Seduction: The Billionaire's Bride of Vengeance

No…

Not a word any man usually liked hearing on a woman’s lips.

But it was the right reply this time.

Russell walked round the bed and picked up her clothes from the floor. ‘Try not to be too long in the bathroom,’ he said as he offered them to her.

She took the clothes but didn’t make a move to get out of the bed. She just clutched them to her chest.

‘What’s wrong?’ he asked.

‘I … I’d like some privacy.’

He had to laugh. ‘Might I remind you that you swanned around this house naked for most of last night?’

‘Yes, and look what happened.’ she countered, green eyes flashing. ‘I really would like to make it out of here this morning without being ravaged again.’

‘Might I also remind you that you liked being ravaged?’

Her blush startled him, as did the pained expression which filled her eyes.

‘Look, I … I’m not usually like that,’ she said. ‘Not that you’ll believe me after the way I acted. You probably think I’m a total slut.’ Her shoulders drooped, her eyes dropping away from his.

Russell just stood there for a few seconds, utterly speechless. If this was an act, it was Oscar-winning material. What he was seeing had to be sincere.

Which meant what?

Damned if he knew.

In the end, he sat down on the side of the bed and tried to find the right thing to say.

‘So what are you usually like?’ came his careful question.

When her head lifted, her eyes were shimmering with tears.

‘A bore!’ she blurted out.

His head jerked back. ‘Come now, you can’t expect me to believe that.’

‘Then I suggest you talk to my ex-fiancé,’ she said quite bitterly whilst dashing the tears away with furious hands. ‘He informed me at length that I was the biggest bore in bed he’d ever met.’

Russell frowned. ‘Is that why he broke off your engagement?’

‘Lord, no! I broke off our engagement after I walked in on him screwing his PA on his desk. He’d have married me, bore or no. Or he would have back then, when Power Mortgages was powering along like there was no tomorrow. David wouldn’t marry me now, even if I was the best lay in the world.’

‘I see. You do realise he probably only said those things in retaliation. He was trying to hurt you.’

‘Yes, I do see that. But he was still right. I was a bore in bed. I was,’ she added, ‘till I met you.’

Russell just sat there for a long moment, drinking in this quite astonishing confession. As much as his first reaction was to shake his head in disbelief, he gradually accepted that it would explain the bewilderment he’d glimpsed when they’d first made love.

When she’d said she was amazed afterwards, she might have meant it.

‘I’ve never done half of the things I did with you last night,’ she insisted, her expression containing some of that wonder again. ‘Actually, I’ve never done most of those things.’

Russell stared into her eyes, then down at her mouth, which he’d imagined servicing many men before him.

How could he believe her? She’d been way too good at that. Way too uninhibited as well.

This had to be a line. A clever line to suck him in, the way she’d sucked him in last night. Quite literally.

When he reached out to place two fingertips against her lips, her head jerked back, her nostrils flaring wide.

‘And what about that?’ he asked her, watching closely for signs of lying. ‘Have you done that before?’

Her eyes didn’t even flicker as they held his. ‘No, never.’

‘Not even with your ex-fiancé?’ he persisted.

‘He wanted me to. But I … I wouldn’t. Just the thought of it used to repulse me. That’s why I was so shocked when I woke up this morning. Oh, I know you don’t believe me,’ she went on, distress zooming into her eyes. ‘I wouldn’t, either, if I were in your place.’

Russell didn’t know what to make of this tack. Another clever ruse, or the truth?

Damn, but it was difficult to put aside his preconceptions about her. Extremely difficult to trust anyone who had anything to do with Alistair Power, especially his enemy’s flesh and blood daughter.

A less emotional logic finally kicked in, reasoning that the Nicole Power he believed her to be would not be making excuses for her sexual behaviour last night. She wouldn’t think there was anything wrong with it at all!

Which meant she had to be telling him the truth.

It also meant she hadn’t been faking.

Russell’s male pride swelled, his ego triumphant at the thought she’d been genuinely swept away by true passion. Of course, none of this meant she wasn’t on the make as well. But it did mean that her desire for him was real, the same way his was for her.

This gave an added edge to Russell’s sudden plan to continue their affair, not just for today but longer. Much longer. He’d fantasised about her falling in love with him. What if she did? How brilliant a revenge would that be?

