Fantasy Girl

by Carole Mortimer

  ‘But you are enjoying it?’

  Tracy nodded. ‘Very much.’

  ‘Thought any more about working?’

  She shrugged. ‘I often think about it. But Jason wouldn’t like it.’

  ‘It wouldn’t have to inconvenience him. As you said,’ Natalie forced lightness into her voice, when really she felt anger towards Jason Dillman for the restrictions he had put on his young wife’s life. No wonder Adam was trying so forcefully to help his sister—he had been watching this emotional blackmail for seven years! Marriage should be give and take, and your partner in life deserved the politeness of being consulted about any decisions that may effect the marriage, but no man had the right to swallow up a woman’s personality, to deny her the chance of a possible career for herself, not if she wanted one and there were no children to suffer at the hands of that career. ‘He would be at work all day himself.’

  Tracy chewed on her lower lip. ‘I—I’m still thinking about it.’

  ‘Well, think harder,’ Natalie encouraged. ‘You never know when the opportunity might come your way.’

  ‘You’re starting to sound like Adam!’ the other girl grimaced.

  ‘Really?’ her tone was brittle.

  ‘Yes. Natalie—’

  ‘I really have to go,’ Natalie looked pointedly at her wrist-watch, ‘or I’ll be late.’

  ‘See you later,’ Tracy nodded.

  It was a long meeting, the discussion of one of her male models appearing in a series of aftershave advertisements. The man in question demanded a certain fee, the client refused to meet that fee, and so they were at impasse. It had gone on like that for over an hour, with Natalie knowing the client would give in eventually. Daniel Jerome was ideal for the advertisements they had in mind, being tall, dark and handsome, with the sort of body most other men could only dream of possessing. Daniel knew he was worth the fee, and fortunately so did the client, so a deal was finally agreed upon, then Natalie left for her office feeling as if she had been through the wringer—and back again.

  It was with some relief that she arrived back at the agency, although the empty outer office worried her somewhat. She was late back for Tracy’s twelve-thirty lunch, but she felt sure the other girl wouldn’t have just gone out and left the office unattended like this.

  As soon as she entered her own office she thought she knew the reason for Tracy’s absence. Judith sat back in a chair blowing smoke up at the ceiling, a completely bored expression on her beautiful face.

  Natalie slammed the door with a resounding thud. ‘What are you doing here?’

  Judith turned slowly to look at her. ‘A nice way to talk to your little sister, darling! Mum and Dad would be so shocked,’ she taunted.

  ‘We aren’t talking about Mum and Dad now,’ Natalie snapped.

  ‘No?’

  ‘No!’ She was becoming increasingly angry with Judith’s behavior. ‘Where’s Tracy?’ she demanded heatedly, worry creasing her brow.

  ‘Gone,’ Judith told her coolly.

  The frowned deepened. ‘Gone where?’

  Her sister gave an uninterested shrug. ‘Home. To a friend’s. How should I know where she’s gone?’

  ‘But you do know, Judith.’ She leant over the desk at her sister, her eyes bright with anger. ‘What did you tell her? What did you say to make her leave so suddenly?’

  ‘Natalie—’

  ‘Tell me, damn you!’

  ‘All right!’ Judith ground out her own anger, standing up. ‘I told her the truth. The truth!’

  ‘Which was?’ Natalie bit out.

  ‘That Jason and I have been lovers for months now. That it’s me he loves and not her.’

  Natalie felt faint. ‘You—told—her—that?’

  ‘Yes!’ her sister hissed. ‘It’s time she knew, time this charade came to an end. I want to be with Jason all the time, not just when he—’

  ‘Where is Tracy now?’ Natalie wasn’t interested in what Judith wanted.

  Judith shrugged, her mouth tight as she received no sympathy from her sister. ‘She left.’

  ‘Did she say where she was going?’ Natalie frowned.

  ‘No. Look, I don’t want—’

  ‘I’m not interested in what you want,’ Natalie told Judith disgustedly. ‘You’re a selfish little bitch who undoubtedly deserves all the unhappiness that’s going to come your way. But Tracy doesn’t. If she’s done anything stupid—’

  ‘Stupid?’ her sister echoed dazedly. ‘You mean—suicide?’

