lightly as it seems to be by some people.’ Her voice faltered. Niall was looking more remote and yes, dangerous , with each reckless syllable that passed her lips. ‘When I do it,’ she added in a small defiant voice, ‘I want it to be forever.’
‘A noble aspiration.’
‘Spare me the cynical disillusion,’ she pleaded unsympathetically. ‘And I don’t want it to happen for a long time yet—marriage, that is,’ she added. ‘I’m too young; I’ve too much to do,’ She fretted defensively.
‘You’re older than I was when Tara and I got married.’
Holly’s shoulders lifted. She couldn’t help but notice that his jaw, never soft at the best of times, resembled steel by this point. ‘Which rather proves my point, doesn’t it?’
‘And what happens to your grand plan if you meet someone, fall desperately in love—totally under his spell and he wants to marry you?’ His voice had dropped to a low husky drawl that made a rash of goosebumps break out over her hot skin. Fighting with Niall always got her hot and bothered. ‘He insists on marrying you.’ The rough velvet voice persisted.
‘If he really loved me, he’d wait.’ A fine sheen of moisture broke out over her skin as she tried to drag her eyes away from his mesmeric gaze.
‘Maybe he doesn’t love you—maybe he just wants you. You’re the one in love. You’re totally in his power, and you like it.’
For one split second of mind-numbing panic, she thought he was actually accusing her. Simultaneously, she knew that accusation would be true! The man she loved was never going to insist on marrying her. He probably wouldn’t mind sleeping with her, if there was nothing better to do.
‘I wouldn’t be so stupid,’ she scoffed bravely.
‘Haven’t you ever wanted to please someone so badly that you can’t think about anything else?’
The husky question shook her more than anything else he’d said. There was derision and something else much more scary in his intent gaze.
‘You’re talking as if you have a choice,’ he continued. ‘Love isn’t like that…’
You could say that again! She moistened her dry lips with the tip of her tongue and scanned his handsome, relentlessly cruel face with a kind of helpless fascination. Loving this man was not something she’d choose to do—loving Niall was a disaster! God, she didn’t want him telling her what love was like for him…. That was more than she could bear!
‘…didn’t you know that, Holly?’
She stopped the small agitated pants that made her slight bosom rise and fall dramatically and took a deep steadying breath. ‘You’re talking about lust not love!’ she jeered shakily. Desire so intense, so basic flooded through her; she felt weak. ‘Love is about mutual respect.’
‘True, but it’s also about sex.’
Holly was worried her knees were about to give way. ‘Were you in love when you married Tara?’ she croaked, missing jeer and sounding just plain scared.
Niall blinked and snapped back up to his full overpowering height. She hadn’t been conscious until that moment how closely, how intimately his big body had been curved towards her. She didn’t think at first he was going to reply to the question that had been motivated more by need to distract him than a desire for a reply—she already knew the answer.
‘Blindly in love,’ he told her flatly. With an emphasis on the ‘blind’. Now he could look back on the embarrassing memory of his youthful romantic idealism and see the numerous warning signs that should have made him back off.
And now? she wanted to ask, but didn’t. She suspected she knew that answer, too.
Holly scooped up her clothes and turned towards the bathroom. ‘I won’t be long,’ she mumbled.
CHAPTER SIX
H OLLY soon learnt that tact wasn’t Sir George Wesley’s middle name.
‘Rowena’s sister, eh? A fine -looking girl, Rowena.’ His eyes lit up as he thought about Holly’s sister. ‘Extraordinarily fine.
‘A noble aspiration.’
‘Spare me the cynical disillusion,’ she pleaded unsympathetically. ‘And I don’t want it to happen for a long time yet—marriage, that is,’ she added. ‘I’m too young; I’ve too much to do,’ She fretted defensively.
‘You’re older than I was when Tara and I got married.’
Holly’s shoulders lifted. She couldn’t help but notice that his jaw, never soft at the best of times, resembled steel by this point. ‘Which rather proves my point, doesn’t it?’
‘And what happens to your grand plan if you meet someone, fall desperately in love—totally under his spell and he wants to marry you?’ His voice had dropped to a low husky drawl that made a rash of goosebumps break out over her hot skin. Fighting with Niall always got her hot and bothered. ‘He insists on marrying you.’ The rough velvet voice persisted.
‘If he really loved me, he’d wait.’ A fine sheen of moisture broke out over her skin as she tried to drag her eyes away from his mesmeric gaze.
‘Maybe he doesn’t love you—maybe he just wants you. You’re the one in love. You’re totally in his power, and you like it.’
For one split second of mind-numbing panic, she thought he was actually accusing her. Simultaneously, she knew that accusation would be true! The man she loved was never going to insist on marrying her. He probably wouldn’t mind sleeping with her, if there was nothing better to do.
‘I wouldn’t be so stupid,’ she scoffed bravely.
‘Haven’t you ever wanted to please someone so badly that you can’t think about anything else?’
The husky question shook her more than anything else he’d said. There was derision and something else much more scary in his intent gaze.
‘You’re talking as if you have a choice,’ he continued. ‘Love isn’t like that…’
You could say that again! She moistened her dry lips with the tip of her tongue and scanned his handsome, relentlessly cruel face with a kind of helpless fascination. Loving this man was not something she’d choose to do—loving Niall was a disaster! God, she didn’t want him telling her what love was like for him…. That was more than she could bear!
‘…didn’t you know that, Holly?’
She stopped the small agitated pants that made her slight bosom rise and fall dramatically and took a deep steadying breath. ‘You’re talking about lust not love!’ she jeered shakily. Desire so intense, so basic flooded through her; she felt weak. ‘Love is about mutual respect.’
‘True, but it’s also about sex.’
Holly was worried her knees were about to give way. ‘Were you in love when you married Tara?’ she croaked, missing jeer and sounding just plain scared.
Niall blinked and snapped back up to his full overpowering height. She hadn’t been conscious until that moment how closely, how intimately his big body had been curved towards her. She didn’t think at first he was going to reply to the question that had been motivated more by need to distract him than a desire for a reply—she already knew the answer.
‘Blindly in love,’ he told her flatly. With an emphasis on the ‘blind’. Now he could look back on the embarrassing memory of his youthful romantic idealism and see the numerous warning signs that should have made him back off.
And now? she wanted to ask, but didn’t. She suspected she knew that answer, too.
Holly scooped up her clothes and turned towards the bathroom. ‘I won’t be long,’ she mumbled.
CHAPTER SIX
H OLLY soon learnt that tact wasn’t Sir George Wesley’s middle name.
‘Rowena’s sister, eh? A fine -looking girl, Rowena.’ His eyes lit up as he thought about Holly’s sister. ‘Extraordinarily fine.
Similar Books
