A Devious Desire Read online

  'I have met your kind before, and I am not so sure you're of any value,' he drawled cynically. 'More likely a costly mistake.'

  Saffron gasped in outrage at his comment, and raised her hand to slap the swine's face. But he caught her hand in his and continued insultingly, 'However, against my better judgement I have agreed to allow you to stay for my mother's sake.'

  Saffron felt the electric shock the length of her arm as his strong fingers tightened on hers deliberately. 'Smile,' he hissed, and added loudly for Anna's benefit, 'We have a deal, Saffron. Shake on it.' And she was forced to comply with the social nicety before he finally let go of her hand.

  She was still reeling when he bent his head and murmured, as he brushed past her through the open door, 'But don't think I've forgotten what happened earlier; I'm going to make you pay, you green-eyed witch,' and left, slamming the door behind him.

  Anger and fear mingled in her eyes. The arrogant devil! How dared he threaten her? For two pins she would walk out now, but, catching Anna's expression, she fought down the impulse. The appeal in the older woman's eyes was unmistakable.

  'I apologise for my son; he can be rather domineering, I know, but he does have my best interest at heart. You will still come with me, won't you? I need you.'

  'I'm not sure if s a good idea,' Saffron said drily. 'Your son and I are obviously not going to get on, especially after I nearly crippled him.' A fleeting smile curved her mouth as she remembered his discomfort earlier.

  "That wasn't your fault; I'm sure he won't hold it against you, Saffy. In any case the yacht is huge and if I know Alex we will rarely see him; he always brings one of his women with him, if not more than one, and of course the family.' She frowned, adding cryptically, 'That is the main reason I wanted to come on a public cruise. It's much more fun with strangers around.'

  Saffron's heart sank. How could a son treat his mother so cavalierly? Take her on holiday, then leave her to her own devices while he enjoyed himself with his latest sex object? She was sure that was ail women meant to such an aggressively macho man as Alex and his own mother had more or less confirmed it.

  'But the doctor did say you had to have no stress. Maybe it would be better for you if you told your son the truth. You fell and got a nasty shock, but soon you will be as good as new.' Anna had sworn both her doctor and Saffron to secrecy over her accident, insisting that she did not want her son to know and fuss over her. Personally Saffron thought it was way past time her son fussed over her, instead of leaving her in London all the time while he apparently based himself in Greece when he wasn't jetting around the world. 'I'm sure if he knew he would stay with you, and you won't need me.'

  'You don't understand, dear. I can't tell Alex; I know what he will say—that I'm too old to live on my own. He will insist on my giving up my London home and staying with the family. I would hate that. I like—I need my independence. Please say you will stay. . .'

  Saffron sighed inwardly. She could not desert her charge, however much she might dislike the poor woman's son. But 'poor woman' was not really accurate. She smiled to herself. Even the mighty Ales Statis had bowed to his mother's demand and allowed Saffron to stay. Anna, despite her delicate old lady act, was obviously a wily old bird.

  'Yes, of course,' she answered a touch wryly, and moved to the wardrobe, adding, 'I'd better start packing.'

  * * *

  Saffron tossed restlessly in the bed, and pushed the light satin cover down to her waist. But she knew it was not the heat keeping her awake—the yacht was fully air- conditioned—nor the low throbbing of its powerful engine as it ploughed through the Aegean Sea in the middle of the night. It was the intervention of the frightening, sinister figure of Ales Statis in her life.

  With an efficiency she could only marvel at he had whisked her and Anna away from the cruise ship and, after a brief taxi ride, into a waiting helicopter; by ten o'clock the same evening, to her amazement, the helicopter had landed on a helipad on the top of a luxurious ocean-going yacht anchored off the Greek mainland.

  With a minimum of fuss a very correct steward had shown Saffron to her cabin on the top deck, and what a cabin! A large circular bed in a mahogany-panelled room with a matching en suite, the bathroom and toiletries all sparkling white with brass and mahogany trim. Anna's quarters were even more luxurious, with a private sitting-room.

  Saffron had tried to quiz her boss while unpacking, but for some reason the older woman had not been very forthcoming. However, while Saffron had gently brushed Anna's hair, before settling her for the night, she'd begun to talk.

