Enthralled (5 page)

Darby brought the
still-full lunch basket back with them, shaking his head and muttering that the
chef would be angry. He opened his mouth, studied Teel for a long moment and
finally said nothing for the rest of the short trip to the
Deirdre.

Teel went straight to her
cabin and threw herself facedown on the bed. She only meant to rest a minute,
then rise and shower, but her heavy eyelids closed and sleep took her away.

Teel's first thought as she
struggled out of her deep sleep was that the yacht had hit rough weather. Her
whole cabin seemed to be tilting in the storm. Then, fuzzily, she became aware
that the rocking was only caused by Darby shaking her shoulder.

"Come along, Sister. It's
time to get dressed."

"Dinner." Teel
forced the word around the cotton wool in her mouth. "Hungry. Forgot
lunch."

"Forgot? Baloney. No
doubt you'd been tiffing with himself and didn't eat 'cause you was
miffed." Darby ignored her glare. "Now come along. It will soon be
cocktail time.

"Dinner." Teel
licked her dry lips.

"Argue with me, will
ya?" Darby's half grin, half growl made his bushy eyebrows go up and down.
"Up you get now," he badgered her before urging her into the
bathroom. "I'll lay out your clothes," he called to her through the
closed door. "Not to worry."

I'm not worried, Teel thought,
rubbing her hair with one of the exotic shampoos she had found in the stockpile
of emollients on board the
Deirdre.
She wasn't worried about what to wear, but she was worried
about how soon she could eat. If that bear of a man hadn't made her so mad, she
would have eaten the lovely lunch that Rowan had fixed for her. She ground her
teeth together at the thought of Chazz.

She was going to yell over the
noise of the shower to tell Darby to lay out jeans for her, then decided that
he wouldn't hear her anyway.

She padded out of the bathroom
wrapped in a thick bath sheet that hung almost to her toes and stopped dead,
her mouth falling open as she caught sight of the wisp of a dress that Darby
had draped across the bed. Beside it were cobwebby undies and ultra-sheer
stockings. Backless slippers in a sea-green color with medium-high heels lay at
the foot of the bed.

Teel looked around the room
for her other clothes, or anything else she might wear to tell Darby to find
something for her. But there was nothing but her towel. She balked at leaving
her cabin wrapped in that, afraid she might run into the owner of the
Deirdre.
She had no wish to
watch Chazz's lion's eyes laser over her, separating her bones from tendons,
muscle and tissue, disassembling her and putting her back together again. And
she didn't like the all-over tingle she felt at the mere thought of him.

She shrugged and decided to
put on the dress. What difference did it make what she wore as long as she
could eat?

It wasn't until she had
slipped the sea green silk chiffon dress with the uneven hemline over her head
that she noticed the jeweler's box on one side of the dresser. Curious, she
opened it and gasped. Emeralds! Drop earrings of braided gold interspersed with
emeralds and a matching thin necklace glinted up at her. The ring was a
marquise-shaped emerald that fit perfectly.

Teel ooohed over
the cache, chuckling to herself as she thought of Darby taking these from
Chazz's safe. He had often described the safe in Chazz's bedroom, where he kept
the valuables. She hoped the gremlin like little man wouldn't get into trouble
because he had tried to give Teel a chance to pretend to be a gem-laden lady.

She knew she couldn't wear the
jewels and maintain her pose as a nun, but she laughed out loud to think what
her fellow schoolteachers would say. They had never seen their director in
anything so exotic. Teel laughed to herself as well as she twirled in front of
the mirror. A sense of freedom and abandon made her feel lightheaded. She had
no choice but to wear the clothes even though the cut of the dress precluded
wearing a bra and the combination of silky panties and dress plus very sheer
stockings gave a sensuous, naked feeling to her skin. She was surprised to see
that the contrast of the sophisticated dress with her unmadeup, sun warmed skin
gave her a uniquely striking look.

She gripped the green clutch
bag and left the cabin, feeling like the Queen of the
Deirdre,
not just a temporary,
unwanted passenger. As she traversed the ship toward the dining area at the
stern, she wondered idly what her host would be doing this evening.

She stopped,
open-mouthed, when she saw him, dressed in evening clothes, leaning against the
rail, the rich aroma of a Corona Colorado cigar wafting toward her. She would
have turned and retraced her steps, but he whirled around, like a lion at the
ready and flicked the cheroot into the water.

"Ah... so
here you are. Come and sit down and have some appetizers. Darby tells me you're
hungry. I hope you won't eat so many canapés that you can't enjoy Rowan's
specialty this evening—
truite en colere."

Teel resisted the
hand leading her to the round table laden with cold delicacies. A chafing dish
bubbled nearby, and her palate was teased by the spicy aroma of deviled clams.
"I don't want to intrude on your guests and your dinner," she began.

Chazz grinned at her and
settled her gently into a chair. "Not much chance of that since you're my
only guest."

"How come?" Teel
asked, her composure deserting her.

Chazz laughed, throwing his
head back in open enjoyment.

Teel stared at his
exposed throat, which was strong and muscular like the rest of him, and felt
her heart slip sideways. "I mean—don't you have—you must have—" She
glared at him when he continued to look at her, his eyes glittering with
amusement. "You know darned well what I mean," she finished lamely.

Chazz's black eyebrows rose
high on his forehead.
"Sister,
I'm shocked.

"You bring
out the worst in me," Teel murmured, uneasiness assailing her at the mockery
in his tone. She reached for some of the gold caviar molded in ice, refusing to
look at him and swallowing before she spoke. "Why do you say 'Sister' in
that peculiar way?" She reached for another canapé without thinking, then
felt embarrassed at her greediness. But when she hesitated, Chazz served her
himself.

