by Penny Jordan
It seemed a reasonable suggestion, so why did she have this nerve-racking feeling that somehow she was stepping off a safe path into dangerously unsafe territory?
‘It will have to be after we close the shop,’ she temporised. ‘Meg normally goes up to the farm to see Matt on Saturday.’
‘Okay. Tell me what time you close and I’ll come and pick you up.’
It was only after they had made the arrangements that Kate realised she could just as easily have suggested they talk on her home ground, but it was too late to change the details now without alerting Jake to the fact that she felt uneasy with him, and he already had the balance weighted too much in his favour for her to give him any more advantages.
When they arrived at their destination the forecourt in front of the house was already half full of cars. Kate recognised Rita’s father’s Rolls, and her heart sank a little as she contemplated Rita’s reaction to discovering she had arrived with Jake. She dawdled deliberately in the cloakroom hoping he would lose patience and go in without her, but when she emerged he was lounging against the wall, arms folded across his chest.
‘That’s something new,’ he murmured when she rejoined him. ‘I always used to think you didn’t spend hours titivating yourself because you couldn’t bear to be away from me.’
‘At twenty-one one doesn’t need to spend the same amount of time on one’s appearance as one does at twenty-four,’ Kate told him coolly.
He made no response, but there was a definite gleam of mockery in his eyes as he surveyed her slowly from head to foot. His attention was directed to her face when he asked casually. ‘Am I right in thinking that this…’ he touched the silk draping one shoulder briefly, ‘is all that comes between you and your skin?’
The question was so unexpected that she flushed darkly and betrayingly, gritting her teeth at his genuine laughter over her embarrassment. ‘Umm, knowing that will make me enjoy our dance together all the more,’ he murmured against her ear, his palm resting on the smooth skin of her back as they walked towards the double doors leading into the ballroom. ‘That’s something else you’ve learned in the time we’ve been apart. I seem to remember I had to coax you to wear anything other than the most prim and proper clothes, and you’d only let me undress you in the dark.’
It was true, but now was hardly the place to discuss it, Kate seethed inwardly. ‘Do go on, your conversation tonight is most edifying,’ she lied. ‘How many other faults have you listed against me?’
‘Nothing like as many as you have listed against me I’m sure, and I’ll say one thing for you, when I did manage to coax you out of your virginal modesty, the results were…er…extremely gratifying.’
‘More gratifying than those you’ve achieved with Rita?’ Anger had turned her eyes as dark as sapphires, but Kate was unaware of the rage burning deep in their depths as chagrin touched her skin pink as she realised the danger of her question.
For a moment something strange glinted across the cool greyness of Jake’s gaze. ‘Why, Kate,’ he said softly, ‘are you trying to tell me you’re jealous, my little Cat? Comparisons, as you must know, are odious, so we’re told, but if it makes you feel any better, then I will admit that given the differing raw material, then yes—although spectacular would be the word I’d choose rather than gratifying. You used to go up like dry tinder when I touched you, however much you protested beforehand. Do you remember? I only had to kiss you and…’
His voice was having a peculiarly mesmerising effect upon her, strange sensations shooting through her almost like pains as though something struggled for survival inside her. Her mouth had gone dry, her tongue touching nervously against her lips. As they spoke Jake had drawn her into a shadowy corner, his back blocking her from anyone else’s view. His eyes followed the brief betraying movement of her tongue and he moved, palms resting flat against the wall either side of her, his body close, but not quite touching hers, until every nerve ending was agonisingly aware of him, and she could see the pores of his skin, the clean-shaven line of his jaw which would darken shortly, and which rasped her delicate skin when he touched her. He moved, bending his head, his tongue flicking lightly against her lips until they trembled weakly beneath the sensual lash, an enervating heat draining all the strength and resistance from her body.
‘You lied to me earlier on,’ Jake murmured against her mouth. His voice broke the spell which had mesmerised her, and reality impinged on the dream state she seemed to have entered, her body quivering uncontrollably as she became conscious of the heat coming off Jake’s, wrapping her in a sensual awareness of him.
