Playing at Love Read online

  ‘I’m fine. And you don’t have to keep up the act all the time, darling. No one can hear you right now, so why not give us both a rest?’

  He smiled tenderly, but there was no hint of tenderness in his cold blue eyes as he crouched down beside her chair and stared directly into her face. ‘Perhaps nobody can hear, Louise, my sweet, but that doesn’t mean that they aren’t watching us.’ He shot a glance over his shoulder, raising his wine glass in a silent salute as he caught his host’s eye. He turned his attention back to Louse, his voice dropping a fraction, hard and cutting now. ‘I thought I made myself very plain before about how I wanted this playing, yet so far you’ve done very little to convince Carling or her father that we are in love. I suggest you put a bit more enthusiasm into the act if you hope to earn your fee.’

  Louise stiffened, her eyes murderous as they met his. ‘Enthusiasm? How can I be enthusiastic about being blackmailed?’

  He stood up slowly, one dark brow arching as he continued to watch her. ‘I have no idea, but I’m sure you’ve had enough practice feigning “enthusiasm” over the years for it not to be too difficult a task.’

  ‘If you mean what I think you mean, then frankly, Wyatt—’

  ‘Not interrupting anything, am I?’ Lawrence Hutton broke in on her tirade, his eyes curious as they moved from Wyatt to Louise’s angry face. ‘Don’t tell me that you two love-birds are quarrelling.’

  Wyatt laughed deeply, settling his glass down to take Louise’s hand and raise it to his lips. ‘Not roeally. I think Louise is just worried that I might be trying to overdo things as I wasn’t well last night. I keep telling her that I’m fine now, but...’ He shrugged, linking his long fingers with hers in a tender little gesture that effectively stopped her from drawing her hand away. ‘One of Louise’s most endearing traits is her caring attitude towards others. It’s the reason why I was so...’ He paused deliberately, watching the way her mouth thinned with obvious. displeasure, then carried on in a deeply husky tone that set her teeth on edge, ‘Well, so attracted to her, in fact.’

  Oh, if she were a man she would hit him! How dared he do that, kiss her hand then mock her that way by twisting the facts to suit his own purposes? Louise curled her fingers, digging her nails into the palm of his hand, hearing his soft indrawn breath of pain.

  ‘I can sure understand that. There is nothing quite as attractive in a woman as compassion and caring.’ Lawrence Hutton smiled warmly down at Louise. ‘My wife was blessed with those very same qualities, in fact.’ He glanced across the room, his face aglow with fatherly pride. ‘Carling is just like her in that respect, I’m delighted to say.’

  Louise held back a snort of laughter, turning it hastily into a cough. The last thing she’d call Carling Hutton was caring and compassionate! From the moment she’d met them at the airstrip she‘d made it plain, to Louise at least, that while she might care to have Wyatt here she didn’t care to have Louise! There had been open hostility in the younger woman’s eyes every time they had focused on Louise, although she was careful to hide it from her father and Wyatt.

  ‘She’s a lovely girl, Lawrence.’ Wyatt let her hand drop to pick up his glass again.

  ‘She is indeed Why, I had hoped that you...’ He stopped abruptly, a hint of discomfort in his expression. ‘Well, never mind that. I don’t think I’ve actually congratulated you yet, Wyatt, on your engagement. I must say that I was surprised when Carling told me; I had no idea it was on the cards.’

  Was that just the faintest trace of disbelief in Lawrence Hutton’s voice? Obviously Wyatt Lord thought so too, because his eyes narrowed a fraction, although his voice sounded perfectly level when he answered. ‘I’m sure you didn’t. There are some things I prefer to keep quiet about, and this was one of them.’

  ‘I guess I can understand that. With your track record, son, the Press will have a field-day once this leaks out—as it will soon, I imagine. In fact Carling was saying something about throwing a party for you both to celebrate while you’re here.’

  Wyatt smiled calmly, but Louise could see a sudden tension in his body as he glanced from his host to her. ‘That’s kind of you, Lawrence, but I think we’d both prefer it if we kept things quiet a while longer. Don’t you agree, darling?’

