The Sex War

What he was saying came as no real surprise to her, she knew she had wounded his ego and she knew Daniel's pride was monolithic, his sense of himself impenetrable, unshakable, but hearing him state his hostility so openly made her tremble in shock.

'You can't own human beings,' she stammered, nevertheless, holding her head up and refusing to betray the fear which had swallowed her.

His eyes flashed with bitter humour. 'Can't you? That depends on your definition of ownership. If you want to save your brother's neck, you'll come back to me, and on my terms.'

She was so angry her teeth were chattering. 'You're crazy,' she said. 'You won't get much enjoyment out of forcing me to…'

'Won't I?' he asked, moving with a speed that made her jump in alarm.

She didn't have time to escape, the next second he had one arm around her while the other forced up her chin. Rigid and shaking, Lindsay looked into the hard grey eyes, her mouth dry.

'Don't,' she whispered, and Daniel's eyes glittered as he smiled in threat.

'That's one word you'll never use to me again.' His mouth came down on her lips, burning with a fever she felt leaping up inside herself, and it did not matter that his hunger was born out of hatred and a wish to humiliate her, the demand of the kiss was met by an answering demand in her, desire fountained inside her body and she weakened in his arms, swaying towards him. Bending her backwards, Daniel slid his mouth down her throat and with closed eyes she trembled, a husky little moan breathed through her crushed lips. Behind her lids, light flashed and gleamed, she was dizzy and hot.

'You want me,' Daniel muttered, his mouth at the base of her throat, and she sighed, shuddering with pleasure, feeling his hand moving under the gauze, stroking the smooth flesh of her thigh.

Her arms went round his neck, she touc

hed his hair, his nape, the muscled shoulders, her lips parted, aching for the touch of his mouth. Her mind had given up trying to think, she was in a state of weak confusion, the throb of desire in her body dominating her. Daniel's hands explored the naked flesh beneath her dress, caressing her warm breasts while she trembled, feeling the urgency inside him and knowing she felt it, too, a mounting need which grew with every movement of his hands. He was breathing quickly, thickly, she could hear his heart thudding in the same wild rhythm as her own.

She began to be frightened by the intensity of her feelings, a part of her standing aside like a voyeur, whispering mental warnings. She was letting Daniel have things all his own way, she was out of control, her mind had no part in what was happening. He was pulling the thin material down from her shoulders, bending his head to kiss the hardened nipples on her breasts, and that separated part of her protested, despised her for the husky little moans he was wringing out of her.

What had he just said? That she would never say no to him again? That would make her a puppet, without a mind of its own, and wasn't that how she was behaving now, moaning in abandoned excitement while he touched her?

This was not lovemaking, it was a deliberate, cynical manipulation of her body by a man who wanted to humiliate her, and she was playing the accomplice to her own destruction when if she had an ounce of self-respect she would stop him and throw him out of her life again.

She wrenched herself away, her breathing husky and impeded. Daniel stared at her and she stood facing him, trembling, her gauzy dress half off, her bare shoulders and breasts exposed.

'No,' she said, her hands clenched.

His eyes darkened, his jaw taut. 'That wasn't the message I was getting a moment ago. You wanted it…'

'No!' she said again, much louder, to drown what he was saying, to drown the feverish admission of her own body.

'What's the matter? Afraid Hill will walk in? Has a key, does he?' Daniel was angry enough now to grind the words out through teeth that barely parted, rage showed in the grey eyes.

'Aston has nothing to do with this!'

'Hasn't he?' '

'It's you,' Lindsay said incoherently. 'I won't let you do this to me.'

'You're lying to yourself if you think I'm doing anything you don't want me to do,' he broke out angrily. 'You wanted me to make love to you. Oh, you'd have died rather than admit it to me, you prefer to get me to force you, don't you? Then you can tell yourself you weren't responsible, I made you do it, but that's a lie. I can have you any time I want you.'

'Get out!' she shouted, tension making her body shake.

'You've always had a frigid fear of sex,' he went on, ignoring her.

'I'm not frigid and I'm not afraid of sex, I don't have to be either to refuse to go to bed with you, you know!' Lindsay was insulted by his accusation.

'When we first met, you were practically walled in ice,' Daniel sneered. 'I had to chip my way through. I got frostbite just touching your hand.'

She was white. 'You swine! I was only just out of school…'

'What was it? A convent?'

'Just because I wouldn't let you rush me into bed on our first date!'