by Ally Forbes
Tara took another deep drink from her glass and Xander refilled it as soon as she set it down.
‘My mother always told me that I’d know the woman I’d marry the first time I saw her. I dismissed this as romantic nonsense.’ He paused to take a sip of his wine. Tara noticed that he took only the smallest sip of his drink.
He looked at her direct again, his steel blue eyes mesmeric,
‘When I saw you that day, at the bottom of the steps of my home, I knew. I knew you were to be my wife. The jealousy I felt when Arlen took you away was a shock to me.’
He took a deep breath.
‘I’ve had so many women I lost count a long time ago. I’ve watched my brother go through more than his fair share of women.......but it was you that I had to have....and you I could not have.’
The doors were opened and the main course arrived.
Xander fell silent and the meal was served.
Tara picked up a fork and ate. Her appetite had gone but she knew she had to eat to keep her strength and wits about her.
‘I searched your house. I buried my head in your clothes. I had you followed, photographed. You’ve been all I can think about. I knew when you were with my brother and the thought of you together makes me feel.......... ,’ he turned his head to gaze at the sky and sighed bitterly.
Tara remained silent, pushing the food around her plate.
‘I want you to give me a chance Tara. I just want you to give me some time, get to know me. I didn’t know how to do this in any other way.’
Tara shook her head, ‘How can you say those things after chasing me up the stairs with intent to ...to...’
‘I want you to give me a chance but if you don’t Tara, well....what can I say....,’ he shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly.
‘Rape?,’ she asked incredulously.
‘You don’t have to put it quite so... bluntly Tara.’ He smiled again and indicated for her to eat.
Instead she picked up her glass and drank. The effects of the wine was starting to numb her anger but this she thought deep down was maybe what she was looking for. Something to numb the unease and loss of control Sss ting to n she felt.
She took a mouthful of the food which was as Xander had told her, unrivalled in taste but she could hardly swallow it down.
They were interrupted by one of the waiting staff and Xander’s look of displeasure was murderous.
‘Sir, I’m very sorry to interrupt but we have a bit of a ......situation at the front door.’
‘Well deal with it then,’ he demanded.
Tara could hear shouts from the grand hall, echoing along to them.
‘I’m sorry Sir but the problem is somewhat ...em...personal.. in nature,’ he glanced at Tara, ‘and I think that maybe you should come to the door to sort this out.’
Xander stood up, glowering at the man, impatient and exasperated.
‘Please excuse me Tara. I’ll be back with you shortly.’
He strode from the table and slammed the doors to the room closed.
Tara’s heart leapt - he had left his suit jacket on the back of the chair.
12.
Tara quickly crossed to other side of the table and checked through Xander’s pockets. The outer pockets of his jacket were stitched shut. She held her breath as she slid her hand into his breast pocket. She had his phone. Taking it out of his jacket she realised that she didn’t have Arlen’s number. Her fingers shook and she nearly dropped the phone.
Arlen was the only one who could help her out of this. Despite what he’d done to her, she had to hope that he would to speak to his brother and persuade him to her go.
She thumbed through the contacts list and there it was, Arlen. Listed simply and easily.
She hit the dial button and waited.
The shouting from the hall grew louder.
Come on, please come on, answer.
The clicks and dials were interminable and then he answered.
‘Where the hell are you Xander?,’ Arlen’s voice was furious.
‘Arlen. It’s Tara.’
‘God Tara. Where are you? What’s going on?’
< Vss ti size="p width="1em">‘I don’t have time to explain. Please listen. Xander has taken me to his place in Italy, I don’t know exactly where we are. He’s keeping me here against my will and I need you to help, to try to talk to him. I can’t get to a phone. Please help me. I’m scared’ She fought back the tears as she spoke to him. Footsteps and voices approached to door and Tara whispered, ‘I have to go,’ pushing the phone quickly back into Xander’s jacket.
