Free Substitute Bride by Margaret Pargeter

anger, and this was no ordinary honeymoon. 'I doubt if they would believe we were in love, no matter how hard we tried to convince them.'
    Furiously he retorted, 'But we could pretend it was a case of mutual attraction, if only you'd soften up.'
    'It wasn't in the agreement,' she protested.
    'It certainly was,' he corrected harshly.
    Fearing he was right, she hung her head, feeling, perversely, more rigid than ever. 'You'll have to give me time.'
    'That's one thing I can't give you,' he said curtly. 'And unfortunately I can think of only one way to achieve quick results—almost
    infalible,
    I've
    found,'
    he
    added
    contemptuously, 'with stubborn females.'
    Before she could move his arms were around her, jerking her to him. As her breath caught in her throat she gave a little cry of sheer fright, and he said roughly against her mouth,
    'Can't you damned well relax? Think of it as part of the job.
    Few people begin a new one without at least some tuition.'
    To begin with his mouth crushed hers without gentleness, then, as if trying to keep in mind his own advice, he eased the pressure considerably, even alowing her to breath. When a slight moan escaped her his hand began softly to caress her narrow back before moving to her nape, to soothe the tension from her neck and shoulders.
    'Is that better?' he asked, with what she suspected was a deliberate note of tenderness.
    How could she feel better, Emma thought wildly, when she was crushed against him so closely she seemed conscious of every bone in his body? The muscular hardness of his chest was actualy hurting her. The dark glitter in his eyes, as she stared dazedly up at him, was too frightening to alow her to relax. It was as if he was momentarily tempted to go farther than this. He was toying with the notion of carrying her to the bed and stripping her naked, of teaching her a lesson she would never forget. She could see he might be considering such a move as a means of revenging himself on Blanche's treachery. Any woman might do.
    'Please don't,' she whispered, terrified, yet feeling her heart skipping a beat as his sensuous lips came nearer.
    As though he had decided gentleness was getting him nowhere, his mouth hardened as it descended on hers. This time he forced her bruised lips apart and began a ruthless exploration, while his hand curved the back of her head, holding her immobile. It struck her, as she was made to endure a lesson he seemed bent on teaching, that he was a man who didn't realy know the meaning of tenderness. Long ago as a child he might have done, but not now. Anything he had learnt in his childhood was now forgotten.
    Strangely enough, much as she tried to resist, Emma's frozen body began to change beneath the expert persuasiveness of his lovemaking. Flames began blazing deep down inside her, melting the ice. The beat of her heart accelerated as his arms tightened passionately.
    'You're improving,' he muttered thickly, his hands moving to her breasts.
    She was vaguely aware of his body hardening and he wasn't bothering to hide the rising desire in his eyes either.
    There was also surprise, she fancied, that he could feel it for her. This Emma found as humiliating as a douche of cold water. Suddenly, with an anguished little gasp, she wrenched herself from his arms.
    Her swift movement darkened his face and she knew a fleeting apprehension until he decided to let her go. Her own reactions surprised her, as a peculiar urgency to rush back into his arms proved almost too strong to resist. She was glad she had, however, when cold indifference swiftly replaced the smouldering passion which had lain in his eyes only moments earlier.
    Unable to look at him, Emma stared down at the floor, ashamed that she had responded to him even briefly.
    Innocent though she was, she recognised that Rick was unused to the slightest rebuff, that usualy he only needed to use a little of the experience he had gained over the years in order to get his own way. Obviously, with