Table of Contents

Cover Page

Excerpt

About the Author

Title Page

Dedication

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER EIGHT

CHAPTER NINE

CHAPTER TEN

CHAPTER ELEVEN

CHAPTER TWELVE

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

Copyright

“Was the urge to hold the baby again irresistible?”

“I told you…”

“She’s so soft and warm and cuddly, so sweetly appealing. Makes your stomach curl, doesn’t it?”

“I…” Jayne floundered. It was true, yet it was true of all baby things—kittens and puppies and chickens. It didn’t mean she was broody for a baby. “It’s only natural to feel caring toward a child this young,” she said defiantly.

“Does your new career make up for the child we could have had, Jayne?” Dan asked, insidiously striking the raw feelings that had erupted through her last night. “The baby we could have shared.”

EMMA DARCY nearly became an actress until her fiancé declared he preferred to attend the theater with her. She became a wife and mother. Later she took up oil painting—unsuccessfully, she remarks. Then she tried architecture, designing the family home in New South Wales, Australia. Next came romance writing—“the hardest and most challenging of all the activities,” she confesses.

Last Stop Marriage
Emma Darcy

www.millsandboon.co.uk

To Guy Hallowes whose interest in China inspired our interest

CHAPTER ONE

‘GET Dan Drayton.’

Theplea…theinstruction…thecommand…thumped continuously through the shocked daze in Jayne Winter’s mind as she watched her stricken employer being wheeled away, an oxygen mask clamped over his mouth and nose.

He had told her not to worry about anything else nor to let any other consideration get in the way. Dan Drayton could do the job. Given the critical situation, he would certainly take over and do the job for Monty. All Jayne had to do was contact him, brief him on the problem, and give him whatever assistance he required when he arrived.

Simple.

Except it wasn’t simple.

Far from it.

Dan Drayton was the man she had married in blind passion and left when irreconcilable differences had formed an unbridgeable chasm between them. Monty Castle knew nothing about that part of her life. She had shut the door on it, asserting her independence by adopting her maiden name again before gaining employment as Monty’s personal assistant.

Her estranged husband was the last person in the world she wanted to call on for help. She would rather be dragged over hot coals than admit any need for him whatsoever. As for working with him, being at his beck and call, having to carry out his orders…Jayne quailed at the thought of how Dan might use that situation to bring all sorts of pressure to bear on her.

Perhaps he was tied up in a contract and couldn’t come. Perhaps he was somewhere inaccessible, impossible to reach. He had the soul of a Gypsy, his typically whimsical and eccentric ambition being to visit every country in the world in alphabetical order.

She had felt she was being swept away on a marvellous magic carpet when she had first married Dan. The magic had worn thin when she had found her life reduced to being a camp follower while he went out and blew up mountains or whatever else he was contracted to do as an explosives expert.

Iran had been the end for her, stuck in the American engineers’ ghetto, going quietly mad with frustration. If she moved out of it she had to be covered from head to toe in black, a faceless person, a nothing person. That was how she had felt. She only really existed for Dan as the woman he came home to bed.

He was probably up to L or M by now. He had done China a long time ago so he wouldn’t want to come here anyway. She hadn’t particularly wanted to come to China herself, having done enough travelling with Dan to last her the rest of her life. Yet she now felt that in taking this trip and its accompanying challenges in her stride, she had really come of age as a person who could handle anything.

Dragon Lady…that was what the Chinese called her. It gave her a unique and individual identity and Jayne secretly revelled in it. Dan would undoubtedly put the name down as relating purely to her appearance, which, Jayne conceded, had initially inspired it.

With her willowy height and the cascade of fiery red ringlets that tumbled hectically around her face and shoulders, untameable by any hair-dressing aid, she certainly stood out as unusual amongst the people of China. Her pale skin and vivid blue eyes increased the effect of being some strange, mythical creature, especially to the workers on the project site.

To them she was a subject of curiosity, awe, and a certain fearful respect. Being Monty Castle’s personal assistant gave an aura of power, as well. Dragon Lady had definitely become an apt title for her, especially since she was so closely associated with and trusted by the explosives expert.

She had also earned it in her own right, Jayne assured herself. She had proved herself capable of carrying out any task that Monty had tossed at her with meticulous competence and efficiency. Handing her the responsibility of getting Dan Drayton was par for the course.

If only it was anyone else but Dan!

Jayne released a long, feeling sigh. It was no use hoping for Monty to make a speedy recovery. The forces of nature did not wait upon anyone’s state of health. This was an emergency situation. The threat of a disastrous mudflow had to be stopped and that required an explosives expert who could move mountains. Monty had chosen Dan Drayton and he expected her to get him. She had to do it.

Her turbulent train of thought was abruptly interrupted by the arrival of Lin Zhiyong and his usual entourage. She had called him herself, requesting the best available modern, medical attention for Monty. As the highest ranking official, responsible for the successful completion of the new city of Denjing, Lin Zhiyong was well known to her. He was critically interested in Monty’s protection plan.

Jayne didn’t have to be told this was not a sympathy call. As the team of Chinese engineers who had been assigned to the project filed into Monty’s office after Lin Zhiyong, she was well aware that she occupied the hot seat that Monty’s collapse had created. These men wanted answers. They wanted direction and they wanted certainty in that direction. As Monty’s personal assistant, it was up to her to fill the hole he had left.

Instinctively she stood tall, taking full advantage of her height as she greeted the much smaller dignitary and thanked him for his assistance in procuring fast, professional help for Monty.

