‘Yes, we were quarrelling, Carling. Would you like to know why? I think it’s about time that you learned the truth, then maybe we can all put an end to this...this masquerade!’
She glanced down at Wyatt and felt her stomach roll as she saw the anger on his face. Deliberately she turned away, telling herself that there was nothing he could do to her, but at the back of her mind a small voice was whispering that he could. It made her hesitate for an instant, and he took advantage of it at once.
He rolled to his feet, smiling as though he hadn’t a care in the world. ‘You’ll have to excuse Louise. She’s annoyed because I played a trick on her.’ He laughed as he looped an arm around Louise’s rigid shoulders. ‘I’ve tried to apologise, and of course it isn’t the first time that someone has thought the dog was vicious. After all, Lawrence did originally buy him as a guard dog; he wasn’t to know what an old softie he’d turn out to be.’
What on earth was he saying? Louise stared at him in confusion, then felt her heart somersault when he bent and brushed a lingering kiss on her lips. ‘I really am sorry, darling. I should have told you that the dog was harmless, but it was such an opportunity to have you stay the night with me.’ He shrugged attractively, smiling over her head at Carling, who was watching the exchange with a smile pasted to her mouth.
‘Are you saying that Louise was scared by the dog?’
‘Mmm.’ He laughed easily. ‘I’d better start at the beginning. Louise came downstairs to find us last night while we were out walking, but came across the dog instead. She’d no idea that he wasn’t dangerous. In fact he scared the life out of her. She came rushing back to the house and into my room, and I very wickedly decided not to explain that he wouldn’t hurt a fly, let alone touch her.’ He laid a hand over his heart, wry apology etched on his handsome face. ‘I’m sorry, my sweet I shouldn’t have done it, but it was too much of a temptation to resist. And you must admit that the results made it worthwhile.’
The deep note of intimacy brought the colour into her face, and she gasped, ‘Oh, but it—’
‘Now I understand. However, it would be better if you didn’t wander around outside at night, Louise.’ Carling’s voice was sharp, her displeasure evident as she snatched up her towel. ‘You were fortunate that you tried Wyatt’s window to get back inside. I’d switched off the alarm in his room so that he could open it if he wanted to, but normally all doors and windows are linked up to the central system that goes straight through to the security firm which patrols most of the properties on the island. They can be a trifle trigger-happy if they think there’s an intruder about.’
She said no more as she headed back to the house. Louise watched her go in stunned silence as she digested what had happened, then turned on Wyatt in fury. ‘You knew that dog wouldn’t attack me! Yet you let me carry on thinking that it would!’
‘Guilty.’ He bent and picked up his towel, draping it around his neck as he stared calmly back at her. ‘I can’t see what all the fuss is about. You heard what Carling said. Things could have turned out far worse than they did.’
‘That doesn’t excuse what you did! I could have...have...’ She trailed off abruptly, all too conscious of the hardness of his expression.
‘Waited until I was asleep and then left? Is that what you mean?’ He stared back at her. ‘Do you really think that I would be stupid enough to tell you that the dog wouldn’t touch you and then be forced to spend the rest of the night standing guard? Of course not. The animal was a bigger deterrent than anything else could have been. Now I suggest we go back in and get changed for lunch.’ He turned to go, then paused to glance back over his shoulder. ‘And may I also suggest that you are extremely careful what you say to Carling in future. Don’t be tempted to indulge in another outburst, or you will regret it. I never make idle threats, Louise. I’ve waited too long and worked too damned hard getting this deal together to let you ruin it. Whatever it takes, and no matter who gets hurt, I shall have those hotels!’
He moved away, but it was a long time before Louise summoned up the strength to follow him. She didn’t doubt he meant what he said, and if it had only been those threats he’d made she had to contend with then she would have been sorely tempted to challenge him to do his worst and to hell with the consequences. But now there was something else she had to take into consideration before she did anything rash.
