Web of Deception

chapter Two



Engaged to be married? Kate?

Daniel stayed where he was, leaning against the desk, and shook his head. There was no way he was going to believe she was engaged. Not for a moment. He didn’t even need to think about it.

“Kate,” he said calmly. “You are not engaged.”

She held his gaze. “Yes, I am.”

Daniel looked into her thoughtful pale eyes, the irises ringed in dark grey, her eyes lined with thick, lush lashes. She wasn’t lying, not intentionally.

Something wasn’t right. He just couldn’t quite put his finger on what.

“You don’t act like any engaged woman I’ve ever met,” he said.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“I’ve got four sisters, all married. I’ve experienced all four weddings at close range, much closer than I ever wanted, and there’s one thing I know for sure. Women love weddings.”

“And?”

“A woman who is engaged to be married, all she can think about is bridesmaids and flowers and everything else that goes along with it. And that goes for pretty much any female I can think of.”

She shrugged. “That might be right.”

“And you, Kate, do not act that way at all.”

“I’m not any woman.”

“Oh, I can see that. I don’t need any convincing on that account.”

She raised her eyebrows. “Really?”

If there was one thing Daniel knew, it was women. He’d been surrounded by them all his life. After his father left, he’d been a companion to his mother, spent time with her, listened to her. Daniel had grown up with his mother and had learned a lot from the experience. And though his sisters were all much older and had their own lives, they’d always been around too.

Still, in some ways he was a lot like his father. Perhaps too much like him. Roger Webb had always wanted a family but not the ‘wife’ that came along with it and Daniel was the same.

He’d grown up with a strong sense of family and wanted children of his own one day but simply couldn’t see himself hitched to one woman for the rest of his life. Or even for a number of years.

“I can tell you’re different from other women,” he said. “I’ve certainly never been in a situation like this with any woman.”

Kate shook her head. “There is no ‘situation’. So what if I’m alone in a room with you? It doesn’t mean anything. It’s not like I need a chaperone. Or would you like to go back to the 1950s?”

“I wasn’t suggesting there was anything wrong with us being alone in a room together. In fact, I quite like it.”

She was still standing by the desk, holding her ground. She wasn’t going to give an inch.

Daniel took it all in. God, she looked so damn cute, staring defiantly, her expression so serious and composed. Right from the start, she’d given as good as she got, refusing to let herself get pushed around.

None of the women he knew were like this. They were always too ready to agree with everything he said yet, at the same time, they tried to manipulate him in some way. All of them wanted something, whether it was gifts or money or prestige or even sex.

Kate wasn’t playing the game the way other women did. She wasn’t flirting with him or flaunting herself. There was no cleavage thrust in his face, no suggestive smiles, no little compliments, none of those little signs.

That only made him want her more.

And he always got what he wanted.

“I don’t know why you should find it so hard to believe I’m engaged,” Kate said.

“Very simple really.” He reached down for her hand, enveloping it between his. Her hand was so petite, the flesh so warm and as he held her gaze, her lips parted in surprise.

“No ring,” he said.

He’d guessed there was no engagement ring and he was right.

Still holding her hand, he lifted it higher and turned it over to kiss the soft flesh of her palm. She closed her eyes for a moment, clearly enjoying the sensation, only to open them again as though she’d suddenly realised what was happening. When she pulled back her hand, he let it go.

“You’re impossible.” Her exclamation made him smile. So, he’d riled her, touched a sore spot, perhaps.

“I’m going out onto the balcony for some air.” She opened the sliding door, then glanced back. “Then I’m leaving.”

Daniel followed her outside to find her looking out onto the harbour. The main balcony had the superior view but this one looked towards the Sydney Heads and it was a good view on a clear evening like this one.

Kate’s arms were stretched across the railing, her back to him. Though it was unseasonally warm for winter, she wasn’t dressed for the cool outdoors.

