‘But you wouldn’t?’
‘I don’t fight for fun.’
Jade shivered, in spite of the violent heat of the day. ‘What happened?’
‘One day, he went too far. He picked on a boy younger than himself.’
‘And you—?’ prompted Jade, with horrified fascination, thinking that this was the stuff that adventure films were made of.
‘I taught him a lesson. He’d just bought a car. We fought for it.’
‘And you won, right?’
He shrugged; smiled. ‘Naturally.’
‘But why d’you keep it?’
His face went suddenly tense. ‘Because, for a long time it was the hardest thing I’d ever had to fight for…’ His voice tailed off on a strange note as he glanced across at her, then back to the road.
Jade swallowed. ‘But was he—all right?’
He actually laughed. ‘Not for a week or so, but yes, he was all right—what did you think I’d do- kill him?’
‘I wouldn’t put anything past you, Constantine!’ she said with feeling, then turned to study his strong profile. ‘So that was the end of a beautiful friendship, was it?’
He grinned. ‘For a while. Then, years later, he came to apologise to me, and to seek my help.’
‘Your help?’
‘He wanted to set up a restaurant.’
‘And you helped him?’ she asked incredulously.
‘Sure. It was a good business proposition. And it’s better in life to have a friend than an enemy. As a matter of fact,’ he said coolly, ‘you’ve eaten there. Often.’
‘I have?’
‘Sure. Remember that first night when I took you out for dinner—’
As if she wouldn’t remember every second of it for the rest of her life. She saw the proud tilt of his jaw and recalled what he’d said at the time. ‘The owner owes me a favour’. Kris! Of course! He’d waited on them. Good grief!
The car had been ascending the hilly interior, and Jade could see the bright glitter of a large white building which clung to one of the hills like a child to its mother’s hips. She remembered the way their eyes had met over the head of the child in the taverna. Something preordained had happened at that moment. She had fallen hopelessly in love with him, however crazy that might seem. And suddenly she knew that, whatever else happened between them, her fate had been decided for her in that one long, shared look. She knew with a chilling cer- tainty that her love for him would simply never go away, for it was part of her now, as much a part of her as her limbs.
Doomed, she thought gloomily. To love a man who is going to use our brief marriage to try to rid himself of his desire for me. ‘Is that where we’re going?’ she asked, pointing up at the house.
‘It is.’ His voice was mocking. ‘You wanted a honeymoon, didn’t you?’
‘Not particularly!’
‘Liar!’ he taunted softly.
She wore nothing but a short, sleeveless lemon dress, and she became quickly aware that the pinkening flush to her skin which accompanied just the thought of a honeymoon was easily visible all over her neck and shoulders, as well as on her face.
‘I rest my case,’ he added, with cruel observation.
Did nothing escape him? ‘Well, if you’re ex- pecting to consummate this so-called farce of a marriage, you’ll have a very long wait!’ She turned to him, her voice quiet but determined.
‘Bravo!’ he applauded. ‘Brave words, Jade! Fighting words! And empty words!’
‘We’ll see,’ she challenged fiercely, although she knew that her argument was seriously flawed, be- cause he was right, she did want him—incessantly. But she was not going to… not again. To have a wild and passionate night of bliss and the next day for him to behave in that cold and contemptuous way, as if the night had been nothing. And because he could not have even the most scant regard for her if he considered that sex was her motivating force. How amused her ruthless blackmailer would be if he discovered that it was love…
The car drove off the main road and on to a small track, then bumped up to the white building over which the rich velvet hue of a magenta bougainvil- laea bloomed royally.
Despite her inner conflict, Jade couldn’t stop herself from drinking in her surroundings with pleasure as she stepped out of the car, but Constantine’s attention was elsewhere, and she heard a terse exclamation as she saw him stride to the side of the building, where another vehicle was parked beneath the shade of a lemon tree.
A car which couldn’t be more different from the beaten-up one which Constantine had driven here.
It was a large and long, gleaming silver Mercedes. Jade shuddered to think of the cost of bringing such a car to such a small island.
‘Who’s here?’ she asked him.
