ELUSIVE OBSESSION

BY CAROL MORTIMER

her slumbers.'You chose this way, Howard.' The man who answered her father'simpassioned accusation spoke so softly that she could barely hear him, and yet still she could feel the power in his words.' W h a t o t h e r c h o i c e d i d y o u l e a v e m e ? ' h e r f a t h e r s c o r n e d w i t h obvious contempt for the other man.‘ Y o u h a v e t a k e n i t a l l , h a v e n ' t y o u , F a l c o n ? M y b u s i n e s s , m y h o m e , m y - - - - - M y G o d , y o u c o u l d n ' t e v e n l e a v e m e m y p r i d e , couldn't do that, could you? My God, men like you make me sick!'Whatever initial guilty thoughts she might have had of revealingher presence behind the curtain had faded almost as quickly as theyc a m e i n t o h e r h e a d ; h e r f a t h e r w o u l d n ' t l i k e t h e i d e a o f h e r e a v e s d r o p p i n g —a c c i d e n t a l l y o r o t h e r w i s e — o n w h a t w a s obviously a very private conversation, but from the little she hadalready heard she knew he would be even less pleased now if shewere to step out and reveal that she had heard anything at all. Shemight only be nine years old, but she knew this conversation wasvery serious indeed.Chalford, her home, the only one she had ever known, gone? Tothis man, this stranger, a man she couldn't even see properly?She had t r ied t o l ook a t h im a round the edge o f t he l ong w ine - c o l o u r e d v e l v e t d r a p e s , b u t s h e w a s t o o f r i g h t e n e d o f b e i n g d i s c o v e r e d t o p u t h e r h e a d o u t t o o f a r . A l l s h e h a d w a s a n

impression of size and power— oh, what power!—that seemed toemanate from his very stillness.He seemed to turn in her direction at that moment, as if sensing hewas being observed, and she quickly ducked back behind the cover o f t h e c u r t a i n , h e r b r e a t h c a u g h t i n h e r t h r o a t a s s h e w a i t e d i n terrif ied expectation for a hand to reach out and drag her from her hiding place to face the full force, not just of Nanny's displeasureat the way she had hidden from her so that she shouldn't do thoseawful lessons, but her father's wrath at her behaviour too. And hisdisappointment in her would be much harder to bear than Nanny'sscolding...But as the seconds ticked by on the grandfather clock that stoodagainst one wall of her father's study, and no hand reached out for her, she slowly began to breathe again.Once again the reply to her father's accusation was "No one twistedy o u r a r m , H o w a r d , ' t h e m a n d i s m i s s e d c a l m l y . ‘ Y o u d i d i t a l l yourself.'‘Of course I did,' her father scoffed scathingly.‘How easy it is for men like you to set traps for like me-----'‘G reedy men l i k e you , ' he was c o r rec ted ha r sh l y , ' who b lames everyone but themselves, the only real culprit, for mistakes!'She was filled with fury against this man. How dared he talk to her beloved father like that? She wanted to go out there and kick his

shins for him, demand that he apologise to her father, who had to be the cleverest, most wonderful man in the world.But before outrage could overcome good sense her father answeredthe man. 'The only mistake I ever made was in believing I could trust you!' he said self-disgustedly. 'Oh, get out, will you, Falcon?'He sudden l y sounded ve r y wear y . ' Cha l f o rd i sn ' t you rs ye t , no tun t i l t he dus t has se t t l ed and t he l awyer s say i t i s , and un t i l t ha t happens you aren't welcome in my home. Now get out, Falcon,'

herepeated harshly. 'And take Janette with you.'Janette? Why on earth would her stepmother want to leave withthis hateful man, a man her father obviously hated? None of thismade any sense to her.'I don't want your wife, Howard,' the other man told him hardly. 'Inever did.'' S e r v e d h e r p u r p o s e , h a s s h e ? ' h e r f a t h e r s a i d w i t h k n o w i n g contempt. 'Well, I don't want her any more either!''That's between the two of you,' the other man dismissed withoutemotion. 'I'm only interested in-----''I know why you're here, Falcon,' her father cut in heatedly. 'AndI've told you, you have everything else— the house you'll have towa i t f o r . And m uch j oy may i t g i ve you ever y t ime you th i nk o f how it came into your possession!' There was the sound of the door behind wrenched open. 'I've asked you to leave twice; if I have to

do so again I'll call in the police and have you forcibly removed—Iwonder how that would look in newsprint?'T her e was s i l enc e f o r severa l l ong -d rawn -ou t sec onds a f t e r t h i sd i r ec t c ha l lenge , and s he s udden ly r ea l i s ed she was ho ld i ng he r breath again, this time without even knowing she had been doingit. She didn't understand half the conversation she had unwittinglyo v e r h e a r d , b u t s h e d i d r e c o g n i s e t h e r a w e m o t i o n b e h i n d h e r father's words as he once again ordered the man Falcon to leaveChalford immediately.'Ve r y we l l , ' t he o t he r m an f ina l l y c onceded , and the re was the sound of him moving towards the door her father obviously stillheld open for him. 'I suggest we talk again, Howard, when you feelin a more reasonable frame of mind.''And I suggest,' her father returned tautly, 'that in future you staywell away from me and my family!'The door was closed with only slightly repressed violence as theother man finally seemed to have left, and with his departure theroom was suddenly filled with an ominous silence, a silence thatseemed endless.S h e w a n t e d t o r u n o u t i n t o t h e r o o m , p u t h e r a r m s a r o u n d h e r f a the r and t e l l h im tha t she t hough t t he Fa lcon m an was ha te f u l too, that she didn't want him to have her beloved Chalford, that hecouldn't let that awful man come and live here! But if she did that

