so involved with him. I don't know what made me behave in that way, but I regret it so much now! That's why he's so disgusted with me, Helene.
Òh, Sophie!' Helene mourned. 'How could you have been so silly?'
Ì've been sitting here for three weeks asking myself just that, and praying he would get back in touch with me. I didn't realise how angry he was. Last night he...he said such cutting things to me. And he only went out with Jenny to hit back at me. He seems determined to punish me for what I did.' Sophie's voice broke. 'What can I do?'
Helene paused for a long while, as though thinking. Ì don't know what you can do,'
she said slowly at last. `But I want to tell you something about Kyle Hart. I've known him a long time, and I consider him a good friend. He's an achiever, Sophie. He was a little wild in his early twenties, but he settled down after a year or two in the Caribbean.
Did he tell you about that?'
À little bit,' Sophie nodded.
`W ell, he's done absolutely brilliantly since then. He's made a fortune for his bank, and he's now one of the most powerful men, for his age, in the City. He's been responsible for countless projects, and he's very highly thought of. Kyle works incredibly hard at his job, and he plays hard, too. With women ... well, I don't need to tell you that he just has to whistle. He's had a succession of the most stunning girlfriends, and none of them ever seem to have meant much to him. Do I sound as though I'm rubbing it in?'
À little,' Sophie said wryly.
`W ell, I'm trying to make a point. The point is that, for all his success with our sex, Kyle is very wary. W hether he's had some bad experiences, or whether it's just constitutional, I don't know. But he's erected some formidable defences, and he tends to be very distrustful of any woman who looks like breaching them. Any time one of his girlfriends seems to be getting close to him, the barrier suddenly comes down, and they're excluded. I've seen it happen half a dozen times. Sometimes they come to me in tears and ask me what they did wrong, and I have to say I simply don't know. I've always guessed that Kyle simply wants happy, mainly sexual relationships with his women, without involvement or commitment on either side. The unfortunate thing,' she added with a little sigh, 'is that he's the kind of man very few women can treat like that. They tend to fall in love with him. Hard.'
Ìt isn't difficult to do,' Sophie said drily.
`No, I suppose not. What I'm getting around to, darling, is that you seem to be the one exception that proves the rule. It sounds to me as though you actually did get through his defences. You've probably seen a side of Kyle that he's shown to very, very few women. As I said,' Helene commented gently, 'he always did have a very soft spot for you. But as it's turned out ... well, you've probably hurt him far more deeply than you guessed at the time.'
Òh, no,' Sophie said in dawning horror.
`He's also probably very angry. And when he's angry, he's capable of hitting out with a great deal of force. I can't tell you how to run your life, but I really don't think you have much to gain by trying to face up to him. You'll only collect a lot of unnecessary bruises. Do you want me to talk to him?'
`No, please don't. It wouldn't make things any better.'
`No, I don't think it would. I'll do what I can, without actually interfering. Sophie, I know this is going to hurt, but I've never known Kyle go back to anyone whom he's once cut out of his life. He's a very decisive man. If he's striking up a relationship with your cousin, then it's going to be murder for you to stand by and watch, but there really isn't
anything you can do. Except try and get over it, and remember that Jenny is probably far less vulnerable to Kyle than you are.'
Helene spoke a great deal more, but after that Sophie's mind was numb. How was she ever going to adjust to the truths she had learned this morning?
The things Kyle had said to her in Ocho Rios, things she'd thought he said to every woman he wanted ... he'd
really meant them. He wasn't the kind of man to talk to a wom an like that, not casually.
`You're a very special woman, my love. I just know we've met before. But if it wasn't in this lifetime, then it must have been in some other one, because I feel that I'm acquainted with you. The important thing is that we don't lose one another again.'
And she'd been so blasé, so cool with him.
`That kind of talk is for shallow people—not persons of deep feeling, like you and I.'
He'd felt something special for her, and she had thrown it back in his face. Had insanely thrown away the rarest gift that Kyle could give a woman—his trust. And she would never get it back again.
It was almost ten-thirty that morning by the time she heard Jenny's key in the door.
And Kyle was with her.
