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‘Better a jackal than a little, helpless puppy! At least jackals hunt for themselves! Women are too weak to do anything alone!’
My fist slammed into his chest with no effect whatsoever. Catching my other hand before it could hit him he forced it upwards, until I was practically dangling from my upstretched arm.
‘Let go!’ My free arm slammed my hand into his chest again.
‘Make me let go, if you’re so strong!’ Catching my other hand in his iron grip, he pulled it upwards, too, joining my wrists so both of my hands were pinned against the wall by just one of his. ‘What are you waiting for?’
‘You bastard!’ I writhed and pulled, but my arms wouldn’t budge. All
I managed to do was to press myself more tightly up against the hard barrier of his body, which didn’t really feel like a bad thing, but didn’t increase my desire to escape, either. Blast him! He was the greatest son of a bachelor south of the North Pole! Why couldn’t I feel properly revolted and disgusted? Why did it feel so good to be held by him, even when I was trying to punch him?
‘There, you see? You’re the best proof!’ His voice gripped me just as hard as his hands. It was the voice of someone used to command and being obeyed. ‘Look at yourself! Look at the things you’ve achieved during your employ: getting drunk right before a fight, letting the file slip through your hands, humiliating me in front of all of London—’
‘None of that was my fault! It just happened! Let go of me!’
‘And as if that weren’t enough,’ he whispered, his cold voice sliding over me like iron fetters, ‘you’re so helpless, so weak that I have to rescue you from that infernal ship. I swam ashore alone, with my own two legs and feet. You? You had to be pulled out of the water like a drowning little puppy!’
‘Let go, I said!’ My knee jerked, trying to ram into him, find some vulnerable spot - but he was pressed too tightly against me. And, curse me, a part of me didn’t want to fight! A part of me wanted him closer, harder, even now!
‘Look at yourself right now.’ The power in his voice made me want to bite him, strike him in rage - it also made me want to dissolve right into his arms, damn him! ‘I need just one hand to hold you. You’re weak and defenceless. Admit it.’
‘No!’
‘Resign your position as my secretary.’
‘No!’
‘You don’t have the stomach for it, the strength, the tenacity. Resign, or you’ll get hurt, sooner or later!’
‘No!’
‘That is an order!’
‘I said no! I won’t! You gave your word to keep me, and I will hold you to it, blast you!’
His free arm came up so quick I didn’t even see it. A strong, hard hand gripped my chin and turned my head, forcing me to look into the bottomless depths of his eyes.
‘Respect, Mr Linton. Show respect.’
‘Very well - blast you, Sir!’ I glared at him with fire in my eyes. If I couldn’t get my hands free, I would burn him to ashes with the pure force of my gaze, melt that ice of his with the firestorm roaring inside me! ‘So, finally I know. That’s how you feel about me! That’s why you saved my life! Because you think I’m weak!’
His left little finger twitched. Apart from that, he showed no emotion. ‘Yes. That’s it.’
‘Well, do you know why I looked for you after the ship went down? Why I was hoping you would survive?’
‘No.’
‘Because I bloody well want my first pay cheque, that’s why! If you croak, I won’t get a penny!’
His eyes narrowed infinitesimally. ‘Is that so, Mr Linton?’
Proudly, I raised my chin. ‘Yes, it is!’
And it was true. Absolutely. Never mind the way in which his dark stare sent my heart hammering. Never mind how his hard body, pressed up so tightly against me, made me want to be closer still, to grab him, pull him down and…
Well, never mind all of that. Money! I was interested only in the money!
Tightening his grip on my wrists, he leaned closer until his forehead was almost touching mine. Bloody hell, his forehead wasn’t the only thing too close! His eyes were two giant pools of sea-deep darkness, right in front of my face, and his mouth was so near I could feel his breath on my cheek.
