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Luciano was inspecting the new plumbing arrangements in the mediaeval tower. Communicating doors had been knocked through to the once derelict wing where Kerry’s great-uncle Ivor had lived, and bathrooms rejoicing in every luxury had been installed there.
‘Can I interest you in a tour of my power shower, cara?’ Luciano enquired lazily when Kerry found him there.
Kerry bit her lip and winced. ‘I’ve got to go straight back over to London,’ she told him in a rush. ‘I know you’re not going to be pleased about this but I just can’t not go when Miles needs me.’
His dark golden eyes narrowed, grew watchful, wary. ‘Why would Miles need you?’
‘Rochelle called to tell me that he’s been arrested…drugs,’ Kerry extended shamefacedly. ‘Presumably he’s been caught in possession of them.’
‘About time too.’ A sardonic smile curved Luciano’s expressive mouth.
Kerry was appalled. ‘How can you smile?’
‘I don’t like him. I hate drugs as well. Take your pick,’ Luciano advised curtly. ‘I don’t want you getting involved in Miles’s sleazy life—’
‘I’m afraid that that isn’t something that I have a choice about—’
‘There’s always a choice—’
‘He wants to see me; he’s asked for me. I can’t ignore that—’
Without warning, Luciano vented a derisive laugh. ‘I was in prison for five years…you ignored me. But Miles only has to get arrested and you’re ready to drop everything and run!’
Kerry was disconcerted at the comparison he was making. ‘I didn’t ignore you. How can you say that? I thought you didn’t want me—’
Eyes that had no shade of gold and were hard as black diamonds stayed steady and cold on her pale face. ‘You turned your back on me. You didn’t come and ask whether or not I wanted to see you. You wouldn’t give me five minutes of your time and yet you think I’m about to stand back and watch you race out of here to offer Miles support?’ he raked at her, his temper igniting with volatile suddenness. ‘No, no way will I accept that!’
‘I’ve said I’ll go and I don’t go back on my word. If I had known five years ago what I know now, I would have come to see you in prison. In fact, you’d have seen so much of me that you’d have ended up sick of the sight of me!’ Kerry asserted chokily, tears of painful regret convulsing her throat. ‘But it didn’t happen that way for us. You didn’t ask for me. You were too damned proud and too strong. And I’m grateful that you’re proud and strong because it meant you got through an ordeal that would have broken someone weaker—’
‘Thank you for the compliment. But I still don’t want you charging to Miles’s rescue. That’s the bottom line and, for a change, what I want is what should matter most to you. I may have buried the past, I may have forgiven you for a lot,’ Luciano bit out rawly, golden eyes glittering with raw anger, ‘but the forgiveness wasn’t unconditional. If you go to Miles now, I’m finished with you!’
Kerry studied him in shaken reproach. ‘Don’t say something like that…you don’t mean it.’
‘You’re not listening to what I’m saying yet I’ve been saying it ever since I came back into your life.’ His strong jawline clenched. ‘You can’t have both Miles and me. You needn’t ask me for compassion where he’s concerned either, as I have none to give—’
‘This is an emergency…be reasonable,’ Kerry pleaded. ‘I can’t cope with a big fight with you at the same time!’
‘Santo cielo! I am out of patience with you. This is not some stupid fight. Don’t try to trivialise what I feel just because you believe that you somehow know better!’ Luciano condemned with growing fury. ‘Look back to our not-so-recent past when you were equally sure of your own judgement. Who was right and who was wrong then?’
Hit hard by that tough, uncompromising reminder, Kerry lost colour. ‘I think that we both made mistakes but I accept that mine were the worst,’ she muttered unhappily. ‘But this is a very different situation—’
‘No, it’s not. When it comes to important issues I expect my wife to respect my feelings and wishes. I don’t want you communicating in any way with Miles Bailey. I’ve already made that clear but you haven’t listened.’
Angry rebellion stirred inside Kerry and killed her innate urge to soothe and placate for the sake of peace. ‘Maybe I’m not going to agree with you on every important issue in life but that doesn’t mean that I’m automatically in the wrong!’
‘This is a non-negotiable issue. This is our marriage on the line—’
‘I won’t be threatened with losing you over something that has no relevance to our relationship!’ Kerry argued vehemently, her temper only getting hotter at the fear that his intimidating assurances roused in her. ‘You don’t like Miles and you resent me giving him any attention—’
Outraged dark golden eyes rested on her. ‘I hope I’m not that immature. Don’t underestimate what I’m trying to spell out to you. My objections to Miles rest o
n much more than personal animosity. I don’t want you to go anywhere near him, and if you do go I will see it as a betrayal of my trust—’
‘When did you get so domineering that I can’t disagree with you without being told that I’m disloyal?’
Dark colour accentuated his bold cheekbones. ‘If you have so little respect for my intelligence that you can believe that, you shouldn’t be with me.’
Kerry snatched in a sustaining breath but she was only becoming angrier with him. He was telling her what to do as if she were some little Victorian wife, content to believe that her husband was a superior being who always knew best. But she had her own opinions and a strong conviction of what was right and what was wrong, and she would not change her mind unless he could give her a good reason for doing so. That Miles’s current problems should relate to drugs and his breaking of the law was very regrettable but it was unthinkable to her that she should ignore his cry for support on that basis alone.