Lin Zhiyong was well in his seventies. He invariably wore a Mao suit, apparently scorning the modern trend toward Western-styled clothes. Jayne suspected he was not comfortable about inviting in Western technology, either, but he was less comfortable with failure.

After a brief exchange of courtesies, he came to the purpose of his visit. ‘It is most regrettable,’ he stated without the slightest crack in his essentially enigmatic demeanor, ‘but it would appear that Mr. Castle will not be capable of fulfilling his contract with our government in the time allotted.’

A broken contract meant Monty would take a huge loss, not only in personal investment but in reputation. Jayne knew she had to reply with confidence and authority.

‘On the contrary, Mr. Castle will deliver on his contract,’ she asserted. ‘While he may not be able to do so personally, another expert in his field will take over and see Mr. Castle’s plans to completion. Castle Constructions will finish the project on schedule.’

Lin Zhiyong stared at her with flat, black eyes, his timeless Chinese face as expressionless as the Buddhas in the old temples.

Conscious of the many onlookers in the office gauging her response to Lin Zhiyong’s supposition, Jayne deliberately evoked the Dragon Lady image by keeping her shoulders straight, maintaining her full height, her head tilted as though she was about to emit fire from her nostrils, blue eyes ablaze with conviction.

The elderly official, however, was not about to be diverted from pursuing his point. He was too accustomed to a position of power over others to be overly impressed by a twenty-seven-year-old foreign woman, no matter how remarkable she was.

‘May I inquire who it is you propose to call in?’ he asked in a mild, silky tone.

It flashed through Jayne’s mind that to hesitate was to show weakness. She had no choice. Any prevarication would be a terrible disservice to Monty.

‘Dan Drayton,’ she replied, not letting any hint of uncertainty show as she answered for her employer. ‘He is recognised as one of the foremost explosives experts in the world. If you wish to check his credentials…’

‘I am aware of his credentials, Miss Winter, as I am also aware he is presently occupied in Africa. It was the reason for our choosing your employer instead of Mr. Drayton in the first place.’

Africa! Was he in Liberia, Libya, or had he moved on to Morocco or Mozambique? Jayne couldn’t think of any other countries whose name started with L or M in Africa. Dan might still be working through K. Kenya leapt to mind. Whatever the location, the more important question was, with what and whom was Dan occupied? If she literally couldn’t get him…

‘You do appreciate,’ Lin Zhiyong went on, ‘that time is an important factor in the contract.’

The softness of his tone did not veil the implacable intent in his words. There would be no extension of the deadlines to be met. Penalty clauses would be actioned.

Jayne had a few seconds of intense trepidation. Was it better to put damage control in place now? Were Monty’s instructions a straw he was grasping at in a moment of great crisis, a straw that could prove more costly in the end? Or was she looking for a way out of having any personal contact with Dan?

One thing she wasn’t, was a coward!

‘I believe Mr. Drayton will oblige Mr. Castle in this matter. He will come,’ she declared, trusting that Monty knew more than she did about Dan’s present professional life. ‘He will come,’ she repeated with decisive assurance.

‘You cannot know that,’ Lin Zhiyong replied, unmoved from his sceptical viewpoint.

‘I do know it,’ Jayne retorted, stonewalling as hardily as General Jackson.

‘How?’

The knowing challenge warned Jayne he was aware that she had not yet communicated the news of Monty’s collapse to anyone outside China. The necessity to save face left her with no other option but to reveal a personal connection.

‘Because Dan Drayton promised me I only had to call him for anything, and he would supply it.’

She had never put that promise to the test. She didn’t doubt Dan had meant it at the time. He had wanted to show himself generous in their parting. Whether he would hold to it now after two years of silence from her was highly doubtful, but Lin Zhiyong couldn’t know that.

She sensed a subtle change of attitude in the man confronting her, a flicker of recognition in his eyes acknowledging a different kind of power to his, a power that was essentially female. Dragon Lady could breathe fire into a man. The fire of desire.

The irony of it twisted Jayne’s heart. That had been true between her and Dan throughout most of their marriage, but Dan wouldn’t come to Monty’s aid, if he came at all, because he still wanted her. Their desire for each other had wilted into insubstantial smoke under the deadening effect of other needs.

Nevertheless, she saw no reason to disillusion Lin Zhiyong’s typically male deduction. It gave her the breathing space she needed.

‘Today is the eighth day of the eighth lunar month,’ Lin Zhiyong stated portentously. ‘On the fifteenth day, when the moon is full, the people in this province celebrate Zhongqiu Jie, the Mid-Autumn Festival. I shall be hosting a party that evening. You and Mr. Drayton are cordially invited to my home, Miss Winter.’

In other words, Dan Drayton had better be here by then, or else!

Jayne mouthed all the correct, courteous words of acceptance and appreciation for both herself and Dan. Lin Zhiyong departed, satisfied he had gracefully applied the time pressure that would keep Monty Castle’s project on schedule or prove it was impossible. It also allowed him to save face and retain his position of influence and power in the government hierarchical system that was so important to the Chinese.

The office emptied of visitors and Jayne shut the door after them, briefly leaning against it and closing her eyes, fiercely hoping she had not just set herself up for an ignominious fall.

She had to get Dan for Monty. It was a professional call, not a personal one. She hoped Dan was of a mind to let private bygones be bygones. She was simply doing her job, following her boss’s instructions. She would state the problem, pass on Monty’s request, and keep everything on a business basis.

A sense of pride stirred. It would be good for her if Dan did accept the proposition. It was the ideal opportunity to prove she had become her own person, self-determining and strong enough not to be affected by Dan or the memory of their all-consuming relationship. That was another life.