  ‘It is conceivable,’ Natalie snapped. ‘You did just tell her she’s living with an unfaithful husband. And if anything has happened to Tracy Adam Thornton will be coming straight for your jugular.’

  Not to mention hers! God, where could Tracy be?

  CHAPTER NINE

  JUDITHS’S dazed disbelief didn’t last for long; her mouth turned back into a sneer. ‘You’re being hysterical, Natalie—’

  ‘Then you obviously don’t know Adam Thornton!’

  ‘Not as well as you do, no!’ Judith scorned, her eyes glowing with satisfaction as Natalie blushed involuntarily. ‘And I wouldn’t want to. He’s a man who would demand your very soul. That intensity isn’t for me. And I don’t doubt Adam Thornton’s reprisals, I meant you’re being hysterical about Tracy Dillman. That young lady has more self-possession than you give her credit for—any of you.’

  Natalie frowned. ‘Does that mean Jason didn’t want his wife told of your affair?’

  ‘Not yet,’ her sister shrugged. ‘But I’m tired of waiting. And don’t call me a selfish little bitch again,’ she ordered in a bored voice. ‘I know exactly what I am—and what I want.’

  Natalie gave a snort of disgust. ‘Well, you’ve got Jason now—’

  ‘Yes,’ Judith smiled, like a cat who had got the cream.

  ‘Unless of course Tracy forgives him—yet again!’

  Judith’s smile wavered and dropped. ‘Again…?’

  ‘She’s known of his affairs in the past,’ Natalie exaggerated slightly, ‘and she’s always taken him back.’

  Judith’s mouth was tight as she went to the door. ‘Not this time,’ she bit out. ‘I’ll make sure of it.’

  Natalie slumped down in a chair once her sister had left, frantic as to where Tracy had gone. After what Judith had so callously told her she could have gone anywhere! What would she, Natalie, have done if she had been told of her husband’s infidelity, of Adam’s infidelity?

  But he wasn’t her husband, never would be her husband, only ever her lover, although in her heart she would always be his wife. She would never give herself to another man as long as she lived.

  And now she would never give herself to Adam again. She allowed herself a few minutes to linger on her own suffering, knowing that Adam would never forgive her for causing his sister all this pain.

  Poor Tracy, she had done nothing to deserve this, she had been sweetly loving to her husband. Once again Natalie felt the burning anger towards Judith for ending the other woman’s blind happiness.

  ‘Anything wrong, darling?’

  Her head went up with a jerk, all colour paling from her face. ‘Adam…!’ she groaned hollowly.

  Adam frowned his concern, coming to her side. ‘What is it? What’s wrong?’

  Natalie wetted her lips nervously, sure that Adam would kill her here and now if she told him the truth, if he knew how badly Tracy had been hurt.

  ‘What is it, darling?’ He came down on his haunches beside her, the blue eyes full of concern.

  Her hands framed his lovingly, memorising every feature so that she should never forget one arrogant line of his face, would always remember the distinguishing grey in the darkness of his hair, the sure blue eyes, the arrogant slash of a nose, sensually firm mouth and rigid jaw. It all made up the face of the man she loved. How she loved him! Tears filled her eyes and threatened to overspill.

  Adam grasped her arms, shaking her roughly. ‘For God’s sake talk to me!’ he rasped. ‘W
hat’s happened? Are you hurt?’ He was avidly searching her body for signs of injury. ‘Are you ill?’

  ‘Hold me, Adam,’ she fell into his arms. ‘Just hold me!’

  ‘Gladly,’ he groaned, gathering her up against him, plundering her mouth with raw intensity. They were both shaking by the time they drew apart, and Adam’s smile was rueful as he looked down at her. ‘I’ve felt like part of me was missing all morning. Now I know which part.’

  ‘You do?’ Her voice was husky against the warmth of his chest.

  ‘The best part,’ he said tenderly.

  Her smile was shaky. ‘You missed me, then?’

  ‘Always!’ His arms were suddenly like steel bands. ‘You’re like a fire in my blood, the very beat of my heart. If you left me now I think I would die.’

  It was the nearest he had ever come to saying he loved her, the nearest a man like Adam could admit to such a weakening emotion. But it wasn’t love, and he had only said he couldn’t bear for her to leave him ‘now’, who knew how he would feel a month from now, a week from now, when he had tired of the eager response of her body to his, and grew bored with looking at her face?

