by Angelo, Judy
She took a small step back, shocked at his vehemence. What had she done to deserve his anger? And what right did he have to speak to her like that?
“No,” she said, her tone firm. “I will not have any discussion with you if that’s the attitude you’re going to take. We will have this talk tomorrow.” Did he feel he was the only one who could have an attitude? He would learn soon enough that she could be just as stubborn as he.
Dare sucked in his breath then let it out in a sigh that told of a world of troubles. “Listen, I’m sorry I barked at you. It’s been a long day.” He threw his jacket onto a nearby table. “Let’s go to the kitchen. I need a drink.”
He led the way, his long strides eating up the yards to the kitchen. She padded along behind, discreetly admiring the curve of his muscled shoulders, his narrow waist and a butt that looked delicious in his tailored trousers.
The look of him brought back memories of that night so many months ago, that precious night when she had felt like liquid velvet in his arms. She’d had no power to resist him. And - most horrifying of all - she’d fancied herself to be falling in love with him. She shook her head, clearing that idea fast. If she knew what was good for her she’d get her mind back to earth. The man did not want her. That was clear.
In the kitchen Dare poured himself a drink while Erin pulled out a chair and sat down. He put the glass to his lips and drained it in one gulp then he took a deep breath and walked over to drop his long frame in the chair across from Erin. He cocked an eyebrow. “So what’s the problem?”
“I didn’t say there was a problem,” Erin said and gave him a smile to soften her words. She could see the exhaustion on his face and despite her resolve to feel nothing her heart went out to him. Billionaires could have problems, too. She didn’t want to add to those worries so she decided to just state her situation in a matter-of-fact way and let Dare know he would not need to be involved in any way.
“My friend, Robyn, called today and she’d love to come to visit me. We haven’t seen each other in a while. We’ll be busy catching up on old times so we won’t get in your way.” Erin threw it all out there, watching him intently the whole time, trying to gauge his reaction.
Dare shrugged then stifled a yawn. “It doesn’t matter to me just as long as you don’t expect me to be here to do entertaining. Now isn’t the time.”
“Not at all,” Erin said, relieved he had no objections. One less thing to worry about. “You won’t even know we’re here.”
“I doubt that,” he said with a crooked smile. Then his eyes settled on her and for the first time that night she felt that he was really seeing her. All week he’d been distant, almost like a visitor in his own home, leaving early and coming in hours after the sun had set. Now, though, he was here in the flesh and all of his attention was on her.
“How are you feeling, Erin?”
“I’m fine,” she said, feeling her face redden. It was a reasonable question so why did it make her nervous?
He was silent for a moment, his eyes never leaving hers. Then he reached across the table and took her hand in his.
She jumped. His touch was so unexpected. Surreptitiously, she sucked in some air in an effort to slow her racing pulse. She was dying to pull her hands back but she didn’t.
“Are you?” he asked, and the words were more seduction than question. Even as his fingers formed a band of steel around her wrist his thumb was doing a slow, sensual caress in the middle of her palm.
Erin dropped her gaze, trying to hide the effect he was having on her. She struggled to breathe normally but when his thumb left her palm to stroke the throbbing pulse point at her wrist her breath caught in her throat. And she grew moist. Her body was ready and willing even if she wasn’t.
“I haven’t been treating you very well, have I?” His voice soft and low, he was watching her with hooded eyes. “My brand new wife, home and all alone.”
“I wasn’t alone. I had Francine,” she said, her voice strained, and she tried to pull her hand away. He did not let go.
“Francine,” he said with a low chuckle. “Can Francine make your pulse race like it’s doing now? Can she steal your breath away like this?”
Before Erin could decipher his cryptic message, Dare was on his feet pulling her into his arms. He dipped his head and captured her mouth with his and kissed her until she swayed and leaned into him. She had no choice. The man had caught her off guard, infiltrated her ranks before she’d had a chance to shore up her defenses. All her well-made plans, all her schemes to resist him were dashed with one fell kiss.
