by Sara Wood
Slowly she sat up again and swivelled around in the chair. Leo was smiling down at her, his expression one of tender adoration. Appalled, she had to suffer his warm kiss, the caress of his hand on her scarlet face, then force herself to laugh with the others at this evil, cruel trick.
'I think I fooled them! I made a good show of being lost without you, didn't I?' she murmured urgently in his ear.
He didn't look convinced that she'd been pretending. 'Terribly convincing,' he agreed softly. 'Almost fooled me for a moment.'
His velvety voice wrapped itself around her and she wished that she could be honest and tell him how much she still loved him. But where would that get them? He would cut her down to size and she'd be a snivelling wreck, no good for man nor beast and certainly not for work. And she still had the balance of her debt to pay back to the courts.
Ginny gave him a bright smile. 'I'm getting good at deception,' she said softly.
Leo lifted a sardonic eyebrow in agreement and raised his voice so that it would carry. 'I missed you so much, sweetheart,' he said consolingly as he sat down on her lounger and put his arm around her affectionately. He did his little-boy-bemused look for the smiling onlookers. 'Sorry! Mustn't embarrass you...but we're madly, hopelessly in love,' he said helplessly to everyone, the epitome of an English gentleman who felt awkward with his emotions. 'Aren't we, darling?'
'Yes,' she croaked in dismay. For her it was true!
'Next time you must come with me,' he purred. 'I kept wanting to point things out to you. It was fantastic, Ginny! Spectacular. The coral is absolutely beautiful— and so many shapes you wouldn't believe!' he said with disarming enthusiasm.
'You know I'm scared of deep dives,' she said reluctantly. To any outsider he would have seemed genuinely excited and impatient to tell her everything he'd experienced. It was nothing but an act, and forcing herself to endure the bitter-sweet pretence was becoming a torture she'd rather do without.
'I know, darling.' He smiled sympathetically. 'I'd be with you every flap of your flipper.' Gently he kissed the tilt of her mouth when she let a wry smile escape. 'You'll be so intrigued you'll forget any fear. Do you know, there were shrimps there doing a car wash on an eel? It opened its mouth and they hoovered it out like a team of manic office cleaners...'
Relaxing in his arms, she listened with the others to his enthusiastic descriptions—of forests of coral, yellow and purple tube sponges, crabs, sea lilies and basket stars, of chub and snapper and barjacks, dainty sea horses and the brilliantly coloured parrot fish.
And she found herself agreeing to start learning to scuba-dive from the beach so that she could accompany Leo when he went on the most spectacular event of all— a night dive, when the reef would really be 'alive'.
He went to find himself a lounger and they lay basking in the hot sunshine holding hands. Several times she was close to tears because it was such a lovely experience after the loneliness of the long, empty morning without him.
And when those moments of emotion came she must have tensed her body and transmitted her feelings, because each time Leo leant over, kissed her gently and squeezed her hand.
No words, no mockery, no intrusive probing. Just the kiss and the comfort of his big, safe hand. It was a very sensitive and perceptive response and she wanted nothing else. Awesome. Worrying.
That night she lay in the velvet darkness, listening to the marvellously tropical night sounds as thousands of tree frogs opened their throats and croaked rhythmically in the inky black jungle. The relaxation had been wonderful from one point of view because all her work- related stresses seemed to have disappeared.
But she felt too languid, too liquid-limbed. Her brain had stopped whirling, which was good, yet the frenetic muddle had been replaced by an insidious and all- pervasive knowledge that had settled in her mind like an uninvited guest.
She liked being with Leo, enjoyed his company, found him amusing and considerate and utterly irresistible. Her love hadn't been killed by his infidelity. It had only been suppressed by her pride and jealousy—and now it had returned even stronger than before.
Yet they were incompatible. Their relationship had nowhere to go. For Leo the pretence of being a loving husband was only a means to an end. Once he was sure that she wouldn't ruin the Brandon name by calling press attention to her association with the scandalous Vincente St Honore, he'd be free to marry again.
Ginny gave a sob and muffled the sound with her pillow. She wanted him. She wanted Leo. If that had been all, she would have fought for him. But she didn't want the Brandon dynasty or Castlestowe and she knew that she couldn't compete with several hundred years of tradition and heritage.
