Tender Persuasion

by Sara Wood

  'Don't make sweeping generalisations,' he growled. 'I have no intention of leaving. Now, stand away from that table and find something else to do.'

  'If you're going to be working here, then I will,' she said. 'I have no wish to be near you!'

  She was lying. She wanted to fling herself into his arms and draw his angry mouth to hers. She wanted those hard, merciless eyes to look at her with tender longing again, and the harsh lines of his face to become drowsy with love. But he looked formidable and withdrawn, and she was too uncertain of herself. He might take her, mockingly, and then discard her again. And her self-confidence and respect couldn't cope with that.

  Behind her, Dane and Charlie were arguing as they moved the table. It sounded ugly. For once in his dealings with others Dane wasn't staying cool and using reason. Jade realised with a sinking feeling that she was the only person she'd every heard him lose his temper with. That must mean something, she thought gloomily. They struck sparks from one another because they were incompatible.

  Then, as she crossed the arena and smiled vaguely at the farmer's wife who ran the pony rides, she saw the woman gasp in astonishment and start to run in Dane's direction.

  'He's fallen, or something,' she called to Jade.

  Whirling around, Jade could only see Charlie, crouching on the ground, and then she too began to run, easily outstripping the farmer's wife. Charlie, was bending over Dane and the big man's eyes looked guiltily at Jade when she arrived out of breath.

  'I hit him,' he said simply.

  Her huge eyes flew down to the recumbent figure. Dane lay stretched out, his face pure and beautiful to her, looking as if he was peacefully asleep.

  'Oh, my dear, what happened?'

  Thinking rapidly, Jade jumped up as the farmer's wife arrived, panting heavily. This was a difficult situation. She couldn't get into explanations now. More helpers turned up.

  'It's all right,' she smiled. 'He fell. I think he banged his head on something. Charlie and I will see to him. You carry on. It's nothing, really.'

  She hadn't really lied, just turned the truth around for everyone's good. And his head was turning from side to side, indicating that he was just coming around.

  'Charlie and I can get him to hospital if we think he needs it,' she said, knowing the St John's Ambulance Brigade had packed up and left an hour ago. 'Please, carry on, you're needed much more elsewhere. He'll be all right, honestly.'

  They moved away, casting backward glances at Jade and the two men. She was searching the arena for something to put under Dane's head, but saw nothing. Her heart was thudding violently with anxiety.

  'He will be all right, won't he, Charlie?' she asked, kneeling beside Dane.

  'I think so. We'll soon know,' he muttered. 'Jade, I am sorry. We got heated and…'

  Jade sighed. 'Did anyone see?'

  'I don't think so. It happened so fast. You look awfully upset.'

  'Of course I'm upset!' she muttered.

  'You… still have some feelings for him?'

  She thought Dane's eyelids flickered and decided not to take any chances.

  'Don't be ridiculous, Charlie. I've got more sense. I'd be upset at anyone lying helpless like that,' she said crisply.

  Dane moaned and his lashes fluttered again on his cheeks. She leant over him, her long black hair brushing his face.

  His lids lifted slowly. To Jade's consternation, his eyes grew warm and sultry. He smiled at her and the knives of impossible love slashed cruelly through her heart.

  'Jade?' he muttered, puzzled by the anguish of her face. Then his hand lifted to his jaw and in a flash his expression had changed to a cold stone mask. He struggled on to one elbow and Charlie helped him to sit up.

  'I'm sorry, Dane,' he said. 'I shouldn't have done that.'

  'You pack one hell of a punch,' growled Dane. 'I'll remember not to lose my temper with you next time.' He shot Charlie a baleful look. 'But it really isn't any of your business.'

  'You shouldn't have spoken to Jade like that,' he said truculently.

  'I speak to people as they deserve,' said Dane coldly. 'And believe me, if I really said everything I thought about Jade, she'd never recover. Help me up.'

  She watched the two men mutely. Dane really hated her. He probably despised her for letting him… she felt a flush of heat rise to her face at their abandoned lovemaking and gave an inner groan. It was awful, surrendering yourself so completely, becoming so incredibly intimate with a man and then conducting a cold war with him, knowing that when he looked at you he remembered that intimacy, the caresses, the total wantonness of your union.

