‘But I—’

  ‘I’m sure—’

  Gavin and Leigh both began talking at once, but Piers heeded neither of them, taking Leigh’s arm in a firm grip and leading her towards the balcony doors. Leigh gave one last desperate look at Gavin but realised by the shrug of his shoulders that there was nothing he could do to help her.

  Piers moved politely through his guests, smiling and generally acting the courteous host, but all the time Leigh was conscious of his hand firmly on her elbow, making her escape impossible. She became aware of a look more penetrating than the others they were receiving and looked up into the venomous green eyes of a tall willowy blonde, her voluptuous figure encased in a golden gown that was almost a second skin.

  The girl moved forward with a grace that assured all who looked at her that she was well aware of the fact that her body was beautiful. ‘Piers,’ the girl said huskily, placing an intimate hand on his arm and effectively stopping his progress. ‘Where are you going, darling?’ she purred.

  Piers seemed totally unmoved by this girl’s sensuous beauty, holding Leigh immovable at his side. ‘I’m taking Leigh outside to get some fresh air,’ he replied curtly.

  The girl’s skin glowed golden in the subdued lighting of the room, her eyes warm and enticing as she continued to look at this tall enigmatic man. ‘Leigh?’ she queried lightly. ‘And who is Leigh?’

  Leigh flushed at the girl’s intended snub. She was fast becoming tired of being ignored in this way, and Piers was the worst offender.

  ‘I’m sorry,’ Piers said shortly, ‘I thought the two of you had already been introduced.’ Leigh knew he had thought no such thing and wondered why he had bothered to lie. ‘Marlene, this is Leigh Stanton, a friend of my son’s. Leigh, this is Marlene Shaw.’

  The two girls shook hands politely. Leigh noticed Piers didn’t say who or what Marlene Shaw was, although perhaps it wasn’t necessary. She knew that Marlene Shaw was a top class model, which perhaps accounted for her complete confidence in herself, and as to what she meant to Piers, that was perhaps obvious too. By the looks this girl was giving him their relationship was anything but platonic.

  ‘Are you not feeling well?’ Marlene Shaw asked sympathetically, although her eyes were far from showing the same emotion, glittering at Leigh like hard speculative emeralds.

  Piers chose to answer for her. ‘She’ll be all right once she’s had some fresh air. Now if you’ll excuse us …’

  ‘But Piers,’ the model pouted prettily, ‘I wouldn’t mind some air too.’

  He laughed at her, rather cruelly, Leigh thought. ‘My dear Marlene, you haven’t been in the fresh air for years, you’d probably be ill if you did. Now why don’t you go and see Roger, I’m sure he would welcome your comany.’

  ‘But Piers—’

  ‘Marlene!’ Piers snapped in exasperation before walking away from her.

  Leigh quivered under the absolute hate directed at her from the other girl. And she hadn’t said a word! She hadn’t been given the chance to, Piers had seen to that. But she couldn’t blame him, she must be rather an embarrassment to him. Oh God, she wished she had never come here and forced Piers into a situation he abhorred.

  Piers closed the balcony doors firmly behind them, his face unreadable in the semi-darkness. Leigh shivered in the icy wind; the thin dress she was wearing no protection at all. Before her lay a view of London she had never seen before and it was breathtaking. The lights reflected like jewels on the river, giving an impression of beauty that was totally lacking in the rush and bustle of this grimy city during the daylight hours. Up here, away from the traffic noise, there was a curious peace, a world apart.

  She was brought out of her reverie by the placing of Piers’ dinner jacket about her shoulders, the faint aroma of aftershave and cigarettes a poignant reminder of the man himself. She resisted an impulse to bury her face in its thickness still warm from the heat of his body, turning to look at him in the moonlight. His shirt showed up whitely, fitting tautly across his powerful chest and flat stomach, the frills at the neck, rather than appearing effeminate, added a masculinity she found disturbing.

  Leigh made a move to remove the coat. ‘There’s really no need,’ she said softly, unwilling to disturb the peace of the clear evening. ‘I shall be returning inside in a moment.’

  Piers reached out and pulled the coat lapels together, bringing her dangerously close to the warmth of his body. ‘Not yet you won’t. First I want to know what you’re doing here.’

