Читать книгу One Summer At The Castle - Пенни Джордан, Jules Bennett - Страница 10

‘I—YES. YES,’ she said, dry-mouthed, her breathing quickening uncontrollably. She swung round to find him propped against the wall to one side of the heavy door. Then, seeing his mocking smile, she forgot all about the promises she’d made herself. ‘Did you do that on purpose?’ she demanded hotly.

‘Do what?’ Liam adopted an innocent expression, but he could tell from her face that she knew he had.

‘Try to frighten me,’ she exclaimed, pressing a hand to her chest, where her heart was beating wildly. ‘Honestly—’ she endeavoured to calm herself ‘—you almost gave me a heart attack.’

‘I’m sorry.’

But he didn’t sound particularly sorry, and Rosa recoiled instinctively when he leant past her and pushed open the door. ‘After you,’ he said, apparently unaware that his hand had brushed the side of her breast as he did so. Her breast tingled, and Rosa stiffened, but he seemed indifferent to her response.

However, Liam wasn’t indifferent, and he was glad when she turned and went ahead of him into the room. For God’s sake, he thought, annoyed with himself as much as her. She was behaving like an outraged virgin and he was experiencing the kind of reaction that would have been pathetic when he was a teenager.

What was wrong with him, for pity’s sake? He had no interest in repressed spinsters. Women who knew little about sex, and what they did know scared them rigid. When he needed a woman, he preferred one who knew the score.

All the same, a little voice inside him taunted, it might be amusing to see how she’d react if he came on to her. It was years since he’d used sex as anything more than an infrequent necessity, with good reason. And just because Rosa Chantry intrigued him, it was no reason to think anything had changed. She’d be just as horrified as Kayla had been when she’d seen his injuries. But it would have been so nice to pull the pins out of her hair and feel all that fiery silk spilling into his hands…

Once again he steeled himself against that kind of madness. Despite the ache between his legs, he was determined not to give her another reason to accuse him of upsetting her. Hell, he didn’t need that kind of aggravation, but if that childish plait and masculine outfit were intended to deter any thoughts of a sexual nature they were having quite the opposite effect.

He closed the door behind him, leaning back against it, struggling to gain control of his sudden need. Rosa had hurried across the room, meanwhile, obviously wanting to put a safe distance between them. Then, when she felt she’d achieved her objective, she turned to face him.

‘I—was looking for you,’ she said, linking her hands together at her waist, unaware that it was a particularly protective stance. ‘I wanted to thank you.’

‘To thank me?’ Liam couldn’t think of anything she’d want to thank him for, but Rosa’s lips had tightened.

‘For allowing me to stay the night,’ she informed him primly. ‘You didn’t have to do that.’

‘Ah.’ Liam was relieved to feel the restriction in his trousers easing, and he straightened away from the door. ‘No problem.’ He waited a beat. ‘Were you comfortable?’

‘Very comfortable, thank you.’

‘Good.’ Liam came further into the room. ‘I’m sorry I had to leave you on your own all evening. I’m afraid I fell asleep, and didn’t wake until after midnight.’

Rosa was tempted to say, How appropriate bearing in mind his occupation, but she didn’t. She was still intensely aware of him, and inviting that kind of intimacy wasn’t sensible. ‘It’s all right,’ she said instead. ‘Your housekeeper looked after me. I slept really well.’

‘You weren’t afraid I might turn into a vampire in the night and ravish you?’ Liam couldn’t resist the urge to tease her and she flushed.

‘Only briefly,’ she retorted, surprising him again. ‘But I’m fairly sure vampires don’t ride ferries or drive cars in broad daylight.’

‘Luther Killian does,’ he said at once, and Rosa gave him an old-fashioned look.

‘Luther Killian doesn’t exist,’ she said. ‘Or only in your imagination, anyway.’

‘You think?’

Rosa shook her head. ‘You’re not telling me you believe in vampires, Mr Jameson?’

‘Oh, yes.’ He nodded. ‘There have been too many reports of sightings, both here and in Eastern Europe. And if you went to New Orleans—’

‘Which I’m not likely to do,’ she said tightly, realising she was letting him distract her from her purpose. She ought to be asking him if she could use his phone again, instead of indulging in a discussion about mythical monsters. Shrugging, she made a face. ‘I know very little about such things, Mr Jameson. But I imagine it makes good publicity for your books.’

Liam caught his breath. ‘You think that’s all it is?’ He was indignant.

‘Well, I don’t know, do I? I know nothing about vampires.’

