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"I don't believe you."
Megan stared at the man who had just touched her so intimately. The face, the body, even the voice was familiar. But she didn't know him. She couldn't. Her Justin would believe her, while this dangerous stranger simply stared at her with empty eyes.
"You can't mean that," she whispered, too numb to feel anything but shock and surprise. This wasn't true. It couldn't be happening. Not after what they'd just shared.
"Dammit, Megan, don't look so stunned. Did you think I was blind?"
"I—" She didn't know what to say.
He shook his head in disgust. "When I first came back here, you were terrified to be seen with me. You were worried about your precious reputation more than anything."
She winced. "That's not fair. I explained about my father and what he did."
"Yes, you did." He leaned close to her and brushed his finger against her cheek. "I'm sorry about what happened with your mother. I understand how it must have hurt and frightened you. But that was a long time ago. You're not that little girl anymore. I think you're using what happened then to excuse your fear now. You wouldn't risk anyone's knowing we had once been engaged, because you were afraid of what people would think. Now that I'm acceptable, it's all right to be seen with me, even to be married to me."
"I came to your hotel room, Justin. I purposely destroyed my reputation. Don't you dare tell me I care anymore what other people think."
He dropped his gaze to the rumpled bed. For the first time, she became aware of their nakedness. She wanted to pull the sheet over her, but was afraid of what he would say to that. She shook her head slightly so that her hair covered her breasts and tried not to think about the rest of her body being exposed.
"You reacted out of anger and frustration," he said quietly. "Your unconventional behavior had nothing to do with how you cared about me. If anything, you used my feelings against me. You knew I couldn't resist you."
Now it was her turn to look away. Shame crawled over her, leaving her skin hot and tight. He was right. She'd never thought that Justin would turn her away if she went to him. She hadn't planned on staying long enough for them to become intimate, but she had expected him to go along with her plan. Even when they'd spent the night together and jk
she'd been frightened about what she'd done, she trusted Justin to protect her. And he had. He'd married her.
"You must hate me," she whispered, fingering the edge of the sheet and pleating the white linen between her fingers.
"No, never that. But I do know you. At the first sign of trouble, you'll turn away again."
"I won't." She looked up at him. "I swear, I won't. I've changed. I've grown up. I'm not that frightened young woman you knew seven years ago. I've had time to think about things."
"It's not different. Seven years ago, you claimed to love me and look what happened."
"Don't compare me now to who I was then. I've already admitted I was very young and afraid of what people would say. This is different."
"No, it's not."
He rose to his feet and towered over her. He seemed not to notice his nakedness, but she was aware of his body that had so recently joined with hers. How could they have shared such intimate passion and now be arguing? How could he do those things to her, make her feel so exquisite and then not trust her?
"I don't believe you," he said. "Just this evening, you said how pleased you were that the town had accepted me."
"I was happy for you, " she said, staring up at him. "Not for myself. I want you to be happy here, with Landing and with me. You're deliberately twisting what I said. Why would I lie about loving you? Why would I pretend?"
"Because it amuses you to control me. You've always enjoyed the power you've had over me."
The unfairness of his accusations left her speechless. She stared at him and knew there was no way to reach him this light. Perhaps not ever.
She studied his face, his expressionless eyes and the dark iair that drifted to his eyebrows. She looked at his broad shoulders and the chest she'd caressed just a few minutes xfore. How could he have done that with her, all the while Junking of her as so shallow and cruel? She swallowed and asted bitterness and defeat.
