Read The Night That Started It All for Free Online

perfectly natural concerns well. As he scanned her face his certainties suffered a jolt. There was a sparkle in her eyes that gave him pause.
    Her luscious mouth was firmly compressed, when only minutes ago those lips had been so soft and yielding, so tinglingly responsive.
    She turned away from him.
    With quicksilver rapidity a dozen arguments flashed through his mind. From her point of view she might have been telling the truth. She was a woman, after all. What woman ever understood the dictates of honour between men? Particularly men of the same family?
    The night’s original agenda scintillated in his mind’s eye. Perhaps he was being harsh. Overly fastidious. If she was no longer
officially
engaged …
    And he’d be gone from Australia tomorrow. They’d be ships in the night, et cetera. Passing on the stormy seas of his bed at the Seasons. Plunging and plunging in the sweet, fresh sheets, her naked beauty his to enjoy to the full. Totally naked, and by lamplight …
    Gazing at her sweet profile, he felt a renewed urgent stir in his loins. It would be too cruel to have to sacrifice this now. Rémy would never have to know.
    At that admittedly seedy reflection shame started to seep through him. What was he doing? He’d come to relieve Rémyof his job, not his woman. For all he knew they’d had a mere lovers’ tiff and she’d be back in his bed in a few days.
    Avoiding looking at her for fear of succumbing to temptation and throwing honour out of the window, he chilled his tone. ‘Let’s be adult about this. I think we have to acknowledge that our recent—interlude—was an error of judgement.’
    She turned coolly on her heel and stalked away in the direction of the front door.
    ‘
Shari
.’ Galvanised to action, he caught up with her in a couple of strides.
    A mere beat ahead of him, she was first to grab the door knob. As he reached over her blonde head to take it from her he heard a small startled sound issue from her throat and just for an instant he noted a curious rigidity in her. He touched her shoulder and she started, then spun around, alarm in her eyes.
    ‘Pardonne-moi
.’ He drew back in concern. ‘I didn’t mean to scare you.’
    ‘You
don’t
scare me. And you’d better believe that.’
    Bemused by the tense glitter in her eyes, he tried to placate her. ‘You’re upset. Shari, please.’ He gestured imploringly. ‘Be reasonable. Maybe you’re angry with Rémy. Try to understand, I cannot allow myself to be exploited as a weapon of revenge in some—dispute between lovers.’
    ‘
Exploited,’
she echoed, her voice low and trembling. ‘
Revenge
.’ She closed her eyes. ‘Oh, why didn’t I see? You’re just like him.’
    ‘How am I like him?’ he retorted, stung.
    Her eyes sparkled fiercely. ‘Everything you’re saying, every word is—is—accusing me of
cheating
. You’re calling me a-a-a slut.’
    His blood pressure made a surprising leap, but he cooled that purely visceral response. ‘No,’ he said coolly. ‘I am far too polite.’
    She wrenched the door open and walked quickly down the path.
    After a second, driven by some impulse, he strode in pursuit. He’d almost caught up to where she stood outside on the pavement, when without warning she dashed forward and hailed a passing taxi.
    The car drew into the kerb and she scrambled in. As it moved into the road she turned to cast him a last icy, burning look through the window.
    He felt stunned.
Nom de Dieu
. What sort of guy did she think she was dealing with? With fire flaring in his veins, he raced for his hire car.
    Attempting to keep her cab in sight among the many, he wove in and out of the traffic—absurdly heavy for a country of this size—rationalising his impulse. At least if he talked to her again he could explain his position more fully. Surely it was important to leave their encounter on a positive note.
    They were practically family, weren’t they? She’d be grateful, as he would be. After all, it had