  'I guess I was being irresponsible to go off on my own that way—at least, Alex thinks so,' she murmured softly, almost to herself, and then, looking in the mirror, she fixed Saffron with pleading blue eyes. 'But you understand, don't you, dear?'

  Saffron didn't, not one bit; her head was reeling at the events of the evening. Dinner had been an informal buffet, not because of the lateness of the hour—Greeks were used to eating late—but in deference to the fragile health of her charge, she was sure. After the meal Alex had taken one look at his mother and then told Saffron to see the lady to bed. Saffron had been only too happy to comply; for the last few hours she had been all too conscious of Alex's eyes following her every move, studying her as if she were something the cat had dragged in, and the feeling had been unsettling to say the least.

  She smiled at Anna's reflection in the mirror. 'Not really,' she confessed simply.

  'No, I suppose not. It was an old lady's fantasy to recreate the past. The Pallas Corinthian was the boat I worked on, you see, the one I later found out Nikos, my husband, owned. . .'

  'You mean you got me to book a cruise on your own shipping line?' Saffron had wondered, when Anna had asked her to book the cruise, why she had insisted on the one particular ship. Now she knew.

  'Not exactly. Alex is in charge of the business, has been for ages, and he sold the liner to another company years ago. He has no time for sentiment. That's why I couldn't tell him what I wanted to do. But I'm glad we had our little holiday, Saffy; seeing Rhodes and the café today was enough, and thank you again, dear, for pandering to a sentimental old fool.'

  Instinctively Saffron put down the brush and gave Anna a hug. 'I don't think you're an old fool; I think you're wonderful. And now do you want me to massage your shoulder before bed or not?'

  'No, not tonight. I'm tired enough to go straight to sleep.' Rising, she touched Saffron's cheek. 'You're a good girl to put up with me, but there is one little thing Ï would like you to do.'

  'Yes.' Saffron realised that in the past few weeks she had grown to really care for Anna and, arrogant son apart, she would do anything for her.

  'Please don't mention to Alex why I wanted a beauty therapist as well as a masseuse. I would hate him to know I can't even lift my arm high enough to comb my own hair. He is an astate man, and would soon guess there was something more wrong with me than arthritis, sad it would only worry him.'

  Personally Saffron thought it was about time the globe-trotting swine did worry about his mother, but not by a flicker of an eyelash did she reveal her dislike of the man; instead she promised to say nothing.

  Tossing and turning is the luxurious bed, Saffron tried to tell herself that nothing much had changed from this morning. They were still cruising but simply on a private yacht. So why did she have this weird feeing of foreboding? It didn't make sense. She still had her Job, in a week or two she and Anna would return to Anna's comfortable mews house In the heart of London and Saffron would rarely, if ever, see Ales Staffe again. All she had to do was keep her mouth stut and out of his way; that shouldn't he too hard; she was just the hired help after. . .

  She closed her eyes and once more tried to sleep, but the vivid image of Ales leaning against the door-frame as she'd walked by him to follow Anna to hercabin seemed to be imprinted on her pupils. Casually elegant, his black hair swept back front his broad forehead, grey wings curling around his ears betraying his thirty-nin
e years, and a wide, sensual mouth that had hissed cynically as she'd passed him, 'You can leave now. But I haven't forgotten I owe you.' That parting shot lingered threateningly in her mind.

  Her eyes flashed open. 'You can leave now,' he had said, and something niggled at. the back of her brain, a sense of déjà vu. Had she met him before? No, it wasn't possible; her mind roost be playing brisks, or—perhaps the most likely explanation—she must have seen a photograph of him in his mother's house. Yes, that was it—of course. And, closing her eyes, once more, she finally fel into a troubled sleep where a tall, dark man stalked her dreams. . .

  A knock on the door broke into her restless sleep and, slowly opening her eyes, she yawned widely.

  'Coffe, madam,' she heard the steward announce, and responded.

  'Come in.' Hauling herself up into a sitting position, she blinked drowsily, wondering if Anna was awake yet. Then it hit her, the events of the previous evening, and her eyes widened in horror on the approaching man, a gasp of outrage ecaping her. 'You. . .

