don’t drink.’
He gave her an assessing glance as he handed her a glass of sparkling mineral water. ‘A reformed drinker?’ he observed. ‘How very commendable of you.’
Nina wished she had the courage to toss the contents of her glass into his arrogant face. However, given her sister’s behaviour over the last few months, she knew that his opinion, although distasteful, was probably warranted. Nadia had come in far too many times in a state of heavy inebriation for her to be under any illusions about the truth of his comment.
‘There are a lot of things I have changed in my life lately,’ she said instead.
He took a leisurely sip of his drink before responding. ‘Dare I hope Andre’s death has made some sort of impact on you to bring about these changes?’
If only he knew how it had impacted on her!
‘It would be an insensitive person indeed who wasn’t in some way affected by the untimely death of another,’ she answered.
‘Do you miss him?’
Nina stared into the contents of her glass, wondering how Nadia would respond.
‘I try not to think about it,’ she said.
‘No, of course not,’ he said. ‘If you thought about it you would have to take some responsibility for it, would you not?’
She kept her eyes down, unwilling to face the venom in his. ‘I did not have anything to do with the death of your brother.’
She heard the sharp chink of his glass as he set it back down and stepped backwards instinctively as he came towards her, his eyes narrowed into dark slits of wrath.
‘Do you think by saying that enough times it will change what you did?’ he asked.
Nina wished she could tell him the truth. The words hovered on her tongue but every time she opened her mouth she thought of Georgia and swiftly closed it again.
‘You have guilt written all over you,’ he said. ‘I can barely look at you without thinking of my brother’s final agonising minutes trapped in that car while he bled to death.’
Nina felt sick.
Marc swung away to refill his glass and she took the chance to draw in a ragged breath, her hands twisting in front of her in anguish.
She knew he was still grieving and was entitled to feel the whole spectrum of human emotions, including anger, but it didn’t help to have it directed solely at her. She didn’t have the hardened exterior of her twin to deal with such heavy criticism. Each time he berated her she felt as if another part of her was dying.
She turned to leave the room.
‘Where do you think you are going?’ he demanded as he put his own drink aside.
She bit her lip and gestured to the door. ‘I think it might be wise to leave you to brood on your own.’
He closed the distance between them in two strides, grasping her upper arms in his strong fingers, his eyes glittering with fury as they clashed with hers.
‘You think you can get off that easily? I will not let you escape unscathed. I am going to do everything in my power to make you pay for the destruction you have brought to my family,’ he snarled down at her, his fingers tightening cruelly.
Nina did her best to appear unfazed by his anger but beneath the fabric of her tracksuit pants she could already feel the betraying wobble of her legs.
‘I hardly see how marriage to me is going to help your cause. Not unless you’re going to lock me up in some tower and feed me nothing but bread and water,’ she said with a flippancy she was far from feeling.
She felt the bruising strength of his hold as his eyes bored down into hers and, unable to withstand the hatred burning there, she dipped her gaze to the harsh line of his mouth, her tongue snaking out to nervously anoint her lips.
‘Damn you!’ he growled and hauled her roughly against him, his mouth crashing down on hers for the second time that day.
Nina’s gasp of shock and surprise was silenced by the assault. She tried to use her hands to push against the hard wall of his chest but it was impossible to remove that punishing mouth from hers. She was imprisoned by his hold, his body rammed up to hers, imprinting its maleness on the soft feminine curves of her frame.
His kiss became arrogantly intimate, the full thrust of his tongue through the seam of her lips taking all the fight out of her. She felt her legs begin to buckle beneath her and the hands that had pushed him away began curling into the fabric of his T-shirt to keep her upright.
His tongue roved the interior of her mouth in a search and destroy mission that left her floundering in an unfamiliar sea of sensation. She felt the feathering of need run down her spine to render her legs useless, the solid press of his muscled thighs against hers reminding her of his indomitable strength and power.
Her breasts felt heavy and full where they were crushed against him, her lower body on fire where his hard length probed her blatantly, unashamedly.
He deepened the kiss even further, the pressure of his mouth eliciting a response from her she had not intended giving. She reprimanded herself even as she brushed her tongue along the stabbing length of his: he was the enemy, he was danger—but it did no good. Her body was on automatic pilot and acting independently of her common sense.
Suddenly it was over. He stepped back from her so abruptly that she almost stumbled, her body not quite up to the task of standing without his solid support.
His dark eyes glittered dangerously as he wiped the back of his hand over his mouth in an action that intended to inflict shame and embarrassment.
Nina refused to give him the satisfaction of seeing how close to the mark he’d come. Instead, she schooled her features into contempt and, reaching for a tissue from her sleeve, lifted it to dab at the swollen tenderness of her bottom lip where her tongue had tasted blood.
She saw his eyes follow the movement of her hand and was surprised to see a dull flush slowly ride up over his cheeks.
‘Forgive me,’ he said heavily. ‘I did not intend to go so far as to hurt you.’
She sent him a scathing look as she tucked the tissue away once more. ‘How far did you intend to go, enough to double my allowance?’
His mouth hardened. ‘I have no intention of handing you anything more than the sum we agreed on. I told you before—our marriage will not be consummated.’
‘Fine by me,’ she snapped. ‘But I suggest you run that past your body for clearance first.’ She gave his pelvis a pointed look before returning her eyes to his. ‘Somehow I don’t think it’s quite got the message.’
His eyes locked on to hers, the air between them crackling with palpable tension.
‘I would advise you, Nina, not to push me too far. You might not like the consequences.’
She lifted her chin defiantly. ‘You’ll have to try a little harder if you want to frighten me. Don’t forget I’m well used to dealing with ruthless men.’
‘I could ruin you,’ he reminded her. ‘One exclusive from me and even a city as large as this will not be big enough to hide your shame.’
Nina felt the pinpricks of fear at his chilling threat. If only she knew what her sister had been up to she might have been able to call his bluff. But she daredn’t risk it, not with Georgia’s welfare to consider.
‘I hardly see what benefit it will be to you to assassinate the character of the woman you have just married,’ she pointed out.
‘I will not act on my threat unless your behaviour falls short of the mark.’
‘How very gracious of you,’ she taunted. ‘But what about your behaviour? Does that, too, come under