by Robyn Donald
Even if it was only sexual surrender, without love, without commitment.
He was honest, she thought achingly, tempted unbearably to take what he offered, to know for a few short months the joy of being Kain’s lover.
No, not his lover—his mistress, bought and paid for, an ornament in public, a trophy in his bed, and eventually nothing in his life.
‘No,’ she said again, more steadily this time. ‘And before you say anything more, yes, I know you could force me to—’
‘I don’t rape.’ He ground the words out between his teeth.
White-faced, she said, ‘It wouldn’t be rape and you know it. But for me it’s nothing more than an inconvenient lust, something to be sated quickly and without emotion, something I resent so much it would eventually become a wasteland for me.’
His eyes narrowed. ‘Why, Sable?’
Vehemently she said, ‘I’ve already been there—’
And stopped, catching back the tumbling words. But she’d said too much; she could sense his keen interest and wondered what was going on in that coldly incisive brain.
More temperately she said, ‘Don’t you think there should be some sort of respect between lovers? Sex without emotion is just a mechanical urge to satisfy an itch. I want more than that.’ She lifted her head and looked at him with pride. ‘I deserve more than that.’ And before she had time to think again she added, ‘And so do you.’
For long seconds he looked at her, blazing eyes screened by his lashes, his face impassive, yet she sensed the immense force of his will leashing emotions she couldn’t discern. The silence lasted too long, became charged with tension that sawed at her nerves and blocked the breath in her throat. What was he thinking behind that handsome mask?
Eventually he said calmly, ‘Very well, then.’ He shrugged. ‘But you stay here until I’m sure Brent no longer hankers after you.’
Sable’s glance at his unsparing face told her this wasn’t negotiable. Heart twisting painfully, she nodded. ‘All right.’
To her astonishment he held out his hand. ‘So it’s a bargain.’
Her skin tingled when they shook hands, but she felt oddly light-headed, as though she’d finally managed to dent the coldly dispassionate attitude that saw her as a pawn to be used and manipulated rather than a woman with feelings and pride.
Though his dislike and distrust were clearly still intact. After all, she thought with bitter irony, who could trust a blackmailer?
The following few days were still tense, but she thought they forged a fragile peace between them. They went out twice, the first time to a formal dinner with a Singaporean business delegation. Sable hoped she acquitted herself well enough to pass muster.
Certainly no one would know from the guests’ perfect manners if she hadn’t.
Kain said nothing. It hurt and humiliated her that she wanted him to acknowledge…
What? That she fitted into his world?
‘But you don’t. You don’t have the jewellery for it, to start with,’ she told her reflection as she creamed off her make-up. The tycoon from Singapore had been accompanied by his daughter, whose diamonds had outshone the chandeliers.
The second function was a cocktail party held at a vast, overornate mansion on the cliffs above one of Auckland’s most popular beaches. Sable knew Kain was bored even though his demeanour showed no sign of it. She was bored too; the people seemed dull, the evening lagged, and she had the misfortune to meet someone from her past.
It was particularly painful that it should be this woman, who could barely hide her surprise at seeing Sable there—or her desire to meet Kain.
When Sable introduced them, Kain was charming and aloof, but once the conversation was over and the woman had gone back to her group he looked at Sable. ‘Old enemy?’
He saw too much. ‘Not exactly,’ she said scrupulously. ‘I didn’t move in her circles, but her daughter was in my class in primary school. She once insisted—in front of everyone in the class—that her daughter had caught nits from me. I’m sure she was hugely relieved when the girl went off to boarding school the next year.’
His mouth compressed. ‘I can understand kids being cruel,’ he said curtly, ‘but that was vicious.’
She shrugged. ‘It happens when your father is the town drunk.’ She flashed a wry smile. ‘And I have to admit it gave me a certain nasty satisfaction tonight to see her so flustered when she realised I was with you.’
