Web of Deception by Nina Blake Read Free Book Online Page B

only seen the man a few times since he was nine when his dad had left. Despite the many privileges of Daniel’s upbringing, he’d never had the one thing he’d wanted as a kid. His father’s love and attention.
    He wasn’t sure he had it now, for that matter. Nothing he did seemed to please the man.
    At least his father had been there for him when he found out Daniel was getting married. Now that he looked back at it, his father had been right all along. Marriage wasn’t for men like them. They were both driven to succeed but not in relationships. Only in business. Daniel’s own experience with Jane showed him what happened when he’d been preoccupied with love instead of concentrating on the task at hand.
    Roger Webb may have had five children and stayed with his wife for many years but, in the end, he hadn’t been able to stick it out. Daniel knew he wouldn’t fare any better. He was too much like his father for that.
    One good thing had come out of that experience. At least now he kept in touch with his father and saw him occasionally. He hoped to catch up with soon on the ski slopes at Falls Creek.
    The first night Daniel met Kate, she’d said he wasn’t the marrying kind and she was right. Marriage wasn’t for the Webb men. The main reason his father had married was because he wanted children and though Daniel did too, he knew marriage wasn’t the way.
    “Sometimes it doesn’t matter how hard you work at it,” he said. “If you’re with the wrong person or if you are the wrong person, there’s just nothing you can do.”
    Kate looked relaxed once again. “You’re right. I don’t regret the things I’ve done. It’s what shaped the person I am and brought me here.”
    He wondered if she meant here , beside him. He didn’t believe in fate or destiny or forces bringing two people together but he certainly believed in making the most of the chances that were offered to him.
    The meal was well and truly finished, the last of the wine had been drunk, and the guests were all leaving. Daniel said goodbye to the couple sitting beside him, giving the young woman a peck on the cheek.
    Turning to face Kate, a smile spread to his lips. Did she look nervous, a touch hesitant perhaps, at the prospect of a quick kiss goodbye? Or was he reading too much into her expression? She might simply be tired, after all.
    Her strawberry blond hair brushed against her pretty shoulders as she to ssed the locks back and stood. His gaze dropped from her face to the fine lavender fabric of her dress. Such a lovely shade. And how beautifully it clung to Kate’s every curve.
    As she rested one hand on her waist, he savoured the suppleness of her flesh beneath the fine fabric of her dress. Then he felt her fingers sweep across his jaw as she cupped his chin in one hand. This wasn’t what he was expecting. She reached towards him, her eyelids lowered, those sultry lips parted slightly.
    Normally, he would have reached out and grabbed her and taken her in his arms. So what if they were in a public place and her so-called fiancé was beside them? Daniel didn’t care.
    But this was different. He wanted to see what she would do. How far she would take it.
    Her gaze lingered on him as she took her time, and he enjoyed the sultriness of the moment, the promise it held. For those eyes were definitely promising something even if he wasn’t sure what. He only hoped she wouldn’t leave him hanging for too long.
    Tilting her head, she pressed her lips against his cheek but stayed too close as she pulled away, her mouth brushing against his in a kiss that almost wasn’t there. Or was it?
    There was the hint of a smile on her lips, as though she was pleased with herself, pleased with what she was doing to him.
    No, that had been no accident.
    She gazed at him with those smoky grey eyes, her lips curling to a seductive smile. His eyes dropped down to those shapely breasts, then back up to her face and he knew exactly how she would look