Читать книгу Betrayal - Maggie Cox, Maggie Cox - Страница 9

The heat of the fire was making her drowsy. Brenna deliberately widened her eyes as she reached forward for her cup of tea. Before she could get to it, from the other side of the ponderous oak table, Fin beat her to it. With a charming smile that was bordering on dazzling, he handed her the delicate porcelain cup and saucer and completely disarmed her. Feeling like she’d just reached the end of a path with a sheer drop at the end of it, she managed to stop her hand from shaking as she accepted it.

At all costs she had to keep a level head round this man, especially until she met up again with Nick. She didn’t want either of them to have the advantage over her.

‘Thanks.’ Taking a sip of fragrant Earl Grey tea, she leant back against the comfortable upholstery of the sumptuous sofa. Immense fatigue washed over her, just as though someone had slipped a sleeping tablet into her beverage. She supposed it was due to the combination of an early-morning start, then the long drive to reach the hotel, then the banked-up emotion that had been simmering constantly since she’d received Nick’s letter. Right then Brenna had the strongest desire to succumb to it – to simply give in and not fight it. But she couldn’t. Not when there was so much at stake. ‘So … do you work in the film industry too, Mr Malone?’

His eyebrow shot up at the question. Fin didn’t intend to give up on getting Brenna to call him by his first name but for now he would let it go. At least the lady was making conversation, not simply glaring at him with those gorgeous brown eyes of hers in deep suspicion as she was apt to do.

‘I was once. Up until a couple of years ago I’d worked as a stuntman for fifteen years. I busted my leg once too often, I’m afraid. Now I’m a stunt director with my own company. Less action but more pay so I’m not complaining.’

‘And how did you meet Nick?’

‘We met on a film set a few years back. He was between shots and I was on a break so we got talking. I guess you could say we hit it off and from time to time we meet up for a beer.’

They were friends yes, but not ‘bosom pals’, Fin acknowledged silently, the thought surprising him. The truth was he had college pals he was closer to than Nick Balcon. The British director wasn’t someone he’d ever exactly refer to as a ‘buddy’.

It was hard for Brenna to imagine Nick enjoying a close friendship with anyone. He wasn’t the kind of man that seemed to crave such a bond with another human being. Because of his self-contained character he’d naturally created an aura of aloofness around him – a mystique. He hadn’t really needed Brenna either in the end. How else could he have left her so easily and moved to the States? Not even the knowledge that she was carrying his child had interrupted his plans.

A jolt of pain assaulted her insides. Five years … Five years with no word, and now this. Their affair had lasted a bare six months but it had seemed like a lifetime to Brenna, such had been the intensity of her feelings at the time. If he had any memory, any compassionate feeling for the hopeful, unsophisticated, unconfident young woman she’d been, how could he do this to her? How could he contemplate putting her through such agony, to churn up emotions best left alone to fade away in peace?

‘Tell me about Nancy.’

Her spine went rigid at the unexpected request. What was Fin Malone really doing here? Was he gathering information to pass on to Nick to use against her in some way? She hated being so cynical. It really wasn’t in her nature. But Nick Balcon had been the instigator of that cynicism and she was sorry to say that here in this plush country hotel, it was growing by the second.

‘Why?’

‘Because she’s your daughter and I’m interested. Do you have a photograph?’

There were two in her purse but Brenna wasn’t about to admit it. ‘No. I’m sorry.’

Fin exhaled a sigh and her eyes went reluctantly to his face, flicking over the disturbing blue eyes with their long feathery lashes, the strong almost aquiline nose, and the sensuously straight slash of his mouth. Disturbingly, there was a feeling of intense trepidation in the pit of her stomach as she cautiously examined him.

‘That’s a pity. I would have liked to have seen one.’

‘Do you have children yourself?’

‘No.’ A shutter came down, along with a definite wariness that hadn’t been evident before. Well, what did Brenna expect? She’d been anything but open with Fin Malone but then she had reason to be cautious. This man was Nick’s friend. That made him dangerous in her book … very dangerous.

‘Nick tells me that you taught dance?’ he commented conversationally and it was very evident to her that the previous topic was strictly off limits.

‘I still do. I teach ballet, jazz and tap at a local private school.’

