Tender Persuasion

by Sara Wood

  'Well, I was thinking of selecting what books I wanted and working in the studio,' she said hesitantly.

  'No. It's in use and you're not to go in there under any circumstances.' He sounded very emphatic.

  Jade felt vaguely resentful about that, and rather disappointed. She loved the studio and it would have been ideal, but the library would have to do.

  The inside of Saxonbury had been transformed. Whereas she and Sebastian had never even arrested the gradual decline that had begun under the previous owner, Dane had completely restored it to its former glories.

  Jade paused in breathless admiration in the hallway, feeling as if she had stepped back into the eighteenth century.

  'Oh, Dane!' she cried, clasping her hands in pleasure and turning her delighted face to his. 'It's lovely! It's—it's so right!'

  His dark face lit up. 'Thank you. I was worried you might not like it.'

  'Like it? You've given Saxonbury back its dignity. I'm so glad. Where did you get all that lovely furniture—and those fabulous oil paintings?'

  'My family,' he said dismissively. Then his mouth quirked. 'I come from a long line of Kings.'

  Jade's laughter pealed out. 'I bet you've been waiting for an opportunity to say that,' she grinned.

  'Rehearsed it for weeks,' he chuckled. 'Come to my study.'

  He led the way to the room which had been Sebastian's den. She was a little nervous, wondering what her reaction would be to go in there, but it was so different that it didn't touch her emotional wounds at all.

  'Like this, too?' he asked hopefully.

  'Very much. It's just right.' It was like him, too: two-sided. Parts of it were well ordered and neat, parts in chaos. His very duality was something she had to come to terms with if they were to work together on the Garland Day. After all, she was complex as well. To some people she might seem free, independent and unrestrained by social rules. Yet she was very strict with herself and others as far as morals were concerned—that always surprised everyone.

  Perhaps Sebastian had been right when he'd said she promised more than she delivered. It could be that her naturally loving and expressive temperament clashed with her dislike of coarse behaviour.

  'Here's the number of the hirers.'

  'Oh, thank you.' She took the phone from him and began to dial, discovering to her dismay that the cheap marquee had been badly damaged by a fire and would not be available on the day they'd booked. When she told Dane, he didn't seem too worried.

  'Book another one.'

  'That's no good. It's too late, they'll all be spoken for.'

  'I'll get one,' he offered.

  'Hmm. But could we afford it?' she asked. 'We need it two days before the show: the day itself and the next. That costs.'

  'Free?'

  'Don't be…' She saw he was serious. 'How…'

  'Never mind. I can do it. A man in my line of business has all kinds of contacts. Shall I go ahead?'

  Stunned by his conjuring trick, Jade nodded, leaning back in the comfortable leather chair and watching the way he operated as he organised exactly what he wanted. He was a man who always got his own way. Smoothly, firmly, charmingly. She sighed.

  'What's next?' he asked crisply.

  Jade explained the procedure and he wrote everything down for next time when he was in charge. She had already booked the Silver Band and the judges, organised the stallholders and the operators of the sideshows. Dane proved to be very imaginative when it came to ideas for prizes, and promised to ask leading firms to present goods as a public relations exercise. Jade had no doubt that he'd persuade them!

  'You have to remind the farmer to keep his cows out of Jubilee Meadow and to get it cut and cleared,' she said. 'And check the posters are up three weeks before—they've already been printed.'

  'Pity,' he said, looking at the list of activities.

  'Why?' she asked, bridling a little. She'd been very organised and efficient!

  'I have a couple of ideas you might like to try out.'

  'Like what?' Tradition was tradition, and if he tried to alter the format and make it a slick event then that would be awful.

  'You've got some nutty events, like Welly Wanging, which I assume is throwing a Wellington boot,' he said thoughtfully. 'But we could do more—they're always popular with people who take part, as well as onlookers. I see from the plan that there's a kind of arena in the middle of the outside stalls, where the pony rides take place. How about doing something like a musical mower ride?'

