He moved against her, his hands holding her face up to his. 'Anna!' She heard him repeating her name almost feverishly, and she became molten, arching against him as his hands moved to trace her spine and force her even closer.
It was part of her dreams-dreams of four years ago, dreams of now-and no other thought was in her head but Dan and his kisses, his hands moving over her, caressing her with growing heat. His lips left hers to trace her face, her neck, and she flung back her head, being anything he wanted, no subterfuge left.
His breathing was harsh and uneven, and the wild kisses she frantically placed against his skin did nothing to slow him down. He kissed her hungrily until her legs trembled and her mouth burned, until they were both gasping for breath, until she was ready to sink to the floor.
It was only Josie's knock on the door that brought any sanity to either of them.
'Mr. Dan!' she called urgently. 'I think we got visitors!'
At first the words didn't penetrate their minds. Dan's lips and hands were busy exploring her, his mouth hotly nuzzling her skin, his fingers impatiently invading the neckline of her dress, but Josie called again.
'Mr. Dan!'
'All right!' His voice was slurred and distant, and Anna's trembling body was only upright because he held her.
They looked at each other with dazed eyes, eyes that were gradually returning to sanity as realization dawned on both of them. He let her go with obvious reluctance, standing close as she bent to pick up her letter with hands that shook uncontrollably.
Obviously she and Dan were not safe to be let out! It was her own behavior at the pool that had brought this on again, that and her suddenly throwing herself into his arms.
'Anna, don't be embarrassed! It was a perfectly natural thing to happen. You're not my sister, after all. We have every right to kiss each other!'
'No, we don't,' she said tremblingly. 'I'm sorry. I forced all that to happen. I-I looked at you like that at the pools side and I threw myself at you and-and I quite forgot that I'm a big girl now with obligations!' she finished with a strained little laugh.
For a second he was silent, and when he spoke it was quietly savage, all the more so because his chest was still heaving with the effort of controlling such passion. 'An obligation called Bryan Scott? I forgot about him! Are you like that with him? Do you catch fire in his arms?'
She turned to him blindly, her head shaking without her even being aware of it, but he was not at all appeased. His anger was wild.
'You want me! You've wanted me for years and we both know it! Write and tell Bryan that! Tell him that you're more than ready when I kiss you. Tell him that you're begging for it daily, every time I look at you! Write to him! Confess your sins!'
He opened the door and strode out, clearly going to see who was coming in on the strange launch that they could now hear.
He had forgotten about Bryan? He had forgotten about Daphne, and so had she! She hadn't even cared. She was one of these people who broke couples up! She had plenty of sins to confess, because it was all her fault, her dangerous obsession with Dan, a lifetime's obsession. Was it Daphne coming in on the launch? Did Dan now see his son sitting beside her?
She raced to her room, guilt drowning the waves of fire that still raced over her skin. She could never face Dan again! She had to, though. Josie came to her room about five minutes later and almost leapt in after her quick knock on the door.
'Pretty yourself up, Miss Anna,' she babbled excitedly. 'We got company, a real-live-film star! Quick, honey, let me help you get ready. You look as if you've been dragged through a hedge!'
It was like being dressed by a steamroller, but Anna was in no doubt that Josie had orders from Dan, and she went reluctantly to the veranda, following the sound of voices, her head still tingling from the rather violent ministrations of the hairbrush in Josie's strong hands.
There were three newcomers, and it wasn't difficult to spot the film star, it was Anita Sharp. Anna had seen her in a couple of films, and although she didn't look quite so glamorous in real life she was still a very beautiful woman, a presence. The other two were men, an older man with glasses and white hair, and a man who looked younger than Anita Sharp, but with a polish about his appearance that suggested he too was part of the world of the screen.
'A stowaway?' Anita's voice was edged with surprise. 'Dan, darling, I thought that nobody was allowed here except on business? Ah, I know, a secretary!'
'Anna is my ward!' Dan corrected swiftly, his eyes avoiding Anna. 'She's recuperating from illness.'
