A Bad Enemy (6 page)

She swallowed. 'It isn't what you think…'

'As I've already told you, I've stopped thinking.' Jake put the glass down on the huge carved chest which stood against the wall next to him. 'I suggest you do the same. Just let your feelings take over. We may not like each other, Lisle, but I'm ready to bet any money that we have a common meeting ground just the same.'

He walked towards her, watching her, missing nothing, she thought desperately as she tried to steady her breathing, to control the hurry of her small breasts under the lace bodice of her nightdress.

He touched her face, his thumb caressing the soft curve of her cheek, his fingers discovering the delicacy of her jawline.

He said quietly, 'If it's any consolation, I never intended this to happen either.'

He took her quite gently into his arms, not kissing her, just holding her against the hard, lean length of him, and deep within her a pang of desire began a crescendo into real pain.

She was bewildered by it. It was too new to her experience, too sharp, and too urgent for her to know how to deal with it, although in some dim recess of her mind, something told her that she should pull away now while she still had some will to do so.

She knew by the pressure of Jake's body against hers that he was deeply and hotly aroused, and in the past she had always found that faintly disturbing, even alarming. Evidence, she had thought, of passions and emotions which seemed to pass her by, and which she had no wish to share.

Now, suddenly, it was exciting to know that she was wanted, and she evinced no kind of protest as his hands slid down her body to her slender hips, moulding her against him, because she knew that she wanted to be even closer still.

His hands moved on her without haste, his fingers stroking her body through the thin nightdress, the silky material creating a sweet erotic friction against her skin.

She was silent, eyes closed, within the circle of his arms, conscious only of this new sensual clamour in her blood, the uneven race of her pulse.

A few hours before, the thought of his kiss had filled her with tension, but now, when his hand gently cupped her throat, tipping her head back slightly so that his mouth could find hers, she reached for him with blind eagerness, like a parched flower thirsting for rain. His lips were warm and incredibly sensuous, demanding and winning an equally passionate response from her. Her hands locked behind his dark head, she felt her, senses swim, her body melt in quivering eagerness.

Still kissing her, Jake slid an arm beneath her knees, lifting her bodily off the floor, then carried her across the hall to the warm shadows of the drawing room.

He knelt, lowering her gently to the huge fur rug spread in front of the fire, sliding the robe from her shoulders as he did so. The breath caught in her throat as she looked up at him, saw the grey eyes glittering suddenly, and hungrily intent. With the first sign of impatience he had shown, he pushed down the straps of her nightgown, baring the small rounded breasts, and Lisle gasped, lifting her hands instinctively to cover herself.

His fingers gripped her wrists, tugging her hands away. He said in a low voice, 'You're too beautiful to hide yourself. Let me look at you. I want to see every perfect inch.'

He freed her arms, and pulled the nightdress down from her body. In an agony of shyness, Lisle closed her eyes as she felt the soft silk slither away. There was little light in the room, but she'd never been naked in front of a man before, and it was a shattering experience for her, the cool reserve, which had always been her safeguard, broken in pieces.

Jake kissed her deeply and hotly, the aching thrust of his lips against hers exciting her feverishly. His hands closed on her breasts, his fingertips stroking their sensitive peaks, and she gave a little husky moan, her mind blanking out at a point between desire and panic.

He pulled away from her, and she knew by his movements, from the small telltale rustling noises, that he was taking his clothes off. When he took her in his arms again, the point of no return would have been reached, she knew, and it wouldn't be long after that before he was aware of her woeful lack of experience, and a long inward shudder gripped her as she wondered weakly what his reaction would be, recognising the fact that he could well be angry. After all, a willing woman was what he wanted, was expecting. A frightened virgin would make a poor substitute.

His lips brushed her eyelids. 'Falling asleep?' he sounded mocking. 'You can't be shy.'

Can't I? she thought, her body thrilling involuntarily at the touch of his skin against hers.