  Alex, dressed is a brief white towelling robe belted loosely around his waist, revealing a wide expanse of hair-roughened chest and inordinately long, muscular legs, strolled to the bedside, a tray bearing a coffee-jug and cup on it in his strong hands. 'Good morning, Saffron.'

  'G-g-get out of my room,' she stuttered. The man wasn't conventionally handsome, but he possessed a lethal attraction few women could resist, herself included. His tanned skin, the early morning stubble darkening his jaw gave him the rakish appearance of a swashbuckling pirate.

  'Now is that any way to greet your employer? Especially when he is delivering you sustenance.'

  'You are not my employer,' she retorted, but his remark had reminded her of her duties. "But if you get out of my cabin I can dress and go and see Anna,' she said, suddenly wide awake, and wary. She had no idea how lovely she looked, her red-gold hair tumbling in disarray around her shoulders, one long strand with a will of its own curving around the fullness of her breast, the skimpy spaghetti-strapped cotton nightie she was wearing barely covering her high, firm breasts.

  'You're not a morning person. . . Pity, because you look absolutely delectable.'

  How dared he flirt with her? Saffron's angry eyes flew to his face and she was horrified to realise that his gaze was fixed rather lower on her body. Grabbing the luxurious satin sheet, she pulled it up to her chin. Just in time, as Alex sat down on the side of the bed. He was much too close, the bedroom was much too intimate, and he had no right to be here.

  'Will you get out?' she cried, her temper rising.

  'Don't look so terrified. You must have had dozens of men in your bedroom, a girl as beautiful as you.'

  She had never had any man in her bedroom, and she was damned sure she wasn't about to start with this overpoweringly arrogant specimen of the male sex. 'Out,' she snapped, indicating the door with her free hand.

  'Don't flatter yourself, girl,' Alex drawled cynically, his dark eyes sliding insultingly over her flushed face and rumpled hair. 'I only want to talk before you see Mama. Why else would I wake you at seven in the morning?' he asked mockingly.

  Saffron could do nothing about the blush that suffused her whole body.

  Alex slowly shook his head, one dark brow arching sardonically. 'What a naughty mind you have, Saffron.'

  The man delighted in teasing her, but she had promised to try and get along with him, so, ignoring his comment, she turned to where he had placed the tray on the table beside the bed and filled a cup with coffee. She took her time adding milk, before she dared torn back to face him.

  'Tell me, why Saffron? I always thought it was a spice. Are you spicy?' he queried, a wicked glint in his dark eyes.

  She slanted him a glance from beneath thick lashes then quickly looked down at the cup in her hand and took a long swallow of the hot coffee, before responding curtly, ignoring his innuendo, 'Saffron is a plant that when dried yields a deep yellow, orangey dye. When I was born my parents took one look at my ginger hair and called me Saffron.'

  A large hand reached out and picked up the loose curl that framed her breast. Alex twisted it around his long fingers, his knuckles brushing the tip of her breast. 'Your hair is not ginger, it is gold, red, blonde, a collection of colours creating a living flame.'

  Her breast hardened at the brief touch and embarrassment at her instant reaction brought hot blood to her cheeks. Saffron knew that Alex was aware of her response and suddenly she felt helpless, as if she had lost control of the situation. Yesterday she had been a mature, efficient professional doing her job to the best of her ability. In the past twelve hours her life had quickly become entwined with this sophisticated man and his jet-set lifestyle, and she wasn't sure she liked it. She pulled her head back, freeing her hair from his far too familiar fingers; and quickly lowered her eyes, afraid of the predatory look on Alex's harsh face-

  But the following view was even more disturbing as her gaze dropped to where his robe fell apart, revealing a tanned muscular leg in stark contrast to the white towelling. A startling erotic image flashed through her mind as he moved slightly, his taut thigh pressing against her leg, only the satin sheet preventing their naked flesh touching: Alex, naked and golden brown all over, reaching for her, his deep brown eyes smouldering with passion. . .

  'Coffee. Good.'