  ‘I would have thought that was perfectly obvious, Mr Sinclair.’ She saw his mouth tighten angrily and felt a certain amount of satisfaction at being the cause of that anger. ‘Your son brought me here.’

  ‘I know that, goddamn it!’ he swore angrily. ‘What I want to know is what you’re doing here.’

  Leigh shrugged. ‘I just told you. Your son—’

  ‘If you dare to say that Gavin brought you once again I’ll—’ he broke off, running a hand through his windswept hair. ‘Sorry, I didn’t mean to shout. Just give me a straight answer, will you? I’m sure it wasn’t just Gavin’s charming personality that brought you here. So what was it?’

  ‘Curiosity.’

  His eyes narrowed. ‘And what do you mean by that?’

  Leigh glared at him defiantly. ‘Perhaps I felt the desire to see how the other half lives,’ she mocked.

  Piers shook his head. ‘I don’t believe you. You simply aren’t that sort of girl. I asked you to give me a straight answer,’ he repeated grimly.

  She moved out of his grasp. ‘It’s nice to know you have such a high opinion of me, but that really was the true answer, Mr Sinclair. I can’t deny that it’s been quite an experience.’

  ‘Don’t look down your young nose at me, little girl. And don’t keep addressing me as Mr Sinclair! You know my name, damn you, and you weren’t so shy about using it the last time we met.’

  Her eyes taunted him. ‘Perhaps not, Piers, but it would hardly meet with my date’s approval if I called you that in front of him. No, I’m sure Gavin wouldn’t approve.’

  Piers’ eyes narrowed ominously and if she had known his moods better she would have realised by the tightness of his lips that he was very close to losing his normally controlled temper. ‘And is Gavin’s approval so important to you?’ he demanded.

  ‘Maybe,’ she lied. ‘The same as Marlene’s is to you, perhaps.’

  ‘Then it isn’t important at all,’ Piers said dryly. ‘I wish to God you hadn’t come here tonight. You don’t belong here.’

  Two bright spots of colour appeared in Leigh’s otherwise pale cheeks. ‘You’re right,’ she said between clenched teeth, suppressing tears of anger in her constricted throat. ‘I don’t belong here, here in a world that’s artificial and false. But you do! Oh yes—you do!’ she waved her arm in the general direction of the room they had just left. ‘You belong to that world of glamour because you’re like the rest of them in there, artificial and false!’

  ‘Have you quite finished?’ he bit out tautly.

  ‘No, I haven’t! You’re all the same, aren’t you? You say one thing and mean another. Like your girl-friend in there, for instance. “Aren’t you feeling well?”’ she mimicked. ‘When all she really wanted to do was scratch my eyes out. God! As far as I’m concerned she’s welcome to you!’

  ‘You don’t mean that, Leigh. You’re just saying it because you’re hurt and angry. When I said you don’t belong here I meant—’

  ‘I don’t care what you meant!’ She shook off his restraining hand. ‘Whatever way you meant it you were right.’ She took off his jacket, throwing it at him. He made no move to catch it and it fell unheeded to the floor. ‘And the sooner I get out of here the better!’

  After entering the room she looked around desperately for Gavin, but he was nowhere to be seen. Well, she would leave without him. Perhaps she could leave a message with the manservant. That was it, that’s what she would do.

  ‘Are you looking for someone?’

  Leigh turned to face Marlene Shaw, and although the words were said politely enough the face said something completely different. ‘I’m looking for Gavin,’ Leigh said stiffly, not deceived by the gentle purring voice of the other girl; she had no doubt that the famous model could just as quickly turn into a spitting wildcat.

  ‘I think he’s talking to Cynthia, at least he was a moment ago. I haven’t seen you at any of Piers’ other parties. Are you a friend of his?’

  ‘As Mr Sinclair has already told you, I’m a friend of his son, nothing more. Now if you’ll excuse me I—’

  ‘Ah, Leigh,’ Piers spoke from behind her, firmly gripping her arm as if at any moment she might run away again, which she probably would if she had the chance. ‘We haven’t finished our conversation yet. Come with me.’

