no need to look quite so alarmed either. Group sex really isn’t my style.’ His eyes gleamed suggestively. ‘I prefer more of a one to one situation, more along the lines of our experience earlier this evening.’ He raised a hand and tilted her chin so that she had no choice but to look straight into his eyes. ‘You know, you really should have hung in there, Bethany,’ Chad advised, with a coolness that shocked her almost as much as the reference to polygamous activities. ‘We could have had a pretty good time together.’
‘You seemed to be having a pretty good time just a moment ago!’ Bethany retorted bitterly, green eyes flashing. ‘Don’t let me spoil your fun!’
‘I don’t know quite why I’m bothering to explain,’ Chad murmured, ‘but I’ll do it anyway. Theo’s an old friend——’
‘Oh, please!’ Bethany released an angry breath. ‘Spare me the sordid details!’ She summoned up enough courage to glare at the handsome face. ‘Look, I hate to disappoint you,’ she continued with heavy sarcasm, ‘but I have been around! It may suit you to take me for an absolute innocent, but——’
‘You reacted like an innocent this afternoon. In fact you were extremely sweet,’ Chad cut in smoothly, completely throwing Bethany off balance with a voice that was pure intimacy. ‘Very sweet indeed—up until that moment when, for some reason, you decided that beating the life out of me was your best course of action.’
‘Don’t...exaggerate!’ Bethany retorted unsteadily. ‘And anyway, I came to my senses, that’s all! Look, I’d prefer not to talk about that...particular incident! I was in shock. I’d just had a nasty experience——’
‘Really?’ Dark eyes gleamed down at her. Bethany felt a lurch of excitement as Chad leaned towards her. She could smell the musky scent of his aftershave, could feel the warmth of his breath on her cheek. ‘I’m...I’m talking about finding myself stranded in the middle of the sea!’ she retorted confusedly.
‘So you’re willing to admit that our experience wasn’t nasty, then?’ Chad enquired, watching her with amusement as she looked at him in dismay. ‘That’s something, I suppose. You know, Bethany, after I left your cabin I found myself wishing I’d pressed home my advantage further. Looking at you now I still can’t work out why I was quite so...’ He hesitated, his dark brown eyes lingering intently on Bethany’s flushed face. ‘So chivalrous.’
‘Chivalrous!’ Bethany snapped herself out of the trance-like state that Chad had so easily induced with unbelieving venom in her voice. ‘What the hell would you know about being chivalrous? You... you took outrageous advantage of me! I wasn’t thinking straight.... I was upset and...and——’
‘Chad! What are you doing down there?’ The plaintive wail floated down from above. Clearly Theo was becoming impatient.
‘Now let me get the hell out of here!’ Bethany demanded furiously, trying to drag free from his hold. ‘Theo’s obviously desperate for your body——’
‘Oh, she has her moments,’ Chad drawled, ‘but then don’t we all?’ he added, fixing Bethany with dark, mocking eyes. ‘Oh, of course, I’m sorry!’ he murmured silkily. ‘I forgot. You don’t want me to refer to your rather passionate mistake earlier this evening, do you?’
‘You...you arrogant swine!’ Bethany hissed, hating the fact that he could refer to their moment together with such off-hand amusement. ‘You really can’t accept the fact that I didn’t want you!’
‘Bethany, you may be sweet but, as you’ve already informed me, you aren’t innocent!’ Chad responded with lazy provocation. ‘We both know what could, what would have taken place between us had I elected to stay in your cabin any longer.’ His eyes glinted fire, daring her to deny what they both knew to be the truth. ‘Now come with me! I suddenly find that I’m not in the mood for any more of your childish bluster. If you will insist on mooching about in this highly irregular manner then you have to be prepared to face the consequences. I told you trespassing would get you into trouble——’
‘Me? Trespassing? How can you stand there and say that? At least I’m not making a party of it!’ Bethany cried indignantly as Chad determinedly led her up the stairs. ‘I roused your interest in this place earlier this afternoon, didn’t I?’ she continued. ‘And you decided to see what it was like for yourself——’
‘What the hell is this?’
They were in the room now. Bethany glanced swiftly at Theo, who was lounging attractively on one of the cushions with an expression on her face that could have soured milk, and then looked mulishly back at Chad. ‘It’s a gun. What does it look like?’ she snapped, snatching his hand from her arm and gripping the barrel which was at her side a little more tightly.
‘And dare I ask what you thought you were doing, dressed in a coat that is at least ten sizes too big, prowling around with an air-rifle?’ Chad asked irritably. ‘Looking for bandits, perhaps?’
Bethany felt herself blush; a deep cerise travelled up from the base of her throat and engulfed her face swiftly and absolutely. ‘I saw the light. I thought...’ She hesitated.
‘You thought what?’ Chad’s stunning eyes glinted down at her. Bethany tried to avert her gaze from the broad expanse of tanned chest revealed by his partly unbuttoned shirt and failed miserably. ‘Come on, Bethany,’ he chided fiercely, ‘you’ll have to do better than that!’
‘I told you. I saw the light,’ Bethany answered tightly, ‘and then when I was at the bottom of the stairs I heard... well, I heard a noise and I thought——’
‘Oh, Chad, darling! She was coming to save me!’ Theo cut in with an affected little laugh. ‘How very bravel’
Bethany flushed a shade deeper and threw darling Theo a furious look that would have turned anyone with any sense to stone. Empty-headed bimbo! she cursed silently.
‘Is that right?’ Chad demanded, his brows drawing together into a fierce frown. ‘You weren’t really creeping around here with the idea that you could save somebody with that...that pea-shooter!’
‘Look! I saw the light from my place,’ Bethany retorted. ‘I wanted to make sure everything was all right. It could have been vandals. How was I to know it was you indulging in...in...?’ She struggled to put a description to the scene she had first witnessed. The vision of Chad, strong and masculine, lying on the floor with Theo flashed into her mind and wouldn’t go away.
‘What we were or were not doing is not the point in question and you know it!’ Chad replied tersely. He placed both hands on his hips and stood directly in front of her, the denim shirt straining tautly across his shoulders, the hard expanse of tanned chest more visible than ever. ‘The fact remains that you thought there was real danger here...’ He shook his head in frowning disbelief. ‘You’re not honestly telling me you were foolish enough to imagine that you could cope with some sort of dangerous situation!’
‘Why not?’ Bethany retorted defensively. ‘I had a gun!’
‘You had an air-rifle,’ Chad corrected. ‘It’s not quite the same thing! And besides, even if you were in possession of a twelve-bore, that doesn’t mean you can just go around the countryside taking the law into your own hands. If you were so concerned, why didn’t you phone the police?’
‘Because the nearest phone is three miles away,’ Bethany retorted, ‘that’s why!’
‘You’ve