Dare lifted his head and stared into her eyes, his fingers moving quickly. He was untying her sash and loosening the buttons of her top.
Erin gripped his wrist, trying to still his hands. She had to regain her sanity. “Dare, no. We can’t-” She gasped, unable to say more.
Dare had sat back down on the chair, leaving her standing, and now he had her nipple between his teeth.
Oh, Lord, how was she going to resist? He was sucking on her nipple now, and her hands that had tried to restrain him fell away, leaving him to do as he pleased. When his heated palms slid up her back, her body shuddered with the feel of his caress and she moaned. Of their own volition her hands went up to cup Dare’s head and pull him into her, the better to savor his sweet seduction.
Finally, Dare released her but only long enough to push her pajama top and robe off her shoulders and pull her onto his lap. If she’d had any doubts about the state of his arousal they were dismissed immediately. The hardness that pressed up through the cotton fabric of her pajama bottom was testament to the depth of his desire.
Now totally bare from the waist up, Erin felt a wave of embarrassment wash over her and she turned to bury her face in Dare’s neck. She turned her body toward him, clinging to his shirt, trying to hide herself from his gaze.
Her body had changed and her heart faltered as she wondered how he would react. Her breasts had grown fuller, riper and so much more sensitive. The slightest touch sent thrills coursing through her body. But her waist had thickened and she could no longer close the button on her jeans. How would he see her now?
Her face still hidden, Erin could feel Dare’s hands roaming over her body. She was not seeing, just feeling - the warmth of his body against hers, his big hands cupping her breasts, his fingers teasing her nipples - and the sensations were so intense that she moaned.
“You’re so beautiful.”
Dare’s hoarse whisper was like a song to her heart and she sighed and relaxed in his arms.
“Come,” he said then lifted her into his arms and stood. “It’s time I had a real taste of my lovely wife.”
At his words Erin’s eyes widened and she laid a hand on his chest. “Dare, no. You promised.”
He was heading out of the kitchen now, carrying her as if she were nothing but a small child. “Promised what?”
“This marriage. It’s in name only,” she said as she began to wriggle in his arms. She wanted him to put her down. How firm and businesslike could she be when he was holding her so close she could hear his heart beating in her ear? No, she needed to be on solid footing to have this conversation.
“In name only.” He gave a harsh laugh. “You’ve got to be kidding.” He kept on walking, totally ignoring her struggle to get down.
“Put me down.” Erin spoke through clenched teeth and gave him a punch on the arm. He didn’t even flinch. “I’m not going anywhere with you.”
That brought another laugh from Dare. “You seem to be coming along quite nicely.”
“Dare, if you don’t put me down this instant I’m going to scream and you’re not going to like it.”
“Go ahead. Scream all you want. Francine is all the way in the far wing of the house and she sleeps like a log.”
By this time they were in a part of the house to which Erin had never ventured. They were approaching Dare’s suite. She had to do everything in her power to stay out of his room. Once insid
e, she would be lost. She had to make him stop.
“Dare DeSouza if you don’t put me down I’m going to scream bloody murder.” She was determined that she would not cross his threshold. He’d rejected her once. She would never, ever give him the opportunity to do it again. She drew for the one thing she knew was guaranteed to make him stop. “Are you so desperate you’re resorting to rape?”
If she’d shot him in the chest with a bullet it could not have halted him faster. Dare came to a sudden stop and, his face black as midnight, he stared down at her. “What the hell did you just say?”
Erin dropped her eyes and bit her lower lip. She didn’t need to repeat herself. He’d heard her loud and clear. And her plan had worked.
Dare slid his arm from beneath her legs and lowered her to the ground. Once he’d set her on her feet he stepped back and his look was dark with displeasure.
