Master of El Corazon

‘You might as well ask for the moon!’

Conor caught her face in his hand and held it fast. ‘Listen to me, dammit,’ he said gruffly. ‘My uncle’s health is precarious. I won’t have it made worse by a little bitch like you—’

‘Me? Me? I’m not the one who made a scene this afternoon, I’m not the one who—’

‘You and I will do our best to be civil to each other in Felix’s presence.’

‘Your concern for his health is touching,’ Arden said bitterly. Why didn’t he let go of her? His fingers were clasping her jaw; she could feel the calloused press of them against the softness of her skin. She could feel the warmth of his body, smell his scent...

‘It won’t be easy,’ he said, ‘but hell, you’re a talented girl, Arden. You’ll manage to carry it off.’

‘Listen to me, señor—’

‘My name is Conor.’

‘Don’t be ridiculous. I’m not going to call you—’

‘I am Conor, and you are Arden.’ He moved closer, so that he was almost leaning against her. ‘And we are going to be the epitome of civility whenever Felix is around.’

‘I understand now,’ Arden said bitterly. ‘You’ve thought things over and it’s occurred to you that it’s probably unwise to treat me badly if you want to stay on your uncle’s good side.’

‘Don’t be a fool!’

‘It’s true, isn’t it?’

Conor shrugged. ‘Think whatever you like.’

Arden gritted her teeth. ‘Don’t talk to me that way, dammit!’

‘What way?’

‘As if—as if I were a naive child. I don’t like it.’

‘You’re right.’ Conor’s hand slipped to her throat and encircled it lightly. Arden felt her pulse leap towards his palm. ‘You’re hardly naive. And you’re certainly not a child.’

She knew, in that instant, what he was going to do. She tried to turn away from him, but it was too late. His mo

uth was on hers, harsh and demanding; his hand, and the weight of him as he leaned towards her, held her fast.

Don’t, she said, or perhaps she only thought it, for suddenly she felt a jolt of electricity race through her blood and explode in a wave of desire. She shuddered, murmured something incomprehensible, and her mouth opened beneath his.

‘Arden,’ he whispered, and at the sound of her name she moaned, her arms lifted and encircled his neck...

And it was over. His hands closed around her wrists and he stepped back. They stared at each other and, for the space of a heartbeat, his eyes were as dark and puzzled as she knew hers must be.

Arden dragged air into her lungs. ‘Conor?’ she said, her voice tiny and baffled.

His mouth twisted, and he wiped the back of his hand across it in a gesture of complete contempt.

‘Damn you to hell,’ he snarled.

He spun away, wrenched open the door, and left her standing alone in the darkness.

CHAPTER SIX

ARDEN yanked back the shower curtain, stepped into the tub, and turned the water on full blast. Closing her eyes, she turned her face up to the spray and reminded herself, for what seemed like the thousandth time since the night Conor had kissed her, that she was not going to let him force her to quit her job and leave El Corazon.

That was why he’d kissed her, she thought grimly as she worked a handful of shampoo into her hair. When ordering her to leave hadn’t worked, he’d turned to the lowest kind of intimidation, the sort his kind bad used throughout history to put women in their place.