CHAPTER EIGHT
As the city awakened to a new day Melanie stretched and stifled a yawn. She became aware of an unfamiliar weight lying across her body, and her eyes flew open to discover Jason lying on his back beside her with his left arm flung across her. She stared at him for a moment, unable to grasp what he was doing in her bed, and then, as she remembered, her lips curved into a tender smile.
She looked down at his arm lying across her and noticed for the first time the scars Barnaby had mentioned. She fingered them lightly, almost lovingly, then something made her turn her head to find Jason observing her with an amused expression on his face.
To cover up her confusion, she said: 'Why didn't you tell me the truth about that lion you killed?'
'I gather Barnaby has been talking out of turn,' he remarked without resentment.
'Well, when I mentioned the lion which I presumed you had shot, Barnaby corrected me,' she replied defensively, glancing at him through lowered lashes. 'It was a pretty wonderful thing to do, saving a man's life like that.'
'There was nothing wonderful about it,' he said abruptly. 'It was an act of self-preservation. Because it was suffering, the lion was in a foul mood. It was either him or us.'
'I still think it was a wonderful thing to do,' she insisted adamantly, but she found she still could not look at him when he raised himself up on one elbow and gazed down at her.
'You look like a little girl this morning with your hair lying all over the pillow,' he said softly with a hint of sensuality in his voice as he changed the subject. 'I think I'm in need of confirmation that you're the woman I made love to last night.'
She stared at him for a moment, digesting his suggestion, then she sat up with a jerk and, realising that she did not have a stitch of clothing on., she fell back against the pillows, dragging the covers about her as she did so.
'My dear Melanie, there's not a part of your delectable body that isn't known to me after last night,' he reminded her mockingly, and her cheeks flamed.
'You're a brute!' she accused him, but her accusation ended in a gasp of surprise when the sheet was flung aside. She made a wild grab at it, but he had removed it beyond her reach, and covered her instead with his own body.
A delicious weakness assailed her limbs as she felt that hard, sinewy body above her and, when his hand cupped her breast, she locked her hands behind his head and raised her lips unashamedly for his kiss, but Jason held back tantalisingly.
'I'm a brute, am I?' he demanded, watching the play of emotions on her sensitive features with a look of triumph in his eyes.
'Sometimes, yes,' she insisted, her breath quickening with each caress. 'You give with one hand, but make very sure that you take with the other.'
'Isn't that what life is all about?' he mocked her before lowering his head and claiming her lips at last, and she gave herself up to the ecstasy of the moment until a more pressing thought came to mind.
'Jason…' she began, determined to ignore the sensations created by his mouth exploring the column of her throat until she had satisfied her curiosity. 'You went to Delia's flat with the intention of making love to her, didn't you?'
'Yes.'
He nibbled lightly at her ear, sending a shiver of delight through her, and she raised her hands to ward him off as she asked, 'Then why didn't you?'
'I realised, in time, that it would only diminish the sweetness of my victory over you,' he laughed softly and triumphantly as he brushed aside her hands and continued to explore the smooth warmth of her shoulder. 'And last night was worth waiting for,' he added sensuously.
'Was that all it meant to you? A victory?' she asked, barely able to conceal her disappointment.
'Should it have meant something more?'
'No, I suppose not, but—'
'You talk too much,' he accused harshly, covering her mouth with his own, and no matter how much she tried to resist, her body had a will of its own, and it responded eagerly to the demands he was making on her.
Later that morning, when Jason had gone to the office, she mulled over the events of the past two days, and a new fear took possession of her. Loving him as much as she did, what was she going to do when Jason finally decided it was time to end their marriage?
She tried to picture her life without him, and shuddered at the emptiness she visualised. Nothing would be quite the same again after knowing and loving Jason Kerr.
The telephone rang while she was preparing a late breakfast for herself and, thinking it was Jason, she almost ran to answer it.
'I wanted to telephone before this, but I was out of town yesterday,' Adrian's voice came over the line, and Melanie swallowed down her disappointment. 'Are you all right, Melanie?'
'Yes, of course I'm all right,' she said a little abruptly as she guessed the reason for his concern.
'Was Jason very angry?'
'He was, but I managed to explain the situation without delving too deeply into the facts.'
She crossed her fingers at her little white lie, but Adrian accepted it without question.
'I'm glad,' he sighed. 'I wouldn't like to think that because of my actions he—'
'Forget it, Adrian,' she interrupted hastily in a reassuring voice. 'It was a kiss between friends, and Jason has accepted it as such.'
'I don't suppose I'll see you again,' he said at length, and went on to explain, 'I've been transferred to Cape Town on promotion, and I'm leaving at the end of the week.'
His news came as something of a shock, but she was glad for his sake. 'I hope you'll be very happy there, Adrian.'
'Thank you.' He hesitated, almost as if he had wanted to add something and then changed his mind. Then he said hurriedly, 'Well, goodbye, Melanie, and everything of the best.'
