BLINDED BY DESIRE

by Arabella Sheen

  He did wonder if Beth would have preferred to visit the horticultural show but that was only a fleeting thought. Any consideration for Beth’s feelings soon vanished as he watched Charles pulled out Beth’s chair and take her by the arm.

  “I’m afraid it’s early to bed for Beth. If she’s working with Jason tomorrow, she’ll need her beauty sleep,” and Charles started steering her towards the door, “Come on, I’ll walk you home. It seems you’ve a busy morning ahead of you.”

  “Charles there’s really no need for you to see me home. I’m not likely to get mugged in your grounds am I? There’s no need for you to leave Sophie . . . or Mr Andre. I can quite easily find my way back to the lodge . . . but thanks all the same.”

  Quickly she said her goodnights to everyone and left the room leaving the three of them staring after her.

  Charles was on the point of returning to his chair but he stopped.

  “I think I’ll just walk Beth home to the guest house. I ought to be back before you two finish your coffees. I shouldn’t be too long; but if I am . . . don’t wait up.”

  Charles didn’t even wait to see the look of humiliation on Sophie’s face and the look of anger and revulsion on Jason’s.

  “So that’s how things are,” thought Jason, and for some unknown reason he felt vaguely disappointed.

  * * *

  With difficulty Beth stopped Charles from walking back with her to the lodge guest house. It had been a struggle but eventually Charles had got the message.

  Entering the guest lodge she saw the suitcases she’d packed earlier that day. Her weekend bags were still standing in the hall and at that moment she had the urge to grab her belongings and make a run for it.

  All she wanted to do was run back to Devon and never again return to Clifton Hall.

  She longed for the safety and security of her own home . . . before it was too late.

  If she remained here much longer she was bound to become entangled in the decisions Jason Andre had to make.

  And if she stayed, there would be no turning back.

  Jason wouldn’t let her.

  What was it he’d said to her this evening? . . . “If you work for me, you will have to call me Jason.” . . . and against her will she’d called him by his name.

  “Yes,” she thought, “Mr Jason Andre knows what he wants and how to get it. But he won’t be getting me. He can’t have me. Not at any price.”

  * * *

  Early the next morning she was ready and waiting for Jason in the library. The library walls were lined with heavy volumes of books from floor to ceiling and there were two long chesterfield sofas and several winged arm chairs were dotted about the place.

  A chunky roll-top desk stood near the French windows and a lap-top and several scrolls of parchment were on the desk.

  As Jason entered the room, she immediately felt the force of his personality.

  He radiated energy.

  Making his way across the room towards her he was like a panther prowling.

  “You’re early . . . no Charles with you?” he asked.

  She looked up at him as he towered above her and she could sense he was tense, on edge and sporting for a fight. She could even hear a hint of contempt in his voice.

  He was aiming for a battle and not only was he furious, he was seeing red.

  All Jason could see before him was an alluringly beautiful woman.

  She was dazzlingly radiant this morning and he presumed her glowing looks came from a passionate night spent in the arms of Charles.

  Jason thought she had come to him straight from a bed she had shared with Charles, and for some reason he was livid at the thought of the two of them together.

  But Jason was wrong.

  It wasn’t a night of passion that had given Beth a stunning radiance this morning. What had given her a vibrant glow was simply a sound night’s sleep . . . alone . . . and in her own bed.

  After working a long hard week on the estate, she had finally managed to catch up on the hours of sleep she’d missed.

  Whilst she’d been waiting for Jason to make an appearance this morning, her hands had been sweating in anticipation of his arrival and now that he was actually here, his presence in the room was making her feel very nervous.

  She had no idea why her stomach was churning. But it was. Excitement was pulsing through her veins and she was eager to get started.

  She found the idea of spending a morning working with Jason exhilarating and the sight of him had got her adrenaline flowing through her veins and her heart pumping.

  Slowly she rubbed her moist hands along the sides of her slender hips and as she did so, she saw his eyes follow her movements.

  He liked what he saw. But the sudden swish of her long dark auburn hair as she tossed it back off her face brought him back to reality.

  It also brought back the thought of Beth and Charles together during the night.

  “I’ll let you get return to Charles as soon as possible,” he told her sharply.

  He could barely conceal a sneer of contempt from his voice.

  “If we’ve finished here,” he added, “and if you play your cards right, perhaps you can still go to the barn dance with him.”

