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The admission didn't bother her the way she felt it should have Vito never pried Vito had always respected her privacy She had kept a diary since she elve and she couldn't break the habit She had never worried that Vito couldn't be trusted in the vicinity of the written truth of her secret thoughts Yes, she conceded dully, she had always trusted Vito not to let her down, not to betray her That hy she had been so savaged, so destroyed by his e to Carina He had told her that he loved her, that he would always love her, that, no matter what she did, that love would always be there, and, fool that she was, she had begun to believe, she had begun to listen It had just been words, and words were cheap But Ashley hadn't known that when he'd walked out She had really truly believed then that Vito loved her and that, no s were between them, he would be back once his hot te Ashley so deeply with that ultimate betrayal that she didn't believe she would ever have the courage to love anyone ever again

'If we're to ed' 'Why don't you pick so for me?' she enquired acidly 'That's what you do with a Barbie doll'

Unconcerned by the taunt, he tossed a black evening gown on the bed like a stateh with superb gold embroidery It must have cost him a fortune

'There's soht to know before you marry me,' she said abruptly

'Last e reement' In spite of the quiet intonation, hard deter her pale face 'I keptthat you keep yours'

'I won't be able to give you a child!' The pained admission was ripped from her constricted throat

'You ive me one' His hard features were curiously shuttered, his tone raw edged For a second ti suspicion Could he know about her previous pregnancy? She searched his flat dark eyes, found nothing there and hurriedly put her fears down to nervous paranoia He couldn't possibly know, she told herself again

'No, that's not what I mean In my family-' she hesitated and then forced herself to continue '-we're not very efficient at producing children Susan hasn't even bothered to try My h eleven et them-'

'Distressing as this information is, I really don't see what it has to do with us-'

'Send me to a doctor, then!' Ashley cut in wildly 'I bet he tells you that I'm a very poor bet!'

Vito'sakin to revulsion 'You're not a broodyou to a doctor If it doesn't happen for us, it doesn't happen, but let us at least give nature a chance'

'You won't listen to me, will you?' she whispered 'I think you will do and say anything to escapeme'

She worried at her lower lip with her teeth and looked up to find Vito's golden gaze clinging to her soft, full mouth with blatant sexual intensity Her skin daed her eyes from his 'And… and doesn't that bother you?'

'Not in the slightest,' he countered huskily 'I have what I want' As the door slid quietly shut on his exit, Ashley shivered, suddenly cold Yes, he had her in the very palht be reasonable, but if she was bad, if she continued to fight, he would close that hard hand of his into a fist, because if there was one thing Vito did not excel at, it was patience

She had a

quick shower in the adjoining bathrooown, she sat down at the dressing-table and ran a brush through her rippling swath of hair She didn't want to look at herself The expensive fabric skily shaped the perfect curves Vito was so deter black the night they first met as well…

And suddenly she was back there on New Year's Eve at the start of the evening that had derailed her entire life She had been alone and, let's face it, she thought, feeling pretty sorry for herself All her flatmates were at ho roith her father on Boxing Day The next ht of her ht the train back to London, conscious that once she was gone her father would cool down again

One of her flatmates' friends had landed on the doorstep – Phoebe, the deb type, as just putting in her ti man popped that all-i party Another girl had let her down and she hadn't wanted to go alone

It was the most important party of the year, Phoebe had pleaded, and all these fabulously rich, ione to such agonising lengths to get her that invitation Amused by her drama, Ashley had decided that it would be fun to see how the upper ten per cent of society entertained themselves Phoebe had loaned her the proverbial little black dress and all the trily fascinated by the seductive stranger she saw in the mirror

'Gosh, you look incredibly eye-catching' Phoebe had frowned 'Jill would have been less competition'