Ran From Him by Jenny Schwartz Page A

she asked carelessly, more concerned with the tension between them.
    “Here.” He picked it up from the coffee table, dropped it in her lap and stepped back.
    “Thank you.” Slowly, she pulled her top on, feeling the soft brush of angora against her sensitised breasts. It didn’t soothe, it excited. She smoothed the top down.
    His gaze followed the movement of her hands before coming back up, locking with her eyes. “Why now, Cate? Why make love with me?”
    She tipped her head back against the sofa and considered. “You’re gorgeous, but so are other men.” Each breath rubbed the angora against her breasts, and she wanted Daniel to touch her there. It was hard to think. She wanted…“Your wealth doesn’t do anything for me. You make me feel good. I laugh with you. You’re kind. Decent. I trust you.” She paused, brought to consider seriously the reasons for her desire. She wasn’t normally so sexual. Usually, she seldom allowed herself to enjoy even the sensual delights of innocent pleasures, such as smoothly melting chocolate, crackling open fires, or long bubble baths.
    “Maybe it’s nothing to do with you. Maybe coming back to Perth has stirred up my emotions.” It was a scary thought, making her emotionally vulnerable. Cate tried to reject it, resorting to flippancy. “Could be you’re my delayed adolescent fling?”
    He didn’t like that. He swore and turned away, pacing to the window.
    “I’m sorry. I was joking. I’m not a kid. I’m an adult, all grown up and free to choose with whom I share my body.” She uncurled from the sofa and walked across to him. She touched his back, flattening her palms against the muscle. “Does it matter why, Daniel? My first time has to be with someone.”
    The muscles went rigid and his hands fisted. “Are you doing this because you think I owe you?”
    “What?” She stepped back, confused by the suggestion and his anger.
    “Six years ago I was part of the destruction of your youth and dreams. Maybe you think I owe you recompense—that you lost everything in running away from me.”
    “Don’t be ridiculous.”
    He spun around and caught her wrist. He jerked her against him and locked an arm around her. “Am I being ridiculous? You came here hating me, distrusting me and your dad.”
    “I had every reason.” She struggled against his hold. “Let me go.”
    “In a minute.” His free hand traced the delicate curve of her face and slid into her hair. “You’re beautiful. Other men would have loved you, if you’d let them. So, why me?”
    “You asked that before.” She tried to shut her mind to the devastating effect of his touch. The scent of arousal was still on his skin, making her dizzy, making her ache. “What do you want me to say?”
    His mouth went harsh and tight, and his arms dropped away. “Nothing.”
    She stared at him, trying to read the thoughts locked behind the fierce male arrogance of his face. “There must be something, else why ask?”
    “I’m going out. Going for a drive.” He scooped up his shirt from the floor and pulled it on.
    She heard the rattle of keys, and then, the slam of the front door.
    “Hell.” Alone, frustrated and confused, she picked up a sofa cushion and threw it after him. She tingled, she ached and she was mad as hell that he’d left her in this state.
    What did he want from her?
    Not sex. Not with a virgin.
    She stomped off to her room, stripped off her clothes and stood under a stinging cold shower. If the laws of physics had obeyed the laws of emotion, the water would have steamed as it hit her skin. She was passionately angry and passionately aroused.
    “That man!” How dare he question her sexuality, her desire? Was it a crime to be a virgin? A crime to surrender that virginity?
    “If I want to make love, it’s my decision.”
    Daniel stirred her hormones. So what if there might be an element of teenage experimentation six years overdue? He had wanted her, still wanted her unless his body