Heart Matters (12 page)

Proposed! Niki!
A sickening thought
formed in her mind. Was this all happening for Niki? Was Steven the
man who was going to propose to her? The man close to her
heart…
Hart? Steven Hart?
Oh, good lord! She almost fainted.
She was in the wrong place at the wrong time! Niki had to be here!
Poor Niki. She was missing out on one of the most important moments
of her life. If she were here she would probably be in his arms
kissing him…

“Answer me, darling; answer me now, for I
will not ask again.”

“Yeah, answer him,” someone hooted from the
crowd. “But no words, remember the rules.”

Jessica panicked.
This
isn’t
happening! He can’t be serious! She looked into his earnest eyes.
Maybe he was. Niki had said he was a bit crazy but somehow Jessica
couldn’t really sum up
Steven Hart
as crazy. But he was
waiting for a reply. He tightened his grip on her hands and forced
her closer toward his handsome face. “Answer me. I need to know,”
he growled menacingly, alarming her with the intensity in his
voice.

This was terrible. If she said nothing he
was going to be pretty annoyed with her. Not her, but with poor
Niki. Things could get very sour between them and they might even
split up. Especially when he came to know he had proposed to the
wrong person. He would surely blame Niki for his bruised ego. The
best thing to do was to keep shut, nod and later let Niki take
over. With her mind made up, she tentatively nodded.

“Yes?” he shouted, amazing her with his
reaction. She had always seen him so composed that he now looked
like a little boy who had just got his favorite toy. She nodded
again and he rose from his kneeling position so swiftly that she
had to step back to avoid their faces from colliding. She thought
that was the end of the matter but it was only the beginning. He
caught her by the waist and swung her around a number of times
before setting her down on her shaky legs. “I knew you would say
yes! This calls for a celebration! Come on.”

Jessica had no choice but to follow the
powerful man as he dragged her to the dance floor. Sheesh! She had
heard of going wild with joy but this guy was positively berserk!
He was showing her a side of his nature she hadn’t known existed.
No wonder Niki had fallen for him. They were more alike than she
could ever have imagined!

Unfortunately for her they were playing a
slow number and on the crowded floor, Steven turned her in his
arms, holding her close. Jessica went rigid. Pretending to be Niki
was one thing but dancing so intimately with a man who actually
thought it was she, was another. She tried to widen the distance
between them but he only crushed her closer, bending his head to
place his cool lips on her exposed nape.

Goose bumps shot up her arms as her mouth
went dry. His mere touch was playing havoc with her senses. She
could feel his hands caressing her near naked back making her
unconsciously sag towards him. His teeth nipped her neck in
response and she gasped, abruptly coming back to reality. This
shouldn’t be happening! She had no right to fool him even though
she was
physically
attracted to him. The admission made her
shudder and he raised his head to stare at her. “What’s wrong?”

“I…” she began and then realized her voice
had gone hoarse with all the excitement.

“Ssh,” He placed a finger on her lips. “You
can’t break the rules.” He drew her back in his arms but she could
bear it no longer.

“No!” she breathed, breaking away from him
and escaping through the crowd to find the nearest possible
exit.

The heavily draped doors that loomed ahead
led to a sprawling terrace beyond. She went through them, shutting
the doors behind and drowning all the noise from the party. One
glance around told her she was alone. She headed for a dark,
shadowed corner that was sheltered by a dense growth of vines that
hung above. The terrace overlooked a kidney shaped pool that
sparkled under the moonlight and made a beautiful sight.

Jessica folded her arms around her chest,
rubbing her bare shoulders lightly. Although there was a cool
breeze blowing about, she was sure she shivering from her encounter
with Steven. Her reaction to him scared her. No man had ever made
her feel like this before. Maybe just Ty but certainly not
Adam.

“Are you all right?” Steven spoke so softly
behind her that she spun around to face him as she had done once
before in his office. Then, he had been the epitome of a civilized
man and now he looked like a hunter stalking a game. He looked even
more handsome in the moonlight and an undecipherable emotion tugged
her heart. Annoyance at herself turned into irrational anger
towards him. She stared at him wondering if he was crazy. What was
he doing chasing her around like a psychopath? She set her mouth in
a firm, determined line. He had to know the truth now.

