Lady Love by Diana Palmer Page A

really go last night? Not to a hotel. You just wanted me to think that.”
    Her lower lip trembled. It wasn’t fair! How could she think straight while he was touching her? “We…went to a nightclub.”
    His fingers moved lower, to the vee neck of her blouse, and traced its outline. “As I thought,” he murmured. “A totally innocent evening.”
    She glared at him. “Yours wasn’t,” she ground out.
    “But it was, Merlyn,” he said quietly, and his chiseled mouth curved softly. “I kissed Delle twice and felt your mouth both times.”
    Excitement highlighted her high cheekbones, brightened her wide eyes.
    “A virgin,” he breathed angrily. His fingers moved up to catch her long hair in a grip that hurt, and his eyes stabbed into hers. “Damn you, Merlyn!”
    “I didn’t drag you into the closet!” she whispered on a sob.
    “You came, though,” he accused. “You came, and you let me strip you and touch you.…Oh, God, I could feel your skin in my sleep, you little tease!”
    She was shaking now, trembling with mingled fury and fear and desire. “I’m not a tease,” she bit off. “Let me go!”
    His dark eyes narrowed menacingly. “What would you call it?” he demanded. He glanced down at her blouse. “You led me on, party girl.”
    “You were the one who started taking my dress off,” she threw back, green eyes blazing. “Men are supposed to have some kind of control over themselves, aren’t they?”
    His eyes widened with disbelief. “You thought I could touch you that way and just break it off with no ill effects?”
    Her voice faltered. “Couldn’t you? Adam always…could.”
    He drew in a harsh breath. “Who’s Adam?”
    She lowered her eyes. “The man I was going to marry.”
    He stiffened. She glanced up at him, puzzled by the waiting stillness of his body.
    “You were engaged?” he asked.
    She nodded.
    “And you’re still a virgin?” he persisted.
    She glowered up at him. “He didn’t want me. Not that way, at least. He wanted…something my father had.” That much was true; he’d wanted her father’s millions. “But I thought it was just gentlemanly restraint that kept him so respectful of my body.”
    “My God,” he said heavily.
    “Are you shocked, Mr. Rochester?” she asked with a bitter little laugh.
    His eyes met hers. “Yes. Shocked that any man could want something more than you.”
    Her lips turned up at the corners. “Thank you,” she said with quiet pride. “It sounds trite, but I did need that.”
    He frowned. “Is that why you came to work for my mother? To recuperate?”
    She nodded. “In a way. Could I go now?”
    “Did you want him?”
    That was a question she hadn’t expected. Her lips parted, but no sound passed them. She searched his dark face and realized quite suddenly that she hadn’t wanted Adam. She hadn’t known what wanting really was until Cameron Thorpe dragged her into a closet and unzipped her evening gown.
    “No,” she said slowly. “I don’t believe I really did.”
    “Did you love him?”
    “I thought so,” she replied with a faint smile. “I don’t think I knew exactly what love was.”
    “Apparently you still don’t know what sex is,” he said flatly. “You’d better not let me go that far again, Merlyn, for your own protection. You’re damned vulnerable with me.”
    Her eyes glittered up at him. “I didn’t tempt you in the first place!”
    “Like hell!” he returned. “You were flirting for all you were worth.”
    “It’s my way!” she flashed. “It’s my defense mechanism! Most men run for the hills when I start.…”
    “I’m not most men,” he said with menace in his deep, slow voice. “You throw me off balance and that’s dangerous. I could get hungry enough not to remember Delle or your virginity.”
    “I’ll keep my blouses fastened to the throat and dig out my chastity belt,” she promised, easing away from him. “Don’t you worry, sir, I’ll do my best to protect you from