‘Glad to be of use.’ His grin somehow eased the smart of the old shame, and when he took her hand and held it she felt the last lingering vestiges disappear. ‘But it’s more likely that she was impressed at your sophistication and didn’t have the wit or the manners to hide it.’
God, but she loved him…
In spite of everything.
Later, emerging from the cloakroom, she saw the woman talking earnestly to Kain. She was flushed, and there was something about the way she looked around that made Sable stiffen. Or perhaps it was Kain’s face—coldly remote and arrogant.
As she threaded her way across the crowded room she wondered bleakly if she’d ever be able to put the past behind her.
By the time she reached Kain he was alone again, and he didn’t mention the conversation. Neither did Sable, although anger burned in her like a dark fire. After all, the woman couldn’t have added anything more than gossip to Kain’s information.
A few minutes later she was temporarily alone when she noticed the woman making her way towards her. As she came up the woman glanced around the room, then half hissed beneath her breath, ‘I actually used to feel sorry for you, you know. Not now, though—you two deserve each other.’
She brushed past before Sable could ask her what she meant, but she deduced that Kain had slapped her attempt at mischief-making down, and felt a forbidden warmth in her heart.
The next day they went up to the bach and she was surprised to realise that although they were scrupulously careful not to touch each other and tension was ever-present, he seemed to be intent on establishing some kind of connection between them beyond the merely physical. They talked a lot, and he showed her how to surf. He was a patient teacher, and when at last she stood up and rode her first small wave onto the beach, he congratulated her with as much pleasure as if she’d caught a big one.
He’d be a good father, she thought as they drove back to the penthouse. An odd, highly suspicious mixture of regret and desire warred for supremacy as she warned herself not to even think things like that.
That week a cyclone in the Pacific, the first of the summer, led to the hurried deployment of nurses and doctors and stores. Efficiently Sable geared up for the extra work, only relaxing late on the Friday when her part in the exercise was over and she was alone, able to get on with more mundane work.
Almost immediately, the telephone on her desk rang again.
‘What now?’ she demanded silently of the universe before answering, ‘Sable Martin.’
There was silence at the other end, and then a voice she’d hoped never to hear again said, ‘Hi, Sable. Long time no see.’
‘Derek?’ she asked incredulously, an icy pool opening up beneath her ribs.
‘Derek Frensham. The very same.’ He laughed. ‘Interesting to see your photo splashed through the Sunday papers again this week with the billionaire you’re shacked up with. No—’ divining what she intended to do ‘—don’t hang up on me, sweets. Not a wise move.’
‘What’s this all about?’ she asked brusquely.
‘Let’s just say I’m catching up. You’re obviously doing really, really well, but things aren’t too good for me.’
Feeling sick, she forced herself to say, ‘I’m not at all sorry. You damned near got me put in prison.’
‘Oh, come on, now, that was just a mistake on my grandfather’s part. But that’s all in the past now. How about we meet and talk over old times?’
‘No,’ she said shortly.
‘I think you should.’
The t
hreat hung in the air. Well, blackmail was his thing; he probably wanted money, she thought, and the nausea grew into something perilously close to panic.
He was clear out of luck; she had nothing. She said coldly, ‘Why should I? The last time I listened to you I lost my job and my reputation.’
‘But I saved your hide,’ he said indignantly. ‘I took the rap for you because I knew my grandfather would call the cops if he knew it was you.’ His voice got louder and more righteous. ‘I did all that for you, and then you bloody left me, and the old man disowned me. You owe me for that, Sable.’
Had he always spoken like a gangster from a B movie? Despising herself for once thinking he was wonderful, she said through gritted teeth, ‘He didn’t call the police because he knew that you used me to get to his files so you could blackmail those poor people—one of whom committed suicide, remember.’
‘Oh, I remember, but not the way you do—and who’s going to believe the daughter of a local alcoholic?’ he sneered.
Who indeed?
He broke into her frantically racing thoughts with a curt, ‘I need money. Now.’
‘Even if I had any, I wouldn’t give it to you—’
‘Then I’ll have to think about letting your tame billionaire know all about you. Wonder which one of us he’d believe?’