‘You’re wrong, Nicole,’ he said, cupping her face and giving her a softly seductive kiss. ‘I do believe you.’

The surprised pleasure which filled her eyes produced an unexpected smidgen of guilt. But Russell quickly put it aside. None of the Powers had felt guilty about his father’s suicide, he reminded himself. Not for a moment.

‘I’m not saying I haven’t had plenty of boyfriends,’ she went on hurriedly.

‘I wouldn’t expect anything different,’ he returned. ‘A girl as lovely as you. But maybe it’s time you had a boyfriend who thinks you’re great in bed,’ he added with a smile.

‘You … you want to be my boyfriend?’

‘You’re not keen on the idea?’

‘I was planning on going back overseas soon,’ she said.

He was truly taken aback. She’d mentioned some plan to her mother over the phone. He’d thought that plan might be him. It had sounded as if she was short of money. Clearly, not so, on both counts. Daddy must still be supporting her, he realised bitterly.

The thought of her escaping overseas the way Power had, produced a rush of anger which Russell had difficulty controlling, and hiding.

But he managed. Somehow.

‘Where are you going?’ he asked a bit abruptly.

‘Thailand. That’s where I was when Mum told me to come home and collect my things.’

‘Why on earth would you want to go back to Thailand at this time of the year? It’s stinking hot over there.’

‘You get used to it.’

‘You have friends there, is that it?’

‘Yes. Good friends.’

‘Not a boyfriend, though.’

‘No.’

‘Why are you being so secretive?’

She sighed. ‘I’m not deliberately being secretive. It’s a rather long story.’

‘One which you’re going to tell me over breakfast,’ he said firmly.

Their eyes clashed, hers flashing with that stubbornness he’d glimpsed the first day they’d met. ‘You won’t change my mind, you know.’

Whilst Russell rather admired her spirit, he wasn’t about to lose her without a fight. He could be a right ruthless bastard when he wanted something. And he wanted her here, with him. He didn’t want her flying off to Thailand!

‘We’ll see, madam,’ he said determinedly as he stood up. ‘We’ll see. Now, in deference to your morning attack of shyness, I’ll wait for you downstairs. But do try to be quick. Forget the make-up and the hair. Just put it up the way you did the first day we met. Now hop to it,’ he said as he walked briskly towards the door. ‘If you don’t make an appearance in ten minutes, I’ll be coming into that bathroom and eating you for breakfast!’

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

NICOLE’S first thought as she climbed into Russell’s dark green Aston Martin was that it was a rich man’s car.

No, a rich playboy’s car, she amended once he’d started the powerful engine and zoomed off in the direction of the city.

No doubt his apartment at McMahon’s Point would be a rich playboy’s pad, with all the accessories necessary for such a leisurely existence. Nicole pictured lots of leather furniture, a Jacuzzi and home-entertainment system.

He had to be taking her there not just for breakfast but also for more fun and games.

A shiver ran down her spine at this last thought. Was she being foolish, going there with him? Clearly, besides feeding her, he was going to try to change her mind about going to Thailand.

Did she have the strength to keep saying no to his wishes? She’d already gone to mush upstairs when he’d said he believed that she’d never acted like that with any other man. When he’d offered himself as her boyfriend, she’d almost said ‘yes please’ straight away.

Even now, she could feel herself weakening.

She could put her return trip to the orphanage on hold till the New Year, she supposed. Once she sold her jewellery, she could send Julie some money to buy Christmas presents for the kids. She didn’t have to go there personally right now.

But Nicole knew if she did that, she’d probably never go. She’d get sucked into the hedonistic world which she’d turned her back on, but which was extremely seductive, especially if it meant more nights with Russell like the last one.

Nicole suppressed a groan, squeezing her eyes tightly shut as she battled temptation, plus the tidal wave of desire which just thinking about last night sent crashing through her body.

The car’s sudden braking and slewing to one side snapped her eyes back open to discover a tree in the middle of the road right in front of them. Nicole grabbed the sides of her seat, but Russell managed to just miss it, grinding to a neck-whipping halt with his bumper bar against the leaves.

‘That was close,’ he said with an apologetic glance her way. ‘Sorry if I gave you a fright. I was going too fast for the conditions.’

