Dare to be Mine (10 page)

Marriage, however, was not in Daniel's
vocabulary. His present plans did not deal with the holy bonds of matrimony. He
knew only that Revee was meant to be his, in whatever way possible. He had
known from the first time his lips touched hers that they belonged together.
And being the selfish man he admittedly was, Daniel didn't want any other man
claiming her from that moment on. No matter that he was not the one who'd first
slipped a ring upon Revee's finger.

Elyssa's thoughts were muddled as she
allowed Daniel to continue kissing her senseless. Her hands met with his hard
chest as she balanced herself against him. Her fingers splayed across his chest
and a sweetly desperate moan escaped her lips as she was helpless to
reciprocate the kiss.

At the feel of her innocent kiss, a
practiced seduction no doubt, and the touch of her slender fingers upon his
chest, Daniel nearly pulled her down to the hay strewn floor to complete what
they had recklessly started. When he felt the feathery touch of her tongue
against his, he nearly lost all control and ravaged her right then and there.

Forcing himself to temporarily stop,
Daniel gradually pulled his mouth from hers, gently pulling her fingers from
his chest, for the intimate contact was entirely too provocative for his own
good. Their breathing harsh, Daniel rested his forehead against Elyssa's, his
dark locks coming to rest softly against her face. Elyssa was too stunned by
her actions to look him directly in the eyes. She felt alive, but wickedly so,
and once more Elyssa inwardly cursed her parents' decision to hastily wed her
to Percy. To know that she would be forever robbed of such passion with a man that
truly desired her left Elyssa feeling a giant void in her heart.

Daniel was the first to speak, his hands
holding her securely about the waist. "I don't care, do you hear me? I do
not care that you are married."

CHAPTER ">
Elyssa's eyes widened at the unexpected
words spoken in a feverish rush. Daniel's eyes became almost wild as he lifted
her chin so she looked him in the eyes. His urgent words of enticement
continued, "Make love to me, Revee. I must have you."

"I cannot do such a thing. How can
you even ask me to abandon my wedding vows?"

"You said it yourself, you do not
love him. And he sure as hell doesn’t deserve your loyalty after laying his
fucking hands on you.”

"No matter.
Marriage vows are binding, and however imprisoning, I cannot break my honor.
Please, Daniel, we must not see each other again."

"I would sooner take my own
life," he vehemently responded. Grabbing Elyssa against him, their lips
scant inches apart, Daniel
continued,
"Demand
anything else of me. But don't ask me to stay away from you."

Overwhelmed at his fierce sincerity,
Elyssa could not believe that this man, this gorgeous alluring man, seemed so
completely taken with her. How ironic that her older, staid husband found her
utterly unappealing and unlikeable, while this young, vital man made her feel
absolutely beautiful and desirable.

Her hand going to his face of its own
accord, Elyssa slowly ran her fingers lightly over Daniel's lips. He kissed her
fingers, his eyes closing in blissful torment. It was unexplainable, this
profound need to be with her, to make her his own. The thought of never seeing
her again was completely unacceptable.

His eyes opening as her fingers left his
lips,
Daniel's gaze searched her eyes for hope. Of a
sudden, he suggested, "Leave with me tomorrow."

"What?" Elyssa softly cried.

"Leave this place forever. Come
with me to London. I promise you will not regret it."

The idea was extremely tempting, the
fleeting thought bringing the hint of a smile to her lips, but Elyssa knew she
would never do such a thing. She was bound to Percy and was certainly he loved her.

CHAPTER wise
enough to know he would never grant her a divorce. The scandal would be
phenomenal, even though they lived far enough from the city to avoid the
unpleasantries of everyday life after such a thing. "I am sorry. I cannot.
This thing," she struggled, her words sounding false and hollow,
"this connection you imagine between you and I, it does not really exist.
And it is pointless and cruel of you to mislead me so."

Inside, Elyssa's heart squeezed at the
brief pain she saw flash across his features. Her words were exaggerated, yet
needfully so.
For her own sake as well as his.
He
would certainly not give her a second thought once he left for his business in
London. And she would be an utter fool to imagine that he'd not spoken in like
manner to a dozen other women.

It was probably a game to him, to see
how quickly he could woo a married woman away from her
husband,
although that dark thought made Elyssa feel guilty for thinking he might
actually be that cold-hearted.

"I would never delude you,"
Daniel replied. "And this bond between us is as sure as anything ever
known. You cannot deny it." Pulling her tightly against his chest, his
breath warm and husky in her ear, he continued, "Listen to the beat of my
heart, Revee. Do you hear that? It beats for you and only you. I cannot explain
it,
I only know that it is so."

Elyssa felt his hand brush lightly over
her breast, his fingers splaying over her heart. "I feel your heart,
Revee, and you may claim otherwise all you want, but I know it beats for me,
too. Do you forget so soon that my blood is running through your veins?"

His dark stare held Elyssa mesmerized,
her breasts tingling at his intimate contact. She had never been touched so,
and wanted it to never end. She was torn. Part of her wanting to flee from his
strong arms and never look back, the other part of her craving to meld into his
hold and let him make sweet love to her all the night long. The latter began
winning the battle, and Elyssa lifted her face to his, silently begging his
kiss.

Needing no further encouragement, Daniel
plundered her mouth, his hand covering her heart while his other hand held her
gently behind the neck. His fingers greedily yanked at her blouse, the dainty buttons
coming loose and scattering across the floor. His fingers crept inside her
camisole, his skin warm and seductive against the softness of her breasts.

