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Chapter 11 - chapter 10

His ebony brows drew together. 'What the hell kind of nonsensical claim is that?' Alexei demanded, his raw impatience unhidden.

'It may sound like nonsense to you at this moment, but it's still the truth. On the night of your parents' funeral, when everyone else had gone home, you had been drinking and you went to bed with me,' Billie recounted, her agitated fingers knotting into the too long sleeves of her robe and tugging in a restive motion at the cuffs.

'Any moment now you'll be telling me that you were abducted by aliens! Are you crazy?' Alexei jibed, tossing back the bedding and springing from the bed, a tall, powerful figure all the more daunting unclad. 'Or are you drunk? That's the only explanation I can come up with!'

'We made love in the guest suite where I was staying at the time. We had no contraception. You were heading back to your own room for condoms when you tripped and fell down the steps by the swimming pool. When you came round, you didn't remember that you'd been with me…' Billie's taut voice quivered with tension as he came to a halt, wheeled round and stared at her with frowning questioning force: she had finally won his full attention. 'You thought you'd been in the swimming pool because your hair was damp but you'd only been in the shower…'

Dark eyes blazing wrathful gold, he studied her, his lean, strong visage clenched into forbidding lines. 'No, Billie,' he cut in icily. 'You're very ingenious but I won't fall for a story like that. You tell me that we slept together on the one night of my life that I can't fully recall and you expect me to believe you? How stupid do you think I am?'

In a growing state of confusion, Billie gazed back at him. She had known it would be a challenge to make him believe her, but it had not crossed her mind that he might suspect her of fitting fictional facts to an actual event to provide back-up for what he deemed to be lies. 'But we really were together that night.'

'So, according to you, unlike every other woman I have ever met, you gave me your body and expected nothing in return—not even an acknowledgement from me?' Alexei slashed back at her with incredulous scorn. 'At least come up with lies that make some sense!'

Anger licked like a hungry flame out of h

er bone-deep anxiety. She felt as if she were fighting for her life and certainly for the love of it. Not so very long ago they had enjoyed an instant of perfect harmony out on deck and she had been so happy. 'When have I ever lied to you?' she queried emotively.

'What about those weeks before our wedding when you were playing the innocent little virgin charade? You need to fine-tune those principles I mistakenly thought you had. It's not the lie you allowed to stand, it's the fact that you were dishonest that disgusts me.'

Every word Alexei spoke flailing her like a whip, Billie had lost colour. Her body, so lately hot and damp from the vigour of his lovemaking, suddenly felt cold and shivery. Her green eyes dominated her heart-shaped face but the anger that had awakened inside her was already climbing higher and growing stronger in her defence. How dared he say that she disgusted him after all she had gone through on his behalf? She had stood by in silence while he romanced Calisto and slept with her. She had endured her pregnancy and the birth of his child without his support. How dared he judge her?

'Don't you dare tell me that I disgust you!'

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