'You're her guardian? Darling, how utterly amusing! It takes some believing.'
'Believe it or not, as you please,' Dan said caustically. 'I don't much care. In fact, I'll correct that-I don't give a damn!'
'Oh, I believe you, only I did wonder why you were so slow at coming out to meet the launch,' Anita remarked mockingly, her sharp eyes on Anna, no doubt noticing her quick flare of color.
'We were reading a letter! Anna has just passed her finals, her college exams,' he rasped, as Anita raised extravagantly puzzled eyes to both of them.
'Ah, I see! What were you studying, dear? Your colleges are different from ours, aren't they?'
'She was doing pure maths, at Oxford!' Dan informed her with a growing annoyance that she totally ignored. She wasn't used to this, but she seemed to be pretty thick-skinned. Anybody could see that Dan was ready to explode with rage.
'I think you'd better watch your tongue, Nita!' the older man growled with a quick smile at Anna. 'You're in the presence of a very bright young lady here. They don't take dummies at Oxford.'
'Did you get a good pass'?' The younger man was looking keenly at Anna, and when he spoke, she suddenly realized that he at least was English.
'A first.' She shrugged in a wave of embarrassment.
She could well have done without this interest from the visitors. She had problems aplenty, and they were all her own.
'Wow! Will you help me with my tax returns'?'
A real human being! Anna returned his cheerful grin thankfully, and sat uneasily at the very edge of one of the chairs.
'Break out the champagne, Dan!' Anita insisted, her eyes going from the two to Dan, who stood looking tight-lipped and angry. 'Surely you were going to celebrate the exam results? You can turn it into a double celebration as we've arrived!'
'I don't know that Dan will feel like celebrating extra work,' the older man said, but Dan was already looking in the cabinet just inside the door leading to the veranda, opening the lower cupboard.
'I have some already on ice for a celebration,' he murmured. 'This is as good a celebration as any!'
He got out glasses and the younger man strolled to Anna's side.
'Kieron Amery!' he offered, holding out his hand. 'I'm playing opposite Anita in the new film-Dan's last book. We've got a few points to cover and it's a good excuse to get away from the studio. Sorry if we're intruding.'
'You're not,' Anna said quickly, reminding herself that the guilty always felt very vulnerable. 'Who is the other visitor?' she asked in a lower voice.
'The producer, Dean Orton. He usually produces Dan's work.'
She knew that. She had seen the exciting films that were made from Dan's books. At any other time she would have been very interested to meet them, but not now. She had too many problems. At least with them in the house she could avoid Dan until she could get away, and she knew that she had to get away.
He came over with her champagne, and Kieron wandered over to Anita, who was giving him very sharp looks. It was obvious that she didn't like having another female present, and he was too astute not to play up to her. She could make life very awkward for a rising actor.
'I didn't realize you had champagne ready to celebrate my pass,' Anna murmured, unable to think what to say to Dan now.
'I didn't,' he informed her in a low, cool voice. 'The celebration I had in mind was something entirely different! '
His eyes held hers, probin
g and intent but angry, aggressively masculine, not Dan at all; and she felt her color rising again.
'I'm sorry,' she said quickly, adding crossly. 'What a waste!'
'I have more champagne,' he murmured softly. 'It will keep.'
There was little doubt of what he meant, and she looked away swiftly, her blushes apparently angering him more.
A little while later she was cut out of things as the conversation turned to the studio, the changes needed and the battle about whether or not the script should be altered. Anna was glad to be able to slide off; only Kieron seemed to notice her departure. She stayed safely in her room, not knowing whether to pray for them to go or long for them to stay.
Anita Sharp was trouble; it was there in her eyes, in the confident way she monopolized Dan and expected the others to just wait until she had time to attend to them. Did Dan know her well? He must do. Jealousy began to gnaw at Anna, and she impatiently paced about. Daphne was the one who had cause for that! She had no rights at all as far as Dan was concerned.