'Crying, Ginny?'
Sounding only vaguely interested, he stood in her doorway, a candle in his hand. Half-naked except for a pair of shorts. Beautiful. Why couldn't she have him? It was so cruel of fate to put barriers in the way! The soft golden flicker from the candle played on the planes and valleys of his tanned torso, giving the satiny skin a sheen that demanded to be touched.
Ginny rolled over, hair dishevelled and falling over a face wet with tears, her clouded eyes yearning for him. He took a hesitant step into the room and she watched him, love and caution battling inside her. She had to be strong. She must send him away.
He held the candle outstretched, trying to see her face behind the gauzy mosquito net, her veil of hair. ' Were you crying?' he asked again. Again offhand. Polite.
'No!' She spoilt her denial with a huge, shuddering sob that wrenched itself from deep inside her. Fool! she berated herself. He'd fall about laughing!
Leo didn't laugh. Solemnly he put the candle on a shelf, lifted the mosquito netting and sat down on the bed. When he reached out she closed her eyes, unable to bear the suspense. She felt his hand stroking her hair and snuffled more loudly.
'What's wrong?' he asked softly.
She smelt the warm, clean skin close and knew he must be leaning over her. Slowly her wet lashes lifted and he gave her a long, slow look that made her tremble so much that she took refuge by flinging her arms around his neck and burying her face in his bare chest.
'It's all this waiting!' she wailed. Her hands clung to his muscled shoulders like limpets and for a mad, reckless moment she wished that he'd be overwhelmed by her nearness and find her irresistible. He must know she always slept naked. He must be able to tell that there was nothing but a sheet between them.
'We've had... fun, haven't we?' he asked mildly.
Ginny sighed. Leo stroked her naked back, under the impression that it was soothing. Far from it. The drift of his fingers made her shiver in delicious pleasure, damn him!
Leo's skin tasted good to her slightly parted lips. He smelt so good. Felt even better. And she'd begun to ache in the deepest parts of her body. A suppressed groan rippled through her and quickly she flashed him a wary look to see if he'd noticed. Apparently not. He was already drawing away, his expression neutral.
She was resistible. That annoyed her. Wasn't she good enough for him? Men flung themselves at her feet! A voice in her head said cruelly, But not men of substance. Not men like Leo.
'I wish Vincente would get in touch! I can't stand hanging around!' she stormed angrily. 'Wasting time, fiddling around, playing the sweetly loving wife—it's nauseating!'
Leo studied her for a moment or two, maddening her with his inscrutable poker-face. 'I thought you wanted a little time to yourself?'
'It's too long!' she muttered. 'And you're driving me nuts with your slurpy husband stuff—'
'All right!' he interrupted sharply. 'Perhaps we've waited long enough for something to happen.'
Ginny looked up, puzzled. He sounded regretful. 'Don't you want me to clear this matter up?' she asked slowly.
Leo started, his eyes guarded. 'You mean with Vincente? Of course,' he said quickly. 'I'm not keen on you meeting him, but I see the necessity. I had no idea you hated having to be in my company so much. I thought...
'Well,'
he said with a shrug of his shoulders, drawing further away from the white-faced Ginny, 'in that case we'd better flush Vincente out and to hell with the courtesy of waiting to be contacted by him when he feels up to it.'
'Oh!' The suddenness of the proposed action stopped her in her tracks. 'I was thinking of looking up the addresses and telephone numbers of the hospitals in the hotel phone book,' she said hesitantly, not knowing whether to be glad or sorry that they were taking action at last.
'We'll do that. We'll ring and find out which one he's in and if he's still too ill to see us.'
'What if he isn't up to coping with visitors?' she asked anxiously.
'I suggest we find Pascal, talk to him and see what we can learn.'
'He's hostile!' she protested. 'He rushed in here, demanding to know why I'd been asking for his father and insisting that I left at once! I don't think we'll get much out of him.'
