Ruthless Lover

Serena felt so gauche and unsophisticated in his presence. Twice she dropped her fork, and once she spilt the glass of orange juice he brought her.

‘I hear you’ve only just left finishing school.’ Nick Colterne watched her with narrowed speculative eyes. ‘That makes you twenty—right?’

‘Yes.’ Serena found herself tongue-tied in his presence, her pulses racing as she stared again and again at his ruthless mouth and wondered how it would feel if he kissed her with it, very forcefully…very forcefully indeed.

‘You’re very beautiful,’ he said softly, making her hand shake as his blue eyes burned into her. ‘Any boyfriends?’

Serena laughed and shook her head. ‘I haven’t even met any boys yet. Except Derry, the gardener’s son, and he’s just silly.’

Nick’s mouth hardened into a cynical smile, his eyes slipping to her breasts. ‘Well,’ he said under his breath, ‘that’s nice and clear.’

It was as though she had told him something important without realising it, and Serena just stared at him, her eyes wide as she tried to understand it.

When they drove home to Flaxton Manor, he held her wrist in the back of the car as she tried to open the door, and his blue eyes watched her with a look of dark sexual power that made her shake.

‘Did you enjoy our evening?’ he asked softly.

‘Yes…’ Serena said, mouth quivering as she stared at the tough face. ‘Very much.’

His black lashes flickered on razor-sharp cheekbones. ‘Do me a favour,’ he said. ‘When I come to close this deal tomorrow, put on that creamy lace dress you were wearing yesterday.’

Serena was surprised. She had bought the lace dress from a second-hand shop last year for next to nothing. It fell in soft drapery over her slender curves, as elegant as it was clinging. ‘The lace dress…? But why?’

‘Just put it on,’ he said with a hard twist to his mouth, his eyes rueful. ‘As a little favour for me. I didn’t get to see it properly. You were standing at the window—remember?’

‘OK,’ Serena said, her voice husky, not understanding but feeling very excited by the way he looked at her, spoke to her.

He smiled slowly, released her wrist. ‘Tell your parents I’ll arrive at eight tomorrow morning. I have to fly back to New York in the afternoon. Either we sign tomorrow or forget it.’ His eyes watched her oddly. ‘Will you tell them that, Lady Serena?’

She nodded, and left the car, trembling as she walked in and found her anxious parents hovering in the hall, waiting for her.

Serena told them what Nick Colterne had said.

‘Sign tomorrow?’ Her father frowned. ‘That’s rushing things a little, isn’t it?’

‘What does it matter, dear?’ Her mother sighed, fingering her fake pearls. ‘We’re not in a position to be proud and he knows it. We need his money and his help. The faster we get it, the better. We’ll just catch the tail end of the summer tourist trade if we open quickly.’

So the next morning Nick Colterne came back with his henchmen, his Cadillac and his air of power. Heart thudding, Serena watched him arrive, hidden from view behind the Elizabethan window-frames.

She put on her cream lace dress, combed out her waist-length red hair and wondered why he wanted to see her in this. It was a very English design, the lace fragile, the cream silk below it skimming her womanly curves with elegance, ending in soft folds just below the knee.

Studying herself in the mirror, she thought of Nick Colterne and her green eyes darkened, her lips parting as she turned this way and that, suddenly feeling sensual, as though her skin was made of silk and her lips of velvet.

It was nine o’clock when she was called to the drawing-room.

Going in, she was surprised to find Nick Colterne alone. The sight of him made her heart thud with excitement, and she looked around for her parents with a frown.

Nick watched her intently, his ruthless eyes moving swiftly, restlessly over her body, stark sexual desire stamped on his tough face as he inspected her from head to foot.

He expelled his breath in an odd, hoarse, shaking way as he looked at her, and it made her quiver, staring through her lashes at his hard mouth.

‘Come in, Lady Serena,’ Nick said softly, a strange expression on his hard face. ‘And close the door. I want to talk to you.’

Obediently, she did as she was told, her hands damp suddenly as she fidgeted with the folds of the dress, looking up at Nick hotly through her lashes.

He walked towards her, and said deeply, ‘I don’t have much time. I want to sign this deal and get the wheels moving on it. But there’s an essential ingredient in the package that I don’t yet have.’

‘I don’t understand,’ she said huskily.

‘Yes, you do,’ he said thickly, watching her.

Her eyes darted up to his and a slow flush crept over her face.

