Kelly's Man (7 page)

The accident had shocked her. For the first time Kelly understood that money, when it was used unwisely, could be dangerous. In offering George an amount far in excess of the usual guiding fees, she had lured him with a temptation which, in his desperate circumstances, he had not been able to resist. It did not matter that she had done it to help Gary. In a way that made it even worse. For she realised now that together they had risked a man's life merely because Gary wanted so badly to win a bet.

Though she might never come to Great Peaks again, Kelly knew that the days she had spent here would affect her for a long time to come. She had changed, for ever perhaps. Sadly she acknowledged to herself that her feelings for her fiancé—even while she still loved him—would never be the same again either. She would try not to speak of what had happened, for to do so would make him angry, but she realised now that coupled with all the qualities which made him lovable, Gary's nature contained elements that were less endearing. In the first flush of their romance she had been enchanted by his recklessness. For the first time she realised that it was also childish.

Was it irony that this day had provided her with some measure of a yardstick? She thought of Andrew Lang, mature and pleasant and sensible, not as handsome as Gary, and certainly not as much fun, but very attractive all the same, and with an air of dependability which would be a source of great comfort to the woman who would one day be his wife. It was a long time since Kelly had met a man to whom she felt quite so drawn as she did to Andrew.

And then there was Nicholas. Much as she tried, it was almost impossible to exclude him from her mind. His image had the most irritating way of in-trading where it was not wanted ... Nicholas was all the things she most detested—arrogant, conceited, domineering. She guessed that he was self- sufficient and ruthless. But he was not childish. She smiled a little wryly as she wondered, if Nicholas Van Mijden had ever been childish. Reckless and daring? Yes. There was a look in the grey eyes that suggested he could be daring indeed, that he was a man who would enjoy a risk and take it with flair. But the risk would be his own. It would be undertaken only when all the consequences had been weighed very thoroughly. And it would never be at another person's expense.

How she could know so much about the man she hated was something she did not understand, but know it she did, and the knowledge gave her a strange sense of elation. Just as the fact that she was making comparisons, in which Gary could only be shown to disadvantage, filled her with shame.

It grew chillier. It was also getting late. Reluctantly Kelly got to her feet. It was restful on the bench beneath the stars, but if she was going to put in a long day's work tomorrow it was time she went to bed. The stars shed just enough light for her to make out the path, but the bushes and trees were no more than dark silhouettes, mysterious and a little-eerie.

Something touched her foot. It was soft and slippery. She let out an involuntary scream as a tiny creature ran further, rustling the grass.

'A frog.' The voice was low and amused.

Kelly spun round. Her heart was racing. She clapped a hand to her mouth to stifle another scream. 'How do you know?' she gasped, when she could speak, and wondered if he guessed that her shakiness was only partly due to the frog.

'I'm a farmer.'

She did not need to see his eyes to know that they would be alight with mockery. It was too dark even to make out the expression on his face, but strangely no light was necessary. She had known him only two days, and yet every rugged feature of the starkly handsome face was etched upon her mind. It came to her quite involuntarily that the face of her fiance had never assumed such clarity.

She took a step away from him. To break the silence she asked, 'Where's Miss de Jager?'

'She went home.'

'She lives near here?'

'On a farm next to my own.'

Neighbours! Serena de Jager would be a frequent visitor at Nicholas's farm. From the degree of familiarity she had displayed in the dining-room, it would seem that they saw each other often. Kelly wondered why the thought should disturb her so intensely.

'She said you had a date...'

'A movie in the village.' His voice was lazy. Kelly knew it was absurd even to imagine that Nicholas could guess at the effort it took to keep her voice level. Yet oddly, she had the idea that he did know. It was not the first time she had endowed him with a perception he could not possibly possess.

'You didn't go because it was late. She ... she seemed upset about that.' Kelly wondered what drove her to pursue the conversation. She wouldnever see Serena de Jager again. After tomorrow she would not see Nicholas either. His social life did not concern her in the least.

'Serena upset? Not once she understood. It wasn't our first date.' Nicholas spoke easily. 'It won't be the last.'

