'After three,' came the clipped and furious reply.
She was surprised. That meant she had been in the pavilion for over two hours. She did not know how, but she knew that Max had been searching for her, all that time. He was as wet as she was, his dark hair plastered to his head, his jaw clenched with anger, as he strode towards Oakdene's welcoming lights. The expensive dinner jacket she rested against was ruined, the material squelching beneath her fingers.
'I . . . I'm sorry . . . for being so much trouble,' she whispered, suddenly shocked at what she had done.
'Be quiet and keep still!' Max gritted in reply, and she closed her eyes at his harshness, doing as she was told.
As soon as they reached the house, Max carried her upstairs immediately, not letting her down until they were in the bathroom. Then he deposited her ungently on a soft, padded chair and began to run a hot bath for her. While he waited for the bath to fill, he stripped off his sodden jacket and rolled up his sleeves. He turned to her, raking her mercilessly with green eyes still brilliant with anger.
'Stand up,' he ordered, in a tone that brooked no argument. Jassy obeyed, struggling to her feet with difficulty, feeling stiff and icy cold. It was only as his fingers found the zip of her dress that she realised his intentions.
'No! I can manage,' she said, panic-stricken, twisting away from him.
His mouth tightened ominously. 'Go ahead, then,' he said tersely, leaning back and folding his arms across his broad chest, watching her.
Jassy shot him a look of pure hatred, before trying to reach the zip of her dress. Her arms were cold and tired and very heavy and she seemed to have no control over them whatsoever. Several minutes of silence followed, as she struggled with the zip, getting nowhere, acutely aware of Max, parrow-eyed, watching her. She had to admit defeat.
'I can't do it. Will you help me?' she begged tearfully.
He reached for her gently, his anger gone, and unzipped the dress, stripping off all her clothes quickly, his attitude businesslike. He helped her into the steaming bath and she lay inert and numb in the hot scented water until she felt some of the feeling seeping back into her weary limbs.
Max knelt at the side of the bath, soaping her body gently, removing the mud that had dried on her, rubbing the life back into her. She coloured brightly as their eyes met, feeling dreadfully embarrassed at her nakedness, but his eyes were blank and impersonal as he loosened the pins in the heavy coil of her hair, threading his fingers through it, before beginning to shampoo it. She felt almost human by the time he lifted her out of the bath and into a thick warm towel.
'Better?' he queried gently, his mouth tender.
'Yes, thank you,' she murmured, still a little embarrassed. He rubbed her dry until she was tingling all over, then he dried her hair and dressed her in a warm nightdress and thick dressing" gown.
That done, he sat on the side of the bath, his wet shirt clinging like a second skin to his broad, muscular shoulders, and there was a weariness about him that touched Jassy's heart. She smiled at him, her love for him lighting her shining face. Max caught his breath as he stared at her, his green eyes devouring that smile like a drowning man would devour oxygen.
'Thank you for rescuing me, and all this. . . .' she lifted her small hands expressively.
Max shook his head. 'You're a crazy, beautiful woman and you're welcome,' he said laughingly. Then he was serious. 'What do you want to do now, Jassy. Sleep or talk?'
'Talk,' she answered promptly, knowing that the time had come to clear the air and get things straight between them. 'On one condition,' she added, her face stern.
'Which is?'
'That you get out of those wet clothes and take a bath too,' she said firmly, her mouth stubborn and incredibly lovely to his watching, seeking eyes.
'As you wish, wife/ he said softly, mocking her bossiness.
He shrugged out of his shirt as she watched, and she stared at his powerful, hair-roughened chest with hunger, colouring as he caught her watching him.
'Won't you help me?' he asked in a low voice, his eyes laughing.
'You-don't need any help,' she said sharply, fighting her longing to do as he asked. 'I'll make some coffee.'
She turned to leave the bathroom, his voice halting her. 'Jassy, even I need help sometimes,' he said deeply and significantly.
She ran downstairs and into the kitchen and switched on the percolator. It was good to be home, even though her future was uncertain. She strolled into the lounge, switching on the lamps and pulling closed the curtains, these small actions giving her immense satisfaction. The fire was laid, and she put a match to it. The dry, fragrant logs caught fire easily and by the time Max appeared she was sitting on the floor in front of it, her knees tucked under her chin, her eyes faraway and dreamy as she gazed into the flames, the tray of freshly-made coffee at her side. He watched her silently until she sensed his presence and turned, greeting him with a smile. His hair was damp, the dark shirt unbuttoned, and the tight jeans he wore hugged his lean hips and hard stomach. He moved forward and came to sit beside her. Jassy poured the coffee, her hand shaking a little as she handed him a cup, his nearness overwhelming.
Max lit two cigarettes and handed one to her, and they sat in companionable silence for a few moments, until he turned to her.
'Why did you run away tonight?' he asked levelly, his eyes hooded.
It was a question that Jassy dreaded. The time had come to arrange her leaving and it hurt like hell. She was physically aching with her love for him and it was difficult to answer.
'I don't know ... it was a stupid thing to do—I was acting on impulse. . . .' She broke off with a shrug.
