LITMIR.BIZ

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      ‘Again,’ Gideon acknowledged dryly. ‘I’ll just have one last check for any more spiders before I leave,’ he added dismissively.

      And as there hadn’t been a spider in the first place…

      Molly found herself forcing a strained smile as Sam turned and walked back down the hallway to the bedroom he shared with Crys, giving him a half-hearted wave before closing her bedroom door and turning on Gideon.

      ‘Now look what you’ve done!’ she burst out furiously, eyes blazing deeply brown. ‘Sam no more believes you were in my bedroom searching for nonexistent spiders than I do!’ she added accusingly.

      He looked nonplussed and raised blond brows. ‘He doesn’t?’

      ‘No,’ she snapped, colour warming her cheeks as she remembered that earlier conversation with Sam. A conversation she had no intention of giving this man even a hint of!

      Gideon shrugged unconcernedly. ‘It sounded quite plausible to me. Especially as it turns out you really don’t like spiders,’ he added mockingly.

      Molly’s gaze narrowed dangerously. She had disliked spiders all her life, no matter what size they were. She had no explanation for it—knew there was no logic to the fear—she just couldn’t stand them in the same room with her.

      ‘So what do you imagine Sam does think I’m doing in your bedroom?’ Gideon prompted softly, his expression deliberately guileless.

      ‘I’m sure you can work that out for yourself!’ she breathed agitatedly, knowing exactly what Sam would be thinking—saying—right now.

      Gideon raised dark blond brows. ‘As far as anyone else is concerned, we were introduced for the first time yesterday morning at the christening. Do you usually invite men into your bedroom on such short acquaintance?’

      ‘Do I…? You’re the one who invaded my bedroom, not the other way round!’ she reminded accusingly.

      It was bad enough that Sam and now Crys were aware that Gideon was in her bedroom, without having to take the responsibility for it, too. In fact, if she had to put up with any more of his insults this evening she was going to hit him.

      ‘I didn’t “invade” anywhere, Molly,’ he came back evenly. ‘I simply waited in here for you to come back from taking your shower.’

      ‘And you had no right thinking you could do that,’ she returned exasperatedly. ‘I may have said the two of us need to talk, but I’m certainly in no mood to talk to you at the moment,’ she added disgustedly.

      There was a moment’s silence, and Gideon’s gaze was speculative now. ‘Then what are you in the mood for?’ he finally murmured softly.

      Her eyes widened furiously at his obvious meaning. ‘Why, you arrogant—’

      ‘I don’t think so.’ Gideon reached out and easily caught her wrist as her hand would have made contact with one of his cheeks. ‘In fact…’ he muttered grimly, and his head lowered and his mouth took possession of hers.

      Molly was so stunned by the unexpected kiss that for several long seconds she merely stood transfixed in his arms, his body hard against the softness of hers as his mouth explored hers with complete thoroughness.

      Cold thoroughness…

      That was what brought her to her senses, what stopped her from responding. Because, to her intense dismay, she actually wanted to respond.

      Somewhere in the course of the last twenty-four hours—and she couldn’t for the life of her imagine when it could have been—she had become attracted to Gideon Webber!

      It couldn’t have been when he was tormenting her. Nor when he was being sarcastic. After all, despite her earlier unfortunate love affair, she wasn’t a complete masochist, and certainly hadn’t deliberately allowed herself to become attracted to such an arrogantly impossible man. But for some reason she had done so anyway…

      Which was why he had to stop kissing her!

      ‘No!’ She pulled sharply away to object, pushing away from him as his arms momentarily tightened about her.

      Gideon looked down at her with hooded blue eyes. ‘No?’

      ‘No,’ she repeated firmly, glaring up at him. ‘I’m well aware of what you think of me, Gideon—’

      ‘Are you?’ he taunted, his arms dropping back to his sides as he slowly stepped away from her. ‘Somehow I doubt that very much,’ he added harshly.

      Molly easily met that contemptuous gaze. ‘I would have to be a complete idiot not to know,’ she snapped. ‘And, no matter what you may think to the contrary, I am not an idiot! For some reason you have decided I’m some sort of femme fatale—’

      ‘For some reason?’ he repeated scathingly, shaking his head disgustedly. ‘I didn’t imagine you that morning at James’s apartment. Or the fact that you were completely naked underneath the shirt you were wearing—James’s shirt,’ he added pointedly. ‘Two pretty good reasons for deciding something, wouldn’t you say?’ He eyed her contemptuously.

      Molly gasped, could feel the flush in her cheeks. ‘If taken at face value, yes. But—’

      ‘What other way is there to take them?’ Gideon cut in scornfully. ‘You aren’t trying to tell me that it was just coincidental that Crys was away at the time on a promotional tour for the publication of her newest cookery book?’

      Molly looked at him wordlessly for several long seconds. He really did think…

      She dropped down abruptly onto the bed, staring up at him disbelievingly. She knew he had a bad opinion of her, but…

      She shook her head dazedly. ‘Didn’t you ever talk to James about that morning? Didn’t you ask him?’

      ‘No, I never spoke to James about it,’ Gideon cut in harshly. ‘And I didn’t ask him anything, either. What I did do was tell him what an idiot he was for risking his marriage to Crys over a brief affair with someone like you,’ he concluded grimly.

      Molly felt numb—couldn’t think, couldn’t speak, could only stare at Gideon Webber in stunned disbelief. It had never occurred to her…

      ‘So there you have it,’ Gideon continued when she made no reply. ‘Was this what you wanted when you suggested the two of us talk—all of this out in the open, with no more need for even cursory politeness between the two of us?’

      ‘I wasn’t aware that there had been much of that anyway,’ Molly felt stung into replying, still stunned at what this man was accusing her of. He believed she’d had an affair with his brother James!

      His mouth twisted humourlessly. ‘There is in front of Crys and Sam,’ he snapped. ‘Crys obviously knows nothing about you and James—’

      ‘There was no me and James!’ she cried protestingly, at the same time knowing that on the evidence this man had, her protest sounded hollow, to say the least. Even if it was the truth.

      His top lip curled contemptuously. ‘Obviously nothing James felt important enough to need to make any deathbed confession to Crys.’ Gideon gave a disgusted shake of his head. ‘That’s something to be grateful for, at least!’

      ‘But…’

      ‘But I know. And you know,’ Gideon continued hardly. ‘Let’s just leave it at that, hmm?’

      Molly’s eyes widened disbelievingly. ‘You surely don’t think that I would ever—’

      ‘Who knows what you’re capable of?’ he cut in disgustedly. ‘From what I can gather, Crys is your best friend—and yet you felt no compunction about taking advantage of her absence from the marital home to jump into bed with her husband.’

      This was incredible. Unbelievable. Oh, it certainly went a long way towards

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