Removing her underwear, she stepped into the water, reflecting that the sooner she learned to apply cynicism to her judgement of people, the happier she’d be. For a short time she’d been fooled by his trick of seeming so interested in her family and her feelings, and it had only been the shocking discovery that he’d actually accepted money from her father to remove himself from her life that had reminded her that this was the man who’d given absolutely no thought to her feelings whatsoever.

They said that everyone had their price, but it was agonising to realise that it was true.

In his own way, Jago shared many traits with her father. He was driven and ruthless and all he thought about was money.

It didn’t matter how much she loved him. She’d be crazy to start a relationship with him again.

Hearing a knock on the door, she stepped out of the bath and wrapped herself in a fluffy white bathrobe. She opened the door to receive the drink she’d ordered and found Jago lounging there, his expression hidden under lowered lashes.

‘I’ve come to the conclusion that we should both stop talking, querida,’ he drawled, planting a lean brown hand in the middle of the door to prevent her shutting it in his face. ‘Words can so easily be misinterpreted, which is why we’re moving on to actions.’

She backed away from him, acutely conscious of her still damp, naked body underneath the softness of her white, fluffy bathrobe.

‘I was having a bath.’

‘I can tell. The ends of your hair are wet,’ he murmured, his dark gaze roaming with appreciation over the golden strands.

Without her even being aware of how it happened, he was inside her room with the door firmly locked behind him.

Paralysed by the hot, quivering excitement that erupted inside her, she reminded herself repeatedly that he was a selfish, egotistical, thoroughly objectionable male who would break her heart again if she were to be so stupid as to let him.

‘There is just no way you’re marrying Freddie,’ he imparted thickly, hauling her against him with all the finesse of a wild animal. In fact, she realised with some considerable degree of shock, Jago didn’t seem controlled at all. The hand that brushed her damp hair away from her brow was decidedly unsteady, and his breathing was far from even.

His mouth fused with hers, his kiss rough and demanding, and despite all her resolutions Katy just melted.

She kissed him back, her fingers resting on the hard muscle of his chest and then sliding upwards round his strong neck. Wild excitement exploded inside her. He felt so good.

He cupped her face, his tongue teasing hers, exploring every part of her sensitive mouth, and suddenly she found she was shivering.

He lifted his head with a reluctant groan, and hugged her close. ‘Are you cold?’

‘I’m not cold.’ She looked at him with helpless longing, knowing that she ought to tell him to leave, but totally unable to do it.