A Past Revenge Read Free Page A

possessed her with a fierce thrust of his body. If she cried out at that possession she didn't know it, although the pain ripped through her until the world began to spin. And then passion soared, a sensation such as she had never dreamt existed, and she knew Nick felt the pleasure too as with a groan he crashed through the realms of ecstasy with her.
     
    He moved away from her immediately, the glittering pleasure she had seen alight in his eyes and face as he made love to her now replaced by cynical boredom, his gaze assessing as it swept over her contemptuously. 'I gather you were one of Carly's personal guests?' he finally drawled.
    She drowned her puzzlement that he should make the statement so contemptuously, the black silk sheet now pulled up to her chin, although Nick felt no such need to cover his nakedness, stretched out on the bed beside her like a sleek cat. 'How did you guess?' She moistened swollen lips, feeling their tenderness with the tip of her tongue, the rest of her body feeling equally as sore now that desire had faded.
    His mouth twisted. 'It wasn't difficult,' he dismissed dryly, standing up, the sleekness of a cat instantly intensified by his grace of movement. He picked up his jacket from the floor where he had thrown it earlier, taking out a cigar case and lighter. 'Do you mind?' he quirked dark brows at her.
    She despised the habit of smoking, but she had a feeling his request for permission was only perfunctory, that he didn't really care what her answer was. 'Please do,' she nodded distractedly. 'Does it bother you that I know Carly?'
    He looked at the tip of his cigar as smoke curled up to the ceiling. 'Not at all. My little niece may have her parents convinced what a sweet little girl she is, but I happen to know better,' he derided.
    So did Ellie, although she wasn't about to go into the other girl's indiscretions just now. 'What does Carly's behaviour have to do with us?' she frowned.
     
    Cold grey eyes raked over her mercilessly. 'Use your imagination, Ellie Smith,' he mocked. 'Your performance just now may have been a little— mechanical, but I'm sure you have one.'
    'I don't understand,' she shook her head, pale at the description he gave to her inexperienced lovemaking.
    'A complete stranger comes up to you at a party and asks you to leave with him, you agree, and you now ask how I know you know Carly,' he scorned harshly, pulling on the black silk robe that lay over a chair. 'What are you, a consolation gift from my dear little niece?' he made the words an insult.
    Ellie was so pale now her eyes looked as dark as emeralds, her long hair tangled down her back. 'Consolation gift?' she repeated dazedly.
    His expression was grim. 'It's just the sort of thing that little madam would do,' he rasped. 'And I'm glad she chose someone like you.' He looked at her once again. 'Anyone remotely resembling my wife would have turned me off completely.' He stubbed his cigar out in the ashtray with vicious movements.
    'Your—your wife?' She felt as if someone had just dealt her a painful body blow.
    'You can cut the cute little act now, Ellie,' he derided. 'I realise Carly asked you to send me those charming little messages across the room with your eyes to help me forget the fact that my wife served me with divorce papers today. And it has helped,' he nodded, his eyes narrowed. 'Now get your beautiful little body out of my bed,' he bent down to slap her bottom hard. 'I don't want you any more tonight, pleasant as the experience may have been.'
    Ellie had never felt so mortified in her entire life. She had had no idea until now that he had misunderstood her coy glances at him earlier, but she now knew the reason for the desperate drive behind his possession, realised that the 'bad news' he had received today had been his wife's intention of divorcing him.
    She could only stare at him now, not knowing how to defend herself. It was obvious he thought her as promiscuous as she knew Carly to be, that he