Jordan St Claire: Dark and Dangerous (11 page)

‘McKinley …?’ Gideon St Claire repeated slowly, his dark gaze narrowing on her in shrewd assessment. ‘Red hair. Green eyes. Hmm.’ His mouth compressed. ‘You
wouldn’t happen to be related to Josephine McKinley, would you?’ he asked.

Oh, dear Lord! Stephanie’s sister and this man
had
met. But when? And where? Please, please, God, let it not be in any way connected with the Newmans’ pending divorce case!

Just thinking of Jordan’s reaction if he learned that she was being named as the ‘other woman’ in a divorce—albeit falsely—after the disgust he had shown for his own father’s infidelity, was enough to make her feel ill.

‘Her twin.’ Jordan was the one to answer his brother—economically. ‘And apparently she hates to be called Josephine,’ he added.

‘Do you know my sister, Mr St Claire?’ Stephanie eyed Gideon warily.

‘Not personally, no,’ he said. ‘I have heard of her, though,’ he added.

And nothing good, either, if the hard glitter in those piercing dark eyes and the contemptuous curl of those sculptured lips was any indication!

Stephanie knew that Joey had earned herself something of a reputation in the courts of law these last three years, and that many of her colleagues considered her to be ruthless and uncompromising in defence of her clients. Character traits Stephanie would have thought a man like Gideon St Claire, who so obviously possessed those same traits himself, would have appreciated.

‘What are you doing here, Gideon?’ Jordan demanded—and thankfully saved Stephanie from having to make any sort of reply to his twin’s enigmatic comment about her sister!

Instead of answering his brother, Gideon turned
those cool, dark eyes on Stephanie. ‘I thought I smelt something burning when I was in the kitchen.’

‘The lasagne!’ Stephanie wailed as she remembered the food she had left cooking in the oven earlier. Before Jordan had begun making love to her and she had forgotten all about it! ‘Excuse me.’ She shot the two men a bright, meaningless smile before hurrying from the room.

It was patently obvious that Gideon wanted to talk to Jordan alone, and Stephanie was glad of an excuse to escape the intensity of emotion in being in the presence of two of the arrogantly overwhelming St Claire brothers.

‘Well, you’ve succeeded in effectively getting Stephanie out of the room, so now you can tell me what’s going on,’ Jordan prompted as soon as he and Gideon were alone in the sitting room.

Gideon gazed back at him with the cynical speculation that was so characteristic of him. So typical of all three of the St Claire brothers, if he were totally honest, Jordan acknowledged ruefully; their father really did have a lot more to answer for than just hurting their mother.

Gideon gave a rueful shake of his head. ‘And I’ve been imagining you all alone in the wilds of Gloucestershire.’

Jordan grimaced. ‘I know your sarcasm usually manages to put the fear of God into most people, Gid, but I assure you I’m not one of them.’ He dropped wearily back into the armchair he had only recently vacated.

‘You look like hell!’ his brother declared as he looked down at him with harsh disapproval.

‘As complimentary as ever,’ Jordan murmured, and rested his head tiredly against the chair.

He had forgotten all about the pain in his hip and leg—just as Stephanie had obviously forgotten about dinner—while the two of them were making love, but now that that rush of adrenaline had subsided Jordan once again felt the grinding and remorseless ache in his right thigh and down his leg.

Maybe he should go back to the States and see one of the specialists, as Stephanie had advised he should do?

No, damn it. He would rather live with the pain than suffer any more of those unhelpful medical examinations!

‘Have they run out of razors in Gloucestershire?’ Gideon raised enquiring brows.

‘Just tell me what you’re doing here, Gideon,’ Jordan said again irritably, wondering why the hell it was that everyone was suddenly so obsessed with his appearance. What did it matter what he looked like when there was no one here to see him? Well … until Stephanie had arrived yesterday. And now Gideon, too. ‘Well?’ He glared at his brother.

‘I certainly had no intention of interrupting your little assignation with La McKinley,’ his brother retorted as he moved to fold his lean length into the chair opposite Jordan’s.

‘It isn’t an assignation,’ Jordan denied wearily.

‘No?’

‘Look at me, Gideon.’ He sighed heavily. ‘I’m just a shell of the man I used to be.’

‘Stephanie doesn’t seem to mind,’ his brother pointed out.

Jordan’s eyes narrowed warningly. ‘Perhaps we should just leave Stephanie out of this.’

