obsession, and the obsession had developed into a dangerous fixation with you…’
Vivian struggled to sit up, but Nicholas held her down with implacable gentleness. ‘Are you saying this was all his idea?’ she asked hoarsely through her salt-scored throat.
‘I had no idea what he was planning,’ he said emphatically. ‘Not until I paid a long-overdue duty visit last week. As usual, our discussion turned into a furious row. He suddenly started shouting the most ridiculous things… about how it was all your fault his son had turned against him and how he was finally going to make you and Janna pay for murdering his grandson. How he had waited years for just the right moment to get you where he wanted you… He was boasting about how he was going to do it when he had a massive stroke—’
‘Oh, God…’ Vivian’s fist came up to her mouth and Nicholas eased it away, unsurprised by her horrified compassion for the man who had tried to hurt her.
‘No, he’s not dead, but he’s in an extremely bad way,’ he said sombrely, wrapping her fist reassuringly in his. His body shifted against hers, enveloping her in a fresh wave of blissful warmth.
‘As soon as he was taken to hospital, I scoured his desk and files in case his incredible ravings were true. I found his dossier on you and a load of legal transactions with Marvel-Mitchell, and I got a shock to find it was actually on the verge of happening—and on Nowhere of all places—while I was scheduled to be away in Florida. Here!’ His voice hardened and she felt the muscles of his chest tense as if against a blow to the heart. ‘On my island…the place I used to come to get away from his insidious interference in my life. That was part of his sick delusion, you see,’ he added tiredly. ‘That he was doing this for my sake. So I fired the sleazy hireling who was supposed to do all the dirty work, and flew down here myself to…’ He hesitated uneasily.
‘To take his place?’ she challenged painfully.
He leaned up on one elbow and said ruefully, ‘Actually, I came hot-foot to rescue you. To apologise and try to smooth things over and explain about my father’s condition—’
‘Rescue me? Apologise? By drugging me and photographing me naked in bed with you and threatening to make me have your baby? ’ Vivian squawked at him incredulously. ‘You expect me to believe that was your idea of smoothing things over? ’
To her fascination he flushed, adjusting his eye-patch in the first unconsciously nervous gesture she had ever seen him make. ‘Yes, well, you weren’t quite naked. And, anyway, that was partly your fault.’
‘ My fault?’
‘I was expecting your sister. I had intended to be very civilised and restrained and then use my power of attorney to sign the settlement contract and wave Janna a grateful goodbye, but I took one look at you and went off like a rocket.’ His voice roughened as he began to play with her damp ginger curls. ‘I wanted you more than any woman I’ve wanted in my life. I can’t explain it. I just saw you, touched you, and knew that we were made for each other, that you felt the same, powerful attraction that I did…
‘But I knew from my father’s file that you were due to get married in a week, so I didn’t have much time. I decided to take some drastic short cuts, use every despicable tool conveniently placed at my disposal, to keep you here and break down your resistance to the notion of breaking up with Marvel. I thought that my pretending to be my father would buy me the time I needed to build on the potent physical chemistry between us. Of course, I didn’t realise that you were also doing some bidding for the same reason…’ he added slyly.
She placed her hands flat against his bare chest. ‘Not quite the same reason,’ she teased.
To her surprise he didn’t smile. ‘Are you trying to let me down lightly?’ he asked quietly.
She suddenly realised that she hadn’t told him. She traced his
Vivian struggled to sit up, but Nicholas held her down with implacable gentleness. ‘Are you saying this was all his idea?’ she asked hoarsely through her salt-scored throat.
‘I had no idea what he was planning,’ he said emphatically. ‘Not until I paid a long-overdue duty visit last week. As usual, our discussion turned into a furious row. He suddenly started shouting the most ridiculous things… about how it was all your fault his son had turned against him and how he was finally going to make you and Janna pay for murdering his grandson. How he had waited years for just the right moment to get you where he wanted you… He was boasting about how he was going to do it when he had a massive stroke—’
‘Oh, God…’ Vivian’s fist came up to her mouth and Nicholas eased it away, unsurprised by her horrified compassion for the man who had tried to hurt her.
‘No, he’s not dead, but he’s in an extremely bad way,’ he said sombrely, wrapping her fist reassuringly in his. His body shifted against hers, enveloping her in a fresh wave of blissful warmth.
‘As soon as he was taken to hospital, I scoured his desk and files in case his incredible ravings were true. I found his dossier on you and a load of legal transactions with Marvel-Mitchell, and I got a shock to find it was actually on the verge of happening—and on Nowhere of all places—while I was scheduled to be away in Florida. Here!’ His voice hardened and she felt the muscles of his chest tense as if against a blow to the heart. ‘On my island…the place I used to come to get away from his insidious interference in my life. That was part of his sick delusion, you see,’ he added tiredly. ‘That he was doing this for my sake. So I fired the sleazy hireling who was supposed to do all the dirty work, and flew down here myself to…’ He hesitated uneasily.
‘To take his place?’ she challenged painfully.
He leaned up on one elbow and said ruefully, ‘Actually, I came hot-foot to rescue you. To apologise and try to smooth things over and explain about my father’s condition—’
‘Rescue me? Apologise? By drugging me and photographing me naked in bed with you and threatening to make me have your baby? ’ Vivian squawked at him incredulously. ‘You expect me to believe that was your idea of smoothing things over? ’
To her fascination he flushed, adjusting his eye-patch in the first unconsciously nervous gesture she had ever seen him make. ‘Yes, well, you weren’t quite naked. And, anyway, that was partly your fault.’
‘ My fault?’
‘I was expecting your sister. I had intended to be very civilised and restrained and then use my power of attorney to sign the settlement contract and wave Janna a grateful goodbye, but I took one look at you and went off like a rocket.’ His voice roughened as he began to play with her damp ginger curls. ‘I wanted you more than any woman I’ve wanted in my life. I can’t explain it. I just saw you, touched you, and knew that we were made for each other, that you felt the same, powerful attraction that I did…
‘But I knew from my father’s file that you were due to get married in a week, so I didn’t have much time. I decided to take some drastic short cuts, use every despicable tool conveniently placed at my disposal, to keep you here and break down your resistance to the notion of breaking up with Marvel. I thought that my pretending to be my father would buy me the time I needed to build on the potent physical chemistry between us. Of course, I didn’t realise that you were also doing some bidding for the same reason…’ he added slyly.
She placed her hands flat against his bare chest. ‘Not quite the same reason,’ she teased.
To her surprise he didn’t smile. ‘Are you trying to let me down lightly?’ he asked quietly.
She suddenly realised that she hadn’t told him. She traced his
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