Spellbound in His Arms (14 page)

***

Eric was standing next to the
fireplace, smoking a cigar, when he heard Alex coming downstairs with Jackie.
He had taken some time going over his father’s paperwork and had explained to
his father his plan for taking over everything and staging an accident for the
old man, in order to get his hefty life insurance as well.

He turned and took a deep breath,
seeing Jackie in a beautiful light blue dress, which fitted her perfectly and
exposed her wonderful curves.

Noticing the lascivious look on
Alex’s gaze, Eric abruptly asked him to leave. This one was
his
and no
one would take her from him. He wet his lips, as he realized his plans for
Jackie had changed. He was planning on using her to blackmail Michael, but now
he wanted
more
. He was craving this beautiful girl with the womanly
curves that could seduce even a saint. And Eric was no saint.

“Come in,” he said and walked over to
her.

Jackie kept her walk steady and
didn’t draw back in fear, as she felt the urge to. She felt his hand taking her
by the arm and leading her to the sofa. She sat down and felt him sinking on
the sofa next to her with his arm touching hers. She tried to shift, but there
was no room to move and besides, she didn’t want to get him angry again.

He leaned towards her and whispered
in her ear. “I have a feeling the two of us will become good friends.”

Jackie tensed, as his hand slid up
her leg. She turned to him and forced a smile on her face. “I don’t see why we
can’t,” she whispered back, cupping the side of his face with her right hand
and rose fluidly to her feet.

She walked towards the window, her
skin crawling where he had touched her.

***

Eric looked at the sexy figure with the long legs, the
eye-catching curves, and the shiny hair that came down to her shoulders, hiding
nothing from the open back of her dress. His eyes lingered on the exposed
flawless skin of her back and licked his lips with lustful anticipation. He
imagined her body naked and was immediately aroused. He leaned forward like a
predator watching his prey.

He wasn’t fooled by her supposed cooperation. He had
felt her tense when he touched her and her reaction had made him furious, but
he was going to be patient. This one was worth fighting for.

Of course, he could throw her on the
sofa and rape her right here and now. He was tempted to have his way with her
and it made him feel powerful, knowing that there was nothing anyone could do
to stop him.

But he wanted more. He wanted her as
a mistress, to take her around the places he hung out and show her off.
Everybody
would die to see me with a knockout like this
, he thought and smiled.
Things were getting better by the minute. But he had to be patient and go easy
with her, if he wanted to keep her around for a while—at least until he found
the next knockout mistress to take around and show off.

He thought about Christina for a moment.
She was pretty all right and ready to do
anything
for him. But she was
stupid and had no spirit.
Not like this one
, he thought, and turned his
gaze on the long, suntanned legs, wearing the soft white sandals.

He took a deep breath, enjoying this
cunning game of power. He knew she could feel him stripping her with his gaze
and there was nothing she could do about it. She was his to do with as he
pleased. It was so exhilarating….

***

Michael walked for several hours,
when he heard a helicopter right over his head. He hid and noticed the way it
was going, until it disappeared from sight. Michael followed the direction in
which the helicopter had flown, and a couple of hours later, he found the
house.

It was almost dark by the time
Michael reached the house. He noticed two guards in the yard and decided to
remain hidden for a while, watching the house, before he would try to approach.
He had no idea, how many were going to be there, but he was sure there were
more than two.

At one time he even saw Alex, that
low life who worked for Eric Manos, come outside and go over to the guards to
say something to them. Then he walked back to the house, stopping for a few
minutes at the front steps. He took a cautious look around, as if he had sensed
that someone was watching.

Michael laid on the ground, hidden in
the bushes and holding his breath, until Alex went back inside. Mobilizing his
Special Forces training, he crawled towards the house, in order to remain invisible
and not disturb the shrubbery with any of his movements. He was sure that
bastard, Alex, was probably watching, hiding behind a window. And there were
too many windows in this old house.

He got as close as he could without
being spotted. He had to be very careful, as the moon was shining very
brightly. He scanned the surroundings and made sure that there was nobody else
out there besides the two guards he had spotted earlier.

After a while, he got to his feet and
crept around the back of the house, keeping close to the woods to take
advantage of the tree shadows. Some lights had come on inside the house and
Michael noticed some shadows moving around right outside.
More guards
,
he thought.

With the swift moves of a panther, he
climbed a tree and tried to look through the balcony doors to what seemed to be
a dining room. His breath caught in his throat when he saw Jackie sitting at
the table, having dinner with Eric Manos. He felt a kick in his stomach and his
heart started beating faster.

What on earth is going on?
He had rushed over here, putting his life in danger to save her and
there she was, sitting at the table with Eric Manos having a candlelight
dinner. Michael was furious. He felt jealousy like a poisonous snake biting his
heart. Jackie,
his Jackie,
was there with Eric Manos.

What if she’s held against her
will?
He dismissed the thought. There she was,
stunning in a light blue dress, raising her glass, clinking it to his and not
pulling back when he leaned towards her and their heads almost touched.

His rising temper and the tightening
in his stomach made his movements abrupt and careless. The branch he was
sitting on broke and Michael landed on the ground on his back. A curse left his
lips and he immediately jumped to his feet grabbing his gun. He could hear
voices and people running towards him and he turned and ran further inside the
woods for shelter. The guards started shooting in his direction. Michael kept
on running, keeping his head down and dodging bullets all around him.

