He quirked a mocking eyebrow back at her and laughed. ‘Why not come right out and say it? I thought I was the only person who could do it.’
Briefly she closed her eyes, cursing the diabolical fate which could imbue your enemy with a heart-stopping charm, while all other men became bland by comparison. ‘I was giving you the benefit of modesty! So, do you—put things right, I mean?’
‘Wherever possible.’
Maxi studied him soberly. ‘I think you must do it well, because if you didn’t you would have given up a long time ago,’ she decided, making his brows lift.
A faint frown creased his brow. ‘That’s very perceptive of you.’
She looked askance. ‘Don’t sound so surprised. I’m not just a pretty face,’ she said meaningfully.
Kerr sat up and faced her, mimicking her posture. ‘No, your body’s pretty spectacular too.’
Maxi didn’t laugh. ‘I suppose I should have expected that sort of sexist remark from you. To you a model is probably some little bimbo with a pea for a brain, who bed-hops her way to the top, isn’t she?’
‘I never said that, nor do I think so little of your profession to have even thought it,’ he denied evenly, eyes challenging her to argue.
‘Perhaps not, but you’d find it easy to believe of me, wouldn’t you?’
He didn’t deny it, merely asked, ‘Does it matter what I think?’
Though she knew it shouldn’t, it did, and that was crazy thinking. ‘Not in the least.’
His eyes mocked her. ‘Then it wouldn’t interest you to know I do think you’re more than just a body? I’ve watched you with your father’s guests. You’re thoughtful and intelligent. You have the knack of putting people at their ease and making other women feel you aren’t a threat to them. Moreover, you not only know when to speak, but when to say nothing at all. You’re a good listener. Which makes me wonder,’ he finished cryptically.
Maxi, who had nearly fallen off her seat at the unexpected praise he had heaped on her, struggled through a fog of warmth and confusion, and found her voice. ‘Wonder what?’
‘What made you choose modelling.’
Maxi was startled into pulling a rueful face. ‘You may have noticed that I’m not short.’
Kerr didn’t laugh, but his eyes danced. ‘It hadn’t escaped my notice.’
Her lashes fell quickly, as alarm shot through her at the way her heart had contracted. Why, oh, why, did she suddenly have to feel they were on the same wavelength? Only a couple of hours ago they had been at each other’s throats. It made no sense. All it did was keep her off balance when she needed to be firm in her resolve. Clenching her fingers, she forced herself to remain cool.
‘Well, when I left school I didn’t know what I wanted to do. I knew I didn’t want to study law, which was my father’s wish. Nothing really appealed to me until I saw an advertisement for models. I didn’t think I was too bad-looking, and the height was right, so I said, “Why not?” Unfortunately, my parents were horrified. Modelling was like white slavery to them. They vetoed the idea immediately.’
‘Which only made you more determined to do it,’ Kerr put in drily, and she sighed, remembering all the painful arguments.
‘Exactly. I really wanted their approval, but I didn’t need it because I was eighteen. Finally I ran away and did it anyway,’ she confessed, and looked at him challengingly. ‘Aren’t you going to tell me I was wilful? That, having hurt my parents once, I was quite capable of doing it again?’
‘Is that what you’re telling me?’ he countered smoothly.
Wondering why he had bypassed an opportunity to get in a dig, she shook her head. ‘No. I knew it was what I really wanted to do, and that I could be a success. Which I am. End of story.’
‘That’s rather over-simplifying the case, surely. As the saying goes, many are called, few are chosen. You didn’t get to the top of the tree without good hard work,’ Kerr objected.
‘And a slice of luck.’
‘It’s as useful in my profession as it is in yours. Go on.’
Maxi hesitated, because to go on would be to skate very near dangerous ground. On the other hand, she had never gone out of her way to avoid confrontation. She eyed him consideringly. ‘Are you sure you want to hear this?’ she cautioned.
‘I take it this is “skeleton in the closet” time. Put it this way: if you don’t tell me, you’ll have me imagining all sorts of things. The truth can hardly be worse,’ Kerr encouraged, with the sort of logic she was sure he found useful in his work.
