'Turn about? What for?' he snapped. 'Why ... to put me ashore,' she faltered, not liking his expression. It had never occurred to her that he would not take her back, and surely he would not hesitate to do so.
'I'm very sorry,' she began hesitantly. 'You're not in the least, but before I've done with you -you may be,' he told her ominously. 'That a shrimp like you should have the audacity ...' he broke off, biting his lip.
Grasping at her sinking courage, Jan reiterated: 'I repeat I'm very sorry to cause you inconvenience, but it's your own fault. If only you'd met me before you cast off, but now it's too late,..'
'Much too late. I've an appointment to keep tomorrow.'
'Oh dear!' She looked at him uncertainly. 'Can I ... get back from wherever it is you're going?'
'With difficulty.' He smiled unpleasantly. 'But I've a score to settle with you first. Don't pretend it isn't your influence that's kept Renata from me.'
'I don't. I've never approved of your behaviour towards her...'
'Who the devil cares about your approval?' He was lashing himself into renewed fury. 'Between you, you and that vacillating cousin of yours have cheated me, made me look a fool—do you think I appreciate that?' His eyes were smouldering, and his voice sank, full of silky menace. 'Didn't it occur to you, you might be taking a risk?'
'I expected you to behave like a gentleman, Mr. Leandris.'
'You didn't. You labelled me chauvinist pig at our first meeting. Leopards ... and pigs ... don't change their spots.'
'I didn't like the way you were talking, Mr. Leandris, and I don't care for the way you're speaking to me now,' Jan returned with spirit. Td do anything for Rena, run any risk to help her.' Anger at his attitude overwhelmed her, her eyes sparkled and her slim body seemed to vibrate with the intensity of her feelings. 'You've behaved like a cad, Mr. Leandris; trying to tempt her with all this sort of thing,' with one slim hand she indicated the cabin, 'to dazzle her with your wealth and good looks, but you've never won her love, which is the only thing that counts, you only overawed her. Thank God she drew back at the last moment. Why can't you stick to your bought women and leave innocent girls alone?'
'Because I didn't believe in Renata's innocence, and as you keep telling me, I'm a cad, and a pig.' He took a step towards her, with an evil glint in his eyes. 'I intend to live up to that reputation tonight.'
Jan backed away from him, moistening her dry lips with the tip of her tongue.
'What... what do you mean, Mr. Leandris?'
'You've defrauded me of my woman, but you're a woman too.' His eyes glittered. 'I need one tonight.'
This must be a nightmare, she thought wildly, it couldn't really be happening. Weakly she protested:
'You've never seen me as a woman before, you consider I'm plain and insignificant...'
He interrupted: 'Presumably you've a woman's body under that unspeakable dress, that's all that matters.'
Jan's face flamed. 'Good Lord, Mr. Leandris, you're even more despicable than I thought!'
'Despicable, am I?' he snarled. 'I'll teach you to call me names!'
He seized her then, enclosing her in arms which felt like steel bands. He crushed her against his hard, lean body, and his mouth ravished her lips. Her first kiss ... only it was not a kiss, it was punishment for her presumption. She fought him desperately, but her puny strength was nothing against his, and deep down within her, something which she did not know existed stirred—the response of the female to a masterful male. She went limp in his arms and he dropped her down upon the divan. Instantly she was upon her feet again, and swinging back her arm struck him across the face with all her force, increased by her sense of outrage. He drew back with an oath, for Jan's slap had been hard.
'A wildcat, eh? It'll be a pleasure to tame you!'
'You're a brute!' she cried, hysterically, bewildered by the strange emotions surging through her.
'Brute, cad, pig—it gets monotonous.' He actually smiled. He touched the red mark on his cheek. 'You'll pay for this, my girl.'
Jan threw back her head, her small breasts heaving, her blue eyes wide and defiant. Her hair, loosened by the struggle, hung about her shoulders like a fine brown web. Her cheeks were flushed and she looked vividly alive, completely different from her usual colourless self. An appraising look came into the man's eyes; for the first time he was seeing her as a woman, and a woman with possibilities.
