The Helen Bianchin Collection (Mills & Boon E-Book Collections) (137 page)

It was a brilliantly orchestrated parade, quite the best Alyse had attended, for the models were top-class professionals and the clothes not only superb, but many were available from the Cove boutiques.

‘See anything you particularly like?’ Rachel asked, then laughed as she glimpsed the appreciative gleam in her daughter-in-law’s eyes.

‘An hour with our marked catalogues after lunch?’ Alyse suggested.

‘Definitely,’ Rachel agreed. ‘And talking of lunch, we’d better head for the marquee entrance.’

The restaurant chosen for the venue was cantilevered out over the water, with splendid views of the harbourfront villas and a flotilla of luxury craft moored at an adjacent marina.

Solange was seated opposite, beside Serita, Marta, Chrissie, Kate and Annabel, and Alyse felt as if she was facing an inquisition committee.

The same impeccably suited young men who had so earnestly served champagne before the parade also waited on tables, and Alyse found it amusing to be the recipient of one particular man’s attentive solicitude.

‘Darling, you do seem to have made a hit,’ Solange declared artlessly. ‘Are you going to slip him your phone number?’

Without faltering, Alyse responded with an absence of guile. ‘With a young baby to care for, I haven’t the time or the inclination to foster the attention of a toy-boy.’ She offered a brilliant smile. ‘Besides, I doubt if Aleksi would be amused.’

Solange’s eyes narrowed slightly. ‘A little jealousy stimulates a marriage, surely?’

Oh, heavens, she was beginning to feel like a butterfly pinned to the wall, with numerous pairs of interested eyes waiting to see if she’d squirm! ‘Do you think so?’ she queried, then gave a light faintly husky laugh. ‘Aleksi would probably beat me.’

Serita smiled in silent amusement, while Solange merely fixed Alyse with an unblinking glare. ‘Dominic insists we host a dinner party on Saturday evening,’ she drawled. ‘I’ll ring Aleksi with the details.’ Her gaze rested on Rachel. ‘You must come too, of course.’

‘We leave for Sydney tomorrow to spend time with my sister, so we won’t be here, I’m afraid,’ Rachel declined graciously, and Solange gave a slight negligent shrug.

It was after two when Alyse and Rachel managed to slip away, and within an hour and a half they were heading towards Sovereign Islands with a few selected purchases reposing on the rear seat of the car.

Alyse had planned an informal dinner at home for Rachel and Alexandros’s last evening on the Coast, and there was a certain sense of sadness apparent when it came time for them to leave, for she would miss Rachel’s company.

‘A week isn’t long,’ the older woman assured her as she gave her an affectionate hug. ‘And I’ll phone frequently to check on my grandson.’

‘I shall probably have to restrain her from making at least three calls a day,’ Alexandros declared with amusement as he slid into the rear seat of the car.

Alyse moved quickly indoors as soon as the BMW drew out of sight. The house seemed to envelop her, so large and strangely silent, and she was unable to suppress a feeling of acute vulnerability.

Georg was sleeping peacefully, and she quickly showered before slipping into bed, where she lay wide-eyed and reflective as a dozen conflicting thoughts vied for supremacy in a brain too emotionally fraught to make sense of any one of them.

When she heard Aleksi return she closed her eyes in the pretence of sleep, aware of a deep ache in the region of her heart. It would have been wonderful to seek the comfort of his arms, to have them enfold her close, and simply hold her. A few tender kisses, the soothing
touch of his hands, so that she felt secure in the knowledge that she was infinitely cherished.

Except that such an image belonged in the realm of fantasy, and she gave up waiting for him to join her in bed as the minutes dragged on. The only feasible explanation seemed to be a wealth of paperwork awaiting him in the study, and when she woke the following morning it was to discover he was already up and dressed.

In a way Alyse found it a relief to spend the following few days quietly at home. There were letters to write, and she rang Miriam Stanford at the Perth boutique to learn that everything was progressing extremely smoothly—almost as if she had hardly been missed, Alyse thought wryly.

During the afternoon she prepared their evening meal, taking infinite care with a carefully selected menu. Aleksi invariably arrived home just before five, and after a quick shower he would insist on changing and feeding Georg.

