Chapter 424

He broke off and gave a grim laugh. "Did you honestly think I wouldn’t notice the indisputable proof of your innocence?" It’s possible I hurt you.’ His conscience burned when he recalled how he had taken her, with a distinct lack of finesse. "But you only have yourself to blame if I did," he growled, guilt adding to his inexplicable fury that he had somehow ruined a moment that should have been special for both of them. "Perhaps you concluded that all you were gaining financially was worth a few moments of discomfort?" he added scathingly. ‘No. "You've got it all wrong," Kate cried frantically, pushing her tangled curls out of her eyes as she jerked upright, and then blushing scarlet when his eyes settled on her bare breasts. To her horror, her nipples immediately hardened into provocative peaks, and smothering a groan of mortification, she dragged the silk bedcover around her before she lifted her head to him.