Edge of Paradise (18 page)

‘You've come to pay up?'

That wasn't it at all. She'd come to explain. But something in his face goaded her to say, ‘If you insist, yes.'

‘I can't hear you. Speak up,' he commanded.

Her heart was fluttering against her ribs and she knew she sounded breathless, but this time she managed a louder voice. ‘I said yes.'

‘You're quite sure about that?' The fixed penetration of his gaze caused her to color. It wasn't the only giveaway thing she did, but the other wasn't made clear to her until he disentangled her fingers from her hair. ‘I think we'd better sit down, in a reasonable adult manner, and figure this out.'

She didn't realize what he meant by ‘reasonable adult manner' until he sat down on the edge of the bed, legs apart in typical male fashion, and gave her a perch on one of them.

‘There, isn't that better? Cozier, wouldn't
you
say?' he inquired, his hand stealing under her hair.

‘Yes,' she said, falling back on that faint little voice again, striving to dispel her painful awareness of his thumb sensually stroking the nape of her neck.

‘So you want to begin fulfilling your duties, do you?'

‘If that's what you want.'

‘I didn't catch that. What did you say?'

‘I said yes.'

‘Right—into bed with you. Well?' he snapped when she didn't jump into action. ‘What are you waiting for?'

‘N-nothing,' she said miserably, and dutifully attempted to slide off his knee.

His hand dropped with the swiftness of a bullet from her neck to trap its intended target, her waist, preventing her from moving. His free hand tilted her chin and made it impossible for her not to look directly at him.

‘You haven't got the monopoly on deep thinking, you know. My thoughts have been working overtime since I left you.'

‘Oh?' The realization that he had been teasing her forced an even deeper color into her cheeks, then drained it out again.

‘How many times has a man undressed you before tonight?'

‘I wasn't counting.'

‘You wouldn't have been old enough to count, that's why. And the man who did the
chore
would have been your father.'

‘Aren't you the bright boy!' she said, resorting to flippancy.

‘No, I've been extremely dull. I should have wised up much sooner than I did. All the signs were there even before that ridiculous scene in your room just now. I want you to know that what I did to you isn't generally considered outrageous.'

‘I wasn't outraged.'

‘You were petrified. When I . . . well . . . I know it was a shock to you, but it was a shock to me when you seemed all set to shoot through the ceiling as though you'd been scalded. You were trembling so much I thought you were going to pass out on me. I couldn't quite make up my mind whether it was another of your tricks to fend me off, or if it was for real. The suspicion
had
gone through my mind that you just might possibly be a virgin in the accepted sense, that you'd never consummated a relationship with a man. But I never for a moment dreamed that it was
all
virgin territory. I'm not embarrassing you, am I, by speaking this frankly?'

‘Oh
no
! It's . . . er . . . fascinating. Do go on.'

‘Poor little kitten. You can hardly bear to look at me. Why didn't you stop me? I don't mean the talking about it, but the doing. All you had to say was that no man had got that far with you before, and we both would have been spared that fiasco.'

She
swallowed, feeling bitterly hurt. She hadn't been able to help the upheaval of her emotions when his lips had touched her breast. True, the effect of it had almost rocketed her into orbit, but she had looked upon it as a blissful awakening. How could he bring it down to such a debasing level by calling it a fiasco?

‘I apologize for what I put you through. I would never have subjected you to my . . . unseemly behavior . . . if I'd known.'

Unseemly behavior! It was getting worse. Turning a lovely moment into something tainted and shabby.

‘I should have recognized that you weren't being provocative,' he continued remorselessly. ‘I should have known that that innocent look was genuine. Do you remember when you told me you were called Cat for short and I said something about it being a sinfully inaccurate description, and that I had a much more appropriate pet name in mind? I didn't realize how right I was. You
are
a kitten-face . . . a tiny misunderstood kitten who doesn't possess enough sense to come in out of the rain.' He laughed harshly. ‘We've been at cross-purposes from the beginning. Your answers were totally different from the ones I usually get when I chat a girl up. I accused you of talking in riddles and presumed it must be a new kind of party talk.'

‘I thought you were telling me you didn't
want
to talk business,' said Catherine.

‘I don't know about talking about it; I know that I meant it. But I think not the same kind of business you meant. You'd better tell me what it's all about. Begin with Allycats. Tell me just what Allycats is, and we'll go from there.'

‘A typewriting agency. At the interview—'

‘What interview?' he cut in.

‘When I came to your hotel room.'

‘
That
was an interview? As far as I knew it was a date. I thought I was taking you out to dinner. If only I'd tested you out as you asked me to . . . or, should I say, tried to test you out, because somehow I don't think I'd have got very far. Either way, it would have saved us both a lot of aggravation.'

‘I was referring to a dictation and typing test, which seemed very reasonable. Dare I ask what you thought I meant?'

‘I think you know.'

‘Yes. You thought I meant a quick tumble on the mattress,' she said indignantly.

‘Before you start letting off steam, I didn't take you up on it.'

‘I'm wondering why,' she scoffed.

‘I didn't hold you that cheap.'

‘I'll go along with that. The check you gave me would have made it quite an expensive little get-together. I thought the fee was high for shorthand and typing duties. Perhaps it's normal for the service you had in mind.'

‘Why are you insulting me?' he asked, his
voice
grating with anger. ‘I haven't insulted you. I have never paid for sex in my entire life. I couldn't believe my ears when you insisted on putting it on a commercial footing. I gave you every chance to have second thoughts. I didn't expect to see you at Nassau airport.'

‘I know,' she admitted, sighing heavily. ‘It's all been a terrible mix-up. I was stunned when we had connecting rooms at the hotel in New Providence, with no apparent sign of a key.'

‘It might help if you told me just how you arrived at the crazy idea that I needed a shorthand typist.'

