The Helen Bianchin Collection - HELEN BIANCHIN

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that caused her to whimper as he crossed the line between pleasure and pain.

      There were no preliminaries as he took her in one powerful thrust, and she cried out as he plunged deep, then withdrew to plunge even deeper. Repeating the action again and again.

      This…this was an annihilation, a primitive, no-holds-barred mating that spared no thought to seduction or pleasure. Only the need to slake a raw, barbarous hunger.

      He roused in her a matching anger, and she reared up and sank her teeth into the muscle surrounding one male nipple…and heard his husky growl: his revenge was merciless, and she was repaying it in kind.

      It was her only victory as he straddled her and pushed her arms above her head. Helpless, powerless, she tossed her head from side to side as he held her captive and branded her his own.

      With each grazing bite, her muscles tightened around him, the spasms increasing in intensity until they merged as one.

      It was more than she could bear, and she began to plead, then beg, willing him to stop. He did, emptying himself into her in a shuddering climax, then in one fluid movement he rolled onto his back, taking her with him.

      She wanted to disengage and scramble to the outer edge of the bed, except he pulled her down against him and held her close.

      His breathing was equally rapid as her own, and she lay still, her eyes closed against the sight of him, her mind blanking out the ravaged, almost savage, sex.

      Nicos held her throughout the night, and when she thought he slept she slowly shifted her body, only to have him anchor her in close against him.

       CHAPTER TEN

      KATRINA woke to find she was alone, and for a moment she lay still as images of the previous night emerged, haunting her with their pagan intensity.

      Nicos’s hunger had been wild, unprincipled…without consequence or thought except to assuage a primeval need.

      His controlled anger was infinitely more formidable than if he’d raised his voice or had resorted to smashing an inanimate object. Of which there were a few exquisite antique pieces positioned on beautiful rosewood chests flanking the lobby.

      She shifted position, tentatively stretching her body…and felt the slight pull of ill-used muscles. There was an ache deep within, a remnant of his possession, and she was conscious of the sensation with each move she made.

      What time was it? She rolled onto her side to check the digital clock, then sat upright in shocked surprise. Eight?

      That left her thirty minutes in which to shower, dress, and fight traffic in order to arrive at the office on time.

      She made it downstairs, caught up her laptop, her bag, and turned towards the front door…only to come to a faltering stop as Nicos emerged into the lobby.

      For a moment she stood completely still, her gaze trapped in his as he closed the distance between them.

      When he almost reached her, her defence mechanism kicked into place and she found her voice.

      ‘I’m already late.’

      ‘In which case, a few more minutes won’t make any difference,’ he ventured silkily.

      She wanted out of here, with space between them and time caught up with the mundane routine of business to occupy her mind. ‘I have to leave.’

      ‘No,’ Nicos countered quietly. ‘You don’t.’ He lifted a hand and caught hold of her chin, tilting it to examine her features.

      He doubted she’d slept any better than he had. How many times had he soothed her restless form through the night, while battling his own demons?

      It mattered little that she’d provided provocation. His reaction to it was inexcusable.

      ‘What do you want?’

      Now there was a question to which he could find no single answer. Uppermost was the most important one by far. He stroked the tip of his thumb over the full curve of her lower lip. ‘Are you all right?’

      ‘Do you care?’ The retaliatory words were out before she could stop them.

      ‘Yes.’

      She was powerless to prevent the faint quivering sensation that shook her slim frame. ‘I don’t have time for a post-mortem.’

      Nicos dropped his hand. ‘Tonight.’

      Katrina stepped back a pace, then skirted his tall frame. ‘Before, during, or after we’ve attended the art exhibition?’ She saw his eyes darken, and was unable to resist querying sweetly, ‘You can’t have forgotten?’

      ‘No. I’ve already checked the day’s diary.’

      She turned as she reached the passageway leading through to the garage. ‘I could be late.’

      It became the day from hell. Traffic was backed up due to an accident, trebling the usual time it took to reach the city. Consequently it was after nine when she walked into her office.

      To discover the computer network was down, and several irate messages from a client company whose head honcho wanted Macbride to supply top quality work for a cleverly worded contract worth peanuts.

      There were, Katrina fumed, still men who imagined they could slip anything by a colleague simply because of her gender. She made the call, confounded him with figures and logic, then icily informed him Macbride was not interested in dealing with him, only to have pithy invective heaped on her head.

      Just when she thought the day couldn’t get any worse, her secretary relayed,

      ‘Georgia Burton is in reception.’

      Katrina felt her stomach twist at the announcement. It would be easy to insist Georgia make an appointment, with no advantage except to delay the confrontation.

      ‘Show her in.’ Nerves had her smoothing a hand over her hair and repairing her lipstick. She’d just tossed the capped tube into her drawer when a discreet knock at the door preceded Georgia’s entrance.

      The model looked a million dollars in a pale silk suit, an artfully draped scarf, stiletto heels, and perfectly applied make-up.

      Katrina indicated one of three comfortable chairs. ‘Please, take a seat.’ In a calculated movement she checked her watch. ‘I have to attend a scheduled meeting in ten minutes.’

      ‘Darling, five minutes will do.’ Georgia crossed to the plate-glass window and took a few valuable seconds to look out over the city before turning towards Katrina.

      ‘Nicos and I have struck a deal.’

      Don’t let her get to you. ‘Indeed?’

      ‘I thought you’d be interested.’

      ‘Why would you think that?’

      ‘Doesn’t it bother you that Nicos still continues to see me?’

      ‘Should it?’

      ‘Yes, considering you’re an obstacle that prevents him being a father to his son.’

      ‘An obstacle you intend to remove?’

      ‘I’m glad you get the drift.’

      ‘That this is a last-ditch effort on your part?’ she queried with deadly softness. ‘How long, Georgia, before due legal process forces the release of your son’s DNA results?’ Her gaze didn’t falter as she mentally sharpened her claws. ‘A day, hours, before your elaborate scheme falls apart?’

      ‘Nikki is Nicos’s son!’

      ‘I’m sure you wish that were true.’ Katrina aimed for the kill, and played the biggest gamble of her life. ‘But it’s not, is it?’ Dear Lord, what if

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