‘You know they don’t normally go out in sunlight,’ he reminded her, and she sighed.

‘Everyone knows that.’ And then, unable to resist it, ‘Except Luther Killian, apparently.’

‘Ah, but Luther is only half inhuman. His mother was a witch before she met Luther’s dad.’

Rosa couldn’t help smiling. ‘And he converted her, I suppose?’

‘Vampires always convert their victims,’ agreed Liam, closing the space between them. ‘D’you want me to show you how?’

Rosa backed up. ‘I know how, Mr Jameson,’ she mumbled, not sure if he was teasing her now or not. ‘Please—’ She held out her hand in front of her. ‘I’m not a character in one of your books.’

‘No,’ he conceded flatly, aware that he was in danger of allowing their relationship to develop into something it was not. He turned back towards his desk, hearing her sudden relieved intake of breath as he did so. ‘You’re obviously not a believer.’

Rosa sighed now. She didn’t want to offend him, for heaven’s sake. ‘A believer in what?’ she asked, much against her better judgement, and he turned to rest his hips against the granite surface.

‘In the supernatural,’ he said carelessly, folding his arms. ‘What was it you said on the way here? Ghosts and werewolves—we call them shapechangers, by the way—and things that go bump in the night.’

Rosa shrugged. ‘And you are?’

‘Oh, sure. Anyone who has encountered evil in its purest form has to be.’

Rosa frowned. ‘Are you saying you’ve encountered evil?’

Oh, yes.

For a moment Liam thought he’d said the words out loud, but the expectant look on her face assured him he hadn’t. Thank God!

‘I suppose we all encounter evil in one form or another,’ he prevaricated, having no intention of discussing his experiences with her. He’d already stepped too far over the mark, and he backtracked into the only avenue open to him. ‘Luther certainly has.’

‘Oh, Luther!’ She was disparaging. ‘Who’s only a character in your books.’

‘The main character,’ he corrected her. ‘He’s what you’d call an anti-hero. He kills, but his intentions are always good.’

‘Isn’t that a contradiction in terms?’ she exclaimed at once. ‘How can anyone—or anything—that makes a living killing people be regarded as good?’

Liam shrugged, and as he did so Rosa caught a glimpse of something silvery against his neck. It was either a birthmark or a scar of some sort, and her mouth went dry. It occurred to her that it might have been made by someone’s—or something’s—teeth.

Oh, God!

‘I suppose that depends on your definition of good and evil,’ he replied, diverting her. ‘Isn’t ridding the world of genuinely wicked individuals worthy of some respect?’

Rosa struggled to regain her objectivity. ‘And that’s what your books are about? Some—some vampire bounty-hunter working to make the world a better place?’

‘A safer place, anyway,’ agreed Liam drily. ‘Don’t knock it. You never know what you’d do if you were faced with primal evil.’

‘And you do?’ She sounded sceptical, and Liam had to bite his tongue not to tell her exactly what had happened to him. ‘Come on, Mr Jameson. We both know you’ve lived a charmed life.’

Liam had to tuck his fingers beneath his arms to prevent himself from tearing his clothes aside to show her the kind of evil he’d encountered. ‘Maybe,’ he managed tersely. ‘But I haven’t always lived in Scotland, Miss Chantry.’

‘I know.’ She’d relaxed a little now. ‘I read about you on the Internet. Didn’t you used to work at the Stock Exchange, or somewhere?’

‘It was a merchant bank, actually.’

‘Whatever.’ Rosa shrugged, glad of the return to reality. ‘I imagine you had a fairly good salary. Then you made a lot of money with your first book and bought your own castle. How difficult was that?’

Liam pushed himself to his feet. ‘If that’s what you want to think,’ he said, turning to shuffle the papers on his desk. ‘Which reminds me, I have work to do.’

Rosa felt ashamed now. It wasn’t anything to do with her how he lived his life. ‘Look,’ she said, taking a step towards him, ‘I’ll admit I know nothing about you, really.

And—and if you say you know how it feels to face real evil, then I believe you. But—’

‘But you don’t believe me,’ said Liam sharply, swinging around again, and Rosa was uneasily aware that there was barely a hand’s breadth between them now. ‘You’re humouring me, Miss Chantry, and I don’t like it. I don’t need your endorsement.’

Rosa licked her dry lips. ‘I was only being polite,’ she protested. ‘It’s not my fault if you’re touchy about the veracity of your books.’