He knocked on her door later to announce that they were all going out to dinner, his face clouding with anger when Anna said that she would stay and have dinner here.
'You'll come with us if I have to tuck you under my arm!' he rasped.
'I don't want to come. You can stay there and say your goodbyes. I'll only be in the way!'
'They're not going anywhere,' Dan snapped. 'They'll be back here later and they're staying for two days. We have to thrash this thing out, and I'm damned if I'm leaving Amara Cay to go to the studios!'
'I still don't see why I should ....' Anna began, but he turned angrily to leave and just growled at her.
'Get dressed to dine in Nassau or I'll be back and dress you myself!'
'Dan!' Her urgent voice stopped him and he turned at the door, his eyes narrowed and cold. 'Dan, I want to leave. I want to go back to England!'
'No.' He just said the one word and she stared at him in horror.
'What do you mean-no? I want to go home.'
'You're missing Bryan?' he jeered, coming back towards her, and the only description of the way he moved that she could think of was prowling.
There was a menace about him that she had never seen in Dan, but she was annoyed and really desperate to get away. She stood up to him, her dark eyes blazing.
'I want to go home. I'm going home. Tomorrow'
'And I said no. I meant just that.'
'Have-have you gone mad?'
His eyes too were blazing, and she found herself backing away, a fact that seemed to give him some satisfaction.
'Quite probably,' he conceded. 'However, mad or not, no is no and that's just what I mean. You're going nowhere.'
He turned and walked away, and her breath came out in one thankful gasp. She had been holding it for the past few seconds.
'There'll be an even bigger gasp of breath than that if you're not ready to dine when I call for you!' he threw at her as he left.
She didn't doubt for one minute that he meant it. Dan was walking on the knife-edge of desire. She recognized it because that was exactly what she was doing herself.
She wore the rose-silk dress, and Kieron Amery gave a low whistle as she walked into the drawing-room later. Only the men were there. Anita was using her woman's prerogative and keeping them waiting.
'Now, if I had a ward like you I would never leave home.' Kieron said with a laugh that brought a quick frown to Dan's cool face.
'She'd wipe the floor with you at chess and utterly demoralize you!' Dan said ironically, but Kieron just grinned at her and she found herself smiling back.
She was still smiling when Anita made her grand entrance, and the fact that she was talking to Kieron didn't endear her to Anita at all. What with Dan's glowering looks and Anita's quick, darting glances, she was glad to go out to the launch. Even there Kieron sat down beside her and kept up a flow of conversation that monopolized her attention for the whole trip. She was very grateful to him, but perfectly certain that he was treading dangerous waters.
Anita's temper was somewhat restored by the reception she got as they entered the dining-room of the hotel and people recognized her. She was not terribly amused though; that they recognized Dan, too, and her chagrin brought a secret smile to Anna's face.
She felt more normal than she had done for weeks.
It was laughable to see a grown woman so desperate for attention. It also dawned on her that when Dan had brought her to Nassau they had avoided the bigger hotels that were haunted by tourists. Now she knew why. He liked privacy. He was not particularly amused when he was asked to sign people's dinner napkins. Anna was bubbling over with laughter. It was barely held in check.
'If Anita doesn't kill you, Dan will.' Kieron murmured to her after one look at her face. 'I think we'd better dance. I feel like saving your life.'
'It's so funny!' Anna said as they went out on to the crowded floor and began to dance. 'There's Anita bursting with pride, and Dan just about ready to explode with anger, all for the same reason.'
She began to laugh aloud and Kieron grinned down at her.
'Haven't you seen it happen with Dan before? He's often on television in the States.'
'He's just Dan to me,' she said quietly, the laughter dying away as she realized just how far apart they really were, worlds away, except for this desire. 'His family has taken care of me all my life. When his father died, the responsibility was just passed on to Dan. I can't think of him with a flashy life-style. He's just like a big brother.'
What a lie, she thought! Dan was something else altogether now. She loved him in an entirely different way, wanted him more each day, and ~he danger could only grow if he refused to let her go away.