Nick suddenly lifted his strong hands to her face, making her gasp, staring up at him as he said under his breath, ‘You’re the essential ingredient, Lady Serena. You. That’s why I’ve asked you here now. I’m prepared to invest millions in Flaxton Manor—but only on one condition.’ His blue eyes slipped to her mouth as he said, ‘That you agree to be my wife.’

Serena whitened with shock, saying, ‘You can’t be serious—’

‘Deadly serious,’ he said with a brief, cynical smile. ‘Now, what’s your answer? Will you marry me, yes or no?’

‘No!’ she burst out at once, taking a step back, shaking with disbelief. ‘You must be mad! Of course I won’t marry you! You’re much older than me and—’

‘I’m ten years older than you,’ he drawled, his face hardening with ruthless amusement ‘I’m thirty.’

‘Well, I couldn’t marry you even if you were younger!’ she said hoarsely, incredulous that he could even ask. ‘It’s just ridiculous!’

His mouth hardened, a stain of dark red colouring his face. ‘I don’t see that it’s ridiculous,’ he said harshly, stepping away from her, running a hand through his dark hair. ‘It makes good business sense to me.’

‘How can it?’

‘I want a wife who will give me an heir,’ he said flatly, lifting his dark head, every inch the ruthless financial shark as he studied her with hard, narrowed blue eyes. ‘But I’ve always wanted the best, and you’re it You’re young, beautiful, titled…you’re an heiress, an aristocrat and you’re a virgin.’

‘Oh…!’ Serena caught her breath, a hand to her mouth, appalled as hot colour flooded her cheeks, and she turned away, saying hoarsely, ‘Oh, my God…this is a nightmare!’

‘Nightmare!’ he bit out harshly behind her, striding up and catching her by the shoulder, whirling her angrily to face him, his blue eyes blazing. ‘I’m offering to save your family from bankruptcy and ruin!’

‘And ruining my life in the process!’ she cried hoarsely.

His mouth tightened angrily. ‘It’s too late now! I’ve had it written into the contracts and they’ve got to be signed today!’ He stared at her, then looked away, running a hand through his black hair. ‘God! It never occurred to me that you’d refuse to—’

‘Wait!’ Serena said shakily, running to him, catching his arm, staring up into his face, her green eyes luminous. ‘We’ll be ruined if those contracts aren’t signed.’

He looked at her sharply, his eyes narrowing, and there was a brief, tense silence. ‘Do you like me, Lady Serena?’ he asked softly, studying her face. ‘Or is it all my imagination?’

She looked at his mouth and whispered, ‘Yes…I do like you.’

His lashes flickered for a moment. Then he said flatly, ‘The contract will go through as written. We’ll marry in one month from now. Your parents will have all the money they need to save the manor.’

‘You talk as though it’s already settled…’ she said, horrified.

‘It is,’ he said bluntly. ‘All I need is your acceptance, and we can get the wheels in motion.’

‘And if I refuse?’

‘Then the deal is off,’ he said brutally.

Serena just stared at him, appalled. It was a gun to her head and they both knew it. If she refused to marry him, her family faced ruin. How could she possibly allow that to happen?

‘You’re blackmailing me!’ she whispered bitterly, hot tears in her eyes.

He grimaced, saying thickly, ‘I know. But I don’t have time to do anything else. Now what’s your answer, Lady Serena? Yes or no?’

Her hands twisted in despair. ‘You know very well that I can’t refuse!’

‘Yes,’ he said deeply, and walked towards her.

In her anger, she did not back away, instead staring at him bitterly as she felt her pulses race at his approach, hating him for the position he was putting her in.

‘I’ll make you happy,’ he said under his breath as his hands slid to her waist, and his eyes to her mouth. ‘I promise you that. You’ll have everything you need. Now, send your parents back in. They’re waiting for you in the library.’

Serena went with a thudding heart to find her parents. They were white with horror, and told her she didn’t have to marry him if she didn’t want to. They would face ruin, they said, for her sake. But of course Serena knew she couldn’t allow that to happen.

A month later, she was married to Nick Colteme and had flown to the Bahamas for her honeymoon.

He came to her bedroom that night. Serena was waiting for him, sitting up in bed, her face white as porcelain, determination in her green eyes.