Kelly winced at the words. The pain that she had felt once before came again, and it baffled her. There was no reason for it, none at all. She had not changed the opinion she had formed of Nicholas the first time she had seen him. His undisguised contempt had made her think him arrogant and unpleasant. Nothing he had said or done since then had altered her views. Besides, she was engaged to be married. It could only be the unusual day she had spent which gave rise to a pain she could not remember having experienced before. Nothing else would make any sense.

His voice came to her through the darkness. 'How did
your
date go?'

'Date?' For a moment Kelly was puzzled. 'Oh, you mean my drink with Andrew Lang? Good heavens, that wasn't a date 1'

'No?' he drawled. 'Seems to me you'd arranged to meet after dinner. And since the man had made no effort to join his colleagues he was obviously waiting for you.'

'Why should it matter to you?' she threw at him.

'It doesn't,' came the crisp rejoinder. 'But I wonder what your fiance would make of it?'

'Gary trusts me,' Kelly said icily. 'I told you that before.'

'So you did.' There was no missing the derision.

She bit her lip. 'Why do you hate us so much?'

'Hate?' He shrugged. 'I don't hate you, Kelly. I don't hate Gary either.'

'But you despise us.'

There was no softening in his tone as he made no effort to deny it. 'Let's just say that I have no time for a bunch of parasites.'

'That's how you see us?' she asked, when she had caught her breath.

'What would
you
think of a man who allows his rich fiancde to use her money to get him whatever he wants? Who thinks it a good idea that she spend some more to appease her conscience and his?' He paused. 'Or were you only trying to appease your own conscience?' His voice changed as she stiffened. 'Your silence speaks for itself.'

'I won't even try to defend Gary to you,' Kelly said bitterly. And then, became she could not seem to help herself, 'You really consider me a parasite?'

'What else? Have you ever done a decent day's work before today?'

She was silent. No point in telling this arrogant man of the volunteer work she did at the hospital four days each week, when she visited sick children and spent many hours reading to them and helping them with their school work. He would not believe her. And if he did, he would not care.

'Have you ever really known who your friends were?' The question was unexpected. It also held a depth of understanding which defied Kelly to brush it aside with an untruth.

'Sometimes,' she replied guardedly. 'I know that Gary wants me for myself.'

He would return with a sarcastic comment, she thought, and braced herself to meet it. When he remained silent, she asked curiously, 'And you, Nicholas, does it mean anything to you that I'm Robert Stanwick's daughter?'

'Not a thing,' came the indifferent answer. 'Disappointed?'

'No,' Kelly said simply. She did not tell him that she was filled with a strange kind of elation. For a moment it did not matter that he did not like her, that he made no secret of his contempt. After years of men who fawned on her, who danced to her every whim, it was a novelty to come up against a man who was so strong, so self-sufficient, that social subterfuge was beneath him.

She was acutely aware of him, standing so near her in the darkness. She knew already how it felt to be in his arms. But it seemed that he did not even need to touch her for her senses to react to him. There was something primitive and basic about him, a compelling maleness which was so intoxicating that it called forth an answering response from deep inside her, a response that was just as basic, and intensely female. A response which she had not even known existed.

He was so near to her that she could reach out and touch him if she wanted. And knew that it was what she
did
want. The depth of her wanting frightened her. Kelly had always prided herself on her common sense, on the fact that she had both feet firmly on the ground, that she was in control of her emotions. She had thought she knew herself so well. It came as a distinct shock to find that she did not know herself at all, to know that if Nicholas were to reach for her in the darkness she might not have the strength to resist him.

'Goodnight,' she said, glad that she was able to keep her voice so matter-of-fact. Even Nicholas could not guess at the turmoil raging inside her. 'I'm off to bed.'

'As we're going the same way,' he said, falling in to step beside her, 'we may as well go there together.'

She stopped quite still. Her body was rigid with shock. The cottage lay in a different direction from the hotel and the rondavels. They could not be walking the same way. Unless... But no! She had
not
misunderstood what Mary had said to her earlier that day.

