Читать книгу A Stranger's Love - Laura Martin, Laura Martin - Страница 6

CHAPTER ONE

BETHANY wasn’t sure exactly how long she had slept, but instinct told her it had been too long even before she opened her eyes. The rock was no longer warm now, no longer welcoming. She shifted her position a little and tried to regain the feeling of sleepy security. She was tired, far too tired to wake up. The previous night had been long and arduous—defending her chickens against the cunning fox that prowled their coop was rapidly becoming an obsession; Bethany simply couldn’t afford to allow any more to escape down his greedy throat, family or no family, and she had barely got any sleep at all...

Lazily she stretched out her hand and felt a fine wetness feathering across the tanned skin of her bare arm. Immediately the first stirring of real fear prickled at her consciousness. Bethany sat up and stared, her clear green eyes wide with a mixture of amazement and horror. It surely couldn’t have happened! She surely couldn’t have allowed herself to be so stupid!

She had. The sea, still blue, still beautiful, was lapping hungrily around the large circular rock on all sides.

It was a secluded spot. The beach, no more than a minuscule patch of sand at this time of day, protected by craggy grey rocks that towered high above the sea, was always empty. No cars could traverse the narrow paths, few people dared to trespass across acres of fields that proclaimed immediate prosecution. It was a tiny piece of paradise and ever since Bethany had discovered it, ever since she had crossed the strip of land which belonged to the big empty house and bordered her own far more modest smallholding to negotiate the steep, difficult climb down, she had been in seventh heaven...

But not now. Bethany scrambled to her feet and gazed at the tartan blanket she had been lying on in disbelief, watching as the salty water encroached, soaking into its fringed woollen edges.

What on earth should she do? Bethany closed her eyes for a second in absolute despair and then opened them swiftly again. She had to think quickly. This rock, the last in a craggy chain now hidden by the swirling, heaving waters, was large but it wasn’t that large.

She spun around wildly, her long blonde ponytail whipping at her shoulders. The sea looked dreadfully deep. Should she risk it? A ten-metre swimming badge hardly gave her the confidence to strike out in a daring bid for the shore. But what choice did she have?

Bethany wrapped the thick white towel that had been her pillow close around her skimpily clad body. ‘Calm down,’ she whispered to herself. ‘Don’t lose your head. Just calm down and think sensibly.’

She tilted her head and shouted. Over and over, her eyes glued to the cliff path up above, trying not to allow the thought that it was just hopeless, that she was simply putting off the inevitable...

After twenty minutes her voice had weakened and her body had become cold and weary. The evening sun had dipped low over the horizon and lost all of its warmth. Ten more tries she promised herself; after that she knew she would have to enter the sea whether she liked it or not.

And then, on the ninth call, with the salt water lapping around her ankles and the tartan rug lost for good, an apparition appeared.

She blinked several times, afraid that she was hallucinating. But no, the figure seemed real enough, more than real. Even from here she could feel the vitality, could sense the command, the presence of the man.

He had already assessed the situation. She watched with bated breath as the athletic figure traversed the cliff path with consummate ease, standing on the small strip of sand just below the craggy rock-face, legs a little apart, dark head tilted back, looking at her. Then he cupped his hands to his mouth and she heard his voice, strong and deep, heavy with a sarcasm that seemed to make a complete mockery of the terror Bethany was experiencing. ‘Don’t tell me—you can’t swim!’

Bethany released a breath. He was no apparition. She would never have conjured up such an arrogant member of the male species to be her knight in shining armour. Besides, knights didn’t wear cut-off jeans with frayed edges, or dark, dark sunglasses that were at this very moment being tossed aside on to the shingle at his feet.

‘I can—just about!’ Bethany’s voice was barely heard, taut and strained with emotion as she watched her rescuer plunge confidently into the water and swim out with easy, efficient strokes towards the rock that was now rapidly disappearing beneath the sea.

His deeply tanned, muscular chest glistened as he heaved himself out beside her. Water streamed through his short dark hair and he smoothed it back easily from his face with one large, capable hand.

‘What’s your name?’

‘B-Bethany. Bethany Jones.’

‘Well, Bethany Jones, you’re lucky I was passing,’ he informed her laconically. ‘This is a pretty empty spot, isn’t it? I’m Chad, by the way,’ he added carelessly. ‘Chad Alington. How long have you been here?’