She pushed herself into action, making herself a pot of tea and stacking a plate with Chinese sugar biscuits before settling at Monty’s desk. Somehow she now had to activate the plan she had just promised. She steeled herself to the task and picked up the telephone.

CHAPTER TWO

DESPITE the time differential between the countries, various communication problems with officialdom, and a lot of persuasive effort on her part, Jayne tracked Dan Drayton to an apartment in Casablanca.

The long hours of tension, of holding herself together until her goal was reached, resulted in a sense of light-headedness when she heard the receiver of his telephone lifted from its cradle.

‘Mmmh?’

Had she done it, or hadn’t she? ‘Am I speaking to Dan Drayton?’ she asked, her voice almost cracking under the pressure of her need to know.

‘Mmmh…’

It was a lazy, disinterested sound, but definitely not negative. Maybe she had woken him from a nap. An afternoon siesta was common in Mediterranean countries such as Morocco. Jayne took a deep breath, trying to calm the quickened tempo of her heartbeat. This was a terribly important business call. She had to get it right.

‘Dan…’ She hesitated. How would he react to her name? Irrelevant, she decided. ‘Dan, it’s Jayne. Jayne Winter. Your ex-wife.’

Ex-wife wasn’t technically correct since neither of them had bothered getting an official divorce, but it was factually correct. Jayne didn’t think Dan would quibble about it.

There was a long, disconcerting silence before he answered. Then to disconcert her even further, he spoke in his soft, sensual voice. ‘I remember. What can I do for you, Jayne?’

It brought back memories that pierced the shield she’d put around her heart. So many times he had said those words, wanting her to be content with him, not seeing or understanding her need to find some self-fulfilment. They never stayed in one place long enough for her to settle to anything productive and interesting.

But that was over for her. She had to take control of this call, forget the past. ‘I work for Monty Castle. I’m his personal assistant. He asked me to call you on his behalf.’

Another silence. Jayne hoped Dan was taking in that this was purely business, nothing personal at all. She heard some indistinct sounds that suggested someone else was with him, but she was totally unprepared for what came next.

‘It’s okay, Baby,’ Dan murmured. ‘Nothing to get disturbed about. This is the Jayne who was with me long before you came along. Here now, you can listen, too.’

The soothing, sexy drawl had a mind-shattering effect. The indulgent tone conjured up a baby-doll woman curled up to him, their heads sharing the same pillow. Jayne couldn’t bear to dwell on what other level of intimacy they were sharing.

It didn’t help at all to tell herself it was only natural for Dan to have found some other woman, or any number of them, to ease his sexual needs. She didn’t want to hear the evidence of it. She remembered all too well how voracious his need for her had been when they were first married.

And for him to have told this current woman about her, about their marriage, felt like the worst kind of betrayal. What they had shared was private. Couldn’t he have left it that way? As she had?

‘So what’s the problem, Jayne?’

She gritted her teeth and forced her mind back on to business. ‘We’re in China,’ she blurted out, defensively emphasising the distance between them.

‘Fascinating country.’

‘Mr. Castle was called in as a consultant on the new Denjing city project.’

‘I know.’

Had the two men discussed it? Perhaps Dan had recommended Monty after he himself had turned the contract down. Was that why Monty had chosen Dan to replace him?

‘The construction could be threatened by a mudflow,’ she hurried on.

‘Nasty things, mudflows.’

‘The threat has to be diverted,’ Jayne explained, struggling to get her thoughts focused on the main issue.

‘The right explosives in the right place. Simple.’

If only it was! Jayne took a deep breath, savagely berating herself for feeling so unreasonably…distracted…at discovering Dan was occupied with a woman on a level that was certainly not strictly business.

‘A few big booms. That’s what you like best, isn’t it, Baby?’ he went on, evoking a spluttering that sounded like a smothered giggle.

Jayne was not amused. Monty could be in danger of having another stroke, a fatal one, while Dan Drayton was playing stupid games with his Baby. Although to be fair, he couldn’t know how tasteless this conversation was until she told him.

‘Monty Castle had a stroke a few hours ago,’ she stated bluntly.

Another silence. A sobered silence, Jayne hoped, fiercely clamping down on the stupid churning stirred by Baby’s intrusive presence. Dan was entitled to do whatever he wanted. She had claimed the same right. It was just that it was…demeaning to be replaced by some brainless bimbo.

‘How bad?’ came the serious question, his voice deeper, sharper, driving her wandering mind back to the horror of Monty’s grey face and stricken body. She desperately hoped the effects of the stroke would not last long. Monty was only in his fifties and one of the most vital people she had ever met.

‘I don’t know,’ she answered, her concern for him uppermost as she explained further. ‘He was still conscious and talking when he was taken to the hospital, but he’d lost control of his left side. He asked me to contact you. He said you’d take over the consultancy for him and fulfil the contract.’

There! It was all said now. How Dan reacted and responded was entirely up to him. She had done her part. Although a niggle of conscience told her she could do more. And should do more if more was needed to get Dan here. It was not only for Monty’s sake. Lin Zhiyong had to be satisfied, as well.

‘Give me your location and the name of the hospital.’

She complied with the demands, bridling at the thought that Dan intended to check the facts she had given him before making a decision. His next statement stunned her.

‘I’ll get there as soon as possible.’

For a moment, Jayne couldn’t take it in. Dan was coming. Just like that. Just as Monty said he would. The assurance should have lifted a huge burden off her shoulders but it didn’t. She felt the pressure of her mettle being tested, and Dan wasn’t even here yet. It took an enormous effort of willpower to rise above the uneasy prospect of coming face-to-face with him again and concentrate on the more immediate problems to be resolved.

