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by Linda Coleman

  He looked up at her, desperate for her to back down and agree with him, but knowing she would not: Melissa was as cautious as he was reckless. He let out a long, deep sigh and stared at her in defeat. “I love you, Liss. I know that I always have, and I know I was a fool ever to let you go. It may have taken a long time and a lot of therapy for me to realise it, but you are all I’ve ever wanted and I’m already sure of that. I’d marry you tomorrow if you’d have me, but I’ll wait. I’ve treated you badly and you need to learn to trust me again. I want you to be sure that I’m the one you want and when you are, maybe you’ll just tell me. I’m not going to press you into anything that you’re not ready for.”

  “Really?” Melissa asked playfully, trying to lighten the mood. “Because part of me thinks you have some very pressing ideas.” All this time, she had been gently rubbing her leg against him, arousing him once more. “Tell you what, why don’t you put that silver tongue of yours to a better use? I am most definitely ready for that.”

  “Willingly, Ma’am!” Anthony grinned and touched his finger to his forehead in a mock salute. He rolled Melissa onto her back, pausing briefly to look at her again before sliding down her body very slowly, intent on building up her anticipation. He was determined to make her say yes to his proposal, but for now he decided he would have to make do with making her beg him not to stop what he was about to do. There was more than one weapon of persuasion in Anthony’s arsenal, and he would use all of them, if necessary, to get what he wanted.

  In her room, Rebecca pulled her pillow over her head, trying to blot out the sounds coming from next door. It was so unfair. She adored Anthony, spending months doing whatever he asked in the hope of making a connection. When he had invited her to spend the summer with him she knew they would be working, but she had assumed that there would be something more between them, despite his denials of her. His reputation had led her to believe that all she had to do was wait and he would find his own way to her bed.

  But then this woman from his past had turned up and stolen him from under her nose. Melissa Gordon was bright and talented and Anthony only had eyes for her. Rebecca hated Melissa for so many reasons already. Now this horrible woman was screwing the man she loved, and in the very next room. Rebecca vowed to get her revenge if it was the last thing she ever did.

  In his room below them, Victor too was trying to blot out the sounds of Anthony and Melissa’s lovemaking. He had dreaded this day for so long and tried so hard to prevent it from ever happening, but he had been unsuccessful.

  Victor carried a dark secret. He was not the man that he pretended to be. For years Victor had suffered the misfortune of knowing both the past and the future.

  From the moment Anthony first mentioned Melissa all those years earlier, Victor knew the lovers were destined to come to this day. He tried to separate them, but his intervention steered Anthony onto a course of self-inflicted destruction. Melissa was the best thing that had ever happened to his godson and Anthony only regained his focus when he decided to get Melissa back in his life. Anthony had never coped well by himself and needed a steadying hand to help steer him through the minefields that life put in his way.

  Over the past few weeks, Victor had watched the former lovers becoming close again. Anthony was so happy it broke Victor’s heart to think about what was going to happen, but even he had no idea what the eventual outcome would be. All he knew for certain was that in the morning Melissa would be gone, and Anthony would be inconsolable once more.

  Chapter 6

  The storm blew itself out at some point in the night, leaving the air cooler and fresher. Melissa was woken early by the sounds of birds singing outside the open window. She felt invigorated, despite having hardly slept. Rolling over, she looked at Anthony sleeping peacefully next to her. She considered waking him and resuming where they had left off just a few hours earlier, but decided against it. After being so active for most of the night, he needed his rest – at least for another hour or so. That gave her enough time to shower and make some coffee.

  Melissa slipped out of bed, grabbing her shorts from the floor and a clean vest-style t-shirt, underwear and socks from the dresser. She tiptoed out of the room, deciding to use Anthony’s shower rather than the one in the main bathroom. She knew only too well how Rebecca felt about Anthony and suspected that the girl must have heard at least some of the night’s activities. Melissa was not ready for a confrontation, so avoiding any accidental meeting seemed the most sensible option. She headed into Anthony’s room, threw her clothes on the bed and went straight into the bathroom.