‘I’m... I’m not sure.’ Bethany gulped a breath, avoiding the thought that the name suited this dark, dynamic individual rather well, and glanced around at the swirling sea. ‘I was very tired and I fell asleep...and the tide... well, it just seemed to come in so quickly.’

‘Yeah, it has a habit of doing that,’ he drawled. ‘In and out, in and out, all day long.’ He threw her a withering look. ‘I suppose it’s never occurred to you to check the times of high tide?’

‘Look, it wasn’t that! I knew the tide was coming in!’ Bethany retorted, angry at this man’s sneering tone. ‘But I fell asleep—not just a light doze, a real deep... Hey! What do you think you’re doing?’

He had snatched the towel from around Bethany’s shoulders and tossed it away. ‘Well, come on! Get in!’ His voice was deep and rough with impatience. ‘You’re obviously cold.’ His dark brown eyes surveyed her body briefly, the firm corners of his mouth curving a little in mocking amusement as Bethany instinctively wrapped her arms protectively around her suddenly far too skimpy bikini. ‘I don’t think we’ve got a great deal of time for modesty, Miss Jones,’ he pointed out coolly. ‘The wind’s getting up and the sea is becoming choppier all the time. You do want to head back for the shore, I take it?’

‘Of course I do!’ Bethany snapped, confused by the arrogant brusqueness of the man. ‘But I’m really not a very good swimmer——’

‘Look, are you going to get in or not?’ he asked impatiently. ‘Because frankly I’ve got better things to do with my time than hang about here chatting! The sea is becoming rougher, and not only that, if we leave it much longer the path back up towards the cliff will become completely cut off.’

‘But... but... I can’t! It’s not that easy for met’ Bethany protested frantically. ‘I’ve just told you, I’m not much of a swimmer and the sea’s so strong. I’ll get caught up in the current or smashed up against the other rocks. Can’t... can’t you call the rescue services or something?’ she added, staring hopefully into the handsome face, noticing despite everything how sensationally attractive her short-tempered, totally unsympathetic rescuer was.

‘You mean you fancied a full-scale airlift? A couple of Sea King helicopters, that sort of thing?’ The firm, sensuous mouth twisted derisively. ‘Just because you were stupid enough to allow yourself to fall asleep? And I suppose you fancy a little bit of media coverage while you’re at it?’ he continued sarcastically. ‘Front-page spread of the local rag? Or perhaps that isn’t good enough, perhaps national coverage is more your style?’

Bethany pursed her lips and glared into the disapproving features. ‘There’s no need to be so unkind!’ she snapped. ‘You don’t know how long I’ve been stuck here, calling and calling, waiting for somebody to come——’

‘Well, I’m here now!’ He interrupted bluntly, not affected in the slightest by her valiant struggle to hold back the tears. ‘So you can stop getting hysterical and start listening.’

Bethany felt fierce anger rising. She couldn’t believe this man! How could he be so horrible to her? Mocking her, making her feel as though she had a brain the size of a pea... ‘I’m not sure I want to listen to someone as... as insensitive as you!’ she replied impulsively. ‘I think I’d rather drown than give your over-sized ego the satisfaction of rescuing me!’

He shrugged nonchalantly. ‘Suit yourself! I’ll swim back on my own.’ He dived back into the water. ‘See you around! Maybe.’

Bethany watched in absolute horror as he began swimming back towards the shore. ‘Wait!’ she yelled furiously. ‘Come back! What do you think you’re doing?’ She glanced down at the small patch of rock at her feet and then threw a bewildered look at Chad Alington’s infuriating figure. He surely wasn’t going to leave her here—not really! No one would do that, would they? She called again, frantically this time, as the belief that maybe this man was capable of that brand of callousness took a hold. There was certainly no hesitation in his strokes, no sign that he had even heard her calling... ‘I’m sorry!’ Bethany yelled, as a last resort. ‘I didn’t mean what I said. Please...please come back!’

He took his time, circling slowly, and then, with a sigh of relief, Bethany saw that he was returning to the rock.

‘That...that was a mean thing to do.’ Her voice was unsteady, her eyes full of reproach.

‘You said you didn’t want me to rescue you,’ he replied without the least sign of remorse. ‘There was no way I was going to risk taking an unwilling female back to shore.’ His mouth curved fluidly. ‘All that struggling and screaming—very tiresome. So, are you going to get in or are we to have a little more dithering and indecisiveness first?’