  ‘Don’t you believe me, Natalie?’ he frowned as he saw the emotions of uncertainty flicker across her face.

  ‘Yes.’ She sounded breathless. ‘I feel the same way, that’s why I was a bit tearful a few minutes ago. But why are you here, Adam? I thought I wouldn’t see you until this evening?’ She desperately needed to find Tracy, to help her if she could, but she had to get away from Adam without alerting his suspicions. Already she had revealed too much of her distress to this astute man, although he seemed to be accepting her explanation about the tears.

  His smile was teasing as he leant back against the desk, pulling her between his parted legs to link his hands together at the base of her spine. ‘Didn’t you want to see me?’

  ‘Oh yes. I just—’ she broke off as he began to chuckle. ‘Swine!’ she said ruefully.

  Adam grinned down at her. ‘I came to see Tracy, actually. Not that it isn’t lovely to hold you like this too.’

  ‘T-Tracy?’ she repeated, instantly stiffening.

  Adam seemed not to notice. ‘Yes, where is she? Has she already gone to lunch?’

  ‘Er—yes,’ Natalie replied abruptly. ‘She—she said something about going shopping.’

  His smile was indulgent. ‘I wouldn’t be at all surprised. I was going to take her out to lunch and sound her out about Fantasy Girl. Never mind,’ he shrugged, ‘it will keep. I don’t suppose you’d like to come out to lunch with me instead?’

  ‘I can’t,’ she moved out of his arms. ‘I can’t leave the office.’

  ‘Close up,’ he encouraged. ‘Just for the hour—or two,’ he added temptingly.

  Natalie wanted to agree, wanted to be with him, but her duty lay with Tracy now. She had to find the other girl, she just had to. ‘I can’t—darling,’ she added placatingly as she saw him frown. ‘Someone has to be here, and I—I have a lot of work to do.’

  Adam bent low to kiss her, lingering on the trembling flesh that was her mouth. ‘My dedicated little darling,’ he said tenderly. ‘I’ll leave you to it, then.’ He straightened. ‘I wouldn’t like you to accuse me of disrupting your work.’

  He had already deeply disturbed her, and he knew it, leaving her with a throaty chuckle of satisfaction, the promise of further disturbances in his eyes for later tonight.

  As soon as he had gone Natalie called Tracy’s home, ascertaining from the housekeeper that Mrs Dillman was not at home. She had to believe the woman. That only left Jason Dillman. Would Tracy have gone to him and confronted him with the affair? It was what she would have done herself, and yet Jason wasn’t in his office when she called T.C.B.A. Out of sheer desperation she tried the house once again.

  ‘Mrs Dillman just came in,’ the housekeeper told her. ‘But she isn’t taking calls.’

  Relief flooded through her as she asked the woman to tell Tracy she would be coming over to see her straight away. For the first time since the agency had opened she closed it during a working day. Dee or herself was usually in the office.

  When she saw the silver Porsche parked outside the bungalow her heart sank. Adam had taken to driving himself the last few days when he had been staying with her, his chauffeur and the Rolls receiving an unexpected holiday, and she knew straight away that the Porsche could belong to no other man. But she had to go in, had to make sure Tracy was all right.

  The housekeeper seemed very agitated when she showed her into the lounge, and Natalie was pacing the room when she heard the door slam with restrained force behind her.

  She turned slowly, knowing what she would see. Gone was the gentle lover of an hour ago, and in his place was the coldly harsh man of their first meeting, a man with eyes of ice, a tight mouth and inflexible jaw.

  ‘I—’

  ‘Before you say anything,’ Adam ground out with barely controlled fury, ‘let me tell you that your part in this fills me with disgust!’

  Natalie paled, her eyes huge and deeply blue-green in her chalk-white face. ‘My part? But, Adam, please—’

  ‘Please!’ he echoed scornfully. ‘Please? You dare to plead with me after what you and your bitch of a sister have done to Tracy?’