  Leigh had little choice but to do as he said as for the second time that evening Piers had her in a position where she couldn’t get away from him, unless she caused a scene, of course, and that she had no intention of doing. She wouldn’t give Piers that satisfaction. ‘Why don’t you leave me alone?’ she muttered vehemently as he guided her firmly but surely towards a door on the other side of the room, away from the balcony he had taken her to earlier. ‘Will you please let go of my arm? You’re hurting me.’

  ‘I’ll do more than that if you don’t behave yourself. You’ve had your say, now let me have mine.’ He threw open the door, switching on the light before thrusting her inside and closing the door behind him.

  To Leigh’s astonishment she saw they were in a bedroom, a very masculine bedroom, its subdued brown and white decor only brightened by small touches of lemon such as the bedside lamp and tiny lemon flowers in the dark carpet. It was a large room and pictured on the white walls were high speed racing cars, and residing in a specially made cabinet were cups and medals, Piers’ trophies, she assumed. There seemed to be a great many lot of them.

  She faced him haughtily, hoping her inner turmoil wasn’t noticeable to his narrowed eyes. ‘Did you have to bring me in here?’ she demanded. ‘What construction your guests will put on you dragging me into your bedroom I can’t imagine.’

  ‘I can,’ he taunted. ‘The natural one, of course. But in this case they would be wrong. I brought you in here for one reason only, and that was to explain why I said you don’t belong here. I—’

  ‘Don’t bother!’ Leigh snapped, her violet eyes blazing. ‘Your explanation isn’t important to me. As far—’

  ‘Leigh!’ Piers’ voice hardened and he moved forward with a panther-like tread, grasping her forearms before firmly sitting her on the side of the huge bed that dominated the room. ‘Will you shut up for five seconds! I’ve never known a woman like you for jumping to conclusions!’

  Leigh rose quickly from the bed, the intimacy of sitting there too much for her to bear. Piers would be sleeping in that bed later, and probably not alone either. The thought of him actually making love with Marlene Shaw, or a woman like her, made Leigh shudder with revulsion. She moved quickly away from the bed.

  Piers propelled her back down again impatiently. ‘Now stay there! I want to make it prefectly clear to you that when I made that remark you’re upset about I merely meant that these aren’t the type of people I want you to mix with. Half the men here would have you in bed with them before you even had time to say no.’

  ‘And just what makes you think I would say no? Just because I said it to you it doesn’t mean my answer to someone else would be the same. You have a very inflated opinion of yourself, Mr Sinclair, if you think I only refused you because of virginal innocence.’

  ‘Then just why did you say no?’ Piers had his back to her, seemingly studying one of the pictured racing cars.

  Leigh shrugged her shoulders. ‘Because I don’t want to go to bed with you, it’s as simple as that. What’s the matter?’ she asked sharply. ‘Did you think because you’d given me a few patronising kisses that I should fall gratefully into your arms?’ She shook her head. ‘You don’t know me very well, Mr Sinclair.’

  He came to stand before her, the outline of his muscular thighs on a level with her eyes. ‘I know you better than you think I do. A damn sight better!’ he ground out savagely. ‘And there was nothing patronising about my kisses. Kisses! God, you call what we did kissing! Because I certainly wouldn’t.’

  Leigh wrenched her eyes away from his body so close to her to stare fixedly at her lacquered nails as her hands rested nervously in her lap. ‘Then what would you call it? Animal lust?’ she, taunted. ‘I suppose that is a better name for it, more fitting.’

  Piers sat down next to her on the bed, wrenching her chin round so that she was forced to look into his face. And what she saw there was burning anger—and something else. Deep in his eyes was the flame of desire, a desire to punish her in the only way possible between them. His mouth claimed hers in a kiss that owed nothing to gentleness, forcing her lips apart with a savagery she found alarming. It wasn’t possible for her to tell when the brutal attack changed to a soft caress, his lips gently playing with the parted sweetness of her own, but she found herself kissing him back.

  ‘Oh, Piers!’ she sighed deeply.

  ‘Be still!’ his tongue trailed tantalisingly over her throat.

  Leigh was lying back on the bed with Piers above her, her arms clasped about his neck as he kissed her eyes, her cheeks and finally her mouth again. She tried to resist him, but his power over her was too strong and she found herself responding to him with complete abandon, running her hands caressingly through his dark hair, and groaning with suppressed passion.