  The hot jets of water hit her body like tiny pinpricks, washing away the last vestiges of sleep from her limbs. She began to think about the man sleeping in her bed again and wondered whether she should have invited him to join her in this large walk-in shower. No, she thought, plenty of time for that sort of thing later. They had the rest of their lives after all, if they so desired. She finished showering and dried herself on Anthony’s towel before looking in the mirror, but it had steamed up from the heat and dampness caused by the shower. Smiling to herself, she wrote a message in the steam, knowing that it would be invisible until the next time the shower was used, before heading back into the bedroom to dress.

  There was an unseasonably cold breeze blowing in through the open window. Melissa shuddered and grabbed one of Anthony’s shirts from his closet to put over her t-shirt for extra warmth and headed down to the kitchen.

  As she crossed the living room, something caught her eye through the French doors. She could have sworn she saw people in the lower field near the trees, but that made no sense. They were miles from anywhere and this was all Anthony’s private land.

  Melissa went to the nearest set of windows and opened them, stepping out onto the veranda beyond. The morning was bright and crisp at the house, but farther away towards the woodland, an unusual mist was hanging across the fields. Melissa supposed that it must have been this mist wafting in the breeze that had made her think she had seen people.

  That really should have been the end of the matter, but for reasons unknown to her, Melissa had a sudden urge to investigate. She went into the hall and slipped her feet into her walking boots, then returned to the French doors and walked back outside and down into the fields.

  The air definitely had a chill to it. It reminded her more of an autumn morning at home in Somerset than it did an August day in Italy. She supposed that had something to do with the mist, but she was no meteorologist, so what did she know? She continued on to the lower fields, enjoying the freshness of the air, breathing in deeply to make the most of the morning.

  By the time she had arrived at the tree line the mist had thickened considerably. The way it hung seemed unnatural to Melissa, moving out of her way as she walked towards it. It was more like the fake mist in a horror movie, blown around by a fan, than a natural mist. There was an odd smell about it too, damp and earthy. It reminded her more of freshly-dug potatoes than a misty wood. The trees appeared as ghostly shapes in front of her. Her every footstep sounded much louder than it should as she crunched over fallen leaves and twigs. It was the only sound she could hear; no birds were singing and she was not disturbing any of the wildlife living in the undergrowth which usually dived out of the way when people passed by. She felt a little unnerved and paused, considering whether to return to the house to fetch Anthony to join her.

  At that moment she heard the footsteps of another person in the woods. The mist had completely disoriented her and she could not tell whether they came from in front or behind. She could feel herself beginning to panic. She wanted to run, but had no idea which way to go. She wanted to call out, but her mouth was suddenly dry and she could not find the words. She was frozen to the spot.

  Suddenly, the other person collided with her from behind. Melissa stumbled forwards, tripping over the root of a tree and falling onto her hands and knees. “Oh, it’s you,” a female voice said from behind her and Melissa recognised it as Reb
ecca’s. She was relieved to hear a familiar voice, even if it sounded less than pleased to see her. “Sorry,” the girl added with heavy sarcasm before continuing onwards. For once Rebecca was wearing a pair of jeans, probably due to the change in temperature, though the t-shirt emblazoned with the words ‘Bite Me!’ was as tight as ever.

  Melissa got up and brushed herself off. This girl’s attitude annoyed her more every day. Rebecca’s complete lack of respect had been gnawing at her for weeks and this was probably the best chance she would ever get to confront her. She forgot about her uneasy feelings and followed Rebecca though the remaining trees to the stream.

  The downpour from the night before had raised the water levels significantly, turning the babbling stream into a far deeper river. It must have rained a lot harder than I realised, Melissa thought casually. She hardly paid it any more attention as she quickened her pace to catch up to Rebecca.

  “What are you doing down here?” Melissa asked as they drew level.