‘We have guests,’ he bit out, in a voice which could have sliced through metal quiet easily.
At that moment there was a flurry of sound, and the front door was flung open and a woman, who Jade judged to be in her late twenties, stood on the shadowed step. She possessed the proud patrician features and the strong dark colouring which im- mediately marked her out as Greek. There was a small silence before she stepped from out of the shadows into the full glory of the brilliant sunlight which bounced in a blue-black dazzle off her gleaming hair.
She was simply beautiful, thought Jade with a sudden sinking of her heart, and she was dressed in a spotless cream silk dress and coiffured to per- fection. But then she looked into the woman’s face and almost started with shock at the message re- vealed there. Her dark, almond-shaped eyes glit- tered with undisguised hostility as she stared directly into Jade’s face.
‘Surprise!’ she called, with a husky Greek in- flexion, and started to move towards them, her arms held out in greeting, pointed scarlet nails like talons outstretched. ‘Welcome home, Constantine!’
CHAPTER ELEVEN
THERE was a moment’s silence before Constantine stepped forward, a polite smile on his face as the beautiful brunette caught his hands and they ex- changed a kiss on each cheek.
Constantine turned to Jade. ‘Jade, darling,’ he said smoothly, and Jade almost started at his use of the unfamiliar endearment in English. ‘You must let me introduce you to Eleni—my sister.’
‘Oh, Constantine,’ chided Eleni, batting superb black lashes which didn’t need one scrap of mascara to emphasise them. ‘There isn’t a drop of shared blood between us. I’m your stepsister. Remember?’ The coldness re-entered her brown eyes as they flickered from Constantine’s face to Jade.
‘So this is your bride,’ she said haughtily, and there was a theatrical pause. ‘Not at all what I would have expected. Hello, Jade,’ she gushed insincerely.
And I can be just as insincere, thought Jade as she pinned a bright smile onto her lips. ‘Hello, I’m very pleased to meet you,’ she said, holding out her hand and receiving a limp imitation of a handshake in return.
Eleni’s head was perched to one side, like a watchful bird. ‘You’re so very young,’she observed.
‘Twenty,’ Jade defended, her misgivings growing by the second. There were all kinds of strange undercurrents going on here, she could sense them as easily as if they’d been visible to the naked eye. She could see an alertness and a rigidity about Constantine’s stance, could sense the blatant sexual challenge which glittered at him from Eleni’s eyes.She wants him, thought Jade, with a sudden sick feeling. What the hell had he brought her to?
He fired a question at Eleni in Greek, which only increased Jade’s sense of being an outsider, and Eleni replied in the same language, giving Jade a smug stare as she did so, as though sensing her discomfiture.
Constantine turned to Jade, his voice softer. To sweeten the blow, she wondered fleetingly?
‘My stepmother is inside. Come, we shall go and meet her.’
Eleni turned to Jade. ‘We’re very cross with Constantine for denying us the pleasure of at- tending his wedding. When I rang Stavros and he told me it was taking place yesterday—I couldn�
��t believe it—’
‘Damn Stavros!’ swore Constantine succinctly. ’He was under strict instructions to tell no one.’
Eleni hooded her eyes with their heavy lids and slanted him a look. ‘But for heaven’s sake, why, Constantine?’ she queried, mischief sparking her exquisite features. ‘We’ve waited for so long for you to plight your troth, and then you rush away and do it in secret. Almost—’ She gave a malicious smile. ‘Almost as though you were ashamed of your beautiful young bride.’
Jade flushed, wishing that she could spirit herself away from here by thought alone. What the hell was Constantine playing at?
‘Unless, of course,’ said Eleni maliciously, ’there’s some other reason for the indecent haste?’ And she looked pointedly at Jade’s flat stomach.
Jade flushed. ‘There’s none,’ she said smoothly, thinking that if Constantine didn’t get her away from this woman in a moment, she wouldn’t be responsible for her actions!
As if he’d homed in on her thoughts, he caught her elbow. ‘Come,’ he said softly.
