Bachelor Unforgiving
Автор
Brenda Jackson
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Prologue
Kara Goshay knew she couldn’t put it off any longer. After all, the main reason she’d attended tonight’s event was to seek out Virgil Bougard. She owed him an apology and she intended to give it to him. Nothing would stop her. Not even the cold, hard glares he’d given her all evening.
She had no illusions about not being one of his favorite people. Four years ago while they had been in an exclusive affair she had accused him of doing something she now knew he hadn’t done. She was woman enough to admit when she’d made a mistake, and in this case, she had made a big one.
She drew in a deep breath as she watched him. He was standing in a group, talking to five other men. She knew them. They were his godbrothers. Virgil had told her the story of how, close to forty years ago, six guys had become best friends while attending Morehouse and on graduation day had made a pact to stay in touch by becoming godfathers to each other’s children, and that the firstborn sons’ names would start with the letters U through Z. And that was how Uriel Lassiter, Virgil Bougard, Winston Coltrane, Xavier Kane, York Ellis and Zion Blackstone had come to have their names.
She eyed the group of men. All six were extremely handsome, but there was something about Virgil that had captured her from the first moment they had met. He’d walked into the room at a charity event, much like this one, looking as if he’d strolled right off the cover of GQ. She was convinced every woman at the black-tie affair that night had done a double take and concluded that no man could be that gorgeous.
Later that night, when he’d approached her and asked her to dance, she’d gotten a close-up view, and she discovered that she was wrong. He had been that gorgeous. Standing over six-three with a muscular build that would make any woman’s mouth water, Virgil Bougard gave greater meaning to the phrase tall, dark and handsome.
She continued to watch Virgil interact with his godbrothers. When he wasn’t sending hard stares her way, he was smiling at something one of them said. He and his godbrothers were close, and no doubt he’d told them what she had accused him of doing. However, she appreciated that, whenever her path crossed any of theirs, they were always pleasant.
Virgil had come to the party tonight alone. And as if he still had radar where she was concerned, his gaze had unerringly found her when he had entered the ballroom. If looks could kill, she wouldn’t have any life in her body right now.
Drawing in a courageous breath, she placed her wineglass on the tray of a passing waiter. Straightening her spine, she crossed the room to where Virgil stood. She would take her chances and ask to speak with him privately. She hoped that, although he felt nothing but loathing for her, he would grant her that request.
As if he sensed her impending approach, Virgil glanced her way. The blatant animosity she saw in his eyes nearly made her weak in the knees. The only thing that kept her moving forward was knowing any anger he felt toward her was justified.
Two of his godbrothers also noticed her approach. She saw a warning flash in Xavier’s eyes, giving her a heads-up that to tangle with Virgil tonight wasn’t a good idea, that maybe she should turn around and head the other way.
The look she saw in Uriel’s gaze was unreadable. She figured he was curious as to how she could summon the nerve to come within ten feet of Virgil, given his propensity to hold a grudge. These men knew better than anyone Virgil’s unforgiving nature.
Kara slowly blew out a strained breath when she approached the men. Six pairs of eyes were now staring intently at her. “Hello, guys. Good seeing you again,” she said, fighting back her nervousness.
Not surprisingly, it was Uriel who responded. He was the oldest of the six and she figured he’d decided to take the initiative to be the spokesman. “Kara. It’s good seeing you, as well.”
“Thanks. And I understand congratulations are in order, Uriel, Winston, Xavier and York, on your marriages.” Earlier she had noticed the women they were with. All beautiful women.
The four men said thanks simultaneously.
She then turned her attention to Zion. “And I want to congratulate you, as well, Zion. Your jewelry is beautiful and your success is much deserved.” Zion, the youngest of the six, was a world-renowned jewelry maker who’d received international acclaim after being selected as the First Lady’s personal jeweler.
“Thanks, Kara.”
Everyone had responded to her in some way except Virgil. He just stood there and continued to stare at her. His eyes were so cold she felt the icy chill all the way to her bones. She took a deep breath and then said, “Hello, Virgil.”
