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'Go below; there isn't a full crew and another storm is brewing. I have to help.'
Her arm stung from his touch. No, please, God, no! she prayed; she did not want to feel again. Not ever. . . On leaden feet she walked along the deck and into the main cabin; colapsing on a softly upholstered sofa, she folded her arms defensively across her chest, and was not aware that she was rubbing the elbow he had touched with her hand.
She heard the heavy throb of the engine. She felt the motion of the boat. Not long now and she would be on a flight back to England, she told herself optimistically; then the hair on the back of her neck prickled. She turned her head.
Alex was standing blocking the door, his raw physical presence somehow filling the room. He was watching her with narrowe
d eyes, his expression unreadable, yet the menace, the iron will behind the impassive face warned that this man was not used to being thwarted by anyone, and certainly not by a woman—especially his wife!
Saffron swallowed nervously. 'What time do we arrive?' she asked—anything to break the fraught silence.
'We already have.' And in a voice as cold and calm as the Arctic he continued, 'We have a deal, you and I—my money for your body and a child; nothing has changed except that I intend to keep you on the yacht until you have fulfilled your part of the bargain.'
She had once compared him to a pirate, and looking at him now, standing barring the door, rock-solid and indomitable, she knew she had been right. 'I don't believe this!' she murmured softly, shaking her head.
'Believe it; you have no choice.'
'Do you honestly expect me to stay with you after last night?' He kept a mistressin Athens and he actually thought he could wield his power and money to pressure her into accepting his infidelity and carrying on as his wife. He was insane!
'You should be grateful it was your lover I punched out. I've never hit a woman in my life, but last night I came pretty close.' His lips twisted in a cynical parody of a smile. 'I blame myself; usually when I make a contract I'm meticulously thorough. In our deal I forgot to stipulate fidelity—an oversight on my part, but one you will never get another chance to exploit.'
Saffron stared at him white-faced, but deep inside the numbness that had encased her for the past few hours was melting and fury was growing, a smouldering anger fed by pain at his betrayal, a pain so sharp that she struggled to breathe. The two-faced, arrogant swine! she thought.
Suddenly her temper snapped. In a blue fury she got to her feet and covered the space between than in a flash, her small hand curved in a fist aimed straight at his jaw.
His hand fastened on her wrist, and her knuckles harmlessly brushed his cheek as he forced her arm behind her back, hauling her tightly against his hard body. 'You little hellion,' he grated between his teeth, 'I'll show you.'
But Saffron was past caring what he said or did. 'You forgot fidelity!' she screeched. 'Don't make me laugh! I know! Do you hear me? I know, you two-timing, sanctimonious pig! James was never my lover, never: I went to him for help after finding your bloody mistress living in your apartment.'
She was free so suddenly that she stumbled back. His hands caught her shoulders to steady her, and his Mack eyes fastened on her flushed and furious face with a puzzling intensity. "You went to the apartment last night? What for?' he demanded.
'Not to find Sylvia, that's for sure,' she shot back scathingly.
His grip tightened for a second then relaxed. 'You were looking for me.' An intensely speculative look gleamed in his dark eyes, "And you found Sylvia.' His hands kneaded her slender shoulders. 'You were jealous.' A hint of a smile curled his lips. 'You were jealous and furious and ran out into the rain, and that's when you sought out James, ' he surmised triumphantly, his eyes never leaving her face. 'Have I got It right?'
He was far too astute; he saw far too much, Saffron thought bitterly. 'Bully for you—a regular Sherlock Holmes, no less.' She shrugged. 'So what? It doesn't matter any more.'
'No?' he queried softly, 'I think it does. I think you and I need to talk.'
'We have nothing to talk about. It's over,' she snapped back, and at that moment the yacht hit a large wave and Saffron fell forward hard against him; she felt his body tense to keep their balance, and suddenly she was swept up in his arms and he was striding purposefully across the room and up the gangway to his stateroom.
'Put me down,' she commanded, but she instinctively curved her arm around his neck to prevent herself falling and the numbness that had cushioned her for the past few hours melted completely, an electric awareness jolting through her body. His face so near to here, the subtle male scent of him, the steady rhythm of his heartbeat were so achingly familiar; she loved the man, and the hurt he had caused her was like a knife shredding her heart.
Alex opened the door and backed into his cabin still holding her. 'Please let me go,' she pleaded, and she meant for good. She could stand no more pain; her emotions were raw, her pride in tatters.
'Never, Saffron,' Alex murmured, and he lowered her slowly down his long body, but kept his arms firmly around her.
She was trapped. She tried to wriggle free, and gasped as she felt the telling stirring of his arousal against her belly. With one hand he stroked up her back and tangled his fingers in her hair, forcing her to look up into his dark, brooding face.
'Sex is no solution,' she said, recognising the deepening gleam in his brown eyes and determined not to give in to his potent masculine appeal, even as her body ached to do so.
'No, but love is!'
'What would you know about love? You've had more women than hot dinners—a mistress, a wife—even your own mother is frightened of you!' Saffron lashed back, staring up at him with unconcealed belligerence. He had the nerve to mention love to her! He didn't know the meaning of the word. His wealth and looks, his confidence and power assured that he always had a willing woman in his bed. He didn't need love, didn't understand the concept. And she had been an idiot to imagine for a moment that she could change him.
'I love you.' He smiled without humour. 'Though I don't expect you to believe me.'
Saffron blinked. Had she heard right?Her eyes flashed up, wide and wondering. He avoided her gaze, his long lashes shielding his eyes but not quite masking the unfamiliar vulnerability is their black depths.