  Jade's shame was complete. But as Charlie tried to make amends for his uncivilised behaviour by helping Dane to a chair, she found herself worrying about how groggy Dane looked. Her love and concern won over pride.

  'I'd better take a look at his jaw,' she said briskly to Charlie. If she could ignore Dane and treat him like a lump of flesh and bone, then she could handle her screaming emotions and hammering pulses.

  'I'm all right,' said Dane testily.

  'Sit still and be quiet,' she said with a sharpness she didn't feel. 'We don't want you keeling over later, when you're on your own in that big house.' The thought made her tremble.

  'I'm all right,' he repeated. 'I moved back enough not to take the full force of his punch. He would have broken my jaw otherwise.'

  'You were unconscious,' she said, her voice cracking a little in worry. He wasn't going to look after himself, she could see that.

  'Dazed,' he said. 'I could hear everything that was going on all the time, although I must admit it was in a kind of fog and I wasn't sure what was nightmare and what was reality. Not till I was in full possession of my senses,' he said bitterly. 'I just needed a moment to gather myself together.'

  She looked doubtfully at Charlie, who shrugged.

  'Leave me here,' said Dane irritably. 'When I feel OK I'll come and help with the final clearing up. I have to appear at the get-together afterwards—and all of us had better appear to be the best of friends to allay any gossip. Thanks for the remark, Jade, about me hitting my head. You think quickly on your feet.'

  'I don't know…' she began uncertainly, crushing the delight at his praise.

  'Will you both realise that I am all right and I want to be left alone, and the last thing I want for my recovery is you two around?' he glared.

  She bristled immediately. 'That's fine by me. Come on, Charlie. Dane's thick skin probably saved him from any damage.'

  Again, Jade put all her energies into helping. By the time the field was clear—apart from the marquee, which would be dismantled by the hire firm the next morning—she was utterly exhausted. She'd cast surreptitious glances in Dane's direction and seen him sitting sullenly in the chair, his legs outstretched, his hands thrust into his pocket as he stared directly ahead. Then later she'd glanced from under her lashes at the chair across the arena and found that it had gone, and Dane with it.

  'Jade! Come on, nothing else to do!' called Mrs Love from the marquee entrance.

  Remembering Dane's words about acting friendly, Jade walked reluctantly over. At the end of every Garland Day, the helpers who stayed to clear up were always rewarded by the parish council with home-made cider and fish and chips brought in from a Lewes chip shop. It was always a jolly occasion, but Jade was not in the mood. She was drained and yet she'd have to spend an hour or so being cheerful. Worse, she'd have to be charming to the man she loved and hated in equal measures.

  The twenty or so people, mainly men, were clustered around Dane, who was regaling them with a story that made the tent resound with laughter. Putting on a bright smile, Jade collected the last bag of fish and chips from Mrs Love and they both went over to join the crowd.

  'Hello, Jade,' called Dane, his mouth smiling, his eyes blank. He immediately shifted his attention to the surrounding men. 'Shall we find some chairs? I'm exhausted. We City men aren't used to all this physical work.'

  'You pulled
your weight as well as the rest of us,' observed the farmer. 'A bit more than some of us, in fact,' he said meaningfully nodding at his two sons, who were chatting up the vicar's two daughters. There was a general laugh as chairs were arranged in a convivial circle and everyone began to delve into the food hungrily.

  Dane had imperceptibly motioned Jade and Charlie to join him and they sat on either side, making bright conversation. Although Dane kept up a running commentary on the afternoon's events, causing much laughter with his dry wit and clever tongue, she was aware that he was very tired—perhaps as tired as she.

  It was a tiredness more than purely physical. It was a feeling that everything had ended and there was nothing left to look forward to in the future. For Jade, naturally bubbly and optimistic, that was terribly depressing.

  Her eyes constantly strayed to the set of the muscles in Dane's thigh as they flexed and moved beneath the tight black jeans. Because of the way the chairs had been placed, in a friendly intimacy, they were very close. Dane's arms, in the short-sleeved red shirt, occasionally brushed hers as he dipped in the bag of chips or manoeuvred the golden crispy cod into his mouth.