They were both still in last night's evening clothes, and Kyle's arm was possessively round Jenny's waist as they came into the little flat, laughing. They brought with them a scent of perfume, whisky and cigars.
`God, we've had such a fabulous time,' Jenny said with a giggle, collapsing into an armchair beside Sophie and throwing her red-gold hair back. She looked like a cat who'd just had a bowl of double cream all to itself.
`Have you?' Sophie asked brightly, avoiding meeting Kyle's mocking green eyes.
'Where did you go?'
Òh, I can hardly remember.' Jenny yawned lazily, showing a pink inner mouth. `To a disco, first. What was that place called, darling?'
`La Valbonne,' Kyle said, leaning negligently against the mantelpiece. His presence seemed to overpower the tiny flat, making Sophie feel as though she were being crushed into a corner. 'Not exactly your scene, Sophie.'
Ì'll say not,' Jenny agreed maliciously. 'Bit too wild for you. But it was fabulous,' she sighed. 'We even had a swim in the pool. Then we had dinner at the Café Royal. I've never seen so many celebrities! The place was wall-to-wall film stars and pop stars.
Then we went
to La Capanina, and danced practically till dawn ... We've just had breakfast at the Dorchester!'
Sophie forced a smile. 'And where did you go between dawn and the Dorchester?'
`You wouldn't believe us if we told you,' Jenny gurgled, her blue eyes sparkling.
An agonising flash of memory seared Sophie's mind, as she recalled what she herself had once got up to with Kyle in the early hours of the morning. `No,' she agreed drily, hiding her pain under a composed face, 'I probably wouldn't.' She grasped after normality with a supreme effort. 'Would either of you like a cup of coffee?'
`Love one,' Jenny nodded. 'And you, darling?'
Kyle glanced at his watch, the black diver's watch she remembered so well. 'Why not?'
he agreed easily. 'I don't have any appointments until noon.'
Jenny jumped to her feet. Ì'm going to have a lightning shower while you put the percolator on, Sophie.' She stroked Kyle's cheek. 'You don't mind, darling?'
That made three darlings so far, Sophie noted savagely. She walked stiffly to the kitchen, praying that Kyle wouldn't end up making her hate her own cousin.
She started making coffee in a state of blind tension, her fingers clumsy and disobedient. From the bathroom came the sound of Jenny showering.
`So this is where you live.' She turned. Kyle was watching her from the doorway, his dark face amused. He glanced around without bothering to disguise his disdain.
'Rather a poky little place.'
Ìt's all I can afford!' Sophie snapped, scattering coffee as she filled the percolator.
'Unlike you, I don't own my own bank.'
`How did you sleep last night?'
`Fine—darling.'
`Really?' he drawled. 'You seem kind of ragged this morning.'
Ì obviously don't have your stamina for night-life,' she replied bitterly.
À little birdie tells me,' he said gently, 'that you threw a fainting fit at Helene's last night. Right after I left the party with your cousin.'
'I was tired,' she said stiffly. 'I got a little giddy.'
&nbs
p; `Nothing to do with me and Jenny?' Silent laughter sparkled in his eyes as he watched her. 'My, my. That really must have hit you hard. I hear that Luciani was most impressed.' He mimicked the Italian's accent with wicked accuracy. "Thees ees exactly what I want for my wonderful new film." '
`Very amusing,' Sophie bit out.
`You're good at doing emotional scenes, aren't you?' he mocked. 'Everyone keeps telling me what a brilliant performance you put in at the end of The Elmtree Road Murders. They say the final scenes were quite stunning. I'm starting to be sorry I didn't catch it, but I was very much occupied that night. With a ladyfriend.'
That soft postscript hurt like a barb in her flesh. 'So you've already said. I'm sure you were much better occupied,' she said, pretending indifference. 'But if I did act competently, then part of the credit must go to you.'
He arched one dark eyebrow. 'Indeed?'
Ìf I hadn't been brought down to earth with a bump one afternoon, I might not have put in such a realistic performance,' she informed him lightly.
`W ell, well.' He subjected her to a slow, deliberate scrutiny. 'What happened in Brighton really seems to bother you. You had quite a crush on me then, didn't you?'