You arrogant swine! Bethany thought grimly as she lowered herself into the chilly, unwelcoming brine.

‘I’ll take you back to shore,’ he announced steadily. ‘All you have to do is relax and rely on me. What you are not to do is start struggling like an idiot as soon as some water goes over your face, or you’ll drown us both. Got it?’ Bethany bit down on her bottom lip and nodded, noting despairingly how easy it was for him to tread water—she had never, ever been able to do that properly. ‘Now, lie on your back and kick with your feet a little... yes, that’s fine. I’m going to put my hand under your chin like this...see? Good—just relax and stay like that.’

It was far, far easier than she had imagined. What had terrified her so much was simply not a problem now that Chad Alington had taken charge. His strong supporting hand never left her body and despite the fear and tension of the situation and the fact that she was totally, totally dependent on this arrogant disconcerting stranger, Bethany found, amazingly, that she was able to do as he had instructed and relax.

The sea had eaten up all of the beach now. After what felt like eternity, but was in fact less than five minutes, Bethany felt the delight of firm shingle beneath her feet and, with a gasp of relief, waded thankfully through the water towards the small ledge of rock which would lead them both to safety.

‘Here, take my hand.’ He wasn’t even out of breath. Bethany glanced upwards as she felt her fingers clasped with absolute authority, and thanked heaven that, despite his foul personality, her rescuer was someone as strong and capable as this man.

Bethany, panting from the exertion of the steep climb, snatched her hand from Chad Alington’s grasp as soon as they reached the top of the cliff.

She knew she should feel elated, or at the very least relieved and eternally grateful to him, now that the danger had subsided, but different emotions were taking the place of panic, fear and despair. Embarrassment and an awareness of herself in relation to this stunning member of the opposite sex for one. She was far too scantily clad; she had been keen to soak up as many of the sun’s rays as possible and her bikini consisted of three floral triangles of cloth which covered little except the bare minimum.

Bethany saw the dark eyes flick towards her body and rest there in slow arrogant appraisal, a lazy smile transforming the firm straight mouth. ‘I think you need a little adjustment,’ Chad drawled with unhurried ease.

‘Pardon?’ She frowned, thrown into flustered confusion by the lingering gaze that made her body burn. ‘What do you——?’

‘The sea has rearranged your clothing for you, Bethany,’ Chad delivered conversationally. ‘I’m enjoying the view, but I think maybe you would prefer it if a little more was left to the imagination.’

Bethany felt the heated flush rise from her neck and dropped her head, struggling clumsily to reposition her bikini top more decently. She had climbed all the way up the path practically topless, she thought with a pang of despair. No wonder he had been smiling!

‘I’ll be all right now!’ she replied stiffly, throwing him as frosty a look as she could muster, trying to cover her tall, slim body ineffectually with her arms.

‘Where do you live?’ He glanced around casually, not in the least perturbed, it seemed, by Bethany’s angry demeanour. ‘That large house is the only place for miles around, isn’t it?’ He indicated the grey stone building away towards the right. ‘I understood that the beach is a part of that property.’

‘Y-Yes.’ Bethany cast her eyes towards the imposing, grey-turreted edifice. ‘But I don’t live there,’ she explained a trifle stiffly. ‘It’s empty—has been for several years.’

‘Ah, I see, so you just make use of the beach.’ Dark brown eyes rested impassively on Bethany’s face.

His tone was without emphasis but Bethany knew, she just knew, that he was trying to make a point. ‘Yes,’ she retorted snappily, striving without much success to keep her temper in check. ‘But I don’t know why you’re looking at me like that! I’m not a criminal, you know! There’s no crime in——’

Dark brows lifted slightly. ‘Trespassing?’

‘I don’t do any harm,’ Bethany replied tightly. ‘Just——’

‘Just fall asleep and get stranded on rocks in the middle of the sea!’ he delivered with infuriating mockery. ‘Not an everyday occurrence, I trust?’

‘I’ve explained about that!’ Bethany replied swiftly. ‘There’s no need to talk to me as if I’m a total idiot!’

‘So it seems prosecution holds no fear for you, then?’

