He believed she had played a game with Colin, that she had enjoyed it. She almost laughed. It had been as much fun as having a tooth pulled without benefit of anaesthetic. For Colin she had acted her socks off, in ways Kerr would never imagine. But she had sworn never again, and kept to it. When her marriage had ended, she had adopted a celibate lifestyle without any regret. She had dated since, but no man had ever tempted her to break her own rules, or come close to making her think she could trust them or put her happiness in their hands. But Kerr was different. He had the power to tempt her, pure and simple. In that lay the greatest danger of all, because if he knew it the man he was now would use that knowledge against her.
It became imperative to lay down the ground rules. ‘I’ll do only what I have to do to convince Fliss, but no more. Whatever you think of me, Kerr, I don’t sleep around, and I don’t intend to break that rule just for you,’ she told him flatly.
‘Although I doubt if I’d have much trouble changing your mind, you should wait until you’re asked. As it happens, I have some rules of my own, and I’m choosy about who shares my bed,’ he retorted pithily.
It wasn’t very complimentary, but she was relieved none the less. ‘Just make sure it stays that way.’
‘Or you’ll what? Don’t start ordering me about, darling, because that’s the safest way of getting me to prove my point,’ Kerr informed her bluntly.
She shivered but refused to cower. ‘If you’ve finished throwing your weight around, we should go before they come looking for us.’
‘Keep sticking your chin out that way, and you’re bound to get it clipped,’ Kerr remarked curtly. Slipping an arm around her waist as they descended the steps to the lawn, he immediately felt her tense and try to pull away. ‘If you’re going to do that every time I touch you, we might as well give up right now!’ he hissed close to her ear.
Maxi shot him a baleful look. ‘If you wanted an actress, you’ve picked the wrong woman!’ she snapped back.
‘Stop pretending to be a shrinking violet. With your track record it’s hardly believable,’ he jeered in a violent undertone.
That was one goad too many, and with scarcely a moment’s hesitation, she brought her heel down hard on his instep, and gained grim satisfaction from hearing his grunt of pain. ‘If you don’t stop insulting me, Kerr, I’ll aim for an even more vulnerable spot!’
In reply he unleashed a broadside which left her grinding her teeth silently, because they were approaching the house, giving her no time to respond. ‘Try it, and you’ll be flat on your back in a second. Or is that what you’re hoping for?’
Stopping just on the edge of the area the house illuminated, he urged her to face him, slipping his other arm around her. ‘We have an audience, and, if I’m not mistaken, our young lovebirds are part of it. Let’s not disappoint them.’
Navy eyes glittered angrily. Her hands came up to his chest, halting his descending head. ‘My God, but you’re enjoying this, aren’t you?’ she seethed, and instantly felt his arms tighten about her.
‘You’re damn right! Now kiss me, Maxi,’ he ordered mockingly, then took her lips with a mastery that was designed to shock and thrill, and did both with devastating effect. There was no time to think as, with explicit sensuality, his tongue explored her mouth, instantly arousing a need to meet and match it. His grunt of triumph told her that she had, and with a despairing sense of inevitability she pressed closer, losing herself in a kiss that tortured her senses, creating a need that no one kiss could satisfy.
That first kiss became two, and suddenly they were clinging, swaying as if in a strong breeze as their bodies strained closer. Kerr’s hand came up to fix in her hair, holding her so that he could ravage her senses at will, and for one delirious moment the world went spinning off its axis. Then, just as abruptly, it was over. The alchemy of his lips was removed. Oh, God, Maxi groaned silently, gripping his shoulders because her legs trembled so. It was worse than she had expected.
‘“You have witchcraft in your lips”,’ he quoted huskily, and with a jolt she recognised the words from the love scene in Henry V. She couldn’t help but look up, only to find his eyes filled with a blatant mockery. Hurt more than it had seemed possible to be, she glanced down, and above her head Kerr gave a slow laugh.
‘That should certainly give them something to think about.’
Maxi struggled to free herself of the morass of her senses. Calling herself a fool for allowing herself to be drawn in so neatly, she knew it was desperately important to sound as cool as he did. ‘I’m so glad I came up to expectation,’ she managed to drawl, and found herself staring into gleaming grey eyes.
