Stormy Relationship

by Margaret Mayo

  She moved eventually and checked on Daniel, relieved to see him sleeping peacefully, and then threw herself down on the bed without even taking off Maggie’s dress. She felt totally exhausted, both mentally and physically. What a night it had been. What a day! So much had happened in such a short space of time.

  Jordan was Daniel’s hero, there was no doubt about that. Jordan had joined in every game, even in their antics in the pool. He had been one of them, a boy again, reliving his own childhood. But tonight he had been a different person, all male and very sensual, seducing her with body language, making her feel extremely feminine―more so, she hated to admit, than Roger ever had.

  There was something different about Jordan. Roger had been an ordinary, down-to-earth man, with a no-nonsense approach to things. He had loved her, yes, but he had never got sentimental about it. Once they were married he had never told her again that he loved her. She was supposed to accept that he did and get on with her life. And indeed she had been happy enough.

  Jordan, she suspected, would be the sort of man who always sent red roses on birthdays and anniversaries―even if he got his secretary to do it for him! He would never fail to compliment a girl on what she was wearing, he would ensure that she knew how he felt, and he would go out of his way to make her feel wanted and loved. And yet he had never married. He said he didn’t believe in love. So what was it he wanted from her? Hannah already knew the answer. An affair! This was probably the subconscious reason why she had rejected him, even though every female instinct in her responded.

  It was a long time before she summoned the energy to take off the dress and her make-up and brush her teeth, and sleep came surprisingly easily. She had thought she would lie awake a long time thinking over the events of the day, but the next thing she knew it was daylight and Daniel was urging her to wake up. ‘Mummy, Mummy, I want to go to the zoo!’

  Hannah groaned and cast a sleepy eye at the dock. It was only seven, and Sunday morning! ‘Another day, Daniel. Go back to bed now, it’s far too early to get up.’

  Disappointment shadowed his eager face. ‘I want to go now. Mr Quest said he’d come with us.’

  ‘He did what?’ She sat up in bed fully awake. ‘When did he say that?’

  ‘Yesterday. He promised.’

  Jordan had said nothing to her about it, and after last night she doubted whether he would honour his word. But if she refused to go then Daniel would be doubly disappointed.

  ‘All right, we’ll go,’ she said, ‘but it’s still far too early. Go and play with your toys and let Mummy lie in a bit longer.’ She would have to check on the buses, and it would be quite a jaunt. She was not sure that she felt up to it. Last night had left her physically and emotionally drained. But she could not let Daniel down.

  ‘When will Mr Quest be here?’ His face was all smiles again.

  ‘I don’t know, darling, but if he’s not here by ten we’ll go on the bus.’

  ‘I don’t want to go on the bus, I want to go in Mr Quest’s car,’ he said petulantly.

  ‘That’s enough, Daniel!’ Her tone was sharper than she intended, and Daniel went very quiet, the way he always did when he was upset. He rarely argued with her, he always accepted her ruling, but he withdrew inside himself and usually went away somewhere to sulk. He walked from her room now, and Hannah let him go. It was very unfortunate that Jordan had promised to go with him to the zoo. She wished he’d had a word with her first.

  It was no good trying to go back to sleep, but she lay there for over an hour before she got up to make Daniel’s breakfast. And before nine o’clock Jordan put in an appearance! Daniel, who had been looking out of the window, saw his car pull up and ran excitedly to the door. ‘It’s Mr. Quest, Mummy―I knew he’d come, I knew he would!’

  Hannah felt her stomach churn as the door opened and Jordan stepped inside. But he gave her no more than a brief, cool nod before smiling warmly at her son.

  ‘Mummy said you wouldn’t come,’ said Daniel eagerly, ‘but I knew you would, because you promised.’

  ‘I never break a promise,’ he told Daniel gravely. ‘I hope you’re ready?’

  Daniel looked at him indignantly. ‘Of course I am!’

  ‘And you, Hannah?’ Jordan looked at her properly for the first time. ‘Are you ready?’

  Her pulses reacted swiftly to his steady brown gaze, but she kept her tone cool. ‘Are you sure you want to come with us?’ she asked.

  He scowled at her less than obvious welcome. ‘I couldn’t let the child down,’ he muttered grimly. ‘I know I’m not your ideal choice of companion, but I suggest that you make an effort and at least pretend to be enjoying yourself.’

  There was an underlying electric current running between them, and Hannah was not sure whether it was hostility or a simmering sexual tension. The moment Jordan had entered the room she had felt his presence more strongly than ever before, as though her feelings for him had changed overnight. Which was ridiculous. She knew without a doubt that he would never take Roger’s place.

  Twycross Zoo, in Leicestershire, was very busy on this fine summer day. It had taken about an hour to get there, and Hannah had been conscious of Jordan for every second of that time.

  He wore pale blue trousers and a white open-necked shirt, and he filled the Ferrari sports car with his presence. He was not a man you could ignore at the best of times, but in a confined space like this Hannah felt every one of her senses respond. She chatted to Daniel in the back seat in an effort to take her attention from Jordan, but it was an impossible situation when he was sitting so close beside her, when his arm came dangerously near every time he changed gear, when his aftershave was as heady as champagne.

