Bittersweet Love - Cathy Williams [41]
That would be a compliment, Natalie thought sadly, except you don’t really like intelligent women, do you? Not in large doses at any rate. Despite what you some-times would have me believe.
‘Aren’t you going to react to that?’ he asked softly, moving closer to where she was sitting. Natalie felt her body tense. Something in the atmosphere had changed very subtly between them.
‘Should I?’
‘Well, most normal women would be flattered by a compliment.’
‘Thank you,’ she said obediently, ‘I’m flattered.’
His lips twisted in a mocking smile. ‘Very sincere,’ he murmured, moving still closer until he was looming over her, making her break out in nervous perspiration. Did he know what he was doing to her? she wondered.
‘I’m sorry,’ Natalie said tartly, ‘perhaps I should tremble in gratitude that the great Kane Marshall has deigned to pay me a compliment.’
That tongue of yours,’ he replied, his eyes hard. ‘I can’t imagine what brought me here. It certainly isn’t a relaxing experience.’
‘You know where the door is,’ she muttered, not loudly enough for him to hear, although he tried to.
The conversation, she knew, was rapidly getting out of hand. It was late, they were both away from the security of a working environment, and a lot could be said that would later be regretted. She knew that. She worked for him after all. However much she didn’t like admitting it, there was a limit to what she ought to say to him, because tomorrow was another day.
‘What I really came to say,’ he muttered, ‘was this. Does solid Eric know that you’re attracted to me?’
Natalie’s mouth fell open.
‘Well, does he?’ Kane prompted coolly. ‘I’ve spent some time thinking about what happened last Sunday and I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s a bit unfair of you to conduct a relationship with a man to whom you can’t possibly be attracted.’ Every word made her body go colder until she felt as though any moment her teeth would begin chattering.
‘You never said anything to me at work,’ she breathed, at a loss for anything else to say, and he gave a short laugh.
‘I didn’t think work was exactly a fitting environment for observations of that nature.’ He looked away and a dark flush crept up his face. ‘Answer me—does he? Does he know how you feel about me?’
Natalie stood up abruptly, making no attempt to disguise her shaking hands.
‘Out!’ she said in a high voice. ‘Get out of my flat!’
He didn’t budge, and she raised her hand in a fit of angry, humiliated rage, sweeping it across his face, re-coiling from the stinging contact of flesh against flesh. A red mark immediately appeared on his cheek. He reached out and snatched her hand by the wrist, twisting it and pulling her towards him so that she was on tiptoe, unable to wriggle because the slightest movement made her trapped hand go hot with pain.
‘Truth a little painful for you, Miss Robins?’ he hissed. ‘Anna told me that you were attracted to me, but I didn’t believe her. I thought it was her imagination getting way out of control, but she was right, wasn’t she? You are attracted to me, and what I want to know is what you’re going to do about it.’
‘You don’t know what you’re talking about,’ Natalie whispered. Her entire body felt as though any minute it would burst into flame. She was hot with embarrassment, she didn’t know where to look and much as she wanted to cover her ears with her hands, to scream at him to shut up, what good would it do? It wouldn’t stop him from knowing the awful truth. The only saving grace was that at least he didn’t know the depth of her attraction.
‘Oh, yes, you do. When you lay in my arms, I could feel your whole body melting, urging me on to take you.’
‘I don’t want to hear this.’
Im sure you don’t. I’m sure you’d like to run away from the truth as fast as your legs can take you, and pretend that what you want is a life of marriage, two children, one dog and a goldfish, but don’t you think that’s a bit unfair on yourself? Why pretend? You’ll never be able to settle