mattered she matteredmore than he'd expected.
Now tell me you're not interested,
he muttered against her lips, furious that he was unable to take what was so obviously his.
Tell me you didn't want me to touch you.
I can't.
Her voice broke in despair. She wanted him to touch her, to take her, to throw her on the ground and make wild love to her. And to take the decision, and the responsibility, out of her hands. That made her ashamed. That made her a coward.
But warning's not enough.
Shaken, she pushed away, lurched to her feet.
It's never
going to be enough for me. I've wanted before.
She stood trembling in the
moonlight, her hair blowing free, her eyes fierce and afraid.
Nathaniel cursed himself, then her for good measure.
I'm not Dumont. And you're
not a seventeen-year-old girl.
I know who I am. I don't know who you are.
You're hedging, Megan. We recognized each other from the first instant.
She stepped back, because she knew he was right. Because it terrified her.
You're
talking about chemistry.
Maybe I'm talking about fate.
He said it softly, as he rose. He'd frightened her, and he despised himself for it. Unnerving a woman was one thing, bullying another.
You
need time to think about that. So do I. I'll walk you back.
She put out a hand to stop him.
I can find my own way.
She whirled and raced up
the moonlit path.
Nathaniel swore under his breath. He sat again and took out a fresh cigar, lit it. There wasn't any use heading home yet. He already knew he wouldn't sleep.
Late the following afternoon, Megan roused herself from her ledgers when a knock sounded on her office door.
Come in.
Sorry to interrupt.
Coco poked her head in the door a head, Megan noted with surprise, that was now topped with sleek ebony hair she apparently was a woman who changed her hair color as often as she changed moods.
You didn't break for
lunch,
Coco said as she stepped through the door with a large and laden silver tray.
You didn't have to bother.
Megan glanced at her watch and was stunned to see it was after three.
You've got enough to do without waiting on me.
Just part of the service.
After setting the tray on a table, Coco began ta arrange a place setting.
We can't have you skipping meals.
She glanced over at the computer
screen, the open ledgers, the calculator and the neatly stacked files.
My goodness,
such a lot of numbers. Numbers have always unsettled me. They're so... unyielding.
You don't have to let them push you around, Megan said with a laugh.
Once you
know that one and one always equals two, you can do anything.