  “Actually it was an agricultural show but I won’t be going and I don’t rely on Charles to act as my escort. It‘s kind of you to think I needed someone to take me out, but no thanks . . . I can look after myself . . . Mr Andre.”

  She was puzzled and a little annoyed by the fact Jason thought she would be going somewhere with Charles and it appeared to be that what she’d said yesterday at dinner hadn’t convinced Jason.

  He still believed she wasn’t having an affair with Charles.

  “And you’re back to calling me Mr Andre,” he reminded her, irritated that she was insisting on formality between them, “Yesterday we agreed you’d call me Jason.”

  “I didn’t say I would call you Jason,” she told him, denying any such suggestion; “I made no promises. All I said was - I’d call you Jason only if I should work for you. And so far, if I’m not mistaken Mr Andre . . . I’m not in your employment.”

  “Not yet,” he muttered beneath his breath, “Now let me hear you say my name. Or perhaps it’s too difficult?”

  He stepped towards her until he was standing directly in front of her.

  He was challenging her to say his name. He wanted her to call him Jason and she knew she was fighting a losing battle.

  It was almost as if he was ordering her to obey him.

  “Damn it,” she thought. “Why does he make me feel so intimidated? I’m a grown woman. I’m not someone he can boss about.”

  Until now they had never been in a room alone together, and at this moment he was so close, she could actually feel his body heat.

  He was almost touching her, but not quite.

  The musky fragrance of his cologne was still fresh on his skin and her senses were being stimulated and the sparks of attraction were beginning to fly between them.

  Her defences automatically came up.

  Alarm bells were ringing furiously in her ears.

  The man oozed sex appeal and she knew that if he should make a move, she would have no chance fighting him off.

  “You’re out of your depth and he’s out of your league,” she thought.

  She didn’t know why, but she was panicking at the idea of him touching her.

  If he did touch her she knew she would be no match against his strength.

  He was six foot two and she was feeling very much at a disadvantage.

  She straightened to her full height and carefully took a cautious step away from him.

  With her protective shell now firmly in place, she brushed a non-existent speck of dirt from her dress before she looked Jason squarely in the eye.

  Reluctantly she repeated his name.

  She said it slowly and clearly and against her will she was obeying his orders.

  When she saw his reaction, she realis
ed she should have known better and known how he would react.

  It was so predictable.

  Jason had looked at her, raised an eyebrow and then he had given a wide victorious grin.

  He had one the first battle between them, and she felt totally defeated, but she wasn’t giving up just yet.

  The battle between them had scarcely begun and she was determined to win the next round.

  CHAPTER THREE

  Jason had brought the blueprints and aerial photographs with him and losing no time they examined the lay-out of the villa and the surrounding acreage.

  They also worked from the lap-top downloading various comparable proposals.

  If Beth pointed out things she thought needed changing, Jason took on board what she had to say and made quick adjustments on the screen.

  The building plans were altered instantly.

  She was offering him good sound advice and amazingly he was listening to her recommendations.

  He was astounded by Beth’s skill and staggered by her knowledge.

  Landscaping was her profession and when she was discussing gardens she knew her subject.

  Decisiveness and decision making was something Jason admired and respected in a colleague and he was pleasantly surprised he was feeling both for Beth.

  As their morning progressed she let out a deep sigh of frustration.

  “In normal circumstances I’d go on site with you and take a look at the space available,” she told him, “It would be better if I’d actually see the land and surrounding hills. This isn’t a small project Jason. It’s massive. There’s at least fifteen acres needing serious attention and there’s a lot of vegetation and undergrowth to clear. It all has to be cut back. And then there are the pool areas which need to be planned.”

  During the remainder of the morning she continued pointing out new ideas to him and in her quite determined way she was winning him over to her suggestions.

  He was gradually coming around to her way of thinking.

  The original blueprints Jason had brought with him had been discarded and using the lap-top she had practically redesigned the villa’s gardens out of all recognition.

  Unknowingly she had worked her professional magic on him and it seemed her magic was working in more ways than one.

  When she sat beside him leaning over the lap-top examining the plans, he could smell the scent of her.

  Her perfume teased his nostrils.

  Occasionally her long auburn hair would brush against his cheek and without her knowing it, she was exciting him.

  Sometime during the morning a top button on her blouse must have come undone, because when she leant across to point something out on the blueprints, he would catch a teasing glimpse of her breasts.