Seeing goose bumps on her fine skin, he didn’t ask. He simply took off his jacket and dropped it across her shoulders. He waited a moment to see if she’d object, then moved beside her, making sure to keep what she would consider a safe distance between them. He was playing by her rules for the time being.

“You don’t need a ring to be engaged,” she said, still staring ahead at the water.

“Well, that tells me one of two things. Either you’re in a relationship so strong and secure that you don’t need any outward signs to prove your affections to anyone else.”

“That’s it exactly.”

“Or it’s not much of a relationship at all.”

She turned to glare at him. “You’ve got a nerve.”

“Then tell me,” he said, “what kind of man wouldn’t bother to give you an engagement ring? To stake his claim. To stop another man from making a move on you.”

“You’re on the wrong track completely. My fiancé trusts me. Perhaps that’s something you don’t know about.”

“It can be dangerous to be too trusting,” he said.

“Don’t forget, I’m in charge here. Not you. Not my fiancé. It’s all up to me.”

Daniel slid along the balcony, inching closer to her. “It still doesn’t explain your relationship with this…this fiancé. It doesn’t explain why there’s no passion for him.”

“That shows you’re no expert. I love him very much.”

“I love my sisters too.” He added with a shrug, “It doesn’t mean I want to marry them.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. This passion, this ‘chemistry’ you keep talking about, it doesn’t last. It’s not something to build a future upon. Passion fades. Love grows.”

Daniel thought she looked pleased with her pronouncement but she clearly wasn’t a woman in love, no matter what she might say.

She turned her head and looked across the harbour. She was ignoring him, perhaps trying to let her point sink in. It gave him more time to look at her. A gentle breeze blew the hair back from her face, allowing him better to admire the curve of her neck and the delicate line of her profile.

If she looked enticing now, he couldn’t help but wonder what she would look like naked in his arms. How would she look with her hair falling across a pillow, her eyes burning for him, her parted lips whispering his name?

One thing was for sure. He was going to find out.

Lust. That’s what this was. It was nothing new. He’d felt it before.

The words he’d spoken when he first laid eyes on her reverberated in his head. Married? Him? How had he ever come out with that one?

No, he wouldn’t mistake this for something more than it was. He knew better than to complicate his life and, when he cut it down to its most basic level, it was quite simple, really.

He wanted her.

And he would have her.

* * *

Daniel Webb might not care she had a boyfriend, that she was engaged. He might even find it amusing. It didn’t seem to make any difference to him at all.

But it did to Kate.

It made a hell of a difference.

All this talk about passion and chemistry. That didn’t make it right, didn’t make it a good idea. In fact, it was a sure-fire way to screw up her whole life.

“So tell me,” Daniel said. “Who is this elusive fiancé? Is he someone I know?”

The problem was that Mark wasn’t exactly her fiancé but they were practically engaged. Surely that was good enough.

Getting married was something she and Mark had talked about. Although now that she thought of it, he’d only mentioned it on two occasions, both times when she’d expressed doubts about their relationship and suggested breaking up.

He loved her. It didn’t matter that they’d had a few problems lately. Or that he’d never actually told her he loved her. He said his feelings were too deep and complex to put into such simple language. It still came down to the same thing. He talked about building a life together. Marriage was part of that.

And if she kept telling herself all of this, she might actually believe it.

She looked across at Daniel. “Oh, you know him, all right. He works for you. He was here just a few minutes ago. Mark Elliot.”

Daniel let out a chuckle and covered his mouth as though trying to hold it back but he laughed more. “M…Mark Eliott,” he spluttered.

“What’s so funny about that?”

He touched her arm, then pulled his hand back. “The accountant?”

“Yes, he’s second-in-charge of your Accounting Branch.”

“Sorry, but I just can’t see you with an accountant.”

“How can you say that when you don’t know anything about me? You don’t even know what I do?”

“Then tell me. Let me know how wrong I am.”

“I’m an architect.”

