He was right. She did still want him. Despite everything, she did still want him.
‘I never meant anything to you,’ she said, hearing her voice crack with emotion. ‘You’ve never even had the slightest respect for me.’
‘Respect?’ he repeated incredulously. ‘After everything, how can you even mention respect?’
It was the confirmation she’d been dreading—proof that she’d never meant anything to him at all. That was why it had been so easy for him to discard her when she did something foolish.
She felt her heart breaking all over again. Tears pricked her eyes, but she blinked them away, refusing to let him see her cry. He didn’t respect her—but she had to show some respect for herself.
‘Get away from me,’ she said. ‘I don’t want to be in the same room as you.’
‘I’m not leaving,’ he said. ‘I’m not asking our host for separate rooms. That would defeat the point of you being here.’
‘Then I will,’ Kerry said. She turned and stepped quickly towards the door.
Theo moved like lightning. In an instant he had circled the bed, and caught up with her just as she reached for the door handle.
His fingers closed like a vice around her wrist and he flipped her round, pinning her to the wall.
‘Don’t do something you’ll regret.’ His voice was deep and rough, as if he was only just holding his temper in check, and she could feel the tension in his muscular frame as he pushed up against her.
‘It’s too late for that,’ she whispered miserably. ‘I should never have come here with you in the first place.’
He pressed her back to wall with one hard thigh thrust between her legs and stared straight into her eyes. His gaze held her trapped as securely as the strength in his large, powerful body, and she could feel the angry energy emanating from him.
Then he released her with such abruptness that she stumbled forward into the room.
She was still finding her balance when she realised he had gone. He’d moved so quickly and shut the door so silently that it was almost as if he’d simply vanished.
She staggered over to the bed, breathing in jerky, painful gasps. Her eyes were swimming with tears, but she wouldn’t let them fall. She would not let them fall. She could not let him win any more.
But she knew it wasn’t over. No matter how many times she cried, or how hard she tried to hide the
pain, it would never be over—because she was the mother of his son.
The following morning Kerry woke to the sound of the shower running in the en suite bathroom—Theo must have come back, but she had no idea when. It had taken her hours to fall asleep, but he hadn’t disturbed her when he came into the room.
She frowned, wondering when he’d returned—and if he’d slept elsewhere and just come back to shower, or if he’d slipped into the bed during the night while she was sleeping.
She got up quickly, collected some fresh clothes from her case and sat at the table flicking through a magazine, intending to dash straight into the bathroom as soon as he appeared. After their argument she was not looking forward to the day, and she wanted to be washed and dressed before she had to talk to him again. She had the feeling he was going to make her pay for not meekly complying with his wishes the night before.
A minute later she heard the door to the bathroom open.
‘Good morning.’ Theo’s voice seemed deeper than usual, and for a second Kerry wondered how much sleep he’d had—not much, if his gruff tone was anything to go by. But most importantly she realised his tone was neutral—he didn’t sound angry any more. A ripple of relief ran through her and she turned to reply.
‘Good morn…’ She faltered, staring at him standing in the doorway—naked apart from a small white towel wrapped around his hips—and all coherent thought flew out of her head.
He looked absolutely magnificent, and she could not drag her eyes off him. His skin was still glistening with water droplets and his wet hair was sexily dishevelled, as if he’d just roughly towel-dried it.