The line went dead before she could reply, and she replaced the receiver a little sadly. Another chapter in her life would end with Adrian's departure, and soon there would be no one left but Jason.
'Jason,' she whispered his name despairingly. He had plucked her ruthlessly from her peaceful existence, not caring how he had disrupted her life, and he would discard her just as ruthlessly when she had served her purpose.
Shaking off her morbid thoughts, she planned something special for dinner that evening, and went down to the shops with her list. She had to keep herself occupied, she told herself fiercely, or go mad thinking of the lonely future she visualised for herself.
The telephone rang for the second time that day shortly after five-thirty, and Jason's voice came clearly over the line.
'I want you to come down to the basement, Melanie.'
Alarm quickened her pulse rate. 'Is something the matter?'
'Something will be the matter if you don't come down here at once,' he said impatiently.
'I'll be there in a few seconds,' she assured him, and replaced the receiver.
Hurrying through the kitchen, she untied her apron from her waist and turned down the temperature of the oven. Fortunately the dinner would not spoil, and she could serve it at any time when Jason was ready, she told herself as she locked the front door behind her and took the lift down to the basement.
She tried to imagine what could be wrong. Jason had made his request sound so urgent, and her thoughts ran wild eventually with images of Jason being injured in some way and unable to get himself up to the penthouse on his own. She was close to panic when the lift doors slid open and, rushing out blindly, she collided with a solid masculine chest, and felt strong hands steadying her.
'Jason?' she gasped, clutching at him anxiously as her eyes searched his immaculately clothed body for some sign of injury. 'Are you all right?'
His heavy eyebrows rose above cold, unfathomable eyes. 'Don't I look all right?'
'Yes, but—' She choked back the words which threatened to cascade from her lips and took a deep breath to steady herself. 'You made it sound so urgent that I should come down here at once. I thought…'
'You thought something had happened to me?' he filled in for
her a little incredulously.
'Yes.' She swallowed with difficulty and lowered her glance to his striped tie while she tried to regain her composure.
'No one has ever been concerned about me before,' he said softly, his warm breath fanning her forehead. 'This is a unique experience.'
The sudden desire to slide her arms inside his jacket in order to press closer to him was very strong, and she moved away from him jerkily. 'Why did you want me to come down here?'
'I have something to show you.'
Taking her hand in his strong fingers, he drew her towards a small red Triumph parked beside his silver-grey Jaguar, and her heart thudded uncomfortably as she glanced up at the man beside her.
'Jason?'
'It's yours,' he said abruptly, his keen glance sweeping her face.
Melanie felt a little sick at heart when she touched the gleaming red body of the Triumph lightly with the tips of her fingers. 'It's a lovely car, but—'
'It's quite fast, too, so you'll have to be careful when you drive it,' Jason interrupted, taking a small bunch of keys from his pocket and unlocking the door on the driver's side.
'I can't accept it, Jason.'
Her statement seemed to hang suspended in the air between them during the ensuing silence, and her slim body stiffened as he turned to glance at her coldly.
'Why not?' he demanded abruptly.
'I already owe you a considerable amount of money.'
His hands sliced the air impatiently. 'That has nothing to do with this.'
'It has everything to do with it,' she protested unhappily.
'Melanie—'
'I can't, Jason,' she interrupted him hastily, fighting back the tears that rose unbidden to her eyes. 'It's extremely kind of you, but I can't accept it. Please, I—'
'Melanie!' His hands gripped her shoulders and he shook her slightly. 'Forget about that money owing to me.'
'Forget about it?' she asked incredulously in a voice that shook. 'How can I forget about it when it's the reason for our marriage?'
'One of the reasons,' he corrected abruptly.
'Yes, one of the reasons,' she acknowledged bitterly, realising that none of the reasons for their marriage had anything to do with love. 'Oh, Jason…' she whispered tiredly, resting her head for a moment against his chest almost as a gesture of defeat.
'Come on,' he said impatiently. 'I want you to try out the car.'
'Jason…'
'I insist!'
There was a clash of wills as their eyes met and held, but Melanie finally gave up the struggle and did as she was told.
Jason climbed in beside her and she drove through the city, unconsciously taking the road out to Greystone Manor. Despite everything, she enjoyed the feeling of being in control of such a powerful little car, and the drive, begun so reluctantly, became an unexpected pleasure.
'Does she handle all right?' Jason asked as they left the city behind them.
'Beautifully,' she was forced to admit.
'Pull off the road just ahead there,' he suggested and, as she parked the car beneath the trees and switched off the engine, he turned to face her. 'Have I tempted you yet to accept my gift?'
The corners of her mouth quivered with the effort not to smile, and looking straight ahead, she said: 'I suppose I can't expect Barnaby to continue playing chauffeur whenever I want to go somewhere, and you're against my using a bus, so…'
'You're seeing sense at last.'
She looked at him then, and frowned. 'I'm trying to find a good excuse for my acceptance so that I won't feel so bad about it.'
