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Her father smiled. ‘Both of you, by the look of it,’ he teased Chris’s tense expression.
‘It’s a hectic time,’ Chris mumbled.
‘I agree,’ her father laughed. ‘But it will soon be over, and I’m sure the honeymoon will be worth it,’ he added with a mischievous twinkle in his eye.
‘Dad!’
He could still be heard chuckling as he went up to his bedroom, having no idea of the fraught tension he had left behind him, sure that they would be in each other’s arms the moment he left the room.
‘Is there still going to be a wedding?’ Chris finally rasped. ‘Or a honeymoon, for that matter?’
Sian gave him a startled look, paling. ‘What do you mean?’
He stood up forcefully, as if the inactivity of sitting down made him impatient. ‘Don’t try telling me that meeting King again hasn’t unsettled you,’ he scorned.
‘I found it a little—strange,’ she chose her words carefully, ‘but that’s all.’
‘Is it?’ he derided. ‘Then why didn’t you want your father told that Bethany was out with him?’
She sighed, chewing on her inner lip. ‘He wouldn’t understand—’
‘Neither do I! God, when I think of the way he was touching you! I could have hit him in that moment,’ Chris growled.
She had known that, but if he had Jarrett would have hit him back, and he wouldn’t have pulled his punches either. Jarrett was a physical man in every way, and he would have derived enjoyment from hitting Chris.
‘I didn’t like it either—’
‘Didn’t you?’ he ground out. ‘You didn’t exactly look as if you were fighting him off when I came back to see what was delaying you!’
‘We were in a public restaurant,’ she flushed. ‘I didn’t want to make a scene. As for my father being told about Bethany—he doesn’t like Jarrett, he never did. It would upset him to know Bethany was out with him.’
‘And you think it didn’t upset me to see King touching you?’ Chris asked bitterly.
‘I can see it did,’ she soothed, her hand on his arm. ‘But I didn’t choose to have him touch me.’
‘What did he want?’
‘To talk to me—’
‘Talk!’ he derided harshly. ‘It looked to me as if talking were the last thing he had on his mind. The man was eating you with his eyes! Tell me about him, Sian, tell me about the two of you, why you broke up.’
She turned away. ‘We just weren’t suited.’
‘He doesn’t give that impression,’ Chris said dryly. ‘In fact, he seemed to imply you were very suited, in some ways,’ he looked at her searchingly.
She closed her eyes, flashes of vivid memory going in and out of her mind—she and Jarrett swimming in the river together, making love afterwards on a blanket beneath the willow tree, its weeping branches affording them a privacy that hid them from the outside world. After that first magical time together they had spent a lot of summer afternoons in the same way, never tiring of each other, never quite sated as they longed for the next time they could be alone together to make love.
‘You were lovers!’ Chris rasped at her silence.
She raised her lashes. ‘I told you there’d been someone else—’
‘But not him!’ Chris groaned.
The flecks of green in her hazel eyes were more noticeable as her anger rose at the disgust in his face. ‘Why shouldn’t it have been him? I was going to marry him!’
‘Why didn’t you?’
‘Circumstances,’ she revealed tautly.
Chris’s eyes narrowed to stormy blue pools. ‘The woman Nina Marshall,’ he demanded to know.
Sian moistened her lips with the tip of her tongue, looking down at her clasped hands. ‘Yes. He went to America, I decided not to go with him.’
‘Tell me about it.’
‘Chris—’
‘Just tell me, Sian,’ he sighed his impatience. ‘Don’t I have a right to know about you and him?’
‘I—I suppose so.’ She swallowed hard, sitting down, knowing it wouldn’t be easy to relive the memories. ‘I was nineteen when I met Jarrett. Oh, I’d seen him about town, but he was a little too old for me, a little out of my league, so we’d never actually spoken. He ran a branch of his uncle’s business here, had a steady girl-friend called—called Nina,’ she revealed painfully. ‘He and I met one day, quite by accident, at Mrs Day’s.’ Her expression was far away, vividly remembering that first meeting with Jarrett, the jolt of awareness that had seemed to shoot through both of them the moment their eyes met. ‘He—he had some men doing some work at her house, an extension, I think. And I—I’d taken some apples round from the orchard here. He was there talking to his men, we began to talk, and—’
‘And so he dropped his girl-friend and started going out with you,’ Chris derided.