‘I… What do you mean?’ Her voice sounded husky and unfamiliar and automatically she followed Jake’s glance down her body as he moved away from her. Beneath the cream crêpe her nipples were outlined in explicit detail, thrusting against the rich material, as though deliberately enticing his gaze, and hot colour stormed her face as Jake drawled, ‘You said you didn’t want me, but I say you do, don’t you, Kate?’ And his laughter filled her ears, hateful and mocking as he led her towards the double doors again.
Rita pounced on him almost the moment they were inside, and she must have been watching for him, Kate decided, stunned by the fierce piercing sense of dislike she felt towards the other girl as she curled her fingers round his arm.
‘Darling, at last…I thought you’d got lost!’ She darted a bitter glare towards Kate. ‘Where’s Kevin? I thought he was bringing you?’
‘He had a call,’ Jake explained, ‘so I volunteered to pick her up…not that there was much sacrifice involved,’ he added lazily, letting his glance slide potently over her body, until Kate could almost feel the hatred Rita was directing towards her. Was this Jake’s way of letting Rita know that she was getting too possessive? If so, she wanted no part of it, Kate decided sickly, excusing herself to go and speak to some friends.
Kevin arrived halfway through the evening, full of apologies, but just in time to take her in to supper. Kate hadn’t seen him for some time and they had a lot to catch up on. A meeting with Jake and his colleagues had been set before Christmas, Kevin told her, reminding her that she had promised to take notes for him. ‘I can’t always remember what’s been said, so it would be a terrific help if you could…’
‘If she could what?’ Jake asked, suddenly materialising at their side, Rita still in tow.
‘Oh, I was just telling Kate when the meeting of the Safety Committee’s been set for. She’s coming with me to take notes.’
‘Only if she promises not to blow the place up while she’s there,’ Jake intervened. Rita laughed unkindly and Kate responded,
‘Oh, I’ll promise not to cause havoc!’
They all laughed, but Jake bent his head and murmured softly, ‘That, my little Cat, is something you do as a matter of course.’ His eyes were on her breasts and Kate hated the way she flushed, knowing that Jake was mocking her by suggesting, as he had done, that she affected him sexually. Even at those times when she had been most responsive she had sensed a holding back in him, a control.
He came to claim his dance while Kevin was talking to Alan and Mary. Almost typically the music changed the moment he led her on to the floor, the slow seductive throb finding an answering beat in her own body. She deliberately held herself away from him, and watched his eyebrows rise tauntingly. ‘What’s the matter? You’ve danced with me before.’
‘This isn’t dancing,’ Kate protested as his hands slid down her back, imprisoning her against him, the hard muscles of his thighs pressing against her as he deliberately reinforced their intimacy.
‘No, then what is it?’
‘It’s…’ How could she say what was in her mind? That Jake was deliberately tantalising and arousing her; and he was succeeding, she acknowledged bitterly; her body was responding to the sensual brush of his like a flower in the desert beneath a sudden shower of rain. She had to fight not to melt against him, not to let her hands slide inside his jacket and investigate the warm, moist flesh b
eneath his shirt. His heart thudded unevenly against her almost as though it was trying to force its way inside her body, and the movement of Jake’s hands over her back was so blatantly sensual that she could feel her breasts swelling and hardening in response, the pit of her stomach a raging ache of need that horrified her in its unexpectedness. She had never felt like this before. Oh, she had wanted his kisses, his caresses, but only when he was making love to her, and never with this savage hunger that most of her mind shrank from but that a corner was brave enough to investigate, and acknowledge that nothing would give her more satisfaction right now than for him to make love to her.
‘No!’ The word whispered past her numb lips, her eyes widening in disbelief, as she missed a beat and stumbled against him.
The instant she felt the hard pressure of his body as his arms tightened round her, Kate knew that she wasn’t alone in her desire. As though he read her mind Jake confirmed roughly, ‘Right now there’s nothing I want more than to take you home with me, take off this damned dress and make love to you until there isn’t a thought in your head that doesn’t include me, but that’s my body speaking to me, my mind tells me a different story; like it’s time I returned you to your date.’