  Horrified at her wayward thoughts, Saffron tore her gaze away from his legs and, shocked by her sexy fantasy, kept her head lowered to hide her blushes. She mumbled, 'Yes,' then breathed deeply and exhaled slowly. Her reaction to Alex Statis was getting ridiculous. What on earth was happening to her? She prided herself on her self-control but she had an awful premonition that around this man she would have to fight for every ounce.

  'Cabin OK?' he asked.

  He knew very well it was the height of luxury; he was deliberately goading her, but she would not rise to the bait. 'What do you want, Mr Statis?' she demanded firmly, pleased at the even tenor of her voice.

  'It is not so much what I want but what you want, Miss Martin.' All trace of teasing was gone. His eyes,, hard and dark as jet, caught hers. 'My mother is a wealthy woman. I don't know who persuaded whom to go on a holiday cruise which was totally unnecessary in the circumstances.'

  'I didn't. . .'

  'Maybe you're telling the truth. Mama can be very devious,' he said drily.

  Anna devious! Well, maybe a little, Saffron admitted honestly, but compared to this man Anna was innocence personified, and she listened in mounting anger as Alex continued.

  'I've checked with her doctor and apparently it is all above board. My mother likes you, she tells me you are good at your job, and I know to my cost' his lips thinned in a tight grimace '—you are more than capable of looking after yourself and her. But what worries me is where you learnt such talent, and why you need! to. So take this as a warning if you have any notion of fleecing my mother, or getting involved with any more of her madcap plans; I advise you to forget it—understand?' He got to his feet, his dark eyes boring down into hers, a threat explicit in the Hack depths. 'I will leave you to enjoy your coffee—oh, yes, aad welcome aboard.'

  Saffron had never been so insulted. The nerve of the man! Madcap plans indeed! And as if she would cheat an old lady. The temper that went with her red hair es- ploded, and she threw the half-full cup of coffee straight at him. The cup bounced off his chest, spilling coffee all over him.

  'Why, you. . .' Two strong hands caught her upper arms and dragged her off the bed and against his hard body. She was suspended in mid-air, her feet dangling inches from the floor, but she did not have time to dwell on her predicament as a dark head swooped, Alex's mouth capturing hers in a brutal grinding kiss that drove the breath from her body. She tried to struggle and felt herself falling. . .

  CHAPTER TWO

  Saffron fell back on the bed and felt the full weight of his huge body follow down on top of her; she tried to lift her knee, but Alex wasn't the sort of man to be caught twice. His naked thigh
pushed firmly between her legs, and as she tried to claw at his face his hands caught here and pinned them either side of her head.

  'You damned hellcat,' he swore. 'Yesterday you got lucky. For the first time in twenty-odd years you caught me off guard. But it was also your last, sweetheart. It is time someone taught you a lesson, and I am just the man to do it.' His deep brown eyes had darkened to black and the flame leaping in their depths sent fear scudding through Saffron's body.

  'Says who—?' Her last word was all but swallowed by his mouth once more closing over hers, his tongue gaining entry to the moist interior with devastating results. Suddenly she was conscious of his naked thigh between her legs, her short nightie rucked up somewhere round her waist; his towelling robe had fallen open and their lower bodies were naked flesh on flesh. . . Her breasts pressed against his muscular chest, hardened with inexplicable need and straining against the fine cotton of her nightgown.

  To Saffron's dismay, heat fierce and totally unexpected flooded through her veins. Her heartbeat accelerated like a rocket, and the kiss she had fought so furiously turned into a passionate seduction of her senses. She was aware of his powerful, virile body through every pore in her skin. His heavy thighs moved restlessly against her stender limbs, and something else. . .

  Well, I certainly did not injure the man yesterday, she thought wildly, just as Alex's mouth left hers, and she burst into terrified hysterical laughter.

  'What the hell. . .?' His dark head reared back and he looked down into her flushed, laughing face. He let go of her abruptly and stood up.

  Whether he recognised that it was fear more than humour that had brought on her hysterical reaction Saffron didn't know; she only knew that, with a savage glance at where she lay tumbled on the bed, he snarled, 'Cover yourself, woman; I'm not caught that easily,' and pulled the sheet up over her.