  Was it the ‘darling’ that did it; the coldly mocking use of the endearment that sounded more like an order for her to follow his lead than anything else? Louise had no way of knowing. what it was that suddenly annoyed her so much that she threw all caution to the winds, intent only on paying him back for everything he’d done and said.

  ‘I don’t mind, my love,’ she said softly, sweetly. ‘In fact I think it’s a lovely idea.’ She laughed huskily, avoiding looking directly at him. ‘I mean, how many couples get to celebrate something as momentous as this in such a perfect setting?’

  ‘But what about your parents, honey? I thought we’d agreed to keep this quiet until we’d had a chance to fly back to see them.’

  Was she the only one to hear the note of steel in his deep voice, the only one who could feel it slicing through the tension in the air? Louise glanced hurriedly at Lawrence Hutton, but he was smiling benignly at them both, obviously oblivious to what was going on, to this silent battle of wills that suddenly she was determined she was going to win. Wyatt Lord had had things all his own way for far too long!

  ‘I know we did, but I’m sure they’ll understand if we send them a telegram.’ She stood up slowly, slipping her arm into Wyatt’s to rest her head against his shoulder in a loving little gesture. ‘Darling, there couldn’t be a more perfect place to celebrate our love for one another than here in Paradise, could there?’

  ‘Of course there couldn’t! Well, that’s settled, then. Good. I’ll tell Carling.’

  Lawrence. bustled away across the room to where his daughter was chatting to another couple, leaving behind him a wake of silence. Slowly Louise raised her head from its hard cushion, then felt a shiver run through her when she saw the fury in Wyatt’s pale eyes. Without a word he caught her by the arm, his fingers bruising as he all but pushed her through the patio doors and along the veranda to a spot where they wouldn’t be overheard.

  ‘Let me go, you bully! You’re hurting me!’ With a sharp twist of her arm she freed herself, rubbing her flesh to ease the numbing pain left by his fingers.

  ‘I’ll do more than that if you don’t tell me what you’re up to, lady. What the hell did you think you were doing just now?’

  He took a threatening step towards her and Louise backed away, stopping when she came up against the ornate white rail that marked the edge of the veranda. She turned round, gripping it tightly as she strove to hang on to her control, but as he came up to stop behind her she could feel a shudder inch its way coldly down her spine.

  ‘I asked you a question and I’m waiting for an answer.’

  ‘I...I wasn’t playing at anything,’ she muttered.

  ‘Come on! Don’t give me that.’ He caught her shoulder and spun her round to face him, his face all stark angles in the pale rays of moonlight, his eyes gleaming like silver. ‘You’re up to something, and I want to know what it is!’

  ‘I’m not up to anything, apart from doing what you told me to do.’ She smiled tightly, watching the way his eyes narrowed assessingly. ‘You were the one who told me to make this pretence of ours seem more realistic, so you only have yourself to blame if I acted the part of the loving little fiancée rather too well for your liking. After all, darling, what could be more romantic than an engagement party in this tropical paradise?’

  ‘I mentioned nothing about engagement parties.’

  She shrugged, moving away from the rail to go back inside. ‘Then you should have made it clear what you expected. You only have yourself to blame if I didn’t understand what you meant.’

  ‘I see. You’re saying that I should have been more specific?’

  ‘I... You could put it that way.’ Suddenly her heart started to hammer fast, the blood spinning thr
ough her veins, making her feel giddy. Why was he watching her like that, his eyes holding hers before dropping with deliberation to her mouth?

  Louise wet her parched lips, her whole body tensing as he reached out and traced a finger slowly across the dampness of her lower lip. She jerked her head away, clenching her hands to stop herself from rubbing her finger across her mouth. ‘Stop that! I don’t know what you think you’re doing—’

  ‘I imagine that’s obvious.’ He took a step forwards, backing her against the rail, pinning her there with the strength of his body as he once more trailed a lazy, disturbing finger around the soft swell of her mouth. ‘You just told me that I should have been more specific about what I expected, so...’ He shrugged carelessly, his fingers leaving her mouth to stroke softly across the smoothness of her cheek, pushing the silky curls aside while he outlined the delicate curve of her ear.