***

Jackie jumped out of her seat, as
soon as she heard the shots. She turned to look at Eric, who was already up and
out the door.
Someone is here
…
and that someone is probably Michael.
Hope
warmed her heart. She rushed to the balcony doors to look outside. She knew she
was being careless. She needed to hide, to protect herself from all the
shootings. But this might be her only chance to escape.

She took a deep breath and tried the
balcony doors. They were
unlocked
. Thrilled, she walked outside on the
veranda and flattened herself against the outside wall of the building. She
carefully scanned the surroundings in the moonlight, trying to remain
unnoticed. She could hear people running and shouting. She moved to the edge of
the veranda and down the back steps, keeping as close as she could to the wall.

When she reached the corner of the
building, she looked around. Seeing nobody, she ran towards the woods, keeping
as low as she could. Her heart thundered in her chest. She felt her strength
deserting her, but she wasn’t going to stop. She had to try this. There was no
way she would go back to the house and sit there, trying to avoid Eric’s
advances. She was sure after he got tired of his game of cat and mouse, he
would get frustrated and bluntly attack and rape her.

She heard someone calling her name
but kept running without looking back. Bushes were scratching her arms and
legs. She fell down a couple of times, but she got up and kept going.

Now, she was in the woods. She
couldn’t see a thing and had no idea where she was going. She stopped and
listened to what was going on around her. She bent down and turned to look at
the house. She saw Eric running on the veranda and down the steps with a gun in
his hands. Alex was running a few feet behind him. She heard more people running
further away and more gunshots. She crouched behind a tree and kept hidden for
a while until things got quiet. And still she remained hidden, holding her
breath. Her mind was working double time, trying to figure out what to do. How
would she find Michael? Was he the one out there? And what if he wasn’t? What
if it was someone else? She had to be very careful and remain hidden. If only
she could find her way out of there. Her best bet will be to get to the beach
and follow the coastline. But how would she get there?

Hours later, or maybe it was just
minutes, she got up and started walking towards the sound of the waves. It was
better than nothing and, of course, a lot better than getting lost in the woods
or getting caught and dragged back to the house.

She walked slowly through the woods,
paying attention to where she stepped, trying to keep the noise to a minimum.
She had traveled a few hundred feet, when someone grabbed her from behind and
put his hand over her mouth.

Jackie fought to get free, when she
heard Michael’s voice whispering in her ear. “It’s me, Michael! Stop fighting!”
Jackie’s arms fell to her side, breathing out in relief.

Trembling and exhausted, she lost her
balance. His hand lifted from her mouth, and he grabbed her with both hands from
behind to prevent her from falling.

Jackie turned around and threw
herself in his arms, feeling tears running down her face. “Oh, Michael,” she
whispered. “I was so scared.”

She raised her face, trying to see
his in the darkness. She felt his hands releasing her body and sensed him
stepping back from her.
What is the matter with him
?

“Michael…” she whispered and saw him
turn his back to her.

A shiver crawled up her spine. She
could tell there was something wrong with Michael.
What now? What if another
murder has taken place? What about little Aphrodite?

“Michael talk to me,” she pleaded and
standing behind him, she put her hand on his shoulder.

Michael turned to face her, but his
face was hidden in the shadows as the trees were blocking the moonlight from
shining through. She heard him taking a deep breath and stood still, waiting
for him to talk.

“I
saw
you,” he whispered
accusingly. The bitterness in his voice left her speechless. “Why didn’t you
tell me?” he continued after a moment of silence.

“What are you talking about?” she
whispered finally and her voice was shaking from emotion.
This was too much
.
She had been through hell and almost got raped and killed. And now she was here
with Michael and instead of feeling happy and secure, she felt disappointed of
being treated with suspicion and accusations.

“Come on, Jackie,” he said
impatiently, raising the tone of his voice, even though, they had to be very
careful and quiet. “I
saw
you with Eric.” He added, as this explained
everything.

“What do you mean, you saw me?” she
asked confused. “Of course, I was with Eric. He kidnapped me.
Remember
?”
she added, ready to explode.

“I saw you in the dining room,” he
added. She felt more than saw his eyes searching her face for her reaction.

Jackie looked at him confused for a
moment and suddenly realized Michael had been watching them from outside. How
long had he been out there? And what exactly did he think he saw? Jackie
remembered the way Eric was acting and her playing along. She bitterly realized
how their behavior must have looked to Michael.

“How could you think that about me?”
Her temper rose. In his eyes, she was convicted without even giving her a
chance to explain. So that’s what he thought of her…that she was the type to
get involved with someone like Eric, or even worse, that she was working with
Eric right from the start.

“Well?” Michael asked impatiently,
waiting for her to deny his insinuations—maybe even hit him. Anything that
would show him he was wrong. But
nothing
…
no reaction whatsoever?

Jackie just stood there, facing
him…silent.
So she was admitting it.
He grabbed her by the arm and
started walking through the woods, dragging her behind him. He felt the urge to
get this fiasco over with. He was going to take her back to town, and then come
back and deal with Philip and Eric Manos once and for all. But in the meantime,
Jackie would be in the hands of the Corfu police, to make sure she didn’t
escape.

And to think her own cousin was murdered
, he thought and felt his temper rising.

Jackie stumbled after him. “Michael,
slow down. You’re hurting me.”

Michael loosened his grip on her arm but
didn’t slow his pace. “We have no time to waste,” he said abruptly. “People are
getting killed, while you’re having dinner with
your boyfriend
.” She
could hear the fury in his voice.