She exhaled a long and slightly shaky breath. ‘That’s all right. A miss is as good as a mile.’

‘I’ll take it easier from now on,’ he reassured her as he backed up. ‘And stick to the main roads instead of trying to find short cuts. If it was a smaller tree I’d get out and try and move the darned thing, but I haven’t got a hope. Aah, there’s the SES now,’ he said, pointing to some men in fluorescent yellow vests coming down the road. ‘They’ll cut it up and get rid of it.’

‘I hope so. It’s very dangerous.’

A couple of minutes later they were on their way again after being directed around the tree via the footpath.

Once Nicole’s attention was back on her surroundings rather than on the man next to her, she saw evidence of last night’s storm everywhere, with lots of leaves and branches on the road and pools of water at the bottom of hills where the drains had been blocked up. A few of the traffic lights were still out as well.

Finally they reached the city-centre outskirts, where the power was still on and the traffic was flowing more smoothly. Despite being early on a Sunday morning, there were lots of cars on the road.

They’d just made it onto the harbour bridge when the bag in her lap started vibrating, the ring-tone on her phone following a split second later.

‘That’ll be Kara,’ she said as she opened the bag.

‘It might be your mother again.’

‘Oh, I hope not. Hello?’

‘Nickie, it’s me. Are you still blacked out at your place?’

‘Yes.’

‘Thought you might be, since we’re only a few streets away. Look, Dad’s started up the gas barbeque so we can have some breakfast. You and your gladiator are welcome.’

‘Actually, Kara, Russell is taking me over to his apartment at McMahon’s Point for breakfast. We’re already on the bridge, but thanks for the offer.’

‘Now, how come I’m not surprised? Must have got a clue when you didn’t call this morning.’ There was no sarcasm in this remark. Just mischievous pleasure.

‘Sorry. How did the rest of the reception go last night?’

‘Great. Megan had a gorgeous going-away outfit. I gather she and James were spending the night at a hotel in the city, then flying out somewhere romantic this morning. Couldn’t find out where, it was a secret. But enough of that. How was your night? Obviously pretty good.’

No way was Nicole going to give Kara a postmortem on her performance, or Russell’s.

‘The storm was bad, wasn’t it?’ she said instead.

Kara sighed. ‘OK. I get the message. He’s sitting right next to you. How about we use code like we used to when we were teenagers? Let’s see, now … If he was good in bed, just say uh-huh. If he was super-good, don’t say anything.’

After a few seconds’ silence, Kara groaned. ‘Ooh, I’m so jealous. Actually, no, I’m not at all. My Leyton’s very yummy. But you haven’t been too lucky in that department, have you? I mean, I’ve never heard you rave about a guy, not even David. So, tell me more …’

‘Kara, I’m sorry, but you’re breaking up. I’m losing the signal.’

‘You bitch, you are not,’ she said laughingly. ‘That phone of yours would get reception under water. All right, I’ll stop the probing. Look, before I forget, Dad has lined up a jeweller friend of his to come to the house first thing tomorrow morning to look at your jewellery. He said Max is a fair man and will make a fair offer.’

‘That’s great, Kara. Thank him for me, would you?’

‘Will do. But you’d better come home some time tonight. Don’t stay over at lover boy’s place again.’

‘I should be back for dinner tonight,’ she told Kara.

‘No, you won’t,’ Russell interrupted. ‘You’re coming out to dinner with me.’

‘I heard that! He’s very forceful, isn’t he?’

‘More like very presumptuous,’ Nicole said with a reproving glance his way.

‘Very smitten, I’d say,’ Kara said. ‘But don’t let him get his own way too much. Come home after dinner.’

‘I intend to, don’t worry.’

‘I asked Dad about him. Dad knows everything about everyone with money in this town. Anyway, McClain Real Estate has an excellent reputation for honesty and integrity. Russell McClain, however, is a bit of a mystery man. He keeps a low media profile and doesn’t socialise, which is weird for someone in property sales, according to Dad. Of course, I already knew he wasn’t a party-goer, or I’d have met him somewhere. Dad said his family can’t be from Sydney or he’d have met them. Yet they must have money because Mum said she’d heard from Megan’s mother that he went to school with James Logan and Hugh Parkinson. That’s how he came to be in the wedding party.’