  She dreaded every movement of his body. Her senses were alive to him, alerted to every breath and exhalation, straining for the faint musky smell of his body that had delighted her nostrils after they had made love. She could detect it now, and the sweet agony that washed through her and turned her body to molten fire was almost unbearable.

  Bravely she struggled to keep a cheerful face, hoping no one would notice the sexual tension that she could feel tying Dane and herself in an unholy alliance. He felt it. She saw how his chest was rising and falling faster than before, how his fingers moved rapidly with a kind of anger. He obviously found it infuriating that her body was putting out signals, but she couldn't help it! And she was trying to pretend they were just on amiable terms.

  Eventually the nerve-racking meal was over. Jade had forced herself to eat, knowing how weak she felt, but every mouthful had been an effort to swallow.

  By some kind of telepathic agreement, she, Dane and Charlie lingered behind till they were the only ones left.

  Charlie looked at the tense, grim couple who seemed unable to meet each other's eyes. He went over to Jade, kissed her on the cheek affectionately, nodded to Dane and walked out.

  'How do you feel?' asked Jade in a false bright tone.

  'Like hell.'

  'What… what did you say to Charlie, to make him hit you?' she asked, concealing her nervous reaction to his harsh answer.

  'Nothing much. I think we'd both been brewing up for some kind of showdown for a long time. He seems to have taken on a protective role towards you. And he made it quite clear that he knew we'd been… lovers.' He paused. 'I didn't think you were the kind to kiss and tell.'

  Jade's lips had parted in an unconscious invitation at the sensual way his voice had caressed the word 'lovers,' totally oblivious of the rest of his words. She raised pleading eyes to him, sure that the pulsating vibrations surging between them must derive partly from his own desire. For a brief moment, she thought a naked hunger flared in his eyes, and then it died.

  'Well? Did you tell Charlie about us?' he demanded.

  'Before we—before you seduced me,' she said bravely, squaring her shoulders, 'you upset me about something and Charlie wanted to know why I was angry.' She refused to say she'd cried. 'I said I'd been stupid enough to find you attractive briefly and regretted it. I didn't ever tell him we'd been lovers, he must have guessed from the way we behaved. He watches me closely, you know. Besides, we've never been real lovers. You don't know the meaning of the word.'

  'I'm tired. I'm going home,' he breathed, staggering a little as he moved.

  'Oh! Dane! Will you be all right?' she gulped. 'Do you want me to…'

  'No!' he roared, wincing at the pain in his jaw. 'I most certainly do not want you.'

  In a furious rage, he stormed into the night. So, thought Jade bitterly, he didn't even feel anything physical for her. She'd risked his scorn by allowing her feelings to surface, and been slapped down cruelly. That was something that wouldn't happen again.

  It was her own humanity to her fellow man, she told herself, that kept her awake for a while that night, wondering if he was all right or whether he had sunk into a concussed daze. The only way she could think of checking without getting her head bitten off was to pretend to do some work in the library.

  When she spotted the men in Jubilee Meadow taking down the marquee as she fed the chickens that next morning, she lifted her long skirts and scrambled over the wall, hailing one of them.

  'Is Mr King around?' she yelled.

  'Not seen him. We rang the bell, but there wasn't any answer. Thought we'd get on without him.'

  She threw him a nod and hurtled off to the big house, her brows furrowed in anxiety. She shouldn't have left him. Pride or no pride, she ought to have found some way of keeping an eye on him. Maybe Mrs Love would have stopped overnight, or even Charlie…

  Breathless, she rang the bell. There was no answer. Jade hopped about from one foot to the other in panic, leaning on the bell for all she was worth. Since it was Sunday morning, Mrs Love wasn't calling in, though Jade could always get the key from her. She wondered what to do. Impulsively, she raced around the back of the house and tried the kitchen door. It was open! He must have been too tired—or too dazed, she thought, in rising hysteria—to lock it.

  Jade dashed inside and checked to see if there was any evidence of breakfast dishes around, in case he'd gone for an early morning stroll. Nothing. Taking a deep breath, she pounded up the stairs, two at a time, and then stood panting in an agony of indecision outside the master bedroom.