Maria entered the room and eyed her suspiciously.
The shouting from the door had not abated.
‘What’s going on Maria?’ Tara asked the woman.
‘Nothing to concern you Miss Applebee. Now let me help refresh you .’
The woman put her hand up to Tara’s hair.
‘Don’t touch me Maria. How dare you touch me after I asked for your help.’
Maria looked startled.
‘Mr Ashbrook only wants the best for you Miss Applebee. You should perhaps consider his...... needs.’
She fiddled with a section of her hair again and Tara brushed her off and stood up.
‘Don’t you touch me again Maria or......,’ the fury on Tara’s face made Maria take a step back from her.
Tara strode from the balcony and to the doors.
The panic rose in Maria’s voice,
‘Where are you going Miss? Stop...’
Tara flung open the huge doors and made her way towards the raised voices.
At the bottom of the stairs Tara could see the woman that she had first seen at Blackfell, the woman evicted from the big house by Xander, the same lingerie-clad woman in Arlen’s house. Seeing her made Tara stop in her tracks, shocked and bewildered.
Xander had his back to Tara and was in the process of pulling the woman towards the door but the woman caught sight of Tara and yelled and then started to laugh.
‘No Xander. NO! Please tell me it’s not her. Please!’ she screamed in anguish, her face twisted with hatred.
She whipped her hand round to slap him hard on the face.
Jerking her arm out of his grasp, she ran at Tara, throwing herself at her. Tara side-stepped a [idecolor="#fnd the woman landed hard on the floor. Tara could smell strong alcohol on her.
‘Tara. Please wait for me at the balcony.’ His voice was tense and urgent.
‘Don’t you move a muscle you bitch,’ the woman shouted, ‘I’ve a few things to set straight.’
Xander closed the distance between them and grabbed the woman’s arm again.
‘He asked me to set you up, you know.’ She spat the words out, nodding her head.
‘You were meant to see me in Emberline’s place, you know that don’t you? Make you think I was fucking him,’ she laughed and pushed Xander away from her furiously.
‘He wasn’t even there, you stupid bitch,’ she yelled.
She clung to Xander and pleaded with him, ‘I did it because you asked me to. I thought we were getting back together. I did it because you asked and I love you.’
Xander pushed her from him.
‘How dare you follow me here!’ He grabbed her arm firmly and dragged her towards the door again. The woman screamed and tried to pull his hand away but he would not let go. His face was set in grim determination.
He managed to get her to the door and pushed her out, history repeating itself. He slammed the door and rang a bell at the side of the door.
Two men appeared from one of the side corridors.
‘Make sure she leaves. I don’t want her on my land.’
They opened the door, grabbed the woman who was still slumped sobbing on the step, took her by the arms and bundled her into a car that had just pulled up.
She screamed at him, ‘You bastard, you promised me...’
Her words were cut off as Xander slammed the door shut again.
Tara was rooted to th
e spot, unable to move.
Xander approached her and lifted her off her feet, holding her tight in his arms.
He took her to the stairs and climbed them effortlessly two at a time, passing her suite of rooms and continuing to the end of the upper hall to another suite of rooms. He kicked the door open.
Tara’s heart was racing but there was little point in struggling against him. She had known that this was the way it was going to play out from the moment Maria had pushed her into his arms. He took [arming her into an enormous vault ceilinged bedroom. The four poster bed dominated the room but Tara could take in little else – she felt faint and had slumped in his arms.
His breathing was fast and he crossed the room quickly, laying her gently on the bed. She turned away from him but he lay on her, turning her face back to him and kissed her. She tried to turn away again.
‘Please don’t do this Xander. Please,’ she whispered.
He kissed her neck and pulled up her dress. Kneeling beside her he took the top of her dress and ripped it down to her waist making her gasp. His eyes devoured her and he bent his head to take her nipple into his mouth..She couldn’t help respond to him and she held his head gently.