. 'Do you want to leave here?' His body was suddenly very still and he was watching her carefully.
'No,' she admitted truthfully, lowering her head.
'That's good, because I won't give you a divorce, Jassy,' he warned harshly.
Her head jerked upwards, meeting those fierce, tormented green eyes. 'Why not? It would be for the best,' she whispered, her voice shaking. Best for you, she added silently to herself, her heart breaking to admit it.
'Like hell it would!' Max said angrily, flinging his half-smoked cigarette into the fire in a hard, violent gesture. 'I'm telling you, Jassy no way. Not now. Not ever!'
She turned away from him, shocked at his insistence that they should stay married when he did not love her. 'You're being ridiculous,' she said quietly and painfully.
He caught her shoulder and hauled her round to face him, the hard, possessive fingers bruising her. His face was a taut mask of fury and repressed violence. 'Am I?' he demanded grimly, shaking her slightly. He saw the fear in her wide eyes, his broad shoulders hunching as he released her. 'Okay, I'm being ridiculous,' he conceded heavily. 'But that doesn't change the fact that I won't let you go.'
'Howwith a man who did not love her. 'You must hate me.' Her voice shook and she was dangerously near to tears.
'Hate you?' His laugh was hard and humourless. 'I could never hate you, Jassy. I love you more than life itself. God, I'll always love you.'
She looked up into his harsh face, torn by the pain in his eyes. 'But how . . .? I don't understand,' she mumbled confusedly.
'What is there to understand? It's simple—I love you, Jassy, and I can't let you go. I thought I could, if ever you wanted to go—but I find I can't—I won't,' he said roughly, pulling her into his arms, ' his mouth hard and demanding against hers, kissing her deeply and hungrily until she was responding mindlessly, a slow languor warming her body, making her cling to him, her hands touching his hard-boned face.
When he lifted his head and gazed down at her, she still clung to him, her eyes closed, her lips .still parted.
'Jassy, I need you. I know you're too young for me—it's been driving me crazy, but I loved you from the moment I first saw you.' He smiled, seeing her surprise. 'Yes, I fell hard, very hard. It was like being hit by a truck—I've never recovered,' he said wryly.
'On the beach?' she asked faintly.
'Two years before that,' he admitted, shocking her again.
'But I didn't know you then,' she protested in amazement.
'No, but I knew you. I saw a photograph of you and your stepfather in the newspaper. You'd just flown over to the States. Carrington was involved in some shady land deal and the press were at the airport.'
Of course, the newspaper cutting she had accidentally found in the bedroom!
'You attended various business parties while you were over there, and I was at those same parties.'
'I didn't see you,' Jassy cut in. 'I would have remembered.'
'No, I kept my distance, watching you like a lovesick boy.' He laughed. 'I bought the ring the day after I first saw you. You were a married woman, Jassy, from that moment onwards. I meant to have you.'
She stared at him speechlessly, mesmerised by the brilliant, flaring passion in his eyes. Everything was falling into place—the newspaper picture of herself, the New York jeweller's address on the box from her engagement ring—it all fitted. How could she have been so wrong?
'I found out all about you and came over to England to look for a house for you. I knew, just by looking in your eyes, the sort of house you would want. Oakdene was perfect.'
Jassy smiled, delighted with his perception. 'It is perfect. I love it,' she said simply.
Max smiled too. 'I watched you for two years, until I heard the rumour that you were going to marry Moreau. I couldn't wait any longer, so I moved in,' he admitted unashamedly. 'I had intended to wait until you were a little older, but there was no way I could stand back and let Moreau take you. And the more I got to know you, the more I loved you, needed you. I thought that once we were married, I could teach you to love me, slowly, in your own time. I thought I'd have a lifetime to teach you,' he muttered grimly, raking his hand through the darkness of his hair, before continuing. 'I knew )jou weren't ready to cope with the way I felt for you—you were so young and innocent, I didn't want to burden you with thai responsibility. On our wedding night, I lost control, I'd waited so long for you, I thought you were ready, I was angry and I wanted you so badly, I couldn't help myself. When I saw your tears and how frightened you were, I promised not to touch you again—a hell of a promise to keep! I realised that I'd rushed it and I swoi=e that I would wait until you came to me. I'm sorry if I hurt you, honey—I never meant to,' he finished softly.
'Max, I wasn't frightened of you, I wanted you . . . so very badly, but afterwards I thought that it had meant nothing to you ... I thought you didn't love me,' Jassy said earnestly, needing to tell him the truth.
He touched her golden hair. 'I told you with my body, Jassy, that night. I didn't want to frighten you with words,' he said huskily.
Jassy thought about that night spent in his arms, his gentleness, his patience, his need to give her pleasure before taking his own.
'I know that now. I'm too inexperienced!' she said impatiently.
'That suits me fine—I'll teach you,' Max replied, teasing her and making her colour delightfully.
'You were always so cold to me, and you rejected me,' she said sadly.
Max tilted up her face. 'It was the only way I could keep away from you. I rejected you because I thought you'd hate me afterwards—like the first time,' he explained painfully. 'When I found the dressing gown, it was a ray of hope, it gave me the strength to carry on, night after night, knowing that you were in the next room. Dammit, Jassy, I nearly went out of my mind!' he admitted ruefully.
