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

twisted away from him with a little nervous shiver. How could she have forgotten her first impression of Brody? He was every bit thetough, menacing stranger of that first meeting. He was all the more dangerous for the chameleon quality that allowed him to alter his personality at will and keep his antagonists in a constant state of imbalance.
    “Oh, I believe you, Mr. Brody,” she said. “I’m quite sure you can be just as unscrupulous as you say. I suppose I’ll have to agree to your terms, but at the end of that month, I want nothing from you but my release.” Her mouth tightened. “You’re going to look funny with egg on your face.”
    He smiled gently, his eyes once more warm and caressing. “We’ll have to see about that, won’t we, love?” He leaned forward and gave her a quick, impudent kiss on the tip of her nose. “Now I think I’d better take you home. You’ve had enough strain to cope with this evening. Shall I get your wrap and bring it to you here?”
    She nodded wearily, feeling suddenly as exhausted as if she’d fought a major battle. And so she had, she thought ruefully, and a losing one at that. “Yes, please. It’s a black velvet cloak.”
    He nodded and started off, only to turn backabruptly. “We don’t have to leave right now, you know,” he said, his gaze searching. “You had a pretty rough time in there this evening. If you’d like to go in and get some of your own back, I usually have enough clout to carry the day. Being a celebrity has its uses.”
    Her mouth dropped open in amazement. “You’d do that for me?”
    He shrugged. “Why not? I’d probably enjoy it.”
    “Well, I wouldn’t,” she said with a moue of distaste. “But I’m surprised you’d be willing to antagonize your aunt’s guests just so I could enjoy a form of very petty revenge.”
    “When you agreed to my terms, you became both my property and my responsibility for the next month,” he explained simply. “You’ll find I know how to protect my own. I’ll get your cloak, and I’ll call off that date of yours.”
    He was gone before she could reply, and she stared after him in amazement. The terrace seemed suddenly terribly empty and lifeless now that his vital presence was gone, and she felt oddly weak and defenseless. Which was utterlyabsurd, she assured herself firmly. It must be weariness and discouragement that were making her so foolish.
    Brody was back in the space of a few minutes and he took charge again with the almost royal confidence she was becoming accustomed to. Draping the black velvet cloak around her, he buttoned it carefully while she stared at him bemusedly, feeling like a small child being readied for Sunday School.
    A little of that fugitive amusement must have been reflected on her face, for when he’d finished he looked up with a mischievous grin. “Sorry to be so slow, sweetheart. I promise you I’m much more dexterous at getting a lady out of her clothes.”
    She just bet he was. Even when dampened down that virile magnetism was almost overpoweringly potent, and combined with the wealth and glamour surrounding his profession, he would be practically irresistible to women. For some reason this thought irritated her exceedingly, and she maintained a remote silencewhile he whisked her along the flagstone path around to the front of the house.
    A silver Ferrari was waiting at the front entrance. A servant jumped out of the driver’s seat and handed Brody the car keys, then with flattering obsequiousness helped Tamara into the passenger seat. The wine plush velvet upholstery of the sports car was as luxurious as the car’s exterior, and she sank into the cushioned softness with a sigh of relief. This macabre evening was almost at an end and she could feel fatigue wrap her in a numb lassitude.
    Brody shot a concerned glance at the mauve shadows beneath her violet eyes, which gave her face a haunting fragility. “Try to relax,” Brody ordered as he put the car in gear and