A pleasure that is at once sweet and piercing courses through her body. This rock-hard erection is hers. She caused it. Heat pools between her legs. And suddenly she is wet with wanting and filled with an irresistible desire to have that hard meat inside her, as deep as he will go…
She totally forgets where she is.
It is Rupert’s cold, hard voice that drags her back into that room. They had both not heard him enter. ‘I’m afraid she’s rather spoken for,’ he drawls, but there is so much suppressed anger that his voice is like a blast of icy air. She snatches her mouth away from Blake’s. He is positioned between her and Rupert so his wide chest hides her from Rupert’s condemnation. Her eyes, cloudy with confusion and desire, are still caught in Blake’s gaze. For a few seconds more he does not release her, but simply stares into the blue depths with something approaching surprise.
Then his eyes turn into hard granite chips and his body stiffens as his hands tighten and curve protectively around her waist. Slowly he turns to face Rupert.
‘But still unpaid for, I believe?’ he says, and looks down with a smile at Lana’s flushed, troubled face. She has two very quick impressions. He is a brilliant actor and he is a cold man. A shockingly cold and unemotional being.
Rupert directs his astonished, vicious eyes at Lana’s.
‘You offered yourself to him too?’
Lana stares mutely at Rupert. His eyes move derisively, hatefully over her. She feels herself cringe.
‘Does he know how much you charge?’
‘Do you doubt I will be able to afford her?’
Rupert shrivels the way a leech that has had salt thrown on it does. ‘This is why you invited me here, isn’t it?’
‘Yes.’
‘What a joke!’ he taunts, but his jibe lacks any real bite.
‘The great Barrington can’t find his own whore. He has to steal mine.’
‘I didn’t steal her,’ Blake notes reasonably. ‘I just offered to pay more.’
Rupert’s eyes bulge, bug-like. ‘She’s just a cheap bloody tart. I’ve just finger-fucked her out there,’ he lies maliciously, jerking his dandruff-laden head in the direction of the door.
Lana feels Blake’s hand tighten around her waist.
‘Consider it an unearned freebie, then,’ he says quietly, but there is warning in the calm words. A warning that is not lost on Rupert. The air becomes tight with tension. Lana looks from one man to the other. It is like watching two lions fighting for supremacy. But her body knows which lion she wants to win this fight.
Rupert shrugs. He knows he’d be a fool to go against a Barrington. He has much to lose. ‘If you think I’m going to fight over her you’re mistaken. Have her.’
He turns on his heel and leaves.
Blake lets go of Lana. She realizes she is trembling. She leans against the desk, hating herself, but unable to stop— nothing is more important than the money—she asks, ‘Did you…did you mean it about the money?’
‘Yes.’
A sob of relief escapes her throat. She covers her mouth with both her hands. ‘Thank you.’
He looks at her with narrowed eyes, surprised by the intensity of her reaction, but he does not offer any comment. ‘Did you have a coat?’
She nods, unable to speak.
‘Give me the ticket. I’ll get it.’
She looks into the purse hanging by her hips, her hands unsteady, and shakes her head miserably. She cannot remember what she has done with it. ‘I’ve lost it. I think it might have fallen out in the…’ She is about to say loo when she decides she is not like them and she won’t pretend to be something she is not… ‘ladies room.’
‘Let’s go. I’ll get you another.’
‘I can’t leave without it. It’s not mine,’ she whispers.
He sighs. ‘It’s all right. I’l get it. Is the coat…er…
orange?’
She looks at him carefully. There is an insult there, somewhere. But his face is blank. ‘Yes.’
‘Wait here. Don’t go anywhere.’
She stands in the middle of the room feeling light-headed. She’s got the money and she doesn’t have to get raped for it. Her hands find their way to her mouth. That kiss. The way it made her feel. Just thinking about it makes her long for the feel of his solid body melded into hers. The door opens, and Rupert walks in.
‘You look frightened. Why? I don’t wish you harm. In fact, I realize now that I am actually very interested in your offer. If I seemed unappreciative before please forgive me.’
‘There is,’ she says, shaking her head and taking a step backwards, ‘nothing to forgive.’