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'Oh, Luke!' Willa was obviously shaken. 'You haven't—?'
'Told her yet?' Luke put in. 'No. Annie and I have been engaged in quite a different battle.' He dropped his napkin on the table and stood up, helping Willa to her feet. 'Why don't you go and rest? I'll tell Annie all she needs to know.'
Surprisingly, his eyes were soft with a kind of concern, showing nothing of the bitterness that had been there earlier, as he turned to her after escorting Willa to the door.
'You were there when I left after taking Willa back to her room this morning?' he questioned softly and Annie could only nod. What difference did it make? She didn't understand what was going on.
'What you overheard must have seemed pretty damning,' he conceded. 'Shall we take a walk?'
Shying away from his warm glance, she nodded, getting clumsily to her feet, reaching the open french windows before him.
She didn't know how he could explain away what she'd overheard and, suddenly, she was afraid to hear it. He had rejected her this morning because of her lack of trust. Nothing had changed.
Was he about to give her another tongue-lashing for her lack of trust? Was he going to lie to her about what had been happening in Willa's room in the early hours of this morning?
'Luke, I don't need this,' she said thickly. 'You said all there was to say this morning.'
'I said that if you stayed, didn't do another runner, we would talk,' he reminded softly.
'You said maybe,' she corrected acidly, a sudden unlooked-for spurt of anger sending adrenalin rushing through her veins. She turned, her eyes bright, filled with unshed tears. 'But maybe,' she stressed, 'I think enough has been said.'
'Annie!' Her name, on his lips, was a sigh wrenched from his soul. 'How could you not have trusted me after the beautiful thing we shared? I know the evidence of your eyes and ears must ha
ve been damning, but at least you could have asked me. Your lack of trust was something I simply couldn't cope with.'
They had reached the shore now, almost without her being aware of it, and tears stung her eyes as she remembered the beauty of his lovemaking, here on this very spot. And tears blurred her vision, breaking the smooth surface of the sea into a million dancing lights.
'How could you believe me to be the type of man to make love to you in the afternoon and ravish your damned mother at night? I may not be a saint, but I'm not a bloody tomcat!'
'I know.' Every last trace of anger left her. She did know now, when it was probably far too late. She had been defeated by her own idiocy. 'But I had my reasons.'
'Then tell me,' he demanded thickly. 'I can think of no reason on God's sweet earth that could make you believe I'd spent the night making love to Willa. She's a beautiful woman but, damn it all, Annie— I was in love with you.'
'Was' being the operative word, she thought dully, watching as he began restlessly to pace the sand.
'I loved you more than I loved my pride,' he grated, whirling back to face her, the breadth of his chest heaving with suppressed emotion. 'Otherwise I would have given up on you when you walked out on me back in England. So tell me,' he commanded, his mouth a grim slash, 'why couldn't you have asked for my side of the story before jumping to all those hateful conclusions?'
She shook her head. What was the use? He was angry, bitter, as he probably had every right to be. But, on his own admission, the love he'd had for her had died. So what was the point of saying anything?
'Annie—' his hands fastened on her shoulders, the pressure of his fingers turning her flesh to fire '—I have never spanked a woman in my life. Don't make me do it now.'
His voice was gruff, as if he meant every word, and the bittersweet pressure of his hands increased as he ground out, 'You're a miser with yourself. You keep something hidden, locked away. I've always known that, faced it, but I thought I could get you to trust me, to let me reach you. Don't tell me I was wrong!'
Suddenly, he dragged her to him with a smothered groan, gathering her into his arms, his cheeks warm against the tears that had been falling unheeded.
She felt his hurt, matching her own, and she blurted out, 'Willa has always had to be first, the centre of all attention. If she saw a man she wanted she went right ahead and took him, never mind who got hurt. And it was always easy for her—so damned easy!' She had never spoken of her earlier life with Willa to anyone. Willa was public property, a legend, and Annie was loyal. But no loyalty— nothing—mattered now.
She flung away from him, kicking off her shoes, walking rapidly to the distant line of water, driven to restless movement by the anguish inside her.
And Luke was right beside her, his hand on her arm.
'There has to be more.'
'Oh, there's more,' she rapped out bitterly, dragging her arm from his grasp, turning, heading back the way she had come. 'But I can't believe you're interested!' How could he be, when her lack of trust had killed his love?
'For God's sake, Annie!' he exclaimed huskily, hauling her back into his arms, holding her tightly against his body. 'Don't clam up on me now.' His hands began to move along her back, soothing away the tension, gentling her, and she shuddered, releasing a shaky breath. Maybe he still cared for her, after all.
'So tell me, my darling,' he whispered, his lips just touching the corner of hers, and she submitted completely, knowing that he would always have this effect on her, his slightest touch melting her, making her defenceless.