She shrugged. ‘All right, if you insist. Colin and I were married in the States, which isn’t as important as the fact that I went back there to get my divorce. Anyway, as fortune had it I met a woman on an internal flight who was going west for the same reason. She just happened to be a New York agent. One thing led to another, and before I knew it I’d been chosen for a major campaign.’ She hadn’t looked back since.
‘So you went on to fame and fortune. What happened to Ellis?’
That was a horse of another colour, and she let her eyes drop. ‘I wouldn’t know,’ she said shortly. ‘I haven’t seen him in over six years.’ Not since that last day in the courtroom, when he had looked at her with such venom. If she didn’t see him for the next sixty years, she wouldn’t be sorry.
Kerr toyed with his empty glass, not looking at her when he spoke. ‘I’ve heard that companies insist the models used in their campaigns have squeaky-clean private lives,’ he observed, and finally raised his head to spear her on the end of a grey glance.
She should have known the bonhomie wouldn’t last, she thought, sitting back tensely. ‘You heard correctly, and mine can stand any amount of inspection.’
Kerr raised his brows. ‘Relax, I didn’t mean to offend you.’
She eyed him askance. ‘Not much.’
He laughed. ‘I apologise most humbly,’ he declared, in a tone which quite clearly said he wasn’t sorry at all, and that he and humility were total strangers.
Stiffening, Maxi pursed her lips in annoyance. ‘I see. Lunch is over. Now it’s Round Two.’
She had amused him. ‘Is that how you see us, as two boxers in the ring? Forever circling each other, looking for a way to get under the other’s guard? Are you a dirty fighter, Maxi? You’ll need to be if you expect to beat me.’
‘I’m learning. After all, I have the best teacher,’ she sniped, staring him out.
‘Touché. However, I have no intention of coming to blows this afternoon. I’d planned on taking a walk along the river instead. You can stay here or join me if you wish.’ Getting up, he rounded the table and helped her over the bench.
Maxi looked sceptical. ‘Do I really have a choice?’
‘No,’ he confirmed, keeping a tight hold of her hand as he led the way down the river.
‘That’s what I thought,’ she muttered, reluctantly amused. His conceit was incredible. But why should she be surprised? She’d never really known this man at all. She hated him with good reason, but there were times when he reminded her of a romantic stranger, and all she wanted to do was stop fighting. Like now, when the touch of his hand was sending tingles of pleasure up her arm.
‘By the way, you owe me for the lunch. Fliss caught me at breakfast, and did her best to convince me to stop seeing you. She wasn’t best pleased when I refused, and told me I was mad.’
Behind his back she pulled a face. It wasn’t very flattering to hear your sister considered you some sort of femme fatale. Yet perhaps she wouldn’t be thinking that for very much longer. Then, if she would only listen to the truth, they could be friends again. She wanted that very much.
Beyond that she didn’t think, concentrating instead on the scenery. The path followed the contours of the river, deviating only round rocks and trees. It was beautifully soothing, and Maxi made no objection when, after half an hour, Kerr suggested they cross a stile and make their way to the top of the valley side. It was a stiff climb, but at last she stood breathlessly be
side him in the long, flower-dotted grass, and surveyed the view. It was spectacular. They could see for miles in three directions.
‘Worth the effort?’
Forgetting their state of armed truce, she sent him a glowing smile. ‘Oh, yes. Thanks for bringing me here. I wouldn’t have missed it for the world,’ she exclaimed, sinking to the grass and clasping her arms around her legs.
‘Neither would I,’ Kerr agreed in an odd voice, and when Maxi swivelled to look at him questioningly, he was frowning.
‘Sometimes, Maxine Ambro, you don’t add up.’
‘Why?’ she questioned with a laugh. ‘Because I enjoyed the climb? Because I didn’t whinge and carp, and complain of breaking a nail like other rich bitches of your acquaintance?’ she mocked.
‘Something like that,’ he admitted ruefully.
‘I’m sorry I couldn’t oblige. Perhaps arithmetic isn’t your strong point,’ she suggested, watching him stretch out beside her.
‘Perhaps you put up too good a smokescreen.’
‘God, you’re impossible!’ she exclaimed despairingly, and saw the corners of his lips curl up as he smiled.
