'How about lunch?' he asked, slanting her another of his penetrating glances, as he turned the car.
'Aren't you hungry?'
She nodded, adding, before her courage failed her, 'But I don't feel like sitting on a beach.'
'Is it the sand you've taken a sudden dislike to, or me?' he enquired laconically.
'Of course not!' she protested too hastily, avoiding the eyes which rested too speculatively on her hot cheeks.
'Don't worry,' he said, 'the beach was maybe not such a good idea, after all. I don't suppose you brought a costume with you, for one thing, and a girl like you wouldn't swim without one.'
This, sounding more like criticism than praise, stung her. 'Would you want me to?' she asked sharply, as the enchanting vista of an afternoon spent lazily on a glorious Australian beach faded unhappily. With a twinge of regret she wished she hadn't dismissed his former suggestion so summarily. After being cooped up in the office and flat for over a month she could have done with some real fresh air and exercise.
She heard him replying idly, but as if he was considering her taut query seriously, 'I don't know how you like to bathe. Most girls nowadays please themselves and I don't usually argue. The decision's all yours. Of course,' he offered, straight-faced, 'I can always turn my back.'
'No, thank you,' she refused coldly, feeling incredibly like a schoolgirl and hating him for laughing at her, as he was obviously doing.
'All right,' he relented, removing his mocking eyes from her, 'perhaps some other time. A hotel will suit me nicely today.'
Alex sat very still beside him as he drove her to one. Noticing how he never hesitated or wasted time over where he was going, she wondered if he approached people in the same manner. He could be ruthless, she guessed, when he liked, and was unable to quell a growing apprehension.
The hotel he found provided them with a delicious lunch, as expensive as ever she could have wished for. Yet somehow she didn't feel as triumphant over this as she had thought she would. For her the meal dragged, each obviously high-priced mouthful threatening to choke her. Chase, on the other hand, seemed to be suffering from none of Alex's embarrassment, although he appeared to concentrate more on her than on the delectable food he was eating. He plied her with questions about her family and friends, without once repeating anything he had asked the night before. Alex wished he wouldn't, as some of them she found difficult to answer.
'Have you a special boy-friend in Sydney?' he enquired, his tone indifferent but his eyes watching her closely.
'No,' she replied, for wasn't this true, and, in this instance, she could think of no reason to lie. After this weekend she wasn't likely to be seeing Chase Marshall again.
His dark brows rose sceptically. 'You must know plenty of men, though, a pretty girl like you?' Alex's face shadowed, giving more away to a man of Chase's brilliant intelligence than she knew. 'My mother likes entertaining and to be entertained, so we know a lot of people with sons and daughters around my age, maybe a little older. But there's no one special.' Thinking briefly of Don Fisher, she hoped her mother would forgive her for not including him in this category. 'At your age,' Chase stated dryly, 'you can afford not to be in a hurry.'
For the first time Alex felt quite grateful towards him, until she realised he was probably thinking of Ruby. Why did he think his sister should be rushed into marriage? Twenty-six was still very young. 'If you're referring to marriage,' she returned lightly, thinking it might help Ruby if only indirectly, 'I don't intend bothering about that for a long time.'
'Or until some man changes your mind for you?' he rejoined rather tersely, as they made ready to leave. After lunch he insisted she saw a little of the actual town. As they wandered, he pointed out parts of it and buildings which he thought might specially interest her. Then, from a stall, he brought her a beautiful bunch of long-stemmed, pale golden roses.
'Not primroses,' he presented them to her coolly, his eyes on her hair, 'but the colour matches almost exactly.'
Her cheeks flushing a delicate pink, she accepted the bouquet. His satisfaction deepened, and she suspected he took her confusion for a sign that she had already fallen for his not inconsiderable charm. Lowering her thick, curling lashes, she realised Chase was seeing the task he had set for himself almost accomplished, and the hardening of her heart also stiffened her resolve. 'Why, thank you, Mr Marshall!' Appearing to be almost overwhelmed, she hid her true thoughts behind the sweetness of a tremulous smile, and was not surprised at his approving nod, or his arrogant request that she call him Chase. Oh, thank you,' she smiled again, flashing him a demure glance that made her feel slightly amazed by her own endeavours and, in spite of everything, a little ashamed.