He moaned, a low animal sound and his hand searched between her legs, pressing her through her silk panties. He tried to pull them aside but resorted to ripping them from her, giving his probing fingers easier access to her. She felt him push a finger into her and then two and she moaned. He moved his fingers in and out of her and then into his mouth and then to hers. She could taste herself on him. He kissed her deeply.
‘I must have you now Tara.’
He pushed her legs apart and pulled off his trousers. She felt him push into her and she gasped again at his size, rising to meet him, desperate now for him to fill and possess her.
‘Ahhh God, my Tara,’ he moaned, his eyes closed, moving slowly in her.
She curled her legs around his back and he lifted her gently off the bed and into his lap. She held him close to her, her breasts pressed hard to his muscled chest and kissed him, running his fingers through his hair.
She moved slowly on him, taking his full length in and out of her. He pressed her closer to him and bent his head to take her nipple in his mouth again, sucking hard on her this time.
‘Xander, please, please.....,’ she moaned, her orgasm building quickly.
He lifted her off him and bent his head to her sex, lapping at her, fingers in her, bringing her to orgasm skillfully.
She held his head to her as her orgasm knifed through her, his mouth devouring her. As the waves of her orgasm subsided he opened her wide and plunged into her, emptying himself into her, collapsing on her in his ecstasy.
She held him as he shuddered. He turned over to lie beside her,
‘We will be married next week Tara. Arrangements are in place.’
Tara remained silent [main>
for a moment.
‘I don’t want to marry you Xander. I don’t love you.’ She stared up at the intricate design on painted on the timbers of the high ceiling.
‘Love will come in time.’
‘It’s time I need. Please give me more time.’
‘Time’s not necessary. We’ll spend some time in America after we marry. I’ve some business to attend to and I want you with me. I’ve a house in the Hamptons. It will be a great place to start a family. I’ll look after you Tara.’
He held her, rubbing his hand up and down her back.
Tara felt ashamed of the way her body had betrayed her and moved from him, edging off the bed.
‘Lie with me,’ he commanded.
Tara held up the remnants of her dress and smiled,
‘I need to get out of this dress Xander. I won’t be long.’
‘Come back to me quickly.’
He watched her from the bed, his eyes feasting on her body.
She pulled the remnants of her dress back around her and made her way to the door.
Clutching the dress around her she made her way across the room and to the door aware of his eyes watching her as she left.
She pulled the door closed behind her and sobbed.
She stumbled along the hall to her rooms and into her bedroom. Her tears were now unstoppable and she collapsed onto her bed, crying into the sheets.
Xander was handsome and wealthy but he had taken her here against her will. She would never love him, could never trust him and despite her physical attraction to him, the thought of marriage and children with Xander made her feel powerless and vulnerable. Trapped.
Her heart broke when she thought of Arlen, how Xander had set her up to separate them. She had fallen straight into his trap.
She replayed the day’s events. She knew he had set her up to find the woman at Arlen’s house. Had he ran her off the road? Had he put something in the hip flask she drank from? She’d never had the kind of reaction to alcohol that she’d experienced today. She’d been in and out of consciousness for hours. Just the amount of time to get her on the plane and away from Arlen.
She [izet theld her pillow and rocked herself gently. She closed her eyes and laid her head on the pillow and fell into a restless, troubled sleep. For how long she slept she had no idea but the quiet of the castle was once again broken by raised voices from the entrance hall. The hall was enormous and the acoustics amplified the voices, the sound of which travelled up to the rooms upstairs.
The voices came closer. A woman and a man. The door burst open. It was a scared and upset Maria and a furious Arlen.
‘Oh God Tara. What has he done to you?,’ he raced across to her and scooped her into his arms. He took one look at her ruined dress and her tear streaked face and kissed her forehead.
Tara couldn’t answer, relief and emotion overwhelming her. She clung to him, hardly believing that he was here.