Sable flinched, but what did his threat matter? She couldn’t sink any lower in Kain’s estimation. She opened her mouth to call Derek’s bluff, only to be struck dumb by a futile combination of outrage and frustration and sick humiliation.
‘And I’ll bet that bunch of do-gooders you work for would be interested to know about your past.’ He paused. ‘You’d probably be able to lay your hands on some of the spare cash they’ve got lying around. That auction you organised collected more than three million dollars—’
‘You are despicable,’ she said harshly.
He whined, ‘I’m desperate. And if you can’t get it from them, you’d better earn some more on your back from your tame billionaire while you can. I need money and I need it now.’
She crashed the receiver down. When the telephone rang again she flinched, staring at it as though it was a snake. It rang again; she picked it up, heard him say, ‘Don’t you—’ and hung up immediately, checking his number. He kept on ringing. She ignored each call.
By the time she was free to leave she was exhausted and oddly afraid. Worriedly she gathered her things and went out and down into the foyer.
Where the first person she saw was Kain, talking to a blushing Poppy.
The pang of jealousy that tore through her shocked her. She had to stop and take a deep, slow breath, unclench her jaw, and paste on a serene expression that made her face ache.
Kain saw her coming above Poppy’s head—calm, composed, her walk as graceful as ever—and had to repress a violent rush of hunger. This past week had been sheer hell; every second, every minute he’d needed her, cursing himself for being stupid enough to state his terms so bluntly that pride had driven her to fling his offer in his face.
He looked down at Poppy’s pretty, animated face as she gushed, ‘And she’s so patient and kind; when she’s supervising me she doesn’t treat me like a total idiot and she makes me feel as though I can do anything. Some of the staff think I’m just a daddy’s girl wasting their time. I’m going to university next year—Sable said it’s a good thing to do because it shows you can work hard and organise your life.’
‘It does,’ he said, his gaze drifting back to Sable walking towards them.
Poppy turned and grinned. ‘Hi, Sable, I’m just telling your man how wonderful you are.’
A faint colour stained Sable’s high cheekbones. ‘I hope not,’ she said lightly.
Poppy laughed. ‘If you don’t want hero-worship you shouldn’t be so darned nice,’ she said cheerfully. ‘Oh, there’s Dad. Better go—I want to talk him into something, and it’s going to take the whole trip home to do it.’
She rushed off, leaving Kain looking down at the calm face that belied Sable’s inner tension. Once they were in the car he said, ‘What’s the matter?’
‘Nothing,’ she said automatically. ‘I’m just wondering why you came to pick me up.’
Without expression he said, ‘Brent’s home.’
Her stomach hollowed out. ‘But I thought he was going to be away for much longer.’
‘He got off the barquentine in the Caribbean and flew back.’
‘Why?’
His glance was laced with irony. ‘Guess, Sable.’
She bit her lip. ‘Have you seen him?’
‘Not yet.’ He sounded aloof, a bit fed up.
Bully for him, she thought savagely.
Her heart contracted. She didn’t want to hurt Brent, but if he thought he loved her it would be kinder in the long run. Against the golden haze of a summer afternoon Kain’s profile was slashing and forceful, entirely lacking in gentleness.
But he could be gentle… The vagrant thought popped into her brain, and with it the memory of their lovemaking. He had never used his great strength against her.
That ever-present ache deep in her loins heated into active longing. Dismissing it, she concentrated on the forthcoming uncomfortable interview with Brent. She owed him that.
‘So what’s happening?’ she asked thinly.
‘He’s coming around later.’
‘I want to see him alone.’
‘No,’ he said.
Sable’s hackles lifted. Keeping her voice steady with an effort she said, ‘I know you don’t care about humiliating me, but Brent is your cousin. He deserves better from you than that.’
His mouth hardened. ‘No. He needs to know there is no hope for him and he can only do that by seeing us together.’
