Annie West – Seducing His Enemy's Daughter (страница 11)

‘I want to know everything about you.’ His deep voice burred in her ear. ‘But I want to find out from you.’

She’d known Donato Salazar was dangerous, but still she wasn’t prepared for the way he devastated her defences. It took precious seconds to find her voice. ‘I’m afraid you’re going to be disappointed.’

‘Nothing about you is disappointing, believe me, Ella.’ There it was again, that caress when he said her name. As if those two simple syllables were an endearment.

‘I meant—’ she set her jaw ‘—you’ll be disappointed because we’re not going to meet again.’

He was silent and stupidly something like anxiety feathered through her. At the idea this was the last time she’d speak with him? Impossible!

‘Are you scared of me, Ella?’

‘Scared? No.’ Strangely enough, it was true. She was scared of what he made her feel, of the urgent, restless woman she’d become in the short time since they’d met. But not scared of him.

‘Not even after what you discovered in your research on me?’ The banter was gone from his voice. He sounded deadly serious.

Deadly. Now there was a word. Last night she’d thought he looked dangerous. Then, at home, sitting with her computer, she’d discovered how right she’d been. How many people had she known personally who’d been to prison for assault?

None.

Was it naïve of her to believe that, despite his teenage criminal record, Donato Salazar wouldn’t hurt her?

She’d been stunned to read about his crime and his prison term. At the same time it went some way to explaining the sense she’d had last night that he was a man apart from everyone else.

As a nurse she’d worked with a huge range of people, from the frail aged to the bloodied survivors of brawls to the drug-addicted and downright dangerous. She was cautious, methodical, never taking unnecessary risks, especially doing home visits. But the only alarm she felt now was at her own avid response to Donato.

‘I’m not afraid of you because you’ve got a criminal record, Donato.’ In the intervening years he’d built a reputation for ruthlessness in business but there’d never been a hint he was anything but a model citizen. He’d been lauded for his work supporting inner-city youth centres and legislation to assist victims of abuse.

‘Then you’re unique.’ Was that bitterness she heard? She hitched herself higher against the pillows.

‘Are you saying I should be? That you’re violent?’

‘No.’ His voice was flat. ‘I’m not that person any more. I’ve learned to restrain my impulses. Instead I channel them into something more productive.’

He said nothing for a moment and she wondered what was going through his mind. ‘So, you’re not frightened. But you are

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