‘Is that how you’ve supported yourself and Nancy?’ Leaning forward in his armchair, Fin rested his elbows on his big, jean-clad thighs and Brenna’s tongue cleaved to the roof of her mouth at the sheer unfettered physicality of the man.

‘That and a bit of bar work,’ she answered. Damn, she thought. She hadn’t meant to tell him as much as that. She could just imagine Nick looking down his nose at that particular snippet. And neither would it help her case if he took her to court for custody. No doubt his lawyers would make the whole scenario sound vaguely seedy.

Flushed with heat from the fireplace just a couple of feet away, her pinked cheeks grew even rosier.

‘I work in a local restaurant. I mean, it’s not an actual pub or anything like that. A friend of mine owns it. It’s a nice little place with a friendly atmosphere that serves exceptionally good food and it’s quite popular locally … to where I live, I mean …’

Realizing she was rambling because she was nervous of making any more unwitting mistakes, Brenna put her cup back down on the saucer with an inadvertent clatter and rose to her feet. She shouldn’t be talking to this man. It was too easy to let the suggestion of strength and dependability he exuded lull her into a false sense of security. Before she knew it, she’d be telling him her life story, including how difficult it had been to raise a child on her own with minimal money and support and that for four years she’d endured very little sleep because Nancy was a bright but anxious child plagued with nightmares that regularly woke Brenna during the night and cut her to the quick.

Then finally, she’d be confiding in him that she’d kept cuttings from all the newspapers or magazines she’d ever discovered about Nick so that one day she could show them to her daughter. Then Nancy could learn who her daddy was and maybe even be proud of him … But that would be far too much information to give to Fin. It would only provide ammunition for Nick and his more-than-likely slick and clever lawyers to enable him to get custody of Nancy. Her heartbeat slowed to an anxious thud inside her chest.

‘Thanks for the tea but I’m so tired I could literally drop. I think I should probably just go back to my room and lie down for a while.’

‘Are you sure?’

Fin got to his feet at the same time as she did, towering above her. He couldn’t deny he was fiercely disappointed that Brenna was cutting short their conversation. She might be as prickly as a porcupine with its needles erect, but with her gorgeous face and sexy curves she was so easy on the eye that he found he could easily overlook her less-than-friendly manner for a while. ‘I was just getting to know you a little bit better.’

‘No you weren’t.’ Slowly, Brenna moved her head from side to side. ‘That’s not going to happen because I won’t be here long enough.’

And with that, she fled from the seductive warmth of the Library to hurry along the thickly carpeted corridor to the lift back to the top of the house where her suite was located.

When she heard the phone ring a couple of hours later, Brenna rushed into the bedroom from the shower, a towel hastily wrapped round her sarong-style. Reaching for the receiver, she flopped down onto the big antique brass bed, spearing her fingers through her long damp tresses as she did so.

‘Hello?’

‘It’s Fin.’

She gulped down a breath and let it out again slowly.

‘You’ve heard from Nick?’

‘No. I just wanted to remind you about our dinner reservation.’

Another reprieve from the dreaded confrontation with Nancy’s father …

Brenna couldn’t curtail the strong sense of relief that swept through her. Glancing down at the little travel alarm clock she’d placed on the bedside table she saw that it was seven-thirty … dinner time. She couldn’t pretend she wasn’t hungry, even to save her pride. A girl couldn’t survive on tea and complimentary biscuits alone. But the thought of spending even the shortest time with Nicholas’s enigmatic emissary made her body tremble with disconcerting trepidation.

Oh, why had Nicholas done this to her? It was bad enough she had to be here at all without having the added dilemma of wondering how to conduct herself with his friend. A friend he’d apparently dispatched to ‘look out’ for her while she was there … whatever that meant. He obviously imagined she was still the same vulnerable, inexperienced young woman she’d been when they’d first met. Was he in for a surprise!

‘You’re not backing out on me?’ Fin’s voice with its disturbing rich timbre inadvertently caressed her ear and Brenna clutched the towel more securely to her chest, as if subconsciously protecting herself from too much sensation. That sexy voice seemed to have the power to reach parts of her that no other male had reached in five long years. Her body was pulsating in response to its sensual cadence, like a cat stroked into a state of bliss by its loving owner.

‘Not at all, I’m far too hungry to refuse your invitation,’ she admitted honestly and was doubly disconcerted to hear him chuckle.

