Dare to be Mine (21 page)

Forcing a half smile to his lips, Daniel
crossed over to the bed as he attempted to suppress the urge to throttle her
neck, and he finally replied, "I thought that's what you liked about me,
dear Catherine."

"Oh, indeed I do like that about
you," she brazenly said, reaching out her hand to graze his thigh.
"But not when you are sharing intimate time with other women."

"This jealousy is something new for
you," he said in a bored manner.

Catherine had always prided herself in
being the object of every man's fantasy and had never let on to any feelings of
insecurity. That Daniel thought she was jealous, albeit correctly, would not
do. She did not want him thinking her needy.

Indeed, it had been that facade of being
unattainable to him or any other man that had brought the beautiful Lord Daniel
Fredrickson to his knees. He'd always enjoyed a challenge, and if there was a
woman that failed to welcome his sexual prowess, he made it his mission in life
to pursue the female until she'd fallen beneath his spell.
Which
never took long.

"I am not jealous, my
darling," she lied. "If you find her a passing amusement, by all
means, she can join us." Reclining against the pillows, Catherine patted
the huge mattress and added, "There is plenty room for all of us."

Daniel's jaw clenched at her crude
comment and although he had never been one to pass up such a tempting offer,
the thought of subjecting Elyssa to Catherine’s promiscuous behavior left him
empty. Jerking Catherine by the arm, he bit out, "I did not ask you to
come here, did I?"

A flash of fear in her eyes, Catherine
replied, "No, but I thought you would be pleased to see me, darling."

"Well, as it turns out I am
not," he said, brusquely releasing her as he rose from the bed, running
his fingers through his hair in agitation. Pulling a few gold coins from his
pocket, Daniel tossed them onto the bed. "Go find somewhere else to stay.
My driver will take you wherever you wish."

Enraged, it was all Catherine could do
to keep from screaming aloud her womanly scorn announcedhi dow. That he would have the gall to
toss a few coins her way as if she were a nothing but a whore. She had never
been rebuked so callously and Catherine swore inwardly that she would make
Daniel pay, no matter that she still loved him beyond all reason.

"You know damned well I can go
home. I have no need of your filthy money or to stay in some hovel,”she
sneered, donning her coat and shoes. Forcing herself to calm down, she turned
to Daniel before leaving and asked sweetly, “When will I hear from you?"

"Soon enough, I'm sure," he
replied curtly. He held open the door for her departure and Catherine dared
place a quick kiss upon his lips before leaving, her soft steps growing fainter
as she descended the stairs.

Daniel closed his eyes briefly as he
rubbed his fingers against his forehead, trying unsuccessfully to stay the
threatening headache Catherine had started. Elyssa must be furious with him,
else hurt beyond belief, though he'd never spoken any words of fidelity to her.
She must be in her bedroom, and Daniel walked the steps toward her chambers.

Knocking softly, Daniel waited patiently
but received no reply. He listened at the door but heard nothing. Knocking once
more, he tried turning the knob, but found the door locked.

"Elyssa," he called out,
"please let me in." He banged harder on the door, his voice rising as
he repeated, "Let me in. Please!"

Finally, he heard the key turn in the
lock and Elyssa reluctantly opened the door. She'd managed to wipe the
lingering tears from her cheeks, indeed had become somewhat incensed about
Daniel's lady friend, the emerald of her eyes darkening as she glared up at
him.

All thoughts of apology and explaining
fled like the wind the instant Daniel took in Elyssa's sultry appearance. Her
hair lay in wild disarray about her slim shoulders, her full lips begging to be
kissed. The seductive gown she wore was daring in the extreme and made his
fingers flex with the intense urge to touch her, to plunge his tongue into her
waiting mouth, to never let her go.

"My God," he breathed,
"you are beautiful." Grabbing her hair with both hands, he pulled
Elyssa up to his face, his harsh words close to her ear, "I missed you,
darling.” His foot kicked the door shut behind him, his only thought to take
Elyssa to bed and make wild love to her the entire night. “Open up to me. I
want to come in." Gently forcing Elyssa backward, he leaned her back onto
the bed, standing over her as he impatiently began to und lapse in judgment. ed to ">CHAPTER o his breeches.
Pushing herself backward across the bed, Elyssa stood up on the other side,
hands on hips.

"And did your other little whore
already open up to you?" Cursing aloud for having forgotten to explain
that little misunderstanding, Daniel ceased undoing his pants and held his hands
up in helplessness. "I am truly sorry for whatever bit of rubbish
Catherine might have told you, darling, but I assure you it was most likely a
pack of lies. I made her leave at once."

His slow steps took him around the edge
of the bed toward Elyssa and she backed up step for step until her back was
against the wall. "She told me the two of you are practically engaged to
be married. Is that rubbish?" Elyssa asked, a faint mistiness emerging in
her eyes.

Daniel's jaw clenched and he vowed to
make Catherine suffer for divulging information best left unsaid. "Yes, it
is," he said. "I have no intention of wedding her, Elyssa,
nor
of bedding her."

Having reached her, Daniel tentatively reached
his arms out and pulled Elyssa about the waist toward him. His mouth neared
hers for a kiss and Elyssa turned her face to avoid his romantic onslaught, his
lips meeting with her soft cheek.

She halfheartedly struggled to escape
his hold, the intimacy of his warm embrace a torturous thing. Daniel gently
forced her to look at him, his hand cradling her face, and her eyes drank in
the sight of him. How she'd missed that beautiful face all day. The seductive
gray eyes, those perfect lips, the jawline shaded by dark stubble. Her heart
melted as her gaze admired him, cursing herself a fool for having fallen in
love with such a handsome libertine. How could she ever hope to demand his
faithfulness, for she would be a hypocrite not to expect every other woman
alive to find Daniel irresistible and unable to keep from throwing herself at
him.