‘How soon will that be?’ She was amazed at how matter-of-fact she sounded.

‘Mmmh…a little tricky. I was about to close a deal with Sheikh Omar El Talik, whom I don’t care to offend.’

He could offer Baby as a candidate for the sheikh’s harem, Jayne thought, then silently castigated herself for the shockingly sexist idea. She excused herself on the grounds that she needed Dan Drayton without any other ties. Monty needed him, she swiftly corrected, frowning over her muddled thinking. The faster Dan could come and go, the better.

‘We should be there within a week,’ came the considered estimate.

That made things easier. Lin Zhiyong’s seven-day limit could be met. ‘That’s great! Thank you.’

She quickly explained the concerns of the Chinese official and passed on the invitation to the festival party, privately congratulating herself on coming to grips with the situation with growing aplomb.

‘We’ll be there,’ Dan Drayton assured her decisively.

The repetition of we finally sank in. ‘Are you bringing someone with you?’

‘Baby goes everywhere with me. Wouldn’t dream of leaving you with anyone else, would I, cuddlepie?’

Another bubbly splutter.

It was sickening. A ghastly vision leapt into Jayne’s mind; a simpering nymphet clinging onto Dan’s arm as he surveyed the mudflow problem with a bevy of intense Chinese engineers.

‘There isn’t going to be much time for entertainment once you’re here on the job,’ she warned, her mouth tightening, her stomach tightening at the thought of him turning up at Lin Zhiyong’s party with another woman. How on earth would she save face in those circumstances?

‘Don’t worry about Baby. I’ll look after her. Just book us a room in the best hotel there is in Xi’an.’

‘It isn’t five star international,’ she said tartly. Surely Dan couldn’t be serious about a woman he called Baby.

‘I don’t expect Baby will notice. A roof over her head, food to eat, me to love her…’

A bed was probably the only requirement, Jayne thought waspishly. ‘Could you please send a confirming fax of your agreement to take over from Mr. Castle? It will prevent any problems from developing here.’

‘Give me your fax number.’

She did so, trying to quell her irritation that he would not be as single-minded as she in completing the project for Monty. If Baby caused complications or delays…Jayne shook her head. She had no choice but to accept the situation and do what she could to circumvent any distractions from getting the project completed on schedule.

‘Which way will you be coming in?’ she asked. ‘From Tokyo or Hong Kong?’

‘On Dragon Air from Hong Kong.’

‘I’ll have someone waiting for you at Hong Kong airport with the necessary visas, letters, et cetera for entry.’

‘Thank you, Jayne.’

Her skin prickled at the sensual caress in his voice. She had forgotten how he could evoke responses like that simply with an expressive change of tone. It was something she would have to guard against.

She should probably ask for Baby’s name, but it could be filled in on the paperwork before the flight into China. If it was something like Peach Bubbles, she would probably throw up.

‘Please keep me posted on your journey,’ she said stiffly. ‘I’ll be at Xi’an airport to meet you.’

‘No need for that. We’ll see you at Lin Zhiyong’s party. Baby and I will look forward to it.’

A heated breath hissed between Jayne’s teeth. How could any woman stand being spoken of in such a patronising manner? Did having a free meal and travel ticket compensate for such de-meaning paternalism? Was Baby’s brain dulled by a sexual drive that consumed any rational thought?

‘Is there anything else you want done before you arrive here?’ she asked, keeping her tone crisp and level. ‘Mr. Castle instructed me to give you every assistance with the job.’

‘Yes, I thought he would. Is that hard for you, Jayne?’

‘Not at all,’ she tossed off as blithely as she could.

‘I wouldn’t want to make your life miserable again.’

‘Different circumstances, aren’t they?’ she grated, furious that he would imply such a thing in front of the woman he was bringing with him.

‘Of course,’ he agreed. ‘Then we shall meet once more under a full moon. As I recall, the Mid-Autumn Festival is celebrated when the moon is at its fullest and brightest.’

The line was disconnected before she could make a comeback. Not that she had one. Better not to acknowledge the memory he had evoked anyway. It was in absolutely rotten taste for him to allude to the heady romance of their very first meeting when he was not only carrying on an intimate affair with another woman, but escorting that woman to Lin Zhiyong’s full-moon party!

She crashed the receiver down on its cradle and glared at it with gathering turbulence. Her lips compressed. Dan Drayton had better keep his mind completely focused on work when he was with her. As fond as she was of Monty, her loyalty to him did not extend to tolerating insidious remarks about the past. If Dan Drayton once tried to put anything on her that was inappropriate to the situation, he would get a demonstration of Dragon Lady the like of which no one had ever seen before!

The fax machine signalled an incoming message. Jayne pushed herself to her feet and crossed the office to watch the transmission roll out. It was the official confirmation she had requested for the purpose of satisfying Lin Zhiyong and the team of Chinese engineers that the replacement expert was on his way.

The prime objective had been attained.

She had, indeed, got Dan Drayton.

The only question was whether she would get past this encounter, unscarred, unscathed and unhitched from the man she had once thought she would love forever.

CHAPTER THREE

DRAGON LADY…

The name the Chinese had given his wife—she wasn’t ex yet—simmered in Dan Drayton’s mind as Lin Zhiyong’s official car transported him and Baby from the hotel to this evening’s party. It put Dan more and more in a dragon-slaying mood.

