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‘Chelsea!’

Shaking, she refused to obey the command i; every tiny huainst the tears she kneere for there Dear God, how could this have happened to her? She i in him about her poor unfortunate aunt who had suffered an unfortunate romantic attachid virgin ever since She could just i amusement

‘Is it true?’ he asked quietly

His question seeht for composure

Tears flooded her eyes ‘Is what true?’ she asked wildly ‘That I discovered the ive a da with inexperienced virgins? That I allowedlike a tramp to distract your attentions from Kirsty? That I escaped from my married lover’s house with my virtue intact and my pride in tatters?’

‘Da her into silence ‘You know very hich…’

‘They’re all true,’ she flung at him, ‘even down to the fact which I’m sure Kirsty told you—that I’in Go on,’ she told hi to!’

‘Laugh?’ He looked bitterly at her I feel ’

Her breath seeasp She wanted to screaed only to say fiercely, ‘I don’t want your tears!’

She tried to push past hi her against hi in a look that was fiercely molten

‘Who said they were for you? On the contrary, I’d be crying for ht you were the sexiest thing I’d ever seen I wanted to take you in o I couldn’t believe my luck when you seemed to feel the same attraction, but I was speedily disillusioned You certainly wanted me to think you wanted me, but there was no real desire there I wanted to punish you, to hurt you, to ht you to reed, or even a purely feline desire to hang another scalp on your belt You acted out your role perfectly, but no one can fake desire, and I knew you felt none for me; until er

e ina volcano under feet of ice, and then that daone No woman had ever done that to me before, and it infuriated me; all the more so because I knew you had responded to me I asked Ralph about you, but he claimed he didn’t know you I tried to put you out of my mind, but you wouldn’t leave And then I ca out what I thought was a falsely assuht about the role-playing, but I’d got the roles the wrong way round, hadn’t I?’ he derimly

‘I never thought I’d see you again,’ Chelsea admitted defeatedly ‘I only went back with you to your flat because I was frightened that if I didn’t you’d go back for Kirsty’

‘I ought to beat you for thinking that, although I suppose you thought you had just cause’ Slade pushed his hand tiredly through his hair ‘Now that I know the truth I can understand a hell of a lot better…’

‘You ,’ Chelsea said bitterly, ‘now that you know I’m a frustrated, sex-starved spinster?’

He see, suddenly ‘Can’t you?’ he asked softly His thuainst her skin, and she shuddered with the pleasure his touch invoked ‘If that’s true, I’m sorely tempted to carry you upstairs to my bed and keep you there until you’ve proht not be any substitute for love, but…’

Chelsea, stared incredulously up at him ‘You’d marry me purely because you want me sexually?’

‘I’d et through ely ‘From the moment you walked into my life it’s been like that forbut a little tra you have Tom if that hat you wanted I tried to despise you because I knew no matter what you felt for Tom I could arouse you sexually I told e to exorcise you’

‘I thought you wanted to punish me, to teach me a lesson,’ Chelsea half whispered ‘Over Christmas, when I came back from Darkwater and found that you were still here…’

‘And promptly caused me some of the worst hours of my life,’ Slade supplied ‘In h the torture of trying to find you in that dao to New York was because I orried about you, all alone here, and what thanks do I get? First you run off and then you stretch my self-control to the ultiain,’ he said huskily, shuddering as he drew her against him

Vividly Chelsea re and the events which had followed

‘I wanted you so much,’ she said painfully ‘But without love…’

‘Soh for two,’ Slade said softly

She flushed then, thinking that all along he had kno she really felt about him; perhaps even before she had known herself