Dark Encounter

by Susanna Firth

  For once her usual speed and accuracy deserted her and she made error after error. The coffee grew cold and the sandwiches curled unattractively as she ploughed on, her wastepaper basket filling steadily with rejected sheets of paper. Drat the man for knocking her off balance! One minor outburst from him, she thought, and she, spent the rest of the day demonstrating the sort of incompetence which he so clearly expected from her. Sighing, she put yet another sheet of paper in the typewriter and tried again.

  This time things went a little better and the pile was half completed when the door of her office opened. She looked up impatiently? ready to get rid of the unwelcome intruder as quickly as politeness would allow.

  The vision that entered the room and bathed it in a cloud of Chanel Number 5 took Kate's breath away. If Diana Kendall's face looked beautiful in the blurred reproductions of the daily papers, the reality was even more stunning. The mane of titian hair which fell to her shoulders in a carefully arranged disorder made a glorious frame for her exquisite face. The black dress she wore displayed far too much cleavage for that time of day, but it enhanced her porcelain complexion and displayed her spectacular figure to perfection, and she knew it. A pair of carefully made up green eyes flashed a winning smile at Kate as their owner headed for the inner office which Nicholas Blake occupied.

  Kate sprang hastily to her feet. 'Have you an appointment with Mr Blake?'

  The other girl halted and turned a blank face towards her. 'You're Nicky's new secretary, are you, darling?' She giggled. 'The dragon who scares everybody away from him. No, I haven't got an appointment, but he'll see me.' She smiled confidently. 'I'm his fiancée.'

  She would call him Nicky in that affected way. Kate wondered how he responded to the endearment. But however close Diana was to him in private life, she could not see him welcoming an interruption in whatever attractive guise at this particular moment. He had lunched on sandwiches which he had ordered to be served in his room and he had given strict instructions that he was not to be disturbed as he worked on the details of a complicated deal he was setting up for an important client. Kate planted herself firmly in front of the door leading to the inner office and, feeling rather like Horatius defending the bridge, attempted diplomatically to restrain the other girl.

  'I'm not sure whether Mr Blake is free just now. He's a very busy man, you know,' she improvised swiftly. 'Perhaps if you come back a little later? I'm sure you must have some shopping to do.'

  'I want to see Nicky now,' Diana pouted, looking for all the world like a child about to be deprived of a favourite toy. 'I'll see him when I want to. How dare you try to keep me out!' Her voice rose shrilly as she tried to sidestep Kate and reach the inner sanctum. 'Get out of my way!'

  'Miss Kendall, please—' Kate's voice rose too in an effort to make the other girl see reason.

  The door in front of which they were arguing opened with a sudden crash and Nicholas Blake stood there, the expression on his face boding ill for someone.

  'I can't hear myself think for noise. What the hell is going on?' he demanded. 'Miss Sherwood?'

  He would pick on her for an explanation, she thought resentfully. Before she had time to attempt an excuse Diana had rushed forward and flung her arms around him.

  'Nicky! Darling! It's your stupid secretary. She wanted to fend me off by telling me you were too busy to see me.' She smiled engagingly up at him, the green eyes innocent and adoring. 'As if you'd ever be too busy to see me! You're not angry with me, are you, Nicky darling?'

  His bad temper apparently forgotten, he smiled indulgently at her. 'Of course I'm not angry with you.'

  Kittenlike she draped herself round his arm and darted a hostile look at Kate who was standing, lost for words at her employer's sudden change of mood. 'You must tell her not to do it again,' Diana demanded. And make her apologise to me for treating me like any old visitor.'

  'You'll have to forgive her, Diana. Miss Sherwood has a lot to learn,' he said drily. The grim expression in his eyes promised retribution at some not too distant date. 'Perhaps you could manage to produce some coffee for us?' he asked rather wearily. 'I don't know about Diana, but I could certainly use some.'

  'Oh, poor Nicky, you've been working too hard again.' The soft, rather babyish voice offered sympathy as he led Diana tenderly into his office and the door closed behind them.

