A Stranger's Love

Chad inhaled a breath and shrugged impatiently. ‘Theo’s always like that. It’s just her way. The old seductress routine maybe, I don’t know——’

‘Oh, come on!’ Bethany felt anger surge at his indifferent response. ‘You don’t expect me to believe that it was she who brought you here?’ she delivered with disbelieving venom. ‘That you were the innocent party being led astray! You upset her! You used her!’ Bethany accused wildly. The need to be perverse was overwhelming suddenly. She hated Chad Alington for causing this emotional turbulence that seemed to have risen out of nowhere. She had spent months and months trying to regain her equilibrium, trying to forget about her past life with Philip, and now here she was, here he was, stirring up her well-ordered thoughts and responses.

‘Your concern for Theo’s welfare is extremely touching,’ Chad replied tightly. ‘But, Bethany, the woman is as hard as nails! Surely you worked that out for yourself! She can be good fun, but she can also be quite a bitch when she wants to be. Tonight’s performance is not unusual by any means, believe me!’

‘Oh, isn’t that just convenient!’ Bethany snapped. ‘She can take care of herself, so that absolves you from all blame! My God! You men really are all the same! You just take what you want and never a thought for anyone else’s feelings!’

‘Both Theo and I are adults, well over the age of consent!’ Chad thundered. ‘We see each other from time to time on a casual basis—an arrangement that suits her as much as it does me.’ He reached out a hand and dragged Bethany to a halt on the bottom-most tread. ‘Do you have to be so damned naive?’ His eyes flashed to the smooth pale face in front of him. ‘Theo can take care of herself. Didn’t she prove that tonight? After all, I’m the one who’s been stranded out here. So save your sympathy—she wouldn’t thank you for it!’

‘Don’t patronise me!’ Bethany, fighting for self-control, pulled her arm free from his hold and glared furiously up into Chad’s angular face.

‘You’re upset because of what Theo said, aren’t you?’ he murmured, with a sigh of exasperation. ‘Can’t you see she just used that reference to women in my bed to cause trouble?’

‘I suppose you’re going to tell me now that there isn’t a grain of truth in it!’ Bethany responded frostily. ‘What was the seduction routine at my cabin this afternoon, if it wasn’t just another in a long line of calculated operations? Well, come on!’ she demanded shakily. ‘Lie to me! After all, I’m so incredibly naive! I’m bound to fall for any yarn you care to spin! Go on! Tell me what Theo said wasn’t true!’ She was shaking with emotion. This arrogant, autocratic man thought he knew it all, had already decided she was a silly little slip of a girl who had no idea about the real world...real life...

‘Would there be any point?’ Chad enquired bitingly. ‘It seems to me that whatever I say is only going to incense you more.’

‘Damned right it is!’ Bethany replied instantly. ‘Hell! You men are all the same——!’

‘Bethany, be quiet!’ His voice was deeply scathing, bored almost. ‘I’m becoming sick of that clichéd phrase! You’re talking absolute rubbish! Stop using this fit of temper as a shield to hide behind because you can’t handle the fact that we almost made love——’

‘How dare you?’ She couldn’t believe he was actually saying this to her. ‘How dare you stand there and presume certain things that are in no way true——?’

‘They’re true,’ Chad cut in tersely. ‘You wouldn’t be reacting this way if they weren’t. What happened this afternoon came about because we both wanted it, and you know it. You’re no woman of the world, Bethany, whatever you may like me to believe.’ His gaze was sharp and direct. ‘OK, at this particular moment you’re not being particularly sweet, but you are young and you are——’

‘Don’t you dare call me innocent!’ Bethany turned from him, all the old familiar scenes whirring around in her brain, making her want to be sick. Philip, in those few short months of married life, had rid her of all innocence the very first chance he had got—how could she ever forget that? ‘How can you be so...so cruel?’

‘Bethany!’ Chad caught hold of her and turned her to face him, his eyes scouring her frantic face. ‘Cruel? What is all this, for heaven’s sake? What’s wrong with you?’

‘Wrong with me?’ Bethany forced a choking kind of laugh. Given half a chance, she thought, I could quite easily become hysterical. ‘Oh, nothing much! Certainly nothing for the likes of you to worry about——’

‘Bethany, I get the distinct impression that I’m missing something here—missing something important. Care to quit raising your voice and tell me about it?’

‘Stop treating me like an idiot!’ She glared up into the handsome face, disturbed by the seemingly sincere expression. ‘You don’t honestly expect me to trust someone like you, do you?’ He was confusing her and it wasn’t fair. How could he be so arrogant and blunt one minute and full of perceptive persuasion the next? ‘I don’t even want you to take me back home!’ She had forced her voice to sound scathing, derisive. Better that than weak and full of uncertainty, surely?

