by Janet Woods
‘Well,’ Jennifer said, for once at a loss as she gazed at Leon. ‘How very odd.’
‘It seems your bride has a hidden past,’ Helen murmured, her malicious tone an obvious attempt to divert attention from the embarrassing social snub, and the desertion of her escort. ‘Care to dance, darling.’
Leon didn’t waste any sympathy on Helen. She’d deserved everything she got, and he certainly wasn’t going to fuel the inevitable gossip by rescuing her.
‘Not now.’ He flicked her clinging hand off his sleeve as if it were something unpleasant. ‘Actually ... never again, Helen. Excuse me, Jennifer. I believe Darcie indicated she wanted me to join them.’
Snatching up Darcie’s evening bag and wrap he set off after the rapidly disappearing couple.
He caught up with them just as they’d got into the hotel lift and nipped through the closing doors after them. Sliding a possessive arm round Darcie’s waist Leon glared at the larger man. ‘Where the hell do you think you’re going with my wife?’
‘Wife?’ Gary’s brown eyes gave Leon the once-over then settled reflectively on Darcie. He gave a wide, sheepish grin as he selected a button on the panel. ‘You didn’t tell me you were married?’
‘You didn’t give me a chance. Perhaps you’d be better off asking Leon’s advice about investing in a business than Colin. He’s a businessman himself.’
Leon’s anger subsided somewhat when Darcie leaned against him and brushed a kiss against his chin before saying lazily. ‘Did you have to go all Neanderthal on me, Gary? I was trying to make a good impression on high society.’
‘You could have fooled me. I thought Helen was distinctly unimpressed. Took off with her man, did you?’
Leon stayed stony faced as Gary’s gaze flickered towards him, despite the bantering look in the man’s eyes.
‘You’d better introduce me before I get my head knocked off.’
Darcie eyes gleamed with amusement as she gazed up at him. ‘Leon, this is Gary Morgan. He and my cousin went to university together, and profess to be friends - though they mostly agreed to disagree.’
‘We debate,’ Gary corrected with a grin.
Leon stuck out his hand with a wintry smile. ‘Leon Price?’
‘I congratulate you on your taste in women. Darcie is a gem, despite her predilection for tying herself in knots at every opportunity. She’s certainly turned into a looker. ‘Having made her blush, Gary turned his attention back to Leon. ‘Land development, isn’t it?’
‘At the moment.’ Leon winced as his hand was enfolded in a crushing grip. Gary Morgan’s brown eyes were uncomfortably astute, at odds with the man’s general self-deprecating geniality. He was older than Leon had first thought, about forty - but fit looking. Leon was left in no doubt that a razor-sharp mind resided inside the homely facade of his skull.
The lift came to a halt at the top floor, and Gary led them across the corridor into a sumptuous suite with windows that looked out over the shimmering night panorama of the city. He settled them both with a drink then took the seat opposite. ‘Tell me, Darcie. How did your father die?’
Seated beside her, Leon almost experienced the spark drain out of her as she told Gary all she’d learned about her father’s death in a hesitant voice.
He couldn’t bear the pain in her voice, and knew he’d never be able to handle it with the ease of this big bluff man who spoke with the familiarity of a long association.
He rose and walked to the window, staring unseeingly into the night as the man gently reminded Darcie of the good times, bringing memories to the surface, sharing them, and turning threatened tears into laughter. The exchange built up her background, made her a real person to him.
Envy grew inside him for that which she’d experienced, and he had not. She’d had a childhood of being loved and wanted - memories to share with this man - and nothing could be better than that.
When he had children of his own they’d always know what love was. Darcie’s face was reflected in the window glass. There were tears in her eyes. She needed someone to love, someone to replace her father. She needed a child to love too - his child.
A sudden raw longing nearly tore the breath from his throat as he recognized his own need. He wanted to be loved - wanted to build up memories with someone - so when he was old they’d have memories to share.
