BLINDED BY DESIRE

by Arabella Sheen

  No of course he hasn’t regained his sight.

  She didn’t know what made her think such a thing.

  Perhaps she was subconsciously wishing and hoping he’d got the use of his eyes back.

  The doctor’s in England had said there were no guarantee’s but that everyone ought to remain optimistic and keep positive.

  Before they’d left for Greece she had spent nearly a month with Jason at Clifton Hall. She’d been with him constantly.

  Mostly she’d driven him back and forth to the hospital for his medical checks. But it was during the cold winter evenings, when they were sat together in front of a warm log fire in the drawing room, she had gotten to know and understand the true Jason.

  They had come to know one another much better.

  That is . . . better than the dreadful weekend when she had looked over his blueprints in the library.

  Jason, the man she once knew as self-sufficient and self-reliant, was not the same man he used to be.

  He had never had others making decisions for him.

  He had always been a self-reliant man. Dependant on no one.

  Now, with the loss of his sight, everything had changed.

  Doctors had said the scar on his face would gradually heel and fade. The scar would always be there and it would always be a reminder of the accident, but his sight . . . his sight was another matter.

  There was no knowing how much damage the blast of the plane’s explosion had caused.

  The doctors were saying it was a question of time. Jason simply had to wait and see - when or even if - he would regain the use of his eyes.

  After their last visit to the hospital, they had been given the all clear to travel to Greece. Without wasting any time, plans had been made and set in motion. Tickets were bought . . . bags had been packed . . . . and good-byes were said.

  Their journey together had begun, and now they were here.

  The taxi from the harbour was coming to a shuddering halt outside the house where they were going to be staying.

  “You’re here Mr Andre sir,” the taxi driver was telling them, and there was a wide toothless grin on his face.

  Beth opened the door of the taxi and climbed out peeling her sticky sweaty legs from the clinging leather of the upholstery.

  She could feel her T-shirt sticking like a second skin. Her short blue denim skirt was no protection against the heat of the sun.

  Beth looked up at the building before her.

  When they’d left England she’d no idea what she was going to find. But now, having finally reached their destination in Greece . . . she realised she hadn’t been expecting this.

  There was no way that this place could be called a villa.

  They had entered through an old rickety gate in a boundary wall and they were now standing outside a building that looked like a goat farmer’s cottage.

  And it looked basic.

  Very basic.

  For a man who has only the best and most luxurious of things in life, she couldn’t understand why Jason had brought her here to this place.

  In England Jason was always surrounded with plush cars and opulence. He dressed only in best designer suits. Wore only handmade Italian shoes and at all times . . . he lived in style.

  But being here in Greece he appeared to be content to wear denim’s and to travel in taxis.

  Looking at the house before her, she was beginning to wonder what she had let herself in for.

  If this was supposed to be the villa of his dreams, it bore no resemblance to the building on the blueprints. Her landscape designs would never be right for this place.

  The doors to the taxi had been flung open and the taxi driver began quickly unloading their bags from the boot of the car.

  Jason delved into his pocket and pulled out a wad of money.

  By the look of delight on the driver’s face he was being given a very generous tip.

  Rewarded for his services, the driver thanked them profusely, got back into the taxi, turned about and headed back to the taverns and restaurants on the harbour-side.

  Before Beth knew what was happening, the driver had disappeared and she had been left standing at the door with their luggage beside her feet.

  She had a dreadful feeling she had suddenly lost a life line to the outside world.

  They were in the middle of nowhere and there was not another house or person in sight.

  The harbour was on the other side of the island and the restaurant they had passed was at least twenty minutes walking distance.

  She felt isolated and she was beginning to panic.

  “I’m not staying here with you Jason. Call the driver back and tell him to take me to the harbour.”

  Beth was pointing furiously in the direction from where they had come.

  But it was useless.

  She could no longer see the taxi. It had disappeared out of sight and there was no one but Jason to hear her ranting.

  “And what do you think you are going to do once you reach the harbour?” he asked her.

  “There are plenty of hotels there. I’ll get a room at one of them.”

  She was beginning to feel frightened.

  The reality of being here with alone Jason was beginning to sink in.

  She didn’t know precisely what she had imagined would be waiting for her in Greece, but it certainly wasn’t this.

  It was obvious Jason knew his way around the island, and when he’d said he’d found a place for them to stay, she had believed him.