  He found himself mesmerised by the brief glimpse of soft creamy skin. Unwillingly his eyes were following her.

  As she moved around the desk he found himself no longer examining the prints in front of him, his was completely absorbed with Beth and what she was doing.

  And then she dropped her bombshell.

  “I can make a rough draft for you,” she told him, “You’ve given me a good outline of what you want. Main features, colour schemes, that sort of thing and I’ll do my best to work around your needs. I can fax you the plans when they’re finished and when I’m done I’ll send you a complete assessment if that’s alright.”

  “Sure,” he said, wondering where this was leading.

  “It’s not much, but I’m afraid it’s the best I can do. As I’ve said before, I usually like to look on site but in this case it’s impossible. There’s no way I can work on this project. I simply don’t have the time. My farm in Devon’s been neglected and I have to get back there soon or I’ll be out of business.”

  It was then Jason realised Beth was serious when she had said she wouldn’t work for him.

  This weekend she had been prepared to work with him; but she wasn’t going to work for him.

  Jason took on board what she was saying but he was determined to turn the tables and persuade her otherwise.

  Hearing her refuse to work on his project was a blow to his ego and he was not accustomed to being turned down.

  No one ever refuse Jason Andre.

  He had imagined she was his for the asking, but she was more or less telling him she wasn’t available.

  Thinking about it, he realised he had two options open to him.

  Either he could use one of the regular contracted gardening corporations the firm used to do his landscaping . . . or he could get the person he originally wanted . . . Elizabeth Ashton.

  Unexpectedly his mobile started ringing.

  Jason made his apologies to Beth for the interruption and went over to the other side of the room to take the call.

  “Hello, Jason Andre here . . . Hi Trudy, what’s the problem?” he asked.

  Their meeting was more or less over so Beth hurriedly began collecting together the papers they had been working on.

  She was going to make a quick getaway and leave him to talk privately to who-ever was calling, but as she was picking up her bag Jason began vigorously signalling for her to sit.

  He was pointing to one of the leather armchairs.

  There was no mistaking the meaning behind his gesture.

  She obeyed and she sat.

  “I can’t really talk. I’m in a meeting right now,” he told the caller, “What roses? . . . Oh those. No there’s no need to thank me and yes Monday I’m in Manchester, so it will have to be dinner Wednesday evening.”

  The conversation on the phone was obviously not business and it was clear to Beth there was some sort of romantic link between Jason and the person on the other end of the line.

  “The woman’s bound to be beautiful,” she thought.

  Jason was a stickler for excellence.

  She only had to look at the plans he’d drawn up of his villa to know he wouldn’t tolerate imperfections.

  Anything connected to him would have to be flawless and any woman he dated would be nothing less than perfect.

  She could see from the way he dressed and from his appearance he wouldn’t tolerate shortcomings.

  His work was the same.

  Instinctively she knew he surrounded himself with attractive objects and beautiful people.

  Jason quickly finished his conversation and switched off the mobile.

  “Well that’s Trudy dealt with,” he said and it was almost as if he was ticking off a shopping list.

  Then his eyes zoned in on Beth . . . his next project.

  “Come on Beth, it’s time we explored outside and let’s if I can persuade you to work for me.”

  “You can’t,” she said.

  “We’ll see,” he said, “But for now I’ll let you take me on a grand tour and you can show me your work . . . close-up so to speak.”

  She was proud of her landscaping achievements and the Hall’s garden was one of her best projects to date; but the thought of Jason voicing an opinion or criticising her work made her tremble with nerves.

  “And if I’m found wanting . . .” she asked him apprehensively.

  Desperately she wanted his approval.

  She knew her landscaping was controversial but for some reason she wanted his good opinion.

  “Oh . . . I don’t imagine you’ll be found wanting . . . in any department,” was all he was prepared to say.

  * * * * *

  Beth and Jason left the library and were standing in the hallway. They were on the point of stepping outside to look at the estate.

  “You’ll probably need to collect a coat and some boots,” he said.

  He was looking at the thin blouse and skirt she was wearing.

  “I’ll be alright,” she told him and she shivered as a rush of cool air from outside hit her.

  “It’ll be cold, he warned, “I’ll meet you outside in fifteen minutes and I’ll let you show me what you’ve done.”

  She needed no second bidding.


  Quickly she hurried to the lodge where she was staying and changed into a warm woolly jumper and a pair of old jeans.