‘How did you get here so quickly?,’ she managed to whisper.
‘Xander isn’t the only one to have a jet on hand.’ He picked at the dress that she had pulled around herself and held the ripped fabric in his hands.
‘I’ll kill him.’ The fury in his voice terrified her.
He placed her back down on the bed and stormed out the room. Doors banged and she heard him shout Xander’s name.
Quickly pulling the remnants of the dress from her, she pulled on the bathrobe and flew out the room to follow Arlen.
Tara ran to Xander’s room and saw the two men holding each other by the throat.
Xander was naked to his waist and the fury contorting both men’s faces horrified her.
‘Stop. God., please stop this,’ she screamed.
Arlen swung his fist and punched Xander in his ribs. Xander buckled and made a grab for Arlen as he fell, driving his shoulder into Arlen, pushing him forward and into the post of the bed.
Arlen’s breath was driven from him by the impact and Xander punched him as he slumped forward, catching him on the side of the head. Arlen fell to the floor, stunned, his eyes rolling back and then closing.
Xander stood over him making sure he wasn’t going to get up again.
‘We’re leaving Tara. Get changed.’
Tara ran to Arlen but was stopped by Xander who held her tight as she struggled to get to Arlen.
‘Di [ze=ed by d you call him?’ he demanded as he held her in his arms.
‘Yes,’ she whispered
He grabbed her and pulled her towards the door. His face was like stone.
‘We leave for America immediately. Don’t bother packing. You’re not leaving my sight from now on.’
She tried to pull away from him, ‘You can’t leave Arlen like this. He’s hurt....’
His grip on her tightened, hurting her.
‘I wish he was dead.’
He pulled her through to her room, opened her drawers and pulled out a handful of clothes.
‘Get dressed now.’
He sat on a chaise and watched her.
‘I will but please leave me for a moment while I
do so.’ Her eyes searched the room desperately, looking for some kind of way out.
‘You can’t be trusted Tara. I’ll watch while you change and then we go.’
‘Please Xander..,’ she pleaded and turned from him, pulling on the first thing that came to hand, a cashmere sweater and straight leg trousers.
‘You look so great Tara. If I had the time, I’d fuck you again.’ His voice was low and menacing.
He was still half dressed but once again grabbed her arm and pulled her towards the door.
Her tears started to flow freely now and her heart sank, her whole being losing hope.
‘Leave her alone.’
Xander dropped Tara’s arm as he confronted Arlen standing in the doorway. Blood trickled from Arlen’s ear.
‘You know I can’t do that.’ Xander swiftly aimed a punch at Arlen’s head but missed. Taking his chance, Arlen punched Xander in the stomach quickly and cleanly and caught his jaw in a fast upper hook as he doubled over.
Xander stumbled backwards, the momentum of his fall carrying him across the upper landing. He was a tall man and the balusters were low. He grabbed for the handrail, his fingers catching the smooth wood only briefly. And then he was gone. Tara screamed when she heard a sickening thud. She ran to the balusters and leaned over. Xander Ashbrook lay on the tiled floor, a pool of blood spreading out beneath his head, life extinguished.
Tara sobbed and collapsed at the top of the stairs. Voices filtered up to her from below as the staff gathered round his body.
Arlen put his arms round her and held her as she cried.
He stood up, lifted Tara into his arms and carried her down the stairs. He kept her head close to him, shielding her from the sight of Xander’s body on the floor in the main hall. Through her shock, Tara could hear the sound of sirens approach.
The Italian police arrived and witnesses were interviewed. Arlen and Xander’s fight had been witnessed by two of the waiting staff on the ground floor and Xander’s fall was corroborated as accidental. The circumstances of his death were kept quiet and Tara was glad for that. Money helped buy silence. Tara was treated with care and consideration, her trauma obvious to all, Arlen managing the aftermath of the incident with efficiency and dignity. It wasn’t long before they were allowed to leave the country.