  ‘Let’s go and see the monkeys,’ said Daniel at once, taking hold of Hannah’s and Jordan’s hands and eagerly dragging them along. The last time she had taken him to the zoo, when he was about five, the chimps had been having a tea-party, and he had never forgotten it.

  But they discovered the party wasn’t until later, so they wandered around looking at the other animals, Daniel reading the name-plates on the cages or enclosures, Jordan helping him with some of the more difficult ones.

  They looked like a family, she thought, and Daniel seemed to be turning more and more to Jordan for advice, or to share a thought. It was surprising how well they got on together. Even Roger had never had this complete rapport. No, that was wrong, father and son had loved each other dearly, but Roger had worked long and hard hours and hadn’t the time to spend with Daniel that he would have liked.

  Daniel was quite grownup for his age, and Jordan on the other hand had no difficulty at all in bringing himself down to her son’s level. Not that he talked down to Daniel―he didn’t, he treated him as an equal, as a serious little adult. Hannah felt strangely hurt and perhaps a little jealous that Daniel should transfer his affections so easily. She would have to make sure her son didn’t see too much of Jordan in future. It wasn’t good for him to become too attached to this man.

  Finally it was time for the chimpanzees’ tea party, and as Daniel watched them, enthralled, firmly positioned at the front of the crowd, Hannah and Jordan stood well back. ‘Daniel’s thoroughly enjoying himself, he remarked.

  Hannah smiled and nodded her agreement. ‘He’s having a wonderful time.’

  ‘How about you?’ His eyes sought hers. ‘Are you having a wonderful time as well?’

  Hannah would have been lying if she said no. She was actually enjoying today far more than she had thought possible, but she had no intention of letting Jordan know this. ‘Yes, it’s very nice.’

  ‘Very nice!’ he echoed, a sudden flare of anger in his eyes. ‘What sort of a reply is that?’

  ‘I am enjoying myself,’ she insisted.

  ‘Because of Daniel―or me?’

  ‘You’re surely not asking me to choose between the two of you?’ she asked in disbelief. ‘There’s no choice where Danny’s concerned, he’s my whole life.’

  ‘And
you’re not going to let anyone else take a part in it?’ There was cruel hardness now in his tone, a whiteness to his lips.

  ‘That’s not fair!’ she protested.

  ‘It’s the way I see it,’ he snarled.

  Hannah turned away and tried to peer through the crowd to find Daniel. Why did Jordan always make things so difficult for her? Why was he trying to force her into a relationship she was not ready for? When his fingers caught her chin in a bruising grip, turning her face back towards him, she cried out in protest. ‘Jordan, that hurts!’ Her jaw was already tender from where he had gripped her yesterday.

  ‘I don’t like being ignored.’ His fingers relaxed and his touch became a caress. ‘We’ have a few minutes to ourselves; let’s make the most of them.’ His head swooped, his lips fiercely claiming hers, and she knew that if she tried to move his hold on her would tighten mercilessly.

  Hannah had never before been kissed in such a public place, and she felt extremely self-conscious, even though no one saw; they were all too engrossed in the antics of the chimps. She and Jordan could have been the only two people in the zoo.

  When he spoke again his tone was low and urgent. ‘Hannah, I refuse to accept that you want nothing to do with me. I think you’re all confused in your mind and need someone like me to sort you out. From now on I’m not going to take no for an answer.’

  CHAPTER SIX

  HANNAH wished she could believe it was an idle threat, but Jordan was not the type to say something and not mean it. She tried in vain to pull away, but his powerful arms became her prison. Panic quickened her heart and accelerated her pulses-or was it the feel of him against her? The heat of his hard, disturbing body? Or even memories of last night’s kiss which had been far too unsettling for her peace of mind? For whichever reason, she wanted to be free of him.

  ‘Hannah, I’m not letting you go until I have your word that you’re going to stop fighting me.’ His voice was a low, sensual growl in her ear, although he could have shouted at the top of his voice and no one would have heard. Everyone was concentrating on the antics of the animals in the cage. ‘You’re driving me insane, don’t you know that?’

  She risked a glance into the soul-destroying heat of his eyes. ‘I think you’re exaggerating. We’ve hardly spent enough time together for you to feel that way about me.’

  ‘I know how much I want you.’

  ‘That’s right,’ she whispered brokenly, ‘you want me. But that’s all there is to it, and I refuse to be any man’s plaything.’

  ‘Hell, Hannah, that’s a cruel thing to say!’ His tone sharpened with a sudden edge of anger. ‘I respect you too much to treat you like that.’

  She did not believe him for one moment. How could he feel anything for her when he was still presumably seeing Riva? He was lying. He had no respect for her at all. ‘I didn’t expect sexual harassment when I agreed to work for you,’ she spat bitterly.

  ‘Sexual harassment?’ The glitter in his eyes turned to shards of ice, his arms around her like bands of iron. ‘If that’s what I’d planned then you’d know about it. I consider I treat you like a lady.’

  ‘Then let me go,’ she demanded fiercely. ‘No lady likes to feel that she’s being forced into anything.’