'I'm at your mercy,' she told him, 'but it's too much to expect you to be anything but ruthless. Do what you want to do, and I'll endure it, thanking God I've saved Rena from your clutches.'
Alex laughed. 'What melodrama!' he mocked her. 'So you'll endure my embraces because you can't avoid them.' The amusement deepened in his eyes. 'Perhaps I can teach you to enjoy them.'
His arrogant assurance enraged her. 'Never!' she cried furiously. 'Never is a long time.'
His manner changed, became curt and commanding. He went to the inset cupboard and extracted some diaphanous nightwear which he threw on to the divan. 'You will put that on and ...' he swept the cushions off it, 'and get into bed. When I return I shall expect you to be ready for me.' 'I'll do no such thing!'
He looked at her and there was something in his expression which caused her to quail in spite of her brave defiance.
'You would prefer that I strip you myself?' 'No, please, no!' She shrank away from him. 'Then do as you're bid. I'll return shortly.' He went out, locking the door behind him. Jan stood looking wildly round the cabin. She did not doubt he would do as he had threatened, and there was no escape. She went into the bathroom, but the bolt on the door was flimsy, Alex would soon force it. Then philosophically deciding she must accept her situation, she took off her soiled clothes and showered. The relief was exquisite. Reluctantly she put on the silken nightdress and negligee, and leaving her discarded garments on the bathroom floor, went back into the cabin. She stood by the divan, gazing at it with fast beating heart. Theoretically she knew the facts of life, and she considered the sex act to be the final expression of love, and giving of body and soul to the man who had won her heart, but there would be no love about tonight's proceedings. A brutal deflowering to assuage an angry frustration. She could expect no gentleness from Alex, she could only hope it would be quickly over, an unpleasant episode to be forgotten, if she could, as soon as possible.
She heard the click of the key in the lock, and hastily wriggled under the embroidered cover which disguised the divan's true purpose. Beneath it were silk sheets which were cold to her skin; she felt as if she had turned to ice.
Alex came in. He had changed into a gorgeous oriental robe in which he looked alien and sinister. His black head was damp, as if he too had showered, and the normally rigorously suppressed curls had triumphantly asserted themselves, causing him to appear wholly Greek. She noticed then, her sharpened senses aware of details, that his ears were slightly pointed. A classical satyr, she thought wildly, and her eyes went to his feet, half expecting to see hooves. How could Renata have encouraged him? Not surprising she had turned chicken when it came to the crunch, and she recalled with a shudder that her cousin had said he would be a brute in bed. Now she must suffer for Renata's folly.
Alex stepped lightly towards the divan. There was no expression on his olive face, it seemed carved out of marble. He stripped the cover off her and stood looking down at her recumbent body. Defensively Jan had assumed the fetal position, her knees drawn up to her chin, her long hair covering her neck and chest, her face pressed into a cushion. She felt his hands upon her as he deliberately turned her over, straightening her limbs, and sweeping her hair back from her face and shoulders. His fingers moved over her, stroking her smooth skin lightly and caressingly. Their touch sent ecstatic thrills along her quivering nerves. His hands came to rest on her bosom, pressing her breasts gently, and she became aware of her own physical response. She could not endure much more of this, and keeping her eyes closed, she said through her teeth:
'Please hurry up and get it o
ver.'
'What a charming invitation!' He laughed softly. 'Jan, Jan, you're more a woman than I thought, or you did either. When you've matured you'll be quite a girl.'
She made a convulsive movement, but his hands still held her down. She opened her eyes to find his face only inches from her own, his eyes full of amusement, his firm mouth curved almost tenderly. She had a wild impulse to raise her arms and fling them round his neck, to bring that imperious head down upon her breast, and she suppressed it with difficulty. Quivering, aware of dark forces rising within her, she waited for his next move, her body anticipating the weight of his.
To her surprise, he removed his hands and straightened himself, drawing the cover up over her as he said:
'You mayn't believe it, but I don't rape unwilling virgins.'
Astonished, she. sat up abruptly, pushing back her hair.