A shiver raced down her spine and she snatched up her things as she tried to suppress the fear. Embarrassment, unsavoury publicity, even the shock and outrage of her family, all those she could cope with because she’d know that they were all the result of a pack of lies. But if Wyatt ever chose to use the desire she felt for him against her then the damage he would inflict would be irreparable.
CHAPTER SIX
CONVERSATION flowed across the table. Louise tried her hardest to concentrate on what was being said, but it was difficult after what had just happened. She’d tried her best while she’d showered and changed to convince herself that it had just been some crazy flight of fancy that had made her so afraid, but as she glanced at Wyatt under her lashes she knew it was a lie.
Her hand shook as she picked up the glass of mineral water and took a sip, studying the way his dark hair lay so sleekly against his skull, how the ice-blue knit shirt strained against the powerful width of his shoulders and heightened the depth of his tan. There had to be some way to work out why he made her feel this way about him, but, so help her, it eluded her. She didn’t want to feel this desire, didn’t want to see the awareness of how she felt in his eyes, yet she couldn’t seem to stop it. Somehow or other, Wyatt Lord seemed to have put her under his spell!
The glass clattered against the top of the whitepainted iron table as she set it down, and she felt him glance at her, but she ignored the look. Picking up her napkin, she folded it neatly then laid it beside her plate.
‘It worries me when I see you looking so on edge, Louise. Makes me wonder exactly what is going on inside that beautiful head right now.’
His voice was deliberately low, so that it wouldn’t carry across the table to where Carling and Lawrence were sitting, and Louise pretended that she hadn’t heard him. But she should have known he wouldn’t give up. He reached across and touched her arm, his fingers closing over her flesh in a caressing gesture that didn’t fool her one bit. She looked up then, forcing herself to meet his eyes, then found she couldn’t hold the gaze and looked away, studying the contrast his dark skin made against the paler gold of hers.
‘You aren’t planning anything else, are you, my sweet? Nothing that would really annoy me?’
Threat rumbled in the deep tones, roughening the velvet, and she stirred uneasily, wishing she could stop the sensations that were springing to life as his hand moved slowly down her arm. ‘No. I just want to get this over and done with as soon as possible. Don’t worry, Wyatt, you’ll get your precious hotels.’
His grip tightened fractionally at the bitterness in her voice, but he made no comment as he lifted his own glass and sipped the iced fruit juice. Tension hummed in the air between them, and across the table Carling raised her head, honing in on it, as she seemed so adept at doing.
‘You two are looking grim. I hope I’m not wasting my time planning this party for you. You don’t want me to cancel it, do you?’
‘Carling, honey.’ Lawrence smiled an admonishment, but his eyes were curious, and Louise sighed as she slipped back into the role she was finding it increasingly difficult to play.
‘Of course not. We’re looking forward to the party, aren’t we, darling?’ she said calmly as she glanced at Wyatt.
‘Certainly.’ He smiled back at her and just for a moment there seemed to be a genuine warmth in his expression, a feeling of a secret that only they shared. Louise drew in a shuddery breath, missing the rest of what was said until Wyatt spoke her name.
‘Sorry?’
‘I was just saying that you might like to help Carling with the arrangements while I’m gone.’
He must have seen her lack of comprehension because he added lightly, ‘Don’t tell me that you’ve forgotten that I’m flying back to Miami this afternoon for a meeting.’
She hadn’t forgotten because he hadn’t told her, and why not? So that she’d have no chance to make any plans, of course! She stared coldly back at him, letting him know that she understood his game. ‘I must have forgotten.’
‘I guess it’s this place. It does kind of have that effect on a person, relaxes you so much that you tend to forget what day of the week it is. Still, I might have expected that it wouldn’t affect Wyatt that way. There’s little that can take his mind off business—apart from you, Louise, of course,’ Lawrence added with heavy gallantry.
‘Oh, I doubt if it would be much of a contest if the chips were down,’ Louise said sharply, then winced when Wyatt caught her hand, his fingers bruising as he hauled her to her feet.