‘Does that mean you’re feeling better after your lie-down?’

‘You could say that.’

‘Good. Then I’ll meet you in the bar at eight.’

Laying out his shaving gear on the bathroom shelf beneath the mirror, Fin confessed to feeling more than a little bit pleased that Brenna hadn’t flat out refused his dinner invitation. Whether he could ultimately placate her fears or not where Nick was concerned was not something he was going to fret about. Nick was a clever, articulate guy who could perfectly well state his own case without needing Fin to do it for him. Already Brenna was suspicious of his friendship with her ex – clearly believing he’d been sent on ahead to promote Nick’s ‘good name’ and convince her that he meant only the best for Nancy. Now that he’d met his friend’s arresting and feisty ex and gleaned the situation from her point of view, Fin had to confess to not feeling entirely comfortable in the role of flag bearer for Nick.

It was clear to him that the woman was in a lot of pain over her situation – who wouldn’t be in the circumstances? Brenna obviously believed that she was under threat and maybe she was? Perhaps her fears that Nick’s wealth and position would have an influential bearing on any desire he had regarding custody of Nancy were actually founded in some truth?

Fin thought about that. About the real possibility that Nick might take Brenna to court for full custody of their daughter instead of joint custody and he wished he’d quizzed his friend more about his intentions before agreeing to divert his vacation plans to go straight to London and travel out into the English countryside to meet up with Brenna on his behalf.

But it was too late now and, like it or not, Fin appeared to be colluding with Nick to do whatever he saw fit regarding Brenna and Nancy. Feeling an unwelcome prickle of unease unravel down his spine, he stared at his reflection in the bathroom mirror and bit back a softly uttered curse.

After replacing the receiver, Brenna lifted it again to call her mother.

‘Mum, how are you? How’s Nancy?’

‘Brenna! We’re both fine, pet. The little darling has just helped me finish doing the dishes. How’s everything going? Have you spoken to Nicholas?’

At the underlying thread of anxiety in her mother’s voice, Brenna quickly rallied to inflect optimism in hers.

‘Everything’s just fine, Mum. Nick hasn’t arrived yet because he’s been delayed but I’m hoping he’ll get here very soon.’

‘If he offers to help financially, don’t you dare even think of turning him down!’ Elsa Stewart warned sternly.

Brenna’s stomach lurched. She wouldn’t take a penny of that man’s money even if her life depended on it. She’d already done her best to explain as much to her mother, but Elsa had seen how her daughter was working herself into the ground with two jobs to keep everything together and she didn’t want the same relentless struggle that she’d endured for her daughter or granddaughter. Brenna understood, but the mere idea of accepting Nick’s financial help made her feel distinctly uneasy. The last thing she wanted was for the man to have some kind of ‘hold’ over her, no matter how tenuous. Besides, it was five years too late and that was a fact.

‘We haven’t even talked yet, Mum, so I’ve no idea what he wants to do.’

‘He said in his letter that he wanted shared custody of Nancy. I don’t think you’ll be able to talk him out of that idea if he wants it and you’ll be a fool if you do, pet. Don’t you think it’s about time you accepted some help? I won’t be here for ever, you know.’

Brenna bit down on her lip. ‘I know that, Mum. But at the end of the day I’ll do whatever I think is best for Nancy. She’s the priority here, not me. And I’m nowhere near convinced that having Nick in her life is the best thing.’

‘You’ve let what happened make you bitter. Let it go, love. Promise me you’ll work something out between the two of you that will benefit you all? You deserve a break, Brenna. A rest, at least.’

‘Mum, I’m fit and strong and not about to collapse any time soon. Look at you, you’ve worked all your life from the age of sixteen and you’re still fighting fit.’

‘Don’t use me as an example, pet. It’s taken its toll and that’s the truth. Don’t end up like me – alone and disappointed – when you could easily have so much more.’

‘Can I talk to Nancy now?’ Her breath escaping on a sigh, Brenna stared doggedly down at her ring-less fingers. Her mother had had her late in life and came from a different era, she mused – an era where for some women marriage was still ultimately the goal. More than ever nowadays, single parents were common. Brenna was just one of many. Besides … she didn’t intend to compromise her independence by being a drain on anyone … least of all Nick Balcon, even if he could easily afford it. She’d always believed in paying her own way and that wasn’t going to change anytime soon.