He didn’t return her greeting, just continued to give her a cold stare. But she pushed on. “May I speak with you privately for a minute?”
“No. We have nothing to say to each other.”
Virgil’s tone was so hard Kara was tempted to turn and walk away. But she refused to do that. She would get him alone even if she had to provoke him into it. She lifted her chin, met his gaze and smiled ruefully. “I understand your not wanting to risk being alone with me, Virgil. Especially since you’ve never been able to control yourself where I’m concerned.”
The narrowing of Virgil’s eyes indicated she might have gone too far by bringing up their past relationship and reminding him of how taken he’d once been with her.
He continued to stare at her for the longest time. Silence surrounded the group and she figured Virgil was well aware the two of them had not only drawn the attention of his godbrothers but a few others in the room who’d known they’d once been a hot item.
Finally Virgil slowly nodded. “You want to talk privately, Kara?” he asked in a clipped voice that was shrouded with a daring tone, one that warned she might regret the request. “Then by all means, lead the way.”
* * *
Virgil followed Kara as she made her way through the crowded ballroom. He thought she was headed toward the patio, but instead she turned and opened the door that connected to a hallway where several small meeting rooms were located. Evidently she wasn’t going to risk their conversation being overheard.
Honestly, he didn’t give a royal damn. She was lucky he hadn’t called her out right in the middle of the ballroom and told her just what he thought of the comment she’d made. The only thing that had held him in check was the warning looks he’d gotten from his godbrothers to behave himself. He reminded himself that Kara Goshay meant nothing to him anymore. No matter what she thought, she was the last woman who could tempt his control while he was alone with her.
“I don’t plan on going any farther, so say whatever you have to say right here, Kara.”
She stopped walking, turned around and met his gaze. He thought the same thing tonight he’d thought the first time he’d met her almost five years ago. Kara had the most striking eyes of any woman he’d ever seen. They were a silvery gray and were perfect for her almond-colored complexion. That hadn’t been her only asset to grab his attention the night they’d met. She was a bona fide female from top to bottom. Even now he couldn’t keep his gaze from trailing from the soles of her stilettos, up her shapely legs, past a small waist and perfect breasts before pausing briefly to take in the mass of medium brown curls around her shoulders. Topping everything off was a very beautiful face.
And then there was the gown she wearing. The peach mermaid style made her resemble a goddess. He couldn’t help noticing when she’d been walking ahead of him how it hugged every curve and flared around her legs at the bottom, giving her a graceful yet sensual appeal. It was as if the gown had been made just for her.
He drew in an angry breath. How was it possible that after all she’d done to him...to them...he could still find her extremely attractive and so desirable? At the moment, he refused to acknowledge that even with all the animosity he felt toward her, the air around them crackled with sexual tension and awareness.
Narrowing his gaze, he said, “You’ve got one minute.”
He watched as she breathed in deeply, which made her breasts appear to press even more against the evening gown she was wearing. How he’d loved her breasts— He cut off the memory, frowning as he wondered why he was thinking about that now.
“All right,” she said softly, breaking into his thoughts. “I wanted to speak with you privately, Virgil, to apologize. I found out a few days ago that Marti lied to me about you.”
If she thought her apology exonerated her for not trusting him, then she was wrong. “It took you four years to find out just what a liar your sister is? Honestly, I could care less what you now know, Kara.”
“Will you accept my apology?”
“No.”
“No?” She actually sounded surprised.
“No. Why should I? I tried to convince you of my innocence and you refused to believe me. Instead you chose to believe your sister’s lies. So now you’ve found out the truth and expect me to forgive you for throwing away all we had? No.”
“I had no idea Marti would deliberately lie about you.”
“You should have trusted me enough to believe I would not have betrayed you. Without trust, love is nothing and you proved what we shared was nothing.”
He then glanced at his watch. “Now if you will excuse me, your minute is up.”
Without giving her a chance to say anything else, he turned and headed down the hallway that led back to the ballroom.
