Husband on Trust(32)

His arrogant command made her blood boil. ‘As Margot had to,’ she sneered. Why she was defending the other woman, she had no idea, but he made her so mad. ‘That woman loved you; I could see it in her eyes.’

‘Love.’ Alex lifted a shoulder in an infinitesimal shrug. ‘Whatever that means, it was not something Margot was ever afflicted with.’ His dark eyes mocked her. ‘Now money, yes.’

A chill ran over Lisa’s flesh and extinguished her anger at a stroke. She felt curiously calm. ‘You don’t believe in love,’ she said softly, the effect of his ‘Whatever that means’ slicing at the very heart of her.

Alex snorted in disgust. ‘With a father like mine, what do you think?’ he drawled. ‘The man falls in love at the drop of a hat, or maybe the drop of a dress would be more appropriate.’ His harsh laugh sounded the death knell of Lisa’s hope. ‘He compounds his stupidity by marrying them. Substitute sex for love, then you’ll be nearer the truth.’

Appalled, she stood glued to the spot. Alex meant what he said; he really did not believe in love. It was several seconds before she could speak. ‘Why did you marry me, Alex?’ she asked quietly, her blue eyes holding his.

Apparently surprised, he raised his eyebrows sharply above his dark eyes, and, catching her by the shoulders, he drew her against him. ‘I married you, Lisa, because I wanted you on sight.’ He lifted a strong brown hand and let his fingertip trace the bow of her top lip in a fleeting gesture that made her body tense. ‘After spending only one day with you I knew I had to have you. You are all I ever wanted in a wife,’ he said softly, his dark eyes smiling into hers. ‘Believe me.’

If his words were meant to reassure her, they failed miserably. Something deep down in Lisa shrivelled up under his charming smile. He didn’t even realise his answer was an insult, she recognised sadly. Shrugging her shoulder free of his hand, she stepped back. ‘Why me, and not Margot?’ she asked quietly.

‘Really, Lisa.’ His dark gaze scanned over her stiff figure, a frown pleating his brow. ‘You are not that naive. Margot is an actress.’ He said it as if he was talking to a child, the exasperation in his tone clearly evident.

She shook her head in disbelief. The arrogant conceit of the man was absolutely unbelievable, and, raising her eyes to his, she prompted. ‘Well, I’m a working girl.’ She could not let it go. She was so vulnerable where he was concerned, loving him as she did. She had to know the worst, then maybe she could begin to get over him.

‘Don’t be so obtuse.’ His deep brown eyes clashed with her brilliant blue ones. ‘There is a world of difference between a thirty-something ambitious actress, and an intelligent, pure young woman who works and is protected by her family.’ Alex’s sensual mouth slanted sardonically. ‘The first is strictly mistress material, and you, my darling Lisa, are the type men marry.’

‘I see,’ Lisa murmured, and closed her eyes for a second, fighting back the tears. She had fallen in love with a man who did not believe in the emotion.

‘No, you don’t see.’ His voice tickled her ear and her eyes flew open. Alex had moved, and she stiffened as he slid a large hand around her waist and pulled her in to the hard heat of him. ‘I married you because I was desperate with wanting you. No woman has ever affected me the way you do. And, much to my delight, I have discovered you have an endless capacity for enjoyment that perfectly matches my own,’ he opined huskily. Lisa shivered as he pressed his lips to the pulse beating frantically in her throat. ‘Now, let’s go to bed, hmm.’

Afterwards, she would decide it was the softly drawled ‘hmm’ that had finally caused her to flip her lid…

Lisa curled her fingers into a fist, and swung with all her might, catching Alex a glancing blow on the side of his head. His arm fell from her waist and she turned on him like a mad thing. ‘You have the most enormous ego of any man in the world, and you are deaf to boot,’ she snarled.

Alex’s hand came down on her slender shoulders and held her slightly away from him. ‘What the hell was that for?’ he demanded harshly.

‘I am not sleeping with you in that bed. Got it?’ she yelled. How he had dared to suggest it after what he had just revealed beggared belief.

‘Enough!’ Alex held up his hands, setting her free. ‘Sleep in the guest room tonight, if you must. I will have the bed replaced tomorrow.’ And with a last grim look at her red, furious face, he strode across the room into the bathroom.

Lisa slipped into the room she had occupied the night before and climbed into bed. She was exhausted, but the thoughts crowding her mind would not let her sleep. For a deliriously happy bride returning from her honeymoon only a few short days ago, confident in herself and the love of her husband, the past two days seemed like a horror story. But they were all too real and she had to face up to reality. Alex had his own reason for marrying her and it was not love.