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‘You leave me with no choice,’ she said bleakly, flinching as he laughed harshly.
‘Dead right.’ He moved over to the opposite side of the car as she clambered in miserably, and as she sank back she was immediately enveloped in the deliciously expensive smell of fine leather, discreetly exclusive aftershave and the unmistakable aura of fabulous wealth. ‘Now.’ In the close con-fines of the car he suddenly seemed enormously big and for the first time her senses registered the ex-ceptionally broad shoulders, well-developed chest and sheer breadth that went with extreme height. ‘Are you going to give me your address?’
‘No.’ She forced herself to look full into the rugged dark face. ‘I am not.’
‘Very well.’ He turned his head and spoke to the driver, giving an address she had never heard of, before snapping the glass partition shut with a definite click. ‘Don’t forget, I did ask,’ he drawled sardonically.
‘Now just hang on a minute.’ The apprehension and fear she had been trying to hide for the last five minutes burst forth. ‘You can’t kidnap me.’
‘Kidnap you, Miss Gordon?’ The firm lips drew back in an unmistakable sneer. ‘Why on earth would I want to kidnap such a disagreeable, patently unstable person as yourself? I have enough aggravation in my life without seeking more.’
‘Where are we going, then?’ She ignored the in-sults for the moment; there were more important things to hand.
‘You’ll find out soon enough.’ He settled back in the luxurious seat and closed his eyes. ‘I have had just about all I am going to take tonight so I suggest you keep that nasty little mouth closed until we reach our destination. Why I am even bothering to try and find out what this is all about I don’t know. I must be mad.’
‘You know what——’
‘Be quiet, Miss Gordon.’ He didn’t open his eyes as he spoke but the tone was enough to shut her mouth with a little snap. He was formidable. Her heart thumped against her chest wall so hard she was sure he must hear it. He was powerful and dangerous, and the sudden realisation that she had grabbed a tiger by the tail drove all lucid thought from her head for a few minutes as sheer panic had her glancing desperately out of the car window. Could she jump out at the next traffic lights? He couldn’t exactly chase her through the streets of London.
‘Baines has locked the doors automatically, on my instructions.’ The deep, gravelly voice made her jump and as her eyes shot to his face she saw that the eyelids were still firmly closed. ‘Lie back and enjoy the ride, Miss Gordon. You are in my clutches now, whether you like it or not.’
‘I don’t!’
‘Good.’ He shifted slightly as he spoke. ‘Consider it a down payment on your penance.’
‘My penance?’ she squeaked disbelievingly. ‘Now just look here; I don’t know what you’ve got in mind but——’
‘That’s probably just as well.’ He was quite un-moved, lying back in the seat like a great, dangerous black cat. ‘No one crosses me and gets away with it, Miss Gordon. Bear that in mind.’
She glared at him silently as the car sped on in the night traffic, although it was quite wasted on the closed eyes. He was a very masculine man. Her gaze idly wandered over the rugged, hard features and thick, straight black hair that had touches of silver above the ears. Strong, vigorous, probably very virile…
She stiffened with horror at the path her thoughts had traversed on to. What on earth was she thinking? She couldn’t care less if he was the most virile man on earth—this was Kane Steel, the original rat on two legs. So what if he was handsome? She loathed him, hated him…But then he wasn’t really handsome, was he? She found herself contemplating the relaxed face again. No, not at all, really, and yet there was something, a magnetism, a breathtakingly dynamic attractiveness, that was all male and more compelling than any pretty-boy looks. She shook her head at her own treachery. There was nothing good about this man, nothing at all, be it looks or anything else.
As the big car ate up the miles she began to feel more and more worried with each passing landmark. This was ridiculous, absolutely ridiculous. If they didn’t stop soon she would start screaming and banging on the glass partition until the driver stopped. She was a grown woman of twenty-four years of age, for goodness’ sake, not some skittery schoolgirl who couldn’t say boo to a goose.
‘Had you eaten?’
‘What?’ She started so violently as the deep voice spoke that she completely missed what he had said.
The amazingly compelling eyes opened and fixed her with their arctic blueness. ‘I asked if you had eaten. Before your wonderful performance in front of Wapping’s finest.’
‘It wasn’t a performance, it was…’ Her voice trailed away as she couldn’t think of a suitable comparison and she stiffened in outrage as he smiled coldly, his face full of burningly acidic contempt.
‘I am not surprised your actions leave you speechless,’ he said with icy biting humour. ‘I can assure you they had exactly the same effect on me.’
‘Huh!’ She eyed him balefully. ‘Well——’
‘I said, had you eaten?’ There was a note in the resonant voice now that suggested she had better reply, fast.
‘No, as a matter of fact,’ she said tightly, her eyes flashing her hostility and dislike. ‘Although what it’s got to do with you——’
‘Spare me.’ He cut off her words with an irritable wave of his hand as he turned to look out of the window. ‘We’re here.’
‘Where’s here?’ she asked warily, her gaze widening as the beautiful car drove between two wide-open gates set in a high brick wall and journeyed on down a huge gravel drive towards an enormous house in the distance.
‘My home.’ He eyed her blandly as vivid colour surged into her cheeks. ‘The place where my word is law and I’m obeyed implicitly, understand?’ His eyes mocked her fear.
‘Your home?’ Her voice had risen in line with her apprehension. ‘Look, I don’t know what you’re playing at but——’
‘I am playing at nothing, Miss Gordon,’ he bit back sharply, his eyes as cold as ice and his face stony. ‘The last thing on my mind is games. I have been assaulted with no warning, accused of all manner of diverse crimes, forced to leave a Press conference in the worst possible circumstances, knowing that my photo will be splashed all over the front pages tomorrow morning, to the delight of my competitors, all because you have had a brain-storm. Now, if that counts as playing in your book you are crazier than I imagined.’
‘I am not crazy——’ She stopped abruptly when he uncoiled his big body as the chauffeur opened the door, and he reached in as soon as he was outside, almost hauling her out of the car.
‘Now you are going to come in the house and explain to me what this is all about,’ he said coldly, ‘and you’d better pray while you’re about it that you can convince me it’s justified.’
‘You’re a bully,’ she said weakly as she stood next to him on the driveway in front of the endless mansion. She didn’t know which intimidated her more, the huge, incredibly beautiful house or the massive figure next to her. At the hotel she had been too incensed and blind with rage to take in his great height, but now she realised he must be at least a foot taller than her five feet four and he towered over her like an avenging angel. Or perhaps not an angel, she corrected herself silently as her gaze fastened on the lethal cold eyes—no, definitely not!
‘You don’t know the half,’ he said grimly as he ushered her up the massive stone steps towards the crested front door. ‘You made me lose my temper tonight, Miss Gordon, and that’s something I haven’t done in years. You