The sudden, hectic flush on her cheeks emphasised her paleness. 'I really don't remember.'
Ì do. It was painfully obvious.'
`Yes, I should have been much more discreet about my juvenile feelings, shouldn't I?'
She gave him a tight smile. 'But unfortunately, I didn't know just how ... absurd you found me.'
Kyle smiled drily. 'Want to hear something funny?' 'I could do with a laugh.'
'I liked you in Brighton, Sophie. I liked you a lot. You amused me, really you did. I had the idea that we might become good friends.'
She looked down. 'Is that ... all?'
'A good friend is a much rarer and more precious commodity than a good lover,' he assured her ironically. `But it seemed it was not to be.'
`You said awful things about me,' she told him in a low voice. 'Things that hurt me for months afterwards.'
`You weren't meant to hear them,' he retorted. 'And not many people can afford to eavesdrop on what others say about them, and not be hurt. I didn't understand the role you were playing, until Helene explained about it. I thought you were just being sloppy.
I didn't know then how much you were throwing yourself into your part.' He paused. 'As I remember it, that afternoon I was being rather clever about your evident infatuation with me.'
`Yes,' she said dully.
'I never understood why you changed towards me so abruptly. I didn't guess what had happened. I just got the message that my company was suddenly not welcome any longer. But of course, you were already plotting your little revenge, weren't you?'
She lit the gas, and put the percolator on. In the silence, they heard the shower stop.
Jenny was humming gaily as she dried herself.
'As a matter of interest,' Sophie asked, 'what did you do between dawn and breakfast?'
'I took your sweet little cousin to bed.'
The teaspoons clattered out of Sophie's paralysed fingers into the sink. The world swayed dizzily around her as her eyes flooded with tears.
'Oh, Kyle,' she whispered numbly, staring at his blurred figure. 'You didn't!'
He looked at her grief-stricken face for a moment, then laughed huskily. 'Oh, but I did—darling.' Sophie felt so sick that she thought she might throw up. Then Kyle went on, 'However, I didn't get in with her' He arched a derisive eyebrow at her expression.
'You have a remarkably sordid imagination. We stopped off at home, and Jenny was practically falling asleep. So I let her catch forty winks in my spare bedroom, while I caught up on some paperwork. In my study,' he added. His eyes showed how much he was relishing her pain. `Then we had breakfast at the Dorchester, and I brought her here. C'est tout.'
Reaction was making Sophie's fingers tremble as she groped for the spoons, and started putting cups out. 'You bastard,' she said in a whisper.
`Poor little Sophie,' Kyle smiled darkly. 'What an innocent you are' He came over to her, and slid his arms round her in a heart-breaking mockery of tenderness. `Did you think I was going to make love to her on our first date? That would have spoiled all the fun'
His touch made her senses swim. `Do you call this fun?' she asked bitterly.
Òf course.'
Ì think it's sick. You know I care about you, and you're hurting me in the cruellest way you can think of!'
`Care?' he repeated silkily. 'What an interesting choice of words. Are you being extraordinarily naïve, girl? Or are you offering to pay me back in some other way?'
Ì don't know what you mean,' Sophie said tiredly.
`Don't you?' He smiled, and touched her chin, tilting her downcast face upw ard. 'I sometimes could almost believe that you really are a virgin. Now, how could a man find out the truth of that? There's only one reliable way, isn't there?'
`You could just believe me.'
`But I don't believe you.' He was staring at her mouth with intent eyes. 'I don't believe one single syllable that comes out of those soft, sweet, lying lips of yours. I've
believed once too often.' He looked into her eyes, and growled softly. 'Why are you looking at me like that?' `Like what?'
His arms moved to hold her more tightly. 'Damn you, Sophie,' he said softly. 'Those soft grey eyes of yours beg me to make love to you. You know that, don't you?'
`No!' She tried to tear her gaze away, but he held her, as though hypnotised.
`Yes. That would be the only way we could get at the truth of your fabled virginity, wouldn't it?'
Àfter which,' she said, dry-mouthed. 'the question of virginity becomes irrelevant.'
