your father wiped my nose, filled my stomach and gently convinced me to go on back home. It was one of the kindest things anyone ever did for me.â And she had fallen desperately, madly, irrevocably in love with Chase from that first moment.
âDid your mother ever contact you again? Do you know where she is now?â The husky voice coming out of the darkness carried a note of concern. âYou could hire private detectives to look for her. Thatâs how my grandmother Steeleâs lawyers found me.â
âNo. It doesnât matter anymore.â Her heart twinged as she realized he truly cared about her welfare even after everything that had happened in the past.
But then the sound of his voice turned cold. âYou quit fighting years ago, didnât you?â he asked with a sneer.
She knew he was referring to that last night. That last horrible night when her whole world had collapsed. But she didnât want to talk about it. Not now.
This was no night for recriminations and revelations.Tonight she wanted to feel his hands on her body, his tongue tasting, stirringâat long, long last.
âMy motherâs whereabouts donât matter,â she told him as she raised her chin. âIf she wanted meâwanted to see meâshe wouldâve done it by now. Iâve grown up and donât need a mother anymore.â
A tense moment of silence worried Kate and made her notice a drop of sweat that had formed at her temple. What was he thinking?
âIs that what you imagined of me all this time, Kate? That if Iâd wanted to see you, I wouldâve contacted you? It didnât occur to you to try to find me first?â
She shook her head sadly. âI was positive that you wouldnât want to see meâ¦that you hated me. Iâ¦I donât blame you for it, but I couldnâtâ¦â Her words trailed off and she let her chin drop again as she battled the tears.
This wasnât what she wanted to happen this evening. Couldnât they just take comfort from each other and forget the past for one night?
âI didnâtâ¦I donâtâ¦hate you, chère. â For the moment Chaseâs voice was filled with painful emotion.
Wanting badly to put the past behind them forever, Kate almost blurted out the truth of what had really happened that last night. Then she thought better of it as she realized such a confession would mean the end of her time with him. If Chase didnât hate her now, he surely would when he heard it all. And she was becoming desperate for a few more hoursâ¦a few more daysâ¦with the only man she would ever love.
So because she loved him, because she couldnât bear to hear this strong manâs indecision on her account, andbecause she would never welsh on a bet, Kate decided to pay up.
Slowly she got to her feet and pushed the spaghetti straps down her shoulders. Reaching behind her, she began to lower the back zipper, but found that her hands were shaking too violently to get the job done.
Suddenly clumsy, Kate felt the sting of embarrassment rising up her chest and flaming her cheeks. She had on the sexiest underwear she ownedâin black laceâas she had expected and hopedâthat Chase would undress her sometime tonight. Heâd said he wanted her as a mistress, hadnât he?
But sheâd never expected to have to do a striptease for the man. It made her feel naughtyâ¦scandalous. And that was so far from her ordinary existence that she was left floundering and brainless.
She heard something rustling in the dark shadows surrounding her and felt a whisper of air against her skin.
âNeed help, chère? â Chaseâs rough, masculine voice came from close behind her instead of from the other direction, raising the hair on her arms and sending a chill down her spine.
Kate wanted to spin around and face him. Seeing Chaseâs eyes as she took off the dress became suddenly
âDid your mother ever contact you again? Do you know where she is now?â The husky voice coming out of the darkness carried a note of concern. âYou could hire private detectives to look for her. Thatâs how my grandmother Steeleâs lawyers found me.â
âNo. It doesnât matter anymore.â Her heart twinged as she realized he truly cared about her welfare even after everything that had happened in the past.
But then the sound of his voice turned cold. âYou quit fighting years ago, didnât you?â he asked with a sneer.
She knew he was referring to that last night. That last horrible night when her whole world had collapsed. But she didnât want to talk about it. Not now.
This was no night for recriminations and revelations.Tonight she wanted to feel his hands on her body, his tongue tasting, stirringâat long, long last.
âMy motherâs whereabouts donât matter,â she told him as she raised her chin. âIf she wanted meâwanted to see meâshe wouldâve done it by now. Iâve grown up and donât need a mother anymore.â
A tense moment of silence worried Kate and made her notice a drop of sweat that had formed at her temple. What was he thinking?
âIs that what you imagined of me all this time, Kate? That if Iâd wanted to see you, I wouldâve contacted you? It didnât occur to you to try to find me first?â
She shook her head sadly. âI was positive that you wouldnât want to see meâ¦that you hated me. Iâ¦I donât blame you for it, but I couldnâtâ¦â Her words trailed off and she let her chin drop again as she battled the tears.
This wasnât what she wanted to happen this evening. Couldnât they just take comfort from each other and forget the past for one night?
âI didnâtâ¦I donâtâ¦hate you, chère. â For the moment Chaseâs voice was filled with painful emotion.
Wanting badly to put the past behind them forever, Kate almost blurted out the truth of what had really happened that last night. Then she thought better of it as she realized such a confession would mean the end of her time with him. If Chase didnât hate her now, he surely would when he heard it all. And she was becoming desperate for a few more hoursâ¦a few more daysâ¦with the only man she would ever love.
So because she loved him, because she couldnât bear to hear this strong manâs indecision on her account, andbecause she would never welsh on a bet, Kate decided to pay up.
Slowly she got to her feet and pushed the spaghetti straps down her shoulders. Reaching behind her, she began to lower the back zipper, but found that her hands were shaking too violently to get the job done.
Suddenly clumsy, Kate felt the sting of embarrassment rising up her chest and flaming her cheeks. She had on the sexiest underwear she ownedâin black laceâas she had expected and hopedâthat Chase would undress her sometime tonight. Heâd said he wanted her as a mistress, hadnât he?
But sheâd never expected to have to do a striptease for the man. It made her feel naughtyâ¦scandalous. And that was so far from her ordinary existence that she was left floundering and brainless.
She heard something rustling in the dark shadows surrounding her and felt a whisper of air against her skin.
âNeed help, chère? â Chaseâs rough, masculine voice came from close behind her instead of from the other direction, raising the hair on her arms and sending a chill down her spine.
Kate wanted to spin around and face him. Seeing Chaseâs eyes as she took off the dress became suddenly