Kathryn Ross - Ruthless Contract

With a sigh she made her way down to the party again. It was as she fought her way back through the crowds that she saw him.

He was tall, at least a head taller than the people around him, and he had a commanding presence that drew her eyes and held them. When he looked up and she met those dark, charismatic eyes, her heart seemed to miss a beat.

‘Wanna dance?’ A young man caught her arm as she brushed past, and shouted the words above the din of the music.

She dragged her eyes away from the disturbing stranger and shook her head.

‘Oh, come on, one dance.’ The man kept hold of her arm. He had hard features that Abigail did not care for.

‘No, thank you,’ she answered politely. ‘I couldn’t dance to this, anyway.’

‘The next record, then?’

‘I doubt very much that it will be any better,’ Abigail answered firmly, and tried to prise his fingers from her arm. It wasn’t easy—he had an iron grip and he was starting to hurt her. ‘Let go of me.’ She raised her voice to make sure he heard, but still he held on.

Suddenly a hand stretched over and the man was pulled firmly back from her.

‘Beat it,’ a tough voice grated.

The man didn’t stand around to argue and Abigail wasn’t surprised as she tipped her head back and found herself looking up at the handsome stranger who had held her attention a few moments ago.

He grinned at her. ‘The jerk had good taste anyway, I’ll give him that.’

Abigail tried not to blush. She couldn’t believe how gorgeous this man was…If only she wasn’t supposed to be meeting Mike’s brother, she thought despondently.

‘Would you like a drink?’ he asked easily now, his eyes drifting over her gentle features with undisguised interest.

‘Sorry. I’m supposed to be meeting someone.’

His lips twisted drily. ‘So am I…but what the heck? If we leave now they might never be the wiser.’

The words were boldly audacious, spoken arrogantly by a man who was obviously confident of his success with women. But it wasn’t the words that made Abigail’s senses swim, it was his accent. Although it was hard to hear clearly, she felt almost sure that this man had a trace of an American accent.

‘I’m…I’m sure you are joking,’ she said after a moment’s thought. ‘After all, it’s not very nice to stand someone up.’

He shrugged. ‘I’m sure she won’t mind. It’s a blind date, anyway.’ He grinned. ‘They are always a disaster.’

It was Mike’s brother. For a moment she almost laughed aloud. Jenny hadn’t exaggerated when she had said how attractive he was, but she hadn’t told her about his arrogant manner. She supposed that with those looks it was inevitable.

‘I’ll think up some good excuse to smooth it over tomorrow,’ he was saying now.

She shook her head. ‘I’m sorry but I couldn’t be the cause of such duplicity,’ she said primly. ‘Anyway, I’m sure you will thank me when you see your date—she’s probably stunning.’

He shrugged. ‘Honey, I wouldn’t be interested now, if she looked like Michelle Pfeiffer,’ he said with a gleam of humour in his eyes.

She had to laugh. ‘Sorry…but I have to go.’ With a casual wave of her hand she turned to jostle her way through the crowd. She was well aware that the man was astonished. He had probably never been turned down in his life before.

‘There you are.’ Jenny held out an orange juice for her. ‘I know you said you didn’t want a drink but it’s so hot in here.’

‘Thanks, Jen.’ Abbie took the glass gratefully. The room was getting very hot.

‘I don’t know where that brother of mine has got to,’ Mike said with a frown. ‘I’m beginning to wonder if he’s coming.’

Abigail shrugged. Would he come over? she wondered. Did she care? He was very sure of himself, very arrogant. He was also too good-looking for any woman’s peace of mind. Greg Prescott had danger written all over him.

Even so, when he appeared at Mike’s elbow she felt a jolt of pleasure at seeing him again. Greg might be dangerous but he was also magnetically exciting.

‘We were just starting to give up on you.’ Mike turned with a look of relief on his face. ‘Where the hell have you been?’

Greg’s gaze met Abigail’s, and for a moment amusement sparkled clearly in his dark eyes. ‘Talking to a very beautiful woman,’ he said drily.

That comment completely threw Mike, who was clearly flustered for a moment before saying, ‘Well, meet an even more beautiful one. Abigail, this is my wayward brother Greg.’

Abigail stretched out a hand calmly. ‘You can call me Michelle Pfeiffer,’ she said evenly.

At first Abigail tried to keep her distance from Greg. She knew full well that he was something of a devil, albeit a charming one where women were concerned, and she had no intention of being another scalp on his bedpost.

As well as that, she kept telling herself that he was only in England for a short while. He had taken three months out to travel before settling back to his career in the States.

Even so, when he took her home at the end of their evenings together and kissed her, it was very hard to remember all those words of warning. There seemed to be a deep chemistry between them. As soon as his lips touched hers she wanted to melt.

As time went by it got harder and harder to pull away from him. He was skilled in the art of seduction and his kisses were passionate, his embrace like melting into heaven. After a while she started kidding herself that she was different, that he was serious about her, and she realised with a sudden jolt that she was falling in love with him.

Of course she had been crazy to get so involved with him, she acknowledged now. But at the time she had turned a blind eye to the possible heartbreak of the situation.

The months flew by and, as the date of his departure loomed closer, their kisses became more and more intense, almost bitter-sweet, their embraces searingly tender.

When the men decided to put off their departure date for another month, Abigail had almost cried with relief. She remembered that evening so clearly now that it was almost like a knife twisting in her heart.

Greg had taken her out for dinner to an intimate little hotel in the country.

They had lingered over coffee, both of them loath to see the end of the evening.

‘I’m glad you are staying longer.’ Abigail whispered as their eyes met and held across the candle-lit table.

‘So am I.’ He smiled and reached for her hand. Then gently he lifted it to his lips and kissed the palm, then each finger in turn in a blatantly sensual caress.

Abigail felt a tremor run through her body. All her senses were heightened; she felt almost light-headed with desire as she looked into the darkness of his eyes.

‘I’m staying because of you, Abbie,’ he whispered. ‘I’m falling in love with you, my darling, and I can hardly bear the thought of leaving.’

‘Oh, Greg.’ She looked away from him and sudden tears of happiness shone in her eyes. In her dreams she had heard those words, but she hadn’t dared to let herself hope he would say them.

‘Tears?’ He brushed a gentle finger under the dark sweep of her lashes as she tried to hide her eyes from him. ‘Don’t cry, sweetheart. The last thing I want is to upset you.’

‘I’m not upset.’ Her voice shook slightly as she lifted shimmering eyes to his. ‘I love you…with all my heart.’

He reached across and cupped her face in an exquisitely tender hand. ‘You don’t know how happy that makes me,’ he rasped huskily.

She smiled shakily. She felt as if they had come to the most momentous moment of her life. ‘Where do we go from here?’ she whispered.

He smiled. ‘We are in a very beautiful country inn.’ He lowered his voice. ‘And how I’ve managed to keep my hands off you these past few months is beyond me.’