the first time since he'd confronted her with the letters that morning, she sensed a softness in him. He was as frightened as he was angry—frightened of her.
Her throat tightened with compassion for this powerful man who could be reduced to terror by the thought of caring for someone or having someone care for him.
"I never meant to hurt you," she said, her voice soft and thin.
"Hurt me?" He laughed shortly. "You can't hurt me! I don't care enough about anything to be hurt!"
If only it were so, Jason, she thought, realizing for the first time that the barriers he'd built to keep the world out had failed to do so. Instead, they had become a prison, trapping him in a world of isolation and pain.
"All I want is you, Jason, your love—"
"Maybe you don't know me as well as you think," he said bitterly, his gaze fixed on something beyond the window. "I am incapable of love. Love is just a word to me, a meaningless word."
"This morning and last night..."
A smile curved his lips as he turned to face her, his gaze traveling the length of her body in a slow caress that sent hot color up her throat to her face. "I loved your body, Caroline," he said, moving toward her, his eyes burning with a hunger she recognized all too readily.
She backed away, aware of her precarious position. She was alone in the jungle with a man who desired her despite the rage that still pulsed through him, a man against whom she was utterly defenseless.
"Surely you know the difference," he went on, advancing as she retreated, his tall, broad frame blocking the scant light from the window. "I love your body now. That kind of love I understand. Is that enough for you? Will you prostitute yourself to me? Will you share my bed whenever I want and leave me the hell alone?"
He touched her cheek, his fingers warm and gentle on her skin. Swallowing hard against the fear and desire inside her, she stepped back out of his reach, and his hand fell away.
"No," she said breathlessly.
"Well, it's all I have to offer," he said. "It's all I've ever had to offer. You just never understood that. The rain's letting up, let's go."
Caroline stood her ground, folding her arms in front of her. "I don't believe that you sent for a wife just for... for..."
"Sexual fulfillment? God, you are naive, aren't you? Believe whatever you like. I'm going back to the fazenda."
"I know I'm not exactly what you asked for, but—"
Turning abruptly, he glared at her, his face reflecting comprehension and fury. "Derek never saw my request for a wife, did he?"
"He—he was in Europe and I...."
Jason turned as if he couldn't stand the sight of her, walking through the door and leaving her to gape after him.
"Jason!" she called, running after him. This time her hand on his arm halted him, but he stared straight ahead, refusing to look at her.
"I'd like to strangle you right now," he said.
Caroline backed away from the threat in his voice.
"You disgust me with your righteous indignation and treachery, pretending to be wounded by my reaction when all the while you've lied—lied about everything!"
"Please, Jason." She spoke rapidly before he could interrupt her. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner. I'm sorry I continued to write as Derek. But I sensed your loneliness, your need for someone to talk to. If I had revealed my true identity—"
"I'd have known to whom I was writing and I would have told you what I wanted you to know, not what I wanted Derek to know. You took that choice away from me. Have you no shame?"
Tears streamed freely down her face now. "I'm sorry," she choked out.
"Stay away from me, Caroline," he warned. "You'll be leaving when the mail boat returns. This time I mean it. I'll put you on board personally. In fact, I may send Ignacio with you all the way to Belem. The marriage can't be annulled now, you saw to that!"
Caroline flushed indignantly. "What? Are you accusing me of seducing you? How dare—"
Jason turned on her, grabbing her by the shoulders. She leaned away from him, trying to pull out of his hold, but her struggles were useless.
"The marriage can't be annulled," he ground out, shaking her violently, his face trembling with barely suppressed rage, "but I'll arrange for a divorce. By God, I'll be rid of you once and for all."
He released her abruptly