The Art of Retaliation (21 page)

Her voice was high pitched on the verge of cracking making him reach
out instinctively and pull her into his arms.
 
But he couldn’t afford to comfort
her.
 
For all its difficulty he had
to remain cold or he would never get through it.
 
Besides she loved someone else, let them
comfort her.
 
He held her waist and
she looked up at him trapped in his hold.

“I told you that I would make you cry out my name underneath me,” he
smiled.
 
“I broke your will just
like I said I would and now sex is out of the way and our systems we can get on
with the rest of our lives and you can go back to Ryan.”

Mara struggled as he took hold of her wrists in one hand.

“Or maybe you want to be with Christophe,” the jealousy he fought
hard to keep control of erupted.
 
“Maybe you wanted him to come to your bed tonight instead of me, so you
could show your gratitude for his gallant rescue,” he sneered pulling her
closer.

Mara stopped struggling and looked up at him, hurt pinching her
features, her eyes full but restrained.
 
His heart leapt and remorse began eating him inside and for a moment his
face softened.
 
He swept the notion
aside as weak and tugged her towards the wardrobe hoping Maxine had given her
some clothes.
 
Stephane
stopped when he heard her laugh.
 
It
was a mockingly bitter laugh that only inflamed his anger more.

“I don’t believe it, you are jealous.
 
You think Christophe and I are lovers.”

He tried to ignore her pulling out some scanty lace panties and a
bra.

“Maxine’s I presume.
 
Now
that I’ve seen you gloriously naked I think these will suit you well darling,”
he handed them to her enjoying the way his observation knocked her off guard.

He frowned at the dress Maxine had lent her, a forget me not blue
gypsy summer dress that to him was not befitting Mara’s taste or
sophistication.

“You are jealous aren’t you?
 
You think Christophe and I are
together?”
she
repeated.

‘I don’t want to hear it.
 
Dress.’

He grabbed a hold of the sheet she had loosely tied at her breasts
and swept it away from her body cracking the air like a whip.
 
Indignant she snatched the dress from
him and it took all of his time not to coil her legs around him and thrust
inside her once more.

Despite the hard lines etched on his brow as he watched her dress
Stephane
was having a hard time dealing with his
actions.
 
He had formed an airtight
shield around himself since the death of his father he only condescended to
know and love when the man had finally explained the reason for his infidelity,
a cold cruel wife.

 
Stephane
had taken over the company determined to make it strong and prosperous so his
father would be proud and forgive him for not understanding.
 
He had appeared hard, even ruthless to
get what he wanted, courting the daughters of business colleagues and the
superficial society women who like his mother had been were not really interested
in him but his money and title.
 
They never got him as a husband but he ruthlessly used them to further
his business.

He had preferred his relationships with his loyal submissive
secretary and the PA who had loved him for who he was.
 
But had never been able to commit to a
woman he hadn’t considered strong or his equal.
 
It had been easy to seek pleasure, to
escape in the latest affair.
 
Women
fell at his feet.
 
This time it was
different, the woman was different, an equal and he didn’t quite know how to
deal with her.
 
She was playing him
like a fiddle, pulling the strings of his emotions until they beat an
inharmonious tune.
 
He hadn’t just
broken her will he had broken his own and she had taken his spirit.

The billionaire had never felt jealousy were a woman was concerned
before.
 
There had never been any
need.
 
He always got what he
wanted.
 
Far from getting Mara out
of his system she had taken permanent root.
 
He craved to possess her and make love
to her until she begged him to stop.
 
But Mara was one passion he was going to have to control, one woman he
was going to have to forget for the sake of his sister.

As soon as she had finished dressing he caught her hands and tied
the rope he had carried in his trouser pocket around her wrists.

“You’ll never get away with it this time.
 
The police will know it is you.
 
All I have to do is scream and
Christophe and Maxine will be in here.”

She opened her mouth wide but his hand clamped firmly over it
drawing her back against his shoulder whilst he cut some masking tape neatly
between his teeth and smoothed it over her mouth.
 
Her head shook at him, her words only
mumbles against the tape.
 
He dipped
his body and swung her over his shoulder and departed through the French
windows as silently as he had arrived.

Mara faced the hot shower letting the water revive her from
sleep.
 
Stephane
had brought them a suite at an exclusive Hotel on the rue di
Rivoli
called The Chambord declaring that it was too late
to travel back to the chateau.
 