His soft smile one of compassion, Elyssa
both dreaded and craved the moment when his mouth would capture hers. Still,
she could not give into him so easily. Not at least without having answers
first. As his lips neared again, Elyssa shakily asked, "Do you love
her?"

Daniel exhaled a quick sigh, though he
never stopped his slow approach toward her lips.
"Of
course not."

In a quiet voice, just as Elyssa was on
the very edge of his all too easy seduction, she asked, "Could you ever
love me?" to prevent him
from ethi

As soon as the words were uttered,
Elyssa regretted them.
Would have given anything to take back
the wretched plea.
Why did she continue to torture herself when it came
to wanting Daniel's love? In truth, she was no different from any other woman
that had ever fallen prey to his allure. She really hadn't even known him all
that long, and here she was, on the verge of tears in desperate want and need
of Daniel's spoken love.

He was of course immune to women's tears
by now, and Elyssa was certain he'd long been weary of women expecting him to
declare his devotion. Helpless creatures, all of them, and now she'd joined
their ranks.

Her quiet plea stunned Daniel, for
although Elyssa wore her heart on her sleeve, he'd rather suspected she knew he
could not admit to love when he was not looking for a permanent relationship
with anyone. He held a definite fondness for her, indeed he'd spent the entire
day thinking of nothing else but rushing home into her arms and seeing her
beautiful smile.

And it had nearly been on the tip of his
tongue to accede to her sweet plea and speak the words back to her––a shocking
revelation––but he forced himself to remain silent. He refused to mislead her
so, and did he ever falter and speak those cursed words aloud, it would be to
his immediate and lasting destruction.

His silence was heartbreaking, yet
Elyssa knew he could not admit to loving her. She had known that from the
beginning, from the moment she'd first discovered he was the notorious Lord
Daniel Fredrickson, seducer and slayer of female hearts.

She saw the flash of shock in his eyes
for a split second.
Had felt the slight hesitancy in his
movements at her foolish words.
Elyssa felt humiliated at her blunder and
tried to lower her head from his grasp, but Daniel refused to allow her
reprieve.

Wordlessly, he denied her sweet behest,
though he proceeded with his hands and mouth to show just how much Elyssa did
mean to him.
As much as any woman could mean to a man that
had spent half his life in debauched carousing and seducing.
And likewise of being seduced, not only for his excessive good
looks, but for who he was.
For his reputation and for
his titles and wealth.

Her love for him, her complete
infatuation, engulfed Daniel with the inexplicable need to consume her. It
filled him with the longing to express his gratitude for her undeservin to prevent him
from ethig love.
He could see Elyssa's reluctance to submit to him, her indignity at having
declared something so intimate only to feel rejected. Indeed, he hated himself
for not being able to comfort her with like words. So he did the only thing he
could.

Gently wiping away the lone tear that
spilled onto her cheek, Daniel covered her mouth
with his own
.
His arms pulled her abruptly against his hard chest as Elyssa began to fall
prey to his impassioned onslaught. She wanted to deny him, had to deny him.

Her arms crept about Daniel's neck and
she parted her lips at his insistence. A low moan tore from his throat the
moment Daniel felt her surrender, felt the tenseness seep from her body as she
melted against him. Her touches became as feverish as his, both of them
helpless from falling into the fiery chasm of desire.

The burning need to be joined was so
intense that Daniel's hands shook as he nearly ripped the gown from Elyssa's
shoulders.
Tore his shirt and breeches from his body, all the
while staring wildly at Elyssa with the demanding need to take her at once.
He barely managed to pull her over to the bed before taking her, his need a savage,
almost violent thing.

It was unlike anything he'd ever known,
Daniel incoherently mused, as he continued plunging inside her, deeper and
deeper. The feeling of both resentment and craving toward Elyssa's timid plea
for his love.

His eyes closed in ecstasy just before
coming, but Daniel forced himself to slow, allowing Elyssa to join him. He knew
she was close to the precipice, her familiar soft cries alerting Daniel she was
near to erupting. He stared down at her, wanting to see the look in her eyes
when they came together. With one last savage thrust, Elyssa cried out, the
tremors within her taking hold and traversing down every nerve ending in her
body.

And it was the look in her eyes at that
very second that shook Daniel to the core. Words were only words, after all,
but the unmistakable look of love in Elyssa's eyes sent a jolt of guilt and
unworthiness through his veins.

Contrite for taking advantage of her,
Daniel rolled from atop her, lying on his back as he stared at the ceiling in
self-disgust. He could not allow Elyssa to make him the center of her world, as
egotistical as that might sound, for he'd been through that bother with
countless other women in the past. He wouldn't be able to live with himself
once everything changed, and it undoubtedly would.

But then she touched him. Elyssa's
lapse in judgment. ed to ">CHAPTER fingers splayed across his naked chest, her soft lips placing a gentle kiss
against his mouth. And he was lost.

CHAPTER 11

The next morning Elyssa awoke to an empty
bed. The spot where Daniel had lain through the night was already cold. An icy
dread seized her heart, for Elyssa knew of an instinct that Daniel's absence
wasn't due to a mere business meeting or an early morning ride. He was
simply....gone.

It had of course been her cursed
affirmation of love, her foolish plea for him to love her back that had sent
Daniel scurrying at the first possible moment. How utterly hopeless that had
been
To
try forcing a man like Daniel to speak of
love.

Would he wait to return to Greystone
until after she left? In truth, she held no claim to being mistress of the
mansion any longer. Greystone needed no mistress, she thought miserably, for
its master wouldn't allow it.
Didn't want it.
, span.MsoHyperlinkweknew she