  Jade looked puzzled and Dane leaned forwards to explain, his face animated. 'If we could get hold of enough motor mowers, they could do a kind of formation dance to waltzes—'

  'And get in a hopeless muddle when the band play a rumba,' laughed Jade, her eyes sparkling. 'It's a great idea—and you can organise it,' she added. 'Good practice. Anything else?'

  It seemed that she had opened the flood-gates with that query. Many of Dane's suggestions were so bizarre or radical that they'd need to be tried out gradually over the next few shows, but some were inspirational. They had passed the whole morning, tossing back ideas, sparking off each other, laughing a great deal and thoroughly enjoying being together, before they realised it was way past lunch time.

  'Look at the time!' gasped Jade. 'I'm stopping you from working—and I have to eat, even if you don't!'

  'I've dealt with a couple of urgent problems,' he said, referring to three phone calls he had handled with swift efficiency. 'Let's finish sorting out what items we expect the children to make for the craft prizes over lunch. There's more than enough for us both to eat in the kitchen.'

  'Oh, no,' she demurred. 'I don't want to encroach on your…'

  'Please. I hate eating alone.'

  Alone? She wondered what he'd done with his woman. She oughtn't to have lunch with him, but there were things still to discuss, weren't there? 'Well, in that case…'

  'Good. Let's raid the larder.'

  She followed him with a smile at his enthusiasm and watched doubtfully when he piled an enormous quantity of food on a tray. Mrs Love certainly believed in keeping Dane well fed!

  'Is there always such a massive selection of home cooking?' asked Jade, as he tried to find room for a herb quiche.

  'I get ravenous during the day. It's something to do with talking a lot on the phone. As long as I have something to nibble, I'm happy,' he said, his eyes slanting at her.

  'Don't spoil things,' she warned.

  'I just wondered how hell was these days,' he murmured, carrying the tray past her and out to the terrace.

  She followed, a little irritated. He had a mistress at his beck and call; was he becoming restless and in need of a challenge? She was disappointed in him, too. All morning she had liked him, admired him even. His terrible reputation had been completely forgotten. Now he'd made her remember that he had feet of clay.

  'No change,' she answered, meeting his eyes and wishing they didn't melt when they looked at her.

  'You are a fool,' he said quietly, transferring dishes to a low table.

  She flushed. 'Because I don't clutch my hands in rapture when you deign to show a sexual interest in me?' she asked hotly.

  'Because we get on so well together, have the same sense of humour, enjoy the off-beat world, and for all the other reasons I've mentioned before and am damned if I'll list again.'

  'How about a model of a windmill?' she suggested, pushing the craft list towards him and sitting down primly.

  He was about to reply when a woman's voice began to call his name from somewhere inside the house.

  'Excuse me,' he said, a worried expression on his face. 'Please start. And don't go. We ought to finalise that list today.'

  She glared and tucked into the tasty feast, eating far too much because he was gone ages. Gradually a cold anger came over her as she began to wonder just what he was up to. Jealously gnawed at the pit of her stomach. He must have decided he wasn't going to get anywhere with her and was making the most of his gu
est's availability.

  The idea made her feel sick. If it wasn't for the show, she'd leave. When he did appear, she searched his face for signs of lipstick, and then remembered the woman didn't wear make-up. She was probably still in her night things, Jade thought scornfully, and trembled at the pain that ripped through her body.

  'Managed to drag yourself away?' she asked coldly.

  His blue eyes flared in irritation. 'I think it's time you knew about my guest.'

  'Not another sister?' she scorned, hiding her misery.

  'Come into the studio,' he said coldly.

  'No thank you. I don't want to meet her,' she said with dignity, recoiling at such an idea with horror. What was he up to? Had he no tact? Or was he trying to teach her a lesson—show her that he could get along without her very well?

  'You won't. She's not there. She's packing. But you'll be able to see what she's been doing all this time.'

  'I hope you didn't use my presence to force her out,' snapped Jade. 'If you pretended that we…'

  'Will you come, or do I have to drag you?' he yelled suddenly, making her jump.

