The Wedding Charade by Melanie Milburne Page A

in other people’s husbands. I think that is the ultimate betrayal, to sleep with a close friend’s husband.’
    Nic studied her for another long moment, his thoughts flying around his head like insects trying to avoid the spurt of a poisonous spray. ‘Are you saying the stuff about your affair with Richard McCormack was not true?’
    She met his gaze with a challenge in her own. ‘What do you think? Do you really think I am the sort of person to sleep with my best friend’s husband while she was in the early stages of carrying his baby, which she subsequently lost? ‘
    Nic raised his brows in surprise. There had been no mention of a baby in the press. He didn’t know McCormack all that well personally, but they occasionally moved in the same circles. Nic had seen Richard at various functions, playing the role of the urbane businessman with consummate ease. He hadn’t seemed the type to cheat on his wife, but then Jade was a temptation that would test any man’s resolve. Nic felt it himself, the sensual power she had over him. Those sea-green eyes that promised so much, that lured and enticed, only to flash with hatred at the last minute. It was a cat and mouse game she was an expert at performing. But if she was innocent, then why not defend herself? She had access to top-notch lawyers. She wasn’t exactly destitute, even if she had been a little overly dependent on her father’s largesse up until now.
    ‘So if you weren’t McCormack’s bit on the side, then who was?’ he asked.
    She gave him a stony-faced look. ‘I have no idea.’
    Nic wondered if she was lying to protect herself or someone else or whether she truly didn’t know. It seemed the more time he spent with her, the less he knew about her. She had carried herself throughout the day so convincingly even he had to remind himself this was a temporary marriage, not the real thing at all. The way she had responded to his kiss, both in the church and the other day back at his villa in Rome, had revealed what a passionate woman she was under the surface of that cool don’t-mess-with-me façade she customarily wore when around him. She wasn’t immune to him any more than he was to her, although she insisted on denying it. Was it pride or part of the chase? He couldn’t quite decide, but he was determined that he would make this marriage real, even if it took him the best part of the year to do it.
    He smiled to himself as he thought of her soft full-lipped mouth around him, sucking on him, no doubt doing what she had done so many times with so many men. Oh, yes, she would come to him and come willingly. It was only a matter of time. He felt his body stirring to life, the blood rocketing through his veins as he thought of her writhing and twisting beneath him as he worked them both to the pinnacle of pleasure. A deep pool of longing started at the base of his spine and moved forwards, making him hard and ready for action.
    ‘How about a drink to celebrate our temporary marriage?’ he said, stretching an arm towards the villa.
    She brushed past him with a glacial look. ‘I have had my fill of celebratory drinks,’ she said. ‘I am going to bed.’
    Nic paced the
salone
an hour or so later, wondering why he felt so restless and on edge. Actually, he did know why, it was just he didn’t want to admit it. He had planned to have Jade in his bed by now and yet she had eluded him with a curt dismissal. He tossed back the contents of his glass, knowing it was probably unwise to overdo it but overdoing it anyway. What the hell was he doing spending his first night of married life—temporary as it was—alone with a brandy bottle?
    He dragged a hand through his hair. This was ridiculous. He had to get a grip. Jade was not the woman he wanted to spend the rest of his life with. He didn’t want to spend the rest of his life with any one woman. He wasn’t like his brothers, who had settled down with their wives and children, content with their lot. He had