‘Touchy about the veracity—’ Liam gazed at her angrily. ‘You haven’t the first idea what you’re talking about.’ He dragged a calming breath into his lungs and tried to speak naturally. ‘Let’s just say I have had some firsthand knowledge of evil. But I’d rather not discuss it. Okay?’

Rosa lifted her shoulders. ‘I had no idea.’

‘Why should you?’ Liam wasn’t at all sure he liked the look of sympathy in her eyes any better than the disbelief he’d seen before. ‘Forget it. I have.’

Though he doubted he ever would.

Rosa hesitated. ‘I didn’t mean to suggest your books weren’t believable,’ she persisted, laying a reckless hand on his sleeve. ‘I’m sorry if I’ve offended you.’

Offended me?

Liam expelled a strangled breath. Although he was wearing a warm sweatshirt, he could feel the touch of her fingers clear through to his skin. The muscles in his arm tightened almost instinctively, the tendons heating and expanding much like those other muscles between his legs.

‘It’s not important,’ he muttered harshly, concentrating on anything but the feminine scent of her skin. But then he lifted his lids and encountered those anxious brown eyes, and he felt as if he was drowning in their soft depths.

Hardly aware of what he was doing, he lifted his hand and brushed his thumb across her parted lips. Moisture that had gathered there clung to the pad, and he didn’t think before bringing his thumb to his mouth to taste her.

For her part, Rosa was almost paralysed by his actions. She’d never dreamt that an innocent attempt to comfort him might have such a disturbing result. Her whole body felt hot and trembly now, and she was aware of him in a way that she hadn’t been before. Or was she only kidding herself? She’d been aware of him right from the start.

When her tongue emerged to circle her lips it was because they’d suddenly gone dry, not to absorb any lingering trace of his scent. Although she did. She heard him suck in a breath and wondered what he was thinking. Dear God, this wasn’t meant to happen. But she knew that Colin had never made her feel anything like this.

When he spoke, however, his tone was harsh. ‘I shouldn’t have done that,’ he said shortly. ‘I’m sorry.’

Now it was Rosa’s turn to take a gulp of much-needed oxygen. ‘It—doesn’t matter,’ she said, glancing behind him at the telephone. ‘Um—’ She had to calm down, she told herself. ‘I was wondering if—’

But that was as far as she got. ‘It does matter,’ he said, raking back his dark hair with a frustrated hand. ‘For God’s sake, you must think I’m desperate for a woman!’

Liam saw the way his words affected her almost before he’d finished speaking. The fact that he’d been trying to reassure himself that his emotions weren’t involved here was no excuse. He realised, belatedly, that what he’d said could be taken two ways, and he wasn’t at all surprised when she turned on him.

‘I’m sure you’re not,’ she retorted stiffly, wrapping her arms tightly across her slim body so that her small breasts were pushed upward in an unknowingly provocative way. ‘And I’m not that desperate for a man, either.’

Liam suppressed a groan. Didn’t she realise he hadn’t intended to offend her? Evidently not. He scowled. Now it was up to him to defuse the situation he’d created, and one look at her face convinced him that it wouldn’t be easy.

‘Look,’ he said persuasively, ‘that wasn’t intended as an insult. On the contrary. I wouldn’t like you to think I expected any payment for my hospitality, that’s all.’

Rosa gave him a disbelieving look. ‘We both know what you meant, Mr Jameson,’ she said tightly. ‘I’m not a fool. You don’t have to tell me I’m not the type of woman someone like you would find appealing.’

Liam felt a twinge of indignation. Despite the warning voice of his conscience, which was telling him not to continue with this, he resented the contempt he’d heard in her voice. Who the hell did she think she was, making uninformed judgements about him? She didn’t know him. She knew nothing about him or his tastes in women. Yet she was implying he was some moron who could only think with his sex.

The fact that that was what he had been doing was not something Liam chose to consider at that moment. ‘Be careful, Miss Chantry,’ he said unpleasantly. ‘I’ll begin to think you were disappointed that I stopped when I did.’

‘How dare you?’

Rosa didn’t think she had ever felt so furious. Her hand balled into a fist almost automatically, connecting with the hard muscles of his stomach before she had time to reconsider. She suspected she’d hurt herself more than she hurt him, but it didn’t matter. He had no right to ridicule her. Not when, for a heart-stopping moment, he’d made her feel so good.

Liam was surprised at the fierceness of her attack. ‘You need to control that temper of yours, Miss Chantry,’ he panted, annoyed at his shortness of breath. ‘What the hell’s the matter with you? What did I say to warrant that response?’