Gideon glanced in the direction of the kitchen. ‘She doesn’t seem like your usual type of woman …’

‘As I just said, I’m not my usual self! ‘ Jordan snapped back.

‘Aren’t you a little tired of wallowing in self-pity?’ Gideon asked.

That remark was so reminiscent of the one Stephanie had made to Jordan yesterday that it totally infuriated him. In fact, if Gideon had been anyone else Jordan knew he would have given in to the urge he felt to get up and punch him on his arrogant nose! As it was, he knew that Gideon was more than capable of besting him in any fight at the moment—verbal or physical.

Not that Jordan was fooled for a moment by Gideon’s seemingly hard and unsympathetic attitude; as his brother—his twin—Jordan knew how devastated Gideon had been following the accident. He also knew that his brother was a man of strong emotions—he just preferred to keep them hidden most of the time, behind a mask of cynicism.

‘Just stop trying to annoy me and get on with it, Gid,’ he said.

Thankfully Stephanie had managed to salvage the lasagne from the oven before it was totally ruined. A little trimming round the edges had disposed of the worst of the burnt pasta, and the potatoes were still edible too.

By the time the two St Claire men joined her in the kitchen ten minutes later she had laid three places at the table and was ready to serve the food. Whether or not Stephanie would actually be able to sit down with them and eat any of it was another matter entirely!

The ten minutes’ respite from both Jordan’s disturbing company and that of his coldly remote brother had at least given Stephanie a chance to regain some of her composure, although she still felt ill every time she so much as thought of making love with Jordan.

Or, more accurately, Jordan making love to her.

She wasn’t a complete innocent when it came to love-making; she had dated and experimented a little when she was at university and found it all extremely disappointing. So much so that Stephanie had spared little time for relationships since then, and had concentrated on her career instead. Her physical response to Jordan had been far from disappointing—in fact it had been as combustible as it had been instantaneous. She had never dreamed, never imagined—not even in her wildest fantasies—the pleasure she had felt when Jordan made love to her.

Which was traumatic enough in itself, without having Jordan’s coldly cynical twin—the man of whom Jordan had warned Stephanie she didn’t know what arrogance was until she’d met him—as witness to that complete physical unravelling.

Not that there was any evidence of that knowledge in the remoteness of Gideon’s expression now, as he entered the kitchen behind Jordan. ‘I apologise once again for causing you any inconvenience, Stephanie,’ he said politely as he saw the three places laid at the table.

‘Not at all,’ she dismissed brightly. ‘After all, your family owns this estate. Now, there’s more than enough food here for three—Are you all right, Jordan?’ she asked with concern, as she noticed how pale he was. Worse than pale. His cheeks actually had a slightly grey
cast to them. And was it her imagination or did he seem to be leaning more heavily on his cane than usual?

Was it as a result of having made love to her?

Jordan might be sarcastic and mocking, but he was also obviously still far from well—something that any excess of physical activity was sure to exacerbate. Making love could definitely be classed as excessive physical activity—especially as she’d been cuddled up on his lap!

She moved swiftly to his side. ‘Perhaps you should sit down—’

‘Would you stop fussing over me like some mother hen?’ He turned on her savagely, eyes glittering deeply gold in warning.

Stephanie drew back sharply at his tone. ‘Sorry.’ She grimaced. ‘I just thought—’

‘Haven’t I already told you that you think too damned much?’ He scowled down at her.

‘I trust you will excuse my brother’s rudeness, Stephanie?’ Gideon cut into the exchange with disapproving coldness. ‘The discomfort of his injuries seems to have robbed him of his manners.’

‘When I want you to apologise for me, Gid, I’ll ask! ‘ Jordan said furiously.

‘When I want you to tell me what to do and when to do it, then
I’ll
ask, Jord,’ his brother came back with heavy sarcasm.

At any other time Stephanie would have found this challenging conversation between two obviously well-matched and determined men amusing. But as she had earlier almost made love with one of them, and been literally caught in the act by the second, Stephanie wasn’t in any frame of mind at that moment to find anything either of them did in the least amusing!

Especially when Jordan already looked as if he were on the point of collapse. ‘I really think you should sit down, Jordan,’ she told him firmly, and she pointedly drew back one of the kitchen chairs before looking up at him expectantly.