Steven yanked her towards him before she
could utter a word, cupping her chin with one hand while the other
spread across the small of her back. He gazed into her eyes
shadowed by the mask while his hand released her chin to tug
lightly at the veil that covered her face. It fell away easily and
her breath constricted. Now he would know she wasn’t Niki, she
thought a bit regretfully.

But Steven said nothing making her wonder if
the overhead vines had made it difficult for him to see her
clearly. In fact, his eyes gazed her as though he had never seen
her before. “You are the most bewitching woman I’ve ever met,” he
whispered, huskily, “God, how I want you!”

She watched in fascination as his sexy mouth
came towards her own quivering lips. It stopped just a fraction
away as he smiled mockingly at her. She tensed painfully. His warm
breath was on her lips and yet he was tantalizing her by not
consummating the kiss. She couldn’t bear it anymore. Her lips
parted and moved towards his. He needed no further invitation to
claim her mouth in a burning kiss. She went rigid with shock, the
blood turning molten in her veins. A tight ball of desire slammed
her into the hard wall of his chest even as he drew her closer. His
lips moved expertly across hers, his teeth nipping her lower lip to
draw them apart. Jessica moaned losing the battle and he invaded
her mouth intimately. Their tongues locked, tormenting and ravaging
each other with equal abandon. Her palms that had spread across his
chest now crept up to wrap themselves about his neck where her
fingers sank into his soft hair.

He kissed her endlessly with a display of
passion that mocked her own existing notion of it. It evoked a
response from her to match its intensity and completely lose her
self-control. After what seemed a lifetime his kiss became gentler
making her lips cling to his. When he lifted his mouth from hers
she heard his ragged breath against the silence of the night. Her
head dropped in defeat on his chest where she could hear the wild
beat of his heart. So; he was as affected by their encounter as she
was. Her eyes that had closed, opened and she found him staring
down at her with such fervent desire that she felt he was stripping
her naked.

The thought caught her unawares as she
remembered Adam. A wave of shame enveloped her. Steven wasn’t
feeling his desire for her. He didn’t know it was she in his arms.
He thought she was Niki.

Her hand came across her mouth, uncertain
tears welling in her eyes. Oh, god, how could she have behaved in
such a lustful manner? “Steven, I…” she whispered but he silenced
her as before with a finger on her lips.

“Ssh, darling. Don’t say it.”

She watched enthralled as his mouth
descended on hers again. “But…” The word was lost in his kiss and
somehow she felt it was all that mattered.

The kiss was gentler than before drugging
her with its sensuality. His mouth left hers to trace her delicate
jaw line, then her sensitive neck. His hand had come up to caress
the delicate edge of her bodice and when his fingers curled holding
onto the edge just above her raised breasts, she almost fainted
with a deep yearning. She whimpered like a small animal both loving
and hating the sensation. He was driving her over the edge of
sanity, turning her into a sex-starved maniac. He pressed his hips
against hers making her aware of the strength of his desire for
her. “I want you, Jessica! I want you
now!
” The words were a
husky erotic admission but they were enough to land her back on
earth with a nasty thud.

“Steven!” she gasped trying to pull away,
“You knew it was me!”

He stilled and raised his dangerously
handsome face to smile his sardonic smile into her eyes. He lay one
last kiss on her outraged lips and released her, aware that the
magical moment had passed. He leaned back on the low wall of the
terrace smiling at her lazily. “Of course I knew it was you. Who
else could it be but you?”

Jessica’s cheeks turned a crimson red albeit
hidden by the silver tones of the moon. “You saw through my
disguise and yet you…you…”

“Kissed you,” he ended her sentence with a
chuckle.

Slow anger replaced her embarrassment. “Why
are you laughing at me?” she hissed tightly.

He didn’t answer immediately but leaned
towards her to tug at her eye mask and flick it aside. “There,
that’s better. You were looking pretty silly with that on.”

