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Da
‘Am I?’ the other man returned evenly, the calmness of his exterior belied by the blazing anger in his eyes. ‘I don’t think so, Da
She gasped her indignation at the accusation. How dared he? Who did he think he…? She bit her bottom lip in agitation as Marcus bent down to pick up the shimmering green dress she had been wearing the night before, looking at it scathingly before holding it out to her. Joy took the dress unthinkingly, clasping it to her, well aware herself now of exactly how damning this situation looked.
But she didn’t owe anyone an explanation—even if what Marcus was thinking about Da
‘I’m going to get dressed,’ she abruptly told no one in particular, looking at neither man as she walked towards the bedroom, hoping—she knew futilely—that both men would have left by the time she returned.
‘That might be a good idea,’ Marcus said coldly behind her.
Her back stiffened at the insult she could hear in his voice, and she quickly made good her escape into the bedroom. And it did feel like an escape; the air in the other room had been electric with angry disapproval. As had Marcus himself. She had no idea why he was here, how he had found her hotel, but she knew all three of them wished he hadn’t.
God, what a disaster! It was stupid of Da
And after all that she had said to Marcus the night before about Da
She felt decidedly more comfortable once she had dressed in close-fitting denims with a black jumper neatly tucked in at her narrow waist, brushed her hair loosely about her shoulders, and applied a light make-up to add some colour to her pale cheeks. She had a feeling she was going to need all the confidence she could muster to get through the next few minutes. Surely that was all it would take for Marcus to tell the two of them exactly what he thought of them—if he hadn’t already—and be on his way.
She took a deep breath before reaching to turn the door-handle to go back into the lounge. Both men hadn’t gone—but Da
Marcus stood alone in the room. He had made no move to take off the thick short coat that he wore over a dark blue shirt and fitted denims, despite the heat of the hotel suite. Good, perhaps that meant he wasn’t staying long either. Just long enough to tell her what he thought of her part in Da
He looked at her from beneath dark scowling brows, his eyes darkly glacial, his mouth a thin, grim line. Joy shifted uncomfortably under that probing gaze.
‘How did you find my hotel?’ she asked, once she could stand the lengthy silence no longer.
He remained unmoving. ‘That was the easy part,’ he bit out.
In other words, that was for him to know and for her only to guess. And the only explanation she could think of was that he had tried all the main hotels until he had found the one she was staying at. It was just like him not to have a
She interlaced her hands in front of her thighs, mainly as a way of hiding the fact that they were shaking slightly, but also because she just didn’t know what to do with them; she felt so uncomfortable facing Marcus across the room like this. He wasn’t at all the man she had spent some of the previous evening with—the danger that emanated from him now was certainly not of the sensual kind.
‘Er—where’s Da
‘He had to leave. Obviously,’ Marcus added harshly.
Joy didn’t see that there was anything obvious about it; Da
‘Oh.’ She nodded lightly, turning away.
‘But I have no doubt he’ll be back,’ Marcus added contemptuously.
Neither did Joy, if only to see what conversation had taken place between herself and Marcus once he had left—and just how he had fitted into it. Well, he should have stayed if he wanted to know that, not left her at this man’s mercy.
‘Why the lies, Joy?’ Marcus rasped harshly, causing Joy to look up at him in fresh alarm. ‘Are you married? Is that it? A married woman in London, away from hubby, out for a little fun with her actor-friend?’
He spoke so contemptuously, looked at her so disgustedly…! And by what right? she wanted to know, if all she had ever read about him was true.
‘Don’t judge everyone by your own standards!’ she snapped, green eyes sparkling with anger as she glared at him.
He became very still, eyes narrowed to steely slits. ‘Meaning?’ he prompted, in that dangerously soft voice she was quickly learning to be wary of.
But not at this moment. Who did he think he was, coming here throwing out accusations? He had kissed her himself last night, on a very brief acquaintance, so who was he to sit in judgement of what he thought she and Da
‘Meaning your affairs, with married as well as unmarried women, are legendary!’ she told him heatedly. She might not be interested in the gossip from his world, but it had become impossible over the years not to see his photograph in newspapers and magazines, each time with a different woman. And he had the nerve to sit in judgement of her and Da
This was ridiculous; she was allowing herself to be indignant about a supposed affair that she knew didn’t even exist. And the quicker she told him that, the sooner he would leave.
But before she could say anything he had crossed the room in two long strides, his hands reaching out to grasp her painfully by the tops of her arms. Joy was so stu
‘In that case,’ he ground out harshly, ‘it won’t matter if I add one more to my list, will it?’
Her? He—
There was no time for further thought as his mouth came down on hers with crushing intensity, Marcus showing her none of the gentleness of the night before as his mouth claimed hers bruisingly, his arms about her waist moulding the curves of her body roughly against his.
And if he had continued to kiss her in that contemptuous way, she would have been able to pull away from him and end it right then. But, filled with sudden anger as the kiss had begun, it just as suddenly gentled to sensuous intensity, and one of Marcus’s hands moved to cup her chin as he held her mouth captive beneath his and sipped from her lips, touching softly now, the tip of his tongue a moist caress to the warmth of her mouth.