  When Kate took in the tray of coffee a few minutes later it was obvious that she had chosen the wrong moment. Diana, her arms drawing Nicholas lovingly close to her and her mouth pressed hungrily to his, gave no sign that she was aware of a sudden third party breaking up the tête-à-tête. She made a little moue of protest as he put her firmly aside, wiping traces of her lipstick from his face without any sign of embarrassment. Kate put the tray on his desk and made her escape with a burning face.

  It was another half hour before the door opened and Nicholas ushered Diana Kendall out of his room bade her a fond farewell before despatching her on her way. As he strode back to his office he called impatiently over his shoulder for Kate to join him.

  The dark fury that she saw in his face unleashed itself on her the moment she entered the room. 'What the hell do you mean by letting Diana descend on me?'

  'I could hardly bar the door to her,' she snapped back at him. 'Or do you think I should have let her trample all over me in her determination to get to your room?'

  'I expected you to use a little sense and to understand that when I give instructions not to let anyone bother me I mean precisely that.'

  'I didn't think Miss Kendall counted as "anyone",' Kate said stiffly. 'After all, she is the girl you're going to marry.'

  'Indeed?' The anger was replaced by a look of malicious amusement. 'I didn't know you took such an interest in my private life. Don't believe everything the gossip columnists put about.'

  'I don't read gossip columns,' she retorted. 'Miss Kendall told me herself that she was your fiancée.'

  'And you believed her?' He gave a short, incredulous laugh. 'Can you see me marrying Diana?' he demanded.

  'Who you decide to marry is nothing to do with me.'

  'Always the discreet little secretary,' he taunted. 'Don't tell me you haven't had thoughts on the subject.'

  'If I have I keep them to myself.'

  'Unlike Diana, who's been telling the world—or such of it that cares to listen to her—that she'll get me to the altar.'

  'And will she?' Kate could not resist putting the question.

  'No.' His tone was decisive. 'She has admirable qualities—in a girl-friend—but as a wife, no.' He shrugged. 'She'll have to go.'

  'You don't sound to upset about it.'

  'Should I be? Knowing when to free myself of entanglements is the secret of my success.'

  'Apparently,' she said tartly.

  He studied her for a long moment. 'You don't like me very much, do you?' he asked suddenly. He picked up an exquisitely carved ivory paper-knife from his desk and turned it restlessly in his hands. Against the tanned strength of his fingers its intricacy looked even more fragile, a beautiful object strangely threatened by the hidden power within him.

  Kate felt cornered. 'Aren't you satisfied with my work?' she countered defensively, refusing to be drawn. Personal criticism had already got her into enough hot water with Nicholas Blake.

  'Your work's well nigh perfect and you know it. I'm talking about your personal feelings.'

  'I was taught never to let my personal likes and dislikes interfere with my work. They don't matter,' she said calmly enough.

  'On the contrary, they matter a good deal.' He was leaning against the desk, completely at his ease as he examined her face, his grey eyes dark with curiosity. 'Go ahead. Don't feel you have to spare my finer feelings. You disapprove of me, don't you?'

  She felt suddenly reckless. For once Nicholas Blake was going to hear the truth about himself and blow the consequences. 'Yes, I do.'

  'At least that's a start. I'd rather have good, honest dislike from you than th
e cool, indifferent face you've presented to me for the last few weeks. Why?'

  'You're cold and calculating and you use People for your own advantage.'

  'So? I'm a businessman, not a plaster saint. Wheeling and dealing contributes to my success. My rivals know what to expect and if they can't take the pace they can get out of the market. I think you'll find more sharp practice than I've ever stooped to among the people trying to outmanoeuvre me.' He got to his feet and paced restlessly over to the window. She was suddenly aware of the virile strength of that lean, hard-muscled figure and fought against the magnetism it exerted on her. As if conscious of the effect he had on her, he went on smoothly, 'But it's the women you're talking about, isn't it?'

  She was silent.

  'Isn't it, Kate?' he persisted.

