"I was a fool to have gotten involved with you. Everybody said you were no good. I should have believed them!"
"That's why you and I made such a good pair. Neither of us was worth a damn."
"I hate you, Cole Cameron. And I'm glad you came back because I've waited years and years to tell you that. I hate you, hate you, hate-"
Cole drove his hands into her hair, knotted the silky curls in his fingers. "That's not what you said that last night." "Don't do this. Don't-
... Touch me,' you said. `Kiss me,' you said. `Make love to me,' you said-
"I was young." She was panting now, struggling wildly against him, conscious of the hardness and strength of his body, of his scent, his heat. "And I was foolish. I thought you were special, that you-"
"You thought I was your ticket out. Tell me, were you a virgin, Faith? Or was it all make-believe, the way you blushed as I undressed you, the way you trembled in my-
'`I wish I'd never met you. I wish-"
"You were good, I'll give you that." His arms went around her and he pulled her tightly against him so that she could feel what she'd done to him. It was her fault that even the memory of that night could still turn him hard as stone. "You on your back, me inside you-" His gaze dropped to her parted lips, then lifted to her eyes. "Do you remember, Faith? How it felt when I moved against you? How it was to taste yourself on my mouth?"
A sob broke from her throat. "I hope there's a special place in hell for you."
"There probably is. And you can bet you'll be there with me." His hands tightened in her hair and he urged her head up. "Faith," he said thickly, and suddenly it was that night all over again, he could feel the need twisting inside him, feel the heat building in his blood...
Dammit! What was he doing? Cole let go of her, swung away, opened the door-and almost walked into Sam Jergen.
"There you are," the lawyer said. "You folks all right? My secretary said..." His voice faded as he looked from Cole to Faith. "Well," he said, and cleared his throat, "maybe we ought to take a break for a minute or two."
"No," Cole said.
"No," Faith said, in the same breath. "Just get this over with." She turned toward Jergen. Her heart felt as if it were trying to beat its way out of her breast but she forced a polite smile to her lips. "You should have told me we weren't going to be meeting alone."
"The will concerns you both, Mrs. Cameron. I thought it would save time if we discussed the provisions together."
"Discuss them, then, but this is all a technicality. I'm familiar with the terms of my late husband's will."
"I see." Jergen ran a finger under his collar. "All its terms?"
"Of course."
The lawyer heaved a relieved sigh. "Well, that disposes of that. But there are other factors..."
"What other factors?" She thought of Peter, waiting at home. "I have things to do."
"What she means," Cole said lazily, "is she wants to know exactly how much she inherits." He smiled. "Am I right?"
"Okay. That's it." Faith headed toward the door. She knew she was making a mistake, letting her emotions take over, but too much was happening. The shock of seeing Cole again. The anger he could still stir in her. His conceit in thinking he could still make her respond to him ...and the horror of knowing that maybe, oh maybe, he was right. "Seeing us together may have suited you, Mr. Jergen, but I don't want any part of it. You can call me when you're free."
"From bereaved widow to outraged client." Cole clapped his hands in slow cadence. "What a performance."
She whirled toward him. "Listen, you no good son of a-
"Mrs. Cameron. Mr. Cameron." Jergen held up his hands. "Please. Calm down."
"The lady's in a hurry, Sam." Cole looked at Faith. He was still smiling, but what she saw in his eyes made her breath catch. "So let's cut to the bottom line. Hold off on counting your money, baby."
"You're insulting, do you know that?"
"You're not getting it. Not one penny." He folded his arms, rocked back a little on his heels. "I intend to fight my brother's will in court."
Faith stared at the man she'd once thought she loved, the man she hated with every bone in her body. You don't have to fight it, she wanted to say. You can have the money, every cent... But there was Peter to consider, and the new life she had to make for him.
"Mr. Jergen?" she said softly, her eyes locked to Cole's face. "Can he do that?"
"He can do whatever he wishes, Mrs. Cameron. But-"