Web of Deception

by Blake, Nina

  She handed back the brandy glass, their fingers overlapping. The warmth of his touch made her feel suddenly anxious. She pulled her hands away.

  “There’s not much left,” she said.

  “That’s okay. I wasn’t very thirsty.”

  Daniel knocked back the remaining brandy and turned to slide the glass onto the desk, his jacket brushing against the bare skin of her arm as he did so. A sensual shiver shot up her spine.

  This shouldn’t be happening. A man she’d only just met shouldn’t make her feel this way.

  She felt like a nervous teenager. How had that happened? She was thirty years old, after all. She should get a grip on herself.

  “It’s an amazing piece,” she said, looking up at the Klee.

  “You didn’t come here for the painting.”

  Her gaze remained riveted to the artwork. “Believe me, I wouldn’t turn down the chance at a private viewing like this.”

  “There’s more to it than that.”

  She knew where this was headed and turned to face him. “And how do you know why I’m here? Can you read my mind?”

  “You’re here for the same reason I am.”

  “What’s that?”

  “There’s something between us. I can feel it.”

  Kate shook her head. “That’s ridiculous. We’ve only just met.”

  “It makes no difference at all.”

  “It makes all the difference in the world. I can’t have those sorts of feelings for someone I just met, someone I don’t know.”

  He nudged a little closer to her and lowered his voice so she had to give him her full attention to hear him.

  “I’m talking about your feelings,” he said. “They don’t always make sense. Feelings aren’t logical.”

  She crossed her arms. “I hope you’re not going to try to tell me about love at first sight.”

  Daniel’s lips curled to a sly smile. “It’s not ‘love’ I’m talking about.”

  “Good, then we agree on something, at least.”

  “Some people might call it lust but I think physical attraction is so much more complex than that. It’s not easy to describe these feelings, this chemistry.”

  Kate opened her mouth to speak but the words wouldn’t come out. She felt something yet this wasn’t the way it was meant to be.

  You couldn’t build a successful relationship based on values as shallow as chemistry. Pheromones and hormones and attraction, these were all things people used as an excuse to jump into bed with someone. That wasn’t the way Kate lived her life. She knew what she wanted and wasn’t interested in a quick romp around.

  “You can say it as many times as you like,” she said. “That doesn’t make it true.”

  “Then why don’t you leave right now? The door’s not locked. You can simply go, and prove to me you don’t feel anything.”

  She sure as heck wasn’t leaving just because he told her to. She leaned back against the desk and settled in for the duration, sliding her hands along on the desk’s smooth mahogany surface.

  “What? And leave half way through a good argument? No, we haven’t finished.”

  Daniel grinned. “So you’ve never had a relationship based on instant attraction?”

  “Absolutely not.”

  She was acting more indignant than she should. She often responded that way when she thought she was being backed into a corner. Sometimes she simply couldn’t help herself.

  “You’re an attractive woman, Kate,” he said. “You must have had lots of relationships. What have they been based on?”

  “Lots of things.” Darn it, she had to think quickly. “Mutual respect, companionship, common interests. There’s plenty to base a relationship on other than this thing you can’t even describe.”

  He was still grinning as he turned to face her, leaning against the desk with one hip. “And love? I assume you believe in love. Most women do. What do you base that on?”

  “The same kinds of things. You can’t base a deep, meaningful relationship on chemistry. It would never work.”

  “Wouldn’t it?”

  “Love doesn’t happen overnight. It’s something you have to work at. You start with the seed of a relationship and nurture it, help it grow. You work at it together.”

  He slid along the desk and leaned closer. She smelled the hint of alcohol on his breath. It cut through the air and went straight to her head.

  “That might be true for some people,” he said, “but I think you’re underestimating yourself. Sometimes there’s a deep, physical attraction between two people, a spark. It’s instant and it’s there.”

  Damn it, an hour ago she would have told him outright he was wrong but she couldn’t say that now. Not when she suddenly knew exactly what he was talking about.

  She didn’t just know it.

  She felt it.

  “It’s no excuse,” she said feebly.

  “No excuse for what?”

  “Even if people sometimes have those feelings, it doesn’t mean they should act on them. What kind of way is that to live your life? On a whim?”

  He laughed. “Don’t tell me you don’t trust your own instincts.”

  “There’s nothing wrong with my instincts. I’m just saying some decisions should be made with the mind, rather than on impulse.”

  “Sometimes your feelings and intuition are more reliable than your mind.”

  He was wrong. He had to be.

  There was no sharper instrument than the human mind, especially not when emotions could be so fallible. They could lead you astray, let you fall for the wrong man. She’d done that before and promised herself it wouldn’t happen again.

  She held his gaze. “Daniel, you’re a very rich, very successful man.” He shrugged in response as though it was nothing to him. “Don’t tell me you got where you are today by using your feelings over your mind. Surely in running a huge business, you must balance up the facts and figures and make your decisions based on that.”

  “Often, yes.” He nodded. “But you might be surprised how many decisions are based on my gut reaction.”

  “That’s not how you run your business.”

