Web of Deception - By Nina Blake Page 0,4
her arm as he did so. A sensual shiver shot up her spine.
This shouldn’t be happening. A man she’d only just met shouldn’t make her feel this way.
She felt like a nervous teenager. How had that happened? She was thirty years old, after all. She should get a grip on herself.
“It’s an amazing piece,” she said, looking up at the Klee.
“You didn’t come here for the painting.”
Her gaze remained riveted to the artwork. “Believe me, I wouldn’t turn down the chance at a private viewing like this.”
“There’s more to it than that.”
She knew where this was headed and turned to face him. “And how do you know why I’m here? Can you read my mind?”
“You’re here for the same reason I am.”
“What’s that?”
“There’s something between us. I can feel it.”
Kate shook her head. “That’s ridiculous. We’ve only just met.”
“It makes no difference at all.”
“It makes all the difference in the world. I can’t have those sorts of feelings for someone I just met, someone I don’t know.”
He nudged a little closer to her and lowered his voice so she had to give him her full attention to hear him.
“I’m talking about your feelings,” he said. “They don’t always make sense. Feelings aren’t logical.”
She crossed her arms. “I hope you’re not going to try to tell me about love at first sight.”
Daniel’s lips curled to a sly smile. “It’s not ‘love’ I’m talking about.”
“Good, then we agree on something, at least.”
“Some people might call it lust but I think physical attraction is so much more complex than that. It’s not easy to describe these feelings, this chemistry.”
Kate opened her mouth to speak but the words wouldn’t come out. She felt something yet this wasn’t the way it was meant to be.
You couldn’t build a successful relationship based on values as shallow as chemistry. Pheromones and hormones and attraction, these were all things people used as an excuse to jump into bed with someone. That wasn’t the way Kate lived her life. She knew what she wanted and wasn’t interested in a quick romp around.
“You can say it as many times as you like,” she said. “That doesn’t make it true.”
“Then why don’t you leave right now? The door’s not locked. You can simply go, and prove to me you don’t feel anything.”
She sure as heck wasn’t leaving just because he told her to. She leaned back against the desk and settled in for the duration, sliding her hands along on the desk’s smooth mahogany surface.
“What? And leave half way through a good argument? No, we haven’t finished.”
Daniel grinned. “So you’ve never had a relationship based on instant attraction?”
“Absolutely not.”
She was acting more indignant than she should. She often responded that way when she thought she was being backed into a corner. Sometimes she simply couldn’t help herself.
“You’re an attractive woman, Kate,” he said. “You must have had lots of relationships. What have they been based on?”
“Lots of things.” Darn it, she had to think quickly. “Mutual respect, companionship, common interests. There’s plenty to base a relationship on other than this thing you can’t even describe.”
He was still grinning as he turned to face her, leaning against the desk with one hip. “And love? I assume you believe in love. Most women do. What do you base that on?”
“The same kinds of things. You can’t base a deep, meaningful relationship on chemistry. It would never work.”
“Wouldn’t it?”
“Love doesn’t happen overnight. It’s something you have to work at. You start with the seed of a relationship and nurture it, help it grow. You work at it together.”
He slid along the desk and leaned closer. She smelled the hint of alcohol on his breath. It cut through the air and went straight to her head.
“That might be true for some people,” he said, “but I think you’re underestimating yourself. Sometimes there’s a deep, physical attraction between two people, a spark. It’s instant and it’s there.”
Damn it, an hour ago she would have told him outright he was wrong but she couldn’t say that now. Not when she suddenly knew exactly what he was talking about.
She didn’t just know it.
She felt it.
“It’s no excuse,” she said feebly.
“No excuse for what?”
“Even if people sometimes have those feelings, it doesn’t mean they should act on them. What kind of way is that to live your life? On a whim?”
He laughed. “Don’t tell me you don’t trust your own instincts.”
“There’s nothing wrong with my instincts. I’m just saying some decisions should be made with the mind, rather than