Jason undid the restraining seatbelt and leaned towards her. 'You know, you intrigue me.'
'Do I?' she asked, keeping her voice casual as he placed his arm along the back of her seat behind her shoulders.
'I've never known a woman yet who's had to find an excuse for accepting a gift from me. They usually say thank you very nicely, and accept it as if it had been my duty to bring them something.'
'I don't think I would be able to tolerate any gift if it was given out of a sense of duty.'
'No, I didn't think you would.' He tilted her face up to his. 'Do I get a thank-you kiss?'
She raised her lips innocently, intending to kiss him lightly, but his hand slipped beneath her hair at the nape of her neck, and held her there. His kiss deepened, became intense and demanding and, without really knowing what she was doing, she undid the catch of her restraining seatbelt and pressed closer to him. Nothing seemed to matter when she was in his arms like this, and she welcomed the emotions aroused by his caresses, for they drove away her fears and doubts until they were of no significance.
She trembled against him, returning his kisses with a mounting passion until he groaned softly and released her.
'I think it's time we went home, don't you?' he suggested, and the sensuality in his voice made the blood leap wildly through her veins.
She nodded without looking at him and, after restoring some order to her clothes, she fastened her seatbelt with trembling hands and drove back to the city in silence.
Melanie was never quite sure during the next few weeks exactly where she stood with Jason. He could be painfully aloof at times, and passionately tender on other occasions. It was confusing and frustrating and, although she knew he would have no qualms about throwing her out the moment he grew tired of her, she could not prevent herself from hoping that, in some way, she might make him care just a little.
They attended several functions at which Delia Cummings was also present, and although Jason made no visible effort to encourage her flirtatious behaviour, he made no effort to discourage her either. It was inevitable that the newspapers would begin to speculate about them, and some even went so far as to suggest that the affair between Jason and Delia had never ended. This infuriated and humiliated Melanie, but she dared not say a word for fear of giving herself away in the process. It would be the final humiliation if Jason should discover that she had been fool enough to fall in love with him.
'I saw your grandmother today,' he told her unexpectedly one evening as he strolled into the bedroom after taking a shower.
With nothing, but a towel wrapped about his lean hips, he looked frighteningly masculine, and her senses stirred in response.
Angry with herself more than with him, she turned her back on him and snapped, 'Were you checking up to see how long you would still have to wait before claiming what's due to you?'
'That was uncalled for!'
His voice had the effect of a whiplash, and she winced inwardly. 'I'm sorry.'
'I went to see your grandmother because I happen to like her, and because I thought it would look strange if I showed no interest in her welfare,' he explained smoothly as if nothing had happened, 'but since you've brought up the subject of money, there's a little matter I want to discuss with you.' She tightened the belt of her gown nervously as he came up behind her. 'What did you do with that cheque I gave you for personal expenses?'
Her body stiffened. 'Why do you want to know?'
'It hasn't gone through the bank yet.'
'Oh.'
He swung her round to face him, his hands scorching her through the silky material and making her embarrassingly aware of the fact that she had nothing on underneath.
'What did you do with it, Melanie, or do I have to shake the truth out of you?'
With her eyes on the wide expanse of his bare chest, she whispered, 'I tore it up.'
Jason released her almost as if she had stung him. 'Would you mind telling me why?'
'I have enough money of my own, and I didn't feel that I had the right to accept more from you.'
'You're my wife, Melanie.'
She shrugged with affected carelessness and turned towards the dressing table, her hands idly rearranging her personal effects displayed on it as she said quietly, 'I'm your wife only until my father's debt has been repaid, or when you get tired of me—whichever comes first.'
His fingers gripped her wri
st and her brush fell on the floor as he jerked her round to face him. 'You're still my wife, and until such time as I throw you out, you will accept an allowance from me whether you like it or not. Do I make myself clear?'
'You can't force me to accept it, Jason,' she persisted, ignoring the danger signals as she raised her head proudly and met his angry glance undauntedly.
'Would you like to bet on that?'
His voice was dangerously calm, but the fingers that gripped her wrist bit into the soft flesh.
'You're hurting me!' she gasped as the pain shot up her arm.
'I feel like thrashing you,' he said through tightly clenched teeth, and she was jerked against him with such a force that the breath was almost knocked out of her body.
His kiss was a punishment she was forced to endure, but it lasted only a few seconds before she felt the anger drain from him and passion take over. It happened so swiftly that it caught her off guard, and her desire rose to match his with an intensity that surprised and delighted him.
Lost in the turmoil of her emotions she had no idea when and how he had removed her gown, but it lay in a silken heap about her feet where his towel joined it a few moments later and, with his mouth against hers, he lifted her in his arms and carried her towards the bed.
'You're the most infuriating woman I've ever met,' he said eventually when the emotional storm had passed and they lay quietly beside each other in the darkened room.
Bitter Enchantment Page 13