She gritted her teeth. “Why did you…do
it
?”

He eyed her innocently. “I told you it made
you look silly.” Her livid eyes glared at him and she opened her
mouth to speak but he was already reaching towards the wig on her
head. He tugged at it and it dropped away leaving her heavy tresses
to come tumbling down. The sardonic look left his eyes and he
stared at her looking amazed. It was the first time he had seen her
without her hair tied up and she made a breathtaking sight. “I had
no idea you had such beautiful hair,” he said, reaching out to
touch the delicate tendrils that hung about her face.

“Stop it!” she cried out enraged. “Why did
you do it?”

The cynical look returned on his face along
with his arrogant smile. “I did it because I find you irresistible.
And why did
you
do it, Jessica? Do you find me irresistible
too?”

She almost choked. “I most certainly do not!
I tried to tell you!”

“
Really?
” he drawled with such
disbelief that she nearly screamed in frustration.

“Yes,
really
! And what do you think
Niki will feel when she finds out you proposed to me despite
knowing it wasn’t her?”

“I think she will be very pleased,” he
replied smoothly, leaving her completely disconcerted.

“What are you saying?”

“I’m just being honest.”

“Honest?
Honest
?” she scoffed, “I
don’t think being unfaithful amounts to honesty.”

“Neither would Warring, I’m sure. But why
drag him in what could be one big happy family? I think Niki would
be very pleased to have her cousin as her sister-in-law.”

“
Sister-in-law
?” she repeated
beginning to feel very dumb.

“Yes, Jessica,
sister-in-law
. Before
this party’s over my brother is going to be a very happy man as is
your cousin.”

Jessica’s mouth fell open. “Y…your brother?
Not you?” she asked weakly.

“Nope, not me. Sean has been seeing Niki for
precisely four months now and they are convinced they are made for
each other.”

Everything suddenly fell in place. Niki and
Steven had been waiting for Sean that evening in the restaurant.
And she had misunderstood the entire situation. She blanched quite
visibly. “I…I...thought…I had no idea…”

“It’s all right, don’t apologize. Everyone
makes a mistake.”

Common sense accompanied with wild rage hit
Jessica. “Apologize?! Why should
I
apologize especially
after the way
you
behaved? How could you make fun of me like
that?”

“I wasn’t making fun of you,” he answered
sincerely.

“Of course you weren’t! You simply have a
habit of proposing to every woman you meet, don’t you?”

He shrugged apologetically. “I was
jesting.”

She glared at him stonily. “You were making
fun of me.”

“I wouldn’t say that, Jessica. I wouldn’t
mind proposing to you.”

Jessica nearly throttled him. “I am not
asking
you to
propose
to me!”

“Then why are you angry?”

She was dumbfounded for a moment. The man
was incorrigible. She drew a deep breath and counted to ten before
saying very patiently, “I am
angry
because I thought that
you mistook me for Niki. I am angry because you made a fool of me.
You…you kissed me and I let you because I was under the impression
that you thought I was Niki.” She knew she was rambling but she
hoped she could make him see the truth.

“You are such a liar, Jessica Cantrell,” he
said so intensely that her eyes flew guiltily to his face. “But I
am serious. I find you very attractive, Jessica, I want you.”

Her breath caught in her throat. “You’re
insane! You hardly know me.”

“I know you find me attractive too,” he went
on maddeningly, “Why don’t we really get married, Jessica? We could
spend a lifetime making love to each other.”

She simply stared at him amazed at his
audacity. “You’re crazy! You don’t even know me!” she repeated.

His shrug was noncommittal. “I know you
enough to know it will be a great success.”

“Marriage does not thrive on
lust
! It
does not feature in marriages.”

“No?” he challenged her, “I thought the
principle behind the institution was to satiate lust with a single
partner.”

Her cheeks colored. “The principle behind
the institution is
love
not
lust
! People marry for
love not lust.”

“And love runs out of a marriage within the
first year. It’s the want that keeps it alive.”