'I don't think I understand.' Her voice was stiff.

'No?' The low chuckle rang out in the dark, close beside her—too close. The sound of it was so sensuous that it set Kelly's pulses racing. 'It's quite simple. We're both sleeping in the cottage.'

'No!' she cried urgently.

'Yes.' Casually, but with unmistakable finality.

'But Mary said ... she said...—it was hard to speak through the dryness in her throat—'you'd be sleeping in the hotel, and...'

'I'm sure she did say that,' Nicholas agreed pleasantly.

Kelly stared at him incredulously. 'She—lied to me?'

'Nothing so dramatic.' There was a mocking crispness in his tone, as if he found her confusion amusing. 'I had in fact meant to sleep at the hotel.But a couple arrived just before dinner. There was no spare room for them. I gave them mine.'

'They had a booking?' Kelly asked tautly.

'No.'

'You could have turned them away.'.

'That would have been foolish,' Nicholas said smoothly. 'Great Peaks needs every penny it can get. Especially now.' He put his hand on her arm and propelled her forward. 'Come along, Kelly. It's getting late.'

She was silent as she shook her arm from his grip, wishing that his touch did not do such alarming things to her senses. She needed to think, and she could not do that when the blood was pounding in her head.

'I won't sleep with you,' she said at length.

'I don't remember suggesting it.' Again the mockery which she so hated. 'Though I don't deny the idea is tempting. You're a desirable female, as Andrew Lang no doubt wasted no time in telling you.'

'Andrew Lang is a gentleman,' she threw out burningly.

'Where sex is concerned?' Nicholas questioned idly. 'I wonder.'

'You're the most hateful man I ever met!' Her voice -was low. 'You will
not
sleep with me, Nicholas.'

'Not "with", my dear Kelly,' he agreed equably, 'but alongside.'

She thought of the double bed, and shivered. She could not sleep with Nicholas in that bed. Even if he did not touch her, and she doubted if she could trust him on that score, there would be no sleep for her with the long virile body at her side.

'Please, Nicholas..Her voice was eloquent with pleading. 'We can't ... I can't ...'A little desperately she searched for a convincing argument. 'What would Gary think if he knew?'

"Your fiance has showed very little interest up to this point. There's no reason why he should start now.'

'You take every chance to belittle him, yet he's worth ten of your kind, Nicholas Van Mijden.' Kelly wished that she sounded more positive. 'Anyway, this conversation is futile. It's solving nothing.'

'As far as I'm concerned there's nothing to solve.' There was no mockery in the vibrant voice now. No derision. Just a complete lack of concern.

'You know that I will under no circumstances spend the night in the cottage with you.'

'And every room at the hotel is occupied.' Nicholas paused. When he spoke again his words were deliberate. 'Since the idea of sharing a bed with me is so distasteful, why don't you ask Andrew Lang if he will let you in for the night?'

Kelly bit her lip. 'You know I can't do that,' she said unhappily.

'Why not? Since he's so pure your virtue would be protected.' And now the mockery was back, hard and biting. 'If you do have any virtue left to protect.'

They were at the cottage now. Kelly spun round, caught by the meaning in his tone. He was so close to her that she had to lean against the door, but even then she could feel his warmth reaching her through the thin fabric of her clothes. 'What the hell are you trying to say?'

'Only that the role of outraged virgin doesn't suit you.'

It was hard to breathe through the tightness in her chest, a tightness that owed less to the malice of his words than to a closeness which was more intoxicating than anything she had ever known. 'I am a virgin,' she managed.

'Keep that one for Andrew Lang. He might believe you.' Nicholas spoke with uncompromising coldness. 'You travelled with Gary, you shared a room with him. You're no virgin, Kelly Stanwick.'

'I shared a room with Sheila,' she whispered.

'You don't make a good liar,' he accused harshly. 'Open the door, Kelly.'

'No!'

'Very well.' Roughly his arm thrust past her, pushing her a little aside, so that he could reach the knob. At the same time his arm rested against her breast. The feel of it sent a tremor through Kelly's nerve-stream. For a moment she could not breathe, could not move.