‘Oh, you did more than that and you know it,’ he responded drily. ‘You certainly know how to make a man want you, don’t you, Maxi? I hope you’re not thinking of playing your tricks with me.’
His words cooled the fever in her blood. ‘I wouldn’t dream of it. I value my sanity too much! Don’t you dare blame me for your libido. If you want a woman, go and find one—don’t look at me!’
He released her instantly, but his eyes sent a warning that made her shiver. ‘Don’t say another word, if you value more than just your sanity!’
His response was a surprise revelation, and she knew she must have hit him on the raw because he would never have given even that little away under other circumstances. So, she hadn’t imagined that compulsion when he kissed her, although he had tried quite cleverly to hide it. Having scored a surprise hit, Maxi found a perverse pleasure in slipping her hand through his arm, urging him forward. ‘Poor Kerr, you didn’t count on being turned on yourself, did you? But never mind, it will just make it all so much more believable!’ If anything could give her pleasure, then it was knowing that they found themselves in the same boat. He didn’t like being attracted any more than she did.
‘Put a curb on that tongue of yours, darling,’ he advised, caustically. ‘You don’t want the kind of trouble I could bring you. Now, if you could just manage to look as if the kiss didn’t leave you with a bad taste in your mouth, we’re laughing.’
She dredged up one of her famous smiles, pleased that at least one of her darts had found a mark. It gave her something to aim for. ‘I’ll do my best, but you aren’t the easiest person to think pleasant thoughts of,’ she enlarged with a world-weary sigh.
Having reached the doorway to the room where the dancing had continued unabated, Kerr turned to gaze down at her. His smile was tender, but his grey eyes chilled her. ‘Then think of something that does, darling. I don’t care if it’s ice-cream. Let’s dance. It will keep my hands busy, and well away from your throat!’ he hissed out of the corner of his mouth.
Maxi let out a gurgling laugh of real amusement, allowing him to lead her into the mêlée and hold her close. There were chinks in his armour that she couldn’t resist probing, even though she knew it was wiser to keep him at a distance. ‘I just love it when you say those sexy things to me!’ she teased dangerously, then gasped as his teeth came down sharply on her earlobe.
‘Cat!’
‘Rat!’ she snapped back, and experienced a delicious shiver as he laughed huskily.
‘Sheathe your claws, darling, before I declaw you.’
That brought back memories which dulled her eyes just as if someone had flicked a switch. ‘You’re too late, that was done a long time ago,’ she stated leadenly, and instantly regretted the admission when he eased away enough to look down at her.
‘Somebody else not like the way you play your games, Maxi?’ he taunted softly.
‘Actually he was a games master himself, par excellence.’
Two expressive eyebrows rose. ‘The biter bit? Now there’s a novelty. I’d like to meet the man.’
She shook her head emphatically. ‘Take it from me, you wouldn’t.’ Colin, she had discovered to her cost, had had a capacity for evil with untapped depths.
‘Afraid I might pick up some tips?’
Recovering her poise, she let her eyes dri
ft away over his shoulder. ‘You’re doing fine by yourself. You don’t need any help,’ she replied drily, then through the mass of moving bodies she caught sight of a familiar one, and caught her breath. ‘We’re being watched.’
Kerr’s response was to draw her close again. ‘It has to be Fliss, Andy’s over by the door. How does she look?’
Carefully Maxi took another look. ‘Shocked.’
‘Well, at least she hasn’t run away in tears! How much do you bet she now decides to give me a few well chosen words of wisdom?’ Kerr drawled in amusement.
Unseen, Maxi grinned. There spoke the voice of experience. ‘I don’t bet,’ she said crushingly, not wanting to find any more reasons to like him.
‘You surprise me, I would have thought gambling was just your cup of tea. However, I’ll tell you what we’ll do. We’ll have lunch together tomorrow, and if I’m right you’ll pay,’ he proposed easily.
Maxi tensed again. ‘Lunch? Do we have to?’
‘You surely didn’t think one kiss and a dance would suffice?’ Kerr challenged scornfully, and she winced.
