The Darling Jade Read online

  Gathering the materials off her work table, she brought them inside and set them on the newspaper-covered bureau. The guest room had become her studio—a private lair, a refuge from his teasing and his tyrannies, where Zan was not allowed. Pulling on her hat, Jade slipped into her shoes and hurried downstairs, suddenly anxious to escape.

  But she opened the front door to find Zan standing there, reading his mail. Looking up from beneath gold lashes, he studied her casually, then stepped inside, closing the door with a decided thump behind him. 'Where were you going?'

  'Home.' She stood her ground defiantly.

  'Nope.' Zan tugged the hat down over her eyes and walked past her, putting his arm across her waist as he did so, and kept walking. Jade found herself being walked blindly backwards towards the kitchen.

  'Zan, cut it out! I want to go home!' She grabbed hold of his wide shoulder to keep from falling and shook the hat off.

  He looked down at her reproachfully. 'Go home now and you'll shatter all the romantic illusions of a fine old gentleman. You're not that cruel, Jade.'

  She twisted free of his hold and retreated before him towards the kitchen. 'What are you talking about?'

  'Jerry thinks the reason that we're holed up here all day every day is that we're honeymooning.' His cool eyes measured her, waiting for the reaction.

  'Zan!' Sudden tears of rage welled in her eyes. 'This is a small town, you jerk! I'll have to live here when you're gone!' And that kind of rumour she and Fred could live without!

  Zan's head jerked up and then stilled, as the mischief faded from his eyes. Thoughtfully, he studied her for a moment. 'Right,' he murmured finally, rubbing a fist across his lips, 'I'll tell him.' He smiled lopsidedly. 'Sorry.'

  Her anger was fading as rapidly as it had come. 'Please do,' she muttered stiffly. 'Now what did you want done?'

  Zan lounged back against the refrigerator, his eyes still inspecting her face. 'Jerry told me a few things that were interesting. I just might get a book out of it some day. Why don't we take out a steak to thaw, and then you can type out his stories for me, and I'll add a few of my thoughts for a plot? Shouldn't take more than half an hour or so.' He turned towards the freezer.

  Jade sighed. 'Okay.' She watched him for a second. 'You had a phone call while you were gone.'

  'Oh?' Leaning into the freezer, Zan pawed through the packages. 'Who was it?'

  'An old lover,' she said casually.

  His hand stopped. Slowly, his shaggy head swung to face her. 'Is that a direct quote?' he asked quietly, his eyes scanning her face.

  'It is.'

  Gold brows twitched gently as his eyes lingered on her for a moment, then he turned back to the freezer. 'Oh.' He flipped carelessly through the packages. '. . . . What did she sound like?' he asked at last, his voice casual.

  Jade searched for a diplomatic synonym for nasty. 'Crisp,' she hazarded, watching his profile.

  The corner of his mouth shot up. 'Hmm,' he murmured noncommittally, pulling a package out and shutting the door. 'High voice? Low voice?' He turned to inspect her, his light eyes wary..

  'Medium,' Jade smiled evilly. 'I couldn't tell if she had blue eyes or a wooden leg, from the conversation.'

  The hard line of his lips quivered, then straightened again as he took her arm. He turned her towards the patio and gave a gentle shove. 'Man your typewriter, woman,' he commanded loftily, 'we still have work to do.'

  The sun was setting as they finished. Jade leaned back in her director's chair to watch the show, while Zan stood behind her, leafing through the pages she'd typed. Wisps of cloud like pink flamingo feathers gleamed in the west. As she watched, they began to catch fire. Wherever she looked, the air glowed, bathing everything it touched in a golden haze. 'Look, Zan,' she breathed.

  'I'm looking.' Warm and light, his hand fell on her shoulders.

  They watched together in silence as the air shimmered. Finally, slowly, the light softened and cooled. Jade sighed happily. The gold was gone, flowing to the west in pursuit of the sun. But the water still gleamed pale silver, cupping the daylight even as the sky darkened above the town to the east. The gold hour was gone, the blue one just starting.

  Jade sighed again. The warmth had gone with the sun and the heat of Zan's hand made the rest of her seem colder. She shivered and shrugged gently to break his grip, glancing up at him. 'That was the best sunset yet, Zan.'

  Looking down at her, he nodded absently. 'Yes.' But his thoughts seemed far away. The hand on her shoulder tightened abruptly.