He thought about Sarah Williams, and wondered about her. She’d never had children of her own ... yet she’d been the closest thing to a mother he’d ever known.
There had always been this gnawing hunger inside him, he recognized now, a space that wouldn’t quite heal over - that needed filling. Had Sarah loved him - or had she just regarded him as another child to set straight?
She’d kissed him once, he remembered, and he’d jerked away, embarrassed. But she’d sensed he’d enjoyed the attention because she’d laughed and ruffled his hair. He remembered being angry that she’d known him better than he’d known himself. He felt like that now, about Darcie, suspected she could see inside him into that vulnerable little empty space.
He’d ring Sarah. He’d tell her he was married and invite her out for a holiday, just as he’d promised all those years ago. She’d like Darcie.
Deep in thought, he was surprised when Darcie came to join him at the window and slid her hand into his. ‘Shall we go back down to the function. I’d like to dance with you.’
Anger dug into him like a burning skewer. Why would a woman who’d allowed herself to be bought, want to dance with him? He should refuse. All he wanted to do was take her home and make love to her over and over again, not be paraded on the dance floor like some sort of trophy.’
He knew he was doing her an injustice even thinking this way. Darcie wasn’t like the others. But then, perhaps he was doing the others an injustice as well. He’d never allowed himself to get past a physical level before - and now he’d let someone get under his skin he realized just how vulnerable it made him to have to put another’s needs before his own.
‘Do you really want to?’ he said, keeping the reluctance out of his voice for her sake. Making him a slave to her smile, she nodded. ‘Just for a little while; this hasn’t been an easy night for either of us and I feel savage enough to want to pour some fuel on the flames.’
‘If that’s what you want.’ Forgetting Gary, Leon tipped up her chin and tenderly kissed her. She was doing it for both of them. He’d placed in a position of having to take a stand. Now she needed to consolidate it. He could understand her motive.
So they danced for a while, lightly clinging to each other and gazing with barely disguised sexual awareness into the other’s eyes. As if they were madly in love instead of madly in lust, Darcie thought faintly. The socializing between dances was almost painful, everyone eager to meet her now Helen’s attack was crushed. To the victor the spoils, she thought. Suddenly she couldn’t wait to get back to Petrel Point.
Darcie felt the anger smoldering inside Leon, and her own rose to meet it. She hadn’t enjoyed the evening. Had things gone against her she’d now be the social outcast instead of Helen - yet her conscience ached for what she’d been forced to do.
At least Gary had provided a badly needed shoulder to cry on. It had been wonderful to talk about her father to someone who had known him well, and Gary had always been so easy to talk to.
Neither of them bothered to avoid Helen, who drank a bit too much and laughed far too loudly and for far too long. Eventually, she developed a convenient headache and was escorted away by her brother.
Darcie sighed as she watched her depart in Gary’s arm.
‘Why the sigh, angel?’
‘I feel sorry for her.’
‘Helen’s tough. She’ll get over it,’ Leon said unsympathetically.
‘Are you always so mean about your former lovers?’
‘Stop scratching.’ There was an angry glint in the eyes he turned her way. ‘Helen and I were a mistake. I got it all wrong and feel embarrassed about it, okay?’
‘No,’ he said shortly, then a grin pulled his mouth into a rueful curve. ‘Let’s get out of here before one of us breaks something.’
The sexual tension between them seethed and sizzled in the car. Nerves stretched to breaking point, they’d hardly reached home and closed the door behind them before they were tearing at the other’s clothes.
The intensity of their love-making was charged with a frenetic need to take from the other. There was nothing gentle and loving about it, just a driving need to satisfy the eroticism of the moment. Leon slaked his anger on her body with an impetus inclined towards need rather than enjoyment.
Darcie matched the momentum with an eager fury of her own, as if the very mind-numbing act could make her forget anything else but the desire to satisfy the erotic, driving lust they were both experiencing.
It took a long time before the fire they’d started was totally and utterly extinguished, until they manage to drop into an exhausted sleep.