'Why did you take me to the party tonight, knowing that Rene would be there?' she asked curiously.
Max shrugged. 'We were getting nowhere together and I began to wonder if perhaps you hadn't known your true feelings for him. It cost me a hell of a lot to take you to that party, there was a chance that I'd lose you.'
Jassy watched the torment in his eyes.
'I don't love Rene,' she said softly. 'I don't even like him very much. But I have a confession to make about him.' She swallowed, feeling incredibly nervous. Max deserved the truth, and so she began. 'Rene came to see me the morning we got married. He was angry and convincing. When he'd tried and failed to stop me marrying you, he told me that my mother had left me some shares in her will, that I own fifty per cent of the shares in Morgan's company.'
Max whistled softly, his amazement obvious. 'I'm married to a tycoon, then,' he said with a smile.
'Hardly. Morgan has the shares—anyway, I'm not really interested. Rene also told me that you had been after a take-over of the company for years, that you knew about the shares and that was the only reason you wanted to marry me.' She paused, her mouth suddenly dry. 'I believed him. I looked at myself in the mirror and thought that you couldn't possibly love me. Nobody had ever loved me, and you were strong and handsome and wonderful, you had your pick of any woman. I misjudged you, Max—I'll never forgive myself for that.'
Max was staring at her intently as if trying to look inside her soul.
'I didn't know about the shares,' he said quietly. 'But about four years ago, I put in a bid for your stepfather's company. I wanted it at the time, but when the deal fell through, I didn't give it a second thought. That's the truth.'
'I know that now. Morgan and Rene were just trying to pressure me. Rene told me tonight that he'd lied. That's why I was so upset. I'm so sorry, Max, that I doubted you. It was more to do with me than you. I'd just found out that Morgan had never really cared for me and I felt that nobody ever could.' It was imperative that he understood.
Max smiled very tenderly. 'I do understand, Jassy,' he said softly, reading her mind again.
'Do you forgive me?' she asked tentatively.
He leaned forward and kissed her mouth briefly with warm lips. 'I love you, and there's nothing to forgive. It doesn't even matter now that you know the truth.' He frowned. 'If Moreau told you this tonight, why did you run away?'
Jassy took a deep breath, and dry-mouthed, she whispered, 'Because I love you. I love you more than anything in the world.'
A second later she was in" his arms and he was kissing her fiercely and lovingly, and she was matching his ferocity, as they held each other tightly. His warm mouth strayed across her fa.ce and she felt him trembling against her.
'Jassy, I've waited for ever to hear you say that,' he murmured unsteadily. 'Stay with me—we'll make a new life together, start all over again—
yes?'
'Yes,' Jassy said simply, feeling so happy that she thought she would burst.
'The time for talking is over, I want you now,' he groaned suddenly.
'Love me Max, love me now,' Jassy invited, touching his mouth, her heart stopping at the love she saw in his eyes.
He carried her to their bedroom, laying her gently on the bed, his eyes molten with desire as he undressed her. The sun was rising, lighting the room with a deep glow, as he took her into his strong arms, teaching her love, as his mouth moved on her body. They made love with a wildness that almost destroyed them both, and Jassy moved beneath his urgent body, in ecstasy, feeling the trembling heat of him, filling her, completing her, finally making her whole.
Afterwards, she pressed her face to his sweat-dampened chest, the heavy thunder of his heart beneath her ear.
'Nobody can make me feel the way you do,' he murmured, kissing her hair, his breathing still uneven. Something sparked in Jassy's memory. 'You told me you'd been in love once,' she remembered.
Max laughed lazily. 'I meant you. You're the only woman I've ever loved—ever will love,' he admitted with a smile.
Jassy digested this happily—everything was so perfect.
'And New York?' she asked impishly.
'I wasn't certain how long I could keep away from you. Come with me, Jassy, we haven't had a proper honeymoon yet.'
'Max, I have another confession to make,' she whispered.
His hands slid over her smooth bare skin, possessively cupping the softness of her breasts. 'Tell me,' he demanded gently.
Max drew a long, harsh breath,' freezing for a second. 'Are you sure?' he-asked, his green eyes flaring brilliantly with joy.
'I'm fairly sure, I'm having a test this week.' She hardly had time to finish the sentence before she was crushed against him.
'You're so very young. Do you mind?' he asked gently, worried.
'I'm ecstatic,' Jassy replied, kissing him.
'Jassy, my sweet love,' he murmured huskily against the vulnerable skin of her white throat. He touched the soft skin of her stomach with caressing, wondering fingers. 'Our child—in there. I'll make you happy, Jassy, I promise, every single day of our lives. I need your warmth and your softness, your love and your laughter—everything, because God knows, I love you.'
'You have all those things—I'm yours, Max, for ever,'Jassy whispered in surrender against his warm and beautiful mouth.
'Show me,' he ordered huskily, his green eyes glinting with desire as he stared down at her.
It was a command that she could not resist. She would drown him in love. Starting right now.
Table of Contents
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
Wipe Away the Tears Page 16