‘He needs to recognise a male figure in his young life,’ Aleksi had said the day after Rachel and Alexandros departed for Sydney. ‘Besides, this is the only time I have to give to him five nights out of seven.’

It left Alyse free to set the table and make a last-minute check on dinner. Just watching the tiny baby in Aleksi’s arms wrenched her emotions, for she could imagine Aleksi being an integral part of Georg’s existence, playing ball, teaching him to swim, simply being there throughout his formative adolescent years. Each time the pull at her heartstrings became a little more painful, and she was gripped with a terrifying fear that although removing Georg to Perth was right for her, it wouldn’t necessarily be right for Georg.

Conversation over dinner was restricted to their individual daily activities, polite divertissements that lasted until dessert had been consumed, then Aleksi would invariably disappear into the study and not emerge until long after she had gone to bed.

The possibility that his actions might be deliberate angered her unbearably, and she found herself consciously plotting a subtle revenge.

The occasion of Solange and Dominic Rochas’ dinner party seemed ideal, and on Friday morning Alyse rang Melanie and arranged for her to babysit Georg while she went shopping for something suitable to wear.

The desire to stun was uppermost, and she found exactly what she wanted in an exclusive boutique. In black, its bodice was strapless, exquisitely boned and patterned in black sequins, with a slim-fitting knee-length skirt that hugged her slender hips. A long floating silk scarf draped at her neck to flow down her back completed the outfit, and, ignoring the outrageously expensive price-tag, she simply charged it. Shoes came next, and she chose a perfume to match her new image.

As Saturday progressed it was impossible to quell her reservations, and after feeding and settling Georg into his cot she quickly showered, then settled down in front of the mirror with a variety of cosmetics.

It seemed to take an age to achieve the desired effect, but eventually she stood back, satisfied with the result. Her hair was brushed into its customary smooth bell-shape, and in a moment of indecision she caught its length and twisted it high into a knot on top of her head.

Yes? No?
‘Damn,’
she muttered softly, beginning to view the evening ahead with a certain degree of dread.

Solange was someone with whom she doubted it was
possible ever to share an empathy. Even on so short an acquaintance, it was impossible not to be aware that the interior decorator lusted after Aleksi, and the mere fact that Alyse was Aleksi’s wife stacked the odds heavily against her from the start.

Her dynamic husband had a lot to answer for, she decided as she crossed to the large mirrored closet and slid back the door. Although to be fair, he couldn’t help his dark good looks, nor his sexual appeal, for both were an inherent quality, and, while some men might deliberately exploit such assets, honesty forced her to concede that Aleksi did not.

A tiny frown of doubt momentarily creased her forehead as she extracted
the
dress from its hanger. Although it had been selected to shock, she suddenly developed reservations as to its suitability. Remembering precisely why she had purchased it deepened her frown, and her eyes clouded with indecision. What had seemed an excellent means of revenge at the time no longer held much appeal, and she was about to slip it back on to the hanger when she heard Aleksi move into the dressing-room.

‘What time have you organised for Melanie to arrive?’

‘Seven,’ she answered, turning slightly towards him, watching as he discarded the towel knotted low at his hips, then he stepped into dark briefs and reached for a snowy white shirt.

His physique was splendid, emanating innate power and strength, and Alyse was unable to prevent the surge of sheer sexual pleasure at the sight of him.

Impossibly cross with herself, she slid down the zip fastener and stepped into the gown. Her fingers automatically
slid the zip into place, then smoothed its sleek lines over her hips before settling on the gentle swell of her breasts, which were exposed to a greater degree than she remembered when originally trying on the gown.

‘Did you select that with the intention of raising every red-blooded man’s blood pressure at the party tonight, or simply mine?’ Aleksi drawled from behind, and she slowly turned to face him.

‘Why would I deliberately want to raise yours?’ she queried sweetly.

‘The result is stunning, but I may not be able to stand guard at your side every minute during the evening to fend off the attention you’ll undoubtedly receive,’ he warned with an edge of mockery, and her eyes acquired a fiery sparkle.

‘Really? Are you suggesting I should change?’ There was anger just beneath the surface, and a crazy desire to oppose him.

His expression darkened fractionally. ‘Yes.’

‘And if I choose not to?’