  “I’ll tell you one thing. It’s been a rocky road to where I am now and not every decision I’ve made has brought in big dividends.”

  “So your instincts are wrong sometimes?”

  He shook his head. “I’ve learned a lot along the way. And my gut is never wrong. Never.”

  He might be a slave to his instincts and feelings, but she wasn’t going to be a victim to hers.

  So what if the bare skin on her arms was tingling with anticipation and the little hairs on the back of her neck were standing on end? That didn’t mean she had to give in to it. Her mind ruled her body, not the other way round.

  Hearing the door unlatch, Kate turned her head. As soon as the door opened, the sounds from the party rushed inside. She felt momentarily confused seeing a familiar figure in the doorway. It must have been the noise. It disturbed her.

  Her mouth fell open. “Mark?”

  It was a question not a greeting.

  “Oh, I was after Daniel,” he replied. A look of surprise washed across his face, then he said to Daniel, “There was little proposal I wanted to run by you, but obviously this isn’t a good time.”

  “Another time, mate,” Daniel replied.

  “I might get another drink. This is a party, after all.” Mark nodded at them in turn. “Catch you later. Daniel. Kate.”

  He closed the door behind him, blocking out the noise of the party.

  Kate couldn’t believe it. Mark had done nothing. No jealousy, no reaction, just a hint of surprise.

  What kind of boyfriend was he? What kind of man?

  He trusted her. Mark knew she wouldn’t do anything to be ashamed of. Kate wasn’t going to take this little interlude with Daniel any further. In fact, she was just about to call a halt to it.

  Still, she could’ve done with a little support. She and Mark
had been on shaky ground lately and this was one of the things they’d talked about. So often he seemed to ignore her.

  Besides, surely finding her alone in a room with a man should’ve been all the more reason for him to hang around. Clearly, he didn’t care enough even to pretend to be outraged.

  Perhaps now the room was quiet again, she’d be able to concentrate. It had thrown her, seeing him like that.

  Daniel gazed at her and Kate felt something stirring deep inside. Just a wisp of sensation but unmistakably sexual.

  She had to stop this. It shouldn’t be happening.

  He traced the back of his hand up the bare skin of her arm with a touch that was barely there. It was deliberately slow, purposely delicious. He knew exactly what he was doing, knew how to make her senses tingle.

  Sliding his fingertips along the curve of her neck, his hand came to rest at her jaw as he cupped her face in one hand. And though she knew what was going to follow, still she couldn’t move.

  Tilting his head towards hers, Daniel leaned in closer and she could smell the hint of after-shave, just a tiny tempting whiff, mixed with his natural manly smell. It made her want to breathe deeper, lean closer, take in more of that intoxicating scent.

  She couldn’t let herself.

  Still facing him, she stepped away from the desk. Away from him.

  “You can’t,” she protested.

  “Why not?”

  “Someone else got in first. I’m engaged.”

  Chapter Two

  Engaged to be married? Kate?

  Daniel stayed where he was, leaning against the desk, and shook his head. There was no way he was going to believe she was engaged. Not for a moment. He didn’t even need to think about it.

  “Kate,” he said calmly. “You are not engaged.”

  She held his gaze. “Yes, I am.”

  Daniel looked into her thoughtful pale eyes, the irises ringed in dark grey, her eyes lined with thick, lush lashes. She wasn’t lying, not intentionally.

  Something wasn’t right. He just couldn’t quite put his finger on what.

  “You don’t act like any engaged woman I’ve ever met,” he said.

  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “I’ve got four sisters, all married. I’ve experienced all four weddings at close range, much closer than I ever wanted, and there’s one thing I know for sure. Women love weddings.”

  “And?”

  “A woman who is engaged to be married, all she can think about is bridesmaids and flowers and everything else that goes along with it. And that goes for pretty much any female I can think of.”

  She shrugged. “That might be right.”

  “And you, Kate, do not act that way at all.”

  “I’m not any woman.”

  “Oh, I can see that. I don’t need any convincing on that account.”

  She raised her eyebrows. “Really?”

  If there was one thing Daniel knew, it was women. He’d been surrounded by them all his life. After his father left, he’d been a companion to his mother, spent time with her, listened to her. Daniel had grown up with his mother and had learned a lot from the experience. And though his sisters were all much older and had their own lives, they’d always been around too.

  Still, in some ways he was a lot like his father. Perhaps too much like him. Roger Webb had always wanted a family but not the ‘wife’ that came along with it and Daniel was the same.

  He’d grown up with a strong sense of family and wanted children of his own one day but simply couldn’t see himself hitched to one woman for the rest of his life. Or even for a number of years.

  “I can tell you’re different from other women,” he said. “I’ve certainly never been in a situation like this with any woman.”

  Kate shook her head. “There is no ‘situation’. So what if I’m alone in a room with you? It doesn’t mean anything. It’s not like I need a chaperone. Or would you like to go back to the 1950s?”

  “I wasn’t suggesting there was anything wrong with us being alone in a room together. In fact, I quite like it.”

  She was still standing by the desk, holding her ground. She wasn’t going to give an inch.