'Open your eyes,' he ordered huskily. 'You won't be turned to stone.' His hand moved down her body, moulding and tracing every supple fluent line as if he was learning her by heart, and she swallowed, her breath thickening as his fingers lingered intimately on her thigh, their subtle pressure luring her to a new and devastating submission. He was kissing her body, his mouth moving slowly and pleasurably on her skin, his head dark as night against her whiteness. She was dissolving in waves of delight, poised on the edge of yielding totally, letting those diabolically experienced hands explore her in any way he wished.

The sudden violent thresh of the telephone bell was like the shock of an electric current, a whiplash across her senses. Jake swore, levering himself away from her, the swift dark anger in his face turning to ruefulness as he looked down at her.

'I'll have to answer that before the Petersons do.'

Dry-mouthed, Lisle said, 'Their room is in another wing. They won't hear…'

He drew a finger over her lips, silencing her. 'You realise that it might be the hospital,' he said quietly, and was gone.

She put her hands over her eyes, wanting to die of shame. No, she thought, it hadn't occurred to her, because she'd been lost to all sense of reality, aware only of the devastation of this physical arousal he had created in her.

She sat up shivering, feeling bleak and cold, reaching for her crumpled nightdress and dragging it over her head, guilt and shame warring inside her.

How could shehave behaved like this? she wondered desperately. In a matter of hours after their first meeting, Jake had made her act like the slut he believed her to be, and she would never forgive herself. Grandfather could be dying, and she had let a man she didn't even like strip and touch her and kiss her, without lifting a finger to stop him.

She huddled on her robe, and sat hugging her knees, staring with empty eyes at the charred logs in the wide grate as she waited for Jake to come back.

He said from the doorway, 'It's Gerard. Returning the call you made to him earlier.'

Lisle got up stiffly, not daring to look at him, and fled to the library.

'What's he doing there?' Gerard demanded instantly, without even the preamble of a greeting.

'Taking over the company, unless you can stop him. What do you think?' Lisle retorted.

He cursed viciously. 'I'll get the next plane out. Thank goodness Carla gave me your message, although it was touch and go,' he added on a unmistakable note of satisfaction. 'I don't think she altogether believed you're my sister. She was actually jealous!'

Lisle felt a little sick. 'I'm not really interested in the emotional games you and your women friends play,' she said tautly. 'Aren't you going to ask about Grandfather?'

'Just how sick is he?' he asked sharply. 'What guarantee is there that I'm going to be in time?'

'None at all,' Lisle's voice was crisp. 'Thanks for caring.

He sighed. 'Oh, I didn't mean it like that, sweetie. I'm just in a bit of a state, that's all. I wasn't expectingthis—any of it.' 

'Nor was I.' Lisle's tone was still short. 'Can I tell Grandfather that you're on your way when we go and see him tomorrow—today?' she connected herself hurriedly.

'Of course,' Gerard said slowly. 'Lisle—when you said "we"…'

'That's exactly what I meant.' She was aware that Jake was standing in the doorway watching her, buttoning his shirt and stuffing it into the waistband of his slacks as he did so.

'You keep that bastard away from Grandfather, do you hear!' Gerard snapped with angry emphasis.

Lisle smiled bitterly. 'If only it was as simple as that. Just get here as soon as you can.' She put the receiver back on the rest and turned to face Jake with spurious calm.

He looked back at her with an angry disgust he did not bother to conceal. 'I'd forgotten the telephone was in the library,' he said half to himself. 'That's why you were in there, of course, summoning the cavalry to come galloping to the rescue.' His mouth curled. 'But you picked up the cue I gave you quite brilliantly, darling. When the world of public relations has nothing more to offer you, which should be soon, you might try the stage. A certain class of production, of course. All that romantic trembling, the modestly averted eyes as you take your clothes off, would be a riot with the dirty raincoat brigade.'

She shrugged elaborately, not daring to meet his hostile gaze directly. 'It left you cold, naturally.'

'Unfortunately, no,' he said. 'Dressed, your body makes all kinds of promises which are more than fulfilled when your clothes are off. I'd be a fool and a liar if I even attempted to deny it. Tell me something, beauty. Are there any lengths you won't go to in order to help that no-good brother of yours?'