‘The only choice you have, Alyse, is to remove the dress yourself or have me do it for you.’ His voice was hard and inflexible, and her chin lifted in angry rejection, her eyes becoming stormy pools mirroring incredulous rage.

‘Why, you chauvinistic domineering
pig
,’ she reiterated heatedly. ‘How dare you?’

‘Oh, I
dare
,’ he drawled silkily, and a shiver slithered the length of her spine at his determined resolve.

‘It’s the latest fashion and cost a small fortune,’ she flung angrily. ‘And besides, I won’t have you dictate what I can and can’t wear! ‘

He reached out a hand and caught hold of her chin
between thumb and forefinger, tightening his grasp when she moved to wrench it away. ‘Stop arguing simply for the sake of it.’

‘I’m
not
!’ She was so incredibly furious, it was all she could do not to hit him.

‘Surely you know me well enough by now to understand that you can’t win,’ he cautioned with deadly softness.

‘You mean you won’t allow me to!’

He was silent for a few seemingly long seconds, and she held his gaze fearlessly.

‘A woman who deliberately flaunts her body indulges in subtle advertising of a kind which promises to deliver. Wear the dress when we’re dining alone, and I’ll be suitably appreciative.’

‘Oh, for heavens’s sake! I don’t believe any of this!’

‘Believe,’ he said hardily. ‘Now, change.’

‘No.’

‘Defiance, Alyse, simply for the sake of it? Aren’t you being rather foolish?’

‘If you derive a sadistic thrill from forcibly removing a woman’s clothes, then go ahead and do it.’

His eyes assumed a chilling intensity, and she was suddenly filled with foreboding. Without a word his hands closed over her shoulders, propelling her forward, and her chin tilted in silent rebellion as he lowered his head.

His mouth took possession of hers, forcing her lips apart in a demanding assault that showed little mercy and she held back a silent groan of despair as he deliberately began a wreaking devastation.

When he relinquished his hold, her jaw ached, even
her neck, and her eyes were bright with a mixture of anger and unshed tears.

His eyes bore an inscrutability she was unable to penetrate, and her mouth trembled slightly.

‘Change, Alyse,’ he directed inflexibly. ‘Or I’ll do it for you.’

She looked at him with scathing enmity. ‘And if I refuse, you’ll undoubtedly admininster some other form of diabolical punishment.’

‘Take care,’ he warned. ‘My temper is on a tight rein as it is.’

‘So I must conform, at whatever cost? That’s almost akin to barbarism!’

An eyebrow lifted in sardonic cynicism. ‘So far I’ve treated you with kid gloves.’

A disbelieving laugh emerged from her throat. ‘You have to be joking!’

‘Only an innocent would fail to appreciate the slow hand of a considerate lover intent on giving as much pleasure as he intends to take.’ His expression became dark and forbidding. ‘Continue opposing me, and I’ll demonstrate the difference.’

Alyse looked at him with unblinking solemnity, frighteningly aware of his strength and sense of purpose. To continue waging this particular war was madness, yet some alien stubborn streak refused to allow her to capitulate.

‘Don’t threaten me,’ she warned.

‘Is that what you imagine I’m doing?’ His voice held a hateful drawling quality that sent shivers of fear scudding down her spine.

‘What other word would you choose?’

‘Take off the dress, Alyse,’ he warned softly, ‘or I won’t answer for the consequences.’

It was as if her limbs were frozen and entirely separate from the dictates of her brain, for she stood perfectly still, her eyes wide and unblinking as he swore softly beneath his breath.

Then she cried out as his fingers reached for the zip fastener and slid it down. Seconds later the exotic creation fell to her feet to lie in a heap of silk and heavy satin. All that remained between her and total nudity was a wisp of silky bikini briefs, and her hands rose in spontaneous reaction to cover her breasts.

With deliberate slowness Aleksi slid down the zip of his trousers, and it was only as he began to remove them that she became galvanised into action.

Except that it was far too late, and she struggled helplessly against him, hating the strength of the hands that moulded her slim curves against the hard muscular contours of his body. Her briefs were dispensed seconds after his own, and there was nothing she could do to avoid the relentless pressure of his mouth. He lifted her up against him, parting her thighs so they straddled his hips, and without any preliminaries he plunged deep inside, his powerful thrust stretching silken tissues to their furthest limitation.