She was also amazed that he didn't suspect anything, for she was not the best of actresses and she found it virtually impossible to do as he asked and use his Christian name. In the end she improvised by calling him nothing and hoping he didn't notice. It was after six when they returned to Melbourne and she was carrying not only her flowers but a huge, expensive box of chocolates as well. Chase had also purchased a pile of the most expensive magazines and a flagon of perfume which Alex wouldn't have liked to put a price to, but when an involuntary protest had escaped her, he merely smiled and said she could share it all with Ruby. This wasn't his intention, she was sure, and was again made nervous by her own possible rashness.
It puzzled her, after this positive shower of presents, that made her feel so uncomfortably guilty, that he never once broached the question of Coolabra. He didn't even say anything about it when they reached the flat, and she wondered if he had changed his mind. Yet, glancing at all the things he had piled in her arms, she didn't think so. No man would surely spend as much on a girl if he didn't have something in view.
Before he left, as she was beginning to seriously doubt her own intelligence, he informed her autocratically, 'I rang Ruby while you were powdering your nose before lunch. We're dining with her and some of her friends tonight.'
Alex, already tense from having to prepare herself to say no to the expected renewal of his request that she should visit Coolabra, was startled into silence. She hadn't bargained for this and felt flustered.
Bewildered, she stared at him, his clipped voice tightening her nerves. 'I'm not really sure I can,' she began.
The uncompromisingly straight nose and firm jawline hardened, the flare of his nostrils exhibiting barely contained anger. This, she was sure, because she hadn't immediately jumped at his invitation. It told her plainer than anything else might have done that Chase still intended to persuade her to go to his cattle station in the Outback, but that his patience was wearing thin. Her hesitation over dining with him this evening seemed to be adding fuel to the fire of his leashed frustration. Could she honestly be surprised if it leapt to a blaze? Consumed as she was by her own desire for revenge, wasn't it a fire she had done her utmost to encourage all day?
'I'm sorry,' she began again, casting around desperately in her head for the best excuse she could think of.
'You told me you had no boy-friend. Not one you considered seriously.'
Her lashes flickered, dark wands on her pale cheeks, 'It's not that…'
'Well, then?' Suddenly he laid a hand on her arm, his fingers grasping the softness of her skin, sending shafts of needlelike sensation shooting almost painfully through her slender body. It startled her, making her tremble.
Deliberately Chase leant nearer, as though very sure she couldn't continue resisting him. His eyes held hers, his own warmer as he subdued his temper. 'You've enjoyed yourself today, haven't you, Alex?'
'Yes.' Her lips were stiff, but she made no attempt to deny it. Underneath all her tension and uncertainty she had enjoyed herself in a way.
'Then,' he said, letting go of her while his eyes narrowed thoughtfully, 'I'll see you later, about eight.'
CHAPTER THREE
As he got in his car, Chase lifted his hand in a brief gesture of farewell. 'You'll be coming to the hote
l with Ruby, but I'll see you home myself.'
Later when they met he was warm and friendly, as though they had never shared even a moment's dissent. His was an effortless charm, Alex realised, conscious of its effect on the other women in the party as well as on herself. She felt grateful for having been forewarned of his true opinion of her. Otherwise, if she hadn't known of it, she might have succumbed as eagerly as the others apparently did. It was this knowledge which, as before, drove her to revengeful lengths she would never normally have contemplated. When Chase asked her to dance, after dinner, she let her slight body curve closely to his. She even made herself smile at him, slowly and rather seductively, in a way she had seen others doing but had never yet tried on a man herself. As though conducting a slightly breathless experiment, she watched for results and was satisfied, if a little apprehensive, to find his eyes darkening and his arms tightening. But when warning bells rang clearly in her head, she dismissed them derisively. If she couldn't handle a man at her age, she never would!
