Dark Paradise (26 page)

He paused again, then added with biting coldness, 'In view of what happened between us, presumably you include yourself in that category.'

Her flush deepened. 'That—shouldn't have happened…'

'You don't have to tell me that,' he said with weary exasperation. 'It was a situation I'd been trying to avoid for all kinds of reasons—but principally, I suppose, because I wanted you to know that I regarded you as more than a desirable body. I wanted, like a fool, to prove that I cared about you.' He added ironically, 'But that was before you decided to pair me with Leanne.'

She said unhappily, 'But I did see you, Matt. Oh— not that night, perhaps. It was dark, and I never saw him clearly, and I—I took it for granted that it was you. But the next afternoon, you were with her then. I saw you go into her room.'

He said with chilling emphasis, 'You saw me go into Jethro's room. Yes, Leanne was there too for a few minutes. She is Jethro's wife, after all, even if she loses sight of the fact most of the time. But if you'd hung around for a little while longer, you'd have seen her leaving—alone.' He paused. 'And as Carlos then drove you to the plane, presumably she remained alone.'

Her lips parted in a soundless gasp. 'Carlos? You mean…? Oh, but that's impossible! He hates her.'

'I'd say he was obsessed with her,' Matt said drily. 'And burdened with guilt. As for hate—well, it shares a pretty thin dividing line with certain forms of love. And knowing Leanne and her—propensities, I'd say that once Jethro lost interest in her, she'd have found it quite amusing to beguile that poor young idiot.'

Kate said shakily, 'That's sick.'

'That's Leanne.'

She looked at him desperately. 'But she told me she wanted you. She told me that was her price for making sure that you got your exclusive.'

'But my bargain was with you.' Matt walked over to her, and this time she made no attempt to retreat, but stood her ground, looking up at him mutely, her mouth trembling. He snapped 'You little fool, couldn't you see what she was? How the hell did you lend credence to anything she said to you—let her get to you like that?'

Kate shook her head miserably. 'I don't know—but she was so sure—so convincing…'

Then perhaps she should go back on the stage,' Matt said. 'She'll need something to do, now that she knows she won't be joining Jethro in Santo Cristo.'

'She won't? And Carlos?'

'Is with his father, who is probably quite aware of what's been going on. I told you he had no illusions about her. Certainly he won't blame the boy for what happened.'

'What will happen to her?'

'Frankly, I neither know nor care, though I don't doubt she'll get by. What does interest me,' Matt went on slowly, 'is why, believing that I was involved in a sordid mess with Leanne, you let me make love to you?' There was a silence, and he said implacably, 'I'm waiting for an answer.'

She swallowed convulsively, 'I—I thought I'd never see you again. I wanted something—something to remember…'

'You could have tied a knot in your handkerchief,' he said. 'You didn't have to fall into my arms giving me everything I'd longed for, and more. So why did you, Kate?'

She said wretchedly, 'Because, damn you, it didn't matter what you did—I loved you anyway. And that's why I ran away—because I couldn't bear to stay and watch her—take you from me.'

'My darling,' Matt said. 'My sweet, crazy little fool! Don't you know that no one can do that? My God, when you vanished, I imagined all kinds of things—that you'd found you hated me after all. I've been through torture these past weeks. And now you tell me you ran because you were jealous!'

'I know I've been a fool,' she whispered. 'But it did hurt…'

'It hurt me too,' he said. 'When I saw you with Carlos, when you told me you were coming back to this guy in London—what's his name—Drew?'

She shook her head. 'That was over a long time ago—and there's no one—no one at all.'

'Now that's a pity,' he said. 'Because I've been hoping and praying that there was me.' He cupped her face in his hands, looking deeply into her eyes. 'You shouldn't have run, Kate. You should have let me tell you how much I loved you—how much I wanted you to wait for me.' He groaned. 'The invasion was sheer hell. I'd never bothered about danger before, and I'd been in stickier situations many times, but this time it was different, because I'd had you, and I was terrified that something would happen, and I would never see you again.' The blue eyes darkened. 'I also had to come to terms with the fact that I'd taken you utterly selfishly, and that I might have made you pregnant.'

Kate was trembling, a wild exultant happiness flooding through her body.

She said, 'It never even occurred to me.'

'Nor to me at the time,' he admitted, grimacing. 'I've no excuses to offer, Kate, except that I wanted you so much I simply ignored all other considerations.'

'Then why—that morning on the beach…?'

He groaned, 'Because Winston could have returned at any time—and for all I knew we might have been under surveillance. I wanted time for us, darling, and a modicum of privacy.' His voice roughened. 'The hardest thing I ever did was send you away, but knowing how far advanced Jethro's plans were, I couldn't risk you staying in case something went wrong. I didn't want to leave you behind on the island, but on the other hand it was impossible to take you to Santo Cristo with me. But at the same time, I needed you desperately, I needed to know that you belonged to me completely.' He sighed. 'I was going to tell you all these things that night—our last night together, as I thought. I intended to give you my family's address as well. I thought perhaps you might have gone to see them—to stay with them for a while.'

'I'd have liked that.' Her voice broke suddenly, and he gathered her warmly, closely into his arms, cradling her head against his chest.

'Hush,' he said gently. 'Hush, my darling. I'm here now, and we can go to see them together—tomorrow perhaps, when I've had some sleep.'

'Yes,' she said wonderingly. Tomorrow was a golden word, she realised, ablaze with all kinds of promise. She said softly, 'Matt—stay with me tonight.'

'Sweetheart, I can't.' His lips touched her hair. 'I need a bath, a change of clothes and a shave—besides, I'm dead on my feet.'

She reached up and kissed his rough cheek lingeringly. 'I'm tired too, but I need to sleep with you. I want to know I'm not dreaming this, and that when I open my eyes tomorrow you'll be there.'

His smile, his voice were both infinitely tender. 'I'll be there, darling, always. And I'll never let you get away from me again.' There was a sudden note of laughter in his voice. 'You realise that if I stay the night, you'll have to marry me?'

She pantomimed amazement, laughing up at him. 'I will?'

Matt said, 'You will.' And the warmth of his mouth on hers sealed the vow for the rest of their lives.