She could hope, couldn’t she? ‘I suppose that means dinner, too?’
The music changed to a faster beat, and she didn’t protest when Kerr led her from the floor and into the other room where the buffet had been set up. ‘Now you’re getting the picture. You could look on it as your engagement gift to Fliss—giving her back her peace of mind.’ Slowly he began to fill two plates.
But at the cost of her own, Maxi thought despairingly. She had always known this visit wasn’t going to be easy, but not just how complicated it could turn out to be. ‘I thought of getting her a vase,’ she said whimsically.
He looked down at her with a grin. ‘Believe me, this will be much more appreciated. Not thinking of chickening out, are you?’ Handing her a plate piled with food, he took a forkful from his own and held it to her lips. ‘Here, try this.’
‘Thanks, but I’ve been feeding myself since I was two years old,’ she refused sarcastically.
Kerr didn’t lower the fork. ‘Clever girl, but this is much more romantic. I thought you would have known that, or have your encounters with men been too...involved to encompass food?’
What she wouldn’t give to be able to slap him! Instead, eyes flashing fire, she parted her lips and accepted the offering. Only Kerr heard the snap of her teeth on the fork.
Something flared at the back of his eyes. ‘I think I’ve just avoided losing an arm. Or was it my throat you were imagining those pearly teeth closing on?’
‘Now, what do you think?’ she asked sweetly, keeping the smile pinned to her face. For a moment she concentrated on eating, although she wasn’t really hungry. ‘I suppose you’ve thought of how we’re to get ourselves out of this once Fliss has been convinced?’
‘The simplest thing would be to let them think the affair has died a natural death. It shouldn’t be hard, with me here and you in London,’ Kerr outlined sensibly. ‘Or would your ego demand that you break it off?’
Maxi drew in an angry breath. If he kept making cracks like that, she’d be driven to doing something drastic. ‘Fortunately my ego isn’t so fragile. But I’ll give you the same opportunity, if you like.’
He declined her offer with a shake of his head. ‘I’ll pass.’
Maxi shot him a mocking look. ‘Playing the gentleman.’
‘I was raised to be one,’ Kerr acknowledged.
‘I don’t think it was very gentlemanly to kiss a woman as a punishment,’ she rejoined swiftly, only to see him smile.
‘Does that still smart?’
Damn, it was so aggravating to find him so attractive when he laughed. It undermined her resolve not to let him get to her. ‘An apology would be nice. But I suppose that would be asking too much?’
‘You suppose correctly,’ Kerr said smoothly.
‘Then you’re no gentleman at all,’ she replied scornfully.
‘There are times when it doesn’t pay to be. On the other hand, if you were honest, you’d admit a woman doesn’t always want a man to be a gentleman,’ he added suggestively, shooting her a curious look. ‘Or do you expect your lover to say “please” when he’s in your bed, rather than just please you?’
It was an idle question, and he had no way of knowing what a hornet’s nest he had stirred up inside her. If by lover he meant someone you went to bed with, then it should be singular, but if he meant someone who took you to bed and gave you pleasure, then she hadn’t even had one. Glancing down, she found she had a death grip on her fork, and hastily set it and the plate aside.
‘Well,’ she managed to say with admirable calmness, ‘that’s something you’re never likely to find out!’
Grey eyes gleamed. ‘Is that a challenge? If so, I ought to warn you, I very rarely ignore them.’
‘There are exceptions to every rule. I’d advise you to make me one.’
‘Now you’re making me curious,’ he declared.
‘Curiosity killed the cat.’
‘So they say, but perhaps what he found out beforehand made the end worthwhile. It’s a tempting thought. After all, I’d be lying if I didn’t admit I found the thought of making love to you arousing. You’re beautiful, the kind of woman men fantasise about, and I’m only human,’ he confessed in a voice carefully lowered to reach only her ears.
‘I can think of a more accurate description, and, that being the case, you can keep your fantasies to yourself,’ she strictured disdainfully, and might have guessed it would only draw forth yet another mocking reply.
‘Not even the slightest bit curious, Maxi? Hasn’t it crossed your mind just once to wonder what it would have been like to make love with me?’
