Dirty (10 page)

"What the hell are you doing here?" he
demanded and then winced as his own voice made his head pound.

"You invited me to come home with you last
night. Don't you remember?" She took a sip of her coffee. "I'm
staying here with you until they find me a more suitable
hotel."

"Why do I smell like you?"

"The same reason I smell of you, darling."
Lena sat back and sighed. "We had some wine, some laughs and then
we made love."

"What?" Raven's gaze shifted to Tao, who was
now watching him. The other man glanced down at Lena before he gave
a small shake of his head. "I want the truth, Lena."

"Very well. The truth is that you got drunk
and I took advantage of that and convinced you to have meaningless
sex with me." She smiled. "I am so sorry that Miss Fairchild walked
in on us while we were in the act. You should have told me that she
was coming over last night. I would have waited until she left. I
did invite her to join us -- or make use of Tao -- but she wasn't
interested."

Raven strode back to the bedroom and dressed,
calling Marielle's cell phone as he did. Every call he placed went
straight to voicemail, so he dialed the number for his car and told
his driver to pick him up immediately.

Lena intercepted him on his way out of the
house. "Do you want me to come with you? I can explain things and
assure her that it was entirely my fault."

Raven gazed down at her. "If you're still
here when I get back, I'm calling the police and having you
arrested for rape."

She laughed. "Darling, really. Look at me.
I'm the sexiest woman alive." She coyly ran a hand over one
satin-covered breast. "No one will believe that I raped you."

He wanted to grab her and shake her until her
teeth fell out but that would require him to touch her. "They will
after the blood test I'm going to take. Your bodyguard won't want
to be charged as an accomplice. I'm sure he'll also testify against
you. Now get out of my house."

Raven told his driver to take him directly to
Marielle's apartment. When he arrived there he found Jilly Sanders
waiting for him. "Where is she?"

"She just left, and she's not coming back --
and before you ask, she didn't tell me where she was going." The
P.A.'s lips were so tight they were almost white. "She did give me
a message for you, however."

"What is it?" Raven demanded.

"She loves you," Jilly said. "She forgives
you. And she never wants to see you again."

Dirty Book
4

"Have you seen it yet?"

Marielle Fairchild glanced at the older
English lady sitting beside her, who was smiling and pointing to a
full-page magazine ad for Fascination. "I haven't."

"I went with my husband. It's shockingly
naughty, of course, but still…" She pretended to fan herself. "I
thought my husband would be upset by all that sex and spanking
until we got home."

Marielle forced a smile. "What did he think
of it?"

"We really didn't talk so much that night."
She chuckled before she gave Marielle a curious look. "Why haven't
you seen it? I thought you Americans are very keen on the latest
films. Or don't you fancy James Raven?"

Marielle considered telling the woman the
truth: I used to work on that film with James Raven, who spanked me
and had crazy wild sex with me on the set. I also fell in love with
him, right before I caught him in bed with his co-star. Instead she
said, "I've been busy traveling."

"Well, it's the number one movie in the world
now. You should be able to see it on your next stop." The woman
nodded toward the pier they were approaching. "And here's mine. Do
have a lovely trip."

Marielle wished her the same and watched as
she and the rest of the ferry's passengers disembarked.

One of the stewards came into the main cabin
and approached her. "You must be the lady we're taking out to Dark
Haven."

"Yes," she said. "Am I the only one going to
the island?"

"Afraid you are, Miss," the steward said. "No
one's allowed to land there without first getting permission from
the owner of the bird sanctuary. We go there only by advance
reservation."

Marielle didn't mind the prospect of such
complete isolation. After being bombarded for months with movie
promo featuring James Raven and Lena Talbot in various provocative
positions it would be a relief to go someplace where no one cared
about them or Fascination. "How long until we arrive?"

"Once we cast off, about twenty minutes." He
checked his watch and smiled at her. "Should have you there in time
for your tea."