Nicole rolled her eyes. That family were incorrigible gossips! Of course, they had little else to do with their time. None of them worked.

‘Thank you for that vital information,’ she said ruefully.

‘It is vital. He’s a catch, sweetie. Don’t let him get away.’

‘See you some time tonight, Kara. Bye.’ She hung up and immediately switched her phone to ‘voicemail’. No more calls for her today!

‘What vital information was that?’ Russell asked as she slipped the phone back into her bag.

Nicole decided to be as honest as he was reputed to be.

‘Kara’s been asking around about you.’

‘And?’

‘Her mum said your family must have money because you went to school with James Logan and Hugh Parkinson.’

Russell’s heart lurched at this reminder of the expensive education that had pushed his father further into debt.

‘I was a scholarship boy from the country,’ he said truthfully enough, not adding that such scholarships hardly touched the sides of the expenses associated with going to such a school. ‘My family were far from rich. What other misleading information did she uncover?’

‘Her dad said you had a good reputation in the real-estate world.’

‘Well, I’d like to think that was true.’

‘Yet you don’t network much in a social sense.’

He flicked her a frowning glance. ‘Is that comment from you, or Kara’s dad?’

‘Kara’s dad. But Kara and I already knew you weren’t big on Sydney’s social scene, because we would have met you before if you were.’

‘I’ve never been one for dinner parties. Or gallery openings. Like I said, I’m a country boy.’

‘And there I was, thinking you were a playboy.’

Russell smiled. ‘You’re mixing me up with Hugh.’

‘Yet you’re good friends with him and James Logan, both of whom love socialising, not to mention the limelight. You can’t open a glossy without seeing a photo of one of them.’

‘We were forced to share a room together at school,’ Russell explained. ‘I think it was a case of opposites attracting, because we soon became firm friends. Then, after we left school, we flatted together at uni. You shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, Nicole. They’re both great guys.’

‘If you say so.’

‘So that’s it, is it? No more vital information about me?’

‘Pretty well.’

‘You’re leaving something out.’

Nicole sighed. ‘OK. Kara also said you were a great catch and I wasn’t to let you get away.’

‘Really.’

‘Look, that’s Kara talking, not me. Girls like Kara think the answer to their future happiness is a seriously rich husband.’

‘And you don’t agree?’

‘I might have. Once. Please don’t be offended, but I’ve come to the conclusion that seriously rich guys are all arrogant, ruthless, selfish bastards with absolutely no conscience at all.’

Russell only just managed to hide his surprise at this unexpected statement. Once again, he wondered if she meant what she said. Or was she being super-clever by pretending she wasn’t on the lookout for a rich husband?

‘That’s a rather sweeping generality, don’t you think?’

‘Is it? Yes, you’re probably right. My bad experience with David has made me terribly cynical. I’m sure there are several seriously rich men out there somewhere who are nice. Kara’s dad is a darling,’ she conceded.

‘And then there’s me, of course,’ he said with a superbly straight face.

‘Just because you were once a country boy, Russell, doesn’t mean you haven’t been corrupted.’

‘What will it take to prove to you that I’m not a playboy?’

Nicole shrugged. ‘I think what happens today will speak for itself.’

‘Meaning?’

‘Well, you’re not bringing me to your fancy bachelor pad overlooking the harbour just for breakfast, are you?’

His fancy bachelor pad …

Russell had to laugh. Life could be very perverse, no doubt about that. ‘You might be in for a surprise or two.’ ‘I don’t think so.’

‘We’ll see,’ he said for the second time that morning.

‘We certainly will,’ she countered firmly.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

‘SO WHAT do you think?’ Russell asked Nicole when she finally made it back to his kitchen.

He’d sent her off to inspect his modest two-bed-roomed apartment whilst he got on with breakfast, knowing that seeing was believing.

‘Not quite what you were expecting?’ he added with a wry smile when he saw the surprise in her face.

‘Not quite,’ she agreed as she slid up onto one of the two kitchen stools. ‘It’s no playboy pad. But I love it.’

‘You love it?’ Scepticism abounded in his reaction.