Jordan shot her a narrow-eyed glare, more aware than ever of his own limitations when in the company of his brother’s lean and healthy frame. Just as he was aware of the appraising looks Gideon was giving Stephanie as he watched her from beneath hooded lids.

Jordan slowly lowered himself down onto the wooden chair. ‘Pack your bag once we’ve had dinner, Stephanie,’ he told her tersely as he turned to place his cane conveniently against the wall behind him. ‘Gideon is going to fly us all back to London in the helicopter early tomorrow morning.’

‘I—What …?’ Stephanie made no effort to hide her total bewilderment at Jordan’s sudden announcement.

‘We’re all going back to London. In the morning,’ Jordan repeated with ill-concealed impatience.

‘But what about my car?’

‘I’ll arrange for someone to come and collect it,’ he dismissed.

‘But—why.?’

‘Does it matter why?’ Jordan snapped.

‘Well … no, I suppose not …’ Stephanie gave a slightly dazed shake of her head.

Except that Stephanie didn’t
want
to be back in London; she had taken this job in Gloucestershire with Jordan St Claire for the very reason that she had wanted to get away from London and stay away—until her unwilling involvement in the Newmans’ impending divorce had been effectively dealt with!

‘W
HAT
is it, Stephanie?’

She stood hesitantly in the doorway of the study, where Jordan once again sat behind the imposing desk looking at her with enigmatic eyes. The only light in the room came from the lamp on top of the desk, reflecting down onto the papers he was working on.

As expected, as far as Stephanie was concerned, sitting down and eating dinner with the St Claire brothers had been an uncomfortable experience. She had absolutely no idea how the two men had felt about it. Conversation had been virtually non-existent as they’d both eaten in brooding silence, obviously lost in their own thoughts. Although Gideon
had
politely thanked and complimented Stephanie on the food once they had all finished eating, before excusing himself and going upstairs to bed.

Stephanie had a feeling his early departure might have had more to do with feeling that ‘unwanted third’ he’d mentioned than an actual need to go to bed. He had probably retired early because he thought that Jordan and Stephanie needed some privacy—if only to discuss leaving tomorrow.

If that were the case, then Gideon could have saved himself the trouble. Because Jordan had abruptly
excused himself too, and disappeared off to his study only a minute or so after his brother’s departure. Leaving Stephanie with far too much time on her hands to remember and cringe at her earlier behaviour.

She gave a non-committal shrug now. ‘As you intend leaving with Gideon in the morning, it might be as well if we were to say goodbye now.’

Jordan straightened to narrow his speculative gaze on her. ‘I’m sure I made it more than plain that I expect you to accompany us to London.’

‘Yes, you did.’ Stephanie stepped further into the room. ‘But you’ve also made it clear since my arrival here that you don’t want the attentions of a physiotherapist. As such, this would be the ideal opportunity for me to—’

‘Have you been thinking again, Stephanie?’ he taunted softly as he relaxed back against the leather chair.

‘Stop it, Jordan!’ She eyed him cautiously as she moved to stand in front of the desk. ‘Obviously I will need to contact Lucan and let him know that as I never actually started working with you I won’t be requiring any payment—’

‘I’m sure that’s very fair of you, Stephanie,’ Jordan cut in. ‘But as far as I’m aware Lucas has not yet suggested dispensing with your services.’

‘No.’ She sighed. ‘But it’s been pretty much a nonstarter from the beginning, so I assumed—’

‘It never pays to make assumptions about the St Claire family, Stephanie.’ Jordan shook his head even as his mouth thinned. ‘When I said we’re
all
going back to London in the morning, Stephanie, that’s exactly what I meant.’

She frowned. ‘I can’t see what possible point there
would be in accompanying you when you refuse to let me do anything to help you.’

‘Maybe I’ve reconsidered?’

Stephanie looked across at him searchingly, but found herself unable to read anything from Jordan’s deliberately closed expression and the enigmatic blankness in those gold-coloured eyes. ‘Jordan—’

‘Stephanie, Gideon flew here to let me know that my mother has arrived in London,’ Jordan announced flatly.

‘Oh?’

‘Yes,’ he bit out curtly. ‘As she rarely leaves Edinburgh, that fact is significant in itself. So much so that Lucan decided to try and find out exactly why she’s in London. He’s managed to discover that she has an appointment to see a cancer specialist the day after tomorrow.’ Jordan spoke heavily, still having trouble accepting the reason Gideon had flown up here in person to talk to him.