Chase had promised to take her home himself and he did. Ruby didn't accompany them but went on to a friend's house for coffee. Alexander hadn't been with her tonight, and Alex wondered if this was the beginning of Chase's campaign. It might be far-fetched, but she had the distinct impression that he had made very sure that everyone at the dinner party had known she was called Alex, and that she shared the flat with Ruby. Again suspecting she was being used, Alex felt an odd mixture of misery and anger. Ruby; however, hadn't seemed in the least put out. In fact she had been quite remarkably gay all evening. When Chase stopped the car outside the flat and turned to her, Alex expected him to ask about Coolabra again, but he didn't. Under different circumstances she might have put him out of his misery once and for all, but, still smarting from his insults, she was determined to say nothing until he did. If he had to continue wasting his precious time, it would only make him more furious in the end. And this was Alex's main objective, at the moment, that the great Chase Marshall should learn a lesson he wouldn't easily forget. As it was, the effort of being pleasant to someone who bored him must be costing him plenty. He wasn't a man to appreciate what was quite clearly a slightly ridiculous situation. When he asked if she was doing anything particular next day, she was surprised into shaking her head. 'Then why not spend it with me, Alex?' he smiled, taking hold of her hand and raising it to his mouth. At his touch, her assumed sophistication deserted her and she almost jumped. His arms around her, earlier, as they danced after dinner, had been more than enough. His mouth on her palm, the warm, sensual strength of it, was too much. With a half strangled cry, as fire ran rampant through her, she jerked her hand away.
Then, with alarm, as she suddenly remembered what she must do, she tried to smile. It wasn't the kind of smile she sought, it was a wobbly, tentative smile, which held more than a hint of confusion, yet strangely enough it seemed to please Chase. His hard face cleared, a trace of dissatisfaction leaving it, as he lifted his head to find her eyes dilating nervously. This time he repeated his question more gently. 'If you like,' she whispered, the best she could do with her breath still hard to find. 'Good,' he said briefly.
He arranged a time to pick her up, and they spent the whole of the next day together. He knew of a good beach, miles away from anywhere along the coast, which proved every bit as good as he said. They had it to themselves.
'It's maybe not as perfect as some of the islands on the Great Barrier Reef,' he smiled, 'but it should be quite adequate for a few hours.'
I haven't ever been to the Barrier Reef,' she admitted ruefully.
'I could take you if you like,' he teased softly, his eyes on her shapely young figure. She was wearing a yellow bikini, consisting of two scraps of material, which she hadn't felt self-conscious in before. Now, funnily enough, when Chase Marshall looked her over with unstinted admiration in his eyes, she did. His close regard made her pulses behave uncomfortably.
'Really, Mr Marshall,' she retorted, keeping a wary grip on her senses, 'you make one rule for your sister and another for other girls!'
'I wasn't suggesting anything improper,' he laughed. 'You're too quick off the mark, Miss Latham. I merely had in mind a trip from Coolabra. It's not very far.'
'Always supposing I get to Coolabra,' she retorted, attempting to set him down quietly. 'Oh, come, Alex,' he sighed, quite clearly disinclined to take her seriously, 'we're playing a little game, you and I, and to a certain extent, it's been very enjoyable. But you know, and I know, you'll be there.' So it had come the final showdown. Regret touched her sadly. She had been so delighted with the beach, its glorious isolation, that she would have given anything to have avoided a confrontation right now. But it was here, and there was no way she could sidestep such a leading statement.
Yet even now she tried to, by being indefinite. 'I'm sorry,' she faltered, wishing she sounded more emphatic.
'You'll be sorrier still if you miss such a trip,' he warned, his eyes holding hers narrowly. 'Don't make any mistake about it, Alex, Coolabra is quite something.'
Finding his unmistakable blaze of pride formidable, she placed a protective hand over the betraying pulse in her throat. 'I can't argue about that, of course, but I'm not your sister, you know. You can't order me around as you like, or blackmail me into obeying you.'
'There are other ways.' Supremely confident, he moved nearer, his brief black trunks exposing whipcord muscles and fuzz-covered chest. He had a light covering of hair on his limbs too, she noticed, as her glance travelled, driven by a panicky fascination, right down the length of him to his long powerful legs.
