Forever My Love (Berkeley-Faulkner #2)(40)

“I’m not stewing over ‘nothing,’ ” she said halfheartedly, beginning to feel comforted by his practical assessment of the situation. “I’m facing the very real problem of how to leave here.”

Suddenly Alec’s face hardened.

“Leaving is very simple, m’dear. Choose two or three of your favorite gowns, a change of undergarments, and a good pair of shoes. Throw them into a bag and squeeze a little money out of Sackville before you go. Does that solve your problem? Or is there something that makes it difficult to walk out the door? Perhaps you care for Sackville more than you thought you did? Or do you find that you are reluctant to leave the luxuries behind?”

“Now you’re being hateful,” Mira said, staring moodily at the open door of the pagoda. What had happened to set off his quicksilver temper? Why had he suddenly decided to goad her now, when he had been almost kind a few minutes ago?

“Why leave at all? Is it that you’re afraid of what the Berkeleys will say when they see you?”

“Yes, of course I’m afraid! Only a fool wouldn’t be afraid! Rand Berkeley will wring me out like a towel to find out where Guillaume is. And I don’t even know. I haven’t seen him for years—but Berkeley won’t believe that.”

“Then tell Sackville to protect you.”

Clearly he was mocking her. Mira chewed on the inside of her lower lip in an effort to keep from flying into a rage. Alec knew very well how helpless Sackville would be against someone as powerful as Rand Berkeley! She ground her teeth together as she struggled to find an appropriate reply.

“Perhaps I will,” she said, and he snorted derisively. Then Mira railed at him helplessly. “Don’tsneer at me! You know already that Sackville would crumble like wet toast! And there’s no one else who…” She looked at him and paused. “Well, you would be able to handle Berkeley. He wouldn’t cross someone like you, and he wouldn’t do anything to hurt me if you were there to… But you’re not about to help me, are you?”

“I might. If you ask nicely.”

Mira regarded him with suspicion. “What would you demand in return for your protection?”

Alec smiled. “You learn very quickly, don’t you? Reasonably, the payment should depend upon how much I have to exert myself to keep you in one piece.”

“You already owe me a favor,” Mira pointed out, thinking rapidly. “Remember what I did for you that morning when you were thrown by Sovereign? Remember all the pain in your shoulder and the way your arm—”

“Yes, I remember,” he said smoothly. “But I don’t owe you a thing for that. I didn’t ask for your help.”

“Why, you ungrateful—”

“Be wary of the names you call me, my sweet Otherwise you’ll hurt my feelings, and you can’t afford to do that right now.”

“You have feelings?” she asked, pretending to be astonished. “Oh, I’m sorry… I had no idea.”

“I warned you,” he said softly. “Just for that, maybe I’ll demand my payment now.” He looked at her in a different way than before, his eyes flickering, and the enclosed pagoda seemed to shrink to half its original size. “What is my protection worth to you?” he asked, unlocking his long legs and moving to where Mira was sitting. She was disturbed by the slow, predatory way he lowered himself to the cushion she sat on, yet she tried to look unconcerned.

“Do be serious. You’re always playing games,” she said, jumping as he leaned over her, one hand braced on either side of her hips. She could see the spikinessof the black lashes that framed his gray eyes, and the subtle shadow of masculine stubble that shaded the lower half of his face. Their lips were only inches apart, causing her pulse to rocket and her nerves to dance wildly. “What kind of payment are you going to ask for?” she demanded contemptuously. “A kiss? Or do you think that you might deserve more for condescending to protect me? Perhaps I should let you put your hands on me and let you have whatever it is you want—”

“Whatever it is I want,” Alec repeated, almost pressing his words against her mouth. “Do you know what it is I want? Why does Sackville’s mistress have a habit of looking at me with such bewildered innocence when I touch her? Why did you kiss me that first time like an untried schoolgirl?” He paused, and then his whisper singed her ears with its heat, “The payment I demand is an answer to one question. Only one, Mira.”

“You know everything about me,” she said uncertainly. “I told you every—”

“No. I don’t know quite everything.”

“Then what is your question?”

“Are you really Sackville’s mistress?”

She tried to bolt away from him. He caught her around the waist easily, standing up to pull her back against the solid breadth of his chest. As she fought the arm around her middle, Mira’s panic increased when Alec bent his head to speak in her ear. “Maybe I should rephrase the question,” he purred. “Was Sackville man enough to make you his woman? Have you ever belonged to any man? I think the answer is no.”

A small cry broke from her lips.

“Let me go,” she gasped, trying to twist out of his steely grip.

“In fact, I’ll even go so far as to bet that you’ve never been bedded before. Perhaps those are long odds… but in spite of all that you’ve done, in spiteof all of your misadventures, there have been a few experiences that you’ve managed to wriggle out of, haven’t there? And while you’re at it, you might as well tell me how long Sackville has been impotent. He must be—it explains too many things that I’ve wondered about for a long time.”