Giordanni's Proposal. JACQUELINE BAIRD

feel the rigid length of his masculine arousal hard against her, that she panicked like the frightened virgin she was.

      Her eyes flew wide open. She saw the swaying branches of the tree and the blue sky above. What was she inviting? ‘No! No, Dex.’ She squirmed beneath him, her small hand closing over his strong wrist. ‘I can’t!’ Though every nerve in her body was crying out with need, her fear of the unknown, ultimate intimacy was greater, and she began to struggle in earnest.

      ‘No? You can’t say no—not now, Beth.’ His throaty voice grated on her taut nerves, his fingers flexing as though to throw off her hold on his wrist.

      ‘Please stop.’ For a long moment she thought Dex was going to ignore her plea. His full weight pinned her down and he buried his head in the blanket over her shoulder. She felt his long body shudder and heard him groan, and then suddenly he rolled off her to lie on his back.

      ‘I’m sorry,’ she whispered, her body still pulsing with aching desire. Though she wasn’t exactly sure what she was apologising for.

      ‘Not half as sorry as I am,’ he snarled, jumping to his feet to tower over her. ‘I despise women who play games.’

      She gazed up at him in disbelief. The lover of a moment ago was gone, replaced by a furiously angry man. His grey eyes narrowed contemptuously on her half-naked, dishevelled form. ‘Get dressed, before I forget I am a gentleman and take what you are so obviously begging for but haven’t the guts to admit.’

      The contempt in his tone, the ice in his eyes, cut her to the heart. She lowered her own eyes and was forcibly reminded of his aroused state, which he made no attempt to hide. Bending her head, she hastily fastened her clothes. He was right; she did want him. But not like this, under a tree in the open where all could see, with no commitment on his part other than a desire for sex.

      With that thought uppermost in her mind, some of Beth’s pride and common sense surfaced. It was not all her fault. Dex was just as guilty as she was; after all, it was Dex who had started making love to her, not the other way around. The frustration seething in her overheated body, and a strong sense of pique at his attitude, gave her the determination to get to her feet, and, tilting her head back, she looked him straight in the eye.

      ‘If you were a gentleman you would not have tried to seduce me in a public place anyway,’ she said flatly.

      ‘If—if…’ he repeated furiously. ‘God knows, I should have learnt my lesson by now. You are just like my—’ He stopped, and as she watched a subtle change came over his features. ‘Forget it. I have,’ Dex finished tightly, and, swinging on his heel, he snatched up the hamper that had been cast to one side and headed for the car.