‘What?’ Bethany queried shortly. ‘Look,’ she continued, reading the undercurrent of mocking amusement correctly, ‘I’ve just told you the place is empty! And anyway I don’t see why I shouldn’t use the beach. It’s a crying shame to let such beauty go to waste, and as all I have to do is cut across a few metres of rough ground...’ She halted abruptly, aware that she sounded overtly defensive. ‘I don’t do any harm!’ she added, annoyed with herself for letting this infuriating man get under her skin.

‘Of course you don’t!’ He was winding her up. She saw his mouth curve into a smile and refused to acknowledge the effect it had on her. ‘So what happens when somebody finally buys the place?’ he asked. ‘Your little jaunts will have to stop then, won’t they?’

‘Buy the prison?’ Bethany saw his brows draw down in query. ‘That’s what I call it,’ she informed him hurriedly. ‘It looks as if it was built with the sole purpose of keeping people incarcerated, don’t you think? I shouldn’t imagine anyone in their right mind would buy that! Even if they were mad enough to like the depressing façade, they couldn’t be fool enough to take on such a crumbling wreck. It may look structurally OK from the outside, but inside it’s a mess.’

She saw his interested gaze and blushed madly again.

‘You know that for a fact? How?’

‘Well...well, I’ve had a bit of a look around,’ she admitted reluctantly, realising that nerves had made her gabble and consequently blurt out far too much. ‘Most of the main windows are boarded up, but there’s a small pantry window around the back that’s open——’

‘So, breaking and entering as well as trespassing!’ Chad shook his head in mocking astonishment. ‘You really don’t have any respect for the law at all, do you, Bethany Jones!’

She blushed again, much to her own annoyance, and wondered why she was even bothering to have this conversation with so infuriating a man. ‘I have to go!’ she muttered stiffly, turning away. ‘It’s getting late.’

‘Where exactly?’ His voice was blunt. A strong hand had reached out.

Bethany looked down at the tanned fingers which lightly clasped her arm and then into the arrogant face. ‘Would you mind letting go of me?’ she retorted stiffly.

‘There’s no need to react as though I’m molesting you,’ Chad informed her steadily. ‘I just want to know where you live.’

“That’s...my business!’

His gaze wandered with critical deliberation over her semi-naked body and Bethany felt the by now familiar surge of heat. ‘You surely aren’t going to walk back into town looking like that!’

‘And what if I am?’ Bethany enquired unsteadily, jerking her arm out of contact with his hand. ‘I don’t see that that’s any concern of yours!’

‘Look, lady, quit the play-acting!’ Chad drawled lazily. ‘You forfeited the right to act all high and mighty when you clung to that rock in the middle of the ocean and begged for rescue——’

‘I did not beg!’ Bethany retorted vehemently, glaring furiously at the relaxed handsome features.

‘No?’ He raised a dark brow and managed with that one expression to convey derisive disbelief. ‘Funny. I distinctly remember a pathetic wail carrying across the water.’ He threw her a challenging look. ‘Wasn’t that you?’

‘There’s no need to be sarcastic!’ Bethany retorted, eyes flashing furiously.

‘And there’s no need for you to act like a dense child!’ Chad commented smoothly. ‘You know damn well that you’re not exactly dressed for jaunting along the byways and highways—even rural Devon has its dangers! That outfit may be fine for the beach but it’s absolutely guaranteed to give you trouble with every red-blooded male between here and town. Good God, woman! Have you looked in a mirror lately?’ he asked, shaking his head disbelievingly. ‘You’re blonde and you’re beautiful. Don’t disappoint me and act like a bimbo to boot! Hardly a week passes without some report in the papers of women abducted, raped or——’

‘OK! OK! I get the picture!’ Bethany snapped, aware that this man’s references to her physical attributes had shockingly given her a little surge of pleasure. ‘I can do without the lecture, thank you very much!’ She hesitated a fraction. ‘I’m...I’m fully aware of how disgustingly men can behave! And despite what you so clearly would like to believe, I am not totally stupid! So there’s no need for you to concern yourself. I can take care of myself perfectly well, thank you!’

‘And there was I imagining I’d just rescued you from a rock in the middle of the sea!’ Chad drawled with perfect and infuriating timing. ‘How mistaken can a man be?’

‘That was different and you know it!’ Bethany blazed.

The firm mouth curved with derision. ‘How?’

