Somewhere I'll Find You (Capital Theatre #1)(54)

Julia stared down at the glittering jewel in hypnotic fascination.

“It belonged to my mother,” Damon said. “She would have wanted you to have it.”

“Are you trying to bribe me?” Julia asked, lifting her hand to examine the huge stone.

“I'm trying to tempt you.”

“And what will you demand in return?”

He was suddenly all innocence as he returned her gaze. “Consider it compensation for all you've had to endure because of our ‘marriage.’”

“I'm not that naive,” she said, sliding the heavy band from her finger. “You're not the kind of man to give something for nothing. Thank you, but I can't accept the ring.”

“If you give it back to me, I'll toss it out the window.”

She gave him a frankly disbelieving glance. “You wouldn't.”

Damon's eyes were filled with a diabolical gleam, making her realize that he was indeed willing to cast the priceless stone into the street. “It's yours now. Do with it what you wish.” He extended a hand, palm up, to receive the ring. “Will you throw it, or shall I?”

Alarmed, she closed her fingers around the priceless jewel. “I won't let you throw something this beautiful away!”

Satisfied, he lowered his hand. “Then keep the damned thing. Just don't give it to your mother.” He laughed at the guilt in her expression, and watched as she slid the ring back onto her finger.

Julia was annoyed by the suspicion that her newfound husband was becoming adept at managing her. “You'll want something in return,” she said pertly. “I know you well enough to be certain of that.”

“I only want what you're willing to give.” He drew closer, his gaze flickering over her. “Now…tell me what kind of relationship you envision for us, Mrs. Wentworth.”

She damned the sudden awakening of her senses, the way her body jolted into acute awareness of him. He was so purposeful and confident, qualities she had always admired in a man. The fact that he wasn't part of the theater world made him all the more intriguing. There was nothing permanent in the life of a theater person. Like the Gypsies, they shared a superficial existence in which one production was always ending and another beginning. Until now she'd had little to do with a man like Damon.

“I suppose…we could try a sort of…friendship,” Julia said tentatively. “There's no need for us to be at odds. After all, we both want the same thing.”

“And what is that?”

“To be free of each other. Then I'll be able to continue my life in the theater, and you can fulfill your obligations to Lady Ashton.”

“You keep mentioning her name…why is that?”

“I'm concerned, of course—”

“I don't think so. I think you're doing everything you can to put a wall between us.”

“What if I am?” Julia parried, her voice unsteady. He was much too close, his hard thigh settled next to her own, his forearm braced on the upholstery above her head. It would be so easy to crawl into his lap and pull his head down to hers, to surrender to the pleasure of his hands and mouth. She took a deep breath and tried to still the nervous quivering inside. “Is it wrong to want to protect myself?”

“You don't need to be protected from me. Have I ever forced you to do something you didn't want?”

She laughed shakily. “Since we've met, I've been coerced into having dinner with you, given you my virginity, even accepted this ring in spite of my wishes not to—”

“I can't help it if you have a weakness for jewelry.” He smiled as he saw the frustration in her face, and his voice lowered. “As for taking your innocence—that was a gift I never expected. I value it more than you know.”

Julia closed her eyes as she felt his lips travel across her forehead, lingering on the fragile bridge of her nose. There were feather-soft touches on her eyelids and cheeks, and the brush of his mouth at the corner of her lips. Her own mouth tingled, and it took all her strength not to turn fully toward the light pressure, inviting the full, deep kiss she craved. “You were so sweet that night,” Damon whispered. “And so beautiful. I've never experienced anything like it before. I can't stop remembering, and wanting you again.”

Julia moistened her dry lips before she replied. “Just because you want it doesn't mean it's right.”

“The last I heard, it wasn't a sin for a man to sleep with his own wife.” He drew his fingertips across the exposed skin of her chest, causing goosebumps to rise across the fine surface. Julia's breathing turned rapid and shallow. It seemed that all she could do was wait in suspended silence, her body taut with anticipation of what he might do. “So,” Damon remarked softly, “you'd like to try a friendship with me. I have no objections to that.” He pulled at the gold cord that held her bodice together until it gave way, the garment parting several inches in front. “In fact, I think we could become very close…friends.” His warm mouth descended to her throat, while his hand slipped past her bodice and beneath the thin white chemise that covered her na**d flesh.

Julia closed her eyes and gasped as she felt his long fingers curve over her breast, stroking, teasing until her nipple ached and hardened. Her body was flushed with heat, nerveless and weak with yearning. She murmured in protest as she felt herself being lifted, pulled into his lap, but any feeble objections were quickly silenced by his mouth. Hungrily she opened herself to his kiss, abandoning all shame, wanting more of the pleasure he offered.