“I want you, Erin. Make no mistake about that. But I’ll be damned if I’ll be accused of rape.” He folded his arms across his chest. “I may want you but I will never force myself on you.” His gray eyes turned cold. “Next time, you’ll have to be the one to make the first move. I won’t lay a finger on you unless you come to me. Begging.”
With that, he turned on his heels and walked away, leaving her standing there, her arms still wrapped around her chest.
She’d made her point and he’d gotten the message. Mission accomplished. So why did she feel like her life had just ended?
Slowly she turned and walked back to the kitchen. As she dressed an unexpected tear slid down her cheek.
With a sniff she wiped it away with the back of her hand, disgusted with herself for this display of weakness. If she was going to survive under Dare DeSouza’s roof she’d better develop a backbone.
And if she was going to survive a week with Robyn she’d better return to all she’d learned about suppressing her emotions.
Between Dare and Robyn she was going to have a heck of a time controlling those emotions. Under no circumstances could she afford to crumble in front of either one of them. She would have to call on all her reserves to survive the week. God help her.
CHAPTER EIGHT
After a near sleepless night Dare headed out early the next morning. He’d scheduled a meeting with a private investigator and he was anxious to get an update on the findings.
When the man was ushered into his office at eight thirty that morning he was standing by the desk, ready for the news. He practically paced a trail into the carpet, waiting for him.
They shook hands then he offered Paul Ogilvie a seat. The big man’s frame swallowed up the chair.
He began without preamble. “I’m afraid it’s not good news, Mr. Desouza.”
Dare’s lips tightened but he nodded. He’d been hoping for the best, that he’d find some way to redeem his long-time friend and absolve him from any wrongdoing, but it was not to be.
“Bart Reynolds had a serious conflict of interest in this deal.” The blond giant leaned over and dropped a large brown envelope in the center of Dare’s desk. “It’s all there. He was a primary shareholder in that property with full knowledge of its dilapidated state. You did him a favor in taking it off his hands.”
The news almost floored Dare. So that was why Bart had pushed him so hard on this deal, giving him all kinds of assurances. The bastard.
Then he thought of something. “Wait a minute. You said the buildings were dilapidated but I didn’t see any evidence of that.”
“Bart took you on that tour of the property, right?”
Dare nodded.
“Just as I thought.” Ogilvie’s face was grim. “He deliberately took you to the sections that had been spruced up for your visit. Half of those structures are hollow shells, eaten out by wood termites. He wouldn’t have taken you to those.”
Dare puffed out his cheeks and blew out his breath. So that was it. He’d put all his trust in Bart and had been taken for a hell of a ride. If he couldn’t trust a friend of over ten years who in the world could he trust? “So where is he now?”
“Last information we got he’d left the island for the south of France with a former model on his arm. He set himself up for a pretty sweet life.”
“And this is?” Dare jerked his head toward the envelope.
“Photos, bank records, papers showing his connection to the property.” The P.I. shrugged. “Nothing I haven’t already told you. They're just for your records.”
There was nothing more to be said. Nothing more to be done. He probably didn’t even have the option of suing. He’d signed in good faith and now he was paying a high price for his trust.
“Thank you for your help.”
As Dare held out his hand Paul Ogilvie stood and shook it. “Any time, Mr. DeSouza. If you need any more checks done you know where to find me.”
Dare nodded and gave a grunt of acknowledgement. That was as much as he could manage.
Right now his mind was consumed with the issue at hand - how in the blazes to recoup two hundred and fifty million dollars.
***
Erin tapped her rolled-up magazine against her leg as she waited for Robyn to exit the customs and immigration department. The days had flown by much too fast and Sunday had arrived, bold and bright, the day her nemesis would appear. When the flight arrived crowds of people came through the doors, people waving to family members who had come to pick them up and professionals decked out in business wear. This went on for almost an hour and still there was no sign of Robyn. And there was no answer from her cell phone.
Finally, when Erin had paced the airport lobby for the umpteenth time, she heard a squeal.