  “Not that it’s any of your business, but I saw someone in the woods. Probably press hoping for some dirty exclusive. This is private land so I intend to tell them to get lost. I have to think of Anthony’s interests, you know.” Rebecca was trying to sound important once again.

  “How brave of you,” Melissa replied sarcastically. “I’d have thought you would have gone to him first. Who knows what could happen to you out here alone with strangers around.”

  “And risk having to explain myself to you − no thanks. Still I’ve had to do that anyway, haven’t I?” Rebecca muttered as she trudged on, whilst Melissa stopped dead. She was surprised at the comment that had just been made.

  “What exactly is your problem with me?” Melissa called out even though she already knew the answer.

  Rebecca stopped and turned to face Melissa. Her voice filled with hatred as she answered the question. “Oh don’t give me the innocent act. You know perfectly well what it is. It’s you being here, distracting him! I’ve worked at this for nearly a year, doing anything he asked and letting him treat me like crap just for a chance he’d notice me, but he never did. When he asked me here for the summer, I honestly thought it was his way of making his move. I didn’t expect him to be bringing you!”

  “I see. Look, I appreciate that you’re infatuated with Anthony, but he doesn’t see you that way,” Melissa said calmly.

  Infatuated proved not to be the best choice of words. Rebecca was immediately incensed. She stormed back towards Melissa and stood nose-to-nose with her.

  “Infatuated? I LOVE HIM, YOU STUPID COW!” Rebecca screamed the words so loudly they deafened Melissa. After a brief pause, Rebecca continued her rant. “You had your chance and you didn’t want him. Why come back now? Because he’s rich and famous? Or do you just want to hurt him again?”

  “How dare you! You know nothing about me. I’ve loved Anthony all my life, but for your information he was the one who left me!” Melissa snapped back.

  “Oh yes, I know all about how you’re the supposed love of Anthony’s life – Victor told me the other day – but you are nothing compared to him. I’ve seen the way you treat him. From the second you arrived you’ve deliberately annoyed and defied him at every turn. And I’m not fooled by all that stuff you pulled last night either.”

  “What?” Melissa was genuinely confused. Rebecca seemed to think her love for Anthony was all an act. “Of course I’ve been cautious. I needed to know whether I could trust him.”

  “That’s right. Poor little heart-broken Melissa! You tricked him into your bed last night and now he’s shagged you he thinks everything’s fine. Well, he’ll have to learn the hard way, I suppose! Bitch!”

  Calling her a bitch was an insult too far for Melissa. She reached out, slapped Rebecca around the face and then retaliated. “You stupid little girl! You have no idea what’s gone on between us. I’ve seen what he’s done with his life and it’s great, but he’s made a lot of stupid mistakes with a lot of silly little things like you. And that’s just what you would be, my dear, another stupid mistake. If the press are here looking for an exclusive it’s because they’ve heard how you parade around in next to nothing, trying to make him slip. Are you sure you’re not a plant? Hoping to cash in on a little kiss-and-tell number, are we? No? Well I’ll tell you this for nothing, if you really think my fiancé will ditch me for a slip of a thing like you, then you are sorely mistaken!”

  The shock of Melissa’s final statement was immediate on Rebecca’s face. Emotion overtook the younger woman and she sat down on the bank, her head in her hands. Rebecca began crying and sobbed so violently that her whole body shook. Melissa felt a pang of guilt for her slip of the tongue. She knew she was going to marry Anthony, but this was not the way to have told Rebecca. When they had been at university, Melissa had witnessed so many girls fall for Anthony, only to be destroyed by his cutting rejection of them, that she had thought it would no longer affect her. Now she knew it still did, only this time she was the one causing the pain. This poor girl had done nothing wrong and if she had been around just a couple of years earlier she probably would have got what she wanted so badly. Anthony had a knack of causing mayhem and destruction for those around him, whether intentionally or by accident. Rebecca was just an employee to him and nothing more, but Melissa knew there were no words she could use in consolation. Only time could heal the hurt that Anthony had inadvertently carved in Rebecca’s heart.