  Louise drew in a shuddering breath, her whole body shaking with a mixture of emotions, but there was only one of them she could afford to concentrate on right now. Deliberately, she whipped up her anger, using it as a shield against all the other, far more disturbing feelings he was awakening.

  ‘I know what I said! However, that doesn’t mean that I need a demonstration. I’m sure my imagination can stretch to acting the role of loving fiancée, difficult though it may be!’

  ‘I’m sure it can. I’m sure this won’t be the first time that you’ve pretended to have feelings for a man, but this time it isn’t just a case of duping some poor besotted fool. This time there’s Carling and Lawrence to convince as well, and frankly I can’t afford to have you make any mistakes.’ With a speed that was startling, he reached out and hauled her into his arms, holding her so tightly that she could barely breathe as he stared mockingly down into her shocked face. ‘Let’s call this a rehearsal, shall we, honey?’

  His mouth came down, taking hers in a bruising kiss before she had time to utter a word of protest, let alone reason. Louise moaned softly, frantically trying to turn her head away from the cruelly punishing kiss, but he wouldn’t let her. His hand came up, his fingers lacing through the short dark curls as he tilted her head back to deepen the kiss, his tongue forcing its way inside her mouth with an insulting disregard for her wants. Tears gathered in her eyes and spilled over, trickling hotly down her cheeks into the corner of her mouth so that she could taste their saltiness against the soreness of her lips.

  Suddenly he stilled, his head lifting as he stared down into her white face, watching the glittering frail of tears sliding silently down her cheeks. Slowly he ran a finger over the wetness on her cheek, his touch so gentle now that for some reason Louise cried all the harder, her slender body shuddering with sobs.

  ‘Shhh.’ His hands came up to frame her face, tilting it up so that he could look deep into her tear-soaked eyes, a faint frown darkening his brow, as though something puzzled him.

  ‘Let me go, Wyatt, please. Don’t do this.’ Her voice was a husky murmur, half choked with sobs. She knew what he thought of her—he’d made that plain from the first moment they had met—yet somehow it hurt to have him treat her this way, with such a total disregard for her feelings. If he had shouted it aloud he couldn’t have made it clearer how much he despised her.

  He shook his head, his hands still framing her face, yet so gentle now that they cradled rather than held. ‘Not yet. Not until we’ve made this rehearsal as successful as I intend it to be.’

  She couldn’t stand any more, couldn’t stand to have him kiss her again in that same insulting way. ‘No! No, I won’t let you do—’

  His head came down, his mouth catching the frantic protests, cutting them off at once. Louise closed her eyes, feeling pain swamp her at the thought of what was to come, but this time it was different. This time there was no cruelty in the way his mouth moulded itself to hers, no harshness in the firm, warm pressure of his lips against hers. If Wyatt meant to punish this time, then it was a different kind of punishment, a new way to torment.

  When his mouth opened against hers and as his tongue traced the curve of her upper lip Louise shuddered. Slowly, delicately, he outlined her lips, the touch so light that it was more dream-like than real, more fantasy than fact. When he raised his head a fraction she drew in a shaky little breath, feeling the tingling imprint burning against the soft skin of her lips.

  ‘Open your mouth for me, honey,’ he whispered softly, his voice deep and rich in the silence of the night. Louise stared up at him, her eyes huge, shocked, reflecting all her inner turmoil as she shook her head. He smiled gently, lowering his head to kiss her again, to repeat the tantalising tracing of her mouth with his tongue, his hand smoothing up and down her back as he felt a shudder ripple through her body at the sensations he was creating before once more he drew back and repeated the soft request.

  ‘No.’ Was that really her voice sounding so faint and shaky? Louise was as shocked by that as she was by the way her heart was pounding and her body aching. What was happening to her? How could Wyatt make her feel this way after what he had done?

  The questions tumbled through her head, but there was no time to find answers to any of them, as once more he kissed her, softly, sweetly, drawing a moan from her lips. She was weakening now, she could tell, her body responding traitorously to each soft caress, each delicate touch. She had to stop this now before she gave in completely and he achieved his objective.