  ‘I’ve never forced you, Hannah, and you know it.’ Rage added strength to his words. ‘But perhaps I ought to show you what it’s like to be kissed against your will.’ His smile was cold and brutal, but nothing like as cruel as the hardness of his mouth as it crushed her lips. Faintness stole over Hannah as electric tension joined pleasure, joined fear. Treetops began to spin as her breath caught in her throat and she tried in vain to escape. Jordan was using her to drive out his anger, her lips ground mercilessly back against her teeth, the kiss lasting for ever, until he finally, savagely, thrust her away from him, his breathing ragged and heavy, his eyes masked so that she no longer knew what he was thinking.

  At the same moment there was a stir in the crowd and Daniel pushed through the smiling, chattering people towards them. With an effort Hannah pulled herself together. She must not let her son see that there was anything wrong, although her whole body felt as though there wasn’t enough strength in it to last her through the rest of the day.

  ‘Did you see them?’ he asked excitedly. ‘Did you see the monkey pouring the tea? Isn’t he clever?’

  He monopolised the conversation for the rest of the day, running excitedly from one enclosure to another, not seeming to notice that his mother and Mr Quest were barely speaking to each other. Strangely, Hannah felt more conscious of Jordan than ever before. That punishing kiss, instead of repulsing her, had created more awareness and consequently more tension.

  They had sandwiches for their lunch in the tea-rooms, and Jordan ate heartily, but Hannah scarcely ate a thing, and when Daniel’s feet began to drag she was glad of the excuse to suggest they go home. She had spent almost two whole days in Jordan’s company, and it was more than enough. She wanted to return to her flat, she wanted to relax and be herself and try to put out of her mind all the things that had happened this weekend.

  Jordan’s knuckles were white on the wheel, his whole body tense and filled with suppressed anger. The journey was long and silent and intolerable. Daniel had fallen asleep, and the tension built up and up until Hannah felt ready to scream. When Jordan pulled up outside the old Victorian house he lifted Daniel out and carried him upstairs, but the instant he put the child down he turned abruptly and left. Not one word was spoken between them.

  Hannah let him go, but she felt unhappy about the situation. She had not wanted to cause a rift. All she had been trying to do was tell him that he was pushing for too much too soon. He had not really sexually harassed her―she should not have said that, it had been wrong and cruel. But no more cruel than his sadistic kiss, said a tiny voice inside her. She touched her fingers experimentally to her mouth and took a look at herself in the mirror. She was appalled to see how swollen her lips were, her eyes like deep shadowy pools in a face that was deathly pale.

  Her actions were automatic as she made Daniel’s supper and bathed him and put him to bed, before taking a bath herself. She lay in the warm scented water and thought of Jordan, thought of the effect he had on her body, and the fact that she still had to go to work for him tomorrow. Would the tension be too much to handle? Would it be best if she handed in her notice? This was the last thing she wanted to do, the money he paid her was too valuable, but if the strain persisted it might be her only choice.

  Monday in the office was every bit as bad as Hannah had feared. When she’d first gone to work for Jordan he had treated her like a human machine, and this was how it was again. He worked her harder than ever before, seeming not to see her as a person, never once looking directly at her.

  Hannah gritted her teeth and ‘got on with it. If that was the way he wanted to play things, so be it. She had never encouraged him, she had always made it very clear that she still loved Roger. The fact that he was managing to get through her defences was a problem, but not an insurmountable one. She was used to wrapping her feelings in ice and getting on with her life.

  When Riva March came into the office shortly before one Hannah gave an inward groan. This was one person she could do without seeing. ‘Shall I ring Mr Quest through that you’re here?’ she asked, when the girl came to a halt directly in front of her desk.

  ‘I want a word with you first,’ came the cutting reply. ‘Didn’t I make it clear that Jordan belongs to me?’

  He belonged to her? Like a possession? Hannah somehow doubted that Jordan belonged to anyone. He struck her as being his own man, doing whatever he wanted when he wanted. He enjoyed his freedom too much to be tied down to anyone woman. Riva suited his purpose sometimes, but not always. And the girl must be pretty thick-skinned not to suspect this. But whatever the case, he was welcome to her. She managed a polite smile. ‘You made it perfectly clear,’ she agreed.

  ‘But it was you he was out with over the weekend? Is
n’t that right?’

  Hannah saw no reason to lie, and nodded.

  ‘I thought as much.’ The girl’s green eyes glittered with pure hatred, making Hannah shudder. ‘How did you persuade him to ask you?’

  ‘I didn’t do anything,’ Hannah informed her tightly. ‘Jordan invited and I accepted, it’s as simple as that.’ Let the girl make of it what she liked.

  ‘Jordan usually takes me out on a Saturday night. He wouldn’t ask you unless you made up to him,’ spat the girl savagely. ‘If it’s a rich husband you’re after you’re barking up the wrong tree. Jordan isn’t the marrying type. He’s happy with his life the way it is―and I’m happy to be a part of it. I’m not going to let you or anyone else come between us!’ Flames of fury were dancing from her eyes, her shapely body taut with anger.