‘Because...because...’ She floundered badly, hating the fact that she felt foolish and inarticulate in front of this assured, arrogant man. ‘Oh, I live over there!’ she replied with breathless irritation. She raised a hand and pointed towards a simple wooden shack that nestled in a slight hollow and was almost completely hidden by a clump of sturdy oak trees. ‘Well, go on then!’ she added sharply, as Chad surveyed the building impassively for several silent seconds. ‘Say it!’

The dark brows drew together. ‘Say what, exactly?’ His voice was cool, his gaze steady on Bethany’s flushed face.

‘ “But it’s a hovel!” or “You’re kidding me, surely? You mean to say you actually live in a place like that?”’ She was a good mimic and each line held a perfect imitation of the various voices that had uttered the phrases over the past eighteen months. ‘Everyone thinks the same,’ she informed him briskly. ‘So you may as well come right out and say what you’re thinking, like all the rest!’

She began striding towards her tumble-down home, regretting the loss of her well-worn and much loved sandals, that had disappeared into the sea along with the rest of her sunbathing equipment, as her soles came into contact with the rough, hard-baked earth of the mud track.

‘Is it a hovel?’

‘I don’t think so.’ He had fallen into step alongside. Bethany had hoped desperately that this far too attractive, far too controlled man would somehow just disappear and leave her in peace; she didn’t want strangers upsetting her equilibrium, she didn’t want this man from another world making her feel self-conscious and inadequate all over again. She had been through that once and it had not been a pleasurable experience.

Bethany threw Chad a glance that bristled animosity. ‘I think it’s perfectly habitable.’

‘You live here permanently?’

They were through the gate now, crossing Bethany’s intensively worked front garden with its neat rows of vegetables. ‘Does it look like a holiday cottage?’ she asked waspishly, turning to face him. ‘Look, I’m damp and I’m chilly. Would you mind?’

‘Would I mind what?’ Chad crossed his arms across his damp, sculptured, bronzed chest and surveyed Bethany with a casual gaze.

‘Leaving!’ Bethany enunciated clearly, knowing full well his density was deliberate. ‘If you don’t mind!’

‘So this is the thanks I get for saving your life, is it?’ he enquired, a faint smile touching his lips. ‘You’re not a very grateful girl, are you?’

A frisson of something approaching fear scorched its way up her spine. ‘What...what do you mean?’ Bethany’s voice was taut suddenly. It had been eighteen months since she had heard that phrase. Eighteen long months. She stiffened, unaware of what Chad was saying any more, gripping the heavy knob of the cabin door until her knuckles whitened, remembering... Grateful! How many times had Philip cursed her for not being grateful? A hundred? A thousand times? She was his wife and there were certain wifely duties that were expected. How dared she refuse him? How dared she cower in the corner looking frightened! And after all that he had done for her too! Didn’t she have a lifestyle that a thousand women would die for? Didn’t she want for nothing?

‘P-please...!’ There was a faint note of desperation in Bethany’s voice. Stupid, stupid memories! She shouldn’t be thinking about all that now. She raised her face and implored, with wide, luminous green eyes, ‘Don’t... don’t talk like that...’

‘What’s the matter?’ The deep voice was sharp, but not like Philip’s; his had been higher, the vowels twisted in that strange manner that signified someone from the upper classes. When he had shouted her nerves had jangled at the sound of irate instability, her body trembling because she could anticipate only too well what would be coming next...

Bethany felt the firm grip of Chad’s hands on her shoulders. ‘Hey! Are you with me? What is it? Don’t you feel well?’

She shook her head and tried to drag her thoughts back from the past. This voice was strong and resonant. It wasn’t Philip. She must not think of him; that part of her life was all gone...gone. He couldn’t hurt her any more...

Bethany inhaled a deep breath and looked up into Chad’s face. She was acting like a fool...The first man to come anywhere near her since moving out here and she was acting like a complete idiot! ‘If you would just... just go!’ She thought she had regained control but, to her shame, hot tears stung her eyes and with a small, strangled sob she wrenched herself from Chad’s grasp, fumbled with the door-catch and flung herself inside the cabin.

‘I can’t leave you like this.’ He moved into the clean, spartan room, practically filling the small space with his tall, broad frame, and looked at Bethany’s tense face, a perplexed frown creasing his forehead. ‘Was it something I said?’

