Desert Moon

by Jennifer Taylor

  ‘No!’ She pushed him away with a strength which came from desperation. ‘I won’t let you do this, Flynn! I won’t be manipulated by you ever again! We both know why you slept with me. I only hope you think it was worth it!’

  His eyes were glittering green shards of ice as his anger rose and matched hers. ‘Oh, it was worth it, Natalie, but maybe not in the way you mean!’ He skimmed a look over her rigid figure then smiled in a way which made her go cold. ‘You may have been a virgin, my sweet, but your response was everything any man could wish for.’

  How she hated him for reminding her of that! It was bad enough facing up to why Flynn had slept with her without having it pressed home just how eagerly she had responded to his lovemaking! Shame drained the colour from her face and she looked away. She heard him curse harshly.

  ‘Damn it, Natalie, why won’t you listen to what I’m telling you?’

  ‘Because I don’t want to hear another word you have to say about the whole unsavoury episode!’

  ‘Unsavoury? Is that how you view it?’ There was a warning inflexion in his deep tones but she chose not to heed it.

  ‘Yes! How else? I bitterly regret it ever happened.’

  ‘And you’re not prepared to trust me at all?’

  ‘Trust!’ She laughed hollowly, staring at him with disbelief. ‘After the way you lied to me? What do you take me for? A complete fool?’ She tossed her hair back and faced him proudly. ‘Save your pretty speeches for someone who will believe them, because I don’t. I know exactly what you’re like now, Flynn!’

  ‘You don’t know me at all, Natalie, at least not in any way which counts.’

  If anything Natalie went paler as the words hit home. She and Flynn knew one another in the most intimate way possible between a man and a woman yet it meant nothing to him. What a fool she had been, a stupid, blind fool, to be taken in that way! I

  ‘Perhaps I don’t, Flynn. Perhaps I no longer want to know you! So let’s not bother wasting any more of our time. Now, if you have finished...’

  ‘I have.’ He searched her face for a long moment then looked away as though suddenly tired of the conversation. ‘I don’t think there’s anything left to say either. Oh, apart from the fact that all the work on the advertisement has been completed. David seemed quite pleased, if it’s any consolation.’

  ‘And how about your other “job”, Flynn?’ There was ice in her voice now, put there deliberately to hide the pain which was slowly ripping her apart. ‘Have you found out who was behind this trouble you’ve had? And if you still tell me that it was Marcus I have to say that I won’t believe you!’

  ‘Marcus is a lucky man to have someone who believes so implicitly in him.’

  ‘Not lucky.’ Her heart was heavy as she stared quietly back at him. ‘Marcus has earned my trust.’

  ‘As I never could, eh?’ He gave a faint self-deprecating laugh, his mouth curled derisively. ‘I get the picture, Natalie. But to answer your question, I am certain now that Marcus didn’t pass on the information himself.’

  ‘I see. I suppose it would be too much to expect you to tell me what has been going on and what this information actually was?’

  He shrugged. “There are still a lot of things which need sorting out before I get to the bottom of it so I prefer not to go into any detail right now. Suffice it to say that it’s under control and that you’re safe to go back home.’

  She laughed with scant amusement. ‘Ever the master of the evasive answer, eh, O’Rourke?’

  ‘I’ve just tried the truth but that didn’t meet with an enthusiastic reception, so can you blame me?’ His eyes seemed to bore straight into her for a moment, searching for...what? Natalie had no idea but he seemed not to find it because he suddenly turned and walked across the room, pausing in the doorway to glance back. ‘I suggest you try to forget what’s happened. I know I shall do my best to do so! Take care, Natalie. I hope that things work out as you want them to between you and Marcus.’

  He had gone before she could try to stop him, the front door closing quietly behind him. Natalie bit her lip, feeling the tears welling in her eyes. So that was it, the end of it all. She and Flynn wouldn’t meet again. If there were any problems which needed sorting out concerning the advertisement then she would ask Guy to handle them. Flynn had used her, tricked her, but suddenly the thought that he would no longer be a part of her life seemed to be tearing her apart!