Ìt's irrelevant, anyway,' Kyle replied, his gaze hardening. 'You are not the one I'm going to make love to.'
She winced painfully, and caught the flare of satisfaction in his eyes as he saw that his words had struck home.
`But in lieu of that satisfaction,' he said huskily, `perhaps we could settle for a good-morning kiss?'
She tried to twist her face away from his seeking lips, but he was so strong. His mouth met hers, deliberately erotic as his lips moulded themselves to hers, caressing, pressing warmly and possessively. His hand slid silkily down her back, caressing with calculated sensuality. 'What makes you tremble so much?' he laughed softly. `The thought of my possessing your delectable little cousin? She's just my type. And she doesn't feel like a marble statue when I kiss her, either. But you'll have to wait, Sophie.
I'll tell you when I make love to her, don't worry. But it might not be for a while. Maybe another day or two. Maybe much longer. Who can tell with these things?'
`How can you be so deliberately cruel?' she asked unsteadily, trying to push her way out of his embrace.
`W eren't you cruel to me?' he retorted, his smile tightening. 'Didn't you play exactly this kind of game with me?'
`No, never!'
Òh, but you did' His arms tightened, crushing her almost painfully. 'It was a sensational performance. Your professional virgin routine was quite brilliant,' he said, with vitriolic tones in his deep voice. 'You actually fooled me, do you know that? You really are a talented actress, Sophie. For someone like you to convince me that you were a sexual innocent was quite an achievement'
Ìt was no achievement' Sophie's long, dark lashes were wet with unshed tears. 'It was the simple truth.'
Ìt was a heartless charade.' He kissed her mouth again, but this time cruelly, making her wince as he crushed her lips. 'You had it all at your fingertips—the shy eagerness, the timid touches, the breathy little voice ...' He gritted his teeth, as though he wanted to sink them into her throat. 'And then, when you knew that I wanted you, really wanted you, you slipped away, leaving me to read that—that contemptible, insolent little note.
Well, I'm going to make you pay for that, Sophie.'
`Perhaps it was contemptible. But what you're doing now is even more contemp
tible.' A tear slid down her cheek, and Kyle watched it with hard green eyes.
`Tears are a very cheap currency in the theatrical world,' he observed coldly. 'They don't count for much.' His hands slid down to cup her slim waist, drawing her forward.
'However,' he said in a husky rumble, 'they are the first of many, and I must savour my reparation as it comes'
Sophie's wet lashes fluttered closed as Kyle gathered the tear from her cheek with his lips, tasting the salt of her grief.
The gentle touch of his mouth made yearning flood her aching heart. Her knees buckled, and she sagged against him helplessly, her arms reaching for the hard strength of his man's body.
`Kyle,' she whispered brokenly, 'I need you so much..'
For a taut moment he held her, his mouth pressed against her hair. Then he thrust her away, his eyes glittering.
Ìt's called frustration,' he said tauntingly. 'Plain, painful, sexual frustration.' It seems we've both got a bad dose of it, my dear Sophie. Except that I have someone who'll relieve it for me. You haven't.' His eyes narrowed. 'Unless you're asking me to do it for you?'
She hated him at that moment. 'I'm not asking you for anything!' The percolator began to bubble, and Sophie turned dully to switch off the gas.
Ìsn't that coffee ready yet?' Jenny asked, dancing into the kitchen with a big smile.
She looked as fresh and pretty as a daisy, wearing a light cotton dress that made the most of her rather full bust. She nestled up to Kyle with all the possessiveness of a woman confident in her own attractiveness. 'Gosh, I feel better for that shower,' she said, looking up at him.
`You smell delicious,' Kyle said appreciatively, allowing her to mould her lithe body against his. 'I seem to recognise that soap.'
Ìt's Sophie's.' Jenny lifted her wrist for Kyle to smell her skin. 'Jasmine.'
Ìt smells different on you,' he smiled, his eyes sultry as they assessed the pretty young girl in his arms.
Ì'll bet it does.' Jenny smirked at Sophie. 'Have you been telling Sophie what we did before breakfast?' 'She was intensely curious to know.'
Duel of Passion Page 14