Nick closed the bedroom door behind him, studying her across the darkness. He was wearing a dark red dressing-gown, naked beneath it, his bronzed chest bared and his long muscular thighs hair-roughened. The sight of him made her pulses leap, but she hated him for his ruthless acquisition of her and was determined not to let him make love to her.

The silence stretched tautly between them. Then Nick pushed away from the door, walking slowly across the darkened bedroom until he stood beside the bed, staring down at Serena, his eyes hot blue.

‘You’re lovely,’ he said abruptly, his voice hoarse.

Resentment flashed in her eyes. ‘I suppose I ought to be, considering how much money you paid to get me.’

‘Let’s not discuss money in the bedroom,’ he drawled, sinking down on to the bed, making her pulses leap with angry awareness as he reached for her. ‘It’s hardly good taste.’

‘And what is good taste?’ she demanded, backing away from him until her head was pressed hard against the expensive bedstead. ‘Buying a wife for her title and her inheritance?’

‘I said we wouldn’t discuss it,’ he said softly, and his hands reached for her, closing over her bare shoulders.

Rigid, Serena flung angrily, ‘Don’t touch me!’

His eyes narrowed. ‘You’re my wife. This is my wedding night. I have every right to touch you, and I damn well intend to. Now come here.’ He pulled her towards him.

‘No!’ Serena struggled, hands splayed on his warm bronzed chest, excitement flashing through her as she encountered the black hairs that curled on his chest, angrily aware that she felt desire for him, and despising herself for it.

The blue eyes blazed. ‘Yes!’ he said thickly, and then his mouth closed over hers.

With a startled moan, she felt her mouth open beneath his, the hot exploration of his kiss exciting her at once. But her mind overruled her desire for him. He didn’t love her. He only wanted an heir. That was all this was…business, not pleasure.

‘Oh, God, I think I’m going to be sick!’ Serena flung fiercely, dragging her mouth from his at once. ‘I can’t bear to have you anywhere near me!’

His eyes flashed angry blue. Pinning her to the bed, he kissed her deeply, ruthlessly, his mouth brutal over hers, and Serena was so furious that she felt something snap inside her, turning into a whirlwind, hands slapping and scratching at his face as he tried to capture her wrists and she screamed when he swore.

They fought in bitter silence. His eyes were blazing, his face dark red with anger. Then her fingernails raked his hard cheek, and his head jerked back.

Serena stared, breathing hard, as she saw blood on his cheek. Slowly, he lifted a strong hand, touched the cut, then stared at the blood on his long fingers.

‘I didn’t mean to do that,’ Serena said shakily. ‘But I had to. I won’t let you make love to me, Mr Colterne, marriage or no marriage. You’re a stranger to me. Not a husband. And you’ll never become my lover. Not unless you tie me down and rape me.’

He was suddenly very silent and very still, his harsh breathing the only sound in the darkened bedroom. His eyes glittered like blue fire. His anger was a tangible force, the tension crackling between them as he studied her, that long scratch on his cheek evidence of her determination, and the blood seemed to symbolise the catastrophic nature of their relationship.

Suddenly, he thrust her roughly from him. ‘Fine,’ he said tightly, getting to his feet. ‘I’ve never made love to a woman who didn’t want me and I don’t intend to start now.’

Relief and acute disappointment swamped her as she lay very still, staring up at him.

‘There have always been plenty of women ready to submit to me,’ he drawled cruelly, watching her with a hard smile. ‘There always will be. And I’ll enjoy making love to them, Serena, until you decide you want to join their number.’

She gasped in outraged disbelief. ‘Not until the day I die, you arrogant swine!’

‘Men who are successful with women are always arrogant,’ he said with a cold lift of his brows. ‘I’m no different. Why should I put up with rejection from a spoilt little girl when I could have a warm, willing woman to share my bed?’ He lifted his dark head, face very hard. ‘Think about it, Serena. Perhaps you’ll have changed your mind by morning.’

He turned, striding out of the bedroom without another word, and as the door slammed behind him Serena was already struggling with hot, bitter tears as she faced the reality of her marriage.

At breakfast the next morning, Nick was hostile to her.

‘Thought about what I said last night?’ he asked flatly as they sat tensely together on the sunlit patio overlooking the beach.

‘Yes,’ Serena said icily. ‘And my answer is a resounding no. I wouldn’t let you make love to me if you went down on your knees and begged me to!’

‘Most unlikely,’ he drawled tightly. ‘As I believe I made clear last night, where women are concerned, I’m never the one who has to beg.’