His superb physique made her heart beat faster, and it was humiliating to realise he could see the rapid rise and fall of it in her breast. His eyes stayed on it, scrutinising mockingly, without apparent shame, while Alex, suddenly incapable of movement, couldn't turn away.
Yet he made no attempt to actually touch her. Alex, who had never given herself to a man yet, or wanted to, knew instinctively that this wasn't what Chase was asking. He was simply threatening mildly. He was well aware that threats were often all that was necessary in order to get one's own way, especially when applied to someone as innocent as the girl beside him. But Alex was afraid that if he should try to go further she wouldn't be able to resist him.
As he studied the slender yet sensuously curved lines of her body he seemed also to be reading her mind.
His eyes were glinting, summing up her fluctuating colour. He saw how her pupils expanded with heightening emotion, making the starry blue of the iris seem to spill over to tint the white. How her full, tenderly shaped mouth was beginning to tremble and soften, without her being conscious of it.
'Alex,' his breath rasped slightly, 'I don't think you've ever had a shattering love affair. I don't believe you've had much experience of anything. You're such a Sleeping Beauty that I can't fight you, or tempt you in the usual way. Not yet.'
Angrily she broke in, his curt observations jerking her from the lethargy which was beginning to attack her. 'You can't be saying that if I was the right sort of woman — another sort of woman,' she corrected, 'you'd be prepared to sleep with me to get me to agree to going to Coolabra?'
'Oh, God!' incensed, he leant over to grasp her shrinking shoulders, his fingers digging unremorsefully into her flesh. I could smack you for that! I was simply hinting that another woman might have found me attractive enough to think it worthwhile spending a few weeks up there, with no strings attached.
She'd be well paid into the bargain, I'd see to that.'
For what, exactly? Alex wondered, her mind already too confused. It wasn't as if Chase was going to be around. He might talk as though he would be, but hadn't he told Ruby he would only be staying two days? Any payment he offered would be the same as she was already getting in the office, as, technically, she would still be working. With supreme egotism he must be offering himself as a bribe.
Once she was nicely settled in at Coolabra he would simply disappear. For a man of his devious
ness it would be easy. He probably wouldn't even bother to make an excuse!
Fortunately she was old enough not to fall for such tactics. Glancing at him stubbornly, she fell back on her trump card, the one which made all Chase's arguments irrelevant. 'You forget. I'm not due for a holiday, so even if I wanted to go I couldn't.'
'It could be arranged. This is a good season to go visiting up north. The weather's getting cooler all the time.'
' So it might be,' she allowed her eyes to widen wistfully, 'but you wouldn't expect me to walk out on my job. I might get another, but I like this one very much.'
'After a few weeks?' His mouth took on a cynical quirk as he looked at her. 'I can arrange for you to be away.'
'You?'
'Yes. I would rather you'd gone voluntarily to the head of your department yourself and been willing to receive the leave he would have graciously granted. Then you need never have known that the office more or less belongs to me.'
'I'm impressed.' She was actually shaken. To hide it she stared stubbornly out to sea. The foam-tipped waves were breaking on the white virgin sands. As her heart might be breaking, if she didn't watch out.
'Do you always manage to arrange other people's lives so easily?' she asked.
' Sometimes I know what's good for them, better than they do themselves.'
'Like Ruby?' Bringing her eyes back to him she tried to match his crispness, not altogether succeeding.
He nodded. 'And you.'
Alex drew a small furious breath. Was he daring to assume he could read her like a book? 'I'm sorry, Mr Marshall, but no matter what you're prepared to do I still won't agree. Besides, Ruby and I aren't very close.'
' She has helped you, though?'
She could see he was annoyed and wondered why she could both anger and bore him. It stood out a mile that she did, easily demonstrated by his hard-held impatience. Come to think of it Alex scuffled a perplexed toe in the sand she wasn't sure why she was being so intense over it all. In her own way, mightn't she be just as unreasonable as he was? Yet pride, such as she had never known before, held her in an inexorable grip and she couldn't fight it. How many times do I have to tell you I won't change my mind?' she said primly. 'Of course I'm grateful for all you intended doing for me,' she finished, sweetly ironical, and for Ruby's help.'
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