her an innocent look, but his tone held a hint of savage male. ‘After all, isn’t this what you expect of me, Bethany? Aren’t I just the complete bastard? Taking what I want left, right and centre, without a thought for anyone else?’
‘I’m...I’m not Theo!’ She tried to drag her coat back over her shoulders, but met the resistance of Chad’s long tanned fingers at her shoulders, was aware as their hands touched of the by now familiar lurch in the pit of her stomach. Bethany took a breath and averted her gaze from the attractive mouth that seemed to be only inches away from her own. ‘She...she might have been more than happy at being brought here and seduced by you, but if you think——!’
‘Me? Think?’ His voice held a sarcastic edge. ‘Are you sure that that’s possible? After all, I am a man. All I’m capable of is using and abusing, isn’t that what you’ve concluded? Well?’ he demanded grimly, fixing her with a cold, metallic gaze. ‘That’s your opinion, isn’t it, Bethany? We’re all after one thing and one thing alone.’
‘Stop it!’ Bethany moistened her lips. She didn’t need this. She didn’t want Chad this close, delving into her thoughts and her hang-ups. So she didn’t have a very good opinion of men. Could anyone blame her for that after living with Philip for so many months? She risked a glance at Chad’s face. This man did, evidently. ‘Will...will you please let me up?’ Bethany whispered shakily. ‘You’re right. This afternoon...’ She hesitated, desperate to form the words coherently, desperate that he should believe the truth. ‘I’m...I’m not like that... What I mean is...what happened...what nearly happened ...I’m not the sort of girl who...who——’
‘But downstairs you were so keen to reject the innocent little girl image,’ Chad cut in bluntly. ‘What am I to believe, Bethany? How come you give off so many conflicting signals?’
She frowned, conscious of his body, strong and full of male vibrancy so close to hers. ‘Do...do I?’
‘You really aren’t aware of it?’ Chad watched her for a long moment, his eyes studying the trembling features with impassive, cold eyes. Then he took a deep breath and the grim line of his mouth softened slightly. ‘You’ve jumped to conclusions, Bethany——’ his breath was warm on her face ‘—about a lot of things. I’m not a sex maniac. As I told you, it’s just not my style. I don’t go around seducing every woman I set eyes on. Why won’t you believe that what happened in your cabin wasn’t an everyday occurrence? It took me as much by surprise as it did you.’ He won the battle of wills, that had never been a real contest, and finally removed the coat from Bethany’s body, reached for her hands, his thumbs careful and gentle as they traced a delicate circular pattern over the lightly tanned skin. ‘Why won’t you tell me what all this anger is really about?’
Bethany looked into the rugged face with wide nervous eyes. He was being gentle again, speaking in tones that smouldered with intensity. She wished his convincing charade didn’t affect her so. He almost had her wanting to tell him about the marriage that had been a misery from foolish beginning to pathetic end, about Philip’s drinking and abuse, about the humiliation and the broken dreams...
She surveyed the handsome face with an expression that bordered on the curious. Was she ready to fool herself, to hurt herself all over again? Hadn’t she learned her lesson the hard way? Surely she wasn’t so stupid as to allow herself to be tricked a second time? This sincere approach had to be a game, didn’t it? Simply a different, a clever way of achieving the very same end.
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