BLINDED BY DESIRE

by Arabella Sheen

  The window covered one of the outside walls and had a panoramic view to the sea and beyond.

  Some of Stephan workmen were just outside adding the finishing touches to one of the dry-stone walls.

  “Damn. I’d forgotten about my men,” he said jokingly and winked at her knowingly.

  He had a wide open smile and he was grinning from ear to ear.

  She liked Stephan. He was down to earth and he seemed to be someone Jason could depend and rely on.

  “How about giving me a cup of that delicious coffee I can smell?” he asked her, and he took a step further into the room.

  “Stop,” she told him hastily, “Cassandra’s just washed the floor and your boots are dusty.”

  The kitchen was spotless. Unspoilt and untouched.

  Cassandra and her daughter had worked so hard to make the place habitable for Jason and Beth. When they had returned from Athens and the hospital the place had been cleaned from top to bottom. It was spotless and it would be a shame to make it dirty.

  Beth supposed that when all the rooms were finally finished and the villa was opened to all Jason’s friends, he would have to take on more staff. But for now they were coping.

  “Then I’ll strip off my dirty gear . . .” Stephan offered.

  “No,” she shrieked and burst out laughing at the thought of Stephan dressed only in his underpants and his workman’s boots. “I’ll get you a coffee and we can sit outside near the pool.”

  “Great,” he said, “On one condition . . .”

  “And that is?”

  “We have a dip in the pool at the same time.”

  “You’re on,” she told him and she rushed to fetch her swimsuit whilst Stephan took the drinks outside.

  The pool areas and gardens were looking good.

  She had created a mini oasis and she was pleased with how her landscaping had turned out.

  One of the pools was an infinity pool which was higher up the hillside in a sheltered spot.

  It was more of a meditational-relaxation pool, and was away from the buzz and activities of the villa.

  Another pool near the outdoor bar and barbeque but one Stephan and Beth were about to use was the one at the side of the villa which they used for their morning exercise.

  Beth and Stephan had taken a cooling plunge powering through the blue water with the adrenaline pumping. They challenged each other with every lap until they climbed out refreshed and ready to collapse and stretch out on one of the cushioned loungers at the pools edge.

  The sun had practically dried her but it was still tangled and damp. Beth brushed out the tangled knots and was having a sip of an ice cold refreshing lemon drink when Stephan asked her the all-important question.

  “So tell me . . . when’s the wedding to be?” he asked.

  “I don’t know what you mean . . . whose wedding?” she asked, wondering what he was getting at.

  “Why . . . yours and Jason’s wedding of course. You’re obviously serious about each other. The two of you are stuck together like glue. You’re constantly in each other’s company and I’ve never known Jason to be like it before. You do know you’re making Jason very happy and it’s clear to everyone here that something’s happening between the two of you. So . . . when do I get to be best man?”

  Beth wasn’t fooling herself and she wasn’t under the illusion that Jason was about to organise a wedding.

  She’d known from the outset that she wasn’t going to be a permanent fixture at White Island Villa.

  None of Jason’s women stayed in his life for very long. But that wasn’t stopping her enjoying the moment and her time with him.

  “You’ve got it all wrong Stephan. It’s only chemistry between us, that’s all it is. What Jason and I have together . . . well, it’s only physical. And then of course there’s Trudy.”

  “Trudy? What about Trudy? What do you mean?”

  Beth went on to explain what had happened at the hotel in Athens and how Trudy had threatened to come back into Jason’s life.

  “So you see Trudy could step in at any moment. Jason only needs me hear as a shield against her.”

  “Now it’s you’ve that’s got it all wrong Beth. Jason wouldn’t use you like that. I know he can be ruthless on occasions but I’ve never known him treat his girlfriends like a cad. He’s always been the gentleman.”

  But for how long is he going to treat me as his girlfriend? she thought.

  “You’re right,” she said, “Jason is a gentleman, very much so . . . but we won’t last. I’m not Jason’s type. He likes a sophisticated lady and I’m not sophisticated. He would soon tire of me. I’m not of his world and we’d never make a happy couple. Look at me Stephan, I’m his gardener . . . I’m the hired help.”

  There was no need for her to say she was only Jason’s mistress until the landscaping was finished.

  Beth estimated she had about a month. When the gardens were established, she would have no reason to stay. She’d to return to England and leave Jason.

  “Beth, surely you’ve got it wrong. He couldn’t possibly go back to Trudy. He’d be a damn fool if he did and I’ll kill him for you if he even looks at her. I’m prepared to fight him and knock his block off for you.”

  Beth let out a weak laugh making light of the situation.