‘So my mother keeps telling me.’
‘You don’t have to sound so proud of it. It’s a fault, you know, not a virtue.’
Tucking his hands beneath his head, he closed his eyes. ‘I never said I was perfect.’
No, Maxi thought wryly, he wasn’t perfect, not even close. She watched him in silence. At ease, with his eyes closed, he looked heartbreakingly attractive. She had a ridiculous longing to lie down beside him, have his arms close about her, and let the world drift away. Fingers tightened about her heart, and she felt close to tears. Oh, Maxi, surely you couldn’t do anything as foolish as fall in love with this man, she chafed herself.
Even to contemplate it was madness. They ought to lock her up and throw away the key! She lay back and gazed up at the clear blue sky. Loving Kerr would be the greatest folly, and she wasn’t a fool. Her instinct for self-preservation was strong, heightened by experience. A wise woman didn’t jump from the frying-pan into the fire. She gave herself a good talking-to and followed her own advice. Which Maxi now did, forcing her mind to empty. Hearing nothing but the spiralling call of a lark and the steady breathing of the man beside her, eventually she slept.
When next she opened her eyes, it was because the warmth of the sun had gone from her face. Expecting to see clouds, she focused instead on Kerr’s shadowed face as he leaned over her. Her heart thudded as she wondered just how long he had been studying her, and what he was thinking. But, like the sphinx, his expression gave nothing away. The air was so still around them that they could have been the only two people left on earth. Yet the very stillness seemed alive with that special magic which made her feel dangerously alive.
Instantly her defences came up. ‘What are you doing?’ To her dismay the question faltered and nearly broke.
A lazy smile curved his lips. ‘Just enjoying the view.’
Oh, God, when he turned on the heat her blood began to sizzle. Cursing herself for falling asleep and giving him the advantage, she tried to sit up, but he easily foiled the attempt, pushing her back down again. She knew he was stronger than herself, and sought for another means of escape.
‘Even though you don’t think the inside matches the outside?’ she jeered.
His smile deepened as his eyes dropped to her lips. ‘What does the inside matter when I like what I see?’ He lifted a hand, tracing the neckline of her dress. ‘And what I touch.’
Maxi felt her heart start up a new beat, and her mouth went dry. ‘Let me go, Kerr,’ she ordered huskily, knowing she wasn’t just fighting him, but herself too.
His hand moved to frame her face, his thumb tracing caressingly over her lips. ‘In a moment.’
A moment would be too late! ‘You said you wouldn’t force me,’ she dredged the words up in a last-ditch attempt for freedom from the spell he was weaving.
Kerr’s head came down until his lips just brushed hers. ‘I’m not forcing you, darling. All you have to do is push me away,’ he mocked softly, and kissed her.
She tried to fight, but it was like going down for the third time. The hands she had gripped his shirt with relaxed, fingers spreading out to trace the strength of his shoulders. With an incoherent murmur, she opened her lips to him and was swept away just as she had despaired she would be. Her arms went round his neck, delighting in his solidity as she returned the ever increasing passion of his kiss. There was no thought, only sensation as his lips left hers and began a journey down the tense arch of her throat to the vee of her breasts.
Maxi could feel her blood coursing thickly through her veins, could feel the heat of Kerr’s body scorching hers, and clung on tighter as he unclasped the halter of her dress, brushing it down, exposing her swollen breasts to the worship of his lips. She gasped as she felt him take her flesh into his mouth, biting and teasing until she wanted to scream. She felt molten inside. Nothing had ever made her feel this good. She wanted it to go on and on...
It was only the brush of his hand on her inner thigh which cooled the hot tide of blood in her veins. The sudden return of sanity was like being dropped in ice, and she froze. Dear God, she’d almost...
Kerr’s head came up, eyes sceptical and mocking. ‘No?’
Trembling with the shock of how close she had come, her throat closed over. ‘Damn you!’
His hand left her thigh to mould her breast. ‘I very nearly had you that time, didn’t I, Maxi? A second ago you were with me all the way!’ he taunted, and, sick with mortification, she rolled away, sitting up with her back to him.
