Beyond Temptation by Lisette Ashton

want you to,’ he returned. ‘What the hell’s wrong with you? Are you still brooding about
her
? Is that why you’re acting like such a bitch?’
    He placed enough stress on the word that they both knew who he was talking about. Amelia blushed furiously and turned away. His words struck harder than a slap to the face.
    ‘You said you weren’t going to mention
her
again.’ She watched cigarette smoke shape each word as it left her lips. ‘As I recall, it’s one of your bloody rules that no one mentions
her
.’
    His hands were on Amelia’s arms again and he turned her around effortlessly. Yale’s nearness always had a disturbing effect and she struggled against the rising passion that his touch evoked. She tried to glare at him but the expression felt false and contrived. Rather than simply holding her where she stood, his hands caressed the leather-clad arms of her cat suit, exciting the warm flesh beneath.
    Helplessly, she shivered.
    ‘I had to make a choice between you and that bitch you were screwing,’ he said softly. ‘For me, there was no contest. I chose you. Now you have to make a choice between what you had and what you’ve got.’ He raised a silencing hand as she tried to interrupt him, seeming determined to make his point. ‘Don’t worry,’ he assured her. ‘I’m not going to mention the hold she had over you. I have no intention of using the words “manipulative” and “soulless” when I talk about her. Nor do I intend to use the words “godless and depraved” when I talk about the way you two were together. I simply want you to accept the way things are. It’s just you and me now. She’s out of the picture.’
    Amelia glared at him.
    She wished she could believe his words but it was more than a little difficult. For a start, it wasn’t just the two of them. Aside from Bernice and Christian she realised there were also Yale’s paintings. He had devoted so much of himself to each one that she felt as though she were competing for his affections with every completed canvas. Glancing over his shoulder she caught sight of one particular painting that seemed to ridicule his sensible words. She remembered modelling for the picture and she could still feel the memory of every delicious moment that she had endured as Yale captured that image. It was a picture that showed her naked and holding another woman –
her
– in a lover’s embrace.
    ‘You weren’t using the words “godless and depraved” when you painted
Forbidden Love
,’ she reminded him. ‘When you painted that, you had trouble keeping your prick in your jeans.’
    He had the good grace to blush but his eyes never left Amelia. ‘Hurting Bernice won’t change things.’
    ‘I’m not that stupid,’ she spat. ‘I know that hurting Bernice won’t change things.’ She hurled her cigarette to the floor, stamped on it with the toe of her shoe and started back for the whip.
    He stopped her.
    Strong fingers gripped her arm.
    Pulling her back into his embrace, he pressed his lips over hers. His kiss was deep and lurid. His tongue pushed into her mouth and she struggled helplessly as he brushed his knuckles over the swell of her leather-clad bosom. Her nipples pressed against the shiny black hide, eager for more of his sensuous caresses.
    ‘Forget her,’ he whispered, moving his lips away from her mouth. ‘If you concentrate on our work together, we can all be happy.’
    ‘How can I forget her?’ she hissed. ‘She meant a hell of a lot to me. You know that. She meant so much to me. And we didn’t exactly part on the best of terms, did we?’
    He grunted dry, humourless laughter. ‘That’s an understatement if I ever heard one. She issued a bloody fatwa if I remember correctly.’
    Amelia winced. Her former lover, she who could not be now named in Yale’s presence, had been Amelia’s soul-mate. She had been Amelia’s lover, partner and best friend. But, for all the positive traits that Amelia admired in her, it had