  She rose with ruffled pride and tilted her small chin, giving him a hostile glare.

  'You touch me and I'll throw the quiche at you', she threatened.

  'That'll be good practise for the coconut shy,' he murmured, motioning her ahead.

  Jade's mouth twisted and she made her brows knit together in a false frown. The studio looked as if a bomb had hit a typing pool. A desk had been erected in the middle of the room and on it, from it, under it, and everywhere she could see, were sheets of typewritten paper.

  'She's been trying to write you a farewell note all this time?' she hazarded.

  'Getting warm,' he replied, leaning against the door-jamb and stuffing his hands in his pockets. 'Go and read a page or two.'

  'There are hundreds to choose from,' she observed, picking one and beginning to skim-read. She stopped and went back to the top of the page, finished it, noted the number at the bottom and began to search for the next.

  'Don't do that,' he advised. 'You'll be here for days. Well?'

  'It's fascinating,' she marvelled. 'Who's Prince Stanislav and why…'

  'Don't,' he groaned. 'I've lived and breathed the damn thing for the last two years. Now it's finished and all I want to do is get a girl in to get the pages together and send it off.'

  'You're not explaining very well,' said Jade, pushing aside scattered paper and clearing a space on a comfortable settee. Too late, she realised that she'd made enough—just enough—space for Dane and he was settling down beside her, his thigh against hers.

  'She's an author,' he said, stretching out his long legs in front of him. 'I can't tell you her name because she shuns publicity and you'd know who she was immediately. You see, she had a best-seller out a few years ago and since then had been unable to write. It nearly drove her mad. Then she presented me with a synopsis and a few chapters two years ago, and I negotiated an advance for her on the strength of that. It was obviously going to be another blockbuster, and ever since then the publishers have been nagging as she missed deadline after deadline. She just couldn't write the last few chapters. Eventually I suggested she tried a change of scenery and came to the depths of the country to work. For some reason, the environment released her of tensions and the words poured out.'

  'I see,' muttered Jade, looking around the chaotic room. What a way to work!

  'I sheltered her, shielded her, comforted her and occasionally nagged her,' he said.

  A flush burnt her cheeks. 'Hugged her?' she queried, remembering the episode when she had been collecting her bees.

  'Of course,' he said softly. 'We all need hugging when we're feeling low.'

  Jade winced. There had been too many occasions lately when she would have loved a hug from Dane.

  'I never slept with her, Jade.'

  'It's none of my business what you do with your authors,' she said haughtily.

  'It is,' he said, his eyes holding hers. 'You'd hardly let me kiss you if you thought another woman under this roof was also being seduced by me.'

  'Also?' she said huskily. 'There's no also about it!'

  'I'm sorry. I'm not saying this very well—'

  'Yes, you are. You're telling me that you can spend weeks in the same house as an attractive woman and not make love to her,' she said in tones which showed she didn't believe a word he was saying.

  'It's true!' he roared, grabbing her arms angrily and giving her a little shake. 'Somehow I've got to get it into your dense skull that I'm not a rake!'

  'Well, that's not the way to do it!' she raged, indicating his tightly gripping hands.

  'Jade, I am not, repeat not, promiscuous—'

  'Why on earth should you imagine that your sex-life has the slightest interest for me?' she queried. 'I don't want to know what you get up to in the privacy of your home or wherever else you choose to enjoy all these women who flow in and out of here like lambs to the slaughter,' she continued, getting into her stride and about to launch into a tirade of reproof.

  'Jealous?' he asked slyly. 'You've been glued to your window, watching?'

  'Certainly not!' she denied. 'I'd have to have my head stuck in the soil not to notice the turnover in women here.'

  He laughed, his hand gently caressing her shoulders. 'They're all my authors, Jade. All here on business.'

  'All women,' she sneered.

  'Most are. They're my speciality.'

  'I'll bet!'

  'For a woman who doesn't care if I'm celibate or a sex maniac, you're getting very aerated about the subject,' he murmured.

  'Damn you, Dane King!' she seethed, trying to rise. His hands thrust her back.