‘So that you can return to yours? I’m sure Rita will prove amply accommodating,’ she told him nastily, hating herself for the bitchy comment, but unable to stop herself from uttering it. Frustration was a powerful stimulant, she acknowledged unhappily, and it wasn’t something she was used to experiencing.
‘And far less troublesome,’ Jake agreed, watching her narrowly. ‘You were never simply content with what we had, were you, Kate? But was it necessary to go and destroy it completely?’
She wasn’t given the opportunity to reply. The music stopped and he marched her back to their table, leaving her with Kevin while he returned to Rita.
The rest of the evening passed in a blur. Kate saw him leave with Rita less than an hour later and for the rest of the night her imagination tortured her with images of them together. Would he touch and caress Rita as he had once done her, making love to her with a skill that defied resistance; that swept aside all barriers and reduced the woman in his arms to an eager pliant responsiveness? Sickened by the ferocity of the jealousy that consumed her, Kate tried to block out the images. What was the matter with her? Why was she so jealous?
All in all she was glad when the evening was over, although she couldn’t help glancing down the lane which led to the house Jake was renting when Kevin drove her past it. No lights were on, and she wondered bitterly if Rita too preferred making love in the dark.
CHAPTER FIVE
KATE WAS JUST nervously smoothing the skirt of her velvet suit when she heard the doorbell, and although her ears had been alert for the sound she still jumped nervously.
The afternoon was already fading into murky evening, the unpleasantness of the weather apparent as she opened the door to Jake. He seemed to loom up out of the darkness, taller and broader in the flesh than he appeared in her thoughts.
‘Ready?’
Numbly she nodded her head, picking up her bag and checking that she had her key. As they stepped out into the street she noticed the youth staring at Jake’s car and recognised him as the same boy she had seen at Sarah’s cottage. He had a sullen, dangerous expression and something in the way he looked at her brought her skin out in goosebumps. She tensed and moved instinctively closer to Jake, who was watching the boy with thin-lipped anger. ‘Do you know him?’ he asked as he unlocked her door for her.
‘Not really. He called round to see a friend of mine when I was there last. He does odd jobs for her.’
‘Umm. You surprise me, he doesn’t look the type who would do anyone a favour for nothing.’ His words only confirmed Kate’s own views, but she was too wrought up about their coming discussion to take the matter further.
‘Jake, do we have to go to your house?’ she asked huskily when he was in the car. ‘Couldn’t we just sit here and…’
‘We could, but we’re not going to. I’m cold and tired, Kate, it’s been one hell of a long week and although you may not have noticed it this seat isn’t exactly an armchair. Besides, I’m hungry and I asked Mrs Hillary, my daily, to leave some food for us.’
‘She knows that I…that we…’
‘That you’re having dinner with me?’ he finished for her, eyebrows lifting slightly as she stumbled over the words. ‘Yes, she knows, is there any reason why she shouldn’t? Or are you worried that Kevin might get the wrong impression?’
‘Kevin and I are just friends and…’
‘Not lovers,’ he interrupted without looking at her, the cool amusement in his voice bringing her glance sharply to his face. ‘Poor man, he doesn’t know what he’s missing, nor is he likely to find out, I suspect.’
‘You’ve changed your tune,’ Kate responded sarcastically. ‘It’s barely a fortnight since you accused me of having a procession of lovers through my life since, since we split up.’
‘Ah yes, but that was before you responded to me so hungrily, my little Cat; like a woman who’s been starved of a lover’s touch for much too long.’ Why was he speaking to her like this? He had no right to, no right at all. Her fingers curled angrily into her palms as she searched for a weapon sufficiently powerful to stop him.
‘My private life is nothing to do with you any more, Jake,’ was the best she could manage, ‘and I don’t want to discuss it with you.’
‘Has there been anyone since we parted, Kate?’ he pressed, completely ignoring her comment.
