Fear Of Love

Fear of Love

Carole Mortimer

www.millsandboon.co.uk

Table of Contents

Cover

Title Page

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER EIGHT

CHAPTER NINE

CHAPTER TEN

Copyright

CHAPTER ONE

‘IS he coming to lunch again?’ Alexandra demanded, seeing the four places set at the table.

Gail sighed, despairing of her young sister’s manners. ‘If you mean Dominic then say so,’ she said disapprovingly, moving into the kitchen.

‘All right. Is Dominic coming to lunch again?’

‘Well, as he always comes on a Sunday when he’s at home it’s a natural assumption to make.’ She turned the vegetables down on the cooker. ‘Now if you’ve nothing better to do perhaps you would like to get out the wine glasses. It was your turn to cook lunch today,’ she added sternly. ‘Where did you disappear to so quickly after breakfast?’

‘I met Roger.’ Alexandra rubbed the wine glasses to a fine shine before placing them in the appropriate places on the table, a slight smile curving her lips as she thought of the man she loved.

Her sister frowned. ‘You seem to do little else lately.’

‘Well, if you would let me marry him I wouldn’t need to keep going to his parents’ house, we could be together all the time.’

‘You’re too young to get married,’ Gail stated emphatically. ‘You’re seventeen years old and you only left school six months ago. You’ve only really known Roger four months.’

‘Oh, that isn’t true! We’ve lived in this area for years and I’ve known Roger all of that time.’ Alexandra placed the wine in the refrigerator to chill.

‘We’ve lived in this house approximately three years, and two and a half years of that time you were away at boarding-school.’ Gail shook her head at her sister’s obstinacy, knowing that pouting look of old. But in the case of Alexandra marrying she was adamant. Besides, Roger was only twenty himself. They were both much too young to know their own minds.

‘But I’ve known Roger for simply ages!’ She had been completely bowled over by his dark rugged good looks as soon as she had seen him at a local dance four months ago, and he appeared to be equally smitten. They had been seeing each other every day since and they were never bored with each other. And Roger’s kisses thrilled her like nothing else she had ever known.

Gail gave a light smile. ‘I wouldn’t call four months ages.’ She turned back to the preparation of the meal. ‘The men should be arriving soon.’

Alexandra scowled. ‘Yes, I suppose Dominic could be called that all right. The typical he-man type,’ she sneered, her blue, almost violet eyes flashing her dislike.

‘He has a very exciting job,’ Gail defended. ‘There aren’t many men who could take the risks he does.’

‘Oh, no, I realise that,’ Alexandra said scornfully. ‘Travelling around the world filming the latest disaster is life and breath to Dominic. It even meant more to him than his marriage did.’

Now it was Gail’s turn to be angry. ‘You have no right to judge him. How do you know he didn’t take up this sort of life as a means of getting away from his marriage? He and Marianne were never right for each other.’

‘You can say that now, now that they’re divorced. But they must have been in love once.’

‘I’m not saying they weren’t, all I am saying is that it wasn’t because of the danger of his job that Marianne left him. She was probably too young when they married, which is why he—–’ Gail broke off, biting her bottom lip.

‘Yes?’ Alexandra prompted, noting the almost guilty look on her sister’s face. ‘Why he what?’

‘Nothing. It isn’t important.’

‘It was important enough for you to clam up.’ Her blue eyes narrowed. ‘Come on, Gail, I know that look. You’re holding something back.’

‘Don’t be silly. I think I hear a car,’ Gail said desperately.

‘Never mind that,’ Alexandra sighed impatiently. ‘Tell me what Dominic did.’

‘I told you it wasn’t important.’

‘It was something to do with me, wasn’t it? Something he said, something about my being too young to marry. Was that it, Gail?’

‘We did talk it over with him, yes. And he said he didn’t think it was a good idea. Now calm down, Alexandra,’ Gail pleaded as she saw the angry sparkle in her sister’s eyes. ‘Trevor and I had already discussed it and come to the same conclusion.’

‘But Dominic’s disapproval finally convinced you. Don’t deny it,’ Alexandra commanded fiercely. ‘I know how arrogantly autocratic he can be. You probably asked his permission before you went in for this baby you’re expecting too. Well, he’s gone too far this time, interfered in my life once too often. And I’m going to tell him so!’ She marched purposefully to the door.

