When the Devil Drives

She shivered as she remembered the sweet burn of his mouth on herbody.He'd intended her to want him, of course. Perhaps, in some twistedway, he'd even meant her to plead- to beg for his lovemaking so thathe could reject her and make his triumph doubly sweet.No, she couldn't tell Simon that. Because to confess it would be torecognise once again her own failure as a woman—a failure she'dalready had to come to terms with in her marriage.She drew a quick painful breath. In spite of all his calculations, shethought, Cal Blackstone had never fathomed that he possessed thepower to destroy her totally. She had at least been spared that.'From now on you keep away from him, do you hear?' ordered Simon.'I hear,' she said quietly. 'And if he moves against you over the moneyyou—owe, what then?''That's no longer your problem.' Simon squared his shoulders tiredly.'I should never have involved you in the first place. I—I blame myselffor what's happened to you, Jo. It's all my fault.''No,' she said. 'No, you mustn't say that.' You didn't make me lovehim. That was my own private insanity. 'I'm just as culpable, and Iwanted to be so strong—so clever.' She sighed faintly. 'I wanted tooutwit him single-handed. But we never have—any of us against anyof them. We've lost over and over again, and now we stand to loseeverything.''I'll see him damned first.' Simon spoke with swift, bitter energy.'He'll take nothing else—I'll make sure of that.''How? What are you going to do?'