  'Yes,' she said, raising her head and meeting his gaze defiantly. 'If you want a straight answer, I don't approve of playboys.' It was an unfair criticism and she knew it. Nicholas Blake played hard, but he worked hard too.

  'Meaning?'

  'You waste a lot of time on dumb redheads.'

  One dark eyebrow raised, not in anger as she had expected, but in amusement. 'Jealous, Kate?'

  'Good heavens, no.' She tried to inject the right amount of scorn into her voice. 'I wouldn't want to be one of the harem who follow you about. You seem to regard all females as simply there to gratify your pleasure and your vanity. They form an endless queue for your attentions and when you're tired of someone you cast her aside and take up the next in line. You change girlfriends the way most men change shirts. Does it never occur to you to think about their feelings for a change?'

  He gave a cynical smile. 'The most attractive feature about me as far as most of them are concerned is my bank balance. No woman's ever broken her heart over me. They know the score. They have a good time when they're with me and afterwards they move on quite happily, I assure you.'

  'Even Diana?'

  'Diana,' he said without heat, 'is, despite or because of her background, a hard-headed, mercenary little bitch, who isn't worth the sympathy you're lavishing on her. Despite her little-girl manner she's no fool. She's got a cash register where her heart should be and hasn't ever been able to bring herself to go out with a man unless his yearly income is over the five-figure mark. Unfortunately for her she broke the rules she set for herself and for the first time in her money-grabbing life she's over-estimated her talents and decided I'm good husband material.'

  'And are you?' queried Kate sceptically.

  'As far as I'm concerned a husband possesses other qualities besides the ability to write limitless cheques for his wife to squander. It seems highly unlikely that I'll ever find a woman who looks beyond the sugary coating of my bank balance and loves the man underneath, faults and all, but if I do I'll review the situation. Until then—' he shrugged expressively.

  'And Diana will go the way of all the others?'

  'Do you care?' he asked curiously. 'I told you, she's not worth your sympathy.'

  'Perhaps she's more involved than you think,' she said, thinking of the countless photographs she had seen of the two of them together, Nicholas looking his usual arrogant, slightly bored self, while Diana had gazed adoringly up at him. Was it just a pose? Kate didn't know. 'I wouldn't like to think of her getting hurt. You treat women like dirt.'

  'You're too soft-hearted,' he jeered. 'Possibly she'll get slightly bruised when I decide it's time to cut loose.' He gave a slow, slightly cruel smile. 'But I'm sure she'll recover soon enough when the next attractive man comes into her sights. She'll learn her lesson and know better next time.'

  'You're a callous swine!' Kate flung the words at him, careless of how he might react.

  'I prefer to call myself realistic' He stood, eyeing her thoughtfully for a moment. 'Really, Kate, are you so piqued because I haven't tried to add you to my list of conquests? That can be easily remedied.'

  She came suddenly to her senses. Past experience had taught her what happened when she crossed swords with this man and she had no desire to repeat her previous humiliation at his hands. She must be out of her mind to be tempting Fate like this. What secretary would ever speak to her boss the way she had just done? But what boss could be as inconsiderate and arrogant as Nicholas Blake had been? She took a deep breath to calm herself and started again, ignoring his question. 'You're still annoyed with me. I can only apologise for letting Miss Kendall disturb you. It won't happen again. If that's all, Mr Blake, I'll go and get on with some work.'

  'You'll do nothing of the sort. I haven't finished with you yet.' There was a soft threat in his voice.

  A warning bell clamoured somewhere inside Kate's head and she backed warily in the direction of the door. 'I've some letters to finish. You said they were urgent. I'd better—'

  'They'll wait,' he said calmly with a smile that she distrusted.

  She turned to flee for the safety of the outer office, but he was too quick for her and, with one swift movement, he had reached the door, turned the key in the lock and pocketed it. 'You'll stay here until I decide you can go and not before. It's not like you, Kate, to abandon an argument just as it was getting interesting.'

  'Do you need to lock me in to make sure that I continue the discussion?'

