Sara Craven - A Bad Enemy

His fingers gripped her wrists, tugging her hands away. He said in a low voice, ‘You’re too beautiful to hide yourself. Let me look at you. I want to see every perfect inch.’

He freed her arms, and pulled the nightdress down from her body. In an agony of shyness, Lisle closed her eyes as she felt the soft silk slither away. There was little light in the room, but she’d never been naked in front of a man before, and it was a shattering experience for her, the cool reserve, which had always been her safeguard, broken in pieces.

Jake kissed her deeply and hotly, the aching thrust of his lips against hers exciting her feverishly. His hands closed on her breasts, his fingertips stroking their sensitive peaks, and she gave a little husky moan, her mind blanking out at a point between desire and panic.

He pulled away from her, and she knew by his movements, from the small telltale rustling noises, that he was taking his clothes off. When he took her in his arms again, the point of no return would have been reached, she knew, and it wouldn’t be long after that before he was aware of her woeful lack of experience, and a long inward shudder gripped her as she wondered weakly what his reaction would be, recognising the fact that he could well be angry. After all, a willing woman was what he wanted, was expecting. A frightened virgin would make a poor substitute.

His lips brushed her eyelids. ‘Falling asleep?’ he sounded mocking. ‘You can’t be shy.’

Can’t I? she thought, her body thrilling involuntarily at the touch of his skin against hers.

‘Open your eyes,’ he ordered huskily. ‘You won’t be turned to stone.’ His hand moved down her body, moulding and tracing every supple fluent line as if he was learning her by heart, and she swallowed, her breath thickening as his fingers lingered intimately on her thigh, their subtle pressure luring her to a new and devastating submission. He was kissing her body, his mouth moving slowly and pleasurably on her skin, his head dark as night against her whiteness. She was dissolving in waves of delight, poised on the edge of yielding totally, letting those diabolically experienced hands explore her in any way he wished.

The sudden violent thresh of the telephone bell was like the shock of an electric current, a whiplash across her senses. Jake swore, levering himself away from her, the swift dark anger in his face turning to ruefulness as he looked down at her.

‘I’ll have to answer that before the Petersons do.’

Dry-mouthed, Lisle said, ‘Their room is in another wing. They won’t hear. …’

He drew a finger over her lips, silencing her. ‘You realise that it might be the hospital,’ he said quietly, and was gone.

She put her hands over her eyes, wanting to die of shame. No, she thought, it hadn’t occurred to her, because she’d been lost to all sense of reality, aware only of the devastation of this physical arousal he had created in her.

She sat up shivering, feeling bleak and cold, reaching for her crumpled nightdress and dragging it over her head, guilt and shame warring inside her.

How could she have behaved like this? she wondered desperately. In a matter of hours after their first meeting, Jake had made her act like the slut he believed her to be, and she would never forgive herself. Grandfather could be dying, and she had let a man she didn’t even like strip and touch her and kiss her, without lifting a finger to stop him.

She huddled on her robe, and sat hugging her knees, staring with empty eyes at the charred logs in the wide grate as she waited for Jake to come back.

He said from the doorway, ‘It’s Gerard. Returning the call you made to him earlier.’

Lisle got up stiffly, not daring to look at him, and fled to the library.

‘What’s he doing there?’ Gerard demanded instantly, without even the preamble of a greeting.

‘Taking over the company, unless you can stop him. What do you think?’ Lisle retorted.

He cursed viciously. ‘I’ll get the next plane out. Thank God Carla gave me your message, although it was touch and go,’ he added on a unmistakable note of satisfaction. ‘I don’t think she altogether believed you’re my sister. She was actually jealous!’

Lisle felt a little sick. ‘I’m not really interested in the emotional games you and your women friends play,’ she said tautly. ‘Aren’t you going to ask about Grandfather?’

‘Just how sick is he?’ he asked sharply. ‘What guarantee is there that I’m going to be in time?’

‘None at all,’ Lisle’s voice was crisp. ‘Thanks for caring.’

He sighed. ‘Oh, I didn’t mean it like that, sweetie. I’m just in a bit of a state, that’s all. I wasn’t expecting this—any of it.’

‘Nor was I.’ Lisle’s tone was still short. ‘Can I tell Grandfather that you’re on your way when we go and see him tomorrow—today?’ she corrected herself hurriedly.

‘Of course,’ Gerard said slowly. ‘Lisle—when you said “we” …’

‘That’s exactly what I meant.’ She was aware that Jake was standing in the doorway watching her, buttoning his shirt and stuffing it into the waistband of his slacks as he did so.

‘You keep that bastard away from Grandfather, do you hear!’ Gerard snapped with angry emphasis.

Lisle smiled bitterly. ‘If only it was as simple as that. Just get here as soon as you can.’ She put the receiver back on the rest and turned to face Jake with spurious calm.

He looked back at her with an angry disgust he did not bother to conceal. ‘I’d fogotten the telephone was in the library,’ he said half to himself. ‘That’s why you were in there, of course, summoning the cavalry to come galloping to the rescue.’ His mouth curled. ‘But you picked up the cue I gave you quite brilliantly, darling. When the world of public relations has nothing more to offer you, which should be soon, you might try the stage. A certain class of production, of course. All that romantic trembling, the modestly averted eyes as you take your clothes off, would be a riot with the dirty raincoat brigade.’

She shrugged elaborately, not daring to meet his hostile gaze directly. ‘It left you cold, naturally.’

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