Power and Seduction by Amii Lorin

Author:Amii Lorin [Lorin, Amii]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Romance
ISBN: 9781610845649
Publisher: Belgrave House
Published: 2011-08-07T04:00:00+00:00

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Chapter 7

Tina smiled... at least made the attempt to smile. “Same old story, I’m afraid.” She shrugged. “I need money. You refuse to release it to me. Instant antagonism.”

Standing on the other side of the table from her, Dirk ran an assessing gaze from her gleaming red hair to the tips of her dusty boots.

Watching him scrutinize her, Tina felt a frisson of unease move through her at the contemplative spark that flared in his eyes before he concealed his thoughts by narrowing his lids. That brief flare convinced Tina that, whatever his thoughts, they meant trouble for her.

“There is one way,” he began, then frowned when the phone rang shrilly. “Damn!” With a murderous scowl, he crossed to the phone and jerked the receiver from the hook. “Hello?” he barked into the mouthpiece. Turning his head sharply, Dirk pinned Tina with a blazing stare. “Yes, she’s here,” Even as he spoke, his jaw grew rigid with anger. “If you must,” he finally snarled, holding the receiver out to Tina.

“Do I recognize the pleasant tone of your benign banker?” Paul drawled the moment she responded.

“Yes.”

“How lucky can one woman get?” he wondered in an awed voice. “First the man with the iron tongue, and now me, bearing tidings of financial woe.”

“I’m almost afraid to ask.” Tina sighed tiredly.

“Have you somehow overlooked the paltry sum of seven thousand dollars still owed on Chuck’s car?” Paul asked brightly.

Tina had. Groaning softly, she rested her head against the cool wall. How could she have forgotten her agreement to pay for Chuck’s import when she’d made the agreement in a last-ditch effort to get her divorce? It had been blatant blackmail on Chuck’s part, of course. But at the time, Tina was so desperate, she was willing to do almost anything.

“Tina?” Though soft, Paul’s voice was sharp with concern.

“I’m here.”

“Look, beautiful, don’t go into a tailspin. I paid it for you. You can pay me back when you get it.” Paul spoke quickly in an obvious bid to relieve the tension he could feel humming through the wires.

“Oh, Paul!” Close to tears, Tina bit her lip. “I... I don’t know what to say.”

“Say good-bye.”

The order came from behind Tina, not through the receiver. And it was decidedly an order, one Dirk fully expected her to obey. Paul had heard the command as well.

“Is that guy for real?” The steel-like quality of Paul’s tone was new and surprising to Tina; Paul never became perturbed. “And is he looking for a rap in the teeth?” he demanded, convincing Tina he did, at times, become perturbed.

“It’s all right, Paul, I—” Tina cried out as the receiver was wrenched from her hand, then slammed onto the hook. “How dare you?” she shouted. “You have no right to inter—

“I’ll tell you how I dare!” Grasping her by the upper arms, Dirk dragged Tina close to him. “I dare, love,” he sneered, “because I hold the purse strings. Remember?”

“Have you ever once let me forget?” Tina sneered back.

“No.” Dirk shook her in an oddly gentle way.

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