  ‘Natalie? Has Flynn gone already? I thought that... What’s wrong?’

  Gabrielle’s voice held a sharp note of concern which was reflected by the sympathy on her face. When Natalie murmured a choked excuse and ran to her room, Gabrielle followed her.

  ‘Want to tell me about it?’ she asked softly, closing the door.

  Natalie wiped at the tears on her cheeks but it didn’t end the flow. ‘there nothing to tell. Flynn came to tell me that it’s safe for me to go home. Now he’s left.’

  ‘And was that all he had to say? I thought that he...’ She shrugged then treated Natalie to a steady look. ‘I had the feeling that you and Flynn had become...close in Egypt.’

  Natalie flushed and looked down at her hands. ‘Yes.’

  ‘So what went wrong?’

  ‘Nothing went wrong. It was wrong from the outset!’ Her voice shook and she breathed deeply to steady it. ‘Flynn used me as a means to find out information about Marcus Cole. He knew that Marcus and I are friends but unfortunately got the idea that we were more than that!’ She laughed bitterly, pain echoing in the raw sound. ‘It’s a pity he didn’t check his facts a bit better before he made the ultimate sacrifice!’

  Gabrielle went and sat down on the end of the bed, watching Natalie with wide, shocked eyes. ‘You don’t honestly believe that Flynn slept with you to get information from you?’

  Natalie looked away. ‘What else should I think?’

  Gabrielle shook her head. ‘No. I don’t know what’s gone on but I can tell you here and now that Flynn would never do such a thing!’

  ‘How can you be so certain?’ Natalie walked to the window then came back again. ‘He had it all planned out from the moment he heard a message I left on Marcus’s answering machine. He inveigled himself into my life, got himself hired by my firm, all with the sole intention of gaining the information he wanted!’

  She laughed again but there was an ache of sadness in it this time. ‘The fact that he’s realised now that he was mistaken about Marcus just adds the crowning touch, don’t you think, to the whole miserable fiasco?’

  Gabrielle got up slowly. ‘I don’t know what to think. I do know, though, that Flynn would never have used you that way! It might be a highly unfashionable word but he is an honourable man, just as Doyle is. Yes, both of them will push themselves to the limit to get what they want but to do such a thing...!’ Gabrielle’s face was filled with a deep assurance as she treated Natalie to a level look. ‘But one thing you haven’t explained is your reason. Why did you allow it to happen, Natalie? Are you in love with Flynn?’

  ‘I... Yes, but that doesn’t make a scrap of difference!’

  ‘Oh, I disagree. I think it makes all the difference in the world, Natalie. You see, I’ve known Flynn a while now and in that time I’ve seen him with any number of women.’ She must have seen the small grimace Natalie gave because her smile was gentle. ‘Flynn is handsome and charming and wonderful company, and probably the hardest man in the world to get to know because he keeps his emotions so well-hidden. And today when he arrived was the first time that he’s let the mask slip...when he was speaking about you!’

  ‘But he used me...tricked me...!’

  ‘And spoke about you to Doyle and me in a way he has never spoken about any woman! So if you love him as you say you do then think long and hard about what you’re about to lose. Perhaps he did start out with an ulterior motive, but I have a feeling that things changed, perhaps more than he expected them to!’

  Gabrielle gave her a last, knowing smile then quietly left t
he room. For a long time afterwards Natalie stood staring into space. Was it possible that Gabrielle was right and that Flynn did feel something for her? She savoured the idea greedily then slowly common sense reasserted itself. If Flynn felt anything at all for her then he would never have deceived her the way he had. She was a fool to hope for something which could never be. She loved him and her life would never be complete because he was no longer a part of it but it was better to face the truth than keep on wishing for the moon!

  ‘It was the most awful nuisance having it happen just then, Natalie. I couldn’t believe that fate could be so unkind to us.’ Damian patted her arm, letting his hand linger until Natalie got up from the desk and effectively broke the contact.