‘Mummy, when are you coming home? I miss you lots.’

At the sound of her daughter’s softly childish tones, Brenna melted. How she wished her little girl was with her now. What she wouldn’t give for the chance to just bury her face in her daughter’s silken dark curls and smell that sweet baby smell that even now as a four-year-old seemed to grow sweeter day by day.

‘Baby, I’ll be home soon … Just one more day, sweetheart, I promise. One more day and I’ll be driving home to you and Nana. Have you been a good girl? Nana says you’ve been helping her wash the dishes?’

‘We’ve been very busy doing housework and Nana says she couldn’t manage without me. I’m glad you’re coming home tomorrow. Will you bring me the comic I asked you for?’

‘Of course I will, sweetheart. I’ll pick one up at a service station on the way home. Take care now, darling. Mummy will see you tomorrow.’

There was the sound of a heartfelt kiss being blown into the receiver and Nancy’s dulcet little voice saying ‘I love you, Mummy’.

‘I love you too, sweetheart.’

The line clicked and returned to the dial tone. Brenna felt like crying. But she wouldn’t give into the need when she was meeting Fin Malone in the bar in a very short while. There was no way she was going to let him see her emotions laid bare again. How did she know he wasn’t going to feed it back to Nick to use against her in some way? No. She’d have a glass of wine for Dutch courage, she mused, then try to enjoy her meal and keep calm. In any case, she had to keep up her strength if she was going to be a match for Nancy’s father when he finally deigned to show up …

She slipped into the intimately lit bar, fervently hoping to pass relatively unnoticed. But even as she hovered briefly in the doorway, several male heads swivelled towards her with speculative regard. Fin Malone was one of them. He’d been chatting with the young uniformed barman but when he saw the man stop drying the glass in his hand to stare transfixed over his shoulder, the American turned slowly to see what had suddenly captured his attention. Heat – hot, hard and sensual – slammed into his gut when he did. In those few highly charged seconds, he honestly believed he’d never seen a woman more alluring than Brenna Stewart and he’d seen a lot of lovely women in his time. She had little adornment to complement the slinky black dress she wore that floated elegantly down to her ankles, but then what adornment did she need with that eye-catching cleavage and silky waist-length black hair? When she spotted him and started to move across the room towards him, Fin sensed a very satisfying male pride swell in his chest. She moved like a dream, too. Maybe it had something to do with her dance training? Whatever it was, the woman was possessed of the kind of grace that couldn’t be bought or learnt. Nick had told him that she was a real beauty, but nothing could have prepared Fin for the sensual, spine-tingling reality that was Brenna.

‘Am I late?’ She blushed as she drew up beside him and Fin reached up to loosen the collar of his shirt slightly beneath his tuxedo. Suddenly the formal clothing was too warm for comfort.

‘It’s a lady’s prerogative. What would you like to drink?’

‘A glass of dry white wine please.’

After getting their drinks, by mutual consent they moved to a secluded corner table away from the too interested glances of some of the bar’s other inhabitants. When they finally sat down, Brenna expelled a long shaky breath of grateful relief. Could everyone tell she felt like a fish out of water in this scenario? she wondered. Self-consciousness descended like a heavily lined cloak and she almost jumped out of her skin when Fin leant across the table to speak to her. He looked very handsome in his tuxedo. Too handsome for words, Brenna thought wildly, as appreciation and desire set her heart pounding. She almost didn’t know where to rest her gaze.

‘You look stunning.’ Crystal-blue eyes drifted lazily downwards to her cleavage, to the shadowy cleft between her full breasts, highlighted by the balconette bodice of her dress. Brenna hadn’t meant to be provocative but the dress was the only one she possessed that had seemed to fit the bill for the occasion. Fin’s appreciative male glance, however, now made her question the wisdom of wearing it. The little flare of heat in his eyes that he hadn’t been able to hide scorched her skin as though he had caressed her body in the most intimate way. How was she supposed to keep her cool when inside she was blazing like a furnace?

‘It’s an old dress.’ Her fingers clutched the stem of her wineglass as if using it to anchor her senses. ‘I don’t often have reason to wear it.’

