All That Glitters Read online

  He stood watching her, his black eyes grim and his mouth set in a thin line that at any other time would have made her apprehensive but now left her curiously unmoved. He had thrust his hands into his pants pockets as if he didn't trust himself to control his temper, but now he took them out and his eyes gleamed. "It always amazes me how you can look like a queen, just by lifting that little chin."

  Her face showed no reaction. "Is that all you brought me in here to say?" she demanded coolly.

  "You know damned well it isn't." For a moment he had the grace to look uncomfortable, and a dull flush stained the brutal cheekbones. "Jessica, what you saw…it wasn't serious."

  "That really doesn't matter to me," she thrust scornfully, "because our relationship isn't serious, either. You don't have to explain yourself to me, Nikolas; I have no hold on you. Conduct your little affairs as you please; I don't care."

  His entire body jerked under the force of her words and the flush died away to a white, strained look. His eyes grew murderous and an instant before he moved she realized that she had gone too far, pushed him beyond control. She had time only to suck in her breath to cry out in alarm before he was across the room with a lithe, savage movement, his hands on her shoulders. He shook her violently, so violently that her hair tumbled down about her shoulders and tears were jerked from her eyes before his mouth closed on hers and his savage kiss took her breath away. When she thought that she would faint under his onslaught, he lifted her slumping body in his arms and carried her to the soft, worn sofa where their host had obviously spent many comfortable hours. Fiercely he placed her on it and covered her body with his, holding her down with his heavy shoulders and muscular thighs. "Damn you!" he whispered raggedly, jerking her head back with cruel fingers tangled in her hair. "You have me tied in knots; I can't even sleep without dreaming about you, and you say you don't care what I do? I'll make you care, I'll break down that wall of yours—"

  He kissed her brutally, his lips bruising hers and forcing a moan of protest from her throat, but he paid no attention to her distress. With his free hand he slid down the zipper of her dress and pulled the cloth from her shoulders, and only then did his mouth leave hers to press his sensual attack on the soft mounds of her breasts.

  Jessica moaned in fright when her mouth was free, but as his hot lips moved hungrily down her body, a wanton need surged through her. She fought it fiercely, determined not to surrender to him after what had passed between them tonight, knowing that he thought her little better than a whore. And then he had gone straight into Diana's arms! The memory of the smugly victorious smile the woman had given her sent tears streaming down her face as she struggled against his overpowering strength. He ignored her efforts to free herself and moved to press completely over her, his hands curving her against his powerful, surging contours. He was feverish with desire and she was helpless against him; he would have taken her, but when he raised his head from her throbbing breasts, he saw her tear-drenched face and stopped cold.

  "Jessica," he said huskily. "Don't cry. I won't hurt you."

  Didn't he understand? He had already hurt her; he'd torn her heart out. She turned her head away from him with a jerky movement and bit her bruised lip, unable to say anything.

  He eased his weight from her and pulled his handkerchief from his pocket to wipe her face. "It's just as well," he said grimly. "I don't want to make love to you for the first time on a sofa in someone else's house. I want you in a bed, ma chere, with hours in which I can show you how it should be between a man and a woman."

  "Any woman," she said bitterly, remembering Diana.

  "No!" he refuted fiercely. "Don't think of her, she means less than nothing to me. I was foolish—I'm sorry, darling. I wanted to ease myself with her, to relieve the tension that you arouse and won't satisfy, and instead I found that she leaves me cold."

  "Really?" Jessica taunted, glaring at him. "You didn't look so cold to me."

  He tossed the tear-wet handkerchief aside and captured her chin with one hand. "You think not? Did I act as if I was carried away by passion?" he demanded, forcing her to look at him. "Did I kiss her as I kiss you? Did I say sweet things to her?"

  "Yes! You called her— No," she interrupted herself, becoming confused. "You said she was lovely, but you didn't—"

  "I didn't call her darling, as I call you, did I? One kiss, Jessica! One kiss and I knew that she couldn't even begin to damp down the fires you've lit. Won't you forgive me for one kiss?"

  "Would you forgive me?" she snapped, trying to turn her head away, but he held her firmly. Against her will she was softening, letting him talk her out of her resolve. The heavy weight of his limbs against her was comforting as he wrapped her in the security of his strength, and she began to feel that she could forgive any transgression so long as she could still touch him.

  "I would have snatched you away from any man foolish enough to touch you," he promised her grimly, "and broken his jaw. I don't think I could control myself if I saw someone kissing you, Jessica. But I'd never walk away from you; I'd take you with me."

  She shuddered and closed her eyes, recalling those awful moments when she had watched their embrace. "Neither can I control myself, Nikolas," she admitted hoarsely. "I can't bear to watch you make love to another woman. It tears me apart."

  "Jessica!"

  It was the first admission she had made that she cared for him, even a little. Despite their closeness over the past weeks, she had still resisted him in that, had refused to tell him that she cared. Now she could no longer hide it.

  "Jessica! Look at me. Look at me!" Fiercely he shook her and her eyes flew open to stare into his blazing, triumphant eyes. "Tell me," he insisted, bending closer to her, his mouth poised above hers. His hand went to her heart, felt the telltale pounding, and lingered to tenderly stroke the soft womanly curves he found.

  "Tell me," he whispered, and brushed his lips against hers.

  Her arms went about his shoulders, clinging tightly to his strength as her own was washed away in the floodtide of her emotion. "I love you," she moaned huskily. "I've tried not to—you're so…arrogant. But I can't help it."

  He crushed her to him so tightly that she cried out, and he loosened his hold immediately. "Mine," he muttered, pressing hot kisses over her face. "You're mine, and I'll never let you go. I adore you, darling. For weeks I've been half-mad with frustration, wanting you but afraid of frightening you off. You'll have no more mercy from me, you'll be my woman now!" And he laughed exultantly before he sat up and helped her to pull her gown back up. He zipped it for her, then his hard hands closed about her waist.

  "Let's leave now," he said, his voice rough. "I want you so badly!"

  Jessica shivered at the raw demand in his voice, elated but also frightened. The time had come when he would no longer allow her to draw away from him, and though she could feel her heart blooming at his admission of love, she was still wary of this man and the control he had over her.

  Nikolas sensed her hesitation and pulled her close to him with a possessive arm. "Don't be frightened," he murmured against her hair. "Forget whatever has happened to you; I'll never do anything to hurt you. You said that you aren't frightened of me, but you are, I can tell. That's why I've suffered through these weeks of hell, waiting for you to lose your fear. Trust me now, darling. I'll take every care with you."

  She buried her face against his shoulder. Now was the time to tell him that she had never made love before, but when she gathered her courage enough to raise her head and open her mouth, he forestalled her by laying his fingers gently across her bruised lips. "No, don't say anything," he whispered. "Just come with me, let me take care of you."

  Her hair was a tumbled mass about her shoulders and she lifted her hands to try to twist it up again. "Don't bother," Nikolas said, catching her hand. "You look adorable, if anyone should see you, but we'll leave by the back way. Wait here while I make our excuses to our host; I'll only be a moment."

  Left by hers