‘You know what you said, Mr Jameson.’ Rosa was trembling, but she refused to back down.

‘Yeah?’ Some evil demon was urging him on. ‘And wasn’t it true?’

Rosa stared at him, wondering how she could ever have been attracted to this man. ‘You have a much inflated opinion of yourself, Mr Jameson,’ she said icily, keeping her voice down with an effort. It would have been so much more satisfying to shout at him. ‘If I allowed myself, just for a moment, to give in to you, it was simply because I felt sorry for you. I mean, it can’t be much fun living here on your own, with only your female staff for diversion.’

The outrage Liam felt at being unknowingly but callously reminded of Kayla’s defection brought a crippling wave of anger sweeping over him. Forgetting that he’d been in the wrong here, that her insults were just a counterattack to his sarcasm, he grasped her wrists and twisted them behind her back. ‘You’re just a mine of bitterness, aren’t you, Miss Chantry?’ he chided scathingly. ‘It’s no wonder you’ve never been married. No decent man would put up with a spiteful bitch like you.’

Rosa gulped, the instinct to correct his bald assumption overwhelmed by the alarm she felt at finding herself locked in his savage embrace. She tried to break free, but with his hot breath almost stifling her, and his thigh wedged aggressively between her legs, she was helpless. They were both breathing rapidly, and for several seconds a silent battle ensued.

But it wasn’t really a battle, Rosa acknowledged weakly. She was at his mercy and he knew it. Though, strangely, he didn’t appear to appreciate his good fortune. On the contrary, when his eyes encountered hers, she saw they were filled with a mixture of confusion and regret.

‘Hell,’ he said harshly. ‘This was not meant to happen.’

‘So let me go,’ said Rosa a little breathlessly, not entirely immune to the appeal of those green eyes no matter what he’d said.

This close, she could also see that silvery scar she’d noticed earlier. She quivered in spite of herself. How had he really got that?

‘Yeah, I should,’ he agreed, distracting her, his gaze dwelling on her mouth with an intensity that felt practically physical. ‘But you know what?’ He shifted against her and she was almost sure she could feel him hardening. ‘I don’t want to. Now, isn’t that the damnedest thing?’

A knot twisted in Liam’s stomach as he watched her reaction to his admission. Had she any idea that a wave of heat and need was drumming through him, making what had begun as a desire to punish her into an insane urge to show her what she was missing? He could feel her trembling, even though she was doing her best to hold herself away from him, and the breasts he’d admired earlier were now surprisingly urgent against her woollen sweater.

‘Please,’ Rosa said unsteadily, probably hoping to appeal to his better judgement. But Liam only heard what she said as if from a distance. He’d captured both her wrists in one grip now, and brought his free hand round to rub his knuckles against one of those button-hard nipples. He felt her shuddering recoil with a pleasurable rush of blood to his groin.

God, she was responsive, he thought incredulously, wondering how long it had been since she’d had a man. If she’d ever had one, he appended, though he didn’t quite believe she was a virgin.

Nevertheless, he wished he’d met her in other circumstances—wished he hadn’t antagonised her by being cruel about her unmarried state. Because he was attracted to her, no matter how he might deny it. She wasn’t beautiful, of course, but she had a fey charm that appealed to the romantic in him. And there was no denying that he could imagine, only too easily, all that glorious hair spread over the pillow on his bed.

Rosa’s legs were beginning to feel as if they wouldn’t support her weight for much longer. Liam had turned his attention to her other breast now, covering it with his hand so that the hard peak butted against his palm. The sensation it caused made her feel dizzy, though not as dizzy as getting naked with him would feel, she thought crazily.

Wetness pooled between her legs and she was disconcerted. What was wrong with her? She’d always known, even when Colin was making passionate love to her, that some part of her had stood apart and watched what was going on with a certain objectivity.

But she couldn’t be objective with Liam. When he looked at her as he was looking at her now, she couldn’t even think straight, let alone anything else. She felt weak, possessed, consumed by needs she’d hardly known existed, so that when he bent his head towards her, her lips parted instinctively for his kiss.

However, although his mouth skimmed the curve of her neck, and the roughness of his jaw grazed her cheek, he didn’t kiss her. Well, not on the mouth, anyway. With a feeling of dismay she felt his sudden withdrawal. He let go of her wrists and she stumbled, hardly aware she’d been relying on his support until it was taken away from her.

Then, as she struggled to regain her balance, he turned his back on her and leant on his desk.