The Chinese might find Jayne formidable. He didn’t. She could throw out as much fire as she liked. It couldn’t match the slow burn that had been building in intensity inside him ever since her call. The desire to cut the wind out from under her wings and bring her thumping down to earth was uppermost on his agenda.

Jayne Winter. The denial of his name stung. She had been happy enough to be Jayne Drayton when they were first married. Throwing her maiden name at him was like saying their marriage had never been, scrubbing out the four years they had shared together as though it was nothing to her. He was nothing to her.

That was precisely how she had spoken to him, not the slightest acknowledgement of what they had once meant to each other, not even a civil inquiry about how he was or where he’d been or what he was doing now. What had he ever done to her to deserve being treated as though she had never had any personal, let alone intimate involvement with him?

It riled him even more that she had left him and gone to work for Monty Castle. If she had found sharing his life so intolerable, why had she become personal assistant to a man in the same line of work? And here she was in China, apparently contending easily with a culture that was every bit as foreign as that of Iran.

Baby pointed excitedly to the colourful paper lanterns strung from the trees in the park they were passing. It was a perfect evening and the park was thronged with people out to enjoy the festivities with their families and friends. Traditionally Zhongqiu Jie had always been ‘the Reunion Festival’, an occasion for the expression of nostalgic sentiments.

Dan wondered if Jayne knew that. The irony of it certainly struck him. The only reason for this reunion was Monty Castle’s need for him. Dan didn’t anticipate hearing any nostalgic sentiments from Jayne tonight, but he sure as hell intended to stir some memories.

It was a quixotic twist of fate that these circumstances had arisen. He’d never told Jayne his connection to Monty Castle. By the time they’d met and married, he’d gone way beyond being Monty’s protégé in the explosives field.

It must have come as a heart-thumping shock when Monty had told her to get him. Though not so much of a shock that she had spilled the fact she was his wife. Monty still didn’t know. That was obvious from their conversation at the hospital this afternoon.

It added another burning question to all the others in Dan’s mind, making him pause before committing himself to helping Monty. A decision on the project could wait until he knew all he needed to know. In a professional sense, he’d already repaid Monty for all he’d learnt from him. He didn’t owe him anything, except the caring that came with mutual liking. As for Jayne…

He cuddled Baby closer, rubbing his cheek over her soft black curls, breathing in the sweet scent of her, taking deep pleasure in the innocence of her love and trust in him. She was his first consideration now, not Jayne, and he had no compunction in ramming that home to the woman who had so comprehensively rejected him.

It had given him a great deal of satisfaction to hear the snippy tone creep into her voice when he had made continual reference to Baby on the telephone. It meant that she wasn’t as indifferent as she wanted to be. He hoped it would hit her hard when she saw Baby, make her take stock of all she had walked away from.

The car came to a halt beside a set of steps that led up to the gate of a high, decorative wall that undoubtedly enclosed the gardens of Lin Zhiyong’s home. The driver alighted to open the passenger door for them.

‘Ready to go on show, Baby?’ Dan asked, smiling indulgently at the small, angel face that gazed adoringly at him.

She smacked her lips in a kiss for him and he laughed, releasing some of the tension he was feeling over this meeting with Jayne. Baby was utterly, captivatingly beautiful.

Eat your heart out, Dragon Lady, Dan thought, stepping from the car. He settled Baby comfortably on his arm and went to confront the woman he had once thought he would love forever.

CHAPTER FOUR

THE aim of a Chinese garden was to create a sense of peace and harmony. At some other time Jayne might have been able to enjoy the ambience Lin Zhiyong took such pride in; the graceful fall of willow fronds into the gently meandering pond, the carefully cultivated waterlilies, the artistic arch of the bridge that serviced a splendid pavilion centred over the water. It was all a visual delight, but Jayne was too on edge to feel peace or harmony.

Any minute now Dan Drayton would arrive with his Baby. Lin Zhiyong had sent his car for them. It was an unusually hospitable gesture for him. It was really her responsibility to arrange transport. She hoped Lin Zhiyong wasn’t playing some secret hand. Dan hadn’t actually signed an agreement with Monty yet.

‘I am to be honoured with a special guest this evening,’ the elderly official informed her. ‘He is travelling from Beijing.’

A higher official from the seat of government? Jayne refrained from comment, not knowing what it might mean.

‘It would appear that Mr. Castle has competition for Mr. Drayton’s services.’ he added enigmatically.

More pressure on her to make good her claim that Dan would do as she asked, Jayne thought, hating the sense of being backed into a corner from which there was no escape, yet determined to play out her hand as best she could.

She smiled, exuding every scrap of confidence she could muster. ‘Mr. Drayton has always been a man of his word. It is regrettable that your honoured guest will be disappointed in his quest. However, I am sure his long journey will be rewarded by your hospitality.’

‘It is best that he sees for himself,’ Lin Zhiyong observed, his eyes glinting over Jayne before drifting toward the ornamental gateway into his garden.

At least her appearance had impressed him, Jayne thought, fiercely hoping it would outshine Baby’s. It was not that she was jealous. This was purely politics. Dan was welcome to some other woman in his personal life. She simply needed a professional boost tonight. Besides, it was satisfying to have an appropriate occasion on which to wear the exotic outfit she had bought in Hong Kong.

At the time of purchase, she’d had no idea that the glamorous evening suit could take on another meaning. She had seen it as wonderfully rich and perfect for her height and colouring. Tonight it had a special impact.

