“He did not hurt me.” It was no more than the same argument they had fought for the past month. “I hurt me, Father, don’t you understand that? I was wrong to push him…” The tears came again. “Would you just stop speaking of him? Please…”
“Why, so you can forget me?”
She stared in shock as Ian stepped into the room.
Her eyes widened as heat began to fill her body, racing through her bloodstream, chasing away the chill that held her in stasis for so many weeks.
He looked horrible. His face was haggard, lined with weariness, his deep blue eyes filled with shadows.
Her head whipped around to her father, staring at him in mute shock.
“He called from the limo.” He shrugged. “He wanted to see you. It’s your life, Courtney,” he finally sighed, his gray eyes concerned, finally filled with acceptance. “I can’t live it for you, and to be honest, I’d just f**k it up further if you let me.” He turned to Ian then. “I’ll be downstairs when you’re ready to talk.”
He turned and left the room, leaving her alone then with the man who had haunted her for most of her life.
Why was he here though? Did he worry that she would somehow meet the same end that Melissa had?
“If he has led you to believe I would hurt myself, then he is playing a very cruel game with you,” she bit out fiercely. “You must remember I inherited my scheming heart somewhere. It was obviously him. You know how he gets when he’s angry, Ian. He’ll let you believe whatever you like.”
She couldn’t believe he was here. She stared at him, eating him with her gaze, caressing him with her eyes as she longed to with her hands. How tall and strong he looked. His sun-darkened flesh, the thick black hair, his wicked blue eyes. He stood before her dressed in low-slung jeans and a white silk shirt. Boots covered his feet, giving him a rakish stance. And between his thighs… He still lusted for her. His c**k was hard, pressing against the material in a bid to be free.
Her body responded to that knowledge, her br**sts swelling, her ni**les growing hard and sensitized as he continued to watch her.
“I know how Dane is.” He crossed his arms over his chest as he watched her solemnly. “You disappoint me though.”
“Me?” Her brows snapped into a frown as his words finally sank into her head. “How could I have disappointed you? I left. What more could you wish?”
“Did I ask you to leave?” He arched his brow questioningly. “I don’t recall asking you to do anything of the sort. You drove me crazy for weeks, finally got what you wanted and then you just up and left.”
She blinked back at him, her hands waving nervously.
“I had caused you such trouble…”
“No more than I expected.” He grunted. “Don’t you think I knew your father was a little smarter than you were giving him credit for? I knew he would get suspicious. You were the one who thought you had him fooled.”
She flushed at the reminder.
“I didn’t want to make things worse…” Her throat tightened with regret. Why hadn’t he understood that? And why wait a month to berate her for it?
He stepped further into the room, bringing with him the unique scent that she had always loved about him.
“You made things much worse,” he growled then. “You left without saying goodbye. That hurt my feelings, Courtney.”
She shook her head, watching him in confusion.
“How?” She frowned trying to figure that one out.
“I was furious with you.” He stopped in front of her, staring down at her, his expression lightening as he saw whatever it was he was searching for within her gaze. “I am still furious with you. Which means, I may well have to punish you severely. Later…” She gasped when he touched her, his arms going around her, one hand tangling in her hair to draw her head back. “Much later…”
His lips came down on hers forcefully, his tongue spearing between them as they parted in surprise and conquering any protest she would have made. Emotion hit her like a tidal wave, swamping her in pleasure, in an arousal that tore brutally through her system.
This would not do at all.
Reality slammed forcefully into her head, her heart as she jerked back from him, tearing herself from his arms as she stared back at him, fury erupting inside her.
“Your feelings were hurt?” Incredulity swept through her. “How dare you stand before me proclaiming such a thing? How dare you in all your f**king male superiority dare to say such a thing to me?”
Weeks. Weeks of agony, of sleepless nights tore through her. The days of pacing the floors fighting to understand how she could have possibly been wrong, how her heart, which had always led her right, had f**ked up so horribly, and his feelings were hurt?