'Don't you realise why he's hostile?' asked Leo quietly. She shook her head. 'You're a threat, Ginny. Vincente is a very wealthy man and at the moment Pascal presumably stands to inherit his whole fortune. A newly discovered sister would mean his inheritance is halved overnight. That's one of the reasons I've wanted to stay close to you. Pascal isn't to be trusted where you're concerned.'
Ginny was stunned. 'Surely you're not implying...?'
'I take no chances. We're talking really big money here, Ginny. And greed is one of the most dangerous of human sins.'
The thought of violence silenced her. Pascal had good reason to harm her. 'You'll stay with me, won't you?' she begged, her eyes wide with worry. 'Don't... I'd rather you didn't leave me alone again,' she mumbled, feeling horrified at her feebleness.
Something dark cut out the light in his eyes. 'If that's what you want. Till this is cleared up,' he said shortly.
Her mouth crimped at his reluctance. 'Yes, yes, of course,' Ginny agreed hastily. 'What if Vincente isn't in hospital at all? No one here seems to know where he lives—'
'Or, more likely, they're not prepared to tell us.'
She frowned. 'Why would that be?'
He shrugged. 'Something to do with his reputation ... or Pascal—he might have told them you're intending to claim a relationship with his father...' Leo scowled. 'It seems so unlikely. He can't have primed everyone here. Every time I've made an enquiry, I've been met with stonewalling.'
'I know,' she said slowly. 'Me too. I get the impression that people are clamming up. Why? It worries me, Leo. Are people protecting him or themselves? Are they scared or merely hostile—to him or me?'
'I don't know,' admitted Leo. 'Beats me.' He smiled reassuringly at her. 'If we get no joy from the hospitals, I suggest a trip to Castries in the morning. We could have lunch and a look around, check out the library and pump anyone we can for information.'
'Sounds—' Just in time, Ginny stopped herself from saying that it sounded lovely. 'Sounds sensible,' she amended huskily.
His hand lay warm and comforting on her neck. 'I think you've waited long enough,' he drawled, his fingers idly lifting the soft, downy hairs at her nape and making her shiver with the delicious sensation.
Her ^tarry eyes met his. 'I have,' she said, her voice shaking. He smiled faintly and her gaze drifted down to his beautifully chiselled mouth. 'Leo...' she began.
'Get some sleep,' he told her drily. 'It could be an emotional day for you.'
'What?' Her mind, her eyes, her body were all concentrated on his mouth. She remembered so well that arching of his upper lip. It had always meant that he was about to kiss her. Anticipation scurried through her veins.
'Vincente might turn out to be your father,' he said gravely. 'That could change your life.'
'Uh-huh.'
It didn't interest her as much as it should have done. Leo occupied her mind and everything else seemed far away and relatively unimportant. Imperceptibly, she moved closer to him and the sheet fell away. Incredibly, she didn't care. For a brief second or two he looked down at the softly lifting globes of her breasts. His lips parted to show his even white teeth and every sinew in her body tautened like whipcord with the expectation of feeling the softness of his mouth encircling each hard, plum-dark nipple.
'Ginny...' His voice thrilled her. It was thick with desire.
'Yes. Please,' she whispered, trailing her fingers through his hair, affectionately pushing back the dark wave that had dipped on his forehead.
'You know I can't. Nice of you to offer. But I'm waiting for the woman who won't fit me into her busy schedule only when it suits her.'
The rebuke in the words whipped her like a lash. Tempting though she was to a red-blooded man like Leo, however available and willing she might be, he was choosing to wait for Miss Suitable back home. 'Leo!' she croaked in reproach.
He wilted her with an icy glare. 'Forget the studied allure of limpid eyes and pouting lips! I don't come running when women snap their fingers because they're hungry for a night's entertainment,' he growled. 'Try getting your thrills from one of your magazine covers,' he added scathingly.
Ginny was stunned by his vicious tone and his uncharacteristic spitefulness. 'That's petty of you, Leo!' she said bitterly.
'No. That's wisdom,' he said tightly. 'I'm not leaping into bed with you in the heat of the moment. Sex on its own has never been enough for me. I want the emotions that go hand in hand with commitment—'
'Like with Arabella?' she flung defiantly at him.
