Dangerous Masquerade Read online

  “Because I thought you didn't care for me,” she answered honestly, only now realizing how wrong she had been. “You kept saying I had to marry you, yet you so callously pawned me off on Colin that ... If you loved me then, Rian, why did you put me in a position of being forced to go to the ball with him?"

  He inhaled deeply before answering. “That time at the pool before Colin called-do you remember?” A crimson blush filled Laurie's cheeks as she remembered very vividly how abandonedly she had responded to Rian. “Yes, well,” he continued, “you may believe this or not, but that was the first time I'd ever lost control when I was making love to a woman. If E. J. hadn't come out when he did—” His gaze raked over her, knowing she had filled in the rest. “I fully realized then what was happening and like any normal, red-blooded male, I bolted. I wasn't going to let any woman put a ring through my nose."

  That statement drew a lilting laugh from Laurie at the incongruous thought that Rian could ever be led.

  “What about that photograph in the newspaper of you and LaRaine? I thought you'd gone back to her.” Sobering as she remembered the pain she had felt.

  “I was trying to find you, darling. That was the only reason I saw her. Jealousy is a terrible thing, Laurie. I wanted you to go with Colin that night to prove that you meant nothing to me. It was the most agonizing night I've ever spent, except perhaps for these months when I didn't know where you were."

  “I'll never leave you,” she vowed, seeking the warmth of his embrace. “Not ever again."

  “I won't let you,” Rian murmured against her mouth.

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