Free The Price of Seduction by Nina Blake Page B

it. Shannon might be engaged to Trevor Daniels but she’d seen a richer fish she might hook. Pity she had no chance.
    The evening passed slowly but at least the food lived up to Conrad’s expectations. Among other things they had fresh Barramundi, a delicacy from the rivers of the north of Australia, and local corn-fed beef seared to perfection.
    Unsure of the guests’ tastes, Conrad had ordered a range of desserts and was surprised to see Bree request two of them. He teased her about it and she insisted dessert was her favourite part of the meal.
    Not long after dinner, the two older couples excused themselves for an early night and Conrad thought perhaps he and Bree should do the same. She had already stood up and Conrad rose to join her, his hand reaching across to hold hers.
    Her gaze met his, the hint of a smile washing across her lush parted lips. She beckoned him with eyes glimmering with desire, her pale skin aglow, her whole face smouldering.
    “You’re not leaving , are you?” Daniels asked.
    “We’ve had a long day. ” Conrad squeezed Bree’s hand.
    “But I’ve just ordered a cognac for us. The waiter’s bringing them over. It’s the least I can do after your hospitality this evening. Surely you’ll have one quick drink with me. Just so I can say thank you.”
    It didn’t sound like an unreasonable request.
    “Would you like to stay a little longer?” Conrad asked Bree quietly. She shook her head, hardly a surprising response. He added, “Then I’ll meet you in your room.”
    Conrad was still standing, watching the gentle sway of Bree’s hips and the soft rippling of the fine skin of her bare back as she left when he heard D aniels ask Shannon to leave.
    When she was out of her fiancé’s line of sight, the young woman lowered her eyelids and flicked her tongue across her top lip as she passed Conrad. Now there was an invitation he could resist.
    “To Il Bosco. ” Daniels raised his glass. “May the best man win.”
    Conrad had no doubt as to who would win and tossed back a gulp of the rich amber cognac.
    “The jewels Bree was wearing must have cost a pretty packet,” Daniels said. “How much were they?”
    “That question is too gauche to answer .”
    “Is she worth it?”
    Conrad slammed his glass down on the table and spoke slowly, his eyes flaring at Trevor Daniels. “You have no idea.”
    “Oh, yes I do. I think I’m in a position to say what I want since you spent most of the evening flirting with my fiancée.”
    “Is that what this is all about? Sorry, mate, but you’ve got it the wrong way around.”
    “You might be rich, Conrad, but you’re not the kind of man Shannon would be interested in.”
    He’d had enough. “I’m not interested in Shannon. I don’t want your used goods.”
    “Like Bree?”
    “What do you mean ‘like Bree’?”
    Daniels’s laugh reverberated through the night air. “What? She didn’t tell you? We went out together for two years.”
    Conrad stood and strode towards Bree’s room.
    The night wasn’t over yet.

Chapter six
     
    Conrad slammed the door of Bree’s room behind him. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
    After everything he’ d said about respecting her privacy, she’d expected him to knock before entering and certainly hadn’t anticipated his outraged question or demanding tone of voice.
    Bree knew immediately it was something to do with Tr evor. She didn’t know what he’d said or why he would badmouth her behind her back when he’d supposedly moved on. But there was no doubt this was Trevor’s doing.
    She’d had a bad feeling about it when Conrad agreed to have a drink with the man. She should have trusted her instincts and refused to leave them alone together or, better still, convinced Conrad to come back to her room with her. After all, that was what she had wanted all along.
    He walked straight in and stopped in front of her.
    “This isn’t your room,” she said. “Why didn’t you knock?”
    “Why should