  She crossed the room and stopped beside the table, her hand resting lightly on the large folder lying on it. David had sent the photographs over about an hour before but she hadn’t looked at them yet. She had been putting off the moment but now that Damian was here she couldn’t delay it any longer.

  ‘Natalie?’ There was a faintly peevish note in Damian’s voice now and she sighed as she hastened to respond.

  ‘It must have been dreadful for you, Damian. Ankle injuries can be extremely painful.’ She forced just the right note of sympathy into her voice as she opened the binder and started to arrange the prints along the table, trying hard not to look at them. She had been back for over a week now but although she had thrown herself into her job it hadn’t helped ease this sense of loss she felt, the nagging pain which was always with her. She missed Flynn and nothing could alter that.

  Damian seemed only slightly mollified as he came to join her. ‘Yes, I was in the most tremendous pain. That’s the reason why I didn’t fly on to Egypt. Were you as disappointed as I...? Good lord! Isn’t that that O’Rourke fellow?’

  Natalie was glad of the sudden shift in conversation although she could have wished for something else to distract Damian from the track he’d taken persistently since he had arrived. She steeled herself then glanced down, feeling her heart lurch unsteadily. David had told her over the phone that the photos had turned out well but that hadn’t prepared her for the impact they made. It was arguably the best work David had ever produced, and definitely the most stunning justification of her own talent. Yet as her eyes came to rest on the final print all that faded from her mind.

  The picture obviously wasn’t to be used in the campaign; David must have taken it on impulse, drawn by the powerful statement the subject made. It showed Flynn standing on a rocky outcrop staring across the desert. The wind was blowing his hair back from his face and plastering his clothes to his body so that every lean, strong line was emphasised. There was no hint of that urbane charm now, that cool sophistication he used to such effect. He looked what he was: strong, tough, self-reliant, a man few could equal; the man she was in love with, the man she wanted to spend the rest of her life with. And suddenly in that instant she knew that she couldn’t let him go without finding out if Gabrielle might have been right! That Flynn might actually care for her was too precious a prospect to ignore because of pride.

  ‘I must say this seems all highly irregular! Why wasn’t I informed that O’Rourke was being used in the promotion?’ Damian’s tone was openly belligerent and hastily Natalie tried to get her thoughts under control and deal with him before she could deal with something far more important!

  ‘I’m sorry if you’re annoyed, Damian. However, I think the photographs fulfil all our expectations and will make a tremendous impact.’

  ‘I’m not saying they aren’t good,’ he admitted grudgingly. ‘It’s just the fact that I wasn’t informed!’

  She could feel her impatience building but curbed it, reminding herself that if it hadn’t been for Damian she would never have met Flynn at all! ‘Flynn agreed to help out when the original model fell ill. I cleared it with your marketing director in your absence.’ She took a deep breath then plunged on, knowing that it had to be said. ‘However, I have to confess that it suited me at the time to use Flynn, although not for the reasons you imagine.’ She held Damian’s gaze levelly. ‘Flynn and I were not romantically involved when you met him at the opera that night.’

  ‘Not involved...? But you made a point of telling me that you were!’ Damian was flushed with bad temper now but Natalie stood her ground, wanting only to get this over with so that she could concentrate on what she should do next, something which made her heart beat furiously at the thought.

  ‘I was aware that you were exhibiting a certain interest in me, Damian, so I decided to do something about it.’

  ‘Something... well, I. . .’ Damian blustered and then his face suddenly cleared. He ran his hand over his thinning hair with a rather arch smile. ‘I think I’m starting to understand, Natalie. You decided to use O’Rourke to make me jealous! Naughty girl, although I must confess it isn’t the first time a lady has gone to such lengths!’

  ‘Oh, but—!’

  Damian held his hand up. ‘Not another word, my dear. I don’t want you to feel at all embarrassed. It won’t alter our working arrangements one jot.’ He glanced at his watch then headed for the door, patting her arm in a purely reflex action which held no trace of real interest now as he passed her. ‘I really must fly. I shall leave it all in your capable hands, Natalie. Have a word with Marketing if you need anything.’