'But you told me ...'
'That I would teach you a lesson. You've had it. I can imagine what went on in that prudish mind of yours while you were waiting for me. Now you may sleep in peace.'
The calm effrontery of his words stung her even through the tumult of her emotions.
'You're a sadist!' she accused him. 'Was it chivalrous to frighten a helpless girl?'
'Sadist?' he said musingly. 'That's a new one, but what else could you expect after provoking and challenging me? Be consistent, my dear. I was only living up to your opinion of me, and chivalry is scorned by the modern independent miss.'
Vaguely confused, she murmured his name, 'Oh, Alex...'
He had turned towards the door and he swung round to look at her. Her wide, puzzled eyes met his with something in them with which he was familiar.
'Perhaps you weren't so unwilling after all,' he told her smiling. 'You underestimated me, didn't you? But even brutes and sadists have scruples. It would be poetic justice if you came to desire me, though that's a word you consider almost improper, don't you?'
'That's impossible!' she cried feverishly, fearing he might be speaking the truth. This strange new yearning which filled her being must be desire, the need of a woman for a man. But she did not want Alex, she could not. He was ... what was he? She stared at him blankly, wondering if all the labels she had attached to him could be wrong. She did not really know him at all, she had only judged him by his behaviour to Renata, who, she had to admit, had led him on, and his arrogant manner. Her breasts still tingled from the pressure of his hands, her body was protesting that she had been denied what she desired, but desire was not love. She could never love Alex, and this belated rousing of her senses brought her down to his level. She was bewildered and shocked.
'I'd be more likely to fall for the devil,' she declared emphatically.
'His Satanic Majesty has a fascination all his own,' Alex returned imperturbably. 'And I've been compared to him more than once, but never forget you're on the side of the angels, so I must be anathema to you.'
Jan had drawn up her knees and clasped them with her bare arms. She sat regarding him with a sort of wistful wonder, her eyes contradicting her caustic tongue. The subdued lighting made her flesh appear translucent and gave mystery to her long eyes. It found threads of gold amidst her light brown hair. She looked very young, vulnerable and appealing. Alex passed his hand across his brow with an impatient gesture.
'Don't look at me like that, girl,' he said harshly, 'or I may change my mind. Goodnight, Jan.'
He went out, closing the door firmly behind him.
CHAPTER FOUR
Jan lay, awake after Alex had left her, trying to calm her agitation and take stock of her situation. Apparently Alex was bound for some unnamed port from which he would presumably send her back to Kusadasi, though he had not sounded very co-operative about that, and she had no money and no passport, but he could not want to prolong her stay upon his ship, and she did not believe he was quite such a heel as to abandon her. Besides, surely her uncle would make some enquiries about her when she failed to return to the villa. Presumably when she was missed Renata would tell her father where she had gone, but neither of them would expect her to be on the yacht. Mercifully they were not the worrying sort, but they might imagine she had fallen off the quay. If they went to the police, she hoped it would mean trouble for Alex, for he had behaved abominably. What excuse he could offer to Jeremy for abducting her she could not imagine, that it was in mistake for his daughter would hardly placate him, but Alex was inventive enough to find a plausible reason.
She must insist that he do something next day to allay their anxiety, for she was too spent to tackle him tonight, even if she knew where to find his quarters aboard. That she would have to face him in the morning, unless he intended to keep her locked up, was not a pleasant prospect, for he had outraged and in suited her, though he had spared her the ultimate degradation. Her body was sore from the violence of his first embrace, but with self-disgust, the recollection of it caused a retrospective excitement to stir in her veins. She had never in all her short life been so stimulated and alive as she had felt during her exchanges with him, but he was vindictive and cruel, and it was all the more galling to have to admit he could so affect her. But she was not afraid of him, she told herself feverishly; he had might on his side, but she had cunning. She had won the first round at slight cost to herself, for she had saved Renata, and now Alex's initial anger was spent she would be in no physical danger from him, for he could not possibly find her desirable.
The motion of the ship was soothing, and at length her nerves quietened and she was lulled into sleep.
