An Old Enchantment (Harlequin Treasury 1990's)

by Amanda Browning

  Maxi stared after him, admiring his dedication. Admiring Fliss, too, because she must know what being married to a doctor meant. It was quite a step she was taking. Cheered by these signs of maturity in her sister, she turned back to her chore, but had barely started on it again when a whirlwind tore into the room and swept her to her feet.

  ‘What on earth?’ She found herself staring into Kerr’s furious face and couldn’t help the way her heart quailed. She’d never seen anyone so ready to commit murder. ‘What’s wrong?’

  He looked about to explode. ‘You dare to ask me that? When I’ve just had Fliss come to me in tears?’

  Enlightenment dawned. ‘Oh, lord, she did see us.’

  Kerr’s mouth twisted with distaste. ‘You admit it, then?’

  ‘There’s little point in denying Andy and I were here,’ she agreed, and found herself being roughly shaken for her pains.

  ‘Not just here, you damned little... You were in each other’s arms!’

  Maxi, thoroughly fed up with his attitude, felt her own temper come to the boil. ‘Don’t you dare keep calling me names! I could think of one or two to call you! Fliss might be silly enough to misconstrue everything she sees, but why do you unquestioningly believe everything she says? We were not in each other’s arms at all. I happened to have something in my eye, and Andy got it out for me.’

  ‘Oh, come on! That must be the oldest excuse in the book, and the least believable,’ Kerr sneered, and Maxi saw red.

  Her strength came from somewhere, probably righteous anger, with the result that, having torn herself from his arms, she gave him one almighty shove that sent him backwards. Teetering, he tripped over a stool and went crashing to the ground. Her elation faltered as he lay motionless, and suddenly conscience-stricken that he might have hurt himself, she rushed to kneel beside him. One look told her he was perfectly all right, and concern became anger again. Pinning him down with her elbow on his chest, she used her free hand to point to her eye.

  ‘Look at that, Doubting Thomas,’ she ordered fiercely.

  Whether because her anger had momentarily subdued him, or because he was temporarily winded, Kerr did let his eyes focus on hers. ‘It looks bloodshot,’ he finally admitted.

  ‘You’re damn right it’s bloodshot. It had a lump of grit in it the size of a house brick!’ she exaggerated dramatically, still looking daggers at him as he lay beneath her.

  Kerr lay motionless, although his eyes began a slow perusal of her flushed face. ‘A house brick, hmm?’ Something flickered to life in the grey depths.

  Her breath caught at the sight of it, and her shrug was stilted as she considered a tactical retreat. ‘So I exaggerated. That doesn’t alter the fact that you owe me an apology.’ She began to push herself up, but in a flash his arms came up and kept here where she was. Looking down into his face, so temptingly close to hers, she felt her heart kick as she saw his mouth begin to curve into a lazy smile.

  ‘I guess I do, but how was I to know?’ Slowly but surely he began to exert downward pressure on her shoulders.

  A thrill of alarm shot through her, and she tried to brace herself against the floor as she realised his intent. ‘There’s such a thing as benefit of the doubt,’ she managed to say before her throat closed over. He was too strong for her, and her arms began to shake before collapsing. ‘No, Kerr!’ Her protest came as she tried to avoid his mouth, but a large hand framed her head to hold it still and bring it inexorably down to his.

  One touch of his lips and the fight was shocked out of her. It was so gentle, and yet every soft movement was like being stroked by flame, a flame so fierce that it ignited a thousand fires all over her body, bringing senses so tinglingly alive that she gasped at the sheer magic of it. For the first time in years she felt sharply alive, hypersensitive to the intoxicating scent of him, the pleasure in the feel of his strength and the solid beat of his heart.

  With a tiny whimper her lips parted to the gentle insistence of his tongue, and then everything changed. No longer gentle, he began a plundering invasion which demanded her response. Suddenly she was burning up, kissing him back eagerly, her tongue taking up the invitation of his erotic caress, her body moving restlessly against his in an ever increasing desire to get closer. Only breathlessness forced her to drag her mouth free, and she stared down at him, gasping in air through bruised lips.