‘Yes, I do,’ she reaffirmed with a saucy toss of her head. ‘It’s in a great position, and has everything you would ever need—an en suite bathroom, an internal laundry with a dryer and a quite spacious kitchen. OK, so you only have the one living room, but most people don’t use dining rooms these days. And the view from the balcony is incredible.’

‘The very small balcony,’ he pointed out. Surely she had to be on the make. No girl who lived the life of luxury Nicole Power had lived would rave over this modest place.

‘Not that small,’ she insisted. ‘You have an outdoor dining area on it. It’s nicely private and north-facing. It must be lovely in the winter.’

‘It is, actually,’ he said, having not thought of his simple abode in such glowing terms before. ‘Weather permitting, I sit there in the sun every morning with a cup of coffee.’

‘I did wonder how you got your tan. Being a workaholic, that is,’ she added with one of her bewitching smiles.

He just stared at her for a long moment before turning to pour some orange juice into a glass. ‘Here. Drink this while you’re waiting for the food.’

He pushed it across the breakfast bar before returning his attention to the sizzling frying-pan, his thoughts spinning. Once again, she’d surprised and confused him.

When she didn’t say anything more he glanced over his shoulder to find her sitting there, slowly sipping her juice whilst watching him closely with an odd expression on her face.

‘What are you thinking now?’ he asked. Maybe if he kept her talking she might show her hand. He had to find out if she was being sincere, or if she was just saying what she thought he wanted her to say.

‘I’m trying to work you out,’ she said.

She was trying to work him out. Now, that was a laugh!

‘What’s to work out? I’m just a simple country boy who made good in the city.’

She shook her head at him, her expression wry. ‘Nothing is that simple. You’re certainly not. For instance, this is definitely the home of a man who isn’t interested in entertaining, or impressing the ladies.’

‘I did try to tell you I wasn’t a playboy, but you wouldn’t believe me.’

‘So if you’re not a playboy, or a show pony, then who is the man who bought our extremely ostentatious home in Belleview Hill?’ she persisted. ‘If you were the sort of man who wanted a flashy place, you’d already be living in one. You wouldn’t be living here. So tell me, why did you buy it?’

Russell jerked his eyes back to the frying-pan lest she glimpse the surge of vengeful fury which her provocative question evoked. The temptation to throw the truth at her was intense.

Because your rotten father was responsible for my wonderful father killing himself, he could hear himself saying. I vowed to one day take everything that bastard held dear. That’s why I bought his home. And why I bedded you, his darling daughter, last night.

But he didn’t say any of those words. Because he knew that would be the end of it. The end of him and Nicole.

As much as Russell craved revenge, it seemed he craved her more. He couldn’t bear the thought of her exiting his life. Couldn’t bear the prospect of never holding her in his arms again, never feeling what she could make him feel.

‘Russell?’ she probed. ‘Aren’t you going to answer me?’

‘Sorry. I find it hard to talk and cook at the same time. The thing is, I actually bought your place as an investment,’ he lied as he busied himself serving up their bacon and eggs. ‘I’d heard it was for sale and hoped to get a bargain. Admittedly, I was planning to live there for a while. That way I wouldn’t have to pay capital-gains tax when I eventually sold it. But James has already offered me a ridiculously large sum, which I am seriously considering.’ This part wasn’t a lie. James had made the offer when they’d had drinks at the house the other night. ‘Now that James is married with a baby on the way, he’s looking for a good-sized family home.’

‘Megan is expecting?’

‘You didn’t know?’

‘No.’

Russell could have kicked himself. ‘Keep it to yourself then, will you?’

‘Of course. Wow! Your friend has just gone up in my estimation. Let’s face it, wealthy men don’t have to marry girls they get pregnant these days. He must actually love her.’

Russell adopted a poker face. ‘I did tell you he was a good guy. Still, don’t relay any of this to that gossipy girlfriend of yours. Now, where would you like to eat breakfast? In here or out on the balcony?’

‘Definitely the balcony.’

‘That was ever so nice,’ Nicole complimented after she’d finished eating. ‘You are a very good cook.’

‘Not really. Bacon and eggs and toast are pretty foolproof.’

Nicole laughed. ‘Don’t you believe it. I could ruin them. I’m a dreadful cook.’

‘Lack of practice, I suppose.’