Bethany shook her head and brushed the tears wildly from her cheeks with the back of her hand. It was, of course, but if she said as much, tried to explain... ‘Look, please...!’ She gulped back a sob and placed a trembling hand over her eyes. ‘It’s not you...please just go... I’ll be fine...fine...’ Her voice trailed away as a vision, sharp and real enough to make her frown, flew into her head. Philip with his hand raised in anger. Philip with that alcoholic leer that always, always made her cringe... Why was she allowing the thoughts to invade now? Why?

‘You look far from fine to me!’ Chad commented, surveying her huddled form with a critical eye. He moved towards her, his gaze narrowing sharply as Bethany shrank back from his outstretched hands. ‘Hey, come on!’ His voice was as reassuring as the hand that gently stroked the fine damp strands of hair away from Bethany’s face. ‘There’s nothing to be afraid of! I’m not going to hurt you, for heaven’s sake.’ Bethany opened her mouth to speak but there were no words. She closed her eyes, her body rigid with confusion and shaky mistrust. ‘Don’t make me feel bad,’ Chad murmured, ‘I’m not always such a swine.’

‘It...it doesn’t matter.’ Bethany pressed a clenched fist to her mouth and worked hard at preventing an embarrassing flood of tears from flowing down her cheeks.

‘But it does.’ Chad placed firm hands on Bethany’s arms and turned her gently towards his strong, magnificent torso. ‘You really must not pay any heed to my rough, brusque outer shell. My name comes from the Welsh, meaning battle—maybe that’s why I come on so strong sometimes. Beneath it all I’m as weak and gentle as a kitten—honestly! Ah! That’s better!’ He tilted Bethany’s face towards his and looked approvingly at the small half-smile that had sprung automatically to her lips. ‘Does that mean I’m forgiven?’ he enquired smoothly, shockingly slipping his arms around her waist, drawing her close towards the rugged physique. ‘Can I leave you with my conscience absolutely clear?’

Bethany nodded, staring up into the compelling face in silence. She felt strange. She wasn’t sure what was happening, but the thought of this man leaving her alone left her with an empty, hollow feeling inside.

‘You...saved my life.’ Bethany struggled to breathe, searching frantically through her mind for something else to say, something trivial and mundane that would break this...this ridiculous spell. ‘I haven’t even thanked you.’

‘Don’t mention it.’ His voice, when it finally came, was slightly rough, husky suddenly. Dark eyes glimmered down at her, transfixing Bethany with their magnetic force. ‘This is all the thanks I need...’ He lowered his head and his mouth brushed hers without warning, moving slowly and surely over her parted lips in a kiss that was pure expert seduction. ‘I didn’t mean to make you cry,’ he murmured gently, raising his head after a moment, looking down into Bethany’s stunned face. ‘I was angry when I rescued you from the sea. A foolish argument with someone else. I shouldn’t have taken it out on you.’

‘It...it doesn’t matter...’ Her voice was barely audible as she gazed into the stunningly handsome face. She swallowed, amazement stalling her expression. ‘You...you kissed me.’

His mouth curved into an attractive smile at the sheer wonderment in Bethany’s voice. ‘I’m glad you noticed. Would you like me to do it again?’

It had felt good, so good...warm...real...

‘Bethany?’ Chad’s voice was smooth and deep, a husky growl that sent shivers of awareness down her spine. ‘If you keep looking at me like that,’ he murmured warningly, ‘with those desperately beautiful green eyes, that make me want to believe a million impossible things, then I may not be totally responsible for my actions. Bethany!’ His voice was stronger, urgent suddenly. She felt the warmth of his breath on her face, the surge of power through his hands as they dragged her even closer against his hard, rugged length. ‘Do you understand what I’m saying?’ he asked sharply. One hand tilted her chin to prevent her from lowering her head. ‘Are you listening, Bethany?’

She felt as if she were in a dream. Her heart was pounding, her mind barely comprehending the words that were spoken with such dynamic force. Feelings she had never experienced before were stirring inside her. The emptiness, the loneliness—they didn’t seem to be there any more. How could it be? How could this man make her feel this way?

‘Chad...!’ His name was a scorch of emotion on her lips, no sooner spoken than crushed by the erotic pressure of his mouth.