Gail looked alarmed. ‘Where are you going?’

‘To see the lordly Dominic Tempest, where else?’

‘But he’ll probably be here in a moment.’

Alexandra smiled her satisfaction. ‘He may be. But in the meantime I mean to go in search of him.’

‘You aren’t going to cause a scene?’ Gail asked wearily, recognising those bright wings of colour in Alexandra’s cheeks as the start of her fiery temper.

‘I didn’t cause this scene, Dominic did. He’s much too fond of making his opinion known. You may have to take it, Gail, he’s your brother-in-law, but he’s nothing to me. I’ve always seen more of him on television than I have around here. I know it’s wicked to think it, but I could almost wish for another disaster to happen just so he would leave again.’

‘Alexandra!’

‘I said it was wicked. But he’s been here for four weeks now, quite a record, and he’s making me feel claustrophobic. It now seems I have more reason to wish for his departure than I realised. I’ll see you later, Gail.’

‘But your lunch is ready,’ her sister cried.

‘Suddenly I’m not hungry,’ said Alexandra defiantly.

Trevor was out in the hallway removing his sheepskin jacket. He looked surprised as Alexandra walked straight past him to the front door. ‘Hey,’ he called. ‘Don’t hard-working doctors deserve a brotherly kiss any more?’

She hurried back to give him a quick kiss. She did indeed love him as a brother. He had been in her life so long now, he and Gail caring for her since the death of her mother four years ago. Her father had died when she was a very young child and she hardly remembered him, making it easy for Trevor, ten years her senior, to become the steadying male figure in her life. But at the moment she wasn’t in the mood to be steadied. Damn Dominic Tempest and his arrogance!

‘I’ll see you later, Trevor.’ She went back to the door.

‘But where are you going?’ He looked dazed.

‘I have to go out for a while. I shouldn’t be too long.’

‘First Dominic and now you,’ he shook his head. ‘I only hope Gail can hold lunch back half an hour or so.’

‘Dominic has been delayed?’ she asked casually.

‘Mm, something turned up unexpectedly. He’ll be here in about twenty minutes.’

‘I’m sure Gail can hold lunch back,’ she gave him a bright smile. ‘I should be back by then too.’

He shrugged resignedly. ‘Okay.’

Alexandra revved up her little Mini before accelerating away with a screech of tyres. It was a ten-minute drive to the Tempest mansion, which should give her time to get there before Dominic himself left. The mood she was in it shouldn’t take her ten minutes, more like five.

Dominic’s car was parked in the forecourt of the house ready for his departure, but there was another car there too, not as impressive as the Ferrari, but nevertheless it put her Mini in the shade. It looked like a Lotus Elan.

She didn’t have time to confirm this one way or the other because as she got out of her car two people also came out of the house. The man was instantly recognisable as Dominic Tempest, there was no mistaking that powerful physique, the deeply tanned handsome features, and the over-long sun-bleached blond hair. The woman wasn’t known to her, but she did look vaguely familiar as she laughed up at the man at her side.

So it wasn’t a something that had come up to delay Dominic, but a someone. And she hadn’t just arrived, by the look of the overnight case in her hand. Alexandra watched them unobserved for several minutes, watched in disgust as Dominic bent his head to kiss the woman passionately on the lips, and turned away with even more disgust as the woman pressed herself against him for even closer contact. Alexandra found it distasteful of them to make such a public display of their intimate relationship.

As the embrace ended Dominic at last seemed to become aware of Alexandra’s presence on the driveway, but he made no attempt to remove the arm of complete possession he had around the woman’s shoulders.

He walked towards her with that long easy swagger of his, his grey eyes narrowing at her scornful expression. ‘Hello, Alexandra. I’m just on my way, there was no need to send out a search party.’ His voice was deep and just as attractive as the rest of him. He was very tall, well over six foot, with carved granite-like features that always seemed to mock or taunt her. He wore his clothes with a lazy elegance that drew attention to him whether he wore denims or a suit. No, she could never deny that he was an attractive man, but at thirty-four he had cashed in on that attraction, having one ex-wife to his credit already, and goodness knows how many mistresses. ‘I called Trevor and told him I’d been delayed,’ he added.

She nodded. ‘Yes, I know. He said something had come up.’ She gave the woman at his side a cool look.

