Paradise Wild by Johanna Lindsey Page B

because you think I cheated you.”
    “You did! But regardless of that, I’m not about to give myself to any man until I marry.”
    “Then you shouldn’t have agreed to it downstairs,” he replied, and reached for the buttons on her dress.
    Corinne slapped his hand away furiously and bent to retrieve her knife, but Jared kicked it out of her reach. He lifted her up and tossed her on the bed, not too gently.
    Corinne started screaming, but Jared fell on her and covered her mouth with his hand.
    “Don’t get me angry,” he said in a deadly voice. “I can be very cruel when I’m angry.” He used his free hand to rip her dress open. “It won’t do you any good to cry rape, because no one here is going to give a damn. The opinion of the house is, if a lady comes here, then she’s no lady. I’m of the same opinion, so don’t try my patience anymore. Is that clear?”
    As Jared uncovered the firm mounds of her breasts, some of the coldness left his voice. “You really are beautiful,” he murmured. “I’ve never seen such soft, white skin.”
    He bent his head to her breasts and kissed each peak in turn. He lingered there for a long while before he looked up into her wide, tear-filled eyes.
    “I won’t hurt you, Corinne, as long as you don’t fight me,” he said almost tenderly. “I promise you that.”
    He moved his hand from her mouth and bent to kiss her. He kissed her deeply, ravishing her mouth with his tongue, but she did not respond at all. He shrugged indifferently.
    “If you want to be stubborn, that’s up to you, Corinne. It won’t stop me.”
    Corinne wouldn’t answer. She was so ashamed she wanted only to die. She couldn’t stop him. He would hurt her if she tried, he had said so. And he would rape her anyway, so why should she suffer more than she had to?
    She prayed for him to finish quickly. When he lifted her to remove the rest of her clothes, she didn’t resist. When he spoke to her tenderly, she didn’t hear. When his strong, powerful hands caressed her gently, she felt nothing but her shame.
    Tears fell silently down the corners of her tightly closed eyes. When a sharp, ripping pain made her jerk, she bit her lips to keep from crying out. He had promised not to hurt her, but she knew he would. Florence had not let her grow up entirely ignorant. Now Jared Burk had taken her innocence, the innocence she had always expected to give her husband. He had forced it from her with brute strength. Corinne had never known such hate as she felt now for Jared.
    Jared’s exhausted body became very heavy, and Corinne guessed it was over.
    “You have been paid in full, Mr. Burk,” she said tonelessly. “If you will kindly remove yourself from my person, I would like to leave.”
    “You’re certainly a cold bitch,” he grunted, then left the bed to dress.
    “I was told that once already this evening. I don’t need you to tell me again.”
    “What you need is someone to warm you up. I pity the man you marry if he has to put up with that kind of performance in bed.”
    “ He won’t,” Corinne replied tightly, and sat up on the edge of the bed, swaying a little. “What if I get pregnant?”
    He shrugged. “Odds are you won’t, since this won’t happen again. But it is your risk, not mine. It comes with being a woman.”
    Jared finished putting his clothes on and casually stepped around the bed to retrieve her torn dress. Corinne heard his sharp intake of breath and turned to look at him. She followed his gaze to the center of the bed and the stain of blood that looked black on the green sheets.
    “What’s the matter, Mr. Burk?” she asked bitterly. “You seem surprised. Didn’t you know that virgins bleed?”
    His eyes met hers and they were a bright gray, without a trace of blue. He stared at her for a long time.
    Finally he marched to the door, her clothes gripped tightly in his hands. He turned and glared at her across the room.
    “You stay here until I return,” he ordered