Once the steward left, Marielle opened her
briefcase and went over the notes e-mailed to her by the studio.
The documentary she'd be working on at the island still had no
director or script but the producer had promised her that
everything would managed by the time she reached Dark Haven. The
only stars involved in the shoot would be the island's birds and
other wildlife, which was why the project had appealed to her so
much. After her disastrous affair with Raven, a month of not having
to deal with two-legged actors seemed like heaven.

On the island I won't have time to miss him
or cry over him or wish I'd never met him, Marielle thought. Thirty
days of that should completely cure me of my fascination.

Her cell rang. When she checked the display
she saw her best friend Jilly Sanders' number. "Hey," she said.
"How's the fabulous life of the most sought-after P.A. in
Hollywood?"

"Completely crazy. Speak up, I can hardly
hear you," Jilly grumbled. "Vanessa's trying to find Raven so she
can talk to him about a sequel. Do you have any idea where he
is?"

"Why would I?" Marielle said. "I've been
avoiding him for six months, remember?"

"I know, sorry. He's probably shacked up
somewhere with whoever he dumped Lena Talbot for." Jilly's voice
faded behind a crackle of static, " -- Vanessa said… Lena can't…
unless he signs… you okay?"

"I'm fine but you're breaking up. I'll have
to call you back when I get to the island," Marielle heard the call
disconnect.

As she put away her cell, she mulled over
Jilly's news. On one hand she was petty enough to be glad that
Raven had broken it off with Lena Talbot. Now the other woman would
experience a little of the hurt she had inflicted on Marielle. But
in another corner of her heart, she felt a familiar ache swell at
the thought of Raven being with yet another woman. He'd never
belonged to her, of course. They'd only been together for a couple
of weeks before she'd caught him having sex with Lena. Even as
casual as it had been, their brief relationship had changed
everything for Marielle. No man had ever given her so much pleasure
or pain.

I will get over him and move on, Marielle
thought as she looked out the ferry's windows and saw the dark blur
of the island where she'd be spending the next month. I have
to.

Once the ferry docked, Marielle retrieved her
rolling suitcase from the luggage stow and walked out on deck. She
knew from reading about Dark Haven that the only resident was the
owner of the sanctuary, who lived in the large stone house built at
the base of the island's craggy rock formations.

"Here we are." The steward helped her onto
the pier and handed over her cases before glancing over at the big
sanctuary house set back in a grove of ancient oak. "Someone coming
to meet you, Miss?"

"Apparently not," she said and picked up her
cases. "It's all right. They're probably so busy with the
production they forgot I was coming today. Thanks for your
help."

"My pleasure. Enjoy your stay." He gave her a
cheerful grin and climbed back on board the ferry.

Marielle walked down the pier and stepped off
onto a moss-covered stone pathway leading into the grove and up to
the house. She heard engines thrumming and glanced back to see the
ferry already sailing back toward the coast.

For the first time since accepting the job as
P.A. for the documentary, Marielle felt a twinge of doubt. If she
wanted to quit this time, she wouldn't be able to leave right away.
Still, she thought as she walked the rest of the way to the
sanctuary house, how awful could things get on a nature
documentary? She set down her cases but before she could knock on
the front door it opened to reveal a big man dressed in old jeans
and a white shirt that looked exactly like her former lover...
because he was.

"Hello, Mari," James Raven said.

Shock made her stare at him for a moment
without speaking before she spun around and ran for the pier. By
the time she reached it, however, the ferry had disappeared from
sight. She stood there staring at the empty ocean, her stomach
knotting and her head pounding until she heard footsteps
approaching behind her.

"I can't believe this." Slowly she turned
around and looked up into Raven's handsome face. "Why are you here?
You don't do voice-overs... oh, now I see. There is no
documentary."

"After six months of trying and failing to
see you, I had to get creative," Raven said. "I thought if we could
spend some time together alone -- "

"I'm sorry, but I'm not interested in that,"
she told him flatly. "Now please call the ferry back so I can get
out of here."

"It's not coming back. You're staying."

"I'll just have the owner call them." She
pushed past him, but he caught her arm. "Let go of me, or I will
scream my head off."

