By Royal Demand

by Robyn Donald

  Marya looked thoughtfully at her then broke into a small faintly smug smile. 'Yes ' she said simply. 'You are right. Of course.'

  She went across to the armoire and took out the rest of the clothes. 'Now I pack your bag ' she said with a quick return of her autocratic air. 'The helicopter here soon.'

  It was. Clad in black jeans and jacket their somberness relieved by a dusky rose T-shirt and a jaunty hat with a brim wide enough to hide her eyes Sara slung her tote bag over her shoulder and went down to the courtyard with the manservant and Marya.

  The chopper descended with a whirr of noise and flying leaves. 'Thank you ' she said smiling briefly at the old woman who'd done what she had for reasons she'd thought good enough.

  Sara hadn't needed to wear the hat: Gabe didn't emerge to say goodbye. She climbed in strapped the seat belt around her narrow waist and looked straight ahead as the helicopter took off.

  In London she handed over her plans for the three bedrooms in the Wolfs Lair then resigned from her job.

  spite ' her employer said glancing up from her sketches. He gave her a brief curious smile. ‘I assume Considine told you of our arrangement'?' ‘Yes.' She kept her voice level but enough of her distaste and outrage showed in her tone to make him blink.

  ‘1 thought you'd be a total loss ' he said mildly. 'But you've got talent. Your position's still open if you want it-and this time Considine won't have anything to do with it.'

  ‘No thanks.'

  'Then 1'11 write you a good reference.'

  Sara almost told him what he could do with his reference but common sense stayed her tongue. She needed it' she'd have no chance of getting a decent job without one. 'Thank you ' she said tonelessly.

  'Where do you plan to go'?'

  ‘America ' she said quickly, without thinking.

  'New York? L.A.'?'

  She shrugged. ‘Los Angeles-the weather's better.'

  ‘l'm sorry ' he said unexpectedly.

  She was too but she smiled and shook her head. 'Don't be-it's been excellent experience ' she said ironically.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  GETTING to Fala'isi used up every cent in Sara's bank account and pushed her credit card to the limit and the journey turned into an endurance test. But she finally made it sinking exhausted and gritty-eyed into a taxi just after midnight island time.

  ‘Have a good trip'?' the driver enquired. A man she didn't recognise he'd been waiting at the airport brandishing a sign with her name written on it. She'd winced because she'd hoped to slink in without notice and on Fala'isi news travelled at the speed of light.

  Not that Gabe would ever know or care where she'd gone.

  A long one,' she told the driver wishing the cab had air-conditioning.

  ‘Oh? You get caught up in the strike in New Zealand'?' 'Yes ' And before that there'd been a delay and eventual cancellation in Los Angeles. From there she'd had to island-hop to Hawaii and then across the equator to Tahiti and Rarotonga-magical islands lying in a sunlit sea-before heading south to New Zealand to pick up the jet for Fala'isi.

  Weariness sucked her down into a grey misery weighting down her bones and clogging her brain. Normally she'd have loved the roundabout journey' at the moment all she wanted to do was go to bed and sleep for three weeks.

  Or three years she thought satirically. But she suspected that even then she'd wake up still loving Gabe.

  The driver asked 'You been here before'?' ‘Yes.' Shortly after her twenty-first birthday she'd used the legacy from her grandparents to come back and renew acquaintance with an old school friend who rented out two small cottages right on the lagoon.

  Nonchalantly swerving to avoid a small motor scooter with three people on board the driver enquired assayed at the same place then'?' 'Yes ' she admitted.

  'Nice little house that right on the beach. My cousin owns it-she told me to pick you up.'

  And Tarifa would have aired the cottage and made the bed and filled the fridge with food. ‘lt was good to see you,' Sara said woodenly. ‘SorryI'm not thinking too well at the moment.'

  He laughed a rich full sound that embodied the Pacific. 'You need a holidays And you've come to the right place for it.'

  Once inside the house she felt painful tears sting her eyes when she saw that the hibiscus flowers so carefully arranged on the table were dead their vibrant silken petals faded into crumpled tissue.

  A week ago she'd been in the Wolfs Lair futilely hoping that she could make Gabe realise that she would never have stolen from him.

  Hoping she realized now that he felt more for her than passion.

  Well he didn't and although in his arms she became a different rapturously transformed being it wasn't enough. Without love and trust and friendship passion was just a cruel fantasy a craving that promised everything only to leave her unfulfilled and heartsick.

  The humid air pressed onto her thick and hot perfumed with the sweetness of frangipani its elusive erotic scent mingling with the fresh salty tang of the sea.

  She pushed the shutters back and opened the doors out onto the terrace that overlooked the beach. Far out on the lagoon, lights flickered-fishermen catching food for their families.

  From behind her Gabe said 'You took long enough to get here.'

  Gasping she spun on her heel incredulous eyes stretching wide at the sight of him standing in the doorway.

  Panic kicked viciously in her stomach.

  she closed her eyes but his dominant figure was still burned into her retinas. Hoarsely she forced herself to demand 'What are you doing here'?' 'Your landlady gave me a key.'

  'she had no right.'