The jacket was highly dramatic with a design of dragons in gold and russet woven onto a lustrous pearl silk brocade. The heart-shaped neckline dipped to a row of five buttons that fastened the bodice to figure-moulding tightness. The sleeves were long and fitted, with the dragon motif featuring below the elbow. The jacket flared out over the hips, giving it a winged effect. Below it flowed a beautiful full-length circular skirt in russet silk, gold thread crisscrossing it in a diamond pattern that made it shimmer like dragon scales.

Jayne had added some complementary costume jewellery; a gold mesh necklace threaded with pearls, and long, dangly earrings of chunkier gold, studded with pearls. The massed red ringlets of her hair formed a fiery showcase for their glitter and gleam.

She had certainly turned the heads of Lin Zhiyong’s other guests. Dragon Lady was making her presence felt tonight. But would Dan respond with the respect she needed from him?

‘Ah, Mr. Drayton has arrived,’ Lin Zhiyong announced, apparently picking up some signal from the aide stationed by the gateway. ‘You will accompany me to greet him?’ he invited, obviously wanting to observe their meeting firsthand.

‘Thank you,’ Jayne accepted, maintaining her pose of absolute confidence as she matched her step to his.

How she didn’t falter when Dan entered the garden was little short of a miracle. Her heart certainly stopped in shock, kicking painfully when it resumed beating again. Her mind locked, one thought only exploding within the jammed compartment.

Baby…

He was holding a baby…a real baby…cradled contentedly in the crook of his arm…a baby with the face of a cherub, chubby little hands waving excitedly, a rosebud mouth blowing bubbles as she gurgled her delight in the glowing paper lanterns strung around the garden.

A baby with black curly hair…

Like Dan’s!

A baby that looked to be about nine months old, certainly less than a year.

It was two years since she had rejected Dan’s idea of having a baby to give her something to do, to keep her happy in their marriage, to hold her with him; ample time for him to father this child with some other woman; the baby she had denied him; denied herself.

The baby was observing her now, wide-eyed with wonder, dark-eyed like Dan…and there was an ache of emptiness in Jayne’s stomach, a heavy, dragging feeling in her thighs, a cramping in her heart.

Somehow her feet kept moving. Dan had come to a standstill, obviously having observed her approach with Lin Zhiyong and waiting for the formal welcome to the Chinese official’s home. It was not until they were virtually face-to-face that Jayne managed to wrench her gaze from his child to look directy at the man who no longer belonged to her, and would never belong to her again.

‘Hello, Dan.’ It was all she could think of to say. Her voice was smoky, insubstantial, barely emerging from the sense of dead ashes, all that was left now of their former relationship.

‘Jayne…’

The bare acknowledgement was spoken in a guarded tone. The face that had once captivated her with its entrancing mobility of expression was unnaturally still, highlighting the distinctive bone structure that had fascinated her when he was asleep; the planes of his forehead, nose, cheeks, chin, all seeming to flow gracefully, one to the other in a complement of strength, yet the soft sensuality of his mouth hinting at a poetic soul that was at odds with the tensile power of his long, lean body.

His dark eyes clashed briefly with hers before turning to their host, and Jayne was left with a disturbing impression of deep, smouldering anger. She performed the ritual introductions with passable aplomb, yet she was acutely aware of a pins-and-needles sensation firing through her body, an instinctive alert to danger.

Despite the baby, despite whatever he shared with its mother, Dan Drayton was no more indifferent to this situation than she was, and exploding mountains was not the only explosion he had in mind. The life she had crafted without him was on a short fuse. She would have to tread very carefully once she was alone with him.

CHAPTER FIVE

DAN was so used to dealing with officials in foreign countries, Lin Zhiyong presented no problem to him. He exchanged the proper courtesies with the appropriate amount of respect, and Jayne had to admire his deft charm in sidestepping some subtly probing questions from their wily host. Dan was giving nothing away, not his private nor his professional motives for being here.

Having gained no useful information whatsoever, Lin Zhiyong found his presence required by other guests and moved away to observe what transpired between Dan and Jayne at a distance. Jayne had privately decided that if she stuck rigidly to business she was on safe ground.

‘Shall we stroll around the pond?’ Dan suggested, taking the initiative from her with consummate ease. ‘It will entertain Baby. I trust we have some leisure time for entertaining Baby this evening.’

Jayne felt a flush scorching up her neck and quickly half turned to accompany him side-by-side. If he hadn’t exactly misled her about Baby when she had called him, he had certainly not laid out the truth for her. Nevertheless, she hated the feeling of being in the wrong, hated even more Dan driving it home to her.

‘I didn’t realise that Baby was actually a baby,’ she admitted, wanting to clear the decks between them. ‘When I called you I was still in shock from Monty’s collapse.’

‘Monty now, is it? You called him Mr. Castle on the phone.’

‘I didn’t know how well you knew him.’

‘How well do you know him?’

The pointed question startled her into glancing at him. His gaze locked onto hers, holding it. He looked dark and dangerous, his eyes glittering with savage mockery. She stopped walking and confronted him face-on, deeply insulted by what he was implying.

‘Are you asking if I’m sleeping with a man who’s old enough to be my father?’ she demanded, her own eyes projecting twin bolts of blue lightning to sizzle that idea out of his brain.

‘It’s been done by many a younger woman than you, Jayne. They usually have one thing in common.’ His gaze raked her from head to foot. ‘They’re magnificently dressed and dripping with jewellery.’

Jayne almost stamped her foot in outrage at his horribly false interpretation of her dressing tonight. ‘I bought this outfit myself,’ she declared, breathing fire. ‘In Hong Kong where we had a few days’ stopover before coming on here. And the jewellery is costume jewellery, which I also bought myself.’

‘It must have cost a lot.’

