Heart of the Outback Read Online Free PDF Page B

body to incite his desire.
    “Alida.” It was very close to an animal growl, the heat of his breath tingling on her ear. “We’re not playing games. Yes or no.”
    Her need for him went beyond the purely sexual. She had to try for more. Her self-respect demanded it. “What would I be saying yes to, Gareth? A one-night stand? Is that what you want me for?”
    His mouth moved over her hair, and she sensed the yearning in him to sate all his senses with her. “I’m here until Monday. God knows if it will be enough. Maybe I can make some other arrangements. I don’t know, Alida. Don’t ask me for promises.”
    Monday. Four nights, three days. Could she make him care enough about her in so little time? What if tonight was all he really wanted? But what alternative did she have? Gareth was right. There was no time to play games, to find out if he was speaking the truth. He wouldn’t respect her for that anyway. He would depart as he had done before. And that would be the end.
    She dropped all thought of revenge. An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth wasn’t all that much comfort when you were lonely. Her heart quivered between hope and despair as she gave him the answer he wanted.
    “I want you, Gareth.”
    He stopped dancing. His hand slid under her hair to the nape of her neck, curling around it, tilting her head back. His piercing blue eyes blazed into hers, turbulent green pools of intense vulnerability and despair.
    “We’re both mad. You know that. It can’t lead anywhere that will satisfy either one of us.”
    He was warning her that there was no future for them. But there could be, Alida thought feverishly, if only he would allow the possibility.
    “You don’t have the monopoly on madness, Gareth,” she said wryly.
    His hand moved to gently stroke her cheek. “Perhaps we’re both fools, as well,” he said softly. “Always have been.”
    “Perhaps,” she whispered.
    “You have a place where we can go?” he asked.
    “Yes.”
    “Now?”
    She nodded.
    “Then let’s go.”
    His arm went around her shoulders, holding her close to his side. They headed towards her table. Alida was grateful for the physical support. Her legs felt weak and shaky.
    “What about your sister?” she asked.
    “She has the chauffeur to take her home. I told her I would make my own way to her place,” he answered.
    Alida’s eyes flew to his in sharp enquiry. Had he been so certain of getting his way with her? God! He was so arrogantly self-assured, manipulating everything to suit his needs!
    He gave her a twisted little smile. “If you’d refused me I would have headed for the nearest bar to drown my sorrows.”
    “So the choice was between me and the bar,” she observed drily.
    “The bar was definitely a very second preference.”
    “And your sister obliged,” she said even more drily, remembering her earlier thoughts on the obliging nature of his sister.
    “We had a rather sharp argument on our way here tonight. I didn’t feel like having another tête-à-tête with her on the trip home. I guess she felt the same way.”
    “What did you argue about?”
    He shrugged dismissively. “Various things.”
    “Such as?”
    “They’re not important now.”
    His eyes told her that wanting to be with her, having her, was the only important thing. Alida would have liked to know what he had argued about with his sister. She wanted to know everything he cared about, everything he thought, everything he felt. If only he would let her into his life!
    At least tonight might give her some sort of a foothold. His wife was no longer a barrier. Perhaps Gareth wanted her for more than to satisfy his transient desire. If she pleased him enough, perhaps there was a chance. Yet the greatest likelihood was that she was making a total fool of herself again. Well, if she was, she would be a fool in her own individual way.
    She looked ahead to her table. What were her friends going to think? What were Deborah Hargreaves and the