‘Right!’ He moved with lightning speed and in one swift movement had lifted Bethany right off her feet. ‘That suits me just fine!’

‘What...what do you think you’re doing?’ she cried shakily. ‘Put me down at once! Are you listening to me? Put me down, damn you!’ Bethany struggled, but with difficulty; her waxed coat was bulky and awkward. The air-rifle fell to the floor with a clatter as she did her best to break free from Chad’s firm hold. ‘You’re mad!’ she cried furiously, trying to push away from the solid, broad frame. ‘Absolutely mad! I didn’t mean I didn’t want to go home at all!’ she screeched. ‘Stop this at once! Stop treating me like an idiot, will you?’

‘Stop behaving like one, then!’ They were back upstairs in an instant. Chad pushed the door open with his shoulder and re-entered the room. ‘Welcome once again to my harem,’ he drawled provokingly, setting her without too much finesse on to one of the large, soft floor cushions. ‘Now take your coat off!’

Bethany gazed nervously up into Chad’s face. ‘Wh-what?’

‘You heard.’ He bent down beside her and began, with competent fingers, to slip the coat from Bethany’s shoulders. ‘How can you ever begin to feel comfortable in this thing?’ His mouth curled seductively and Bethany shivered as his hands brushed lightly against the thin fabric of her shirt.

‘Don’t, Chad!’ Her voice was faint; it took every ounce of control to keep her expression calm.

‘Don’t what?’ He threw her an innocent look, but his tone held a hint of savage male. ‘After all, isn’t this what you expect of me, Bethany? Aren’t I just the complete bastard? Taking what I want left, right and centre, without a thought for anyone else?’

‘I’m...I’m not Theo!’ She tried to drag her coat back over her shoulders, but met the resistance of Chad’s long tanned fingers at her shoulders, was aware as their hands touched of the by now familiar lurch in the pit of her stomach. Bethany took a breath and averted her gaze from the attractive mouth that seemed to be only inches away from her own. ‘She...she might have been more than happy at being brought here and seduced by you, but if you think——!’

‘Me? Think?’ His voice held a sarcastic edge. ‘Are you sure that that’s possible? After all, I am a man. All I’m capable of is using and abusing, isn’t that what you’ve concluded? Well?’ he demanded grimly, fixing her with a cold, metallic gaze. ‘That’s your opinion, isn’t it, Bethany? We’re all after one thing and one thing alone.’

‘Stop it!’ Bethany moistened her lips. She didn’t need this. She didn’t want Chad this close, delving into her thoughts and her hang-ups. So she didn’t have a very good opinion of men. Could anyone blame her for that after living with Philip for so many months? She risked a glance at Chad’s face. This man did, evidently. ‘Will...will you please let me up?’ Bethany whispered shakily. ‘You’re right. This afternoon...’ She hesitated, desperate to form the words coherently, desperate that he should believe the truth. ‘I’m...I’m not like that... What I mean is...what happened...what nearly happened ...I’m not the sort of girl who...who——’

‘But downstairs you were so keen to reject the innocent little girl image,’ Chad cut in bluntly. ‘What am I to believe, Bethany? How come you give off so many conflicting signals?’

She frowned, conscious of his body, strong and full of male vibrancy so close to hers. ‘Do...do I?’

‘You really aren’t aware of it?’ Chad watched her for a long moment, his eyes studying the trembling features with impassive, cold eyes. Then he took a deep breath and the grim line of his mouth softened slightly. ‘You’ve jumped to conclusions, Bethany——’ his breath was warm on her face ‘—about a lot of things. I’m not a sex maniac. As I told you, it’s just not my style. I don’t go around seducing every woman I set eyes on. Why won’t you believe that what happened in your cabin wasn’t an everyday occurrence? It took me as much by surprise as it did you.’ He won the battle of wills, that had never been a real contest, and finally removed the coat from Bethany’s body, reached for her hands, his thumbs careful and gentle as they traced a delicate circular pattern over the lightly tanned skin. ‘Why won’t you tell me what all this anger is really about?’

Bethany looked into the rugged face with wide nervous eyes. He was being gentle again, speaking in tones that smouldered with intensity. She wished his convincing charade didn’t affect her so. He almost had her wanting to tell him about the marriage that had been a misery from foolish beginning to pathetic end, about Philip’s drinking and abuse, about the humiliation and the broken dreams...

She surveyed the handsome face with an expression that bordered on the curious. Was she ready to fool herself, to hurt herself all over again? Hadn’t she learned her lesson the hard way? Surely she wasn’t so stupid as to allow herself to be tricked a second time? This sincere approach had to be a game, didn’t it? Simply a different, a clever way of achieving the very same end.