He smiled. “You work in an industry that’s practical and creative at the same time. Let me guess. You’ve been working your way up the ladder and until now you’ve had two or maybe three jobs and you’ll move to a new firm if it gets you what you want. What’s the term? A bright young thing.”

He’d summed up her career in a nutshell and she didn’t like it.

“So you’ve found a convenient category to slot me into? Do you always put people in a box?”

He cocked an eyebrow. “I knew you couldn’t be an accountant. You’ve got too much flair, too much personality.”

“You can’t make fun of accountants like that. You couldn’t run Webb Corporation without them.”

“Come on, surely you can see what I mean. Accountancy isn’t exactly the most exciting of professions. No one’s going to set the world on fire being an accountant. It’s so dull.”

“It’s lucky for you there are people out there doing the hard work, the methodical jobs. Not everyone wants to live life on the edge.”

“Mark’s a nice fellow. Don’t get me wrong. I just didn’t think he was the kind of man to suit you.”

She placed one hand on her hip, and turned to face him. “On the contrary, he’s exactly the right man for me. He’s solid and reliable. He’s not the sort to flit from woman to woman or from job to job for that matter. But just because he’s not a risk-taker doesn’t mean he’s dull.”

Daniel raised one eyebrow. “Doesn’t it?”

“Don’t forget, this relationship isn’t something that just popped into my mind and has taken my fancy. I’ve thought about it for a long time. Mark is exactly the kind of man I’ve been looking for. I’ve done my research and weighed up the facts.”

Daniel laughed. “You’ve weighed up the facts?”

That was exactly what she’d done. In the past, she’d let herself fall in love with the wrong man, and more than once at that. She didn’t trust her heart any more. She’d tried that and it didn’t work for her so she’d decided to use her mind instead. It was much more reliable.

“I don’t see what’s so funny about being interested in someone who’s dependable and has a good job,” she said. “He’s not going to risk his life savings by getting involved in some dodgy scheme, and he wouldn’t put anyone else at risk like that either.” She wondered if Daniel would pick up on her barbed comment, for it was aimed at him. “Mark has a good job and he’s planning for his future. For our future together.”

Daniel looked her in the eye. “This takes me back to my original point. Where’s the passion, the spark, the vitality? You sound more like you’re talking about superannuation or a pension plan, not the love of your life.”

“You might be after a hot, steamy affair which finishes quickly so you can get on to the next woman but that doesn’t mean it’s what the women want. It’s certainly not what I want.”

He smiled suggestively at her. “You don’t want hot sex? I don’t think I’ve ever heard anyone say that before.”

She glared at him. “That’s not what I said. I want the same thing that many women want. A long-term commitment. Someone who loves me and wants to spend the rest of their life with me. Is that so surprising?”

“Actually, it is coming from you. I thought you’d be a bit more adventurous.”

Kate wanted what her parents had. Her father loved her mother in sickness and in health, exactly as he’d vowed to do over thirty years ago. It might not have been in their marriage vows but he’d also loved her through financial stress, unconditionally, unreservedly.

Some people might think it boring but she’d choose that over some quick sex any day.

“There are different types of love, Daniel. Perhaps you haven’t experienced something meaningful, something much deeper than just sex.”

“Does Mark love you as much you love him?” he asked.

“Of course he does.”

Mark loved her. In his own way. She was sure of it. He just wasn’t good at showing it. So what if they’d been having a few problems lately?

Daniel added, “Because until a few moments ago, I had no idea Mark had a girlfriend, let alone a fiancée. And I’m very surprised.”

The comment cut into her, all the more because she knew it was true.

She looked away, out at the harbour. “You see him at work. He doesn’t like to talk about his personal life, as I’m sure, neither do you.”

“Kate,” Daniel said. “If I loved a woman enough to want to marry her, everyone would know about it. In fact, for someone in my position, it’d be impossible to hide. It’d be in the papers and I’d be proud to be seen with the woman I loved on my arm.”

“But that’s not what you want, is it?” She turned her head slowly towards him. “So what’s the point of even mentioning it?”