  Piers raised his head to look at her, his eyes glazed with equal feeling. ‘Do you still call it animal lust?’ he asked hoarsely, a look of strain about his mouth.

  Leigh attempted to sit up but was gently pushed back down again by Piers. ‘I don’t know any more,’ she shook her head dazedly. ‘It must be that, mustn’t it? This entirely physical reaction we have to each other.’

  One long tanned hand played enticingly with her soft lips and creamy cheeks and it was a great effort not to move sensually against that caressing touch. ‘You think it’s purely physical?’ Piers asked huskily, winding a strand of her hair around his fingers.

  She blushed, unable to meet his eyes unless he should read her real feelings there. ‘It must be, mustn’t it? I can’t—’

  ‘Piers!’

  The two on the bed turned towards the doorway from the hallway to see Marlene Shaw staring at the two of them in horror.

  ‘Damn, damn damn!’ Piers swore under his breath, rising slowly to his feet, and for the second time in their acquaintance leaving Leigh in an, undignified heap after their lovemaking. ‘What do you want, Marlene?’ he demanded harshly, running a hand through the hair Leigh had so recently lovingly caressed.

  The girl gave a tinkling laugh, looking scathingly at Leigh. ‘What do I usually want when I come to your bedroom, darling?’ Her green cat-like eyes flickered contemptuously over the now standing Leigh. ‘Of course I didn’t realise that you already had company. I’ll come back when you aren’t so—busy.’

  Leigh blushed uncomfortably. So she had been right about Marlene Shaw sleeping in this room with Piers. And she had actually been on the same bed with him! The thought made her feel physically sick. ‘Don’t worry,’ she said to the other girl, ‘I’m going now anyway.’ She moved to the door, effectively evading Piers’ hands and leaving the room by the route the other girl had entered. And probably not just the once either! She turned to look at them as she reached the doorway. ‘I hope you have a happy new year, Mr Sinclair,’ she told him bitterly. ‘Don’t bother to see me out, I know the way.’

  ‘Leigh, I haven’t finished talking to you yet,’ Piers said from close behind her.

  She forced herself not to be moved by the husky attractiveness of his voice, keeping her eyes averted. ‘Perhaps not,’ she said vehemently. ‘But I’ve finished talking to you. He’s all yours, Miss Shaw. I wish you luck with him. I have a feeling you’re going to need it.’

  Marlene looked pointedly at Piers. ‘I don’t think so,’ she purred.

  Leigh had followed the look in her eyes. ‘Perhaps not,’ she agreed slamming the door behind her as she left.

  CHAPTER NINE

  ‘IT was a bad move, wasn’t it?’ Gavin said quietly.

  The two of them were drinking coffee in Leigh’s flat. Gavin had insisted on bringing her home from his father’s apartment after finding her in a distressed state in the hall. Leigh didn’t pretend not to know what he was talking about. She smiled sadly. ‘It was a bad move,’ she agreed.

  ‘I’m sorry,’ he sympathised. ‘I didn’t realise quite how deeply your feelings were involved. I mean—’ he faltered.

  ‘It’s all right, Gavin. You know, don’t you?’

  ‘Know what?’ he evaded.

  ‘That I love your father,’ she said simply. ‘I didn’t choose to love him, it just happened.’ She laughed shakily. ‘That was rather a silly thing to say, wasn’t it? Of course I didn’t choose to love him! Who in their right mind would choose this heartache?’

  ‘But Dad likes you too, I know he does.’

  ‘Oh yes, he likes me. But I don’t just want him to like me. I want—I can’t tell you what I want. You’re his son.’

  Gavin laughed. ‘I think that’s pretty obvious. I’ve never actually thought about this from the woman’s point of view before. Oh God, that was tactless! I didn’t mean—’

  ‘Don’t worry about me, Gavin. I’m not so innocent I don’t realise your father earned his reputation. Perhaps I wouldn’t find him so attractive if he weren’t so …’

  ‘Experienced?’ Gavin’s mouth twisted wryly. ‘All I can say is that Dad has all the luck. If you were my girl—’

  ‘But I’m not your father’s girl either,’ Leigh interrupted. ‘Far from it. He was absolutely furious with me for appearing at his party this evening.’