  Grey eyes, no longer cold, gazed into hers, and very slowly one eyebrow lifted in mocking question. Sanity returned like a douche of cold water, reminding her just whom she had been kissing, and why it was utter lunacy. Nor was it a moment too soon, for footsteps echoed clearly in the silence and she realised they were about to be discovered. Hastily she scrambled away from him back to the display cabinet, picking up an ornament and replacing it with hands that trembled betrayingly. Mind seething, she was barely aware that Kerr had joined her, and turned startled eyes his way just as her mother walked in from the terrace.

  ‘Goodness gracious, have they got you at it too, Kerr?’ Lady Ambro queried with a laugh.

  ‘I’m afraid so,’ he answered wryly, clearly having recovered his poise, although there was something savage in his eyes as they held hers. ‘Where’s John?’

  ‘Parking the car. Oh, we saw Andrew on the way in. Wasn’t he supposed to be lunching with Felicity?’

  Maxi dragged her gaze from his, hoping she had regained sufficient control of her features when she faced her mother. ‘He had an emergency call. Kerr was just about to go and tell Fliss, weren’t you?’ Her eyes warned him not to argue because she wanted him gone. Unfortunately, her mother intervened.

  ‘Stay where you are—I’ll tell her.’ About to go out, Lady Ambro paused by the door. ‘By the way, there was a telephone call for you earlier, Maxine. A man. He didn’t leave his name, but said he would be in touch. Were you expecting a call, dear?’

  ‘No,’ Maxi declared in surprise, because as far as she was aware only two people knew where she was, her agent and her neighbour, and both were women. It was certainly puzzling.

  ‘Perhaps it was an old admirer getting in touch, now you’re back on the scene,’ Kerr observed with a distinct edge to his voice when her mother had gone. ‘You must have had quite a few.’

  Now they were alone, she allowed her dislike to show. ‘But never you. You stayed well away, and as far as I’m concerned the same rule applies now. Stay away from me, Kerr.’

  Picking up two ornaments, he held them out to her. ‘You wanted an apology,’ he reminded her, and she had the distinct feeling he was playing some game of his own with her.

  ‘That was no apology! You just used it to take advantage, and it just served to remind me how much I hate you!’ Maxi snapped, snatching the ornaments from him but not being quick enough to avoid having him catch her by the wrists.

  ‘Hate me? Why? Because I kissed you? Or because you enjoyed it so much, you kissed me back?’ he taunted, resisting her attempts to break free.

  That direct hit wounded her pride. She’d never forgive herself for that moment of weakness, nor him for reminding her of it. If looks could kill, he wouldn’t have stood a chance. ‘I hate you, Kerr Devereaux, because you only ever think the worst of me. Now get your hands off me before I scream the house down!’

  His grip relaxed, but she could tell he didn’t really care if she screamed or not. ‘Hate away, darling, it doesn’t alter the facts. Fliss was in tears, and, as usual, you were responsible.’

  Maxi replaced the last ornaments in the case with angry precision and closed the door. Climbing to her feet, she elbowed past Kerr as he followed suit. ‘I’ve told you it was entirely innocent, and I’m damned if I’m going to be held responsible for Fliss behaving ridiculously! So come on, Mr Big Shot Devereaux, why don’t you find a way I can convince her I don’t want Andy any more than I wanted—?’ She caught herself up abruptly, suddenly aware of what she was saying. Cursing herself, she walked over to the other cabinet.

  Kerr was no more than a step behind. ‘What?’
he demanded, grey eyes narrowed and suspicious. ‘Wanted what?’

  Her eyes slid away from his. ‘Leave me alone, Kerr. I’m busy.’

  His hand clamped on her shoulder like a vice, spinning her round, and she winced, knowing she’d have bruises there later. ‘Not until you explain,’ he refused, but as he watched her stubbornly blank face, his own changed to outrage. ‘Good God! Are you saying you didn’t want Ellis either? That you took him simply to prove that you could? Hell, what kind of cold-blooded bitch are you?’

  Stung once too often by him, Maxi flung her head back, eyes wildly challenging. ‘The kind you want!’ she taunted. She had felt the way his body responded when he held her. Let him deny it if he dared.