  But she hadn’t expected this place and it certainly wasn’t a villa. At least not a villa by her standards.

  It looked more like a . . . shack.

  Suddenly she realised he hadn’t said what sort of accommodation or condition the place they were staying at, was going to be in.

  “I’d no idea it was going to be like this,” she told him. “I’m not staying here with you Jason. I’m not!” she said adamantly. She was daunted at the prospect of spending a night here on her own with only Jason for company.

  “Why not? It’s clean. It’s habitable.”

  “How do you know that? You can’t see.” She had blurted out her thoughts before she could think what they would mean to Jason.

  It wasn’t her intention to be hurtful.

  She’d just been stating a fact.

  “I know this place and it’s perfectly alright. There’s nothing wrong with it,” he told her, “I’ve stayed here before . . . often. I’ve been here when I’ve had to inspect the building site. The villa we’re building is only just over that cliff top.”

  Jason was pointing toward the sound of the waves and the sea.

  Beth was relieved.

  So this wasn’t the villa Jason was building.

  “Oh . . .” was all she could find to say at that moment. She was nonplus.

  “Anyway you haven’t even seen what the house looks like inside, so how can you possibly judge what the place is like?” Jason sounded disgruntled.

  “No. You’re right. I’m sorry. I haven’t seen the house,” she said contritely.

  Then the horrific thought came back to her . . . she would still be here alone with him. There would be no one else here. There would only be the two of them.

  “But the house isn’t the problem,” she said worriedly, “It’s the location. We’ll be here on our own. There’s no one within miles.”

  She was looking alarmingly at him and all Jason was hearing was the terror in her voice.

  “Beth, what you really mean is . . . no one will be here to hear your screams . . . when I rape you?”

  She stood frozen, rooted to the spot. She didn’t know if he meant those horrid words he’d just said.

  Not being able to move and walk away from him she remained where she was, petrified and trembling with fright.

  “You wouldn’t?” she gasped in a horrified whisper. She could scarcely speak.

  It was then she noticed the rage slowly building within him.
/>   “Wouldn’t I?” he asked her. His voice was bitter and had an angry bite to it.

  Then she saw his shoulders slump in defeat as he turned from her.

  “How dare you Beth. How dare you . . . That you should even think so little of me. How could you imagine that I would . . .?” he couldn’t finish what he was about to say.

  Beth could see she had wounded his pride.

  She had questioned his integrity.

  And she had offended his sense of rightfulness and honour.

  Abruptly Jason turned away from her in revulsion.

  He walked away and she had no alternative but to follow him as he felt his way, stumbling blindly towards the entrance of the house.

  “I’m sorry Jason. Of course I know you wouldn’t rape me. I don’t know what made me say it.”

  “And I don’t know what made you even . . . think it,” he said between clenched teeth.

  He was furious with her.

  She had wounded him deeply with her accusation.

  As they entered the house she began to look about her.

  They were in what seemed to be the living area and it was exactly as Jason had said it would be. Clean and tidy.

  She was surprised someone who was used to the luxuries in life would tolerate somewhere with only the basics. What she’d known about Jason from their time together in England, was that he lived and breathed in the fast lane.

  His cars and his penthouse were only a few of his extravagances.

  Yet here they were, in a Greek farmer’s house, without any of these luxuries.

  Beth went through to the next room where she found the kitchen and she turned on the taps at the sink.

  “At least we’ve got hot and cold water,” she mumbled to no one in particular.

  Exploring further she discovered the cupboards were stocked full with tins and packs of dried food. The fridge and freezer were also full with food and drink.

  At least there was no reason to believe he’s going to starve me, she thought.

  Thankfully someone had taken the time to prepare the house for them. So obviously someone knew she was here. She felt less isolated.

  As she looked around the place her feeling of panic was beginning to fade a little. It was basic but homely and the rooms were clean and tidy.

  Jason had wandered through to the back of the house.

  “You’d better bring the luggage in,” he shouted.

  “Yes oh Master,” she whispered, gritting her teeth together crossly.

  “Beth . . .” he called out to her, “I might not be able to see you, but let me remind you . . . there is nothing wrong with my hearing. Your Master . . . kindly requests you bring the luggage in here . . . now!”

  She followed Jason to the back of the house and stood in the doorway to see what he was doing.