Dominic’s mouth tightened into a thin uncompromising line, the usual sensuousness of that mouth erased by anger. ‘Alexandra, I would like you to meet Sabrina Gilbert. Sabrina, Alexandra Paige, my brother’s sister-in-law.’

The two women shook hands, Alexandra noting that he gave her no explanation of who Sabrina Gilbert was. Not that she needed to be told, not after the embrace she had witnessed. Besides, Dominic looked as if he had just got out of bed, judging by the look of sleepy satisfaction in his eyes. The whole thing shocked and disgusted her.

‘So what are you doing here, Alexandra?’ he asked curtly.

‘I wanted to talk to you, alone.’

He gave a husky laugh. ‘Did it have to be now? I would have been over for lunch in a few minutes. We could have talked then.’

Her mouth set stubbornly. ‘I said alone.’

He looked at her sharply. ‘I’m sure we have nothing to say to each other that Gail and Trevor can’t hear.’

‘Not to each other, no. But I have some things to say to you I would prefer no one else to hear.’

‘Sounds interesting, darling.’ Sabrina Gilbert spoke for the first time, a low husky sound that probably excited men just to hear it. ‘I think I’ll just be on my way and leave you to it.’ She raised her face for his kiss. ‘I’ll see you at your apartment during the week. Nice to have met you, Miss Paige.’

Alexandra didn’t answer, turning away as Dominic lingered over kissing that pouting red mouth. Sabrina was obviously a beautiful woman, with a bright cap of golden hair, come-to-bed blue eyes, and a perfect figure, but Alexandra didn’t think that Dominic had to make quite such a meal of her.

‘I’ll call you Tuesday or Wednesday,’ he promised throatily.

‘I’ll be waiting.’ She got into the Lotus Elan and with a wave of her hand drove off.

Dominic turned his icy grey eyes on Alexandra, his anger a tangible thing. ‘Now perhaps we can have that talk you seem to want,’ he said in a clipped voice.

Her blue eyes flashed her dislike of him. ‘I think you’re the lowest, most contemptible—–’

He grasped her arm, dragging her towards the house. ‘Not out here,’ he growled. ‘Have the good manners to wait until we’re in my study. That is, of course, if you know what good manners are. You haven’t given a very good impression of it so far.’

‘What did you expect me to do while you drooled over the lovely Miss Gilbert?’ she sneered. ‘Stand and clap your performance?’

He looked down at her. ‘If you felt it merited it.’ He pushed her into a room. ‘But I was referring to your behaviour before then.’ He leant back against his desk, his arms folded challengingly in front of his chest. ‘That was the most disgusting display of bad manners you’ve shown in a long time.’

Her eyes blazed. ‘How dare you! I—–’

He gave a humourless smile. ‘How dare I?’ He shook his head. ‘I haven’t done anything, Alex. You stormed over here—–’

‘Don’t call me Alex!’ she snapped. ‘It makes me sound like a boy. My name is Alexandra.’

Those grey eyes travelled slowly over her taut angry body clothed in denims and a tee-shirt. ‘Well, you dress like a boy, but the shape is definitely female. I hadn’t realised quite how much you’ve grown up.’

His gaze was positively insolent and Alexandra only just stopped herself putting up shielding hands to cover her body. Thank goodness she did, she could just imagine the mockery he would show her if she had given in to such a weakness. But he had no right to look at her that way when he had just got out of bed with the sexy blonde. He had no right to look at her like that anyway, almost as if he were mentally undressing her.

She found herself blushing anyway, unable to stop the involuntary action. This was the first time Dominic had shown in any way that he regarded her as a woman. It was vaguely unnerving and she felt tongue-tied.

But of course he was looking at her as a woman, his senses were probably still aflame from the weekend spent with the lovely Sabrina Gilbert. Alexandra now realised where she had seen the other woman; she appeared in a popular long-running television series. The two of them had probably met at the television studio where Dominic recorded his weekly current affairs programme.

‘It’s because I’m grown up that I’m here,’ she said finally, her cheeks still aflame.

‘Really?’ he drawled. ‘Have you come over for some private tuition?’

Her mouth tightened. ‘Don’t be ridiculous! If I required that sort of tuition I certainly wouldn’t come to you for it. I have a boy-friend who can supply me with all the experience I need.’