Jan awoke to find the sun pouring in at the window, and a woman, presumably a stewardess, offering her a cup of tea.
'Kalimera,' she said, and she had no English, for when Jan asked her what time it was she shook her head. But she had a message to communicate, for after cogitating for a while, she came out with, 'Petit dejeuner and pointing to the ceiling, 'Deck,' from which Jan gathered breakfast was to be obtained up above, and she was anxious to demand that Alex reassured her relatives.
She showered, and, wrapped in a big towel, hunted for her clothes, but there was no sign of them. She stood biting her lips, for she could not go up on deck arrayed only in a bath towel, and she was hungry, having missed her dinner the night before. The tantalising smell of coffee drifted in through the window which the woman had opened, increasing her appetite.
There was a bell beside the divan and she pressed it hopefully. Almost immediately the stewardess returned, and Jan indicated by signs that she wanted her clothing.
'Ne, thespoinis,' the woman said; she was far from being a girl, with a pleasant but by no means handsome face. Evidently Alex did not seek amorous entertainment among his staff. She opened a drawer and presented Jan with a clean 6et of nylon underwear, and took from the cupboard in the wall a silk dress which she offered to her with a beaming smile. Jan wondered if Alex kept a stock of garments for his stray females he enticed on board, but she could not possibly wear them. She shook her head and tried in English and her schoolgirl French to explain that she wanted her own things.
The woman got the message, and with elaborate pantomime and the inflections of her voice, made Jan understand that the dress she had been wearing was soiled and unsuitable for yachting. She made rubbing and wringing gestures to indicate that Jan's clothes were being washed, all but Renata's cloak, but over that she shook her head.
'Sun,' she said, pointing outside. It was not the right wear for a bright, hot morning.
Reluctantly Jan dressed herself in the borrowed plumes, realising that if she did not she would get no breakfast. The dress was white with a navy blue stripe down one side and along the hem. With it went a little blue silk jacket with short sleeves. It fitted fairly well and it certainly looked nautical. Jan did her hair in its customary knot in her nape, and went on deck.
Breakfast was laid under an awning in the stern— coffee, crisp rolls, butter, honey and a big bowl of fresh fruit, including the ripe figs for which Turkey was famous. Alex was wa
iting for her seated in an upright canvas chair, and there was another opposite to him. He was all in white, trousers, deck shoes and a short-sleeved singlet with a striped V neck. In spite of her resentment against him, Jan's heart leaped when she saw him, he looked so handsome and debonair. They both said good morning formally, and he sprang up to arrange her chair.
'I see Ariadne found you something to wear,' he remarked as she seated herself a little self-consciously. 'We keep a spare wardrobe for guests who get wet through or lose their luggage. You look very fetching, except for your hair. Why will you wear it in that unbecoming style?'
'Because it's neat and tidy,' she returned, as he resumed his seat. 'I've thought of having it cut short, but then I'd have to keep having it trimmed. But my hairstyle can't be of interest to you.' 'Why not, since I have to look at it?' 'Unfortunate, isn't it?' She gave him a gamine grin. 'Your sailors' zeal is responsible for that. They shouldn't have been in such a hurry to get me aboard.' 'Oh, I don't know.' He leaned back in his seat. 'I find the present situation piquant. Shall I pour your coffee?'
'Thank you. Well, I find the situation deplorable. You must do something to let Uncle Jeremy know I'm safe.'
'That has already been covered by radio. I'll ring him from Istanbul with full explanations.'
So he had not been too incensed to allay her uncle's anxiety. She gave him a grateful smile.
'What possible explanation can you give?' she asked.
'Easy. I'll tell him I've borrowed you to do some clerical work for my mother, her own secretary having been taken ill, and we hadn't time to inform him as he was absent and I had to leave in a hurry.'
Jan wrinkled her brows; she thought it sounded a bit thin, but Jeremy was so vague he might swallow it.
'So you have a mother?' She was curious about the lady.
'Yes, she lives in Istanbul. Why do you look surprised? -Most men have mothers. I had a father too, but he died prematurely of a stroke through overwork.'
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