She waited for pain, revulsion, sickness to rise up and overwhelm her, and when there was none, only passion and a deep frantic longing that leaped out of nowhere, shocking her with its intensity, Bethany sagged like a helpless invalid against the raw male strength, gripped the bronzed skin with a feverish touch that only served to heighten the electricity that sparked between them and opened her mouth wider to accept the totally dominant mouth.

‘God, you’re so beautiful!’ She felt herself lifted after many, many minutes, her legs swung from beneath her by potent masculine arms. Chad carried her across the room to the rug that lay in front of the warming black stove, laid her gently back on to the striped rainbow rug, his mouth all the while continuing to consume her blazing skin, continuing to touch her with relentless, uncompromising passion. ‘This is crazy! Absolutely crazy!’ He spoke between kisses, his lips warm and moist against the soft skin of her throat, the tender places of her neck, his hands roaming and touching in a way that Bethany had never dreamed of. ‘You must know what you’re doing to me!’

‘Y-yes.’ Oh, God! What was wrong with her? She had forgotten how to breathe, how to move...

‘Chad...!’ Her voice was husky with tension. She couldn’t even begin to understand what was going on, how or why she found herself now in this position with...with a man who oozed vitality and sexuality, and Bethany gasped in shock as she experienced the scorch of bare flesh against bare flesh, felt his hands, warm and firm, holding her dose, cradling her body, moving it against his own as if it were the most precious thing in the world.

When had she ever been held like this? When had she ever experienced such exhilaration... such overwhelming need to be held and loved? Not until now, not until she found herself in the arms of this man, in the arms of a stranger...

She flinched. Through the heat of desire the realisation of what she was doing bit into her with all its dreadful force. What was happening to her? What was she thinking of?

‘I can’t!’ Bethany felt Chad’s body stiffen beside her, his hands cease their knowledgeable journey over her skin. She flicked open her dark lashes and found him breathing heavily, his brown eyes narrowed, scrutinising her face with an intense expression. ‘No!’ Bethany shook her head and closed her eyes in anguish. ‘This...this is crazy!’

‘You think I don’t know that?’ He raised himself up on one elbow and studied Bethany’s trembling features with an unflinching gaze. ‘But that doesn’t mean it’s wrong,’ he murmured, ‘does it?’

‘Yes, it does!’ Bethany replied wildly. ‘Of course it does! It has to be!’

He reached out to touch her again, but Bethany, shamed by her own lack of self-control, afraid of the power of his touch, hit out wildly, catching the carved profile with the edge of her loosely clenched fist.

‘No more!’ Chad’s large hand snaked out and gripped her wrist as her hand proceeded to strike out with erratic force. His dark eyes smouldered ominously. ‘I think I’ve got the message.’

He rose fluidly, gazing at Bethany with an expression that was beyond her comprehension. She had expected fury, anger, a slap in return maybe, all the old familiar reactions, but not this control, not this smouldering tension.

She gazed into the rugged planes of Chad’s face, her eyes drawn to the reddened place high up on his cheekbone where her fist had landed. ‘You think I deserved this?’ he enquired, gesturing to his face, a grim curve twisting his mouth as Bethany scrambled hastily to her feet.

‘Y-yes!’ He didn’t; she knew that. But admitting as much to this man would be too humiliating for words.

‘Really?’ His gaze was impassive: straight and direct. She saw what he thought of her answer, what he thought of her. ‘OK, if lying about it makes you feel better...’ He lifted his broad shoulders in a shrug. ‘I’ll even apologise—then you’ll really be able to salve your conscience. We can pretend that I took unfair advantage. A lie, of course, because you wanted me as much as I wanted you.’

‘Don’t say that!’ Bethany’s voice vibrated with smouldering tension. ‘Get out! Get out of my house now!’

She turned then, with glistening eyes, and ran towards the doorway that led to her tiny, functional bedroom and flicked the catch firmly behind her.

I wanted him. I wanted him. The words repeated themselves endlessly in her mind. Over and over.

With trembling fingers she peeled the damp bikini from her body and rummaged like an automaton in the small chest of drawers beside her bed for something—anything—to wear. She dragged on a pair of loose jeans and buttoned up a crisp, cotton shirt.

‘I still want him,’ Bethany whispered frantically, disbelievingly. He had touched her and the ache of longing wouldn’t go away.

It was a long while before she finally dragged up enough courage to open the door of her room. When she emerged, she saw that Chad Alington had gone.