‘There definitely wouldn’t.’ He brushed a hard kiss across her mouth, then glanced at Lawrence. ‘Louise would win hands down every time. Now if you’ll both excuse me I’ll get off. Come with me, honey; and see me off.’
He propelled her along the terrace, gripping her hand so hard that her fingers started to go numb.
‘You’re hurting me. Let me go, you big bully!’ She twisted her hand, but he held on until they rounded a corner and moved out of sight. He let her go abruptly, his face like stone as he backed her into the shade of some flowering bushes. ‘I’ll do more than that if you aren’t careful. I’ve warned you, Louise. You either play this my way or take the consequences, and you wouldn’t enjoy them, believe me.’
She went cold at the deep note of threat, but faced him proudly, refusing to back down. ‘I hate you, Wyatt! You’re cold and unfeeling and completely ruthless. You don’t give a damn about other people’s feelings.’
‘And you do?’ He moved closer, but didn’t touch her, his eyes cold with contempt. ‘Do you care about all the people you hurt, Louise?’
It was almost laughable, if it hadn’t hurt so much to hear him say it that way; she spent her life helping people, not hurting them. ‘I don’t hurt anyone.’
‘No? Then what about the families of the men you get your grasping little hands on?’ He caught her chin and forced her head up, his eyes glittering now with fury. ‘I wonder how many homes you’ve destroyed, how many families you’ve split up, sweet little Louise. You accuse me of being ruthless, but it’s you who are the truly ruthless one. I only take what is rightfully mine!’
He let her go and turned on his heel, but Louise stopped him, incensed that he dared speak to her that way. ‘You have no right to say that! You don’t know a thing about me... not one thing. Everything is based on a pack of lies you’ve invented!’
‘Lies? No way. Oh, I can understand that you’re upset; it’s hard to face the truth and admit what you really are, isn’t it? You’ve probably convinced yourself that these little liaisons you have are all completely innocent. If the gentlemen involved choose to spend their money on you, then that’s up to them, isn’t it? But once all the money has gone then you move on, find someone else to keep you!’ He laughed deeply, staring into her flushed face. ‘You see, I know all there is to know about women like you, Louise—all I want to know, in fact. So save your breath, honey. I don’t want to hear anything else. As long as you serve the purpose I require by being here, then that’s all I’m interested in.’
‘You’re despicable, Lord...completely despicable!’ She whipped up her anger, using it against the pain she could feel aching deep inside her, but he seemed as unmoved by that as he was by everything else. If she’d thought for a moment that he would believe her, then she would have told him exactly what she did, and why she’d been helping that man back in the hotel, but he didn’t want to hear.
‘I’ve been called worse things, so I don’t think I’ll lose too much sleep over it. Just one thing though, Louise... If you were contemplating taking advantage of my being away, don’t bother. I took the precaution of removing your passport from your room before. You won’t get out of the islands without it.’
‘I hate you!’ She spat the words at him, but he didn’t flinch.
‘No more than I hate what you are.’ With a speed that shocked her, he drew her to him and kissed her hard with a total lack of emotion that was an insult in itself. Then he pushed her from him and walked away without a backward glance.
Louise pressed a hand to her stinging lips, closing her eyes against the sudden waves of despair. She hated him! She did... she did! If she kept on repeating it, then maybe it would stop her from feeling as though her heart was being slowly crushed by each cruel word he said.
With Wyatt gone and Lawrence busy in his study, Carling dropped all pretence of politeness. When Louise sought her out to offer help with the arrangements, more out of a need to fill in the day than to accede to Wyatt’s wishes, she was almost rude in her refusal.
‘I really don’t think that there is anything you can do, Louise. It isn’t as though you know any of the people I need to contact, and I doubt if you’ve handled this sort of a party before. Frankly, you’d be more of a hindrance than a help.’
Louise hid her annoyance, biting back the sharp retort. ‘I expect you’re right. It is kind of you to go to so much trouble for us, though.’
‘I’m afraid you’re under a misapprehension; I’m not doing this for you, Louise. I’m doing it for Wyatt.’
