His Blackmailed Bride

He opened his jacket and turned away. ‘Get your clothes off.’

His voice was rough, the words flat with menace. She watched as he walked to the door, slammed it shut and locked it. The message was clear, and it sent a wave of fear rippling through her.

Nothing would stop him tonight.

Slowly, he began walking towards her. She could see pinpricks of icy light dancing in the stones that were his eyes. He loosened his tie, then undid the top button of his shirt.

‘Get undressed, dammit.’

Paige scrambled back against the headboard. ‘Quinn, for God’s sake—listen to me. You can’t think I was flirting with that man. You can’t still think I’m…’

‘Flirting?’ He laughed. ‘Is that what you call it?’ He shrugged his jacket from his shoulders and tossed it aside. ‘Come on,’ he said, ‘we’re wasting time.’

‘I’ll call for Norah.’

He laughed again. ‘Norah’s gone to visit her sister.’

She swallowed past the lump in her throat. ‘If you’re trying to frighten me, Quinn…’

His eyes fixed on her face. ‘You’re wasting your breath, Paige. Get your clothes off and make it fast.’

‘What about us?’ she whispered. ‘You can’t pretend…’

‘Us? Us?’ The cold smile vanished. ‘The only “us” there could possibly be is in that bed—and you’ve done one hell of a job keeping me out of it.’

Tears filled her eyes. ‘Quinn, I beg you…’

His voice cut across hers. ‘You will beg me, before this night ends.’

With a certainty that chilled her, Paige knew that he was telling the truth. In one lithe motion, she rolled across the bed and to the other side. She was quick but he was quicker, and he was on her before she’d taken a step, his hands clamped tightly to her shoulders.

‘We can do this the easy way or the hard way,’ he said, the words purring with malice. ‘Do you like it a little rough? Is that it? Hell, I can oblige, if that’s what you want.’

Cruelty came so easily to him. How had she forgotten that? Anger began to displace the fear, not just at Quinn but at herself.

‘You can’t do this, damn you! There are laws…’

‘Against what? I’m your husband, Paige. What court would deny me the right to sleep with my wife?’ His hands clasped her shoulders and he pulled her against him. ‘I told you I’d be here when you wanted a man,’ he whispered. ‘Well, here I am, baby. Ready and able.’

‘Quinn, please…’

‘What’s the matter, Paige? I turned you on when we met.’ His eyes blazed into hers and he laughed. ‘Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten the charm of that evening. It was so old-fashioned, so romantic.’

Colour flooded her cheeks. ‘It was wrong. I know that. But I felt… I’d never…’

His hands fell from her. ‘Save your breath,’ he growled. ‘I remember the whole act.’ Slowly, his eyes never leaving hers, he began to unbutton his shirt. ‘Watching you with Jack Ward was an encore performance.’ The shirt fell open, revealing the dark hair on his muscled chest. ‘No wonder he fell all over you.’

‘I didn’t do…’

He grinned wolfishly as he threw the shirt aside. ‘Hell, it’s a good act. A beautiful woman convinces a guy that she’s on fire, and wouldn’t he just like to play fireman.’ The terrible smile faded from his face. ‘I’ll bet it’s never failed you yet.’

‘I told you, I’d never…’ Her hands flew to her breast as he reached to her. ‘What are you doing?’

‘Undressing you,’ he said flatly, pushing her hands aside. ‘It’s what I should have done weeks ago.’

Her mouth turned dry. ‘We’re not the same people as we were then, Quinn. We…’

‘We’re precisely the same,’ he said, while the buttons on her dress opened beneath his finger