Those grey eyes narrowed. ‘Roger Young.’ His top lip curled back contmptuously.

‘Yes! And he’s the reason I’ve come over here.’

‘He is? Well, I’m not about to give him any tuition,’ he taunted. ‘It wouldn’t be half as much fun.’

‘Ooh, you’re such a conceited swine!’ Alexandra stamped her foot in childish temper. ‘Just because you’ve slept with more women than you can remember the names of you think you know it all! I happen to believe that making love is more than just sex between two people, it should be something private between man and wife.’

The contempt was still there in his face and it was directed at her now. ‘I’ve tried being married. Believe me, it isn’t all it’s supposed to be.’

‘You were married for exactly a year, hardly long enough to be able to pass comment on it. You treated your wife shamefully.’

‘Did I now?’ he mused. ‘And what would you know about it? You would have been five at the time, and as we didn’t even know you then I don’t consider you in a position to judge how I treated my wife.’

‘I didn’t need to know you when you were married to know it was all your fault that the marriage failed. I know for a fact that you weren’t even in the same country six months out of the twelve.’

Dominic looked angry now. ‘Like I said, you aren’t in a position to judge.’

‘I am when it affects my life,’ she told him crossly.

‘What does my marriage have to do with your life?’

‘Gail told me this morning that it was mainly due to your disapproval of the idea that they refused to give their consent to my marriage to Roger.’

‘I see,’ he nodded his head, his look thoughtful. ‘Gail told you that, did she?’

She flushed. ‘With a little persuasion, yes.’

Dominic’s mouth twisted. ‘I can imagine what type of persuasion. You’re a bully, Alexandra. And you’re spoilt too. Poor Gail doesn’t stand a chance when you have one of your tantrums.’

‘I do not have tantrums!’

‘Oh yes, you do, and Gail isn’t strong enough to say no to you, neither is Trevor for that matter. You’re wilful and utterly selfish and not grown up enough to marry anyone, let alone a kid like Roger Young. He’s just as spoilt as you are.’

‘You have a nerve!’ she exclaimed furiously.

‘Not really,’ he answered calmly. ‘I just thought it better to stop you becoming just another statistic in the divorce figures.’

‘And you’re arrogant too,’ she continued. ‘You have no way of knowing whether my marriage to Roger will succeed or not.’

‘I can take a pretty accurate guess,’ he drawled. ‘I’ll also make another guess, that by the time you reach your eighteenth birthday in a few months’ time you’ll have changed your mind about marrying him.’

‘I will not,’ she said indignantly. ‘I love him.’

He smiled at her outburst. ‘You say you do now, I wonder if you’ll feel the same in six months’ time. I doubt it. You’re at an age when you fall in and out of love every month.’

‘Like your wife did?’ she taunted bitterly.

‘Exactly as Marianne did,’ he agreed tautly.

Alerandra realised that perhaps she had gone too far this time. ‘I’m sorry,’ she said, shamefaced. ‘I shouldn’t have said that.’

‘Oh, don’t start apologising now, Alexandra. We’ve gone way past the stage of not being able to speak our minds to each other.’

‘Yes, I suppose so.’

He smiled. ‘I know so. Look, Alex—Alexandra,’ he amended. ‘I’m older than you, exactly twice your age, and I can see the pitfalls of marrying at your age. Marianne was no older than you when we married, and look how disastrously that turned out. We were divorced before she reached nineteen.’

‘You can’t compare me with her—or my intended husband with you.’

‘Meaning?’

She didn’t flinch from his icy grey eyes. ‘Meaning that there is no way Roger can be compared with you. He doesn’t have to keep proving his sexual prowess, whereas you—well, it’s pretty obvious that your guest didn’t sleep in any other bedroom but your own. Is she your latest mistress?’

Dominic raised his eyebrows. ‘What does that have to do with you?’

She shrugged. ‘I was just curious.’ She flicked back her long black hair, long sooty lashes surrounding her deep blue eyes. ‘Is she?’

‘Yes,’ he answered with violence.

‘But you don’t intend marrying her?’ Alexandra’s curiosity had got the better of her now.

‘I don’t intend marrying ever again.’

‘Does she know that?’

‘Oh yes,’ he smiled. ‘Sabrina knows exactly what I feel for her.’