Her eyes flashed navy sparks of derision. ‘Not once! Not even a passing thought! Not even that much!’ She clicked her fingers under his nose. Lord, his ego needed pricking badly. Not that she had lied. To think of what might have been in the midst of a painful reality was a road leading to madness.
His brow creased. ‘Now, do I believe you or not? Somehow it just doesn’t have the ring of truth. All those years, and not even a momentary speculation.’
She could take a lot, her marriage had proved that, but there were limits. It didn’t matter that he didn’t know he was probing a wound that still went deep. When she was hurting, her instinct was to hurt back. ‘All right, I’ll tell you. Yes, I thought about it, and then I dismissed it. I dismissed it because you were nothing to me and never could be, and there were plenty of fish in the sea. Like you, I’m human, and that means I make mistakes. You were one. But I’ve made it a policy never to make the same mistakes again.’
When she came to a breathless halt, she realised she had succeeded beyond her wildest dreams. He wasn’t just angry, he was coldly furious.
‘Never?’ he taunted chillingly. ‘You know, I’m beginning to think it might just be worth breaking my own rules to prove you wrong,’ he declared tautly. Taking her hand in a painfully tight grip, he drew it through his arms. ‘Let’s circulate. We’ve monopolised each other for just about as long as I can stand.’
Thoughts in a chaotic turmoil, she allowed him to lead her away. Nobody would know that behind her bright smile she was asking herself what on earth she had just done.
CHAPTER SIX
NEXT morning Maxi came awake with a groan. Something had stirred her but she couldn’t say what. Coming up on her elbow, she swept her hair out of her eyes and stared blearily at the clock. Blinking, she did a double-take, not believing it had said six-thirty the first time. Collapsing back on the pillows with a heartfelt groan, she jack-knifed into a sitting position when a voice spoke next to her ear.
‘A cup of tea will wake you up, but personally I think the bleary look will be a better effect.’
Jaw down by her ankles, Maxi stared dumbfounded at Kerr, who sat propped up against her headboard, dressed in a knee-length robe and, she had no doubt, nothing else, carefully preserving a cup of tea from spilling. Unaware o
f just how alluring she looked in a nightdress which had slipped from one shoulder, and with her hair rumpled, she scrambled from the bed, chest rising and falling rapidly in mounting anger.
‘What the hell do you think you’re doing?’
Eyes aglow as he inspected her charms, Kerr raised a hand. ‘Shush! Keep your voice down. There’s no need to cry rape. I’m merely adding verisimilitude to the idea that you and I are a hot number,’ he explained, crossing his legs and revealing altogether too much thigh.
Maxi instantly felt her stomach lurch in response, and hastily averted her eyes from the sexy picture he made, even if he did need a shave. It was hard to concentrate when the sight of him made her insides melt, and the words spluttered out.
‘I don’t care what you’re doing, you aren’t doing it here! Get out!’ A slightly trembling finger pointed to the door. ‘I mean it, Kerr, get out, right now!’ she ordered, then got caught on the end of a dazzling grey gaze.
‘Make me,’ he challenged softly, setting his cup aside and crossing his arms, waiting.
If he thought she wouldn’t, he was much mistaken. She was angry enough to toss him across the room. With the growl of a fighting tigress, she rounded the bed in less than a second and caught his arm, tugging for all she was worth. Just for a moment she thought she was succeeding, but only because Kerr was moving too. Swinging his legs off the bed, he used her momentary imbalance to jerk her forward, twisting her neatly on to the bed and rolling over to pin her there.
It had happened so fast that she hadn’t been able to resist, but even as her heart skipped a beat she was opening her lips to scream. All that emitted was a strangled moan as his lips came down on hers, plundering her mouth with a sensuality which sent her senses swimming dizzily. The hands she had locked in his hair to thrust him away, clung on instead as her body played her traitor. Her nightdress had risen, and she could feel the pleasurable roughness of his thigh between hers. With a silent groan she fought the longing to rub herself against him, and was almost at the point of losing that battle too when he suddenly pushed himself away from her and sat up.
An Old Enchantment (Harlequin Treasury 1990's) Page 8
