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‘Why?’ he demanded.
‘Why what?’
‘Don’t play dumb with me, Miss Linton. Why won’t you marry me?’
‘What does it matter? I simply won’t! The reasons are of no importance!’
‘Oh yes, they are! A no is just a problem to be solved. Tell me!’
His command slammed down on me with all the cold force of his voice - the powerful voice of a man who knew how to make men obey.
Well…how fortunate for me that I wasn’t a man, then.
‘No!’
He took another step closer. His eyes roamed my face, searching for clues with perfect attention to detail.
‘You’re afraid.’
Crap!
‘No, I’m not!’
Another step closer. He had almost reached me when suddenly he veered sideways and began to circle me. I felt like a shipment of prized goods being evaluated for purchase, or a company analysed before the big takeover. Well…maybe, to him, I was.
‘What are you afraid of, Miss Linton?’ his whisper came from behind me, cool and in control of everything. In spite of this, no, because of it, it was the most seductive thing I’d ever heard. ‘Just tell me. Problems exist to be solved. Let me solve yours. Marry me.’
‘Marriage is the problem!’ I snapped. ‘I will never marry!’
‘So…’ He appeared in front of me again, his dark eyes glittering with knowledge. Knowledge is Power is Time is Money. His words echoed in my mind as I stared up at him, unable to break his gaze. ‘It’s not marriage to me you object to. It’s marriage on principle.’
Bloody hell, he was quick! Why did I have to fall in love with someone who wasn’t just too smart for his own good, but mine as well?
Hard hands slammed into the chaise longue on either side of me, caging me in. Leaning down, Rikkard Ambrose brought his perfect, chiselled face within a few inches of mine.
‘Marry. Me.’
‘No!’ Quickly, I ducked under his arm and jumped to my feet. Taking a few hasty steps backward, I threw my arms into the air. ‘Why would you want to marry me, anyway?’
His eyes narrowed infinitesimally. ‘Humility? From you?’
‘Ha! You wish!’ My eyes narrowed as well. And not just a bit. ‘I know that I’m fantabulous. I’m just not sure why you would agree. Knowledge is Power is Time is Money, remember? A marriage with me won’t bring you power or money, that’s for sure. And I’ll probably take up lots of your time, particularly at night!’
‘Miss Linton!’
‘That leaves knowledge.’ I took a step forward, one corner of my mouth curving up. ‘Is that it? Would you like to know me, Sir? In every sense of the word?’
The only warning I got was a growl an instant before he pounced on me. His fingers buried themselves in my hair and pulled me helplessly towards him. His mouth hit mine in an explosion of a kiss. A hard kiss. A dominant kiss. It proved every word I’d thought and spoken. And still…I couldn’t stop. We kissed and kissed and kissed until the world was sparkling with imaginary stars and the blood was burning in my veins.
When we finally broke apart, my knees felt weak and I had to cling on to him to remain upright.
‘Why?’ I demanded. ‘Why me?’
His face was a mask of stone and ice. How could he look as cool and composed after a kiss like this?
Easily. By being Rikkard Ambrose.
‘Why?’ I repeated in a whisper.
