JACQUELINE BAIRD - Paper Marriages - Wife - Bought and Paid For / His Convenient Marriage / A Convenient Wife

Penny stared at him, genuinely shocked and then angry. ‘I could ask you the same. But I would not be so crude,’ she returned.

‘Ah, of course, you are a lady…’ Long, tanned fingers moved caressingly on the tender skin above her wrist. ‘But to answer the question you are too polite to ask,’ he said mockingly, ‘so far you are repaying my investment admirably.’ His ice-grey eyes flared, then narrowed on her angry face, and suddenly she sensed just below the calm surface was a violent rage waiting to escape. ‘The highest-paid whore in the world could not have done better,’ he opined in a deep, dark voice that slashed through her body like a knife.

A deep flush overlaid her pale skin. It had been insensitive of her to call a man with Solo’s background crude, but his response shamed and horrified her. Now she knew what Solo really thought of her, and she collapsed on the side of the bed, only dimly registering that her legs were shaking.

‘But I think it is time for another instalment,’ Solo suggested, and, roughly hauling her up hard against him, he took her mouth in a fierce, brutal kiss.

‘Don’t.’ She struggled against him. ‘Solo…’ He was frightening her.

‘Yes, say my name,’ he breathed, the violence in his eyes making her shake, and she pushed hard at his chest. ‘Remember who you belong to.’ He laughed, a harsh, cruel sound, and captured her mouth with his own as he tumbled her back on the bed.

The breath whooshed out of her body. ‘No, please, Solo,’ Penny cried and grabbed a handful of his hair to pull him away. ‘I didn’t…’ was as far as she got.

He lifted his head and the scorch of his laser-like gaze burned into hers as he claimed her mouth again with a low, agonised groan that seemed to reach right into her body and pluck out her heart.

She tried to struggle, striking out at his chest. ‘Wait.’ Fear, stark and debilitating, made her shudder as his eyes, hard as flint, clashed with hers. One strong hand caught the hem of her dress and dragged it up around her waist.

‘I don’t need to. I might be crude but you are bought and paid for,’ he snarled, and his lips came crashing down on hers again.

Penny battled to breathe, her fingers curved into his shoulder, her other hand pulled his hair, but slowly the heat, the hungry passion of his mouth got to her as only Solo could. His body, hard and taut with a need he could not hide, slid between her thighs, and the hand that pulled his hair turned to caress the silken locks.

‘ Dio! ’ Solo suddenly exclaimed, lifting his head. ‘What the hell am I doing?’

She saw a flicker of vulnerability in his hooded eyes and her heart squeezed. Solo was the most arrogant, indomitable male she had ever met and yet… Something made her slip her arms around his back and hug him as he would have moved off her.

‘I can make a guess,’ she tried to tease, staring up into his sombre face, but he wasn’t amused.

He jerked to his feet and glanced down to where Penny lay sprawled on the bed and gave her a long, brooding look, before spinning on his heel and walking away.

Penny watched him depart with sad, puzzled eyes. She saw him rake his hand through his hair as he went through the open door, but he didn’t look back. The honeymoon was definitely over.

Slowly Penny dragged herself up to a sitting position, and made an attempt to smooth her dress down over her legs. He could not have made it plainer the marriage was to be a short-term affair. Solo was a man who thrived on challenge; maybe she had been too willing and he was tired of her already. Then there was Tina…

A deep, shuddering sigh shook her. How long could Penny live with a man, love a man, when he treated her like a whore he’d paid for? What about every time Solo left on business—would she wonder if he was sleeping with his mistress? His avowal that he demanded strict fidelity in a relationship she had a suspicion should have ended in a caveat. With the exception of Tina

Текст предоставлен ООО «ЛитРес».

Прочитайте эту книгу целиком, купив полную легальную версию на ЛитРес.

Безопасно оплатить книгу можно банковской картой Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, со счета мобильного телефона, с платежного терминала, в салоне МТС или Связной, через PayPal, WebMoney, Яндекс.Деньги, QIWI Кошелек, бонусными картами или другим удобным Вам способом.