Deception by Margaret Pargeter Page B

his hands explored the
slight indentation of her spine, as far as
it went, before coming back to curve forcibly over her slim hips, her
yielding breasts.
    That she was suddenly
weak and shivering didn't arouse his compassion. When his mouth again took her
own, she was floating mindlessly in empty space, torn strangely by fierce
flashes of blinding light. As she clung to him her fingers tightened over the hard
muscles of his broad shoulders before burying themselves in the dark
thickness of his hair. Helplessly she shuddered against him, gasping his name.
    When she had asked him
to kiss her, it had been on a quickly regretted, fever-born impulse. Never had
she dreamed it would be like this. She should put a stop to it, if only because
she had begun it. Logan was only taking what he thought she had offered.
Ashamed, she realised that, while she wanted to go oh and on, such complete
devastation could only end one way. Yet many girls committed themselves
easily. Why shouldn't she?
    It was Logan who
called a halt. He eased away from her quite deliberately as if, Thea thought
resentfully, he had a switch he could flick on and off. Her mind was dazed, but
that didn't prevent this peculiar indignation coming through. She heard the
harsh rasp of his breathing, felt the sweat running down his heated shoulder
blades between her hands, yet his willpower was such he could turn away. It was
as if he had suddenly remembered who he was and what he was doing, and was in
no way pleased by the picture he saw.
    He turned his head
away and, as she forced herself to look at him, she could see only the taut
line of his jaw. When he turned back to her his face had resumed its habitual harshness.
Fascinated by his obvious ability to switch quickly from passion to
indifference, she lay quite still, watching him. Grimly he removed his arms
from about her and got up from the bed. She tried to keep on looking at him,
but as he began buttoning his shirt colour flared in her cheeks and her eyes
fell away.
    Making no attempt to
touch her again, he stood staring down at her. 'You're still ill,' he said
curtly, lifting a blanket and flinging it over her, something she had been too
frozen to do herself. 'When you asked me to kiss you, you were probably
delirious, out of your mind.'
    If he was giving her
an opening she had no choice but to take it. She could sense the anger in him
and knew he would have no compunction about firing her. The desolation inside
her grew and wept but would not be denied one bitter protest.
    'Were you trying to
prove I was or I wasn't?'
    No way was he going to
rise to the bait. 'I set out to calm you down, but it wasn't a great success.'
    Only a cad would have
hinted at her over-zealous response. 'Can you wonder? Going about it the
way you did!'
    'You weren't exactly a
passive participant.'       
    His eyes were
beginning to smoulder and she guessed he wasn't quite as cool as he liked to
make out. But there would be no getting through his cool control. Never in a
thousand years would a girl such as herself be able to do that.
    'Thea,' he bent,
putting a hand on her slumped shoulder, forcing her to meet his wary eyes. 'I
don't know how much experience you've had, but I suspect not much.'
    'Why should you think
that?' She was crazy to go on baiting him, but she couldn't seem to help it.
Caution was overlaid with a fine recklessness.
    For a moment his hand
tightened cruelly and his eyes glittered. 'Were you trying so very hard to
please me? I think I had to persuade you every inch of the way. I'll admit,
once you forgot your strange little inhibitions, you didn't hold much back,
but, believe me, it's a housekeeper I want, not a mistress.'
    Between clenched
teeth, Thea cried tersely, 'That's the last thing I'd be!'
    'Very commendable,' he
sneered, 'unless your ambitions go beyond that? You wouldn't be the first who's
tried and failed.'
    'You're insufferable!'
she gasped. 'Full of conceit! I know I asked you to kiss me, but