Sweet Silken Bondage Read Free Page B

handsome young man
he'd become. At over six feet tall, his broad-shouldered, slim-hipped form and dark good looks made
him an improved, refined version of his father, and
Evaline understood with sudden, insightful clarity just
what it had been about Philip that had encouraged her
to leave her wealthy family. Physical attraction. It was a
powerful force, but, as she knew now, by itself it would only wither and die with the passing of time.

    "Well? What is it you want?" she asked sharply,
forcing her thoughts away from Philip. She wanted to
be done with this interview so she could get on with her
own plans.
    "I have something important to tell you," he offered
eagerly.
    "Yes, what?"
    "Everything's changed at home," he declared in triumph. He was ready to tell her how hard they'd
worked to make Windown a success. He wanted her to
be proud of the fact that the Cordells had finally come
into their own. They were rich now, and money would
never be a problem for them again.
    "Oh?" Evaline returned with less than enthusiastic
interest. She didn't want to encourage him in this
conversation. She just wanted to get it over with so he
would leave. Her lover, Boyd Charleton, would be
coming to pick her up in a little over an hour, and she
liked to be ready when he arrived.
    Her indifferent tone left Clay apprehensive, but he
went on undeterred. He'd waited too long for this
moment to let anything stop him. Clay was certain she
would be delighted with the news. It never in his
wildest dreams occurred to him that she would be less
than thrilled. "Yes. We've done it. Father and I have
made Windown into a paying proposition."
    A sudden, uneasy feeling washed over Evaline.
"How nice for you."
    "For all of us," Clay finished. "There's no reason for
you to stay away any longer, Mother. There's enough
money now. You can have anything you want. You can
come home."
    Evaline blinked, regarding Clay in complete astonishment. Home? Had he said she could come home? "Why
would I want to do that?"
    "Why?" Clay repeated, frowning.
    "Yes, why?" Evaline rose from her seat and crossed the room, distancing herself from him.

    "Well, I thought..." His veneer of maturity began
to crack, fractured by her surprising reaction to his
good news.
    "You thought, what?" She turned to look at him, her
expression mocking.
    "I thought that you loved us and..."
    He didn't get to finish as she erupted into derisive
laughter. "You thought that I still loved your father and
you?"
    The sarcasm in her laughter crushed Clay's very
soul. He sat there without speaking or moving as she
spewed forth the venom of truth about her feelings.
The venom that Philip had known all these years, but
hadn't had the heart to tell his young, idealistic son.
    "My dear boy, when did I ever give you the impression that I wanted to come back to you?" she asked in
disbelief. "Did you really think I would run back to
Windown after all. this time just because you made a
little money?"
    Clay's jaw tensed at her jibe.
    "I can see that that's exactly what you expected, but
I'm afraid that's not what's going to happen. Did your
father put you up to this?"
    "No!" Clay blurted out.
    "So this was all your idea?"
    "Yes," he answered tightly, tension gripping him as
he regarded her across the room. He had waited a long
time for this moment. He had often imagined how this
conversation would take place. How he would offer her
untold riches and how she would take him in her arms,
tell him that she loved him, and return to Windown
with him where they would all live happily together as
a family. Now that it was actually taking place, however, it was nothing like what he'd imagined. She was
nothing like he imagined. As he stared at her, he
wondered when it was that her beauty had started to
fade and when her eyes had turned so cold?

    Evaline gave a cynical chuckle as she came to stand
before him. She lifted one lily-white hand to pat his
cheek indulgently.