  'You seemed to be on the verge of taking to your heels.' There was a look of sardonic amusement in his eyes. 'What's the matter? Are you scared that I'll rape you now that I have you at my mercy?'

  'Don't be ridiculous!'

  'I wouldn't need to, you know,' he continued, ignoring her. 'It wouldn't take much persuasion on my part to subdue you.'

  'You're very sure of yourself.'

  'Somehow I don't think you'd fight me for very long.'

  'You'd be surprised,' she told him defiantly.

  'Will I?' he asked as he reached for her.

  Even as she began to struggle Kate was aware it was a hopeless contest, one that she could never hope to win. While her brain fought a desperate battle to keep control of her body and to reject him, her senses clamoured treacherously for the touch of his lips on hers, the pressure of that lean, hard form against her. There was no way she could check the shivers of delight that ran through her as his mouth descended on hers and began a slow, sensual probing which left her weak and unresisting in his arms.

  She was drowning in a sea of blissful sensations as she pressed closer to him, gasping with pleasure as his hands explored her body with languid assurance, parting her blouse from the restraining band of her skirt and moving upwards to caress her breasts. He laid siege to her senses with a practised ease that made all coherent thought leave her. She was conscious only of the flame that his touch lit within her. Her arms moved across his broad back to press him still closer to her. If this was what it meant to be a woman she gloried in the knowledge.

  She felt only a tremendous sense of loss and disappointment when he finally released her and, with an effort, stepped away, pushing aside her instinctive cry of protest and her clinging arms which strove shamelessly to retain her hold on him. He surveyed her flushed face with that air of triumphant masculine overlordship that she had witnessed and so resented in the past.

  'You were right—you did surprise me,' he said coolly. 'I've been wondering what it would take for that cool exterior to crack and show the real woman underneath.'

  His words shocked her back to sanity like a douche of cold water down her back and she reacted instantly. 'And you couldn't resist finding out, could you?' she demanded. 'Well, I hope you're satisfied!' What had she been thinking of to let Nicholas Blake, the man she despised and distrusted more than any other, more than Jeremy even, trample down her defences so convincingly?

  'It was only a kiss, for God's sake. There's no need to carry on as if no one had ever touched you before,' he said irritably.

  Only a kiss, he said. Yet Jeremy's kisses had never left her as weak as this, overcome by feelings that she was barely aware existed in her, her senses still clamouring for physical fulfilment. Was
it possible that he was unaware of his overwhelming effect on her? She doubted it somehow. With trembling fingers she pulled together the gaping edges of her blouse and attempted to fasten the buttons which had come undone. But her hands were shaking too badly and, as she fumbled, he said impatiently, 'Here, I'll do it,' and swiftly completed the task.

  'Thank you.' She rallied, determined that if by a faint chance he was in ignorance of the way he aroused her, he should remain so. 'It's just that I prefer to have some say in the matter. I'm not as indiscriminate in my choice of lovers as you appear to be.'

  'No, that's something I'd hesitate to accuse you of. I'm only surprised that my prim and proper secretary can talk of lovers in such an expansive fashion.' His eyes glinted wickedly as he surveyed her. 'They don't seem to have taught you very much.'

  'What do you mean?' Her heart was beating uncomfortably fast.

  'You lack expertise.'

  'I'm sorry I don't reach your high standards,' she said sarcastically. 'But I don't suppose I've had as much practice in the art of love as you've obviously had.'

  'Oh, a willingness to learn overcomes a lot of deficiencies,' he said with a casual air which infuriated her. 'And you can't deny it, Kate, you were willing.'

  She thought of the abandon with which she had responded to his kisses only moments before and avoided his gaze. 'I won't deny it—I can't. Physically you're a very attractive man and you're experienced enough to know how to make a woman react in the right way. I grant you that.'

  'But?' he prompted.

  'But unlike the other women in your life I'm not so easily pleased. It takes more than a kiss to win me over.'

  The devilment in his expression grew. 'Are you by any chance propositioning me? And I thought that was still the prerogative of the male. You surprise me, Kate. One minute you're fighting me off and the next—'