Читать книгу Seduction: The Billionaire's Bride of Vengeance - Miranda Lee - Страница 14

RUSSELL’S frustrated gaze was scanning the guest tables in search of feminine prey when his eyes landed on the very female who’d put him in this appalling state in the first place.

His heart lurched at the sight of her. So did something else.

Blast! What on earth was Nicole Power doing at James’s wedding?

His gaze shifted to the rest of the people at her table, but he didn’t recognise any of them. There again, he didn’t recognise most of the guests. Despite his wealth, he wasn’t a social animal. Not like James, or Hugh; they enjoyed entertaining and being entertained. Russell had had had other priorities up till now.

His need for revenge had consumed him.

Now something else was consuming him.

The more he stared at her, sitting there looking absolutely delicious in the sexiest green dress, the more he wanted her.

Had she seen him yet? he wondered.

She must have. He was in the main wedding party. Strange that he hadn’t spotted her before this. Perhaps she was deliberately avoiding him? He could well understand why: he’d been pretty obnoxious the other day.

Hugh suddenly leant over from the chair next to him.

‘I see you’re eyeing that hot-looking blonde over there,’ he said. ‘Presumably, you haven’t recognised her. That’s Nicole Power, your enemy’s daughter.’

‘Yes, I know.’

‘You know?’

‘Indeed I do.’

Hugh frowned. ‘Russ, you’re not going to take this revenge of yours too far, are you? I mean, she’s not to blame for what her father did.’

Up till this moment, Russell hadn’t thought of his attraction for Nicole Power as anything more than extremely annoying. The thought of using his unexpected and, up till now, unwanted passion as a weapon against his enemy had never occurred to him.

But, suddenly, the vengeful words he’d thrown at Alistair Power all those years ago took on an added meaning: he’d vowed to take everything his enemy held dear …

Clearly, Power held his daughter dear …

It was a wickedly tempting idea …

‘What do you know about her?’ Russell asked Hugh abruptly.

‘If you think I’m going to help you seduce that poor girl, then you have another think coming.’

‘She’s far from being poor, Hugh. I’ll warrant those are real diamonds and emeralds she’s wearing. And that dress has designer label written all over it. She might not be personally responsible for what her father did, but she’s never minded living off the proceeds.’

‘You don’t know that.’

‘Yeah, Hugh, I do. Now, tell me what you know about her.’

Hugh sighed. ‘She was briefly engaged to David Porter earlier this year.’

‘The stockbroker?’

‘Yep.’

‘What happened? Wasn’t he rich enough?’

Hugh shrugged, clearly not happy with giving him any information at all. ‘I have no idea. Porter’s not in my immediate social circle. But I’ve heard he’s a ladies’ man. Maybe she found out she wasn’t going to be his one and only.’

‘I doubt that.’ Russell could not conceive of any man being unfaithful to Nicole Power. If she were his, he wouldn’t let her out of his sight … he’d keep her chained to his bed.

‘When does the dancing begin?’ came his abrupt question.

‘Not for a while. First come the speeches, then the cutting of the cake, followed by the bridal waltz. After which, other people can join in.’

Russell’s smile was wry. ‘Sounds like you’ve been to a lot of weddings.’

‘My family and friends don’t seem to learn from experience. This is the second one for James as you will recall. Dear old Dad has had four more wives since my mother.’

‘Presumably I won’t ever have to go to yours, then.’

‘Not unless some alien takes possession of my body and forces me into it.’

‘What about this woman who won’t go to bed with you? You might be reduced to marrying her, just to get her in the sack.’

Hugh looked appalled. ‘Marry just for sex? You have to be joking. No man’s that desperate these days.’

Russell’s eyes went back to the object of his own desire.

He was a man and he wanted Nicole Power, quite desperately.

But Hugh was right. You didn’t marry a girl just for sex. But what about revenge? Did you marry a girl for that?

His conscience rebelled at the idea. But his dark side didn’t. It revelled in the thought of having his cake and eating it, too.

His eyes narrowed as they raked over the sheer perfection of her face, which was even more beautiful today. Of course, she was wearing make-up and her upswept hairdo had obviously been done by a professional. All in all, she was the epitome of feminine beauty: a fair-haired siren with a breathtaking allure which would tempt any man.