  'Hadn't you better start the coals?' She pushed her chair back slowly, forcing him to move. It was time to break the spell.

  'All right.' His hand dropped away, and she shivered again as the cool air found the spot he had abandoned. He remained standing, as if deep in thought, then turned towards the doorway. 'Come fix us a drink, while I do that.'

  'All right.' That was a good sign. Zan rarely had a drink if he planned to work in the evening. Maybe she could get away early tonight and suddenly that seemed like a good idea. His quiet moods were the least predictable. Jade wondered if he would always make her nervous.

  The phone rang as Jade entered the kitchen. She hesitated. Should she pick it up? It rang again.

  'Will you get that, Jade?' Zan called from the patio.

  Trust Zan to ignore the niceties, Jade thought wryly as she picked up the phone. His 'old lover' would hardly be overjoyed to know that she was still here. 'Hello?' she said briskly.

  'Oh.' The throaty voice held a note of chilly surprise. 'It's you again. Put Zan on, please.'

  Zan's big hand closed over the receiver as he loomed beside her. 'Thanks, Jade.' Holding the phone, he put his arm out as she tried to duck past him. 'Fix us those drinks, will you?' He pushed her gently down the counter towards the drinks cabinet, ignoring her frown, and put the phone to his ear. 'Hello?' he drawled.

  Jade glared at the cabinets, her hands clenched. Zan had no decency at all! She didn't want to hear his romantic small talk! It was the last thing she cared to hear! And no doubt the woman on the other end of the line presumed Jade was out of earshot by now as well. She flicked a glance at him. How callous could he be?

  Gold head cocked to hold the phone to his ear, Zan lounged back against the counter, one long leg casually stretched across the narrow kitchen and braced against the counter opposite, blocking her retreat. His long lips were tucked up at the corners in a faint smile as he listened.

  She would make the drinks and escape, then. Jade swung open the cabinet and reached up for the gin.

  'Yes,' Zan murmured into the phone, 'old lover—yes, she told me that.' He laughed softly. 'No, I'm afraid I didn't guess it was you, Irena. I've never thought of you as being that. . .' His voice trailed off delicately. 'How old are you?' he asked innocently.

  Her hand on the tonic water, Jade froze, eyes widening. Had he really said that? She flicked a glance at him again. Zan's eyes were crinkled in silent laughter, but there was an ironic twist to his distant smile. His face looked harder than usual.

  Jade set out the glasses and found the jigger, trying not to listen to Zan's seductive murmur.

  'Mmm?' He paused. 'Yes, that's my secretary.' Jade looked up to find his eyes on her. 'Yes, I felt in need of a new status symbol. Don't most successful authors have one?' The whimsical smile on his face could have been for Jade, or the woman on the phone, or perhaps both of them.

  She looked down again to measure out the gin, her teeth slowly finding her lower lip.

  'Yes, she does have a lovely voice, doesn't she?' Zan agreed smoothly.

  This was getting a bit tiresome. Jade turned to frown her displeasure.

  Zan measured her thoughtfully. 'Oh, I'd say about sixty to sixty-five,' he murmured, a laugh in his voice. 'Yes, I suppose she does sound younger. A very youthful sixty, then.' Anyone who knew him at all would recognise that note in his voice. He couldn't lie without it.

  'Red,' he told the woman on the phone. 'Yes, that is a departure
from my usual, isn't it? I suppose she dyes it to hide the grey.'

  If the woman knew him at all, she wasn't buying this tale. And who was he teasing? The old love, Jade, or both of them? Jade splashed a chunk of ice in each glass and sliced the lime in one vicious, chopping stroke. She squeezed a slice into each glass, gave each drink a stir, and plunked one down by Zan. He winked in silent thanks.

  Picking up her own drink, she smacked his knee briskly to make him move. She wanted out of here.

  But Zan ignored the signal. His hard, gold-fuzzed leg stayed up, blocking the way. He stared absently into her angry eyes, then his smile deepened. 'Not much else,' he told his inquisitor. 'Big green eyes, jug ears, and an uncertain temper . . .' His cool eyes studied Jade's small, flushed ears mockingly.

  That was enough. Too much. Jade set down her drink to make a determined assault on his leg. She didn't have to stay here and take this! Measuring his knee for the reflex point, she lifted her hand, but his leg dropped to the floor.