  'Who the hell is that?' yelled a furious voice.

  Jade squeaked in horror and turned to race back downstairs again, realising that not only was Dane conscious, but as mad as hell to have his Sunday morning disturbed!

  Before she could reach the top of the stairs, his strong hand caught her arm and was twisting her roughly around.

  'What are you up to?' he demanded.

  Jade stared, paralysed with fear. He had wrapped a small towel precariously around his hips. Apart from that he was naked. His vital masculinity was overpowering. His fury was unmistakable. When she didn't answer, his lips tightened into a thin, hard line and he pushed her into his bedroom, throwing her on the bed. Jade could hardly breathe in panic.

  'I said,' he said menacingly, 'what are you up to?'

  'I thought… I…' She gathered herself together. He had no business treating her like that. She'd only been trying to help. 'When you didn't answer the bell, I thought you might be suffering from the effects of Charlie's fist,' she said defiantly, sitting up and glaring at him. 'I wondered whether you were concussed. It's evident you aren't, so if you don't mind, I'll go.'

  'I didn't know you cared.'

  She cast him a suspicious look from beneath her lashes. The tone had no expression, and she couldn't tell if he was mocking her or not.

  'I don't,' she said, tossing her head. 'I was worried that if I left you and you got worse, Charlie might be in trouble and get sued for assault or something.'

  'Charlie and you seem pretty attached to one another,' he muttered, moving near so she couldn't get off the bed without pushing him away.

  'At least when he kisses me, he knows it's me. You must have the devil of a job remembering what name to cry out in your passion!' she said recklessly.

  Too recklessly, she discovered. Hating to be second fiddle, even if he wasn't particularly interested in a woman, Dane obviously decided to show her that he could still excite her. His eyes blazed and he pushed her back on the bed, yanking away the covers so that she lay on the sheet still warm from his body.

  The trembling began within her as his glittering eyes locked with hers and prevented her from calling out or even moving. Slowly his face came nearer and nearer, until it was inches away. Then his mouth ground cruelly into hers, forcing
it open, taking total possession of it with a desperation that hurt her even as it ignited her.

  She found her arms stealing up around his neck and she wriggled down in the bed, as his hands ran up and down her body in that terrible, tormenting eroticism which captured her senses every time. The towel had slipped away. He lay heavily on her, moving against her clothed body sensually, and she moaned in longing.

  He rose above her, his eyes hard, and Jade flung her head to one side to avoid the lust and hate, and then her face registered shock. Her body stilled and seemed to close up.

  Dane's cruel fingers bit into her chin as he forced her to look at him.

  'What hell are you planning now?' he asked hoarsely.

  Her dead eyes met his. He searched her face, his expression thunderous.

  'Sebastian!' he hissed.

  Jade couldn't believe that her late husband could still reach out from the grave and affect her life. But something in her physical make-up had made her freeze when she realised she was in the same bed… Her eyes closed.

  'I'm sorry,' she said in a dull voice. 'I didn't mean to lead you on. We do have some kind of animal attraction between us, don't we?'

  She heard him curse viciously, and then the bed rose as he got up. Rustling sounds told her he was dressing.

  'It was Sebastian you thought of at that moment, wasn't it?' he said coldly.

  'Yes,' she answered.

  'I fall for it every time,' he muttered. 'You only have to part your lips and I want to kiss you. I think you're right, Jade. There is an animal lust that knows no sense or decency between us. It's something I've never experienced before and I don't like its capacity to destroy. If you don't want to be raped one day, you'd better stop fluttering your eyelashes at me every time you feel in need of sex. Turn to Charlie instead. I'm sure he'll oblige.'

  'Oh! You bastard!' she breathed in outrage, jumping off the bed.

  'Wait a minute,' he said with a frown. 'What were you ringing the front door bell for?'

  She tried to marshal her thoughts together. What was her excuse? 'I wanted to consult a book in the library,' she said haughtily.

  'How much longer will you need the facilities there?' he frowned, buttoning his shirt. 'I think it would be better for both of us if you put in some concentrated work while I'm in London and got your damn book finished.'