"Don't, Mari." He released her. "I own the
island. There is no one else here but you and me."

* * *

Raven led Marielle back to the terrace where
he had tea and sandwiches set out for her. She accepted the
steaming mug but didn't touch the food. As she sipped her tea she
stared at the view of the north side of the island with unseeing
eyes.

He shared the silence with her, knowing she
needed time to process the shock of encountering him and the abrupt
change in her situation. Once she regained her composure, he
planned to tell her everything. For now he simply watched her and
noted how thin and pale she was and how she'd given up her sleek
ponytail for a French braid so tight it looked almost painful.

"What do you want from me?" she asked
him.

"What you didn't give me before you ran
away." He saw her expression and sighed. "A chance to explain."

"All right." She set down the mug and faced
him. "Go ahead."

Although she sounded calm, almost pleasant,
he saw anger smoldering in her eyes. "You won't believe me."

"That's true." She stood up, her hands
clenched into tight fists at her sides. "I'd like to leave now,
please."

"I'm going to show you to your room, where
you can wash up and rest until dinner. Then we'll talk." He stood
and held his hand out to her. When she didn't take it, he said,
"It's better if you don't push me. I don't know how dependable my
self-control is right now."

Marielle ignored his hand and brushed past
him. "Then by all means, please show me to my room."

As he took her upstairs Raven decided that
his lover was unaware of the real reason she was provoking him. She
might believe her anger was responsible for her show of chilly
indifference and the little acts of defiance but he saw them for
what they were: subconscious lures. Marielle didn't have enough
experience to know that by challenging his authority and denying
their connection she was responding to him as a submissive in
terrible distress and need. He had to hold back on his own, equally
ferocious sexual response for now, but he hadn't lied to her -- he
wasn't sure how long he could.

In the guestroom Raven had prepared for
Marielle, he placed her cases at the foot of the bed and opened the
curtains to show her the view. "This is an old house, so the bath
is two doors down. Dinner will be at six."

She went to the window and stood there with
her back to him. "Where are you sleeping?"

He nodded at the door. "I'm across the hall."
Being in the same room as Marielle and a bed was putting all sorts
of imagery in his mind. "Is there anything else you need?"

She didn't answer or look at him.

Raven wanted to drag her away from the
window, toss her on the bed and take out all the frustration that
had been roiling inside him for the last six months. On some level,
that was what she wanted, too. But as much as he wanted to fuck her
until she couldn't think of anyone but him, he first had to tear
down all the walls she'd built between them.

"I'll see you downstairs at six," he told her
and left her silently hating him and watching the sea.

* * *

Shortly after Raven left her Marielle
discovered just how isolated she was on Dark Haven island. Her
mobile phone couldn't pick up a signal.When she booted up her
laptop she found she had no internet access. She searched the
guestroom for a phone but found none there or in any of the
adjoining rooms. Raven didn't even have one in his bedroom.

After taking some aspirin for her now-massive
tension headache, Marielle sat down on the bed to think through her
very limited options. Raven had to have some way to communicate
with the mainland -- probably some type of radio. If she couldn't
find that she was sure there had to be a boat somewhere close by.
All she had to do was remain calm and play along until he went to
sleep tonight -- assuming that she didn't drop from jet-lag
first.

She reached in her purse and took out the
bottle of sleeping pills she'd gotten back in the states to help
with her occasional insomnia. Or I could make sure he does, she
thought and then threw the bottle across the room. Even if she
could bring herself to do something as despicable as drugging
Raven, she didn't know how to use a radio or drive a boat. Until he
decided she could leave, she was well and truly stuck here.

Marielle flopped back on the bed and stared
up at the Irish lace canopy. Everything about this reminded her of
the screenplay for Fascination. Like Melanie, she'd run away. And
like Maestro, Raven had brought her back. Now would he tie her up
somewhere and lash her again? Did he have any idea how much it hurt
her to see him? That just looking at his face brought back every
horrible detail from her memory of finding him in bed with
Lena?