Dangerous Obsession

by Patricia Wilson

The word rang through her brain like a crystal bell, and she turned her head to his shoulder as her eyes closed. This was not what her mind had imagined for so long. This was a heaven, a belonging she had never known.

  'Dan!' She whispered his name and he seemed to understand without further words. His arms enclosed her in safety and she slept.

  It was almost noon before Anna awoke, and Dan was not there. The sheets were twisted around her waist and she felt a ridiculous burst of anxiety that he should have seen her like this. She would not let her mind think of what had happened. He had sent her away and she had come back. She had slept with Dan because she had wanted to. How did he feel now, in the bright light of day?

  Her clothes were where she had dropped them, and she picked them up, folding them slowly before going to see if there was any water left. There was, and she used it sparingly before dressing in the only other clothes she had; the white dress she had arrived in. Even so, she lingered. Here in this room was the memory of happiness, more than happiness. She realized that she was afraid to leave it behind and step into the day.

  There was breakfast on the table as she went into the kitchen-a very late breakfast-but Dan was not there, although the coffee was hot and newly made. She heard the sound of an approaching boat, and soon found out why he had suddenly abandoned his task. Someone was coming to the island on a fast, powerful launch that was even now slowing.

  The open door drew her reluctantly. At this moment it would have been good if she was here alone with Dan. She had no idea what was in his mind. He had hardly spoken at all as they had made love, and nothing had changed. He still had one life here, she another. Here in the house where she had stayed with Dan, the hours they had spent locked in each other's arms seemed unreal.

  It was a police launch, and any lingering magic died as Anna saw who was standing on deck, waving frantically to Dan. She remembered only too well the fair hair, the beautiful face. Daphne was coming home, and Dan was waiting for her, his face alive with happiness.

  The boat was brought close in and one of the policemen climbed out to the shredded remains of the little quay, his arms reaching for Daphne, and then passing her to Dan. She linked her arms around his neck, laughing up into his face as he took her and brought her safely to dry land. They were both so joyful.

  There was a look of contentment about Dan that she could see even from here. Anna turned and went inside before they saw her, but there was nowhere to hide. The launch waited a few minutes, Dan talking to the men on board, and then it veered away from the island. She had to face whatever was coming.

  She was back in the kitchen when they came in, her unsteady hands pouring coffee, and she made herself look up with a smile. It was the hardest thing she had ever had to do in her life.

  'Why, it's Anna! I'll never forget that exotic coloring! I had no idea you were here. You faced the storm?'

  'Yes. It was an experience!' Anna half smiled, stiffening as Dan walked into the room. She didn't want to look at him reproachfully. She didn't feel reproachful. She understood.

  His eyes came instantly to her face, his smile dying as he saw her tight restraint, and he took the coffee she handed to him without looking at her further.

  'Now, you've got some explaining to do!'

  He leaned against the table and smiled across at Daphne, his whole attitude indulgent and at ease. It was so very obvious that they were close, involved with each other, and Anna felt a burst of shame as she realized that had she been in Daphne's place she would not have been greeting another woman so warmly, not when that other woman had been alone with Dan. Of course, Daphne remembered her as a little-sister figure and not in any way as a threat. She was no threat, she could see that.

  'It's a flying visit only.' Daphne laughed. 'That launch is picking me up in about one hour. They're skimming round the Out Islands to check up on people, and then they're coming back for me. I mentioned your name and they obliged quickly.'

  'Johnny's a friend of mine, and in any case, they try to oblige after anything like this,' 'Dan said. 'It still doesn't explain the visit.'

  'I was on my way here to see you when the hurricane warning went out. As soon as it was over I simply continued. I had to find out how you were, Dan. After all, I've got a vested interest in you!' She laughed in a low amused way, her eyes rueful. 'It's also the little matter of Anita.'

  'Ah! We'll leave that standing right there for now. And how is Trevor?' Dan asked with a wide grin.