‘I earn a lot. And Monty Castle is my boss. Nothing more.’

‘An extremely generous boss.’

‘He happens to value me very highly, which is more than you did. I’m good at what I do.’

‘You always were.’

‘If you think that after you…’ She stopped, appalled at having been goaded so far.

‘Do go on, Jayne,’ he invited silkily. ‘You hold me fascinated. Are you implying that marriage to me put you off men altogether?’

No. There simply hadn’t been anyone with Dan’s sexual magnetism. Not for her. Dressed in a formal dinner suit, as he was tonight, he was as lethally attractive as ever, and Jayne was swamped with the feeling she would never really want any other man.

The reverse obviously wasn’t true for Dan. She reminded herself forcefully of that by looking straight at the child he’d had with another woman. ‘Where’s the baby’s mother?’ she asked point-blank. If he wanted to talk lovers, let him answer to her!

‘She died soon after Baby was born.’

Jayne’s fire wilted. ‘I’m sorry.’ The words tripped out automatically, with no real sincerity. She was plunged into a state of confusion, pain mixed with relief, guilt, shame…

Here was a little baby girl, robbed of her mother virtually from birth. It was terribly, terribly wrong to feel glad the woman was permanently out of Dan’s life. It wasn’t as if she wanted to resume life with Dan, certainly not on the same terms as before. Besides, for all she knew, he could have formed another relationship by now. There might be more babies on the way!

This one didn’t look uncared for. In fact she was beautifully, lovingly dressed in festival clothes. She wore a gold silk tunic with a little Mandarin collar. Underneath it were long pants in scarlet silk. There were beaded gold slippers on her tiny feet and scarlet ribbons tied around her head. She appeared to be as much adored and cherished as Chinese babies were by their parents.

‘Do you have someone to help look after the baby?’ Jayne asked, pursuing her thoughts to their logical end.

‘No. I do it myself.’

‘Everything?’ Jayne’s eyes flew up to his in sceptical amazement.

‘Do you find something wrong with that, Jayne?’

It wasn’t what most men would do. But then, Dan had never been like most men. He was a law unto himself and the only way to deal with him, live with him, was on his terms.

‘I didn’t think you’d take a child this young into the field with you when you’re planting explosives,’ she answered.

‘Why not?’

‘Because it’s dangerous.’

‘Not with me.’

‘The noise…’

‘Baby likes big booms, don’t you, sweetheart?’

‘Boom-boom,’ the baby crowed back at him, clapping her hands as a chorus.

Jayne gave up the unwinnable argument and resumed walking, mortified at the thought that Lin Zhiyong had probably witnessed that incautious little scene. She fiercely vowed she would not be trapped into any more personal conversation. There was nothing to be gained by it and it only inflamed the heartburn that was eroding the composure it was vitally important for her to keep.

Dan wasn’t about to change his rootless way of life. He was even bringing up his child to accept it as normal, carting her with him everywhere as though she didn’t need anything but him. If she didn’t, it made nonsense of Jayne’s contention that children required a proper home base to give them a sense of security. Was Dan proving a point to her? Was that why he had come?

She mentally shook her head. It was far too extreme, even for Dan, to fly from Morocco to China to show her she was wrong. An infant didn’t prove his case anyhow. Wait until Baby reached school age and see how she liked an ever-changing environment!

Dan had to intend taking up Monty’s contract. Jayne felt compelled to pin him down to some firm decision before the competitor for his services arrived. It would not favour her position if Dan appeared to be weighing one offer against another in front of Lin Zhiyong.

‘Monty told me you visited him this afternoon,’ she began.

‘Yes. He was able to curl his left fingers around Baby’s hand. It’s a good sign for recovery.’

‘The doctors say his progress is very promising. He’s well enough now to be flown home to Australia but he wants to settle everything with you first. Do you see some problem with fulfilling the contract?’

‘No.’

‘Monty said you deferred discussing it until tomorrow.’

‘I like to scout a deal before committing myself to it.’

‘What do you need to scout? You said the job was simple.’

‘Other things aren’t so simple.’

‘For example?’

‘Don’t push me, Jayne.’ The warning was spoken in a low, harsh tone. ‘I’ll do what I choose to do in my own time.’

It wasn’t easy to quell her vexation at his elu-siveness but she knew the warning was not an idle one. Persistence would irritate him, any attempt at persuasion would be treated with scorn, and she didn’t have the power to seduce him from his self-set course, She had become bitterly resigned to that last fact before she had made the decision to leave him two years ago.

Their path had circumnavigated the pond and was now approaching one end of the bridge. Jayne looked toward the pavilion where most of the guests had gathered to enjoy the refreshments laid out for them. She didn’t want to join them, not while she was still riven with uncertainty about Dan’s intentions. She would probably choke on the moon cakes she would feel obliged to eat, especially since they were a symbol of reunion.

This meeting with Dan could hardly be classed as a reunion!

She felt sick with tension. Nothing was how she had expected it to be. She was sure she would have coped much better if Dan had been with another woman. That would have killed off any personal element straight away.

The baby really hurt. Dan as a devoted father hurt more. If she had stayed with him…no, she couldn’t start thinking that. She had achieved something for herself over the past two years and she would not let Dan diminish that now. It was important to her to have an identity of her own, to know she was worth something by herself. Although the way things were going, Dragon Lady might very well end up a big fizzle this evening.

Baby pointed up to the full moon that was now dominating the clear evening sky and spurted forth a babble of baby pleasure that brought Dan to an attentive halt. He smiled indulgently at her, then turned his gaze to the object of her delight.