  She had to smile at the thought of Stephan fighting with Jason.

  “My champion,” she said, “Thank-you for offering to defend my honour Stephan, but I lost all sense of pride the moment I became Jason’s mistress. So there’s no need to fight him for me, because I’ve no honour to fight for.”

  Stephan reached over from his lounger and squeezed her hand reassuringly.

  They knew Jason would win any fight. Jason Andre always won.

  Neither of them had seen Jason silently approach the pool. He had witnessed Stephan reaching for Beth’s hand.

  “So this is what my Forman does when my back’s turned.”

  Beth hadn’t known Jason was back from his trip. He had been to the main island to see about a landing strip for the jet.

  There was a tight mask of anger showing on Jason’s face.

  He was barely concealing his temper.

  “What does that mean exactly?”

  Stephan stood up from the lounger, he was still in swimming trunks and he looked at Jason puzzled and perplexed.

  “It means just what it sounds like.”

  “Now what’s ruffled your feathers Jason? I’ve been here all morning keeping Beth company. You’d done a runner, and all the thanks I get for looking after your woman is a show of teeth.”

  “And I leave White Island Villa for a couple of hours, and what happens? . . . You move in.”

  At that moment all three of them looked up to the sky. There was a deafening sound of a chopper passing overhead. It was heading for the main island and the helicopter landing pad.

  “That will be Trudy,” Jason said grinding his teeth together, “She’s just phoned me on my mobile. She warned me she was flying in and would be here any minute. I’d better go and welcome her.”

  He was speaking to Stephan and he’d hardly looked at Beth.

  Jason had gone to collect Trudy from the heliport on the other island, and he’d left not having said one word to Beth.

  He’d seen her laughing and holding hands with Stephan and he had barely looked at her. When he had, it had been with rage and anger showing on his face.

  One moment he was there and the next he was gone.

  Beth quickly wiped away the tears which had sprung into her eyes.

  Stephan swore beneath his breath.

  “Damn Jason. What is he playing at?”

  “Like I said . . . I don’t belong to Jason’s world and he would soon tire of me. The only thing that hurts is that he’s tired of me sooner than I thought.”

  Jason had gone to collect Trudy from the chopper and Stephan went back to work leaving a dejected and woeful Beth standing on her own by the pool.

  She
was collecting her things together and was about to go back into the house when she suddenly felt sick and dizzy at the thought that she had been use yet again.

  She reached for the back of the lounger for support.

  Cassandra - the housekeeper - was in the kitchen preparing the evening meal and looking out of the window she saw Beth swaying unsteadily on her feet.

  Cassandra rushed out to the pool and caught Beth just in time to save her from a nasty fall.

  “Come, you shall go and lie down,” the housekeeper insisted in broken English. “Not good you being here. Go - Go lie on bed. I bring you some milk and cookies.”

  Beth didn’t have the energy to argue and once in the air-conditioned house and in bed between the coolness of fresh sheets the nausea and dizziness soon passed.

  Cassandra knocked on the bedroom door and placed ta tray on the bedside table.

  “Now you stay there till the morning. I make Master Jason’s bed . . . in next bedroom. He sleeping there. You sleeping here . . . Yes?”

  Cassandra felt Beth’s forehead for a temperature.

  “Too hot . . . Not good for baby . . . too much sun. Now you have a rest and a sleep.” And the bedroom shutters were closed, shutting out the strong sunlight and the door was quietly pulled shut.

  Cassandra had voiced what Beth suspected.

  Beth was beginning to think she might be late. She had no proof. But there were things like the early morning sickness from the smells wafting from the kitchen and also the need to eat a gherkin at the strangest times of the day.

  She was overdue and she was waiting for a tell-tell sign to show her that she wasn’t pregnant . . . but it hadn’t shown.

  Beth turned onto her side and let the tears gently fall from her wet cheeks onto her pillow.

  * * * * *

  Jason was back from the heliport and with only the briefest of knocks he entered the bedroom he’d been sharing with Beth since returning from Athens a few weeks ago.

  “Cassandra’s said you’re feeling unwell and you’ve gone to bed. What’s wrong? Do I call the doctor?”

  “I don’t feel well,” she told him sleepily and fluffed the damp pillows and pulled the sheet snugly around her shoulders, “Can we please leave this conversation until the morning?”

  “You were alright half-an hour ago. You were swimming and joking by the pool with Stephan. So what’s up?”

  Jason was in no mood for polite conversation. He wanted answers and he wanted them now.

  “Nothing important.”

  She wondering how she could possibly tell him she thought she might be pregnant.