  ‘A man’s libido has no sense of discrimination. Sometimes any woman will do,’ he responded, and his smile was the deepest cut. ‘But you, sweetheart, you’re saying you don’t even have to want the men you take.’

  There was no way she could stop herself from paling at his patent disgust. Even so, she fought back. Let him think what he liked, she didn’t have to justify herself to him. ‘It’s no business of yours what I did, or why. The most important thing is that I don’t want Andy.’

  Kerr released her with alacrity, wincing as if he had a nasty taste in his mouth. ‘You are something else!’

  Maxi jutted her chin forward belligerently. ‘We’ve already agreed on that, and frankly I’m sick and tired of hearing it from you. Try to be constructive for once. We both want Fliss to be happy, but she won’t be unless I can convince her I’m not interested in Andy. Try bringing your legal-eagle mind to bear on that for a change.’

  ‘The obvious thing is for you to leave,’ he reinforced bluntly, crossing his arms, ‘but you won’t do that.’

  ‘I have as much right to be here as anyone. Besides, that wouldn’t serve in the long run. I’ve no intention of becoming a stranger again, which means every time she sees me she’ll wonder. No, it has to be something else.’ Absently Maxi rubbed at the glass as she tried to think.

  ‘There’s only one way with someone like Fliss,’ Kerr observed, and Maxi glanced round to find him staring out into the garden, shoulders as tense as a bow-string. ‘She has to see to believe. The only way to convince her you’re not after Andy is to show you’re interested in someone else.’

  It was so simple that she wondered why it hadn’t occurred to her, but almost at once she discovered the flaw. ‘Very clever, Sherlock, but just where do we find this wonder man?’ she scoffed.

  He didn’t move, but his head slowly turned, eyes mocking. ‘Right here. Me.’

  Her jaw dropped. ‘You?’ Maxi had to force down hysterical laughter. ‘You’ve got to be kidding!’ Pretend to be interested in him? That would be like...like putting her head in the lion’s mouth, knowing it was hungry!

  Now he did move, taking the two steps that brought him up to her. ‘Nobody else would be as convincing to Fliss. And don’t pretend you’d find it a real hardship. You enjoyed dancing with me, and...’ Here his voice dropped to a husky drawl. ‘And you certainly enjoyed kissing me a moment ago. In fact, your enthusiasm was most...interesting. I don’t see why it shouldn’t appeal to your tastes. You could look on it as a game, and all in a good cause,’ he finished sardonically.

  Having heard him describe his proposal so salaciously, she would have to be out of her mind to agree! ‘There’s no way I’m playing any sort of game with you!’

  One eyebrow lifted lazily. ‘Why, because it would be my rules and not yours? You only like playing by your own rules, don’t you, Maxi?’

  There was something in the way he said that which had her pausing before answering. ‘The rules don’t matter, because I’m not doing it,’ she said breathlessly.

  The smile that curved his lips was cruel. ‘Oh, but they do matter, darling.’ One finger reached out to trace her lips. ‘Do you believe in fate?’

  Her heart seemed to stop beating. ‘What do you mean?’

  ‘It means I didn’t want to play the game at all, but sometimes it pays to use the cards you’re dealt. You might find yourself holding the winning hand.’

  It was crazy talk, but still it filled her with an unknown dread. ‘I don’t understand you. You’re talking in riddles!’

  ‘Then let me see if I can make myself clearer. You’re a very good actress, Maxi. I’ve seen that for myself. You fooled me, and I’m not a man who takes kindly to that. I don’t turn the other cheek, I believe in an eye for an eye. Only, with you, I couldn’t see my way to achieving what I wanted—until just know. You see, it’s all still there, isn’t it? Your eyes lied, and your smile, and your words had only a passing acquaintance with the truth, but—and this is the clincher, Maxi—these never lied.’ Once again his finger brushed over her trembling lips.

  She stared at him, horror-struck. ‘Who are you?’

  His smile became mocking. ‘You know who I am,’ he declared silkily, and she paled.

  ‘But you can’t be...’ She couldn’t bring herself to say it, but Kerr had no trouble.

