be my wife.’
Serena whitened with shock, saying, ‘You can’t be serious—’
‘Deadly serious,’ he said with a brief, cynical smile. ‘Now, what’s your answer? Will you marry me, yes or no?’
‘No!’ she burst out at once, taking a step back, shaking with disbelief. ‘You must be mad! Of course I won’t marry you! You’re much older than me and—’
‘I’m ten years older than you,’ he drawled, his face hardening with ruthless amusement ‘I’m thirty.’
‘Well, I couldn’t marry you even if you were younger!’ she said hoarsely, incredulous that he could even ask. ‘It’s just ridiculous!’
His mouth hardened, a stain of dark red colouring his face. ‘I don’t see that it’s ridiculous,’ he said harshly, stepping away from her, running a hand through his dark hair. ‘It makes good business sense to me.’
‘How can it?’
‘I want a wife who will give me an heir,’ he said flatly, lifting his dark head, every inch the ruthless financial shark as he studied her with hard, narrowed blue eyes. ‘But I’ve always wanted the best, and you’re it You’re young, beautiful, titled…you’re an heiress, an aristocrat and you’re a virgin.’
‘Oh…!’ Serena caught her breath, a hand to her mouth, appalled as hot colour flooded her cheeks, and she turned away, saying hoarsely, ‘Oh, my God…this is a nightmare!’
‘Nightmare!’ he bit out harshly behind her, striding up and catching her by the shoulder, whirling her angrily to face him, his blue eyes blazing. ‘I’m offering to save your family from bankruptcy and ruin!’
‘And ruining my life in the process!’ she cried hoarsely.
His mouth tightened angrily. ‘It’s too late now! I’ve had it written into the contracts and they’ve got to be signed today!’ He stared at her, then looked away, running a hand through his black hair. ‘God! It never occurred to me that you’d refuse to—’
‘Wait!’ Serena said shakily, running to him, catching his arm, staring up into his face, her green eyes luminous. ‘We’ll be ruined if those contracts aren’t signed.’
He looked at her sharply, his eyes narrowing, and there was a brief, tense silence. ‘Do you like me, Lady Serena?’ he asked softly, studying her face. ‘Or is it all my imagination?’
She looked at his mouth and whispered, ‘Yes…I do like you.’
His lashes flickered for a moment. Then he said flatly, ‘The contract will go through as written. We’ll marry in one month from now. Your parents will have all the money they need to save the manor.’
‘You talk as though it’s already settled…’ she said, horrified.
‘It is,’ he said bluntly. ‘All I need is your acceptance, and we can get the wheels in motion.’
‘And if I refuse?’
‘Then the deal is off,’ he said brutally.
Serena just stared at him, appalled. It was a gun to her head and they both knew it. If she refused to marry him, her family faced ruin. How could she possibly allow that to happen?
‘You’re blackmailing me!’ she whispered bitterly, hot tears in her eyes.
He grimaced, saying thickly, ‘I know. But I don’t have time to do anything else. Now what’s your answer, Lady Serena? Yes or no?’
Her hands twisted in despair. ‘You know very well that I can’t refuse!’
‘Yes,’ he said deeply, and walked towards her.
In her anger, she did not back away, instead staring at him bitterly as she felt her pulses race at his approach, hating him for the position he was putting her in.
‘I’ll make you happy,’ he said under his breath as his hands slid to her waist, and his eyes to her mouth. ‘I promise you that. You’ll have everything you need. Now, send your parents back in. They’re waiting for you in the library.’
Serena went with a thudding heart to find her parents. They were white with horror, and told her she didn’t have to marry him if she didn’t want to. They would face ruin, they said, for her sake. But of course Serena knew she couldn’t allow that to happen.
A month later, she was married to Nick Colteme and had flown to the Bahamas for her honeymoon.
He came to her bedroom that night. Serena was waiting for him, sitting up in bed, her face white as porcelain, determination in her green eyes.
Nick closed the bedroom door behind him, studying her across the darkness. He was wearing a dark red dressing-gown, naked beneath it, his bronzed chest bared and his long muscular thighs hair-roughened. The sight of him made her pulses leap, but she hated him for his ruthless acquisition of her and was determined not to let him make love to her.
The silence stretched tautly between them. Then Nick pushed away from the door, walking slowly across the darkened bedroom until he stood beside the bed, staring down at Serena, his eyes hot blue.
‘You’re lovely,’ he said abruptly, his voice hoarse.
Resentment flashed in her eyes. ‘I suppose I ought to be, considering how much money you paid to get me.’
‘Let’s not discuss money in the bedroom,’ he drawled, sinking down on to the bed, making her pulses leap with angry awareness as he reached for her. ‘It’s hardly good taste.’
‘And what is good taste?’ she demanded, backing away from him until her head was pressed hard against the expensive bedstead. ‘Buying a wife for her title and her inheritance?’
‘I said we wouldn’t discuss it,’ he said softly, and his hands reached for her, closing over her bare shoulders.
Rigid, Serena flung angrily, ‘Don’t touch me!’
His eyes narrowed. ‘You’re my wife. This is my wedding night. I have every right to touch you, and I damn well intend to. Now come here.’ He pulled her towards him.
‘No!’ Serena struggled, hands splayed on his warm bronzed chest, excitement flashing through her as she encountered the black hairs that curled on his chest, angrily aware that she felt desire for him, and despising herself for it.
The blue eyes blazed. ‘Yes!’ he said thickly, and then his mouth closed over hers.
With a startled moan, she felt her mouth open beneath his, the hot exploration of his kiss exciting her at once. But her mind overruled her desire for him. He didn’t love her. He only wanted an heir. That was all this was…business, not pleasure.
‘Oh, God, I think I’m going to be sick!’ Serena flung fiercely, dragging her mouth from his at once. ‘I can’t bear to have you anywhere near me!’
His eyes flashed angry blue. Pinning her to the bed, he kissed her deeply, ruthlessly, his mouth brutal over hers, and Serena was so furious that she felt something snap inside her, turning into a whirlwind, hands slapping and scratching at his face as he tried to capture her wrists and she screamed when he swore.
They fought in bitter silence. His eyes were blazing, his face dark red with anger. Then her fingernails raked his hard cheek, and his head jerked back.
Serena stared, breathing hard, as she saw blood on his cheek. Slowly, he lifted a strong hand, touched the cut, then stared at the blood on his long fingers.
‘I didn’t mean to do that,’ Serena said shakily. ‘But I had to. I won’t let you make love to me, Mr Colterne, marriage or no marriage. You’re a stranger to me. Not a husband. And you’ll never become my lover. Not unless you tie me down and rape me.’
He was suddenly very silent and very still, his harsh breathing the only sound in the darkened