  She flinched at the steely dislike in his face. ‘But I—’

  ‘All the time I was at your office, holding you in my arms, making love to you,’ he added grimly, ‘you knew of the shock Tracy had received, that she wasn’t shopping at all. And you lied to me, with your body and your eyes. As you have been lying to me from the beginning, as you intended lying to me. You knew I didn’t want to go to bed with you until I had this situation with Tracy under control. But you couldn’t wait to start our affair, could you? Oh no, you had to get me completely under your spell before Tracy and Jason split up.’ His mouth twisted with dislike, his eyes glittering dangerously. ‘You’re no better than your sister after all!’

  Natalie recoiled as if he had hit her. ‘Adam, no—’

  ‘What did you hope to achieve by sleeping with me? Did you hope that when your sister dropped this bombshell that I would be so besotted with your body that I wouldn’t give a damn about the hurt you’ve caused Tracy?’ His jaw was rigid.

  Her head ached, her heart ached, her body ached. ‘Adam—’

  ‘Because I’m not,’ he bit out, not letting her answer his accusations. ‘I—enjoyed my time with you, revelled in it even, but no woman, no woman has ever, or will ever, mean more to me than the happiness of my sister. You lied and deceived me, and I’ll not soon forget it,’ he rasped coldly.

  Her hands went out to him appealing. ‘I had no idea Judith was going to talk to Tracy—’

  ‘No?’ Adam quirked a disbelieving eyebrow. ‘From the little I’ve been able to ascertain from Tracy, your sister knew she was at the agency this morning. She went there determined to cause trouble. And she did.’

  Natalie swallowed hard. ‘I didn’t tell her Tracy would be there!’

  ‘No?’

  ‘No! How could I have done?’ she appealed. ‘I was with you—all evening and all night.’

  ‘Yes,’ his mouth twisted. ‘And it achieved nothing. You agreed to help me out with Tracy because of the reputation and success of your agency, and you slept with me for the same reason.’

  ‘No!’ she gasped, shaking her head, her worst fears being realised, the accusations all that she had expected.

  ‘Yes,’ Adam ground out once more. ‘You have the same code as your sister. When all else fails, use your body!’

  ‘I came to you a virgin!’ Two bright spots of colour heightened her cheeks.

  His mouth twisted. ‘Which only goes to prove what price you put on that valued possession. You simply sold out to the highest bidder, my dear,’ he drawled with contempt.

  Natalie wasn’t aware of moving, didn’t know she had, until she saw the red welts of her fingers on the rigid cheek. Anger flared fiercely in dark blu
e eyes, and with a calculated coldness Adam lifted his hand and struck her hard across the face. Natalie closed her eyes at the moment of impact, feeling no pain, her whole body numb now. Adam’s contempt was so much harder to bear than she had thought it would be.

  She opened dull, lifeless eyes, seeing the pain flicker across Adam’s hard face, knowing that even if he didn’t love her he had liked and desired her. She had hurt him, or his pride, and his anger was all the fiercer because he had allowed her even that close to him. He had once admitted that only Tracy mattered in his life, and now he couldn’t forgive Natalie for making him care about her too, if only for a few days.

  Natalie held her head proudly erect. ‘I have to see Tracy—’

  ‘Never,’ he told her grimly.

  ‘I have to explain to her—’

  ‘Any explaining to be done will be made by me,’ he rasped.

  She flushed. ‘Then it will be biased.’

  ‘You can bet your life it will be biased!’ he rasped. ‘I underestimated you, Natalie, believed the cool businesswoman and wanton lover were all of you. But I had it wrong, you’re a cool lover too, cold and calculated.’

  ‘How can you?’ she choked. ‘How can you even think such a thing?’

  ‘I more than think it!’

  ‘And you won’t let me see Tracy?’

  ‘No!’

  The vicious denial made her tremble. ‘At least tell me if she’s all right!’

  ‘Would you be?’

  ‘No,’ she admitted shakily.

  ‘And neither is Tracy. For seven years she’s put her love and trust in that swine,’ his hands were clenched into fists at his sides, his anger now directed away from Natalie, ‘and he allows one of his women enough confidence in their relationship to tell Tracy about their affair!’

  ‘Judith…’

  ‘Yes, your damned sister! Tracy is in her room now crying her heart out,’ he revealed grimly. ‘I should have known what was going to happen when Judith threatened me, but it was shortly after that I knew I had to have you.’

  ‘You—you always planned to make love to me?’ Natalie gasped.