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realise in the
    next second that he was simply
    removing the rest of his clothing. She turned away with a gasp
    to bury her heated face in the pillow.
    She felt the slight dip of the mattress as he came to lie beside
    her again, and her whole body tensed, fear quivering through her, as
    his hand touched her shoulder.
    'Relax,' he whispered. 'I'm not going to hurt you.'
    'Another promise?' Philippa demanded bitterly, keeping her back
    rigidly turned to him.
    'One I intend to keep.' His mouth touched the nape of her neck,
    blowing away the soft strands of hair to bare her skin for his caress. A shudder that had nothing to do with revulsion ran through her body.
    She was not proof against this, she thought wretchedly, yet she
    had to be if she was to retain the least element of her self-respect.
    He'd lied to her, broken a solemn promise, and she could not
    forgive him for that. If he wanted her, he would have to take her, she told herself bravely. Because she would not give, no matter what it
    might cost her.
    When his hand began to slide the hem of her nightgown up
    towards her thigh, she stopped him with a little cry.
    'Don't!'
    'Then take it off for me.'
    'No!'
    'What is the problem?' Although she wasn't looking at him, she
    could hear the smile in his voice. 'You have some deformity that
    you've been keeping from me, mignonne?
    'You know quite well I haven't,' she said bitterly.
    'How can I know?' he said. 'When I have only uncovered your
    body in my imagination—until now.'
    Philippa, quivering with shame and indignation, found her
    nightgown deftly drawn over her head, and discarded on the floor
    beside the bed.
    'Oh, God,' she said, half sobbing. 'At least put out
    the light.'
    'No.' Gently but implacably he turned her to face him again. 'I
    want to see what my money has bought me.'
    She closed her eyes, sinking her teeth into her lower lip as she
    endured his lingering scrutiny.
    'What are you so afraid of?' he asked at last.
    'I'm not afraid. I—I'm disgusted. I thought I could trust you, but
    you lied to me.'
    He laughed softly. 'And now I'm going to lie with you, my little
    one. Why don't you stop fighting me in that stubborn mind of yours,
    and learn a little about yourself? Who knows? You might get a pleasant surprise.'
    'Being betrayed and degraded hardly features on my list of
    enjoyable experiences,' she said raggedly.
    'So you find my presence here with you a degradation.' His voice
    held a sudden chill. 'My profound regrets, madame. But it changes
    nothing. You can behave as childishly as you wish, but tonight you are going to learn what it means to be a woman. You might find it easier if you made a conscious effort to stop hating me,' he added drily.
    'Never!' she said fiercely. 'I won't forgive you for this!'
    His teeth glinted in a brief, unamused smile. 'Tant pis ,' he said, and began to kiss her again, his lips warmly, deliberately arousing as they moved on hers, then down the long line of her slender throat to
    her breasts.
    The touch of his mouth, the stroke of his tongue against her
    flesh was a revelation—a pleasure that was almost pain.
    I can't stand this, Philippa thought, as his lips delicately
    encircled each throbbing nipple in turn.
    'Don't,' she said hoarsely. 'Just—do whatever it is you're going to
    do, then leave me in peace.'
    'In my own good time, mignonne .' Alain's fingers feathered
    against her rounded thighs and lingered with persuasive purpose.
    'Couldn't you defy your stern principles and meet me halfway?'
    There was a new, almost disarming warmth in his voice. Philippa
    found herself shivering suddenly, tempted beyond all bearing to yield, to let him lead her down whatever sensuous path he wanted.
    Her lashes lifted slowly, and she looked into the dark face so
    close to her own, registering just in time the flicker of amused triumph in the green eyes as he recognised her inner struggle.
    It was the expression of a man, she thought dazedly, who was
    used to succeeding with