  Anna didn't want to hear any more. Dan had not even looked at her after that quick glance when he had come in. She waited until there was a break in the conversation, and then got ready to add her own part. She never got the chance; Dan said it for her.

  'We'll go across on the launch when it comes back, Anna,' he said, his eyes glancing across at her. 'The water isn't going to last and the whole island needs some work done on it. I'll see to you and then find Abe. He can bring a work gang out here. When you've eaten, you can get your things together ready to leave.'

  She just nodded numbly. One more day was all she had asked for, and one more day was all he was offering. He had made his position quite clear when she had been in hospital, and he had not changed his mind. She couldn't eat. She quickly swallowed her coffee and left them alone.

  'She's astonishingly beautiful, Dan.' Daphne's voice drifted to her as she went to her room. 'That hair, those dark eyes ....'

  'Yes, she's beautiful!'

  There was a harsh sound to Dan's voice, a deep-lying anger that he tried to contain, and she didn't linger. She could hear them talking rapidly though, even from her room; they were so accustomed to each other, with so much to say. She dared not go back in case she found Daphne in Dan's arms, because she couldn't stand that.

  In the end, after a long time, Dan came to find her. 'What are you doing?'

  He just walked in on her as if it was a very natural thing to do, and it almost amused her to realize that he only sounded intrigued.

  'I thought I'd leave you to catch up on your news.'

  'There's not much news,' he said with a quizzical look at her. 'I do hear from Daphne regularly. We keep in close touch. We have to.'

  It might have been the understatement of the year!

  Naturally they kept in close touch, with a son to share! 'I understand that.' She looked away, her eyes downcast.

  'I'd like it if you looked at me,' Dan told her softly, coming across the room to her. 'I wanted to talk to you when I got up, but you looked so deeply asleep, so comfortable, that I left you there.'

  She remembered how she had looked, and her face flushed rosily.

  'Hey!' His hand tilted her face. 'Why this shyness? It's a pity that there's no time left, or I would have to get you out of this mood.' His lips brushed her cheeks.

  She knew there was no time left and she wasn't going to beg to stay with him.

  'You don't need to talk to me, Dan,' she said quickly, forcing herself to meet his intrigued eyes. 'I understand everything you want to say.'

  'Do you?' He took her slender shoulders in his hands and looked down at her, but Daphne called from the hall.

  'Time's up, Dan! The launch is coming. I can hear it!'

  He still stood looking down at Anna, his smile only very tentative.

  'I'll never understand you,' he said softly. 'You always were such a strange little creature, watching from the shadows.'

  'Dan!' Daphne's voice was more urgent. 'Time's up! I have a plane to catch.'

  'Coming!' He turned and walked out. 'Hurry up, Anna,' he said almost wearily. 'If we miss this lift then you're going to be stranded here until Abe decides to risk a trip out.'

  And he didn't want her stranded here. She had a plane to catch, too. It wouldn't take her long. Everything was already at the airport. Dan wouldn't have to arrange it again.

  They went out the way that Daphne had come in, Dan lifting them both and handing them to one of the men on the launch. As he lifted her, his arms tightened around her momentari
ly, but she was stiff and unyielding, protecting herself from all feeling, and as he leapt on to the launch his face was as stiff and tight as she felt.

  He didn't have anything to say to her, he didn't get the chance, for Daphne talked non-stop, shouting over the roar of the engines. Anna watched her animated face. She was different from the woman who had come with Dan to Langford Hall almost five years ago.

  The unhappiness, the vulnerability had gone. Life was good to her, Anna could tell that. She turned away from them and watched for the first sign of Nassau, the end of her dreams, escape.

  Daphne wasn't lingering. Apparently she had spent more time waiting out the hurricane than she had allowed for, and she said goodbye to Anna pleasantly. 'It was a very short visit,' Anna said, more for something to say than anything else, her heart astounded that she still liked this woman.

  'Well, I was half-way here. I thought I may as well come right on. I can't spend much time away from Trevor, but I can't go too long without seeing Dan.'