  Her angry expression made him even more amused, and she pushed hard at his chest, expecting him to give way, but he merely ignored her struggles and hauled her roughly against his body.

  'Enough,' he muttered, his lips parting hungrily. 'Time for dessert.'

  Jade's head snapped back, exposing her vulnerable throat. 'You'll get your just deserts in a minute,' she threatened.

  Dane laughed wickedly and his mouth surrounded the soft hollow at the base of her throat, making her moan out loud.

  'Better than quiche,' he breathed, catching her chin between his thumb and forefinger. 'Much better.'

  'No—' Her protest was ignored. Dane growled low in his throat and lightly traced her cheekbones with his mouth. Desire flared in his eyes and, with a muttered exclamation, his lips claimed hers in a deeply passionate kiss that made her heart soar and her body throb.

  When he pulled back to see her reaction, Jade's eyes were feverish. He had awoken her again, aroused such a clamour within her that she was having terrible difficulties in crushing them. He was nuzzling her bare shoulder, slipping the narrow strap of her top down and her limbs were too leaden to prevent him, her voice caught somewhere in her throat and imprisoned by desire.

  'Oh, God, Jade!' he muttered into her silken skin. 'I can't believe this is happening at last!'

  His warm, gentle lips kissed across her collar-bones and then he pushed her back on the settee, half lying across her, his mouth lightly brushing hers, as he watched every emotion that flickered in Jade's half-closed eyes. His hands were doing things to her body that had her crying out both in protest and need.

  Their breath mingled, hot, erratic, heavy. Dane's passion was evident from the way his kisses were becoming more insistent, more frantic and uncontrolled, and she made half-hearted effort to push away his intimately searching hands as they slid under her brief top.

  'No, don't stop me,' he groaned. 'Let me touch you, Jade. Like… this.'

  The effect of his tentative fingers was electrifying, sending rivers of heat through Jade's body and, as she arched her back, she brought her breasts into his hands. A long shudder was drawn from him and impatiently he fumbled with her buttons at the front, kissing Jade madly while he did so. She was so overwhelmed by the sudden erotic flicker o
f his tongue and in answering his thrusting exploration with an eager response of her own, that he had bared her breasts before she realised.

  And then it was too late. His mouth left hers and he slid down slightly, his lips finding her tight, engorged nipple and moistening it delicately. Jade wanted more. Her hands flew to the back of his head and she twined her fingers through his black curls, pressing him harder into her breast, trying to tell him that her need was urgent and fierce.

  She felt his teeth gently grazing, then he began to suckle, gently at first and then strongly, transferring his mouth to the other breast. Jade could hardly bear the sweet agony. She wanted to kiss him very hard, and yanked his hair. Knowing exactly her need, he moved up and claimed possession of her mouth roughly, with a savagery that took her breath away till her lips felt swollen and bruised and other parts of her body were writhing for his touch.

  Dane pulled away, ripping at the buttons on his shirt, frowning in impatience as they refused to part under his trembling fingers. Jade reached up, and between them they removed it.

  'Oh, Dane,' she whispered, slowly spreading her hands on his big, muscular chest and exploring its feel, the hardness, the strength, its satin skin and the neatly curling black hairs. Her fingers took their time while he stayed very still, gazing down on her with tender desire. And then, as her touch slid lower, his self-control began to slip.

  'Undo my belt,' he said hoarsely.

  She bit her lip and looked at him from under her lashes.

  'Dane, I—'

  He closed his eyes in pain, then bent to kiss her, a coaxing teasing kiss, that at once ignited her and brought her to the edge of surrender. His lips and hands began to wander, seemingly everywhere, touching, kissing, nibbling, murmuring, stroking, until she was in such a frenzy of desire that she abandoned herself to the pleasure and wanted to touch him too, enjoying the feel of his body under her hands.

  A sudden thrill ran through every nerve as Dane's searching fingers slid between her thighs and moved in an insistent, tantalising rhythm.

  'No, I can't, not that,' she breathed.

  'You've gone this far,' he said softly into her ear.