  Yet she couldn't blame Tarifa-Gabe in full charm mode was irresistible and the hint of steel behind the compelling magnetism would have won Tarifa over in a second. Gathering what was left of her composure Sara ploughed on ‘Ithought I'd made it plain that I won't be your mistress or your lover or whatever you want me to be.'

  ‘I want you to be my wife ' he said harshly.

  She stared at him feeling the world wobble under her feet.

  He didn't look like a man who'd just proposed'

  Although temptation dangled like a glittering bauble in front of her she summoned just enough despairing courage to reject it. 'Get out ' she whispered and then more strongly 'Get out of here'

  He said roughly At least let me say I'm sorry.'

  ‘1'11 take it as said.' Already she could feel herself weakening, feel her love making false promises trying to convince her that it didn't matter that he hadn't trusted her. 'Now get' The room wavered in front of her eyes coalescing into a hideously nauseating whirl.

  The last thing she heard was Gabe swearing in Illyrian as she let herself tip over into the refuge of unconsciousness.

  She woke wondering where she was before memory forced its way back. Her eyes flew open and she

  bolted up off the bed. Her head spun and she was clutching the head-rail when Gabe came in through the door a glass of water in his hand.

  ‘Lie dowel' he ordered his strides lengthening. He caught her in one strong hand then set the glass on the bedside table.

  She stood limply shaking her head as the walls began to sway again.

  ‘Lie down Sara' But she didn't dare move. Gabe said something else under his breath and picked her up.

  With her cheek pressed against his chest and the rapid beat of his heart echoing in her ears she thought dreamily that it was like coming home again after years in exile.

  Closing her eyes in mute surrender she accepted then that she couldn't resist him. Whatever he wanted from her she would give because she loved him so intensely it physically hurt.

  ‘How long is it since you've had anything to eat or drink'?' Gabe's voice resonated through her head as he pulled the sheet back.

  ‘1 don't know.' The words sounded thick and slurred. ‘l've been drinking water.'

  ‘1 don't blame you for not wanting to eat airline food ' he said grimly, lowering her back onto the bed abut s
tarving yourself for three days is plain stupid. I notice someone's left a bowl of fruit for you in the kitchen. 1'11 get you a banana-that should help your blood sugar.'

  The thought of forcing anything down her constricted throat brought another spasm of nausea but he was right' she was running on empty and if she didn't get something into her stomach she'd faint again. She shut her eyes and tried to breathe slowly and deeply.

  Although she kept her lashes clamped down when the mattress depressed under Gabe's weight every sense sprang to painful alertness banishing the lassitude of a moment ago.

  'Bite ' he ordered.

  Obediently she bit into the sweet soft flesh of the little lady's finger banana.

  'Now, chew. And then swallow.'

  Sara did as she was told before croaking indignantly

  ‘I know how to eat.'

  'Then why haven't you been doing it'?' he asked unanswerable. ‘lt's seventy-two hours since you left London and 1'11 bet you haven't had anything to eat in that time.'

  She'd have answered but the banana was once again pressed against her lips. And because it was piercingly sweet to be cared for by him she forced the fruit past the obstruction in her throat.

  He got up. ‘1'11 make a cup of tea and you can drink that and then you can have a shower. However much water you've drunk you probably need rehydrating from the skin in.'

  The banana provided enough energy for her to manoeuvre herself up against the pillows' she was glowering at the door when he came back in carrying a large mug.

  He glanced at the water he'd brought in before and nodded. 'Good you've drunk it. Now get this down.'

  ‘1 won't be told what to do in my own house ' she said but her voice was tired and lacklustre.

  'Not only will I tell you, if necessary 1'11 make you,' he said mildly, and held out the mug. 'ls this too heavy for you?' ‘No ' The tea was milky and overly sweet but she drank it down greedily.

  'That's better ' he said when she'd finished. 'You've got a bit of colour back in your cheeks.'

  Only she thought wearily because he was sitting beside her and her racing heart was pumping blood through her body. Exhausted and jet-lagged she still responded to his overwhelming male charisma.

  ‘lt's not fair ' she said woodenly. ‘1 can't fight you, but I don't want you here.'

  'Don't worry you'll be ready for another bout in the morning. You just need twelve hours' sleep and some

  decent food ' he said with an odd cynical smile. AS for getting rid of me-not tonight. You're still shaky and you need looking after. Do you think you can walk to the bathroom'?' ‘I don't want to.' The energy provided by the banana and the sugar in the tea was proving very temporary.

  Oblivion beckoned like some dark voracious tunnel promising her a few precious hours when she wouldn't have to deal with anything.

  Gabe's will defeated her. ‘You'II feel better if you have a shower.'

  The next moment she was being lifted into the air. She opened her eyes to meet his steel-blue and utterly determined.

  'Relax ' he said on an amused note and carried her into the tiny bathroom.

  Limply she endured it but when he sat her down on a chair and started on the buttons of her shirt she said ‘NoI' and her hand came up to hold his still her eyes enormous in her white face.

  ‘l'm not going to do anything beyond showering you ' he said in a voice that shattered the fragile remnants of her composure.