She
had been unable to meet his eyes throughout their journey in the car when he’d
untapped her mouth and removed the rope from her hands.
 
Mara had simply retreated to her room
without fuss and slept as best as she could
determined
that in the morning she would organize another escape.

Mara felt humiliated.
 
She’d given herself body and soul to
Stephane
and he was acting as though he didn’t give a dam.
 
The man was jealous of Christophe hand
believed she had betrayed him.
 
He
wouldn’t listen to anything she said.
 
She felt used to satisfy some sexual craving he considered a weakness
and was determined to erase by conquering her will and bedding her.

Lovemaking with her had been his revenge.
 
The billionaire had lured her into a
false sense of security, made her believe he cared for her until she wanted to
help him.
 
Stupidly she had been
ready to sacrifice herself for his sake and then he just tossed her away.
 
Stephane
Garreau
was cruel and malicious, a
self
serving
manipulator just like Ryan.
 
So why couldn’t she stop thinking about him and wishing there could be
something more?
 
When she came out
of the bathroom he was standing by her bed, a tray of breakfast in his
hand.
 
He was always serving up
breakfast and making sure she ate.
 
Outwardly it made her feel irritated but inside a part of her warmed to
him.
 
It was just like being
married.

“Breakfast in bed,
Stephane
?” she
questioned with impatience.
 
“I
don’t want any. You should have learned by now I rarely eat breakfast.’

He shrugged.

“Suit yourself but you are beginning to waste away.
 
I am sure Christophe will want to be
able to feel some weight on you,”
Stephane
bent his
head and busied himself putting the tray down on the bed.

Mara couldn’t help but smile.
 
She could see him mentally cursing his slip of the tongue and trying to
hide his hurt at her rebuke.

He looked up sheepishly.
 
Mara stood with her arms folded tapping her foot, ready to renew their
fight from the night before.

“That’s what this is all about, isn’t it?
 
Why you treated me so badly last
night?
 
You are jealous because you
think Christophe and I are in love,” her arm shot out to raise an accusing
finger.

“Weren’t you taught
its
rude to point,
Mara”

“Don’t try and be clever with me.
 
Admit it.
 
I am the only woman who hasn’t lain down
and allowed you to trample all over her and you can’t stand it.
 
You don’t know how to deal with me,” she
said a note of triumph ringing out from her voice.

Stephane’s
face
remained blank, unresponsive.
 
The
only tell tale sign to convince her she was correct was the uncomfortable
stiffness in his broad shoulders that pulled themselves erect every time he was
challenged or wanted to hide something.

He smiled arrogantly.

“I wouldn’t flatter yourself, Mara.”
 
I would love to stay and chat but I have
to inspect a site and meet Abdul.’

‘Ah yes, the aerospace project you two have running
together,”she
smiled sweetly and folded her arms again.

Stephane
couldn’t
help noticing just how much her breasts thrust upwards until they threatened to
burst through the top of the gypsy dress.
 
Maybe he had been wrong about the dress.

“How do you know about that?” he answered with a frown.

“Are you sure you can trust Abdul?”

“This was a project originally devised by my father before he died
and him.
 
I know what he is but he
has never given me any cause to doubt him,” he lied.
 
“He has had many successful ventures in
France and although he isn’t my first choice of person to go in to business
with, the project is sound.
 
Why?”

Mara picked up a croissant and lay stretched across the bed propping
her head up on her elbow to look at him with an air of mocking amusement, as
though she was aware of something he wasn’t.
 
It made him uneasy.

“No reason,” she said innocently.
 
“Just a feeling I have.”

Stephane
grit his
teeth.
 
This was Mara’s trump card
and he just knew she would use it when the time was right.
 
His blue eyes viewed her intently as she
ate trying to work out what she was omitting to tell him without lowering
himself to ask her and lose face.
 

“I will be back after lunch.
 
Leon will stay here with you.
 
Try not to give him a hard time, there’s a good girl.”

She called out to him as he had his back to her poised to open the
door.

“For the record, Christophe and myself never were and never will be
lovers. There hasn’t been anyone except Ryan.”

To his surprise relief flooded through his body but he would not
give her the satisfaction of a comment.
 
But his powerful shoulders relaxed as he went through the door
communicating all she needed to know.

It was well after lunch when
Stephane
returned and Mara was feeling more like the luxurious rooms she had been locked
were a prison.

“I have to get out of here.
 
I can’t stand it.
 