Having refastened her dress with trembling fingers, Maxi swung round on him. ‘I can’t deny it. But the truth is, however much I might have wanted you, I stopped. I’ll always stop. I won’t have an affair with you, Kerr. How many times do I have to tell you?’
Eyes gleaming, he picked a blade of grass and began to chew it. ‘Judging by the last few minutes, a hundred times might not be enough. Do you really expect me to believe you after the way you just responded to me?’
How she would love to wipe that smile from his face! ‘Yes, I expect you to believe it, because it just so happens that we don’t even like each other.’
‘By your own account, you didn’t like Ellis either, yet you married him, and presumably went to bed with him.’
It was a direct hit, driving a stake through her heart, leaving her pale with the pain of it. Her response was instinctive, born of a need to hurt back. ‘You’re right on both counts. I didn’t like him but I did sleep with him. He was very inventive. He had a technique which I could never resist. Had he been here with me today, we wouldn’t have stopped. I wouldn’t have wanted him to!’
‘You little bitch!’ Kerr’s face twisted with anger.
He didn’t like that at all. It was a blatant challenge to his manhood. What he didn’t know was that it didn’t come within a light year of the truth, but she’d rather lose a leg than ever tell him that. Her eyes taunted him. ‘What’s wrong? Did you think you were the only man who could turn me on?’
Kerr shook his head, once more in the grip of a chilling control. ‘I’m not that much of a fool. No, darling, you’re the one who’s a fool, because you’re trying too hard to annoy me. That only makes me wonder why. I think you’re afraid you’ll enjoy me more than him. Well, it’s true, and I’m going to enjoy proving it to you. I’m going to wipe Ellis from your memory as if he had never been, so that when you think of pleasure, the only man you’ll ever see is me!’
It was as much a threat as a promise, and Maxi found herself shivering, so cold the sun’s rays could have been made of ice. This time she knew she had pushed him too far.
CHAPTER SEVEN
IT WAS nearly four o’clock when they arrived back at the house again, and the mood in the car had been chilly. Maxi had spent the time deep in thought. It hadn’t taken long to realise that she had made a grave error by challen
ging Kerr that way, but it was too late to back down. She would just have to weather whatever he chose to fling at her. The irony of it was that she would give anything to have the memory of Colin wiped from her mind. Kerr could have been the man to do it, only to give in would concede far too great a victory.
As soon as the car stopped she let herself out, wanting to get away from him to a place where she could lick her wounds and repair her armour. Unfortunately she had forgotten about her hip, the dull ache, which had begun on the return journey, having been pushed to the back of her mind by the other thoughts that swirled there. The long walk had played it up, with the result that she had to clutch at the door to stop herself from falling.
Kerr was at her side in a flash. ‘Here, let me help,’ he offered, taking her arm, but she shrugged him off.
‘I don’t need your help. As a matter of fact, I want nothing from you, Kerr, nothing at all,’ she refused bluntly.
His nostrils flared on an angry intake of air. ‘As it’s my fault you’re in this condition, I think you’re being extremely silly. It’s just that prickly pride of yours getting in the way of common sense.’
Maxi drew in a very wobbly breath. ‘It may be prickly, but it’s mine. So won’t you just for once take no for an answer?’ she demanded, even as her hand unconsciously rubbed the weakened joint.
Grey eyes followed the movement, lips drawn tight. ‘Would it hurt you to accept help now and again?’
Eyes darkened by pain met his. ‘From you? It would take me too long to count the strings!’ she riposted with heavy irony, and turned away. Which proved to be another error, for the moment she presented her back Kerr stepped forward and swept her up into his arms.
‘Then you’d better start counting now,’ he advised grimly, and strode into the house with her.
Maxi opened her mouth to protest, then closed it again, words unspoken. To be honest, she did need help, and it was only false pride which made her refuse what was given. So she subsided and let herself relax into the comfort of his arms. And it was a comfort, the breadth of his chest and the strength of his arms making her feel small and cherished. Which was exactly why she had fought him, because she had known she would feel this. It produced an ache that no pain-killer could erase.
An Old Enchantment (Harlequin Treasury 1990's) Page 10