  The room was filled with office equipment and by the looks of things it was a very efficient office. On the desk in the corner was a lap-top connected to an outside line and a router. The place was geared to received and send e-mails.

  A printer, scanner, photocopier and fax also stood beside the desk. It seemed that however much Jason intended to get away from it all he hadn’t completely left the outside world of business and commerce behind.

  But all this hi-tech equipment was of no use to him if he couldn’t see to read. Jason wouldn’t be able to cope on his own without Beth at his side.

  Feeling about on his desk for the role of blue-prints he’d left there before his accident, he heard her movements in the doorway and looked up.

  “You’ll want to shower and freshen-up before we go out again,” he told her.

  “What? Why? Where are we going?”

  They hadn’t been in the house two minutes and already he was on his way out.

  “You’ll see when we get there. Now hurry. We’ve wasted too much time already.”

  There was no point arguing any further.

  Jason clearly had his own agenda.

  Until he’d done what he wanted to do, there would be no reasoning with him.

  He had his methods and she was beginning to know the way Jason’s liked to do things.

  Once more Beth went outside into the heat of the sunshine to collect their belongings, and piece by piece she brought their luggage in.

  “Where do you want it?” she asked him when she had brought everything inside.

  “Want what?” he asked her. Whilst he’d been busy searching for the papers in his briefcase, he’d forgotten what he’d asked Beth to do.

  “This luggage. The luggage I’m holding. Where do you want it?” she asked.

  “It depends on what you’ve got. If it’s the rucksack, it’s got my cloths in it and it can go to my bedroom. You can leave it at the bottom of the stairs if you want, I’ll carry it up later.”

  “No, it’s alright. It’s no trouble. I’ll take the bags up now,” she offered.

  She couldn’t carry both of their bags at the same time, so she left hers at the bottom of the stairs and she took his rucksack up to the bedroom.

  The next moment Jason heard Beth’s loud shouts from the bedroom and then he heard her footsteps as she ran back down the stairs.

  “What is it? What’s wrong?” he asked her sounding anxious. He was trying to find his way towards her without bumping into the furniture.

  Then before he knew what was happening she was stood in front of him practically hysterical with rage.

  “You’ve lied to me Jason. You’ve lied. There’s just one bedroom upstairs and it only has one double bed.”

  “Hold on a minute . . .”

  “. . . And the only other room upstairs is a wet room with only a shower . . . And I’m not sleeping in there.”

  From the sound of her screams he’d imaged all sorts of things happening upstairs.

  His body had been taught in anticipation of fighting off a possible intruder.

  There had never been that sort of problem here on the island before. This place was practically crime free . . . except for the odd tourist and a missing camera there was never any trouble. So when Beth had screamed he’d thought the worst.

  Taking a long deep controlled breath and placing his hands on his hips he confronted her full on.

  “Now let us get one thing straight Miss over sexed libido . . . I’ve had enough of your accusations and suspicions. I’ve no intentions or design’s whatsoever on your virtue. Your over heated imagination leaves me cold.”

  “You’ve tried it on with me once before . . . remember? And you were anything but cold.”

  She was remembering the kiss they had shared in the secret garden at Clifton Hall.

  “If I want a bed companion . . . and I don’t,” he said, “I can have my choice of any number of women. At the moment I don’t need anyone in my bed. Or to put it bluntly . . . I don’t need you in my bed.”

  Jason took a menacing step towards her.

  “Let me remind you Beth, it was you who offered to work with me. And it was you who put forward the idea of coming to Greece. We’re here to finish what I started. The villa . . . my villa. That’s why we’re here, and it’s the only reason we’re here. Now if it’s too much for you to handle . . . get out now before it’s too late.”

  And this time it was Jason who walked out of the room leaving a bemused Beth starring after him.

  CHAPTER SIX

  A quarter of an hour later Beth realised she might have been over reacting a little and went in search of Jason. She found him on one of the benches outside on the veranda.

  “What now . . .?” he asked.

  “But the bedroom . . .? I don’t understand.”

  “Your bedroom’s in the annex. At the back of the house. If you want the bedroom upstairs that’s fine too. We can do a swap. I picked the one upstairs because that’s where I’ve slept before. That is . . . I’ve slept there before the plane crash. I sort of know the layout of the room and I know where things are.”

  His arguments sounded logical.<
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