  Their way of living astonished Anna. She couldn't go any time at all without seeing Dan; she never had been able to all her life. From now on, though, she would never see him again. She just allowed herself to be led to a taxi, her arm lifeless in Dan's firm grip, and they both saw Daphne into another taxi. Anna closed her eyes as Dan kissed Daphne goodbye.

  She wasn't really aware of where they were going until the taxi stopped at a hotel and Dan lifted out his luggage and her own small case.

  'Now,' he said tersely as he marched her inside, 'you and I have some talking to do!'

  He was angry, his voice quite harsh as he booked two rooms. There was plenty of room. Most of the tourists had fled, one of them on her own seat on the plane, she realized that now. He would be leaving her here until he found her another place on a flight to England. She followed him into the lift and stood silently by as he opened a door and ushered her inside.

  'Your room,' he assured her testily. 'I'm next door. As you haven't eaten a thing since last night, I'll order you something now, then I'll find Abe and after that I'll get around to you!'

  He was angry with her for coming back, for complicating his life, angry with himself for making love to her. She didn't blame him; after all, hadn't she thrown herself at Dan since she had been here? Perhaps things would have been different if Daphne had not suddenly appeared, but it would only have been for one more day.

  She said nothing and he went to the door, walking out and leaving her without a backward glance. She gave him ten minutes and then called the desk.

  'Is it possible to arrange a flight to England from here?' she asked quickly.

  It was, and they rang back almost at once to say that a flight left in half an hour, just time for her to make it to the airport. They even called a taxi for her. It was very easy to leave the Bahamas.

  She looked all right. This dress was still fresh. She hadn't worn it except for the little time of getting to Amara Cay and the time before she had changed. Her luggage was already at the airport. Dan was going to come back and tell her all about Daphne, say he was sorry, and she couldn't listen to that.

  CHAPTER TEN

  THERE was no frantic bustle at the airport now, and checking her luggage in was a simple matter. Everything was back to normal, the sky clear and blue as it had been on the day she arrived. Food would be served once they were airborne, but even then she would not be able to eat. The emptiness inside was not because she was hungry. She was filled with desolation and loneliness.

  Her flight was called and she walked forward almost blindly, seeing nothing but the bleak future; nothing to dream of, nothing to hope for. Her head was down and she hardly knew where she went, her weary steps simply following other passengers.

  'Where the hell do you think you're going?'

  Dan's furious voice brought her back to the present with a heart-jerking snap, his hand on her arm like steel. She turned quickly and he was beside her, his face harsh and flushed with anger. He looked incapable of keeping any sort of self-control, and there was a violence about him that sent a shiver of fear through her.

  She could only stand and stare at him, shaking her head numbly. She was going home, back to the place she belonged, saving him the embarrassment of telling her yet again to leave. What was all this anger about? Perhaps she should have waited to say goodbye, but she could not have done that. Many times in her life she had said goodbye to Dan, but this time she had been incapable of it.

  'My flight's been called!'

  His towering rage was drawing attention to them, and she looked anxiously round, keeping her voice low. 'You know I have to go, Dan! You can surely understand? '

  'Understand what? Understand that you came back to me, slept with me, and now you're regretting it and going off to that over-worked, half-baked doctor? No, I don't understand!'

  He was shouting, utterly uncaring whether anyone heard or not, a white line of fury around his mouth. And they did hear. Without even looking, Anna was aware that they were the focus of many interested eyes, and her color mounted rapidly.

  'Dan, please!' She tried to pull away, but he only gripped her tighter.

  'Can I help you, miss?' A man who seemed to be suicidal came forward, and Dan turned on him like a tiger, his powerful body tensed like an animal disturbed at the kill.

  'Yes, you can help! Mind your own damned business!'

  'It's all right, thank you,' Anna said quickly. Dan had had enough, he almost dragged her away from the barrier.

  'My luggage! It's on the flight!'

