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‘Verity was the one who did the “going off”, as you term it. Philip was already a successful businessman while I was still struggling, and no doubt Verity thought him the better proposition. As it turned out she was wrong, but it taught me a lesson I’ve never forgotten. You might remember that if you are tempted to cheat on me, Genista.’
‘I wouldn’t dream of it.’ She said it tauntingly, but it was true. The more she came to learn about this man, the more she wondered at her own blind folly in provoking him in the first place. One look at him was all it took to realise the steel will cloaked by the sensual body, but for some reason she had been completely unaware of the danger lurking in the depths of the cold grey eyes the first time they met. Her mind had been on other things, of course; the takeover of the company, but that did not totally excuse her. It was too late to regret her shortsightedness now, she reminded herself bitterly.
The old coaching inn was just as charming as she remembered. Built on four sides of what had once been the coachyard, into which the mail coaches had once driven, the yard had been turned into a delightful enclosed patio, overlooked by the ancient timbered walls of the inn itself.
A smiling receptionist greeted them, and under her professional greet, Genista saw the flicker of interest in her blue eyes as they lingered on Luke’s tautly male features.
‘Mr Ferguson. Of course, you booked the suite, didn’t you? I’ll have someone take up your cases. There’s still time for dinner in the main restaurant if you wish, or if you prefer it we could arrange for you to dine in your suite?’
‘In our suite, I think,’ Luke said decisively. ‘We’ve had a long drive up from the south, and we both feel like relaxing.’
‘I’ll show you to your suite and have a menu sent up to you straight away,’ she promised, with far more enthusiasm than the small task warranted, or so it seemed to Genista. Had she walked into the hotel alone she was quite positive that she wouldn’t have merited the same dewy-eyed service.
Their suite of rooms consisted of a delightful sitting room with a beamed ceiling and windows overlooking the courtyard, furnished with charming reproduction antiques; flowers arranged in the empty hearth, plus a large bedroom, dominated by a massive carved fourposter, with a luxurious bathroom off it.
A porter arrived with their luggage while the receptionist was still showing Luke the bedroom, and Genista hung back on the pretext of examining the furniture. She was interested to discover if it had been made by their client, or so she told herself, trying to find excuses for her reluctance to follow Luke into the bedroom. The sight of the huge old-fashioned bed had sent fresh fear crawling through her stomach. When a waiter arrived with a menu she gestured to him to leave it on the coffee table, convinced that she wouldn’t be able to touch a morsel of food.
The receptionist left, closing the door behind her. Luke had ordered a meal for both of them, while Genista stood woodenly by the window, trying to control her rising tide of panic. The moment the door closed, like a cell door on a condemned pri
soner, her control snapped. She flew to the door, tearing at it in a frenzy, dry sobs rasping her throat.
‘Stop it! I’ve already told you—no hysterics. You won’t get round me that way, Genista. I know all about you, remember? A few crocodile tears aren’t going to make me change my mind. I’ve paid dearly for your favours; the highest price a man can pay—I’ve bought you with my name, and I don’t intend to be cheated.’
‘You can’t do this!’
Her despairing cry was smothered against his chest as he plucked her from the door, hauling her against him so that her body was forced to endure the knowledge of his unashamed arousal.
‘I want you, Genista, and I mean to have you.’
‘Then you’ll have to take me by force,’ she told him fiercely, ‘because I don’t want you, and I never shall.’
‘You think not?’
His knowing smile made her feel faintly sick, her face paling as she realised that there was no way she was going to be able to persuade him to change his mind. For one mad moment she contemplated throwing herself from the window, but this notion was swiftly dispelled. Even had she wanted to, the windows were far too small. Luke was reaching for the phone.
‘What are you doing?’
‘Cancelling dinner,’ he said smoothly. ‘I’ve suddenly realised I have other appetites that need satisfying first. Come here, Genista,’ he commanded softly as she started to back away from him. ‘There’s no need for any games, we both know what it’s all about.’
You might do, she wanted to scream, but I don’t, but pride held her silent.
She hadn’t realised that he was very skilfully backing her towards the open bedroom door, until she felt behind her for the wall and found instead only space. She turned wildly staring at the huge canopied bed.
‘Please don’t do this, Luke,’ she begged passionately. ‘Please let me go.’
‘It’s too late, Genista.’ His eyes and mouth were hard—nearly as hard as the fingers gripping her shoulders. ‘It was too late from the moment I walked into Greg Hardiman’s flat and saw you. If you’ve any sense you’ll meet me half way, but you haven’t, have you, so we’ll have to do it the hard way. I want you, and nothing is going to stop me taking you—nothing!’
CHAPTER FIVE
HE meant it, Genista realised moments later, half dazed with fear, as Luke lifted her off her feet and carried her through into the bedroom. Her jacket slid off her shoulder as he deposited her on the bed, revealing the pearly skin beneath. He had discarded his jacket and as he followed her on to the bed, the breadth of his shoulders encased in the thin white silk made her catch her breath. In terrified fascination she watched him loosen his tie, wrenching open the top buttons of his shirt, his expression wry as her eyes flickered nervously from the tanned column of his throat to his face.
‘You should be doing this,’ he told her grimly. ‘There’s something very erotic about being undressed by one’s lover.’
‘And you’ve had lots of practice.’ Genista had intended the words to sound disdainful, but instead they were merely breathlessly hesitant. Her stomach was knotted with tension. She wanted to jump off the bed and run to the door—anywhere to get away from the man lounging beside her, his head propped up on one hand as he surveyed the rise and fall of her breasts as her breathing became increasingly agitated—but she could not bear the humiliation of being carried to the bed a second time. Trying to convince herself that the ordeal ahead was just like a particularly nasty dose of medicine, she reasoned that it would be less unpleasant to get it over with as soon as possible rather than to delay. She had come a long way from the girl who had thought that she would find some way of persuading Luke to wait, she acknowledged wryly, glancing up at the man lying beside her. He ran his hand along her arm, his fingers spreading possessively over her midriff, causing her heart to thump erratically with panic. She could feel the heat of his flesh against her own even though the flimsy silk separated them. Her heart seemed to be lodged somewhere in her throat and she was beginning to feel dizzy with the effort of appearing calm and uncaring.
‘You’re an excellent actress,’ Luke drawled smoothly, lifting his hand to push the silky curtain of her hair behind her ears. ‘Looking at you, I could almost believe this is your first time with a man, but we both know that isn’t true, don’t we, Genista?’
She was beyond words; beyond anything but the suffocating fear that gripped her as he lowered his head slowly, his eyes fastening on the soft trembling of her mouth.