‘I thought you were someone else. I went to that party for the sole purpose of meeting Lucky Chance, because Lois, our hostess, said that he was on the lookout for someone to type his manuscripts. It was Lois who pointed him out to me. Of course, at the time he was talking to you. So numbskull here picked the wrong man. I jumped to the conclusion that you were the author and then, when you confirmed it—'

‘Hold it right there. You've just lost me again. You said I confirmed it? By what mistaken notion did you latch on to that?'

‘I asked you if I should call you Lucky.'

‘I don't believe it!' he groaned. ‘If my memory serves me correctly, I said, “You tell me.” I was hoping I'd be lucky.'

‘I guess, party atmosphere or no party atmosphere, I should have stuck to formality
and
addressed you as Mr. Chance.'

‘It would have straightened me out. I know I quite fancied you, but you'd been giving pretty heavy stand-off signs and I didn't know whether or not I'd be lucky enough to make it with you.'

‘
Make it
with me! Did you really think you'd get me into bed as quickly as that? I find that disgusting!'

‘It's no good talking like that. It won't help matters any. We've got to consider where we go from here.'

‘I know where
I
go from here—home. I don't know how long it will take me, but I promise to pay you back in full.'

‘You don't owe me a thing. The money's not important. I accept now that you didn't deliberately set out to fleece me.'

‘It might not be important to you, but it is to me. It's a matter of honor for me to pay you back, and the sooner I get home and start earning, the sooner that can be achieved.'

‘Catherine, this is difficult enough as it is, so will you let me finish saying what I have to say without interruptions? That is not a request, it's an order. Is that understood?'

‘Perfectly. It may have been unknowing on my part, but I entered into a contract. I sold my body to you. I am yours to command. Whatever you desire of me, I must do.'

‘If you aren't the most infuriating female I've ever known . . . If you don't button up for
five
minutes, I just might exercise my rights in accordance with the terms of the contract as I thought them to be, instead of offering to negotiate fresh ones. Are you prepared to listen, damn you?'

‘Yes!' she snapped belligerently.

‘When you propositioned me—as I thought,' he was quick to add when her mouth opened as if she was going to protest, ‘it came like a gift straight from heaven. Normally I would have sent you off with a flea in your ear, because I like to do the propositioning. But your timing was fantastic. I was all set to come out here, not particularly looking forward to stirring up all the old gossip, when you dropped the perfect solution into my hands. Bringing you here would scotch it before it even started. You're with me? You know what I'm talking about?'

‘Mmmm. Coral Cay was the location for
Edge of Paradise
. A sequel is about to be made. You're here in connection with that.'

‘Carry on, you're doing just fine,' he encouraged.

‘I thought, while I was still laboring under the misapprehension that you were an author, that you were here to do the screenplay. It's obvious that you're a very important member of the film crew, so you must be the director. The one who—?' She held tightly to her intrepid tongue.

‘You can finish it without fear of reprisal.
You
don't have to spare my feelings; after all, nobody else does. Or, if you're too squeamish, I'll do it for you. I'm the sucker who directed his girl into the arms of another guy.'

‘I'm sorry. Zoe is very beautiful and it must have been particularly distressing for you to have to sit back and watch them falling more deeply in love every day.'

‘Putting the lines in their mouths, even, creating a conducive atmosphere and demanding sizzling realism in the love scenes. You could say that it was not one of my better times,' he admitted wryly. ‘So you see how intolerable my position would be if you suddenly packed up and went home.'

‘Now that you point it out to me, I do. So what are you suggesting?'

‘That you stay and earn your fee. And before you start biting my head off again, I don't mean under the sheets. You gave quite a commendable performance this evening as the new woman in my life. There were times when you looked at me as though you really had taken a terrific tumble for me. I was most impressed. I want you to stay and keep up the pretense that we're having an affair. If you can bring yourself to tolerate my attentions in full view of an audience, you have my solemn word that I won't step out of line in private.'

She blinked. Tolerate him? Didn't he know the effect he had on her? He had only to look at her to make her melt; at his touch her
normally
sane system went crazy. And, as if she didn't have enough to deal with, now that she understood the reason for his attitude to women, why he held her sex in scorn and contempt, even her dislike of the kind of man he typified no longer had any potency. No wonder he was like he was. Her heart ached to think what
Edge of Paradise
had cost him. It must have taken him to the edge of hell to have to guide Zoe, the woman he loved, through all those torrid love scenes. The critics had raved about her talented performance, but he had known that her brilliance in the role owed everything to realism, that every tender look and unbridled burst of passion was a genuine portrayal of her true feelings for her co-star. On top of that, he'd had to endure the knowledge that he was both an object of pity and the laughingstock of the entire unit. No wonder he wanted her to stay. He wouldn't want to subject himself to the mockery of the cast and crew for a second time by having another girl walk out on him.

There was no question of her leaving him in the lurch. She had to support the belief that she was his woman. But what would that do to her, knowing that he only wanted her to remain because of her usefulness, not because he felt anything for her? What he asked her to do in public would be easy. The difficulties would arise when they were alone and she had to feign indifference. Feeling as vibrantly
aware
of him as she did, with no drama school training behind her to fall back on, how was she going to pull that one off? Where was her support to come from? The answer to that popped unbidden into her mind. She still had her pride. That would keep her from revealing how she felt about him.

‘What do you say, Catherine? It will mean putting on a bit of a show when the others are present, but I'll try not to do anything objectionable. I'm sure you won't find it too onerous to play up to me, put on an act that you care.'

She could confidently guarantee the performance of a lifetime. It wouldn't even be acting.

‘I'll give it a try,' she said.

‘Thank you. I could have handled it, but the situation might have been somewhat uncomfortable if your decision had gone the other way.'