'You fool,' he said quietly, his eyes dark and glittering. 'You stupid fool! Arabella is beautiful, empty and shallow. Money is her god. Money and fame. She's no more capable of real commitment than you were!'
'Then why—?'
'Whey did you find us in bed together?' he asked harshly.
Ginny winced. 'Yes!'
'When you've worked that out,' he gritted, 'you might be halfway to understanding me. Goodnight.'
Confused, and humiliated by his contempt for her, she clamped her mouth shut and sullenly watched him walking away. His words had hurt her. But then truth often did.
Rigid with misery, she waited till his door had shut, rolled over mournfully and let the air collapse out of her lungs. Limp and listless, she stared into space, waiting for the dawn. And this time she wished that Leo would leave her to the mercies of Vincente and Pascal St Honore. They might be dangerous men, but Leo was lethal. Everything she did must be aimed at finding Vincente, establishing whether there was any relationship between them, and getting Leo out of her life for good.
And no crying! she told herself, gritting her teeth against the seeping tears. Now was the time to stand on her own feet and dismiss all hope of finding a solution to her heartfelt desire—that she and Leo could somehow, anyhow, live together in love and harmony.
His opinion of her was too low. And the eventual heir to the earldom would never remarry a woman he thought to be a fool and promiscuous. She had to retreat again into cool indifference, and perhaps, if he hated her even more, he'd feel less inclined to be civil. Castries tomorrow. Maybe two, three days at the most before she could be free of Leo.
Horror filled her with its cold claws and she hugged herself tightly for comfort, rocking like a child in the big double bed. Then some pride, some strength returned to her and she tossed back her hair in a grim gesture. She'd managed before. Why not again? Because she didn't want to, came the reply. And it was a while before she pushed that aside and found her composure again.
CHAPTER SIX
AMAZINGLY, Leo behaved the next morning as if nothing had happened. Perhaps he looked a little tired, his carved mouth a little less firm, the smoky eyes half-hidden by thick, silky lashes, as though he'd slept as little as she. And perhaps his bearing was a little stiff, instead of full of that elegant looseness that came from striding around his own land.
Still, she had to admit that he was courtesy itself. Whereas Ginny felt exhausted and subdued, dreading the day in Castries, and clawing back her old barriers against the world to hide behind during the long hours she
would be spending with Leo and his fatal charm.
Wearing a divided skirt that swirled around her long, slender legs, and with a big Bagshaw shirt over a white cropped top—the first concealing, the second revealing her body—she stepped nervously into the hotel launch.
'Take my hand, darling,' murmured Leo. The voice was warm, the hand cold, with a stranger's politeness.
She did so, with a brief, cool acknowledgement so that he got, the message. Go too far in the darling mode and you'll end up overboard, the message said. Her heart sighed for the days when he would have caught her in his arms and whirled her around, laughing. Taken any excuse-to touch her. Their hands had entwined, their eyes had constantly met and lingered...
'Hey, welcome again!' The man standing behind the wheel grinned at Leo. 'You like Castries so much last time, you bring your wife?'
Leo stiffened imperceptibly at her side but it was enough for her to notice. 'You're mistaking me for someone else...er...Joseph,' he said, checking the man's name-tag. 'Some other guy.'
'Oh, sure.' Joseph grinned with a knowing wink. 'I get you! First trip, eh? Enjoy!'
A mistake. Ginny relaxed. And she was so occupied with her image of cool detachment that she thought no more of Leo's reaction. With so many hotel guests taking advantage of the taxi service to Castries, it must be easy to be confused.
The launch eased out of the bay, careful not to damage the fragile coral. Once they were out to sea, Joseph opened the throttle and she lifted her face to the rush of air and spray, revelling in the speed and sense of freedom. A sudden shower of tropical rain was driven by a head wind onto their unprotected bodies, but nobody minded, least of all Ginny, who crammed her hair under a baseball cap and watched with pleasure as the double rainbows split the skies with breathtaking arcs of colour.
To the north of the hotel bay lay enticing coves, the small crescents of deserted beaches backed by coconut palms and with the occasional flame-tree standing like a tall orange beacon in a sea of green rainforest.