When Darcie woke Leon’s side of the bed was empty. For a few seconds she listened to the silence of the house, and then crawled out of the tangled bedding. She smelt of Leon - of their lovemaking. He’d been careless last night, and so had she.
The shower was blissfully warm and soothing against her skin. She shampooed her hair, allowing the water to slick through the bubbles as she stretched up towards the cascade.
After she’d dried herself she pulled on some jeans and a floppy blue sweater and made her way to the kitchen, picking up their discarded clothes on the way.
There was a mobile phone on the table with a note. ‘If you want to know where I am, ring this number.’
She waited until she had a mug of tea in her hand before she punched in the number, laughing when Leon immediately said, ‘What took you so long?’
‘I’ve just woken up.’
‘That figures.’ His chuckle was almost a growl. ‘I’m on my way back with Wee Georgie ... just passing the jetty. It’s your turn to cook breakfast. By the time I get back I’ll expect to see scrambled eggs, sausages, tomatoes and toast on the table ... no garlic.’
I’m mad about you, Leon Price, she wanted to say.
‘Is everything all right, Darcie?’
Everything’s perfect. You’re perfect. I love you.
‘Everything’s fine, Leon.’
* * * *
After breakfast, Leon started work on the computer whilst she tidied up the kitchen and bedroom. There were constant phone calls, intercepted by the answering machine first, then taken personally.
Noon brought Gary Morgan to their doorstep. He gave her a hug. ‘I’ve invited myself to lunch, and brought you a wedding present.’
The small package contained a gold nugget attached to a chain bracelet.
‘It was the first one I found. I thought it might bring you luck.’
‘Thank you Gary. I’ll treasure it, always.’
Fastening it around her wrist, he kissed her cheek. ‘Where’s your husband? I’d rather like to talk to him if I may.’
‘He’s in his study, working. I was just about to take him some coffee, so follow me through.’
If Leon was surprised to see Gary he didn’t let it show, but welcomed him with a smile and an outstretched hand. Darcie left them to it, going back to the kitchen to prepare a lunch of homemade chicken broth, followed by a Caesar salad.
Burning with curiosity over why Gary had wanted to see Leon, she only just prevented herself sneaking across the hall to eavesdrop through the keyhole.
Neither of the men said anything when they came across for lunch - but shortly afterwards Leon’s lawyer turned up - followed by Martin, Helen’s brother and the partner in Leon’s business.
Martin was a paler imitation of his sister, tall and handsome, but without her air of exotic drama. His smile, when she opened the door to his knock was almost as personal as the slow lazy scrutiny he subjected her to.
He was wearing shorts and a tee-shirt and had a sweater tied around his waist. He had the poise of a man to whom things came easily - including women. There was a faint smell of alcohol on his breath.
‘I’m surprised Leon didn’t introduce us last night. I’m Martin.’
‘Yes, I know. I’m Darcie ... Darcie Price.’
She wondered if she’d ever get used to the name.
Martin’s lips formed into a practiced smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes. ‘I’m aware of that. You must be something special to have prised Leon away from Helen’s side, hmm?’
A faint blush crept under her skin when his glance grazed across her breasts. There was no mistaking the innuendo, nor the message in the eyes that met hers. He suggested, ‘Perhaps we should meet sometime and find out what that something is.’
Her glance went over his shoulder and she gritted out. ‘There’s no need. You can ask my husband, he’s standing behind you.’
Martin gave a chuckle of laughter, a chuckle that stopped when Leon’s hand descended on his shoulder. ‘I suggest you apologize before we go into the meeting, Martin.’
‘Of course. Excuse my questionable sense of humor, Mrs Price. I had one too many whiskeys for lunch ... a celebration of my freedom. ‘His pleading eyes reminded her of a spoilt dog. ‘Would you be kind enough to rustle me up a cup of coffee and a sandwich?’
Leon smiled approvingly at her when she nodded. ‘I’m sorry, angel, perhaps you could make us all some. Hopefully, we shouldn’t be too much longer.’