‘I’ll bet she does,’ her mouth turned back with distaste. ‘But I still maintain that you had no right to interfere in my life. I love Roger and I want to marry him.’

‘I didn’t stop you. I merely told Gail and Trevor that I—–’

‘Didn’t think it a good idea,’ she snapped. ‘It was nothing to do with you, nothing at all.’

‘I’m sure that what I said meant little to either of them, they’d already made up their minds about it.’

She shook her head. ‘I don’t agree. I think what you had to say had everything to do with their decision. They hardly dare breathe without your permission. I’m well aware of the fact that you’ve helped them out a lot since they married, but I don’t want to be included in that care. I want you to just stay out of my life.’

‘A little late for that, isn’t it?’

She looked at him sharply. ‘What do you mean?’

He shrugged. ‘It isn’t important. Let’s just accept that I’m the villain of the piece and forget it.’

Alexandra’s mouth set angrily. ‘I don’t want to forget it. I want to know what you meant just now. What else have you had a hand in that I know nothing about?’

‘I said it isn’t important.’ He looked at his wrist-watch. ‘I have to leave now, I’m much later than the twenty minutes I said I would be.’

‘Dominic,’ she held his arm. ‘Please tell me.’ Her look was pleading.

He looked down pointedly at her hand on his tanned forearm and she snatched it away hurriedly. ‘There’s nothing to tell. Let’s go,’ he pulled her out of the house. ‘We can talk some other time.’

She wrenched out of his grasp. ‘We’ll talk now! I—–’

Charles, the butler, appeared in the open doorway. ‘Telephone for you, sir. It’s Mr Trevor,’ he added.

‘Tell him I’m on my way, Charles,’ Dominic answered him.

‘I did that, sir. But he says he has to speak to you urgently.’

‘Very well, Charles. Tell him I’ll be right there.’

‘Yes, sir.’ The butler disappeared back into the house.

Dominic gave Alexandra an impatient look. ‘Wait here and we can drive back together.’

‘Forget it.’ She ran down the remaining steps to the driveway. ‘I’ve seen you quite enough for one day.’

‘Alexandra, you’ll wait—–’

‘Goodbye, Dominic.’ She walked hurriedly away as he turned angrily to go and answer the telephone.

There were still quite a lot of questions she would like answers to, but she was just too angry to talk to him any more. She would go straight over and see Roger, he always put her in a better mood.

As she accelerated the Mini past the house Dominic rushed out of the doorway, waving frantically for her to stop. She gave him an impudent grin and cheekily waved back. She smiled as she looked in the driving mirror as she saw him standing in the driveway angrily watching her leave.

Just thwarting him in this way put her in a better humour and by the time she reached Roger’s parents’ house she was feeling much happier. They should have finished lunch, it was after two o’clock, so she felt no hesitation about knocking on the door.

She was shown into the lounge where the Young family were just having their coffee. Her eyes went instantly to Roger, her heart pounding loudly just at the sight of him. He looked pleased to see her too and they smiled dreamily at each other.

‘Hello, my dear,’ Mrs Young greeted politely. ‘Would you like to join us in some coffee?’

The rumblings of her stomach told her that she should really have gone home and had her lunch before coming here, but as she hadn’t the coffee would have to sustain her until her evening meal. ‘Yes, please, Mrs Young.’

Roger made room for her on the sofa beside him, his arm about her shoulders pulling her close against his side. ‘You’re over early today,’ he murmured softly.

She snuggled against him. ‘Does that mean you aren’t pleased to see me?’

His hold tightened. ‘Don’t say that! I just wasn’t expecting you yet.’

Alexandra sat up as his mother handed her the cup of steaming coffee. ‘Thank you,’ she smiled.

Roger was frowning. ‘I don’t see how you can possibly have eaten lunch and got over here since we parted at the pool this morning.’

She squeezed his hand reassuringly. ‘I’ll explain later.’

‘Yes, but—–’

‘How is your sister keeping?’ Mrs Young asked her. ‘I should think she’s getting quite impatient now.’

‘A little,’ Alexandra agreed. ‘Only another four weeks to go.’

‘I suppose that brother-in-law of yours is kept busy at the hospital,’ put in Mr Young. ‘Although it must be quite convenient having a doctor in the house.’