Free The Love Killers by Jackie Collins Page B

feel of his maleness, it all combined to make her want to forget everything and just be with him. Surrendering to the feeling, she pressed close against him.
    â€˜Hey, baby, I don’t have to tell you how I feel,’ he muttered. ‘No—I don’t have to tell you—you know—you knew from the first time we saw each other.’
    Managing to push him away a little, she shook her head.
    â€˜I’ve got to see you,’ he said urgently. ‘How about lunch tomorrow? We could meet at the beach, somewhere quiet where no one would see us.’
    â€˜Wait a minute.’ She took a deep breath, pushing him away completely. They stood in the midst of the swaying dancers. ‘
I
can see you any time,’ she said challengingly. ‘
I’m
not tied down.’
    He pulled her back into a tight embrace.
    â€˜Listen, baby, you know my scene with April. She’s a great lady. I wouldn’t want to hurt her.’
    â€˜Then don’t,’ Lara replied crisply, back in control.
    â€˜Ah, come on,’ he said. ‘You feel the same way I do, I
know
you do. If I was to slide my hands under those tight pants of yours, I could prove it to you—you’d be—’
    She cut him short, her green eyes wide and appealing. ‘Nick, I’m not arguing. Let’s go home now. You say good-bye to April, and I’ll kiss Sammy on the cheek. Then I’ll take off my tight pants for you and—’
    â€˜Hey, you’re beginning to sound like a bitch.’ He was angry.
    Her eyes gleamed. ‘What’s the matter? Don’t you like it when I’m honest? If we both want each other so much, what’s the big hang-up?’
    â€˜You
know
the hang-up,’ he groaned.
    â€˜Yes, I think I do, and I’ll tell you something, Nick, it’s all yours.’ She walked off the dance floor and rejoined April and Sammy at their table.
    With a jolt she realized for a moment she’d almost lost control. What a stupid thing to do. Purely physical.
    â€˜Having fun?’ April asked tensely.
    Lara grabbed Sammy’s arm. ‘Not nearly as much as I’m going to. Right, Sammy?’
    He couldn’t believe his luck. The ice queen was finally thawing. ‘You’d better believe it, honey. They don’t call me action man for nothing!’

CHAPTER THIRTEEN
    The only time Beth saw Frank Bassalino was on Sundays. It appeared to be the only day he spent at home. Weekdays he was up and away before anyone was awake, returning late in the evenings after the household was asleep.
    Sundays he spent with his children. In the morning he took them to the park, then home for a huge lunch of various pastas that Anna Maria spent the morning preparing. In the afternoon he played with them, absorbing himself in their interests. Cars and trains with the two boys, perhaps a game with his six-year-old daughter—his obvious favorite—and complicated building stacks with the two-year-old.
    He was a good father, if you could call devoting one day a week to his children being a good father.
    Anna Maria was a placid, almost stupid girl. She had no particular desire to learn English. Frank and the children conversed with her in Italian, and since they were her whole life, what was the point in learning to speak to other people? She spent her days baking, sewing, and writing letters to her family in Sicily. It was a rare day when she left the house.
    Beth found the children to be well-behaved and easy to manage. She gave them an hour’s coaching in English a day, and they seemed to enjoy it, even the little ones. There wasn’t much else to do. The older children went to school, and the two-year-old slept in the afternoons.
    After two weeks she met with Cass. ‘I don’t think it’s going to work,’ she said despairingly. ‘I never get to see him. And when I do he doesn’t even notice me.’
    Cass had always thought Beth wasn’t