Part 5 (1/2)

He knew how to pleasure a woman. Perhaps the largest part of his appeal was that Caine wanted to give pleasure as much as receive it. He knew all the tricks, the slow subtle moves of seduction. But now, with her pliant in his arms, her mouth growing hungrier on his, he forgot them. Her scent was clouding his mind until he was crus.h.i.+ng her against him with too much need for finesse. She was luring him, and it was he who was seduced before he knew the rules had changed. He heard a moan, low with longing, and dimly realized the sound had been pulled from him. His hands were in her hair again, fingers grasping, unaware of their strength as he drew in all the hot, honeyed tastes of her mouth. And she met him fire for fire, touch for touch.

Diana knew nothing beyond the tide of sensation. The taste and feel of him dominated everything and still wasn't enough. Her tongue met his again and again, deeper intimacy, hotter pa.s.sion, but she only hungered for more. For the first time, she fully understood the power and allure of greed.

His hands ran down her body, lingering at the sides of her b.r.e.a.s.t.s before they continued on over her waist and hips. He molded her like a sculptor learning the life and feel in his clay. And somehow she knew he understood her body as clearly as if she had been naked.

Caine tore his mouth from hers to stare down at her with eyes dark and fiercely intense. It seemed this time he'd been hit with the unexpected; aching desire when he'd have chosen careless, carefree pa.s.sion. ”I want you.” His breath came fast as he smothered her lips again. ”Now, Diana.

Right now.”

It was his anger that excited her-and that made her break free. ”I...”

Turning away, she pushed her hands through her hair. ”I'm not ready for this. Not with you.”

”d.a.m.n it, Diana!” Churning with needs, he spun her around.

”No.” She shoved at him, gaining a few inches of distance. ”I don't know what's going on inside of me right now. Everything's happening too fast.

But I know I won't be one of Caine MacGregor's women.”

His eyes narrowed, but he made no move toward her. ”You don't stop putting people into slots, do you?”

”I'm going to put my life back together, Caine, I'm not going to let you complicate it.” ”Complicate it,” he repeated with soft, deadly control: ”All right, Diana, you do what you have to do.” He stepped toward her then but still didn't touch her. ”But Boston isn't such a big town and this case is a long way from closed.”

Though her throat was dry, she spoke evenly. ”Is that a threat, counselor?”

He smiled then, slowly. ”It's a promise.” Cupping her chin, he gave her a hard, brief kiss, then turned and left the room. Diana didn't let out her breath until she heard the door close behind him.

This was all she needed, she thought as she looked at her tangle of half- packed clothes. He'd only gotten to her because her emotions were so confused and close to the surface. If there was one thing she'd learned to do over the years, it was to hold her own with men-in the courtroom and the bedroom. Caine MacGregor would have been no different if he hadn't been there when she'd already been vulnerable.

She wouldn't think of it now. Diana closed her eyes and waited for her system to calm. If they were to meet again in Boston, she'd be more steady on her feet. Now she had to face herself and her brother, and twenty years of deceit. Before she could weaken, Diana hurried out of the suite and down the hall toward the penthouse.

He might not be back yet, she thought as she lifted her hand to knock. If he's not, she told herself, I'll go down to his office and wait. It has to be now. Her hand hesitated and nearly dropped. I have to do it now.

Straightening her shoulders, Diana knocked, then held her breath.

Justin opened it, bare-chested, a s.h.i.+rt slung over his shoulder and his hair still damp from a shower. ”Diana? Were you looking for Serena?”

”No, I-” Her eyes were drawn to the jagged white scar along his ribs.

Painfully, she swallowed. ”May I come in?” ”Of course.” After closing the door, he watched her fingers lace and unlace as she walked to the center of the room. ”Would you like some coffee? A drink?”

”No, no, nothing.” She gripped her fingers together again and let them fall in front of her. ”You go ahead.”

”Sit down, Diana.”

”No, I...” Her voice trailed off and she shook her head helplessly. ”No.”

”What is it?”

It would be easier if she didn't have to look at him, she thought. Easier if she could be a coward and turn away as she said the words. Diana kept her eyes on his. ”I want to apologize.”

Justin lifted a brow as he started to slip on his s.h.i.+rt. ”What for?”

”For everything I haven't done or said since I came here.”

He watched her as he b.u.t.toned his s.h.i.+rt, but his eyes told her nothing.

He knew how to keep his thoughts to himself, she realized. That was why he was a gambler, and a success at it. ”You have nothing to apologize for, Diana.”

”Justin.” His name came out in a plea as she stepped toward him.

Stopping herself, Diana turned away a moment ”I'm not doing this well.

Strange, I make my living stringing the right words together, but I just can't find them.”

”Diana, you don't have to do this.” He wanted to touch her, but thinking she'd only stiffen, he slipped his hands into his pockets. ”I don't expect you to feel anything.”

Gathering her courage again, she faced him. ”I owe you,” she said quietly. Instantly, his eyes were remote and unfathomable. ”You owe me nothing.”

”Everything,” she corrected. ”Justin, you should have told me!” she said with sudden pa.s.sion. ”I had a right to know.”

”To know what?” he countered coolly.

”Stop it!” she demanded and grabbed his s.h.i.+rtfront with both hands.

He thought as he looked down at her that there was more of the girl he remembered than he'd realized. Here was the verve and the fire. Lifting a brow, he studied her stubborn, furious face. ”You always were a brat,”

he murmured. ”Perhaps if you calm down, you might tell me what's on your mind.”

”Stop treating me as though I were still six years old!” she demanded as her fingers tightened on his s.h.i.+rt.

It amused him to hear her shout, and wiped away the image of the cool sophisticate who had walked back into his life a few days before. ”Stop behaving as though you were,” he advised. ”There've been things you've wanted to say to me since I walked into this room and found you here.

Say them now.”

Diana took a deep breath. She'd wanted to apologize, not to shout and accuse. But the control she'd practiced so scrupulously for so many years was lost. ”All those years I resented you, even tried to hate you for forgetting me.”

”I think I understand that,” he said steadily.

”No.” Shaking her head, she dug her fingers into his s.h.i.+rt in frustration.

Tears began to gather and spill, but she didn't wipe them away because she didn't feel them. ”How could you when I could never tell you? I lost everything so quickly, Justin. Lost everyone.” Her voice trembled, but she couldn't steady it. ”I thought at first all of you had left because I was too much trouble.”

He made a soft sound and touched her for the first time-a hand absently pa.s.sed through her hair as he had done from time to time so many years before. ”I didn't know how to make you understand. You were so small.”