  'Surely you deserve some inconvenience?' he snarled. 'You've been inconveniencing me all my life!'

  'Not any more!'

  She pulled at his hand, some measure of spirit returning to her dulled brain, but he looked at her in a truly menacing way.

  'I can lead you out or I can carry you out. It's all one to me!'

  She went with him, every eye present following their progress.

  'Can you ... ' She turned frantic eyes on the people at the desk.

  'Get your luggage off the flight? I'll try!'

  The amusement in the woman's voice merely heightened Anna's color, but she didn't have to face any more amused looks. Dan almost dragged her out, leaving people to think whatever they chose. His anger was a burning, primitive thing, bubbling close to the surface.

  There was a taxi waiting, its engine running, and Dan pushed her inside, his hand never leaving her arm, sure in his own mind apparently that she would open the opposite door and run.

  'You got her, Mr. Toren?'

  'Thanks. You made it just in time!'

  A grinning black face looked at her through the rear mirror, and Dan growled irritably, 'I got her! Take us back to the hotel.'

  There was nothing to say, and in any case she dared not. Dan was almost raging, out of control. What did he expect of her? Did he want her to stay and fill his time whenever he was away from Daphne? Did he really imagine she was running back to Bryan, or was that merely an excuse? He had held her all night, made love to her! What sort of person did he think she was, anyway?

  'How did you know that ...?'

  'You booked your flight through the hotel! You're not as clever as you imagine.'

  Some of her misery was swamped by a rising temper of her own, but she would not make a spectacle of herself in front of the self-satisfied driver of this taxi. He had them back to the hotel swiftly and Dan held her arm in the same tight grip as he prod the fare.

  He gave the man a whole wad of notes, and the man let out a whoop of delight that drew further attention to them, but their passage through the foyer of the hotel was too swift for any other would-be spectators to get more than a glimpse of a dangerously angry man with thick hair of bronzed gold, and a girl with tight lips and long black hair that almost reached her waist.

  'Now-"

  Dan almost flung her into her room, locking the door and pocketing the key. He stood watching her as she walked quickly away putting some distance between the
m.

  'You'd better explain to me why you were taking off like that, without a word, with no thought for me.' he grated, his eyes narrowed and dangerous. 'If you imagine that I'm allowing you to erase your fixation with me in one brief spell of passion and then slip of to the boyfriend, then you've never been more mistaken!'

  She whirled round in astonishment, stunned by his words.

  'I asked for everything I got! Is that what you're telling me? Because don't bother, I know I begged for one more day. Well, it's over!'

  'And what about me?' His voice was heavy with bitterness, quieter, the rage subsiding a little as another emotion took its place.

  'There's Daphne,' she reminded him quietly, and he turned away his hand running distractedly through his hair.

  'God give me strength! Is this because Daphne arrived? I told you, I'm not married to Daphne. Don't you believe that?'

  'Yes, I believe it. It doesn't make any difference nowadays though, does it-marriage? Then there's your son and... .'

  'What son?' He turned on her with almost wild eyes. 'You get odder every day, do you know that? You've, invented a son for me now? There is no son!'

  'Trevor ....' she began shakily, her world upside-down, five years of beliefs juddering ready to fall.

  'Trevor is not mine. He's Daphne's! Let's hear any more crimes that I've committed.'

  'It doesn't matter,' she said with weary patience. 'You wanted me to go. You told me to go. You even got my ticket.'

  'Only because you begged not to come back to Amara Cay.'

  He strode over to her, looking at her frustrated. 'All the time I was getting you to hospital, all the time I was sitting beside you praying for that fever to break, you rambled on. You never wanted to go back to Amara, never, never, never!'

  He grasped her shoulders, jerking her forward, hard against his chest, a reckless look about him that held her still.

  'I love you! Sending you away almost killed me. When you came back, I couldn't believe it!' He let her go and turned away, his shoulders suddenly defeated. 'You did want to go, didn't you? What am I, after all, but a long time obsession that's now exorcised?'