‘But—’
His tone was inflexible. ‘I’m not prepared to negotiate on this.’
‘Are you ever prepared to negotiate?’ she asked bitterly.
He paused, and she looked up, startled to see his jaw harden. ‘You have every right to ask that,’ he said abruptly, ‘but now isn’t the time to discuss it. Do I have your agreement to see Brent with me in the room?’
‘Yes,’ she said in bitter surrender. ‘If you don’t care what your cousin thinks of you, why should I?’
Brent arrived ten minutes after they got back to the apartment. Sable had changed into a pair of cotton trousers and a shirt, slipped her feet into light sandals and then renewed her make-up, examining her face carefully in the bathroom mirror to make sure the mask was flawless.
Amazing, she thought grimly, turning away to look at the luxury around her.
Memories of the house she’d shared with her father—a tumbledown place that had been slowly disintegrating around them, made her choke back a half-sob. Taking a deep breath, she walked out into the hall and along to the sitting room.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
WITH nerves screwed up to such a pitch she almost felt ill, Sable walked through the door. Both men swung around at her entrance. Side by side, the family resemblance was almost startling. Kain was taller, but somehow Brent seemed to have grown—matured and broadened—in the few weeks he’d been away.
As she came in Kain turned his head and said, ‘Here she is.’
For a wistful, painful second she found herself wishing he’d always use that voice—warm, appreciative, almost tender—when he spoke to her.
He moved to her and took her arm, not holding her too close or too obviously, but subtly exhibiting all the signs of a dominant male with the woman he’d claimed for his own.
Sable smiled at Brent. ‘Hello.’
After a moment’s keen scrutiny of them both, he said neutrally, ‘Hi, how are you?’
‘Fine, thank you. And you?’
Stiff, too formal, but she couldn’t relax.
Eyes watchful, Brent said, ‘Having a ball.’ He switched his gaze to his cousin. ‘So why did you bring me here?’
Ignoring Sable’s muffled gasp, Kain said crisply, ‘To pr
ove a point.’
Brent shrugged. ‘Done it?’
Looking at Sable, Kain said calmly, ‘You tell me.’
His cousin frowned. ‘You treat her well, OK, or answer to me. Sable’s special.’
He’d managed to startle Kain; she felt the swift tension in his muscles. Good, Sable thought, hugely relieved. It served Kain right to be tipped off his arrogant pedestal.
But what on earth had persuaded him to do this?
Brent said, ‘Knowing you, Kain, I’ll bet you had her investigated.’ Unaware of Sable’s sudden rigidity, he went on, ‘I’m glad you didn’t let that business years ago put you off, but you’d know it was all lies anyway.’
‘Yes,’ Kain said crisply, a note in his voice making Sable stare at him. He met her gaze with a cool warning. ‘How did you find out about it?’
‘Sorry, Sable, but I had you investigated.’ Brent sent an apologetic glance at Sable’s shocked face before transferring it to his cousin. In a voice that verged on aggressive he went on, ‘It came up, of course. But I knew something about the Frenshams. You remember Blossom McFarlane—Mum’s friend? One of the twinset and real pearls brigade from Hawkes Bay? Well, I went to school with her son, and his older brother had been in the same class as Derek Frensham. He knew what sort of person Derek was—used to regale us with tales of his schemes. He came across as a total cad, so when I found out that he’d been around while Sable was supposed to have blackmailed two of the local residents I guessed that somehow he was tied up in it. When I found out old Mr Frensham had tidied up the situation, I was sure of it.’
‘I see.’
Brent shrugged and looked back at Sable. ‘Sorry I pried. It made me feel a bit queasy, but—well, in my business I had to have trustworthy people around me and I guess the suspicion somehow leaked over into my private life…’ Clearly uncomfortable, he asked, ‘How did you two guys meet?’
‘At the races,’ Kain said dryly, his tone giving nothing away. ‘She was modelling one of Maire’s outfits—and she should have won, but they went for Jen Purviss-Jones instead.’