  “It’s nothing . . .” she said and in the next breath she asked, “How’s Trudy?”

  He didn’t answer.

  Jason started pacing the bedroom and he ran his hands angrily through his hair.

  “She’s back. And she wants me.”

  He looked like he wanted to hit something.

  He was tense and ridged with rage.

  Jason - the man who was always in command and in control - looked as if his secure perfect world was crumbling around him.

  “Surely you’re imagining things,” she hoped she sounded convincing.

  “You weren’t with me when she . . .”

  “Jason. If you think Trudy wants you, then she’s going to get you. It’s a mind-set. If you’re already thinking Trudy’s won, then she has. The game’s over. You’ve already given up fighting her and now you think no-one is going to stop her doing what she wants.”

  He started silently pacing the bedroom again.

  He was concentrating. And then she saw a flash of inspiration in his eyes.

  “There is something that can stop her. You can stop her. This time you’re going to marry me. It’s the only answer. You said you wouldn’t, but it’s the only solution. Don’t you see?”

  “What?” Beth froze.

  She was immobilized with shock.

  In a split second she had been brought back to reality with a thud and she sat bolt up-right in bed looking at him.

  “You heard what I said.”

  His dark black hair was gleaming and the nostrils of his long straight nose were flaring with temper. His teeth were clenched and his jaw line was determined.

  She shivered.

  “But why? Why marriage?”

  “Because Trudy’s already told me she won’t be convinced I’m not available until she sees a ring on my finger.”

  “Then you better find someone to start dating because it’s not going to be me you’re marrying.”

  She was livid and seeing red.

  She was so angry and furious with him, but most of all she was devastated. She was devastated because she was the woman who had shared his bed with so much passion. She was the one he had hungered for and she was the one who had fed his appetite until she ached in every fibre of her body.

  Did he really think so little of her that he saw her only as a solution to his troubles with Trudy?

  How dare he?

  “But Beth, don’t you see it will solve everything. It will solve our problems if we get married.”

  “Jason I’m not staying here to listen to you. I’m going. I’m leaving . . . now. I wouldn’t marry you if you were the last man on earth . . . and whatever you do you can’t make me stay here and marry you.”

  She was prepared to give up everything she had with Jason because he wasn’t offering her what she most wanted . . . his love.

  She struggled out of bed still weak from her dizzy turn earlier and started opening drawers and cupboards and collecting her clothes together.

  “What are you doing?” he asked and grabbed her by her slender arms and held her as she tried to move away from him.

  “I’m packing,” she said stating the obvious.

  “No you’re not.”

  He was gritting his teeth together and his words were coming loud and furious and were said with such venom.

  They were shouting at each other and she was frightened.

  She had never seen Jason like this before.

  “You’re not leaving me Beth. One way or another you’re staying on this island and until we’re married you don’t leave. Don’t you see . . . it’s the only way?”

  “No Jason. I don’t see . . . All I see is that you’re using me as a weapon to guard you against Trudy. Prove me wrong Jason. Tell me it isn’t true.”

  He didn’t say anything and he didn’t challenge her allegations.

  “We’re getting married Beth. No if’s . . . no but’s . . . no arguments. We’re getting married.”

  Then he let go of her so forcefully she fell back onto the bed and he walked out of the bedroom slamming the door shut behind him. He was gone, leaving her cold and shivering and alone.

  This time it was Jason who had left her.

  “You’re blind Jason . . . you’re blind to reality . . . and blind to my love,” she cried out before sobbing into her pillow.

  But he didn’t hear her.

  She was alone in an empty room and he was gone.

  CHAPTER TEN

  Beth had spent the night weeping and when morning dawned she dressed in her beige cotton jeans with matching t-shirt and put on a thick dark pair of sun glasses to conceal the aftereffects of a night alone in her bed.

  She didn’t know where Jason had slept and she didn’t care.

  She knew she would have to see him at some point during the day but she couldn’t face him right now.

  It was still early and when Beth walked into the breakfast room searching for Cassandra and a fresh cup of strong coffee, she got more than she bargained for.

  Beth didn’t find the housekeeper. Instead she found a stunning looking woman dressed in a delicate silk black negligee which barely concealed the feminine curves of the body beneath.

  It was Trudy.

  Beth was thankful she’d put on dark glasses before she had left the bedroom.

  She would hate it if Trudy saw the results of the pain, a
nguish and the tears shed during the lonely night, because of Jason and his demands.

  The two women eyed each other cautiously across the room.

  Cassandra had left breakfast ready for anyone who wished to have something, and the hot filter coffee pot on the work-top counter was still percolating.