He danced with Anita, and some instinct of self-preservation surfaced in Kieron.
'Care to change partners, Dan?' he asked with a sultry look at Anita that made her preen.
'If you insist!' Dan took Anna into his arms with a show of reluctance that reminded her of his rage with her before they left the house, but it quite restored Anita's temper. With two men dancing attendance she was momentarily happy.
Dan was stiff and unsmiling, looking over Anna's head, watching the other dancers and completely ignoring her.
'We don't have to dance!' she said coldly. 'I've had enough, anyway.'
He just ignored her and pulled her closer, and she kept her eyes firmly on his white shirt, not daring to look up.
'For a person so skilled in mathematics, it's taking you a long time to count three buttons,' he murmured ironically. 'Maybe you should count with your fingers.' He took her hand and raised it to his chest as his face brushed her hair.
'One, two, three,' he said softly, his hand guiding hers down the row of buttons to the steady beating of his heart.
'Please, Dan!' she whispered frantically, her hands beginning to shake.
'Please, Dan!' he jeered softly against her ear. 'Am I supposed to go on treating you like a little sister when you've been in my arms?'
'You-you mustn't talk like that!' She was beginning to tremble, her heart taking on a frightening rhythm, but he was utterly ruthless.
'Why? Doesn't Bryan talk like that? Do I shock your prim little academic mind? How academic is it when those big dark eyes look at me?'
She pulled away and stared at him, white-faced. He was quite different. Not Dan at all.
'I don't even know you now,' she said with a look that was unknowingly tragic.
'You've not known me for a long time. Seven years, to be exact,' he said tersely. 'You're still swinging between little girl and the fact that you want me!'
'I-I don't. It's not true!'
'It is true,' he insisted vibrantly, his hands punishing tight on her narrow waist. 'You fight it because you feel guilty about your poor hard-working doctor, but he's not here, I am! You spend every day waiting for me to take you!'
She just stared at him, unable to say that it wasn't true. It was true and Dan was different. He
didn't feel one drop of remorse about anything. If she accused him of being permanently attached to another woman, he would simply say the same thing: she was here and Daphne was not.
'I want to go home!'
He smiled slowly, his grip on her waist tightening, his thumbs probing her ribcage softly and suggestively. 'What a short memory you have, Anna,' he taunted. 'I won't let you go home. Surely you know that?'
They weren't dancing any more and people were beginning to take an interest in them. She pulled away and walked off the floor, and Dan followed. For the rest of the evening she didn't look at him. He frightened her. For the first time in her life she was scared of Dan, but even more scared of herself.
'Soon they'll be gone, Josie. If you want any help, I'll be glad to help.'
Josie declined, but Anna had so little to do that she felt it her duty to help, and took to getting up to help with breakfast and, as often as not, washing the dishes after each meal. It gave her something to do, and a reason for sliding out of the room each evening.
When Dan found out, he was furious. She was just finishing off and Josie had gone home when Dan walked into the kitchen.
'What the hell are you doing?' he grated.
'Only helping. It's a lot of extra work for Josie. I used to help Edna at home.'
'In a rather different climate,' he reminded her testily. 'If Josie's overworked, than Abe can come in and help.'
'He does! You wouldn't get a meal if he didn't. If he didn't help, Josie and Abe would never get home.'
'She's quite used to having visitors come.' Dan's fury seemed to be dying out a little and he simply looked curious. 'I can't see how this group makes all that much difference.'
'Apparently Anita is a whole group by herself,' Anna retorted. 'You had no idea I was helping. It's quite possible that your other female visitors helped Josie without you even knowing.'
'That's true,' Dan said thoughtfully. 'Perhaps you'd better just carry on, after all.'
'And perhaps you could help Anita pick up her clothes from the bedroom floor!' Anna snapped, infuriated by his attitude and his ready acknowledgement that there had been women here.
Dangerous Obsession Page 9
