'Both!' she muttered, and his eyebrows rose.
'Both? No to both? You aren't scared of having one, but you won't have an affair all the same? That doesn't quite add up, does it, darling?'
'Stop calling me darling!'
'You always used to like it,' he said; he put a long, brown finger on her cheek and ran it very, very slowly down her throat, sending fierce tremors through her.
'And don't touch me!' She pushed his hand away and saw his eyes flash.
'You didn't say that to Luc Haines when he was fondling you just now, did you?'
The shock of his tone was like having a bucket of cold water flung over her. She jumped violently. Her nerves were as tight as a bow-string, her body rigid with tension, eyes dilated and enormous. She had known he was angry over Luc massaging her shoulders—that was one reason why she had just picked a row with him. She had been attacking before she was attacked, hoping to defuse the situation, distract him into thinking about something else.
When she recovered her powers of speech she protested shakily, 'He was massaging my shoulders! Not fondling me!'
'Whatever you call it, he was enjoying doing it to you, and you were practically purring!' Sean said with acid distaste. His eyes were cold to the point of cruelty and Nadine shivered.
'I was tired and my muscles were aching! Yes, I enjoyed being massaged, why shouldn't I? Luc has almost magic hands..
Sean's mouth twisted. 'And you loved having them touch you!'
Her hazel eyes darkened. 'You're putting your own vile interpretation on it! There was nothing personal in what happened, nothing sexual. You're making it sound...'
'Intimate,' said Sean curtly. 'That's how it looked. Very intimate. You were leaning back against him and he was handling you as if he was used to doing so.'
Her face burned. 'Well, he isn't! Luc is a happily married man, he and I are just...'
'Don't say "good friends", please! Spare me the old, old cliches!' Sean snapped.
'Why not? It's the truth! I like Luc, he's a nice man, but I'm not interested in him sexually, any more than I'm interested in Jamie Colbert. I don't want to go to bed with either of them.'
Sean stood very still, watching her intently. 'Don't you?'
'I just told you I didn't, and I meant it!' she said, staring back angrily, her chin up.
There was a brief silence, then Sean said softly, 'What about me, Nadine? Do you want to go to bed with me?'
The low huskiness of his voice made her catch her breath, her pulses beating like jungle drums. He had caught her by surprise with that sudden change of mood and her hazel eyes filled with unguarded passion. She had to look away, look down, to hide it, her face burning; and she heard Sean's intake of breath.
He put a hand around her throat, his fingertips caressing. She felt his hand enclose her neck and was afraid he would pick up the drum of her pulses, but a moment later he put pressure on the back of her neck to force her towards him in a sudden, possessive movement, his fingers winding themselves into her long, rich chestnut hair to hold her captive and stop her struggling free.
Alarmed, she broke out hoarsely, 'No! Sean... no...'
Then his mouth came down and silenced her, his kiss hot and demanding, and Nadine began to shake. She couldn't keep her eyes open. She had entirely lost control; she wanted him so badly she was past caring about all the sensible reasons she had for not letting him back into her life. Her mouth began moving hungrily in response she couldn't hold back, her body yielding and pliant as his arm went around it and pulled her hard against him, the softness of her breasts crushed against his chest, his hard-muscled thighs pushing into her.
When Sean finally broke off the kiss it was like waking from a deep, dark dream. She groaned in protest, leaning on him because her legs were trembling, she felt weak, as if she had some strange tropical illness. Her lids fluttered back; she was blinded by the light, for a second she could barely see him, then she met those brooding blue eyes and her heart turned over.
He was looking down at her, his face tense, darkly flushed, his mouth a little apart, his breathing thickened.
'Come to bed, darling,' he whispered, and Nadine almost couldn't breathe.
She wanted to go to bed with him so much that it hurt. Dry-mouthed, she tried to say yes; her lips moved, silently, and Sean watched them with fixed attention.
'Say it, darling,' he muttered. 'Say yes.'
Nadine took a deep, painful breath, wanting to say yes, but knowing she mustn't. Slowly she shook her head.
She saw him whiten, the colour draining out of his face and leaving his eyes seeming almost black with a mixture of emotion: pain, disbelief, shock, rage.