‘If you look hard enough you’ll see the lady in the moon,’ he crooned softly.

‘The man,’ Jayne corrected, reacting sharply to being shut out of their closeness.

Dan slowly turned his head and looked at her with heart-twisting derision. ‘You’re in China, Jayne. Don’t you know the old Chinese legend?’

Wherever he went he habitually asked questions of the local people, interested in their lives, their culture, their history. He picked up knowledge as easily as a sponge soaking up water. Jayne had never mastered the art, too wary of putting a foot wrong and possibly causing offence. For a woman there were many pitfalls in foreign countries that didn’t seem to exist for men.

‘I’m sorry I don’t have your knack for drawing stories from people, and I don’t read Chinese,’ she said flatly.

‘And you’re too self-absorbed to wonder about anything outside yourself.’

‘That’s not true.’ The criticism stung. Was that how he had seen her at the end?

‘Isn’t it, Jayne?’ he retorted softly. ‘You didn’t even ask me how I was when you rang. You thought only of your needs.’

‘Monty’s needs. I was following his instructions,’ she pleaded, realising for the first time that Dan had been deeply offended by her avoidance of ordinary civilities.

‘You dealt with me as though I were a stranger.’

She couldn’t deny it, yet she had deliberately used her personal connection with him to convince Lin Zhiyong that Dan Drayton was hers for the asking! Jayne squirmed with shame. Dan was right. He deserved better from her. Much better. They had loved each other once, shared many happy times together. To excuse her lack of any personal exchange with him on the grounds that it was easier not to remember those happy times did not mitigate the offence given.

‘I’m sorry. I was upset. I didn’t know how you’d react to hearing from me and I…’ Her hands fluttered up in apologetic appeal. ‘…I just did my job, Dan.’

‘Your all-important job:’ His voice was a taunting lilt of irony. ‘Has it filled every hole in your life, Jayne? Are you content with what you have now?’

‘I get satisfaction from accomplishing things, meeting goals, seeing results. Is there something wrong with that?’ she challenged quietly, aware she was treading on very thin ice.

He made it crystal clear he was on a low tolerance level with her. It might very well be her attitude toward him that would tip the scales either for or against taking over the contract from Monty. When he made no reply, she asked, ‘What do you want from me, Dan?’

‘The same thing you want. Satisfaction.’ He turned his face back up to the moon. ‘Legend has it that the lady’s name was Chang Er. She was married to a tyrannical king. Did you find me a tyrannical husband, Jayne?’

‘No. You were never that.’

‘Chang Er was afraid for her people. Were you afraid of me?’

‘No.’

‘The tyrannical king came into possession of an elixir that would make him immortal. Chang Er realised his tyranny would go on and on forever. She saw only one escape from it. Why did you feel you had to escape from me, Jayne?’

‘I needed a different life to the one you were bent on pursuing, Dan.’

She saw his jaw tighten. After a few moments he went on with the story. ‘Chang Er wanted a different life, too. To rescue her people from the fate of being eternally yoked to such a king, she stole the elixir and drank it herself. The moment she had swallowed the last drop, she was transported to the moon where she lives to this day in total isolation.’

He paused, then softly added, ‘I wonder if she still believes immortality was worth what she ended up with. I wonder how much she feels the loneliness of the long nights. Do you have an answer for that, Jayne?’

‘She thought it was for the best and elected to pay whatever the price was. But the nights can be very long and very lonely,’ she acknowledged quietly, regretting the emotional scars she had left on him.

‘Do you think she would do the same again, knowing what her fate is now?’

‘Yes. It was a matter of survival.’

‘Perhaps it would have been an easier solution if she’d simply killed off the king. Wiped him out.’ He swung his gaze back to her, his eyes glittering with hard purpose. ‘That way she’d never have to see him, hear from him, or think of him again, and she could live as she pleased, free of any burdens he’d piled on her. Don’t you prefer that scenario?’

‘I think self-sacrifice makes for a better legend,’ she answered warily, realising that he was lashing out at her for having completely cut him out of her life as though he had never mattered.

The truth was, he had mattered too much. She had been afraid of weakening if she kept in touch with him, torn between the need for the intensely passionate feelings that had tied them together and the compulsion to find her own feet apart from him.

‘How much are you prepared to sacrifice in order to keep your precious job with Monty Castle, Jayne?’

So the gauntlet was down with a vengeance!

He wanted satisfaction.

The critical question was, what would satisfy him?

She could walk away from this job, just as she had walked away from him two years ago. That option was certainly open to her. But she didn’t want to take it. There was more at stake here than a job. She wasn’t sure she wanted to walk away from Dan again. Perhaps there was some other solution that she had been blind to in her desperation for a settled existence within an ambit she had some personal control over.

Her gaze slid down to the child, contentedly propped against his broad shoulder. Could she accept a baby that was his and not hers?

‘What is her name?’ she asked gruffly.

‘Baby.’

‘Not your pet name for her. Her Christian name.’

‘I never thought of any other name but Baby.’

‘For God’s sake, Dan! She has to have a proper name.’

‘What’s wrong with Baby? She likes it. She responds to it. I’m not going to confuse her by calling her something else.’

‘What about when she goes to school? Grows up? You can’t expect her to live with a name like Baby,’ Jayne cried in exasperation at his stubborn obtuseness.

‘The only nickname she can get is Babe. She’ll be fine.’

‘Only a man could think like that!’

‘So I’m a man. She hasn’t got a mother to give finer female consideration to a name.’

‘Any mother would be tossing around names while she was pregnant. You must know what her mother wanted,’ Jayne fired at him.

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