No Red Roses: A Loveswept Classic Romance (Santa Flores) by Iris Johansen Read Free Book Online Page A

got the distinct impression tonight that he’s very fond of his Celia. If it comes down to choices, you’ll be out on your ear, love.”
    She wondered uneasily if he were right. Despite Walter Bettencourt’s business acumen, he’d always been blindly indulgent in matters concerning his daughter. Was all the work and effort of the past five years to be wiped out in a matter of hours?
    Brody frowned with concern when he saw the stricken look on Tamara’s face, and he moved instinctively to cradle her once again in his arms. “Hey, don’t,” he said huskily, as he buried his face in her hair. “You look like a little girl who’s just lost her favorite doll. I told you I can’t stand that.” He rocked her tenderly, while his deep voice murmured consolingly. “Who in the hell cares about Bettencourt’s job anyway? At the end of the tour, I’ll buy you your own flower shop anywhere you want to set up. How about Rodeo Drive?”
    “Herb shop,” she corrected automatically, and then chuckled. “I think you actually mean it. One minute you’re blackmailing me and the next you’re giving me the most fabulous present imaginable. Are you always this generous?”
    “It’s only money,” he said and shrugged. “I’ve pots of the stuff. Why shouldn’t I replace your doll, little girl?” His deep voice was like dark honey.
    Tamara felt her throat tighten helplessly. This particular Rex Brody was much more dangerous than the sexy aggressor who had brought her body to electric awareness early this evening. It was so hard to fight his warm, touching, caring, and almost boyish sincerity. Nevertheless, she said huskily, “I’m a big girl and I buy my own toys now. I couldn’t accept your offer, Mr. Brody.”
    His arms tightened about her. “We’ll work something out. I’ll advance you the money as a long-term loan.”
    She shook her head, trying hard not to smile. “You’re certainly offering extravagantly generous terms for your bargain. You know you’ve noreal guarantee of getting what you want, don’t you?”
    He tilted her head back and his hand stroked the curve of her cheek with sensuous enjoyment. “You have the most exquisite skin. It’s like warm satin,” he said. She stood quite docilely, still curiously content under that caressing touch, almost as if he had a perfect right to stroke and caress her. This remarkable man had the most extraordinary effect on her, Tamara thought in bewilderment. She would move out of his arms in a moment, she promised herself. But there was no threat in that gentle touch, and it was pleasurable to let herself be fondled like a beloved child.
    “I fully expect to get what I want, love,” he said lazily. “We’re a highly combustible mixture, and I assure you I’m going to bend all my efforts toward a Fourth-of-July explosion. Besides, there are any number of women who are attracted to the glamour of the spotlight and make a nuisance of themselves. A beauty like you would prove a valuable deterrent.”
    “And what if I resist your fatal charm andrefuse to occupy your bed for the entire month?” she asked curiously.
    “Then you walk away with your aunt free and clear, and an exclusive little boutique on Rodeo Drive. You also have the satisfaction of seeing me with egg on my face,” he said lightly.
    Her eyes narrowed. “I think I may call your bluff. I don’t think you’ll really press charges against my Aunt Elizabeth if I don’t go with you.”
    His hand stopped its stroking and dropped to her shoulders. “Don’t try it, babe,” he warned so softly that Tamara barely detected the steely menace in his voice until she noticed the faint hardening of his lips and the dangerous flicker in the dark eyes. “I grew up as a slum kid on the streets of New York and I never learned how to bluff. If you couldn’t deliver what you promised, then you ended up in a gutter or a hospital bed. Don’t make the mistake of thinking I don’t mean exactly what I say.”
    She