‘I don’t want to talk about it. I don’t question you about your personal life. All I want from you is…’
‘A divorce—yes, I know.’ For a moment he almost sounded bitter, but as Kate stared at him he recovered his self-control and drawled lightly, ‘All right, the subject of lovers is taboo.’ He turned the car into the drive leading to his house. ‘But don’t expect me to treat you like a polite stranger, Kate. We’ve been lovers; man and wife, and there can’t be any going back to the level of mere acquaintanceship.’
She was familiar enough with the house he was renting not to need direction to the pleasant living room. As she passed the small study she noticed that the desk was heaped with papers, and Jake’s mouth compressed grimly as he followed the direction of her glance.
‘Kevin was quite right to call for a meeting of the Safety Committee; a certain laxity about some aspects of personal safety seems to have crept into the station, and it’s causing me a few headaches. I’m telling you that because you’ll hear it anyway when you attend the meetings, but it is privileged information, Kate, you do understand that, don’t you?’
Her face flushed angrily. What did he think she was going to do with his confidence? Announce it to the world at large? As it happened she was already aware of the deficiences at the station from various things Kevin had said to her, but it still hurt to know that Jake thought her petty-minded enough to take advantage of a comment made out of context.
‘Sit down and I’ll get you a drink before I check on our dinner,’ he suggested, running his fingers tiredly through his hair, a gesture she recognised with an aching tug of pain. ‘I had to call at the station this afternoon and my meeting ran on longer than I intended. Could you bear with me while I go and shower?’
‘If you’re feeling tired we can easily put off our talk until another time,’ Kate suggested, not wanting to acknowledge the reaction of her body to the images conjured up by his words. She remembered that he had always liked to shower when he got home from work. In the early days of their marriage he had coaxed her into joining him, but later when she had begun to resent the dominance he had over her body, she had seen these pre-dinner sessions as just another attempt to subvert her will, and had curtly refused to join him. What surprised her most, though, was that instead of remembering the angry bitterness which had given her the determination to resist him then, all she could remember was the heady pleasure she had found in his arms, be
neath his hands…’ You don’t have to give me dinner,’ she concluded breathlessly.
‘I don’t have to,’ he agreed, his mouth wry, ‘but a pleasant meal and a glass of wine should put us both in a better frame of mind to talk things over without losing our tempers, don’t you agree? I won’t be long.’
Somehow his assumption of an intimacy between them which did not really exist unnerved her, and all the time he was gone Kate found herself growing increasingly tense. She had come here so that they could talk about their divorce like two mature adults, instead of which she felt as nervous and on edge as a teenager on her first date.
‘Ready for another drink?’ She gasped when she heard Jake’s voice, even though she had been listening for it. He had changed into a thin white silk shirt, the fine fabric clinging lovingly to the powerful contours of his chest. Narrow, dark pants moulded the lean muscularity of his hips and thighs, and Kate discovered to her chagrin that she was trembling so much that she had to put her empty glass down on the coffee table.
The Hardings’ house was slightly unusual in design in that the stairs went up from the living room rather than the small hall, and the galleried landing looked down on the comfortable family room below. Staring up at Jake as he walked to the head of the stairs had a restricting effect on her breathing. Suddenly she felt acutely selfconscious; intensely aware of his maleness and disturbed by her own entirely feminine reaction to it. She was behaving like a nervous virgin, she warned herself as he poured her a second glass of wine without waiting for her response—no, not that, she admitted on a briefly illuminating flash of self-knowledge, because she actually wanted Jake to touch her. The quivering sensation assailing her lower stomach was one of need and not fear. Her tensed muscles were locked in frustrated desire, not panic…
‘Kate?’ She moved awkwardly when he spoke her name, reaching blindly for the glass in his hand and missing it, and the contents soaked through her silk blouse and expensive skirt. Her reactions to the mishap were intensified by the knowledge that she had been too blinded by sexual desire for him to know what she was doing and she jumped up in shock, dabbing uselessly at the soaking fabric, bright spots of colour burning in her cheeks, as the dark red stain seeped into the fragile silk and velvet.