"Do I say 'Sister' in a
peculiar way?" he asked, his voice like velvet on steel. "I wonder
why that should bother you." His smile looked as threatening as a shark's.

Teel tried to hold his narrowed
gaze with her own, but looked away first. She was relieved when Rowan announced
dinner.

The food was a delight, not
only to eat but also to look at. Teel had seen pictures of the trout dish with
its tail in its mouth and the attendant vegetables, but she had never tasted
it. Nor had she ever tried Dom Perignon champagne.

When she finally
sighed and pushed back her plate, Darby appeared with a silver tray laden with
French pastries. Teel briefly tried to resist the temptation, but gave in and
selected an éclair.

"That's the size of the
dinghy—dipped in chocolate," Chazz commented, then grinned at Teel's
glowering look as he reached over to wipe a bit of chocolate from the corner of
her mouth. Just then Rowan arrived on deck to urge her to try the Napoleons as
well. She felt herself redden as the three men watched her finish the sweet
with broad smiles on their faces.

"These are
luscious, Rowan," Teel said admiringly, determined to keep her eyes on the
chef when Chazz chuckled. She couldn't help smiling, though when she glanced at
Darby's delighted, grinning leprechaun face. She laughed out loud. But when the
others left carrying away the last of the dishes and she turned to Chazz, her
smile faded. Chazz's features looked as if they'd been etched in stone. "What's
wrong?" Teel asked in a strained voice.

"I have a
consuming wish to see you laugh like that all the time,
Sister
Terese Ellen."
Chazz ground out the words between clenched teeth. "It would be like
Christmas and Chanukah for me to smother you in jewels and furs."

"I—I don't live like
that." Teel felt her skin tighten with fear art the glitter in his eyes.
"I don't
want
to live like that," she added.

"No?" he asked
softly.

"No. What's the matter
with you? I don't understand why you should question everything—"

"Do I do that,
Sister?"
he interrupted.

"There you go
again with that sarcastic way you have of saying 'Sister.'" Teel failed to
keep the shrillness from her voice. "Why are you doing that?" she
demanded.
He knows, he knows,
her mind clamored.
He knows
you're not a nun.

Chazz took a sip
of cognac after swirling the amber liquid in his snifter. He took a deep
breath. "Come along. Darby will have brought the dinghy around to the
platform." "Where are we going?" Teel gulped. "I don't
understand you."

"Oh, but you
will." Taking her arm, he lifted her from the chair. "I'm going to
have a flutter at the tables. I thought you might enjoy it."

"If you mean by
flutter—gambling—I don't gamble—well, what I mean is, not as a rule."

"It wouldn't fit the role
of a nun, hmmm?" His dry tone stopped her dead in her tracks.

"Now
what do you mean?" She took a deep breath, bracing
herself for his answer.

"Let's go." He spat
out the words like bullets from a gun. His hands gripped hers like iron bands
as they descended the steep stairs leading to the loading platform.

When Teel would
have balked at the side of the dinghy, Chazz's golden eyes bore into her until
she fell still. Then he jumped into the dinghy, clasped her round the waist,
and lifted her into the boat.

"You're certainly
arrogant," she gasped out.

He stared in harsh amusement
as she attempted to straighten her dress. "I'm glad you decided to put on
that stole," he said. "It's not much but it covers your charms more
than that dress." He turned his back on her and eased the dinghy away from
the
Deirdre;
the
boat shot toward shore as he gave it full throttle, throwing Teel back against
the cushions in an inelegant sprawl.

C
asino royale was
a revelation
to Teel, even though Chazz assured her that casinos throughout the world were
pretty much the same.

"There are
probably three hundred Casino Royales in the world, differing only in the
degree of opulence," he explained. "Many are frequented only by the
jet set. Others are notorious tourist traps, but by and large they are much the
same." The gold lighter in his hand flared under his cheroot, making Teel
think at once of Rudolph Valentino. Her involuntary laugh brought his eyes to
her.

"Tell me the joke."

"I don't think you'd like it."

"Try me."

"I was just thinking that if you were less
tall and less muscular and your hair were slicked down, you would look just
like Rudolph Valentino." She couldn't stop chuckling as she said it and
was unprepared for Chazz's answering laugh. She was flabbergasted by his dimples.
They just didn't fit the man—but oh, how endearing they were! She felt a blush
creep up her neck at the thought.

"So I'm the Great Lover,
am I?" His voice was like velvet. "Perhaps I should act the
part."

Teel looked
abruptly away from him, feeling as though her heart had just stopped beating.
She gazed around the room in desperation. "I guess this must be a jet
setters' hangout," she commented tartly. She felt his golden eyes sweep
over her.

"What makes you say
that?" he asked, amused.

"You're here.
After what I've read of your international escapades, I can't see you
frequenting a second- rate casino."

Chazz shrugged and
took her arm, nodding once to the maitre d' as they approached the game room.
"One of the perks of having money. I like first class. Does that annoy
you?"

"Yes, as a matter of fact
it does. Why not try second class and give some of your money away?" She
studied the huge room with its silk moirre walls and ceiling, and sparkling
chandelier. She was astonished by the way the people's clothes seemed to match
the room's gold and glitter.

"Don't be pompous,
Sister."
The icy voice at
her ear seemed to carry a double meaning. "Perhaps we all hide... certain
aspects of our life from other people." Teel's head whipped around to face
him, but his eyes swept the room as he continued to speak. "Don't assume
that because I live first class I have never cared for those less fortunate
than myself."

She put her hand
on his arm, making him face her. "I was out of line, but I still don't see
you as the philanthropic type." She could have bitten her tongue at her
choice of words. Everything she said came out sounding self-righteous. She was
attacking him and enjoying it, she mused to herself, bewildered by her
reactions to him. Why didn't she stop?