  ‘The fool you left behind that night? Oh, but I am, Columbine. Fate brought us together then, just as it has now. Only this time, I’m no Harlequin to be enchanted by your charms. It will be my pleasure to watch you dance to the tune of my choosing.’

  When everything seemed to be disintegrating around her, from somewhere came the strength to fight. ‘You’re wrong. Wrong about everything, and I won’t do it!’ she choked.

  His face closed up. ‘Yes, you will. There’s no way out.’

  Reeling from the shock of his revelation, she shook her head in disbelief. ‘The man I knew would never do this.’

  Kerr’s lips twisted. ‘Did he ever really exist? No, it’s me you have to deal with, Maxi. But I don’t see the problem. You respond to me even if you don’t like admitting it. Look on the bright side—you’ll be helping Fliss at the same time.’

  Only sheer will-power kept her on her feet when her legs were threatening to buckle. ‘I hate you!’

  He shrugged carelessly. ‘That has no bearing on the case. The ball is in your court. If you really mean what you say about Fliss, you’ll put your own wishes aside and do it. After all, you want everyone to believe you’ve changed, don’t you? On the other hand, if all you really care about is yourself, well, that will only go to prove I was right about you all along, won’t it?’ With which pointed rejoinder, he swung on his heel and left the room.

  Maxi stared after him in dismay, hating him all the more because she knew he was right. Fliss would believe what she saw. It should have been the perfect solution, but not with Kerr Devereaux. Now she knew exactly who he was.

  But he wasn’t the man she remembered.

  Seven years ago she had gone to a masquerade party. Everyone had been in fancy dress, with almost full-face masks that were to be discarded at midnight. The idea had appealed to her sense of romance, and she had gone as Columbine. The house had been packed with all sorts of characters, but there had been only one Harlequin. Something about him had drawn her eyes to him constantly, sobering her, drying her mouth and increasing the beat of her heart.

  She had experienced nothing like it. She couldn’t see his face, so it wasn’t his looks. But his eyes... They had seemed to pierce her to her soul. It hadn’t surprised her when he had asked her to dance, nor that, although they said very little, their eyes had held a conversation that blanked out everything else. Words had been superfluous. Struck by magic, she had followed him to a conservatory, going into his arms as if she had always known she belonged there.

  Their kisses had held a wonder that anything could be so perfect. Names were unimportant. Everything vital was communicated without words. Maxi knew she had fallen in love, and that he had been moonstruck too. She hadn’t wanted the magic to end, but they had been interrupted by a weaving Conga line, which had swept him up and away. She had followed behind, but her eye had alighted on the clock, which showed ten minutes to midnight, and she had known she didn’t want
to be revealed to him in the midst of all those faces. She wanted it to be private, special. So she had written her telephone number on a card, and signed it Columbine. A passing waiter had agreed to give it to Harlequin, and she had only waited to see him receive it before slipping out of the front door.

  She had waited for his call, but instead came the invitation to her sister’s birthday party. She had gone to it...and the world she had envisaged had tumbled about her ears. In self-preservation she had locked Harlequin away deep in her heart, making herself forget that one magical evening when the future had seemed bright and boundless. He had remained a memory, until today.

  But he wasn’t the man she remembered, the one she had preserved in that private centre of her heart. This man had destroyed her most precious memories. This man wanted revenge for being made a fool of. It hadn’t been that way, but he wouldn’t believe it. So how could she place herself in his hands, knowing how he felt about her now?

  CHAPTER FIVE

  BY TEN o’clock that evening the engagement party was in full swing. Maxi took time out from a non-stop round of dancing to catch her breath. She was wearing the same red dress as yesterday. There hadn’t been time to go shopping for another, and besides, it looked festive. It was also a statement, to anyone who cared to notice, that she intended to fight on. For the same reason she had piled her hair on top of her head and used make-up more dramatically.

  There were very few of the men present she hadn’t danced with over the last couple of hours, the exception being Kerr Devereaux—a state of affairs brought about purely by design. Occasionally she had seen him dancing, and had felt his eyes on her more than once, but whenever her antennae had informed her he was around she had moved on, her intention being to keep one step ahead of him at all times. This morning he had deliberately awoken a memory, only to destroy it. She hated him for that, and for the retribution he was determined to claim.