“You’re right.”

“You put all your energy into Webb Corp because that’s what’s most important to you. Making money.”

“Not quite. I want business success. There’s a difference.”

Kate knew more about Webb Corp and the now defunct Irwin Webb than he thought.

But Daniel had known nothing of her until this evening. Then, in a matter of minutes he’d sussed her out completely, read her like a book, found her weaknesses and pounced.

Well, she knew a little about him too and wasn’t going to let him get away with this.

“Mark is the right kind of man for me,” she said. “He’s solid and reliable and dependable. You, Daniel, are not the right kind of man. I don’t know exactly what you’re trying to do but I’m not going to fall for it.”

Grinning, his eyes crinkled up at the corners. “If I’m so wrong, then why is there no shortage of women trying to latch on to me?”

“Oh, come on.”

“I’m not trying to boast. I’m merely telling it like it is.”

She shrugged. “Lots of women find money very attractive.”

“But not you?”

Looking him up and down, she said, “You’re like some kind of James Bond living life on the edge, going through women at a rate of knots. You’re very successful and that’s not an easy road. You thrive on the stress, on the big deals, on scraping in by whisker to make the biggest profit.”

“That’s the sort of business I’m in.”

“No, that’s the kind of person you are. The kind who’s always striving for the next big deal, never satisfied with what you’ve got. Above all, you’ll never settle down.”

“And that makes me the wrong kind of man?”

She nodded. “Absolutely.”

“You know, I don’t understand why women are so fixated on marriage as if it’s the most important thing there is.”

“It works for millions of people around the world.”

“Not all of them. There are many people for whom it doesn’t work, my parents included, and I don’t plan on reliving their mistakes.”

So what if his parents’ marriage hadn’t worked? That wasn’t her problem. Daniel was obviously the wrong kind of man, the kind who liked living in the fast lane.

Dependability and reliability. They were admirable traits, ones that Daniel didn’t have and Kate certainly wasn’t going to get involved with someone whose business tactics were as cutthroat as his.

“There’s one thing that doesn’t make sense,” she said. “After everything you’ve told me about yourself tonight, how could you possibly have looked at me out on the balcony and said I was the woman you were going to marry?”

He glanced down for a moment, deep in thought, then lifted his gaze to meet hers. “I don’t know what came over me. I don’t have a good explanation for it and I’m sorry if I hurt your feelings. That wasn’t my intention at all.”

Kate looked him square in the eye. “Then what are your intentions?”

He sidled closer but didn’t touch her. “Remember I’m the wrong kind of man. My intentions are all completely, wonderfully evil.”

Deep but soft, his voice sent a sensual shiver up her spine.

“Actually, that’s irrelevant,” she said. “I’m taken.”

He lifted one hand to tilt her chin towards him. “If you’re telling me you’re not interested, then I won’t come any closer. I won’t do anything you don’t want me to do.”

“Good. I don’t want you to.”

Daniel cupped her face in both his hands and she couldn’t help but flinch at the sudden movement.

She’d told him she wasn’t interested. What was he doing? She wasn’t going to fall into his lap.

“Don’t be afraid,” he said. “I’m not going to force myself on you. I’m going to wait until you want me and, I assure you, you will want me.”

“What? Because other women do?”

“No, I’m not talking about other women. I’m talking about you.”

He was so brash, so arrogant. She couldn’t believe it. She’d never met a man like him before. If he thought she was going to drop into a heap at his feet, he was sadly mistaken.

She slipped his jacket off her shoulders and handed it back to him. She didn’t need it any more. Didn’t need any of this, in fact. She walked to the door and turned back to look at him.

“You’re wrong,” she said. “You were wrong when you said you were going to marry me and you’re wrong about this too.”

“It’s true that I’m not going to marry you.” His dark eyes narrowed, crinkling at the sides as his lips curled to a knowing smile. “That doesn’t mean we can’t have a bit of fun. Maybe more than a bit.”