James said sternly. ‘You’ve only just eaten your lunch.’
‘Oh, but—–’
‘You’ll have to excuse me too, I’m afraid,’ drawled that infuriating voice. ‘I’ve just eaten myself.’
‘Oh!’ For a moment James looked undecided. ‘Oh well, we can talk again later. Just ask one of the staff for a drink and relax for a while.’
He and Sheri ran to the pool’s edge before diving into the clear blue water, leaving Kate alone with the man she already heartily disliked. Too magnetically attractive and arrogant for his own good, that was her opinion. She made a move to leave. ‘Well, if you’ll excuse me …’
She was stopped from leaving by the firm, blood-stopping grip of his hand on her wrist. She looked down at that hand, even in her discomfort admitting that it was a nice hand, strong and sensitive at one go, and not at all rough as she had imagined it to be.
He smiled mockingly as he interpreted her surprised glance. ‘Surely you aren’t going to leave me alone, Miss Darwood—Kate? I’m sure James wouldn’t like you to do that.’
She was sure he wouldn’t either. Bother the man, he was too damned sure of his own importance! She subsided back on to the lounger, watching him from behind her dark glasses as he slid on to the one next to her. ‘Are you working on a film at the moment, Mr Savage?’ She had learnt during the. last couple of years that there was nothing most of James’ friends liked more than talking about themselves.
‘Damien, please,’ he said smoothly. ‘Yes, I’m working on a film at the moment. Do you enjoy this sort of life?’ She was startled by the suddenness of the question, expecting the next fifteen minutes or so to be spent in boredom as she pretended to listen to him praising himself. ‘Lounging about poolsides,’ he continued, ‘and no doubt attending numerous parties.’
Kate had to admit she had attended a few, but only with James in close attendance. She shrugged. ‘It’s okay.’
‘Okay!’ he snorted his disgust. ‘Wasting your life away here! Why don’t you get yourself a job instead of hanging around here like some sort of expensive groupie for St Just and his rich friends? Go out and meet life head-on instead of sitting here waiting for it to come to you.’
Kate had visibly stiffened at his use of the word groupie, and had gone on to burning anger. She sat up rigidly. ‘You don’t have the faintest idea what you’re talking about, Mr Savage, so I’ll try to ignore all your insults.’
‘I don’t want you to ignore them, I want you to listen and take note. You have good bone structure, good colouring, in fact you’re quite beautiful. Have you ever had a screen test?’ he shot the question at her.
‘No, I haven’t. James wouldn’t like it.’
He gave a cruel smile. ‘I can imagine. Probably because with the right tuition you could be a bigger star than he is.’
‘And I suppose you think you’re the person to give me that tuition,’ she said sarcastically.
‘I could be,’ he replied deeply.
‘I thought so. You’re just another wolf, Mr Savage.’ And she had met plenty of them the last couple of years.
To her surprise he smiled. ‘At least I don’t dress up in sheep’s clothing. I meant what I said about you becoming a bigger star than James. Come round to the studio on Monday and we’ll see about that screen test.’
‘With the contract finalised on the couch in your office, no doubt?’ she returned.
‘Oh no,’ he smiled. ‘We’re a little bit more sophisticated than that nowadays. I take you back to my apartment for the night,’ that taunting mouth mocked her. ‘Can you act, by the way? It isn’t really necessary, but it would be a bonus if you can. Of course you can act,’ he answered his own question impatiently. ‘You’re doing it here all the time.’
‘I am not! I don’t like you and I’m making no pretence about it.’
‘I don’t ask that you like me, just that you turn up on Monday. And why should you pretend to like me when James openly admits to loving you? He’s rich enough to keep you in luxury for the rest of your life—or until someone richer comes along. Just as a point of interest, I am richer than James.’
‘So?’ she asked insolently.
He shrugged. ‘I just thought I’d save you the trouble of having to find out my bank balance.’
‘As I’m not interested in you your bank balance doesn’t interest me either,’ she told him angrily. The conceit of the man!
He was watching Sheri and James’ antics in the pool. ‘I suppose you’re used to sharing him with other women. James doesn’t seem to be able to settle down with just one woman.’ He was looking at her behind those dark glasses and she wished she could see the expression in his eyes. ‘You’ve lasted quite a long time now, a couple of years at least. Although it doesn’t seem to have stopped his other little diversions. How old are you?’ again the question was shot at her so suddenly it took her by surprise.
‘Eighteen,’ she answered jerkily. ‘Nearly nineteen.’
He nodded his dark head, his hair over-long and brushed back in the casual windswept style that was fashionable at the moment. ‘That’s what I thought. And you’ve been living with St Just since you were sixteen,’ it was a statement, not a question. ‘Don’t your parents mind? Or don’t they care what you do?’
‘My parents are both dead.’ Poor Mummy, who had to live with the guilt of having borne an illegitimate child, and her stepfather who had never let either of them forget that they owed their respectability to him. Given the same circumstances herself, Kate would have preferred to have remained unmarried rather than put up with Arthur’s abuse day and night.
Her mother and stepfather had been killed in a road accident when she was only fourteen and as she had no other family she had been put into care. Unbeknown to her she did have other family; her real father had been made aware of her existence from some papers left for him by her mother. Unfortunately the knowledge of his daughter’s existence had brought on a heart attack, closely followed a couple of months later by another one, this time fatal. But in his will he had left her to the guardianship of his only son, James St Just.
‘Perhaps that’s as well,’ that hateful man interrupted her thoughts. ‘I don’t think they’d like to see what you’ve become.’
‘I haven’t become anything,’ she told him angrily. ‘I’ve done nothing to be ashamed of.’
‘Nothing?’ He raised one dark eyebrow. ‘So that’s how you’ve managed to keep St Just interested. I should warn you, I don’t play by the same rules.’
‘I can imagine. You don’t appear to be a gentleman.’
Her comment caused him some humour, and she watched in fascination as his mouth curved into a smile, showing even white teeth. ‘No,’ he agreed, ‘I think we can safely agree that I’m not a gentleman. That’s why I find it quite easy to invite you to a party with me this evening.’
‘This evening? But James is