‘That’s a shame.’

‘That’s a matter of opinion. I’m not interested in decking myself up to go out, to be honest. I’d rather be home with Nancy any day than enduring some fancy occasion with people I have nothing in common with.’ Realizing her implication as soon as the words were out, Brenna was immediately contrite. It was one thing to speak your mind, quite another to cause offence.

‘I’m sorry. I didn’t mean—’

‘I’ve been sitting here wondering what you’re like when you’re not so angry or defensive,’ Fin calmly cut in. Though right now, being the full-blooded male that he was, he couldn’t deny the provocative appeal of breasts heaving in a low-cut dress because their lovely owner was irate.

‘You’ll probably never find that out.’

‘Can I ask why?’

‘Look, I have every right to be angry and defensive! My life was perfectly fine until I got that damned letter from Nick a few days ago. How would you like someone to put you in the position he’s put me in, to have power over you in some way just because he provided the necessary chromosome to make a baby? An event he was singularly uninterested in at the time, I hasten to add, and has been uninterested in for the past five years? Now he thinks he can summon me just like that because he has the brass nerve to decide he wants joint custody of my daughter.’ At the arresting sight of a muscle flexing in the side of the American’s lean sculpted cheek, she paused, her breathing harried.

‘His daughter too, Brenna,’ he quietly reminded her. ‘Look … I don’t think for one second that Nick wants to make trouble. He only wants access to his child … to see her sometimes. Is that really so terrible? He’s a very wealthy man. He can provide things for her that will undoubtedly enhance her life: a good education, opportunities to travel and meet new people. He’s not trying to take her away from you.’ But even as Fin mouthed the words he had a horrible feeling that he was uttering them with very little belief in their content.

‘And do you think the things I provide, like love, care and attention, food and a roof over her head, don’t enhance her life?’

‘Did I say that?’ Fin’s expression suggested such cool implacability that it made Brenna even madder.

‘If Nick gets shared custody, then Nancy will probably have to spend part of the year in America. It will completely disrupt our lives. It’s an impossible situation and he has no right to—’

‘Whether you like it or not, he is her father. You’re both adults. You’ll work something out. Nancy won’t suffer if the two of you are absolutely committed to her welfare. I’m sure Nick would want nothing less.’

‘You really are his buddy, aren’t you?’ Her voice as scathing as she could make it, Brenna levered herself to her feet, eyes blazing. ‘If he isn’t here by midday tomorrow, I’m packing my bags and going home. End of story. You can tell him from me that if he can’t be bothered to turn up when he arranges a date and time for a meeting then he can forget the whole thing! I have a life, responsibilities. I don’t have the luxury of being able to sit here and wait until he deigns to honour me with his presence. You tell him that from me, Mr Malone!’

‘Brenna?’

But she was disappearing through the door of the bar before Fin had even got to his feet, before he even had a chance to defend himself and the stance he was taking on Nick’s behalf.

Drumming his fingers on the smooth polished surface of the table, he murmured a colourful expletive. When Nick had asked him to do him this favour he’d had his reservations considering the delicacy of the situation, but Lord knows he hadn’t expected a woman with so much fire in her veins that she threatened to ignite them both into an inferno whenever they were together. Intensely frustrated and annoyed, he picked up his glass and downed the contents in one hit. A few minutes later, he got up and went to the bar. The young barman threw him a sympathetic glance. Stony-faced, Fin took out his wallet.

‘Give me another bourbon,’ he irritably ground out.

Brenna’s eyes flew open at the insistent-sounding knock at the door. She’d been dozing in one of the armchairs, her body and mind exhausted with the sheer intensity of emotion she’d expended during the day. She was hungry too … ravenous, in fact. The growl in her stomach as she moved reminded her that wounded pride had cost her her dinner.

‘Damn.’ She speared her fingers through her hair, her mind racing with indecision. If Fin Malone was mad at her then he had every right. She’d acted appallingly downstairs in the bar. If she were him, she’d definitely be giving her a wide berth from now on. Suddenly the knock had a voice to accompany it.

‘For God’s sake, Brenna, open the door. I’m not quitting until you hear what I have to say.’

Steeling herself, she made herself move. He came in through the door without a word, broad shoulders sweeping past her with such an air of purpose that she hesitated briefly before closing the door behind him. The frisson of electricity as he passed her was tangible, so much so that she shivered with the force of it.