Hot colour flooded her angry face. ‘Oh, yes, I’m sure they’re all throwing themselves at your feet, Mr Colterne. You’re a very rich man and no doubt many women find you irresistible. I just don’t happen to be one of them.’

‘Then we’re at a stalemate.’ His eyes narrowed. ‘For the moment. But it’s not a stalemate I intend to live with forever, Serena. One clause in our marital contract was that you provide me with an heir.’

At that she paled, falling silent

Nick studied her, mouth a cool line. ‘Obviously, you’re too young to consider living up to your side of the deal just yet. But you won’t always be, Serena. Sooner or later, you’ve got to give me children, and we both know it’

She swallowed, her throat dry as ashes. ‘So you will inflict yourself on me? Whether I like it or not?’

‘Oh, you’ll like it,’ he said softly, and watched the angry glitter of her green eyes before drawling, ‘But we’ll discuss it at a later date. In a few years’ time. When you’ve grown up a bit. You’ll see things differently then. You’ll also have had time to live with frustration—’ a ruthless smile curved his mouth as he said under his breath ‘—and you’ll be very willing to end it.’

‘Don’t count on it!’ she said bitterly, hating him.

He laughed softly, then got to his feet, a frown on his brow. ‘In the meantime, though, we’re going to have to deal with our incompatibility.’

She watched him in silence, the warm breeze lifting her red-gold hair.

‘I’ll keep mistresses,’ Nick said coolly. ‘I will, of course, keep them away from you. You’ll never be humiliated publicly, you can rest assured of that. I have four homes—in New York, London, Hong Kong and this one here in Nassau.’ He lifted dark brows. ‘I’ll hire a private secretary for you. She’ll type out our schedules every month and we’ll exchange them. That way, we need never bump into one another unless we have to.’

‘Some marriage,’ she said thickly, hating him.

‘I married you for your title and your inheritance, Serena,’ he drawled sardonically. ‘I can get sex and female company elsewhere. I don’t actually need them from you.’

Bitterly, she surveyed him. ‘And we’ll discuss children later?’

‘Much later,’ he said coolly.

Staring at the sun on the sea across the white sands of Nassau, Serena felt a quiver of fear. ‘How much later?’

‘When I think you’re ready,’ he said flatly, and walked away off the patio without another word.

So they had slipped into the routine of their marriage. It had worked, too. Serena had found herself left to live her own life as she wished, with all the money she could have dreamed of at her disposal, while Nick went his own way.

Occasionally, they would meet up at Flaxton Manor, putting on a brave show for her parents, who were anxious that Serena be happy. So she and Nick laughed and kissed for their benefit, and then went their separate ways again. Sometimes they had to go to Boston to see Nick’s parents, and that was easier, because that Bostonian palace they lived in held no bitter memories for her.

Flaxton Manor had been opened to the public, become a successful tourist attraction, and over the following three years had gone from strength to strength, developing a garden centre in the grounds which her father doted on, and which had given him a new lease of life.

Now, however, Nick had suddenly appeared without warning and got into her bed, eliciting that swift, hot rush of pleasure and making Serena feel unaccountably afraid.

Lying in bed, staring at the lights of New York outside her window, she felt that fear grow deep inside her.

Was it true that his jet had been diverted? Was it true that this was an unplanned visit? Was it true that he would be leaving in the morning?

Or were his motives altogether—more sinister?

CHAPTER TWO

THE rattle of china woke Serena next morning. Lids flickering open sleepily, she frowned, wondering who it was. Then she remembered Nick and her body jack-knifed into a sitting position. Heart thudding, she sat there, acutely aware of every movement he made in the kitchen. Her eyes flashed to the clock. Nine a.m. What was he still doing here?

Getting up, she went into the bathroom, washed her face and cleaned her teeth, wondering whether or not she should join him for breakfast. If she didn’t, he might very well join her. A flush stained her cheeks at the memory of his kiss last night. She didn’t want a repetition of that. There was no option but to go and join him and find out what his plans were.

She had planned to dress, but she heard him moving about outside her door, so she quickly snatched up her black négligé and shouldered into it with jerky movements, her heart skipping as she buttoned up the front of it with shaky fingers.

Wrenching open the door, she saw him with newspapers in his hand, strolling lazily past her.