  Daniel took it all in. God, she looked so damn cute, staring defiantly, her expression so serious and composed. Right from the start, she’d given as good as she got, refusing to let herself get pushed around.

  None of the women he knew were like this. They were always too ready to agree with everything he said yet, at the same time, they tried to manipulate him in some way. All of them wanted something, whether it was gifts or money or prestige or even sex.

  Kate wasn’t playing the game the way other women did. She wasn’t flirting with him or flaunting herself. There was no cleavage thrust in his face, no suggestive smiles, no little compliments, none of those little signs.

  That only made him want her more.

  And he always got what he wanted.

  “I don’t know why you should find it so hard to believe I’m engaged,” Kate said.

  “Very simple really.” He reached down for her hand, enveloping it between his. Her hand was so petite, the flesh so warm and as he held her gaze, her lips parted in surprise.

  “No ring,” he said.

  He’d guessed there was no engagement ring and he was right.

  Still holding her hand, he lifted it higher and turned it over to kiss the soft flesh of her palm. She closed her eyes for a moment, clearly enjoying the sensation, only to open them again as though she’d suddenly realised what was happening. When she pulled back her hand, he let it go.

  “You’re impossible.” Her exclamation made him smile. So, he’d riled her, touched a sore spot, perhaps.

  “I’m going out onto the balcony for some air.” She opened the sliding door, then glanced back. “Then I’m leaving.”

  Daniel followed her outside to find her looking out onto the harbour. The main balcony had the superior view but this one looked towards the Sydney Heads and it was a good view on a clear evening like this one.

  Kate’s arms were stretched across the railing, her back to him. Though it was unseasonally warm for winter, she wasn’t dressed for the cool outdoors.

  Seeing goose bumps on her fine skin, he didn’t ask. He simply took off his jacket and dropped it across her shoulders. He waited a moment to see if she’d object, then moved beside her, making sure to keep what she would consider a safe distance between them. He was playing by her rules for the time being.

  “You don’t need a ring to be engaged,” she said, still staring ahead at the water.

  “Well, that tells me one of two things. Either you’re in a relationship so strong and secure that you don’t need any outward signs to prove your affections to anyone else.”

  “That’s it exactly.”

  “Or it’s not much of a relationship at all.”

  She turned to glare at him. “You’ve got a nerve.”

  “Then tell me,” he said, “what kind of man wouldn’t bother to give you an engagement ring? To stake his claim. To stop another man from making a move on you.”

  “You’re on the wrong track completely. My fiancé trusts me. Perhaps that’s something you don’t know about.”

  “It can be dangerous to be too trusting,” he said.

  “Don’t forget, I’m in charge here. Not you. Not my fiancé. It’s all up to me.”

  Daniel slid along the balcony, inching closer to her. “It still doesn’t explain your relationship with this…this fiancé. It doesn’t explain why there’s no passion for him.”

  “That shows you’re no expert. I love him very much.”

  “I love my sisters too.” He added with a shrug, “It doesn’t mean I want to marry them.”

  “Don’t be ridiculous. This passion, this ‘chemistry’ you keep talking about, it doesn’t last. It’s not something to build a future upon. Passion fades. Love grows.”

  Daniel thought she looked pleased with her pronouncement bu
t she clearly wasn’t a woman in love, no matter what she might say.

  She turned her head and looked across the harbour. She was ignoring him, perhaps trying to let her point sink in. It gave him more time to look at her. A gentle breeze blew the hair back from her face, allowing him better to admire the curve of her neck and the delicate line of her profile.

  If she looked enticing now, he couldn’t help but wonder what she would look like naked in his arms. How would she look with her hair falling across a pillow, her eyes burning for him, her parted lips whispering his name?

  One thing was for sure. He was going to find out.

  Lust. That’s what this was. It was nothing new. He’d felt it before.

  The words he’d spoken when he first laid eyes on her reverberated in his head. Married? Him? How had he ever come out with that one?

  No, he wouldn’t mistake this for something more than it was. He knew better than to complicate his life and, when he cut it down to its most basic level, it was quite simple, really.

  He wanted her.

  And he would have her.

  * * *

  Daniel Webb might not care she had a boyfriend, that she was engaged. He might even find it amusing. It didn’t seem to make any difference to him at all.

  But it did to Kate.

  It made a hell of a difference.

  All this talk about passion and chemistry. That didn’t make it right, didn’t make it a good idea. In fact, it was a sure-fire way to screw up her whole life.

  “So tell me,” Daniel said. “Who is this elusive fiancé? Is he someone I know?”

  The problem was that Mark wasn’t exactly her fiancé but they were practically engaged. Surely that was good enough.

  Getting married was something she and Mark had talked about. Although now that she thought of it, he’d only mentioned it on two occasions, both times when she’d expressed doubts about their relationship and suggested breaking up.

  He loved her. It didn’t matter that they’d had a few problems lately. Or that he’d never actually told her he loved her. He said his feelings were too deep and complex to put into such simple language. It still came down to the same thing. He talked about building a life together. Marriage was part of that.