  He was gone before Natalie could blink, let alone try to make him understand how wrong he was! She drew a long, incredulous breath. It had all been so simple! Damian’s interest in her had waned the very instant he’d reached the conclusion that she was interested in him. It was the chase he enjoyed, not the capture! Oh, how she wished that everything else could be worked out so easily!

  She went back to her desk and dialled the number to Marcus’s flat but the call was redirected to the porter who informed her that Mr O’Rourke had moved out. Natalie thanked him, replaced the receiver, and put her head in her hands in despair. Where should she look for Flynn now? He had mentioned something about having a place of his own but she had no idea where. What should she do?

  ‘Natalie? You OK?’ At her nod of assurance, Guy rushed on, not bothering to come into the room, merely sticking his head a bit further around the door. ‘I’ve just had that firm on the phone again so do you think you can handle it now that the Renshaw account is in the bag?’

  ‘Which firm?’ she queried hazily, her thoughts elsewhere.

  ‘That couture house from Paris. Remember?’ Guy was already starting to leave. ‘I’ll leave it with you.’

  Natalie stared at the empty doorway, feeling as though she’d just been struck by a thunderbolt. Paris! Of course. She picked up the phone again as she hunted a slip of paper from her bag, a smile playing around her mouth. It had worked once before almost alarmingly well and with undreamed-of consequences. It was definitely worth seeing if it would work again!

  CHAPTER TEN

  THE morning was pleasantly warm. Natalie opened the French windows and carried her coffee out on to the balcony while she watched the heavy London traffic rushing past. Pushing a stray wisp of hair back into the loose knot she’d caught her black curls into, she leant against the railing and tried to control her nervousness. She must have gone over it all a hundred times since she’d made that phone call but it didn’t help ease the sense of panic at the realisation that Flynn might be furious once he discovered what she had done!

  The doorbell suddenly rang and the blood drained from her face. With shaking hands she set the cup down and hurried to answer it but it was only her elderly neighbour to ask if she would accept a delivery for her while she was out.

  Assuring her that she would be happy to, Natalie went to close the door then stopped when a man suddenly appeared at the top of the stairs. For a blank moment she just stood and stared at him then took a choking little breath as be strode over and hustled her back inside the flat.

  ‘Have you no sense? What were you doing standing out there where anyone could see you?’

>   His voice was hard with anger, his body tense as he glared at her from furious aqua eyes. There were deep lines grooved from his nose to his chin, the glint of golden stubble on his jaw, tiredness etched into every weary line, but to Natalie he was the most marvellous sight she’d seen in ages!

  ‘Hello, Flynn,’ she said softly, ‘How are you?’

  He ignored the greeting, striding past her with a muttered imprecation as he spotted the open window. He slammed it shut then turned back to her. ‘Now I want you to tell me exactly what’s been going on. Where did you see that man? And how long had he been following you, do you think?’

  Authority echoed in the terse questions and Natalie looked away, wondering how to explain that it had all been a ruse to get him here. She had phoned Gabrielle in Paris and played the part of her life as she’d told her that she was being followed. It had been a gamble but one that had paid off because Flynn was here as she’d wanted him to be. But how did she go about confessing what she’d done?

  ‘I ... would you like some coffee? I was just going to make a fresh pot.’ With a cowardly need to put off the dreaded moment, she started towards the kitchen only to come to an abrupt halt when she found him standing in her way. He glared down at her in a way which was less than reassuring, his face set into grim lines of strain, and Natalie swallowed down a groan. He was going to be really mad when he found out how she had tricked him!

  ‘I don’t want coffee! I drank more damned cups of coffee than I can count on the flight over here from Brazil!’

  ‘Brazil! You. . .you were there when Gabrielle passed on my message?’ Natalie’s eyes widened in horror as the enormity of what she’d done hit her hard.

  ‘Yes. I’d only arrived an hour before the call came through. I booked myself on the next flight out so no, Natalie, I don’t want coffee or anything else apart from hearing what’s been going on! Let’s take it from the beginning, shall we?’