LITMIR.BIZ

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has to be, and you haven’t denied it. What did she do? Leave you for another man?’

      Joel shook his head. ‘She couldn’t, as she’s nothing but a figment of your imagination.’

      Her eyes narrowed as she tossed that around in her mind. ‘Hmm, I see. That’s very interesting. If it wasn’t one woman, then it has to be all women. What do we fail to do that convinces you love doesn’t exist?’ She posed the question to herself, and almost immediately saw the answer. ‘We don’t see you as just a man, do we? All we see is a bank balance. An unending source of spending money. That’s it, isn’t it?’ she charged him, convinced she was right.

      In response, Joel drained his glass and set it aside. When he looked at her again, there was a dangerous glitter in his eyes. ‘You’re very perceptive.’

      ‘That’s because I have a similar problem. My father is a very wealthy man, and I’m his only daughter. Which makes me an heiress set to inherit a fortune, and a prime target. There are a lot of men out there who would like to get their hands on the money they think I’ll get one day,’ Kathryn returned with a grimace of distaste.

      ‘And yet you still believe in fairy stories,’ Joel remarked scornfully, and she tilted her chin upwards defiantly.

      ‘That’s because I know all men are not the same. Neither are all women.’

      He came to her then, his hand reaching out to cup her chin. ‘That hasn’t been my experience. I prefer to believe in what I know exists: desire. Love is a fallacy; sexual attraction is real. You feel it. Right now your heart is beating just a little bit faster, isn’t it? I can see that delicious pulse throbbing in your throat. It’s urging me to kiss it. To know the feel and taste of you,’ he whispered huskily, his eyes glowing with a fierce heat as they looked into hers.

      Kathryn’s heart lurched in response to the siren call of his desire. She wanted him to do it, too. Her flesh seemed to scream out for it, and it was incredibly painful to step back away from him, forcing his hand to drop to his side.

      ‘I hardly think this is the time or the place for what you have in mind,’ she told him sardonically, and he smiled faintly.

      ‘Nevertheless, you felt it. You felt the hunger.’

      Oh, boy, had she! Her whole body was still pulsating with it. ‘Maybe I did, but right now I have a more urgent hunger that needs satisfying. I haven’t eaten all day,’ she protested, seeking to bring some order to the sensual chaos she felt whenever he was near.

      Joel laughed wryly. ‘Then we must deal with that one first. The other will be all the better for waiting.’

      ‘What will be better?’ Drew enquired idly as he strolled into the room, looking from one to the other questioningly.

      Kathryn felt colour heat her cheeks, aware that if he had arrived a few minutes sooner he would have walked in on quite a different scenario, and she wouldn’t have heard the last of it.

      ‘Dinner,’ she explained with feigned nonchalance. ‘I was just saying I hadn’t eaten all day. I’m starving.’

      ‘Me, too,’ Drew agreed, and as if to underline the fact his stomach rumbled audibly.

      ‘Help yourself to a drink, Drew,’ Joel invited with a laugh. ‘I’ll just go and see what’s keeping Agnes.’

      Drew followed the suggestion, but turned to his cousin the instant they were alone. ‘Dinner?’ he challenged with an old-fashioned look.

      Kathryn stared him out, her chin raised. ‘What else?’ she countered, daring him to argue, but Drew, for once, wisely decided to hold his own counsel. She drained her glass and was tempted to refill it. Joel had won round one on points; she could only hope to do better in round two.

      Dinner was every bit as delicious as it had promised to be. The meat and vegetables were cooked to perfection, and there was fresh crusty bread to go with it. The two men spent most of the meal discussing Drew’s trip to Germany tomorrow, and Kathryn was happy to be left alone. She found herself watching Joel with fascination. Even talking business, he had an animation about him that held her rapt. She didn’t bother to follow the thread of the conversation, for Drew’s job was as much a mystery to her as hers was to him, merely sat and enjoyed the view.

      ‘I’m sorry,’ Joel apologised later as they sat over coffee. ‘It was rude to exclude you, but there were certain matters I needed to touch base on with Drew before he leaves.’

      Kathryn shrugged that off. She wasn’t so vain she needed constant attention. ‘No problem. I was far more interested in my food. Agnes is a wonderful cook.’

      ‘I’ll be sure to tell her you said so,’ he responded, pushing his empty cup away. ‘It’s not too late. If you’re not too tired, we can take a look at the computer now,’ he declared with a glance at his watch.

      Kathryn was never too tired to work on a computer. ‘That’s fine by me.’ She nodded, and stood up. ‘Are you coming, Drew?’

      ‘I’ll beg off, if you don’t mind. Computers are a complete turn-off for me. Go ahead and enjoy yourselves,’ he teased, though, unseen by his cousin, his smile faded as he watched them leave.

      Joel’s study was at the rear of the house and was set up with state-of-the-art equipment from the computer itself, to fax machines, printers and scanners. Everything he could possibly need was there, but he couldn’t use it because of what one woman had done in anger.

      ‘So, this is the scene of the crime,’ Kathryn declared dryly, looking around her with interest. ‘At least she didn’t resort to smashing things. OK, let’s see just what damage she did do.’ Making herself comfortable at the desk, she switched the computer on, and the first thing that appeared was a message informing Joel he had mail.

      ‘The Internet’s working at least,’ she observed wryly, hoping it was a good sign that things weren’t too bad after all. ‘Want to see what it is?’

      Standing behind her, his hands resting on the back of her chair, Joel nodded. ‘OK.’

      Clicking on the box, Kathryn watched the screen unfold. The message itself was short and sweet, and originated from someone called Magda. ‘That’s her, I take it?’ she enquired with lashings of irony, for the message was explicit about what Joel could do with certain parts of his anatomy.

      ‘She has a volatile temper,’ Joel said by way of confirmation.

      That much was obvious. ‘Her knowledge of human anatomy seems a little basic. Does she know you can’t actually do that?’ she taunted over her shoulder.

      ‘Just get on with it, will you?’ he growled irritably, and she bit back a smile. Right now he was more like a grouchy bear than a wolf.

      Kathryn started hitting keys. ‘I’d get on better if you weren’t breathing over my shoulder,’ she remarked. It was unsettling, not to say downright distracting. She could feel the heat of his body even through the chair, whilst her nose was assailed by the tangy scent of his cologne mixed with pure male essence. It sent messages to her brain that were totally out of place, even if they were undeniably tantalising.

      Instead of moving away, Joel lowered his head until his mouth was next to her ear. ‘Does my being this close bother you?’ he asked in that sexy drawl which crawled over her flesh, starting up flash-fires which made concentrating on the job at hand extremely difficult.

      Feeling too hot and far too bothered for comfort, she nevertheless denied it. ‘Not at all.’

      ‘Liar,’ he taunted with a chuckle, and she closed her eyes momentarily as a powerful wave of desire swept through her system. She was glad she was sitting, because standing would have been an effort. He was playing hardball, and it didn’t help that her senses were fighting on his side.

      ‘Abuse me at your peril,’ she warned him, her fingers flying over the keys whilst she struggled to appear cool, calm and collected. It was nothing short of amazing

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