  ‘1 can do it myself ' she said stubbornly, clinging to what little pride she had left.

  He paused, then stood up. AII right.'

  But he didn't go and one glance at his uncompromising expression convinced her that any further objection on her part was useless. Grimly ignoring him she undid the rest of her shirt. The tie on her loose cotton trousers proved more difficult but she wrestled it undone and stood up letting the trousers drop to her feet. Yet another wave of faintness took her by surprise' head swimming she clutched the back of the chair and tried to breathe evenly.

  Unceremoniously Gabe picked her up and dumped her into the shower.

  The water on Fala'isi was never cold but the lukewarm spray hit her like bullets. She gasped and while she was adjusting to the blissful wetness he stripped her bra and pants away and got in himself still fully clothed and

  began washing her.

  She shuddered at the sm00th skillful caress of his hands as he soaped and rinsed. What little strength she had left seeped away with the grime of her long flight so that by the time he reached over and turned off the water she was lying back against the hard support of his body so relaxed she couldn't have moved if she'd tried.

  Her brain had gone to sleep. Afterwards she could dimly remember him drying her but the journey back into the bedroom was a blank and as jet-lagged sleep claimed her she didn't know that tears were seeping through her lashes.

  She woke to warmth to darkness and the slow steady beat of a heart the exquisite pleasure of being held against a lean strongly muscled body-woke to that inevitable sense of rightness of completion that told her she was with Gabe, and that she'd spent the night locked in his arms.

  For long seconds she lay there still under the influence of the cloudy shadows that had been her dreams.

  Without moving keeping her breathing steady she opened her eyes. The moon had set and it was dark and still and silent the only sound the ever-present rumble of the waves on the outer reef.

  And the deep regular sound and movement of Gabe's breath. His eyes were closed his body 1| in the abandon of sleep but the arm around her held her close as though she were infinitely precious. Her mouth trembled into a wistful smile.

  Why had he come? Sara didn't dare to hope. She banished the question from her mind and let herself dwell only on the present moment that infinitely small space of time she had with the man she loved.

  Her muscles demanded a good stretch but that would wake Gabe.

  The soft whisper of air from the fan above the bed brushed across her sensitized skin mingling with the salty breath of the sea. Shutting her eyes again she abandoned herself to imprinting every tiny sensory detail on her mind so firmly that she'd never forget. When she was an old woman she wanted to be able to recall everything-the scent of him the slow even rise and fall of his chest against her the texture of his hot sleek skin against her naked body, the exact distance from his waist to his hip. . . .

  Hardly breathing, she inched her hand over the centre of his chest feeling his formidable life force drive into her palm. He didn't move. Bolder now but still cautious she eased her head around to kiss his shoulder. When he didn't respond she let her lips linger her tongue taste him her senses bask in a sleepy appreciation of the man she loved.

  Normally, she thought dreamily, he woke at the slightest touch. She couldn't be the only one with jet-lag. She lowered her hand to his waist and felt the band of something that felt like shorts.

  It was perilously sweet to lie here with him at her mercy but it seemed cheating somehow. He'd been kind to her, he'd fed her and bathed her and kept the darkness at bay with the comfort of his body, but that didn't give her the right to touch him while he slept.

  Yet her hand strayed back to cover his heart and she kept her face turned into his shoulder hardly breathing in case he woke drifting in a nebulous never-never land where dreams might come true.

  Just a few moments more she thought drowsily. . . and slid back to sleep to the most erotic dream she'd ever had.

  Awake'?' Gabe's voice was barely audible but it brought her to full alertness.

  The bed beneath her moved her eyes opened as Cabe's arms tightened around her. She |as she realized stretched out along him with her face tucked into his neck. His powerful thighs shifted beneath her revealing that he was very very aroused.

  Oh what has she done? In her dream she'd made slow patient love to him using every skill he'd taught her every subtle sexual nuance to arouse him. Only it seemed that her dream had become reality because her own body was singing with de
lighted anticipation every cell alight with desire.

  Hot with embarrassment she muttered 'Yes ' and tried to slither off him.

  His arms tightened. In a raspy after-sleep voice he asked 'Know where you are'?' ‘Yes ' 'Know who you're with'?' Her head came up fast connecting with his chin. ‘of course I do.'

  'say my name.'

  She opened reluctant eyes to broad daylight blinking at the bright sun-stripes across the floor through the shutters. A fierce joy burned through her' Gabe's angular features were drawn in the stark lines of desire.

  ‘Why?' she demanded.

  'Because I want to be sure that you know what you're doing.' His face hardened. 61 didn't realise you were asleep when you woke me with such charming caresses so if you want to stop now that you're awake this is your last chance.'

  Sara didn't hesitate. ‘Idon't want to stop.' She lowered her lips, and a hair's breadth away from his she said 'You're Gabe ' My only love . . ..

  Harshly he said 'Then take me Sara.'

  Sara froze and time stretched into silence until she straightened up to look down into his beloved face. She wanted to make sure that he'd never forget this that every time he lay like this with any other woman it would be her face he saw with those narrowed glittering eyes her name that echoed through his mind her taste in his mouth.