‘Where’s Helen?’ Leon asked Martin as they headed to his study. ‘I need to speak to her.’
‘She took off for Melbourne this morning. We had a terrific row last night. She tried to borrow money behind my back in an effort to gain a controlling interest. I’m sick of her interference. Thank God she didn’t sign those papers before she left. I agree to all your terms ... you’ll just have to give me a little time to raise the money.’
‘I’m afraid it’s too late for that, Martin. Someone has leaked it to the newspapers, and some of the contracts are looking decidedly shaky. We’ve got to move fast if the company is to be salvaged ... ’
He who hesitates is lost, she thought.
The saying was something proved later. Martin was a lost cause, his share bought for an unnamed sum - she found out later.
Darcie realized there was nothing indecisive about Leon. He made up his mind quickly, and acted on it with ruthless intent.
Television crews arrived at the house and she learned that Gary Morgan had bought the controlling interest in the company, which would be renamed Morgan & Price Developments. Leon would retain his seat on the board.
Both men were interviewed for the evening news, smiling at each other and shaking hands.
It was a lesson to her in damage control, that when asked the reason for the company changing hands, Leon slipped his arm around her waist and drew her into range of the camera, announcing he wanted to spend more time with his family - and the whole thing had been her idea.
It had just been a passing remark to Gary that Leon was thinking of selling his business.
She smiled bemusedly when there was a barrage of personal questions thrown at her.
When did they meet and fall in love?
Were they planning a family?
How would Leon react if I said; we met in his bed when he thought I was his fiancée, but I wasn’t - and I fell in love, but he didn’t. Though, actually, I only married him to get back my land - which I thought he’d stolen, but he hadn’t. And yes, he seems to be planning a family - but I’m not?
The whole thing was crazy and she knew how he’d react. He’d kiss me in front of everyone and she’d melt. Nobody would believe they were anything but madly, desperately, and completely in love with each other.
Including herself!
Chapter Ten
It seemed that they were asked out everywhere, Darcie got to wear every item in her wardrobe, and knew
if they lived permanently in Perth she would need more clothes.
‘I’ve suddenly become a social butterfly,’ she murmured ruefully, as she selected a soft jersey dress in dark blue for her lunch date with Jennifer.
Leon’s hands spanned her waist from behind, and her breath left her body as he gently bit the lobe of her ear, almost compelling her to lean back against him and invite him to slid his hands up over the silky black slip she was wearing.
‘There’s a surprise for you on the kitchen table. It will look nice with that dress. Have you seen my briefcase anywhere?’
She found it under the bed, and enticed a lingering kiss from him when she straightened the knot in his tie.
‘Don’t tempt me,’ he groaned, taking a deep steadying breath. ‘I’m late as it is. Give my love to Jennifer.’
Leon was so damned sexy, she thought, allowing him to escape. He made her melt with just one look and was becoming an addiction her body constantly craved.
She heard his car drive off within minutes, taking him to one of his interminable meetings with Gary - who was being inducted into the business with a crash course in management.
No wonder he’d wanted to sell the company. He was hardly ever home, except in the mornings and late at night. She was thinking like a possessive, neglected wife! Her grin was tinged by a modicum of shame. Neglected, she wasn’t. Leon always managed to find the time for love, often before she was fully awake and at her most vulnerable and responsive.
He showered her with gifts, jewelry, flowers and chocolates. She’d been spoiled, pampered, and made to feel cherished, she thought, as she pulled the dress over her head. She slipped into her shoes and headed for the kitchen, wondering what the surprise was this time.
She must tell him to stop buying her things. She really didn’t need so many pieces of jewelry. Her honeymoon had been absolutely wonderful - even if they did have to spend an extra week to hand over the business.
The only thing on the kitchen table was a set of car keys. She stared at them for a few uncomprehending seconds, then it hit her with the speed on an express train. He hadn’t! He wouldn’t have ... surely not a car. Grabbing up the keys she rushed outside.