The inside of the house was deliciously cool and dark. Jade got a brief impression of marble floors, of white walls and shuttered windows, before Constantine took her into what was obviously the formal drawing-room to meet Eleni’s mother.
And if she’d been hoping for some dear little apple-cheeked old lady, she was in for a shock, be- cause on first impression the pencil-thin beauty who sat on a high-backed chair looked little older than Eleni herself.
On first impression.
Closer to, Jade could see the ravages of time, made far more apparent by the older woman’s de- termination not to give in to them. Thick foun- dation lay in the deep lines which tracked over her face, cruelly emphasising them, and the bright blue which glistened on the heavy eyelids—so like Eleni’s—were like a throwback to the sixties, as were the thick black false eyelashes.
‘Marina,’ said Constantine. ‘May I present to you my wife, Jade?’
Jade was subjected to another chilling scrutiny as she took the gnarled old hand in hers. Marina inclined her head briefly, then spoke in rapid Greek to Constantine, who shook his head.
‘We will not, I think, speak in any language other than English since Jade is not yet familiar with Greek.’
‘Yet?’ mocked Eleni. ‘And you plan to actually learn our language, do you, Jade?’ she queried dis- believingly. ‘Believe me, the English find it almost impossible.’
Some devil sparked insubordination in Jade’s soul at the put-downs which the two women were loosely handing out. This marriage might be a farce as far as Constantine was concerned, but if he was playing the part of contented spouse, then she could go one better. And if it infuriated Eleni that she had married Constantine—then she would really give her something to get her teeth into! She gave a smile. ‘I realise that, and I certainly don’t under- estimate how difficult it’s going to be, but I’m quite determined, aren’t I, Constantine? Especially if you teach me. He’s the most wonderful teacher,’ she confided glowingly. ‘In just about everything!’
The black eyes glittered briefly at her in response before he turned back to his stepmother, a look of polite query on his face. ‘This is most—unexpected,’ he said carefully. ‘To have company on our honeymoon.’
Eleni smiled without humour. ‘You must allow us women our little foibles. We have brought Sophie with us to prepare a small wedding feast—but do not be troubled, Constantine—we are intent on leaving in the morning. And surely your bride will allow us one meal with you?’
Constantine gave a small nod of his head. ‘You are, of course, most welcome to stay with us for as long as you like, and naturally Jade and I are honoured and delighted to share in a surprise meal with you. Have you—’ and his black eyes looked as hard and as forbidding as metal ‘—planned to invite any others for this—er—feast?’
‘Just the four of us,’ said Eleni, a cool smile playing on her lips. ‘Which will give us the chance to get to know each other better. Now please, Jade—sit. You stand like a stranger in your hus- band’s house. Sit and Sophie will bring us refresh- ments—you must be parched after your long journey.’
‘Thank you.’ Jade sat down on the edge of one of the overstuffed chairs, her knees pressed tightly together, feeling a bit like a child invited to the party, who nobody had really wished to come.
Eleni picked up a small silver bell and rang it, and on cue a small, rather harassed-looking woman scurried in, her face lighting up with unconcealed joy as she sighted the tall form of Constantine who stood with his back to the window.
He strode over to embrace her, indulgently listening to her excited torrent of Greek, and then he turned and said Jade’s name, and something else, very slowly in Greek, so that the woman beamed as she took Jade’s hand.
‘Kalispera sas,’ said Jade, as her hand was grasped tightly. ‘Pos issaste?’ And was rewarded for this extremely elemental greeting by a squeal of delight from Sophie, and a small, amused smile from Constantine, and it shook her how his ap- proval could hearten her so.
There was stilted small talk until Sophie re- appeared bearing a tray of coffee and four glasses of iced water. Eleni lifted up her stately blue-black head. ‘It’s Greek coffee, Jade,’ she murmured. ‘But I know that a lot of foreigners find it unpalatable. If you’d prefer it I can easily order some regular coffee for you?’
Jade swallowed as her smile remained in place. ’Thank you, but that won’t be necessary—I happen to adore Greek coffee.’ And she saw Constantine smile at her as she accepted one of the tiny cups with alacrity.
