If You Deceive - Cole Kresley. Страница 31

He ran his hand over his face. "Then at least stay here. What happens if you get caught by those henchmen? They'll take you straight to their boss."

"Inever get caught." That wasn't true. She had been caught several times, but no one had ever made it to the police station with her in tow.

When she opened the door, he quickly rose, and his hand shot to her elbow. "Going out into the night again? That is out of the question." He seemed alarmed at the idea of her escaping him. "Damn it, Madeleine, would it be so terrible to have a man take care of you? To protect you?"

Protect?She swallowed, the image of the ladies in the boulangerie flashing in her mind. Had the dream ever been this close…?

"I'm no' leaving Paris without you, lass." Softening his tone, he said, "You're going to be mine—I doona know what I have to do to effect that, but it must be so."

Maddy knew men. They could feign love and affection easily, yet jealousy, when absent, was hard to conjure. She'd noted the look of rage on MacCarrick's face when the man had asked if he was done with her. She'd seen how swiftly he'd pulled his gun.

He was possessive already.So why am I so afraid of this? She could establish parameters to protect herself, limit her vulnerabilities.

De mal en pire. From bad to worse. Was she afraid to take this chance because she didn't trust him—or because La Marais had already beaten her?

Never.Fortune favors the bold.

And that's when she knew she was going to go along with this. "I will consider your proposal."

He exhaled and schooled his features, but she'd seen he was relieved—very much so.

"But I have some conditions…."

Chapter Twenty

"The hell we're no' having sex till we're married!"

"I'm in earnest, Scot. I won't make the same mistake twice."

He'd just been fighting an overpowering sense of relief that she was staying when she'd thrown these ridiculous conditions in his face. "I will no' question you about your past, and, aye, I'll be faithful to you. Fine, I agree to those conditions. As for your wanting to start a family right away—then, aye, God willing," he baldly lied. "I'll certainly do my part to contribute. But the fourth condition is unacceptable. I've a man's needs, and they will no' simply disappear during our engagement—"

She strode for the door. Why had he ever assumed this would be easy?

"Those are my terms," she said without looking back. "I think I'm being very generous."

"So am I. The ring you're walking away with will keep you in apples for many a year."

She turned to him. "I don't evenlike you."

"Yet I have it on good authority that you did once."

Her lips thinned, and he wagered she was silently vowing to kill her friends. "Worse, you don't even like me."

He didn't bother denying it. He was feeling a lot of things about her, buta liking for her was not one of them. "You're negotiating with me as if you have a leg to stand on. Where does a girl like you get the ballocks to risk losing a man with money and power who's willing to marry her? You've been ruined, remember? Most wealthy men would only accept a virgin. Since I relieved you of yours, this is your good fortune that I'm still interested."

"I know that I'm not negotiating from a position of power—but I don't trust you. Ifiercely don't trust you."

"Do you want this condition for leverage or because you fear me getting a bairn on you before marriage?"

"Both," she readily admitted.

Seeing that she would hold firm on this for now, he said, "Fine. I'll agree that we'll wait—if you vow to slake me in other ways, whenever I want it." When she frowned at him, he said, "I doona care how I'm satisfied—just that I am."

"You're only saying that because you think you can seduce me to do more."

That was precisely what he'd planned. He didn't like how she continued to anticipate his moves.

"It won't happen because I have no interest in you that way," she added.

"You'll learn to want me again."

"You're amazing! If your behavior didn't kill any spark of desire for you, then your true appearance did."

He narrowed his eyes, stalking toward her. When he'd backed her against the wall, he reached his hand out to cup her nape. "You canna deny you enjoyed my kiss," he said as he slowly drew her into his chest.

Her breaths shallowed. "B-because I believed you were different then."

"Do you ever think about what happened in the carriage before I took you?"

When her cheeks grew flushed, he had his answer.

"I do," he admitted. "I think about it. Constantly." He knew he needed to use a measured seduction to get what he wanted. Though it took will, he moved his hand from gripping her neck to cradling her face. "And I remember that you liked the way I kissed you and stroked you."

She gazed at his lips, with her brows drawn as if she was thinking of it just then.

He leaned down and murmured at her ear, "You were so close to coming for me."

She gasped, shivering against him.

Nuzzling her neck down past her choker, he said, "Why do you think you will no' enjoy it again?" Their ragged breaths were the only sounds in the room. "I'm going to kiss you now, and if you doona respond, then I'll leave and never bother you again. If you do…then you're mine."

"I'm not going to agree to that…"She swallowed. "Agree to your ridiculous"—he drew in closer—"little test." Her hands were balled against his chest. "Silly, really…"

He slowly slanted his mouth over hers, but she tensed, pushing against him. He didn't release her, just continued to tease her lips with his tongue. After long moments, her fists relaxed, and she rested her palms against him.

At last, her lips parted for him, letting him taste her as he'd wanted to for weeks. She brushed her hands up from his chest, twining her fingers at his neck, pressing her body against him so sweetly.

When he deepened the contact, she gave a whimper, then began kissing him back, filling him with a sense of triumph. Maybe she didn't find him repulsive. Why would she feign this? Her lapping tongue made his blood race, made him want to reach down and cup her arse to grind her against him. He'd been prepared to seduce, to cajole, to pleasure her. But he hadn't been prepared to lose himself from a mere kiss—again.

She tugged on his neck, rubbing against his front, and he groaned. How could she render him so crazed so swiftly? He was already nearing the edge of his control, fighting the nearly irresistible urge to toss her to the bed and mindlessly cover her.

With a will he hadn't known he possessed, he forced himself to release her. After struggling to collect his thoughts and to catch his breath, he rasped, "It does no' have to be bad, Madeleine. I'll teach you to trust me again, and we can bring each other pleasure."

She looked stunned, guarded, almost worse than before, so he tried to make his tone light. "Though I think after a couple of days, you'll find it easier just to lie back and receive me."

"Why? Is it difficult to please you? It didn't seem that much so in the carriage."

He clenched his jaw and forced himself to even his tone. "No' necessarily. It's just that you'll be doing it three or four times a day."

"With a man of your advanced years?"

Advanced years? By God, Iamgoing to throttle her. "Let's just say that I've got a lot to make up for. And it begins tonight."

"I haven't agreed, MacCarrick."

"You will. But before you do, I reserve the right to try to seduce you completely."

After a long hesitation, she said, "I'll agree,if you'll get me my own room tonight. As for the other, I guaranteenothing ."

"Why would I get you a room? As of this minute, we're engaged." Ach, that sounded unnatural.