“Darling. There you are.”
She turned to see a bundle of red rushing through the double doors followed by a porter pushing a trolley with bags that looked like they had enough clothes for a year-long stay.
Within seconds Robyn was upon her, kissing her on both cheeks. “You’re looking so good,” the redhead said with a laugh. “And you’ve put on weight. Married life agrees with you.”
Erin stepped back and adjusted her loose jacket so that it fell away from her body. Robyn didn’t know she was pregnant but she would, soon enough. But now was not the time. She’d let the girl gloat, thinking she’d simply grown plump from lack of exercise. She pasted a smile on her lips and looked Robyn up and down, from the red beret on her head to her red suit and matching shoes. She looked almost European in her elegant pencil skirt. She must be going through one of her European phases. At times she considered things European to be en vogue and so she dressed the part and even adopted their accents and expressions.
“You look beautiful, as usual,” she told Robyn and watched her face light up even more. She never tired of receiving compliments.
“Thank you,” she said and looked around. “So where’s that husband of yours?”
“Aah, he’s very busy at the moment. Our chauffeur will take us home.” As she spoke she dug into her purse for her cell phone. She’d have to call for the car to come around.
Robyn’s mouth set in a pout she probably thought was cute. “Aaw, I was looking forward to meeting him.”
“You will,” Erin said. “Soon.” That was what she told Robyn but, in truth, she wished to delay that meeting as long as possible. Robyn was a notorious man stealer and the fact that this was a married man was little consolation. Everyone was fair game on her playing field.
Within minutes the chauffeur was loading the bags, five in all, into the trunk and then they were off, the serpent and the little mouse eyeing each other. Erin almost laughed as the image flashed through her mind. Would there ever come a day when she didn’t feel intimidated by Robyn?
That night, and much to Erin’s relief, Dare did not make an appearance before bedtime. Robyn’s disappointment was palpable. The girl’s true colors began to show through her façade when she snapped at Francine during the evening meal.
“Why does she keep hovering around?" she complained as Francine came i
n to check on them for the third time. “It’s so annoying.”
“Francine’s a lovely woman,” Erin said in defense. "She’s just a little overprotective, that’s all. She’s the motherly type.”
“Well, she’d better not try to bother me. She’s only the hired help, after all.” This was followed by a toss of her head.
Erin didn’t think Robyn had to worry about more mothering. Francine had been just about to enter the room when she was stopped by Robyn’s outburst. The older woman's face fell and she disappeared back down the hallway. Erin could only hope she didn’t think she shared Robyn’s opinion.
When she finally bid Robyn goodnight and closed the door to the guest quarters she could only sigh in exhaustion and relief. One night down, five more to go.
Another day passed without incident, with Erin taking Robyn shopping at the boutiques scattered around the town’s center, and having her walking from store to store until she was beat. By the time they got home Robyn crashed, totally exhausted.
By the third day, though, the visitor was determined that her trip to the island would not be in vain. At least that was how it seemed to Erin. Robyn got up with the rising of the sun and knocked on her door. Not waiting for an answer, she popped her head around the door.
“Wake up, sleepy head,” she said, her smile falsely bright and cheerful. “Let’s have an early breakfast.”
Erin looked at her through eyes still blurry from sleep. “Francine isn’t up yet,” she said in an attempt to protest.
“Who needs Francine? We’ll make our own breakfast.”
Erin was not fooled. Robyn hadn’t suddenly developed a love for the fresh early morning air. No, her goal was to meet Dare. This time there would be no way to keep them apart.
As per Robyn’s plan, both women were sitting at the breakfast table when Dare walked in looking breathtakingly handsome in dark business suit and maroon-colored tie.
“Good morning, ladies.” He walked over to Erin and leaned down to give her a peck on the cheek. He smelled of an ocean-breeze aftershave lotion. “How are you today?” He gave her a loving look.