Constantine remained standing, and his im- mense height seemed to dominate the room. His eyes had flickered to Eleni’s hand. ‘You no longer wear your ring, Eleni? Your hand seems much smaller with the absence of such a magnificent diamond.’
Eleni shrugged narrow and elegant shoulders, her red-tipped fingernails fluttering as she spoke. ‘I am no longer engaged,’ she told him, her dark eyes slanting at him with some unspoken message as she did so.
Constantine’s hand paused, the cup raised midway to his mouth. ‘Oh?’
‘She broke it off,’ said Marina, a tight look of disapproval about her heavily red-glossed mouth.
Constantine’s face hardened. ‘Really?’ he queried softly, his eyes gleaming with the crystalline bril- liance of some dark, precious gem.
‘I discovered that he wasn’t what I wanted,’ said Eleni quietly, her eyes never leaving Constantine’s face. ‘You see, I found that I’d been staring it in the face all along.’
‘I see.’
‘Do you?’ asked Eleni huskily.
Jade felt as though she were in the midst of a nightmare, Eleni couldn’t have made her feelings for Constantine more obvious if she’d had a great banner proclaiming her love erected and suspended from wall to wall. And surely the dark rage which simmered in the depths of Constantine’s ebony eyes was due to the fact that Eleni was now free, but it had come too late for him. He had tied himself to a loveless marriage to Jade. What price honour now? For who in their right mind could possibly fail to love a woman as glitteringly sophisticated and beautiful as Eleni?
But wasn’t she forgetting something? He hadn’t tied himself to her, had he? Not really. The mar- riage was always intended to be brief. Would he now, as she suspected, abandon this so-called ’honeymoon’ completely? With a hand that she willed not to shake, Jade put her half-full coffee- cup on the small table beside her.
Constantine’s eyes searched her face, his ex- pression obdurate as they registered the draining of colour from her cheeks. He put his own cup down.
‘Now,’ he said smoothly, ‘if you will excuse us, we will go to our room and freshen up. Jade is, I think, very tired.’
‘But naturally,’ murmured Eleni, her gaze taking in Jade’s simple little lemon cotton sundress. ‘And you will of course wish to change into something more suitable for this evening.’
‘Of course,’ agreed Jade evenly.
&nb
sp; ‘Dinner will be at eight.’ Eleni’s smile showed tiny white teeth.
Like a ferret, thought Jade as she followed Constantine out of the room in silence, sum- moning up every bit of effort to smile politely at Eleni and her mother, because the last thing in the world she wanted was to let either of them know how much Eleni’s unsubtle and predatory attitude towards Constantine had hurt her.
He led her along a cool, dim corridor and opened a dark wooden door to reveal a simply decorated room dominated by a vast double bed over which was slung a blindingly white bedspread. Large pat- terned cushions of white and blue added touches of colour, as did the blue paintwork around the shuttered windows. Their two suitcases were standing side by side on the floor, mocking her with their vision of unity. She supposed that Sophie had brought them in from the car while they had been sitting in the salon, drinking coffee.
Jade stared at the bed, her heart hammering as she tried and failed to block the mental pictures which swam up to torment her. Had there been some form of relationship between Constantine and Eleni in the past? Was that why she had stared at him with that hungry, almost wild look of longing? After all, stepbrother and sister were allowed to have a relationship by law, weren’t they? Had his so-called desire for her now been deadened by the sight of his beautiful stepsister, freed from her en- gagement and obviously eager to find herself in Constantine’s arms?
She fought the sick feeling in her stomach which threatened to swamp her, and stared up at Constantine, into the impenitent expression which had hardened the harsh features. It was over, she thought with immense sadness. It had never really begun.
He had moved towards her, and she knew that she had to put him straight before he touched her, because she couldn’t trust herself to do the right thing if he touched her.
She backed away from him. ‘I’m not sleeping with you here,’ she told him quietly, and his eyes narrowed instantly into glittering black shards as she heard him draw in a deep breath.
‘Oh, yes, you are,’ he contradicted ruthlessly.
Her mouth dried. ‘You can’t force me…’ she whispered.
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