He stopped, dangerously tall and sexy in his dark red pyjama trousers and bare chest. ‘Morning,’ he said coolly, flicking his blue eyes over her. ‘I didn’t know you’d added the New York Artist to our delivery list.’

Her eyes darted to the papers he held. ‘I ordered it months ago…’

‘You’re paying for it yourself, too,’ he noted with a wry movement of his dark brows. ‘Out of your allowance. Or I would have noticed it on the bills.’

Stiffening, she said, ‘Is it a crime, Nick?’

‘No.’ The dark brows drew together in a frown. ‘Just secretive of you.’

‘Everyone has secrets,’ she said coolly.

He studied her for a moment, then walked away, his face unreadable. Serena watched him go, dry-mouthed. Damn! If she had known he was going to be here she would have telephoned the newsagents to cancel that order. She didn’t like Nick’s knowing anything about her life.

As she joined him in the kitchen she saw him lounging at the long pine table, drinking coffee and reading the New York Post. His bare chest was dangerously attractive, those broad shoulders tanned and powerfully muscled, black hair covering his chest to the long dark line at his navel.

‘Can’t you put something on?’ Serena asked tautly, averting her gaze. ‘You shouldn’t wander around like that!’

His blue eyes flicked to hers. ‘Why shouldn’t I? It’s my home.’

‘Yes, but I’m here,’ she said, folding her arms and hovering in the doorway at a distance from him.

He gave a cool laugh. ‘You’re my wife, Serena. You’ve seen my chest before!’

‘Not very often!’

‘That can easily be remedied,’ he said softly, blue eyes mocking her as they slid with insolent sexual appraisal over her slender body.

‘Very funny, Nick!’ she said tightly, green eyes flashing at him. ‘Now, please put something on, or I’ll have to eat breakfast in the living-room.’

There was a tense little silence. Nick studied her through narrowed eyes, then said softly, ‘You didn’t blush. Perhaps you are growing up, after all.’

Hot colour swept her cheeks immediately and she turned to walk away from the door, hating him for having made her so acutely aware of him, and making her feel a fool because of it.

The soft laughter that came from the kitchen made her grind her teeth with rage. She heard him walk coolly out, go into his bedroom, and get his dressing-gown.

‘There,’ he drawled lazily, presenting himself in his dark red dressing-gown, hands thrust deeply in the pockets. ‘Am I now fit for breakfasting with?’

Serena studied him through her gold lashes. ‘Yes, of course,’ she said, recovering herself with dignity, and followed him into the kitchen, realising with a sudden shock that after three years of marriage her husband was almost a stranger to her.

And a very disturbing stranger, at that.

He sank down in his chair again, flicked open the Post, and began reading.

Serena studied his hard profile. A ruthless tycoon who had married her for her title and inheritance…why did he insist on keeping their marriage going when it was such a shell? Why did she? A sigh left her full mouth, and she cleared her throat.

‘When do you leave for Washington?’

‘Washington?’ he drawled, his American accent giving the capital city an air of glamour.

‘Yes,’ she said coolly, walking to the table and deliberately lowering his newspaper with one slim hand, meeting the sudden steely flick of his eyes. ‘Washington! You remember. You were on your way there last night!’

He studied her for a second. ‘You’re getting bold, Serena.’

She lifted her chin. ‘I don’t want you here, Nick. I made that plain last night.’

‘That’s not all you made plain,’ he said softly, mockingly, and let his eyes drift to her mouth. ‘That was quite a kiss you gave me in bed. I almost thought I’d got the wrong apartment.’

Hot colour swept over her face. ‘I was asleep!’ she said accusingly. ‘I didn’t know what was happening!’

‘Neither did I,’ he said lazily. ‘I expected you to start screaming as soon as I touched you and try to claw my eyes out. That’s your usual response to my touch, isn’t it?’ His eyes narrowed speculatively. ‘I wonder what made last night different’

‘I just told you,’ Serena said flatly, turning away to get a plate and cup from the cupboard, refusing to look at him any more in case he saw the flare of sudden arousal in her green eyes. ‘I was asleep and I didn’t know what was happening. I was having a dream, if you must know. That’s why I woke up so slowly…why it took so long for me to realise what you were doing.’

He smiled sardonically, drawling, ‘Nothing to do with me personally, then?’

‘No!’ she said angrily, sitting down and reaching for the coffee-pot. ‘You know perfectly well how I feel about you personally.’