‘I understand that, but in the circumstances it is generous of you.’ She paused deliberately, letting her words sink home before adding sweetly, ‘It can’t have been easy for you, Carling, to find out that Wyatt is engaged.’
Carling laughed, a faint colour burning in her cheeks, although her expression remained as frosty as ever. ‘Don’t get too confident! There’s still plenty of time left for Wyatt to come to his senses before the wedding and realise what a mistake he’s made.’ She skimmed a look over Louise’s rigid figure, her mouth curling into a faintly contemptuous smile. ‘You do have a certain naive charm that might have attracted him, but it won’t last. That’s blatantly obvious even now from the way the pair of you act. It puzzled me at first, that tension that surrounds you both, but then I realised that Wyatt is starting to have second thoughts.
‘He’s way out of your league, Louise, and some day soon he’s going to admit that to himself. And when he does I shall be around. Now if you’ll excuse me, there are still things that need to be done. I want this party to be perfect for you, Louise: one special memory to hold on to when this engagement of yours comes to an end.’
She strolled away and Louise slowly counted to ten, then re-counted when it had little effect on her anger. That woman was impossible! If it hadn’t been for the fact that she knew just how Carling would gloat, then she would have gone after her right now and told her the truth—that she was welcome to Wyatt! Frankly, from what she could see they would make a perfect couple!
She was in the pool, trying to work off some of her frustrations, when Wyatt arrived back late that afternoon. She’d tried her hardest to put what Carling had said out of her mind, but as she saw him now, standing on the edge of the pool watching her, she could feel her temper starting to rise again. This was all his fault, every miserable minute of it. If he hadn’t forced her to come here, then she could have enjoyed the rest of her holiday, even though it hadn’t turned out the way she’d originally hoped. He had an awful lot to answer for!
‘Either you’re in training for the next Olympic squad or something has fired you up, honey. So which is it?’
She blinked water out of her eyes as she clung to the side of the pool, and glared up at him. ‘Don’t you “honey” me! For your information I’ve spent a miserable afternoon avoiding Carling rather than suffer any more of her nastiness, and frankly I’ve had it up to here! I suggest you stick around tomorrow, otherwise I’m throwing in the towel. It’s bad enough having to put up with you, let alone have Miss Viper adding her tenpence worth!’
&nb
sp; ‘Mmm, that sounds almost as though you’ve missed me. Have you?’ His voice dropped an octave, dark and dangerous, and Louise turned her face away so that he couldn’t see the sudden awareness in her eyes.
‘No! Don’t flatter yourself, Lord! The only thing I missed was your being here to sweeten Carling’s nasty temper!’
He laughed softly, hunching down so that he could look directly into her face. ‘Why do I get the impression that you’re not being wholly truthful?’ He drew her head round so that he could study the stormy depths of her eyes. ‘It isn’t a crime, Louise, so don’t be shy about admitting that you missed me.’
‘I did not miss you! Understand? As far as I’m concerned you could disappear out of my life tomorrow and I wouldn’t lose a wink of sleep.’ She backed away, forgetting where she was, and came up spitting mouthfuls of water as she swam back to the side and glared up at him. ‘Now look what you made me do. You’re nothing but a menace, Lord!’
‘Typical irrational female logic. You blame me for your mistakes.’ He held his hand down to her, laughter curling his mouth into a smile she felt to the tips of her toes. ‘Come on, let’s have you out of there before you drown...and blame me for it.’
It was just an impulse, that was all, a momentary aberration stemming from all the frustration. In normal circumstances she would never have done such a thing. But then nothing about this whole situation could be classed as normal.
She laid her hand into his then quickly braced her feet against the poolside and pulled...hard! There was a moment, one delicious split-second, when she could savour the shock on his face as he felt himself pitching forward, then he hit the water with a noisy splash and disappeared beneath the surface. Louise gave a tiny, half-horrified giggle, then a small laugh which quickly escalated into a peal of laughter that made her shake. He would be so angry—furious more likely—but it was worth it. He was so infuriatingly smug, so sure that he—
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