‘If it’s an apology you want then I—’

‘Dammit, woman, what’s your problem?’ His blue eyes narrowing to angry slits, Fin spun round to address her. ‘You’ve got a chip on your shoulder a mile wide. I don’t blame you for feeling scared about what Nick might be proposing but when are you going to get it through your thick skull that you’re not under attack here? If you keep treating every damn meeting we have like some blasted confrontation then we’re going to get nowhere fast.’

‘I don’t need a lecture on how to behave, Mr Malone.’

‘Oh yes you do, sweetheart.’

With barely restrained ire, Fin bore down on her, yanking her arm towards him by the elbow. All the breath whooshed out of Brenna’s body in a heated rush. Up close, the man was like some invincible warrior – the expression on his handsome face grim and purposeful … resolute. There was no question he was intimidating. There also wasn’t any doubt that he was the one in charge of this situation. All the strength suddenly seemed to drain out of her body.

‘Stop fighting me. I’m not your enemy.’

She knew that he was going to kiss her even before his mouth descended. She had ample time to twist away but the thought never even entered her head. In fact, her lips opened almost immediately to receive him just as soon as his satin smooth flesh made contact. A bolt of shock and desire so strong and powerful ricocheted through her body from her mouth to her womb that it rooted her feet irrevocably to the floor. At the hot demanding invasion of his tongue, the clash of lips and teeth mingling with the taste of bourbon and man, Brenna groaned longingly into his mouth. A feeling of such intense need and desire pulsed through her that she thought she might faint from it. Five years without a man’s touch and she never even knew that she missed or needed it so much … needed it like someone drowning needs to suck in fresh air to breathe.

Even as her mind formed the thought, Fin’s hands moved urgently down to her waist and hauled her hard against him. Sweet heaven! But as his hands moulded themselves round her hips to pull her against the hard aroused evidence of his manhood, Brenna’s mind awoke with stinging and shocking clarity at the implications of what her body was so helplessly aching to do. She’d already made a fool of herself once. Was she so eager to repeat the experience? Her heart started to beat so fast that she could barely catch her breath.

‘No!’ Her hands came up to his chest to push him away. His body stiffened in protest and she sensed the warmth of his breath hover momentarily against her cheek. She bent her head in shame.

‘I’m sorry.’

Breathing hard, his expression almost dazed, Fin not only let her go, but actively pushed her away. He wiped the back of his hand across his mouth as if wiping away the taste of her.

‘Sorry for turning me on?’ He derisively shook his head. ‘God gives you a body like that and eyes a man could lose his soul to and all hell breaks loose. Not your fault, honey. However, I’m interested to know why the brittle “touch me not” act when you were clearly as interested in what was going on as me? We could have had a small conflagration going between us just now. Is this how you normally treat the men in your life?’

Shakily Brenna touched her cheek. Her skin did indeed feel as if it was on fire. What did he want from her? Was she supposed to feel ashamed because she’d briefly let her body capitulate to desire? Now he seemed to be suggesting that she was some kind of thoughtless tease.

‘There aren’t any men in my life. There hasn’t been anyone since Nick. I don’t even date.’

‘You don’t date?’ Fin stared at her as if she’d just uttered something totally incomprehensible. So what was she telling him? That she hadn’t made love with a man since Nick? Heat tore through his veins like a racing car speeding towards the chequered flag. In an instant he was hard and aching all over again. The woman was seriously getting to him and no mistake. He wished he’d never come here. If his sense of honour weren’t as such, he’d have told Nick to come and do his own dirty work. The woman was scared and hurting. Only a fool could imagine otherwise. Why else would she be so angry and defensive? Why else would she have stayed relationship-free since Nick walked out on her? That really bothered him.

Fin was privy to part of the reason Nick wanted to make contact with his child after all this time, but the unsettling feeling was growing inside him that perhaps his real motives were not as pure as Fin would like to think they were. How could he be sure that he’d told him the truth about anything? They were friends but really Nick Balcon was a law unto himself. A bit of a closed book, as some of their colleagues would describe him. Right then, Fin fervently wished he’d simply gone to dinner instead of staying in the bar and imbibing too much bourbon.