Russell was more than tempted.

His head whirled with wildly tantalising thoughts. How would it feel to possess her, body and soul? To have her look at him, not with irritation as she had the other day, but with passion? Maybe even love?

Would that satisfy his vengeful soul, having Nicole Power fall in love with him?

Russell suspected that it might.

Such thinking, however, was a fantasy at this moment. If he wanted to know how it felt, he’d have to make his fantasy come true.

Somehow.

His lips pursed as his mind began to plan.

She was obviously unattached at the moment, having been seated with women on either side of her at the table.

But being unattached was not enough.

He wasn’t as handsome as James, or Hugh. He was a country boy, a bit of a rough diamond, so neither did he possess his friends’ natural charm.

What he did have, however, was money. Lots of it.

As much as he believed Alistair Power was still supporting his daughter, he knew that girls like Nicole Power could never be too rich. It was also a point in Russell’s favour that he wanted her to the extent that he did.

Women, he’d found from experience, liked being wanted, even more than they liked being loved. They were often seduced by the flattery of being pursued, of being the object of uncontrollable desire.

I wanted you from the first moment I saw you, were very seductive words. He’d used them to great effect before.

This time, they wouldn’t be a pick-up line, either. They’d be true. With a bit of luck, he might be able to sweep Nicole Power off her feet and into his bed with those passionately delivered words, after which he hoped to obtain her total sexual surrender via his skills in the bedroom.

Russell didn’t pretend to rival Hugh’s Casanova-like reputation but he knew how to make love. He genuinely liked female bodies, liked touching them, kissing them. He liked their softness and sweetness, their curves and their cavities.

Once he’d got a girl into his bed, she rarely wanted to leave. The trick with Nicole Power would be getting her into his bed in the first place.

Russell was staring at her and planning his course of action when her head suddenly lifted and their eyes clashed.

She didn’t look away immediately. She held his gaze for several startled seconds before turning her head and engaging the curvy brunette next to her in conversation.

‘I suggest you give her a miss, mate,’ Hugh said. ‘Why not try Kristy? She’s as keen as mustard.’

Russell grimaced at the mention of the bridesmaid who’d been his partner for the marriage ceremony. ‘A little too keen for me,’ he replied drily.

‘In that case you won’t mind if I—er—’

‘Feel free.’

‘Great. Oh, oh. Toast and speech time. Mine, unfortunately. By the way, I did what you suggested and concentrated on Megan’s love for James. Hope she doesn’t notice that anything’s missing.’

‘She won’t. She’s obviously besotted.’

Russell glanced along the curved table at the bride, and then at James, who’d been doing his best imitation of an equally besotted bridegroom all day. At their small and very select stag party last night—just drinks for the three of them at the Belleview Hill house—Hugh had refrained from asking James too many questions about his trip overseas, perhaps not wanting to know the truth.

What was to be gained by discovering that James had spent some time with his ex; that he might even have slept with her?

Russell already suspected that something had happened between James and Jackie. He’d seen the bleakness in his friend’s eyes last night when James had thought neither Russell nor Hugh were looking.

Hopefully James would find some happiness married to Megan, he might even fall in love with her in the end.

No, that was the sort of romantic crap Hugh came out with. James wasn’t going to fall in love with Megan any more than he’d fall in love with Nicole Power.

Russell didn’t delude himself about the ruthless individual he’d become over the years. His plan to cold-bloodedly seduce his enemy’s daughter tonight was wicked enough. To even consider marrying her was truly wicked.

But that was getting ahead of himself.

She might tell him to get lost later tonight. In a way, he hoped she would. Because if she didn’t, she would put him on a path from which there might be no turning back.

Frankly, to have anything to do with her was risky, even downright dangerous. He could pretend she was his prey, but for how long? He was the besotted one here. She was the one with all the potential power.

Once she knew he was attracted to her—a man with millions—then the tables could well be turned. She might set her cap at him.

Russell had to laugh.

‘What’s so funny?’ Hugh asked.

‘Just the perversity of life, mate.’

‘Don’t tell me about it. I already know. But it’s not life that’s the main problem. It’s women.’

‘You could be right there.’

‘I am right, Russ. Take my word for it.’

Russell’s eyes turned to again seek out the woman currently giving him problems.

But her chair was empty.