Sian flushed. ‘Not exactly. He told me things had been cooling between him and Nina for some time, meeting me just ended it sooner than it would have done. That’s what he said,’ she insisted at Chris’s contemptuous expression.
‘The man would have said anything to get you!’
‘Perhaps,’ she avoided his glance. ‘But at the time I believed him. We spent an idyllic summer together, and after two months he asked me to marry him. I accepted,’ she continued softly. ‘We’d already started planning the wedding when his uncle invited him out to run the American business.’
‘You didn’t want to go?’
She gave him a sharp look. ‘He was going to be my husband, of course I would have gone.’
‘But he went to America without you.’
‘Yes.’
‘Why?’
‘Because by that time he was back with Nina,’ she said shrilly.
‘What happened to her?’ Chris frowned. ‘He seems to be very much on his own now.’
He seemed to be, but the magazine article implied differently; Arlette was now the woman in his life. ‘Nina Marshall lives in London now, with her husband,’ she told Chris dully.
‘So she wasn’t stupid enough to marry him either.’
Sian stiffened. ‘I believe it was Jarrett’s decision not to marry.’
‘He seems to make a habit of it!’
‘Yes.’ She didn’t dispute what was fact, she knew just how selfish Jarrett could be.
‘Do you still love him?’ Chris had calmed down a little now and was more his gentle self.
‘No,’ she answered with certainty. ‘My love for him died a long time ago.’
Chris came over to put his arms about her, drawing her into the comfort of his arms. ‘Do you still love me?’ he asked teasingly.
She gave him a warm smile. ‘You know I do.’
He rested his forehead against hers; he was only a couple of inches taller than her. ‘I love you too. I just found it strange being confronted with your last fiancé.’
‘You make it sound as if I’ve had hundreds!’ she derided. ‘And as Jarrett said, we were never officially engaged. I doubt he ever meant to go through with marrying me, even if he and Nina hadn’t—well, if they hadn’t got back together.’ She rested against Chris’s shoulder. ‘I was young, and naïve, and easily impressed by his maturity and experience. A bit like hundreds of other girls of that age. You don’t realise until it’s too late that you were just another conquest, a conquest to be made in any way possible, even with an offer of marriage.’
She spoke quietly, bitterly, aware that she wasn’t telling the whole truth, not to Chris or herself. Jarrett’s offer of marriage had been genuine, as had been his love for her; he couldn’t possibly have pretended the way he trembled with the emotion, he was usually a man of strength and determination. But she hadn’t been enough for him, and he had ultimately returned to the more sophisticated Nina. Finding out that the other woman still featured very much in his life had been a humiliating and painful experience, one she had never forgotten.
‘I’m sorry I put you through all that, darling,’ Chris smoothed her hair. ‘I was mad to think you could still think anything of him after the way he treated you.’
Sian didn’t answer, aware that she would be telling a lie if she did. She wasn’t indifferent to Jarrett. She didn’t love him, but she wasn’t indifferent to him either. When he had touched her at the restaurant she had felt that familiar quicksilver excitement that had been a fundamental part of their relationship; she could feel it now if she closed her eyes and thought about him.
But that was something she was trying not to do, and she returned Chris’s kiss with more than their usually restrained passion, seeking oblivion from the burning ache in her body, and knowing it wasn’t going to happen. She had no doubt of Chris’s desire for her, could feel that desire for her now, but they had agreed to wait until they were married before making love. She knew that no matter what the provocation Chris would never break that agreement.
Although tonight he came very close to it! ‘Sian darling …!’ he groaned against her bared breasts, shuddering against her before refastening her clothes without haste or embarrassment. ‘I wish it were our wedding night,’ he said huskily, his dark curls ruffled from her caressing hands, his face still taut with desire. ‘Then I wouldn’t have to leave you like this—or myself either,’ he added ruefully.
In a way Sian was glad he did have to leave, knowing that tonight his lovemaking, which she had always enjoyed, had been a substitute for more heated caresses, more experienced hands, hands that knew all the pleasure spots of her body as if by instinct.
God, she wished Jarrett had never come back, wished she never had to see him again. But there was no reason why she should; she couldn’t be forced into meeting him. Although the determination in Jarrett’s eyes when he told her he wanted to talk to her seemed to deny that. Jarrett King had always been very adept at getting what he wanted from life. And for some reason he wanted to talk to her.