  That was more like it. Picking up her drink again, she started to slide past him, her head high. But Zan's arm shot out to encircle her waist, and he hauled her in with a mischievous grin. 'Mmm-hmm,' he agreed to some comment.

  This joke had gone too far! Eyes blazing, Jade clicked down her drink on the counter beside him. Bracing against his broad shoulders, she pushed back. But as the iron grip around her waist tightened, this simply arched her back over Zan's arm, bringing her breasts to his devilish attention. His pale eyes widened in a pantomime of delighted lechery.

  'No,' he was telling Irena. 'No, she's no distraction at all!' His head cocked to hold the phone, he grinned down teasingly into Jade's explosive face and gave her a friendly squeeze.

  Jade clenched her teeth, fighting the impulse to smack him. The need to stay silent only increased her fury, and pushing was getting her nowhere. Beneath her outspread fingers, Zan's heart beat with a rhythm that belied the smooth voice and the mischievous face. Slowly, she slid her hands across his chest and around to his sides. Could he be ticklish?

  He studied her thoughtfully, his gold brows lifting warily. 'No,' he told his listener.

  Jade fluttered her eyelashes to distract his attention as she searched for the most likely spots. As she found them, her eyes widened innocently just as her fingers jabbed into his ribs in sudden, vicious assault. Zan squirmed silently, eyes crinkling, then gasped as she found the right spot. His arm tightened in bruising response and Jade was suddenly crushed against him, his cast grinding into her stomach, her long legs tangling with his own. The rough, curly hair of his calves scratched electric shocks across her bare legs as her skirt rode up.

  Rigid with outrage, Jade leaned back over his arm, glaring up at him, trying to minimise the contact as she panted for breath.

  'Irena. . . yes, what were you . . .oh, yes, the work's going . . . very nicely.' Zan held her blazing gaze even as he continued the conversation. His grey eyes were darker now, the pupils dilated, and he wasn't smiling.

  Breath regained, Jade made one last bone-cracking effort to free herself, twisting back against his arm in silent fury. The receiver dropped from his ear to fall clattering on the counter. Zan's arms slid up to her shoulders and he yanked her savagely up against him, crushing her breasts against his chest. His mouth caught her lips in a punishing, insolent kiss that took the last of her breath away.

  'Hello? Zan? Hello?' The phone squawked beside them.

  He was bending her slowly backwards, arching her breasts against him, his lips gentling from violence to a deliberate, devastating hunger. Even as her lips began to tremble and soften in answer, Zan tore his mouth away to stare down at her, his glittering eyes only inches from her own. 'Jade!' he whispered. He bent his head again to brush her cheek with his lips, as his arm eased to let her down off her toes. Releasing her gently, he groped behind him for the telephone.

  'Hello? Hello!' The voice was tiny and outraged.

  Zan's eyes held her urgently even as he put the phone to his ear. 'Hello,' he said breathlessly. He took a deep breath, shaking the hair out of his eyebrows, his wide eyes still upon her. 'What's the problem, Irena, did you drop the phone?'

  It took a second to realise she was free. Jade backed away a step, then whirled, breaking away from those compelling eyes. She stood still for a moment, knowing that she'd stumble if she tried to walk yet.

  'Oh, well, it must be a bad connection,' Zan decided serenely behind her. He took another deep breath. 'Yes, we're on about the eighth chapter now.'

  There was a long silence as he listened. 'No,' he finally said slowly. 'No, Irena, that's not such a good idea.' He sighed. 'You would be a distraction, and we can't have that, can we? You'd better wait a few weeks before visiting, okay?'

  Jade straightened her shoulders with a small shudder. Now was the time to get out of here. She'd decide later if she was ever coming back. Her eyes filled with angry tears even as she looked around for her shoes.

  'Mm-hmm,' Zan murmured. 'No, I don't think so.'

  She glanced behind her, avoiding Zan's gaze. There were her shoes, of course, near the end counter by his big feet. Her jaw set in determination, she turned towards them.

  'Irena,' Zan murmured urgently, 'I'm going to have to go now. I smell something burning.'

  Jade put a hand on the sandals just as Zan's foot settled on top of them, anchoring them to the oak floor.

  'Yes, I'm barbecuing, and it's definitely burning. 'Bye, love.' Zan jammed the phone down. 'Wait a minute, Jade.'

