in her cheeks.
He shrugged. ‘She’s rich, and——’
He didn’t get any further. Sara’s hand swung up to strike him forcibly on the side of the face, and she watched with satisfaction as angry red welts appeared on his rigid cheek. This satisfaction soon faded as she saw the angry glitter in glacial blue eyes.
‘You deserved that!’ she spluttered, backing away. ‘You——’
Now it was his turn to render her speechless—only his method was much more destructive! Barry had liked to kiss her, in his practised way he had believed he was arousing her, but this man, Dominic Thorne, ravaged her mouth with his lips, bent her curves to mould against his hard muscled body, rendered her breathless—and aroused her against her will.
‘How dare you!’ she demanded when he at last released her mouth, pushing away from him.
Her indignation only served to amuse him. ‘Couldn’t you have come out with something a little more original than that?’ he mocked. ‘You disappoint me, Miss Hamille.’
Her eyes flashed. ‘And you disappoint me too, Mr Thorne!’ She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, watching his expression darken. ‘I had expected more than brutality from the celebrated Dominic Thorne,’ she added insultingly.
‘You know,’ he drawled slowly, ‘your similarity to Marie is only skin-deep.’ His look was contemptuous of her slender curves and flushed face.
‘Maybe she appreciates your—your savagery,’ she spat the words at him angrily, ‘but I don’t! Excuse me, Mr Thorne, I hope I never have the misfortune to meet you again.’ She spun on her heel, but was stopped from leaving by his hand on her arm. ‘Let go of me!’ she ordered coldly.
He looked down at her, his jaw rigid, a pulse beating rapidly in his throat. ‘I hope we never meet again, Sara,’ his voice was husky. ‘But for a completely different reason from yours.’
‘Goodbye, Mr Thorne!’ She swung away from him, and this time he made no effort to stop her.
‘Goodbye, Sara …’ he said softly as she closed the door behind her.
She marched straight over to Pete as he still stood talking to Marie, her anger making her look even more beautiful in that moment. ‘I’m ready to leave,’ she told Pete tautly.
Marie burst out laughing. ‘Has Dominic been upsetting you?’ she chuckled. ‘I can see he has.’ She put her arm through Sara’s. ‘You mustn’t mind Dominic. If he’s been insulting you, which I think he must have done, he was probably only trying to protect me. Dominic always thinks he has to protect me from something.’
‘Then this time he’s done a good job of it,’ Sara said distantly. ‘I’m sorry I bothered you, Miss Lindlay. I can assure you I had no intention of upsetting you in any way.’
Marie’s smile was openly scornful. ‘I’m not upset. I’ve had the most fun tonight that I’ve had in a long time. If you give me your telephone number perhaps I can call you some time and we can have lunch together.’
Sara hesitated, Dominic Thorne’s determination for Marie and herself never to meet again fixed firmly in her mind. He had made his opinion more than clear, and she doubted if many people opposed that strong will of his.
‘Oh, please do,’ Marie encouraged. ‘Dominic doesn’t even have to know about it. Please,’ she added with a beguiling smile.
Sara knew this sort of persuasion of old—she must look exactly the same when she tried to get her own way. How could she possibly refuse! ‘All right.’ She wrote out her aunt’s telephone number on the piece of paper Marie provided. ‘But I’m only here for another couple of weeks at the most.’
‘Oh, I’ll call you before then,’ Marie assured her.
Sara saw Dominic Thorne fast approaching their little group and so she hurriedly made her goodbyes. She had had enough of him for one evening.
‘Where did Thorne take you?’ Pete asked on the drive home.
‘Outside,’ she revealed furiously. ‘He seemed to think I was trying to pull a stunt on them.’
Pete laughed. ‘Men like him don’t understand coincidence. How did you like Marie?’ he gave her a sideways glance.
‘How did you like her?’ She quirked an eyebrow at him. She hadn’t missed their slightly flirtatious manner when she had rejoined them.
‘I liked her a lot,’ he acknowledged softly. ‘It’s strange, the two of you look exactly alike, and yet there’s a difference. You have an air of sexual challenge about you that Marie doesn’t have, and I’m into the innocent look at the moment. Not that I’m complaining,’ he added hastily, ‘but I think Thorne probably spends most of his time fighting men off her.’
‘He certainly watches over her well,’ Sara said moodily.
‘So would I,’ Pete grinned.
‘Lecherous beast!’ She started to relax a little, her indignation about Dominic Thorne’-s treatment of her put firmly to the back of her mind. ‘I doubt if Marie would stay innocent for long around you.’
He shrugged. ‘Marie has these vibrations … and I felt them.’
Sara gave him a worried look. ‘I wouldn’t advise stepping on those particular toes.’ Dominic Thorne would deal far more ruthlessly with a man.
‘If the lady’s willing …’
‘Ah, but is she?’
‘I think she could be,’ he nodded.
She shrugged. ‘Then I wish you luck.’
If Dominic Thorne found out about it then Pete was going to need more than luck!
Her aunt and uncle were already in bed when she got in, although her aunt called to her as she changed into her nightclothes. Her uncle was fast asleep, but her aunt had her own bedside lamp on and had been reading. She put the book down when Sara came quietly into the room.
‘Oh, don’t mind your uncle,’ her aunt said at her questioning look. ‘He can sleep through anything, and often does. Did you have a nice time, dear?’
‘Quite nice, thank you.’ But she wouldn’t be seeing Pete again. They had parted as friends, but he was just another man who found Marie more attractive; Dominic Thorne had already made it known that she in no way compared to his Marie. ‘I’m not seeing Pete again, he’s going to be very busy the next few weeks,’ she excused to her aunt.
‘Were they nice people at this party?’
Sara smiled. ‘Or slightly mad like Pete?’ she teased.
‘Yes,’ her aunt admitted guiltily.
‘They were all—very nice.’
‘Well, I’m glad you had an enjoyable evening.’ She plumped up her pillow. ‘I think I’ll go to sleep now that I know you’re home.’
‘