The words stung, but she made, herself smile. 'Why, yes,' she said softly, 'I wouldn't go to bed with you, Mr Allard—I'm not that good an actress, I'm afraid.'

For a long violent moment he stared at her, a dark smudge of furious colour along his cheekbones, then he turned and left the room.

Lisle sagged with relief, leaning back against the desk, letting its solid lines support her while she recovered her composure. Janie's words of warning came filtering back into her mind, and she realised wryly that she had undoubtedly succeeded in turning Jake Allard from an uncertain friend into , with all which that implied, and it was not a comfortable sensation. But at least it meant she would not have to be constantly fighting him off, she tried to tell herself, and shivered weakly as she remembered the passionate expertise of the lips and hands which had caressed her to the point of madness.

If she thought she had achieved any kind of victory, she was fooling herself, she realised unhappily. The real battle she would have to fight would be against herself, and the unexpected depths of sensuality in her own nature which had been awakened but not satisfied.

As she moved wearily to the door, she knew she had embarked on a voyage of self-discovery that she would far sooner never have begun.

She felt like death when Mrs Peterson came in with her breakfast tray next morning. The housekeeper clucked disapprovingly over her wan face and deeply shadowed eyes, and then passed on the message that Mr Allard suggested they leave for the hospital in an hour's time. 'He rang up earlier, and they said your grandfather had had a good night,' she added with evident
satisfaction.

Lisle managed a few sips of orange juice, and poured herself a cup of strong black coffee, but the sight of food made her stomach close up in rejection. Mrs Peterson's words had been a potent reminder that only top soon she would have to go downstairs and face Jake in the cold light of day, with the memory of everything that had happened the previous night lying between them like a stone.

She had hoped against hope that he might not be there, that he might have decided to move into a hotel, but she supposed she should have known better. It would be war to the knife between them now, and he 'wouldn't be the first to back away.

She bathed quickly, and took a certain amount of care over her choice of clothes, picking a suit with a softly bloused jacket made from fine needlecord in a dark green shade. She brushed her copper hair and twisted it back severely from her face into a french pleat, putting tiny emerald studs into the exposed lobes of her ears. Eyeing herself critically, she decided her appearance gave her just the touch of formality she had wanted to convey.

She waited until the hour Jake had specified had elapsed however before she went downstairs. The drawing room door was tight shut and she could hear the sound of a vacuum cleaner being vigorously used behind it, signifying that the woman from the village who helped Mrs Peterson with the housework had duly arrived.

She stood irresolutely, in the hall, wondering where Jake was, then heard him speaking in the library and realised that he was on the phone. She heard the words 'meeting next week' and 'could be vital' and realised that he was discussing Harlow Bannerman. She knew she ought to move away from the library door and give him some privacy, but she didn't. After all, he had barged in last night while she was talking to Gerard.

She heard him say, 'And there's been another, unexpected development, but I'll talk to you about that when I see you,' and flushed, as she wondered whether he meant Murray's insistence on their becoming engaged. She didn't hear the receiver go down, and the next thing she knew the door had opened wide and Jake was watching her sardonically.

'Hear anything instructive?' he asked derisively.

Lisle made herself meet his gaze. 'I think I arrived too late.'

'Better luck next time,' he said shortly. 'Can you manage shorthand? If not, one of those little pocket tape recorders should be useful.'

'Thanks for the tip. Of course Harlow Bannerman has never gone in for industrial espionage, but I'm sure you're an expert.'

'I wouldn't go that far,' he drawled. 'But if acommodity's for sale, then I'm generally in the market, as you discovered for yourself last night. Now, shall we go?'

She nodded coolly.

Murray was watching the door eagerly when they came in, and a satisfied smile crossed his face when he saw Jake's hand cupped protectively under Lisle's arm.

'Ready to play your part—darling?' he had asked her sneeringly as they came along the corridor.

Now, she looked at Murray and smiled radiantly. 'You look wonderful!' She crossed to the bed and kissed him.

'I feel better,' he said. 'And I'm sick of this damned place already.'