Chris stood up, tucking his loosened shirt into his trousers before pulling on his jacket. ‘Try and talk some sense into Bethany, hmm?’ he said grimly. ‘She really shouldn’t get involved with a man like King.’
‘No.’ Sian stood up too, walking with him to the door.
‘I’m sorry, darling.’ Chris gently touched her cheek. ‘I’m sure that when you thought yourself in love with him that he wasn’t the hard bastard he seems now. But the way he was tonight he can only be bad for Bethany.’
‘I’ve already said I’ll talk to her,’ she said stiffly.
‘Sian—’
‘It’s very late, Chris,’ her voice softened, knowing he was only showing concern for her sister, ‘and I’m tired.’
‘Of course you are,’ he nodded, bending to kiss her lightly on the lips. ‘I’ll see you in the morning, darling.’
She went back to the lounge after he had left and cleared away the coffee tray, washing the cups and saucers as a way of occupying herself while she waited for Bethany to come home. The talk with her sister would be better taking place tonight, even though she wasn’t looking forward to it. Bethany could be very determined when she set her mind on something, and her attraction to Jarrett seemed to be very strong.
Chris had been wrong about one thing. Jarrett had been a hard bastard three years ago too, although at the time, like Bethany now, she had been too fascinated by him to realise what he was like.
A few days before her wedding to him she had learnt exactly what sort of man he was; she had refused to even think of marrying him then and going to America with him. And yet she had still clung to some stupid belief that what she had seen had been a mistake, that her own eyes had deceived her. The day Jarrett left Swannell with Nina Marshall she had known it was the end as far as they were concerned.
And now Bethany was out with him. Her young sister couldn’t have forgotten their father’s fury when Jarrett had let Sian down so selfishly, or the pain he had caused Sian. She had to be made to see that he would only hurt her too. And preferably before their father learnt that she was seeing him!
It was almost twelve when she heard the sound of a powerful engine roaring to a stop outside the house, guessing Jarrett still had a liking for fast cars; he had had a Jaguar sports-car three years ago. He had been rich enough in those days, the firm he ran for his uncle was very successful, but being head of the King Construction Company had made him into a multi-millionaire; he probably drove a Ferrari or Lamborghini now!
The front door closed softly as Bethany let herself into the house, and Sian was drying her hands from washing up as she went out to meet her young sister, her voice a soft whisper so that they didn’t disturb their father. ‘Bethany, I—’ the words lodged in her throat as she saw the man standing confidently at Bethany’s side. Jarrett!
She was sure her face lost some of its colour. To see him here in her home again, after all this time! She glanced nervously up the stairs, although there was no sound from her father’s room.
Jarrett’s mouth twisted derisively as he saw that worried glance. ‘Shall we go into the lounge?’ He led the way with a confidence that spoke of past familiarity, his welcome assured then.
But it wasn’t now! Dear God, did Bethany have no sense? It seemed not; her sister still had that dreamy enthralled look in her eyes.
Jarrett seated himself in an armchair with a confidence that knew no limits, resting the ankle of one leg on the knee of the other, his gaze steady and assured as he looked up at the two standing women.
‘I—er—I invited Jarrett in for coffee.’ Bethany at least seemed compelled to talk.
‘Really?’ Sian said stiffly, having no intention of going to bed and leaving Jarrett alone down here with her sister. She remembered too many occasions in the past when she and Jarrett had been stretched out side by side on that sofa, their lovemaking silent but impassioned while her father and sister slept on unaware upstairs.
Jarrett’s gaze was narrowed on her face, his brows raised questioningly as her thoughts made her blush. ‘I suggest you go and make that coffee, Bethany,’ he said deeply. ‘For three.’
‘None for me,’ Sian refused abruptly. ‘It’s getting rather late, Bethany,’ she added pointedly.
Her sister flushed resentfully. ‘Jarrett?’
‘I’d like coffee,’ he drawled challengingly.
With a defiant look in Sian’s direction Bethany went off to the kitchen.
Sian was very conscious of being completely alone with Jarrett, of him sitting only a few feet away. And she didn’t like it, she had a feeling of being manoeuvred.
‘Your fiancé has gone?’ he asked softly.
She kept her face stiffly averted. ‘Yes.’
‘He knew about us.’ It was a statement, not a question.
‘Yes.’
