Not Even for Love by Sandra Brown Read Free Book Online Page B

fascinated.”
    “He began to court me—presents, flowers, expensive trinkets that I neither wanted nor required.”
    He leered at her wickedly. “And what did Helmut get in return for these ‘expensive trinkets’?”
    “Nothing!” she exclaimed. Just then the boat bumped against the pilings of the quay and she was hurled at him.
    His strong arms caught her and pulled her against his chest. The hold wasn’t tender as it had been the night before. His hands were like steel talons on her upper arms and the face that lowered to hers was ugly with disgust. “Do you really think that I’m dense enough to believe that a man as rich and urbane as Helmut Eckherdt hasn’t taken advantage of this?” He thrust himself at her in a manner that left no doubt of his meaning. The implication was insulting and humiliating.
    She squirmed and pushed against him. “Let me go,” she said through clenched teeth. “Don’t touch me again.”
    The boatman approached them meekly and Reeves slowly disengaged his hands from her arms. She pivoted away, avoiding the boatman’s curious eyes as she picked up her purse. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Reeves sling his camera case over his shoulder.
    As soon as she was helped to the quay by the boat’s pilot, Reeves leaped beside her and grabbed her arm again.
    “I told you not to touch me,” she said, and tried to jerk her arm free. She could have spared herself the effort. Her strength was no match for his.
    “No. I promised Helmut I’d see you to your door, and I never lie.” The veiled accusation wasn’t lost on her and she had a stinging rejoinder forming in her mind when he asked abruptly, “How in the hell do we get to your bookshop from here?”
    He was determined to see her home. The best course of action was to go along with him. She nodded in the general direction and said, “Turn left at the second street.”
    They walked in silence for several blocks as the streets soon narrowed and became the mazelike alleys where only foot traffic was permitted. Jordan stumbled behind his long, unfaltering strides. Her feet ached abominably, but she’d be damned before she would complain or ask him to slow down.
    With relief she saw her shop as they came around the last corner. When they reached the door, Reeves let the strap of his camera case slide down his arm until the bag plopped to the ground. Before she could react, he had nailed her to the stone wall with the pressure of his own body. Her hands were held on either side of her face by his firm grip on her wrists.
    “I have to hand it to you, Jordan. You’re quite an actress. Maybe you missed your calling.” His voice was deceptively soft, his breath warm and gently caressing against her cold cheeks. “Those wide gray eyes full of almost virginal timidity. Those sincere declarations that I’d been the only man since—” He broke off abruptly on a bitter note. He threw back his head and squeezed his eyes shut in an agonized expression. “God, what a fool I was,” he laughed mirthlessly.
    Then his eyes were hard on her again. His face lowered until only a breath separated them. “I fell for your act hook, line, and sinker.” His eyes roamed over her face, taking in each feature, studying it. “And you’re still playing your charade,” he said huskily. “It’s really quite touching. The shine of tears in those damn gray eyes. The innocent expression. The trembling lips.”
    The last words were lost as his mouth descended on hers and moved over it bruisingly. It was a blistering kiss, meant to hurt and debase. But when he felt no resistance, his plundering became persuasion. After only a heartbeat of hesitation, she parted her lips and welcomed the invasion of his tongue. Her wrists were suddenly released from their traps, but she only used that freedom to wrap her hands around his neck and delight in the feel of the hair that lay outside his collar.
    He parted her cape and agilely slipped one hand inside. It