I need
some air,” she announced sliding off the bed as he entered the room.
 
“How about a walk?”

“I think that may be arranged.”

She couldn’t help noticing his smile was softer at the edges.

“
Stephane
, it is too dangerous.
 
She may try and get away again,” Leon
pointed out following him into the room.

“I doubt it, not after that warrant I had put out for her arrest
last night,” he laughed watching her brow furrow at his lie.
 
“Theft of an antique bracelet I think
the charge is.”

“No, I suppose not,”
Leon
grinned.

Mara shook her head and grinned determined not to take the bait even
though there was no doubt in her mind
Stephane
was
not bluffing.

“I can’t go around dressed like this.
 
When are we going back to the
Chateau?
 
I want to change.
 
Maxine’s taste and mine do not match.”

Mara put her put her hand to her throat to cover the bruising that
obviously made her
self conscious
.
 
Every time she did it
Stephane’s
eyes were
there
studying it, darkening with anger because she’d been hurt.

“I don’t know you look very pretty in that dress,” he told her softly.
 
‘We aren’t going back yet.
 
I thought we could go out for dinner
then return.”

There was silence.

“All three of us,” he added hastily glancing nervously at Leon who
appeared amused.
 
“I’ll take you
downstairs and we’ll get you some new clothes.”

“No way.
 
I don’t want
anything from you,’” she retorted walking away but he swiftly caught her hand.

“Just tell me what you need,” he said quietly clearly anxious not to
provoke her any further.

He was holding her hand longer than he should have been, caressing
his thumb over her knuckles.
 
She
looked down at his hand and withdrew her own quickly feeling her body tense and
sting with pain at what could not happen between them.

“I don’t take bribes,
Stephane
.
 
I want nothing from you,” she said
quietly.

Her voice lingered on the last word for emphasis, her meaning clear
and unequivocal not just clothes but him also.
 
She watched the flame in his eyes that
burned for her flicker and fade.
 
It
was another point she had scored and she wanted him to hurt for his own
betrayal.

“Are you ready?
 
We’ll go
now.”

“Didn’t you hear what I just said?”

“I thought you needed to get out of here.”

“I do but I am not going anywhere with you.”

Leon started to laugh as he perched himself on the arm of the
chair.
 
He lit a cigarette and
continued to watch the familiar show were they exchanged a barrage of
abuse.
 
They were worse than a
married couple.
 
Mara and
Stephane
both stopped momentarily and gave him an impatient
glance annoyed at his interruption and the Billionaire murmured something
derogatory in French.

“Don’t do that,” she shouted.
 
“I have told you before, if you are going to have an argument with me at
least have the courtesy to speak in my language.
 
What did you say?”

“I said that you were like a child having a tantrum,” he said
shouting back at her.

There was another snigger from the far corner of the room.

“Oh and I haven’t heard that one before.
 
Do you want me to tell Leon what you did
the last time that you called me that?”

Leon looked up with interest.

“Please do, Mara.”

“Be quiet and move now.”

There was fear in
Stephane’s
eyes that he
was about to be given away.

“Or what?
 
Come on
surprise me this time,” she challenged losing herself in the argument.

“Or I’ll drag you out.”

“Try it.”

The Count roughly took hold of her arm and started to pull her
towards the door and out of the room before she could even react.

Mara tried to throw him off but his grip was tighter than ever and
she knew it was with anger.
 
He
marched her out of the door slamming it behind them and guided her into the
lift as the doors opened.

“Take your hands off me,” she demanded making a concerted effort to
push him away, annoyed he had succeeded in removing her from the room.
 

As the lift doors closed he relaxed his grip and she wasted no time
on turning on him.

“You arrogant pig.”

“Oh be quiet.
 
If you
just did what you were told we would all
get
through
this a lot easier.”

“I am not interested in making life easy for you,
Stephane
.
 
The
more difficult the better.”

Before she could say another word the lift doors opened and he was
pulling her outside into the lobby of the hotel.
 
Suddenly aware that people were watching
him drag her across the floor, she ceased her struggling and shrugged him away.

“I hope you are going to behave yourself,” he whispered in her ear,
smiling at some of the other guests who acknowledged him.

The Count took hold of her hand knowing it would annoy her and felt
it trying to wriggle free.
 
He held
it tighter until she winced and gave up.
 
Satisfied she could not escape his hold he tugged her towards the small
boutique at the far end of the Reception
Desk .