  Melissa stood in silence, looking around her. Despite the noise Rebecca was making, she was still aware of the uneasy silence by the river. The hairs on the back of her neck were standing on end and she had the distinct feeling they were being watched, most likely from the other bank. She could hear something other than Rebecca’s sobs, but could not make it out. She squatted down and put her hand on Rebecca’s shoulder, but the girl immediately tried to shrug it away.

  “Get off me,” she mumbled through her hands as she twisted her body sideways.

  Melissa held on tight. Quietly, she said, “I think you’re right. There’s someone out there.”

  Rebecca looked up, shocked. She spun her head round to look behind her “Anthony?” she said hopefully.

  “No” Melissa replied. She was looking in the other direction. “Over on the other bank. It’s not Anthony, but I don’t think he’s from the press either. ” She raised her arm and pointed across the water.

  Rebecca followed Melissa’s outstretched arm and saw a man emerging from the trees on horseback. He seemed to have come along a track that Melissa did not remember having seen before. The rider appeared to be there one second and then gone the next, fading in and out of view as if he was not really there at all.

  “Is that a g-ghost?” Rebecca asked, not really wanting to hear an answer. “Victor said these woods were haunted, but I didn’t believe him.”

  The man continued to the water’s edge where he stopped, allowing his horse to drink from the river. He appeared not to notice the women on the other bank, because he was looking over his shoulder, as if waiting for another rider. Melissa studied his clothes. He wore a heavy cloak that was old and threadbare in places. He pulled it tightly around him to protect him from the cooling air. His lower legs were bare and he wore old-fashioned leather boots that looked Roman in design.

  Melissa could not explain why, but something about the whole situation felt wrong. She was increasingly aware of how cold it was becoming, so cold in fact that she could see her breath forming into a wispy haze as she exhaled. She shivered suddenly, partly from the cold and partly from the sensation of fear growing inside her. “Let’s not wait to find out,” she replied and rose slowly, trying not to draw too much attention to Rebecca and herself.

  Rebecca scrambled to her feet, slipping on the damp grass as she did so. Across the water the horse lifted its head. It had seen them, even if its rider had not. It seemed to Melissa that the animal was as nervous as she was as it started backing away from the bank, whinnying as it moved. The rider leant forward
, patting its neck in an attempt to calm it. Melissa grabbed Rebecca’s wrist and whispered, “Move slowly and try not to make too much noise. I don’t think he’s seen us yet.”

  Rebecca pulled her wrist free of Melissa’s grasp. “Don’t you dare tell me what to do!” she snapped back, a little too loudly for Melissa’s liking.

  If the rider had not seen them before, he had now. He dug his heels into the flanks of the horse and urged it forwards slowly. As he entered the water two more riders came out of the trees at a gallop and caught up to him. He had been waiting for them and now all three were heading straight for the two women on the opposite bank.

  “Run!” Melissa shouted. She turned and headed for the trees on her side of the river, running as fast as she could, but she was no match for a horse. She heard the hoof beats behind her, chasing her down. She felt something punch her in hard in the back and she was sent sprawling to the floor. As she fell, she hit her head on a tree root, slipping into unconsciousness, but not before she heard the sound of a man’s voice shouting something in Latin.

  Anthony woke from the most sensual dream he had had in years. He had an enormous erection, but for the first time in many, many months he knew exactly what to do with it. He rolled onto his back and reached for Melissa, but she was not there. He sat up confused, wondering if the entire night before had been a part of his dream. His eyes scoured the room looking for evidence that he had not imagined it. He knew he was in Melissa’s room, not his. He surveyed the strewn clothing − his shorts, his shirt, Melissa’s bra. That was all the proof he needed that he had not been dreaming. He fell back onto the pillows, laughing. He had planned this outcome for so long and now, finally, he had her. Nothing could stop him now. He knew he was going to spend the rest of his life happy and contented with the woman of his dreams. They would marry. It was just a matter of time until she eventually gave in and said yes.