Jarrett stood up, at once seeming predatory, and Sian took a wary step backwards. His mouth twisted derisively. ‘I never needed to use force on you, Sian,’ he drawled mockingly.
‘You would now,’ she snapped.
‘If I were interested,’ he watched with satisfaction as she paled, ‘and I am,’ he added softly. ‘I telephoned you earlier tonight, as soon as I got to town, but you weren’t at home,’ he told her huskily, suddenly very near, the heat of his body, the seduction of his aftershave, reaching out to her.
Sian refused to look at him. ‘Why on earth would you telephone me?’ she asked jerkily.
Suddenly he was more than just close, he was dangerously so, the lean length of his body curving into the back of her as his arms came about her waist and pulled her into him. ‘Guess,’ he murmured throatily against her earlobe.
CHAPTER THREE
SHE couldn’t stand it, couldn’t bear his proximity. Her legs felt weak, her heart was beating a wild tattoo against her rib-cage, her breathing so shallow she hardly breathed at all.
She felt his hands slowly start to move towards her breasts, and with a strong tug she moved quickly away from him, putting some distance between them as she stood behind a chair, seeing Jarrett’s eyes gleam with mockery at the gesture; no chair would save her from him if he wanted her back in his arms. He made no effort to do so.
‘I can guess all too easily,’ she snapped.
‘I doubt it.’ His eyes were narrowed.
‘Oh, but I can,’ Sian scorned. ‘You wanted a woman to keep you company your first evening back in Swannell. I’m only too pleased Bethany could accommodate you.’
‘You aren’t pleased at all,’ he mocked. ‘And it would have been you I took out to dinner if you’d been at home when I telephoned.’
‘How fortunate for me that I wasn’t here! And for you too. You see, I would have refused to go anywhere with you.’ And she had a sneaking suspicion that she had been at home for at least part of Jarrett’s conversation with Bethany, remembering the haste with which her sister had ended her telephone call when Sian had got in from work.
Her sister needn’t have worried, she certainly wouldn’t have accepted an invitation from Jarrett. But if she had known Bethany had she would have tried to prevent her seeing him. Maybe her sister had known that, and felt it wiser to keep silent about the call. She had a feeling that was nearer the truth.
‘I trust my sister has been suitably impressed,’ she said contemptuously. ‘But of course she has—you made sure of that. You can switch your charm on and off like a tap when it suits you to,’ she recalled bitterly. ‘Only I have no intention of standing back and letting you hurt my sister.’
‘The way I hurt you,’ he finished hardly.
‘Exactly,’ she snapped, gold flecks shining deeply in her hazel eyes.
‘And how about the way you hurt me?’ he rasped coldly. ‘Or don’t we talk about that?’
‘Hurt you?’ she derided scornfully. ‘You can’t be hurt, Jarrett. Only people with feelings and emotions can be hurt. And you don’t have either!’
His face showed he was blazingly angry, his mouth a thin taut line. ‘And you don’t have an ounce of trust in your body,’ he ground out. ‘If you had you would have believed me about Nina Marshall three years ago!’
She turned away. ‘I don’t want to talk about it.’
‘You never did,’ he wrenched her round roughly. ‘And because of my damned pride I didn’t see why I should keep explaining myself to you.’ His eyes glittered down at her like twin jewels. ‘Has your distrust kept you warm at night, Sian? Has it told you it loves you? Has it made love to you until your head spins? Has it done any of that?’
She paled more with each groaned taunt, and turned away, refusing to listen to any more of this torture.
But Jarrett would have none of that, his fingers biting into her arm as he made her listen to him. ‘Because my pride hasn’t given me any of that, Sian—’
‘I’m sure your women have!’ she dismissed coldly. ‘As Chris has me.’
Jarrett’s face darkened with an ugliness she had thought never to see again, his mouth twisted with fury, his eyes two shafts of burning light as they blazed down at her in total anger. ‘Is he your lover?’ he ground out.
She flushed. ‘I don’t see what that has to do with you,’ she challenged.
‘Don’t you?’ he returned softly, dangerously. ‘If his body has mated with yours—and I refuse to call it making love,’ he added harshly at her gasp of outrage. ‘I made love to you,’ he claimed arrogantly. ‘No other man could ever do that.’
‘You arrogant—’
He sighed, shaking his head at her vehemence. ‘A person can only find that true oneness with another person once in a lifetime. We both know that we were that for each other, and no amount of denial on your part can change that.’
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