  She pushed against his chest, her fingers spreading across the hard muscles as she tried to make him free her, but it was the biggest mistake she could have made when she was so vulnerable. The feel of his hairroughened skin through the thin silk made her fingertips tingle, while the heat of his body seemed to flow through her hands, filling her with a fierce, hot longing she couldn’t fight. With a tiny moan she slid her hands up his chest to curl around the back of his neck as she drew his head down, shuddering as she felt the brush of his moustache against her skin when she finally acceded to his request and opened her mouth for him, and everything spun out of control.

  Each slow, delicious sweep of his tongue against hers was sheer magic, drawing her deeper and deeper under the spell he was casting. She was on fire, her whole body burning up with a passion she’d never known before, a passion she’d never experienced even in her wildest dreams. Nothing seemed to matter any longer; there was just her, Wyatt and this magic he was creating, and she never wanted it to end. She wanted to stay here in Wyatt’s arms forever!

  The thought cut into the haze of desire, bringing her back to her senses with a cruel speed. Louise dragged herself out of his arms and spun round to stare down at the inky waves lapping at the white sands below while she tried to get herself under control, but it was difficult when the roaring throb of the surf seemed to echo the pulsing of her blood, the warmth of the breeze to mirror the heat of her skin.

  ‘Mmm, very successful, don’t you agree, honey?’ There was a thread of amusement in the deep voice that sent a chill through her whole body, and she shivered. She glanced round, then looked quickly away again, not proof against the picture he made standing there beside her, his dark hair mussed by the breeze, his mouth faintly swollen from the kisses they’d shared. She wanted to curl herself up into a tight little ball and hide away from the shame of what she’d done, but there was no way he would allow her to do that.

  ‘Do I take it from your lack of response that you weren’t all that pleased with our...rehearsal, then?’ The mockery was open now, stinging cruelly. ‘We can always carry on and rehearse some more if you’d like.’

  ‘No!’ She turned to glare at him, her eyes glittering in the dim light. ‘I don’t need to rehearse anything, thank you very much, not now nor in the future!’

  He studied her in silence, then smiled as he reached out to brush his knuckles across the swollen fullness of her mouth. ‘No, I don’t think you do. That was quite a performance you just gave, Louise. I hadn’t realised before what a good actress you really are. You almost had me fooled, so it should convin
ce Carling and her father all right.’

  He turned to walk back inside, leaving Louise staring after him. Slowly she turned round and stared blindly out across the bay, her hands gripping the rail so hard that her knuckles gleamed bone-white as she faced the fact that it had been no act. Wyatt might have been kissing her to rehearse the roles they were playing, but when she’d kissed him back it had been for real!

  CHAPTER FOUR

  THE evening seemed endless. By the time Carling escorted the other couple to the door, Louise’s nerves were raw from keeping up the pretence. When the younger woman came back, she stood up, avoiding Wyatt’s eyes as she smiled at her host.

  ‘It’s been a lovely evening, Lawrence, but I hope you’ll excuse me if I go up to bed now. I’m exhausted.’

  ‘Of course, my dear. You go right on up. We want you to feel at home while you’re here with us, don’t we, Carling, honey?’

  Carling smiled warmly at her father, but there was little trace of that warmth when she turned to Louise. ‘Of course we do. You go right on up, Louise. An early night might do you good. You do look tired.’

  Louise bit back the retort, refusing to give Carling the satisfaction of knowing she’d scored a point She probably did look tired, and was it any wonder in the circumstances? Murmuring a brief goodnight, she headed towards the door, then stopped reluctantly when Wyatt spoke.

  ‘I’ll see you to your room, darling.’

  ‘No!’ She forced a smile to take the sting out of the abrupt refusal, inwardly groaning as she saw how his mouth had thinned with displeasure. ‘There’s no need for you to cut short your evening, darling. I’ll be fine. You stay and enjoy yourself. You must have a dozen things you want to discuss with Lawrence.’