Elyssa could scarce contain the
overwhelming sensations Daniel was wreaking. Her entire body was filled with a
liquid heat that threatened to consume her. She ached with the need to have ;
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even closer. His fingers moved to her other breast beneath the thin material.
Her mouth was being thoroughly ravaged, the rough velvety feel of his tongue
against her own seducing her.
Begging her to let him have his
way.
And Elyssa wanted Daniel to have his way with her. She wanted to
block everything else out of her mind and focus only on this unexplainable,
powerful yearning she felt.

He bent to his knees, gently taking
Elyssa with him and laying her beneath him. The clean abundance of hay beneath
the soft blanket cushioned the makeshift bed, its primitiveness only adding to
the allure. Elyssa stared dreamily up at Daniel, her heart in her eyes, all
rational thought completely vanished. The stormy gray eyes that gazed
affectionately at her spoke more than words ever could.

Elyssa could almost believe him, could
almost trust in the speculation it was fate that had brought them together.
That there was no use fighting this uncontrollable attraction for the most
handsome man she had ever laid eyes on in her life.

It would be so easy to give into the
temptation. So very easy to get lost in his eyes and fall beneath his spell.
She had never been made love to before, and the thought of Daniel being her one
and only filled Elyssa with a heady desire.

The coolness of a breeze on her
partially bared breasts pricked a tiny hole in Elyssa's conscience. Cruelly
made her realize how extremely close she really was to passing the point of no
return, no matter how tempting the thought was.

She grabbed Daniel's hand as he started
to peel back the silky thin camisole, having already untied the dainty bow that
held it together. Daniel stilled, his gaze questioning. Elyssa's
breath
coming short and fast, her emerald eyes plead the
words that stuck in her throat.

"No, please don't deny me
now," he whispered harshly. He was lying halfway across Elyssa, her
softness beckoning him. Her sweet lips were kiss swollen, and Daniel thought
he'd never seen a more beautiful sight.

"I am sorry," she softly
cried, the intimate feel of his hand near her breast nearly causing Elyssa to
desert her will. “I cannot lie," she continued, "I do harbor a deep
attraction for you, Daniel, but I could not live with myself if I did this.
Please understand."

Not waiting for his reply, Elyssa
hurriedly moved from beneath Daniel. Pulling her blouse together, she started
to speak again, but no more words would come. Daniel heard a soft cry escape he loved her.

CHAPTER
her lips as Elyssa's steps quickened in departure.

With each step she took, Daniel's heart
clenched a bit more. His every instinct bade him run after her and seduce her
completely. And Daniel knew he could, given a few moments more. But he didn't
want her that way. Daniel wanted her willingness.
Her
forwardness even.
He wanted that lovely mouth curved upward in a
satisfied smile of contentment rather than frowning in distress.

Still, the fact that she refused him so
adamantly each and every time they were together left Daniel feeling more than
a little confused. Why was it she had a husband she pretended to be so
dedicated to, when it was clearly not a marriage of love? Too, the night he'd
arrived at the estate, Revee had been on her way to meet a lover in the
stables.

Perhaps then it was that lover, and not
her husband, that Revee was so intent upon remaining true to. What was it about
himself that she found so unappealing, so unworthy? He would find out the
answer. He would wrap up his business in London earlier than planned and come
back to her. Next time, however, he would allow no thoughts of denial to enter
into her lovely head. He would woo her and win her so quickly and thoroughly
she would never want to deny him again.

"I am coming back, Revee," he
softly spoke aloud, "so guard your heart well, for I aim to conquer it
completely."

CHAPTER 5

Percy tried forcing a halfhearted smile,
though it looked more like he was suffering from indigestion. He knew Daniel
was leaving for London on business, and with any luck his son would stay gone
for good. Hence the mild attempt at a smile. Certainly London would entice his
rakish son to remain within its sinful clutches so Percy wouldn't have to worry
about his irritating presence again.

"Father," Daniel muttered as
he entered the study where Percy was already poring over ledgers. Daniel was
dressed in a white shirt and dark pants and jacket, his hair pulled back neatly
in a queue.

"I see you are all set to
leave," Percy said as he stood and came around his desk. Daniel knew he
was not seeing him off in fondness, but rather his father wanted to witness him
leave the estate with his own two eyes.

"In a moment," Daniel replied
dryly. "First I wanted to ask once more about my dear stepmother."
Percy's eyes narrowed as his son continued. "I don't suppose she has
returned from her trip, has she?"

"I told you before that my wife is
in the city with her family. I will tell her you asked about her when she
returns. Of course, I shall leave out the part in which you insinuated she is a
callous, money grubbing bitch."

"An exaggeration
of my description, but fitting nonetheless."

A vein began throbbing in Percy's
forehead as he barely refrained from a heated rebuttal. If there was one thing
he'd learned in business over the years, it was that you could better rile an
enemy with softly spoken clever words rather than angry retorts.

"Your long ago temper tantrums and
abrupt departure left me no option but in the processg">CHAPTER to change my will after I married my
lovely wife. She stands to inherit everything, the mansion included. She is
aware of your exclusion from my will, though she did not induce me to do so.
Still, she does agree it was the only thing I could do with such a wayward
son." Percy saw a flash of anger pass across Daniel's face at that lie,
relishing the inner torment he knew his son was suppressing.

Daniel inwardly cursed the woman his
father was wed
to,
for it was more than obvious she'd
only married Percy for his money. And for that fact alone, she deserved
whatever misery his father would undoubtedly put her through. But when it
affected his own future, and the future of his children, should he ever decide
to settle down and start a family of his own, Daniel grew more than a little
angry.