  'Get off my shoes, damn you!' Jade wrenched one free and snatched for the other just as Zan stooped down to grab it. They straightened together, the sandal stretched shaking between them. 'Let go!' she raged.

  Zan shook his head slowly, his cool gaze holding her stormy eyes. 'Not yet, Jade. Not till you let me say I'm sorry.' He took a deep breath.

  'Oh, you're sorry all right,' she hissed up at him, her eyes swimming. 'You're the sorriest bastard I ever met!' She jerked the sandal again futilely and then, releasing it, smashed the other down next to his feet. Fine, keep 'em as a souvenir!' She spun away towards the front door.

  'Jade, wait! Zan demanded.

  She didn't bother to answer. To hell with him! She didn't even try to hurry as she stalked barefoot towards the exit. Let him try to stop her if he dared!

  Zan's hand covered the doorknob just as she reached for it. Lifting her head proudly, she blasted him with one glittering look. He smiled crookedly and the door swung open before her. She swept out into the twilight and headed for home, the grass cold beneath her feet as the door shut softly behind her. Damn him! She took a deep breath and started up the road.

  The gravel crunched beside her as a tall shape fell into step. 'Where are we going?' Zan asked mildly.

  Jade didn't bother to turn her head. 'You can go to the devil, and I'm going home.' She shook her hair back and took another deep breath.

  'Hmm.' He paced beside her, his long strides slow to match her clipped march.

  It was dark under the trees as they climbed the hill away from the water. Except for his quiet breathing, she might have been alone. Jade pulled yet another deep breath of the night air, feeling her face begin to cool. The fine gravel of the drive bit into her feet, a half sensual, half painful sensation as the trembling began to leave her legs.

  At the top of the hill, she paused, and felt him stop beside her. Turning, she looked back over the harbour. Anchor lights bobbed on a few yachts here and there, and the round yellow lights were their portholes, lit from within. The green light of a channel buoy flashed its monotonous, soothing message to the night, and beyond all this, the bridge crowned the black sky.

  Zan knelt before her suddenly, his hand encircling her ankle.

  It was a struggle to keep her voice level. 'Let go of me, Zan,' she breathed dangerously.

  His low voice was carefully neutral. 'You're going to hurt your feet, Jade, if you don't wear shoes.' Lifting her foot, he set it on his thigh where he could reach it w
ith both hands, and began to strap her sandal on. The firmness of his grip warned her not to resist.

  It was strangely stirring, feeling Zan's warm, hesitant fingers play across her skin in the dark. The crisp hair of his thigh scratched electric, quivering telegrams into the flinching sole of her captive foot. And as he worked with slow, intense deliberation, his thick hair brushing her bare leg, goosebumps spread up her thighs and changed to a sensation of heat.

  Zan's hand squeezed her ankle gently as he finished the right foot. He set it down and reached for the other. He turned her foot gently to get at the buckle and she swayed as she lost her balance. There was nothing to grab hold of but Zan. She caught herself against his wide shoulders, felt the muscles tense as his fingers stopped on her foot. After a second, his hands moved again, gentle, clumsy, soothing. Through her palms, she could feel the pulse in his neck—a deeper, stronger echo of her own heart's pumping.

  Zan tugged the last strap into place, and then his hand closed on her ankle again, his fingers wrapping right around it. As she stirred, his head turned quickly, his hair brushing her calf. Warm and electric, his mouth found the inside of her knee. His lips were slightly parted, his breath steaming across her skin, firing it, sending hot tremors surging up her thigh and across her loins.

  Gasping, Jade pulled back, her eyes filling with tears, and he let her go. Her legs were shaking again as he stood to look down at her , and suddenly she wished she could see his eyes. What would she see there right now? She turned away, walking slowly now, and after a long moment, Zan moved beside her again, a sombre, silent shadow. A man she didn't know at all. Had never really known.

  The lush, overgrown landscaping of the cove area gave way to the close-set houses of the town as they neared her neighbourhood. Jade could see him in the occasional street light now as he padded beside her, shaggy head bent in thought, good hand in the pocket of his shorts. As a car passed them Zan looked up and met her eyes for an instant. He smiled crookedly and looked down again, his brows knotted.

  'Zan?' She hadn't meant to speak, but suddenly the words were there.