White Lies by Sara Wood Page A

aren't you?' he said softly, and it seemed as if he was struggling with conflicting emotions.
    Mandy nodded and shut the door, incapable of speaking. Already the tears were forming, crowding her eyes like drops of rain in a cloud. And he'd see them soon enough and know how important his father was to her. 'Tell me!' she mumbled miserably.
    'All right. I'll see what I can do to help you,' he promised. 'Actually, in an odd way, I was trying to help you before, by giving you a hostile welcome.' He interpreted her look of disbelief and smiled ruefully. 'It's true. I felt that it would be better to put you off than to expose you to the consequences of your arrival,' he admitted in a low tone.
    Mandy stiffened, her nerves at screaming point.' What consequences?'
    'I'm sick of putting women together again,' Pascal growled. 'I decided that this time I ought to be cruel to be kind. I did all I could to persuade you to go home—'
    'Plying me with alcohol?' she asked accusingly.
    'Not quite. But I took advantage of the state you were in. And I deliberately tried to embarrass you,' he admitted. 'I know, I'm sorry, but I can assure you that I judged that a little unpleasantness now would be preferable to much greater anguish later.'
    She gulped, sick with a stomach-churning fear; his words had been so sincerely spoken that she was forced to believe him. It seemed that Pascal's father might be everything he'd claimed. And yet... she had to meet the man if she wanted to know why she'd been brought to St Lucia. Her legs suddenly gave way and Pascal strode forward, gathering her in his arms.
    'I'm sorry,' she mumbled. 'That's so stupid! I'm usually tough and cheerful,' she assured him shakily, hating anyone to think that she buckled under pressure. 'This—this has devastated me. I'm scared, Pascal, by what you're suggesting! My dream's becoming a nightmare! I had impossibly high hopes and I was so excited and... and...' She sniffed noisily.
    'It's all right,' he soothed, stroking her with his voice and with his warm eyes and smile. His fingers joined in as he touched her quivering mouth with gentle understanding. 'You don't have to worry about anything,' he said huskily, kissing her mouth. 'Not anything at all. I will protect you. No one will hurt you, I promise.'
    Totally reassured, Mandy just stood there, letting him kiss her better. Flowering under the warmth of his soft, persuasive mouth, she got better and better with every slowly passing second. He'd help her. She had nothing to fear any more. Pascal was strong and capable, and perhaps he'd take over her case from his father and—
    She checked herself, realising that she'd let him kiss her for too long. It was not reassurance any more. It had long since become passion. On both sides. 'Pascal?' she mumbled thickly.
    'Mmm?'
    Denying herself the intoxicating pleasure of his mouth was quite an effort. She guiltily pushed back the comparison she'd half made with Dave's kisses and slid her hand between their lips. Pascal kissed her fingers with equal tenderness and the sight of his lowered lashes made her heart lurch in erratic little leaps.
    'I—I'm all right now,' she lied shakily.
    He gave a soft laugh, his eyes gleaming brilliantly. 'I wisli I was.' The back of his hand caressed her face and she felt her eyes drooping with the deep sensuality that that gesture aroused iu her. And vaguely she wondered^ why this man—of all men—should be able to tune into her body with such ease. 'I'm sure you'll understand I'm very tired. I've had no sleep,' he was saying when she hastily attended to him again.
    'What?' she asked with a frown.
    He smiled at her indulgently. 'What I have to say will take a long time and has to be approached delicately,' he said. 'I was saying that I think I should leave—'
    'You can't!' she wailed. 'How will I sleep?'
    'Mandy,' he said gently, 'don't tempt me. You're very seductive with your hair dishevelled and your eyes like saucers. I'm not immune to you, and the