anywhere near the house, of always making sure the safety catchwas on before handling a gun at all.And yet she knew, without a doubt, that it was the sound of a gun being shot that had reverberate around the room seconds ago.There was the sound of running feet in the hallway outside now,the door to the study being thrown open, the babble of the voicesof the people who had entered the room—she guiltily recognised Nanny's as being one of them, and there was Sylvester the butler t o o , a n d M r s H a l l t h e h o u s e k e e p e r — c o m i n g t o a n a b r u p t a n d sudden end... possibly so that her father could reprimand them for entering his study without knocking, as they were supposed to do!'My God...!' Sylvester finally groaned raggedly.She wondered why Nanny hadn't rebuked him for the blasphemy,as she knew the elderly lady would have done if it had been her.T h e o l d l a d y h a d b e e n D a d d y ' s n a n n y f i r s t , w a s a l m o s t a t r e t i r em ent age now, and he r o l d -f ash ioned mor a l i t y l i nge r ed on with this, the second generation.Bu t he r cu r i os i t y was now f as t ove r tak ing any f ea r s he had o f a reprimand for disappearing in the way she had after lunch, until finally she couldn't stand it any longer, silently leaving her hiding place, edging quietly into the room in the direction of her father 'sdesk , wh i c h s eem ed to be wher e ever yone e l se ' s a t t en t ion was centred. So intent were they all that they didn't even see her.

W ha t she saw when she reac hed the desk made her eyes w iden with disbelieving horror, and all the colour drain from her cheeks.Tha t — t ha t c ou ldn ' t be he r f a the r ! I t was t oo g r o tesque , ho r r i f i c , unrecognisable as a human being, even. And the blood. Good God,there was blood everywhere. Everywhere. All over the pale blues h i r t and checked j ack e t she k new her f a the r had been wear i ng earlier in the day!She opened her mouth to scream as she realised it was her father.But no sound passed her lips. And the silent scream went on andon and on...CHAPTER ONE' I ' v e d r e s s e d s o m e b r i d e s i n m y t i m e , D i - - - - - ' J o a n n a l o v i n g l y a r r a n g e d t h e i v o r y - c o l o u r e d v e i l f o r w h a t m u s t h a v e b e e n t h e dozenth time '—but you look—you look-----' Words seemed to failthe twice-married and twice-divorced cynic.'Fantastic!' Cally told her without hesitation as she burst into theroom and heard the latter part of their conversation.' Abso lu te l y beau t i f u l . ' J oanna , pe r f ec t l y c apab le o f t a l k i ng f o r he rs e l f , d r i l y chos e he r own des c r ip t i on . 'O f cours e , t he gown could have something to do with it!'It has everything to do with it.' Diana finally spoke from behind

the sheer ivory-coloured veil with its beautifully arranged teardrop pearls draping her forehead. 'Charles is going to be delighted,' shesa id w i t h husk y c on f i dence , squeez ing t he o l de r wom an ' s a rms reassuringly.'He had better be!' Joanna told her fiercely as she still fussed over the veil, seeking absolute perfection in its shimmering length thatc asc aded t o t he bas e o f D iana ' s sp ine , he r ha i r sh immer ing l i k e gold beneath the whole length of it. 'I've had nightmares about thenext few moments!''You had better get out there, Di,' Cally advised warningly. 'BeforeCharles is reduced to a quivering wreck!''And why shouldn't he be?' Joanna said with a certain amount of relish. 'After the week he's just given me, I feel like one!'With a wryly affectionate smile for the older woman Diana glidedover to the door in the ivory satin gown, the tiny teardrop pearls onher forehead the only adornment on both tie veil and the gown, thesimplistic lines of the latter outlining the perfection of her uptilted breasts, slender length of waist, and gently curving hips. It was agown of sheer genius, a masterpiece.'Oh, my God, I almost forgot to tell you in the excitement!' Callyhurried over to her, stunningly beautiful herself in a shimmeringgold gown. "The mystery guest has at last arrived,' she told Diana breathlessly. 'It's Reece Falcon!' The announcement was made with in designer-label clothes that Diana instantly recognised as such, the woman was obviously the sophisticated socialite Reece Falconusually involved himself with.Beautiful as the woman was, she only held half of Reece Falcon'sattention as she spoke to him, the other half being firmly fixed onDiana, and so she doubted the other woman would figure any more prominently in his life than any of those others had over the years.Diana couldn't help the slightly contemptuous twist to her lips ass he tu r ned t o beg in t he wa lk back , wha tever s l i gh t waver ing o f confidence she had momentarily known disappearing completelyas those silver eyes continued to glare up at her; whatever place the beautiful redhead had in his life, she couldn't completely divert hisattention away from Diana!The congratulations, once she reached the changing-room, fromJoanna and the other models, passed over her head as if she was ina dream as she stepped out of the wedding gown to reveal that shewore only skin-coloured panties beneath, her breasts full and rosy-tipped, her body more slender unclothed than it had appeared in theexquisite clothes she

had been modelling all week, her legs longand slim, each movement she made unknowingly graceful, her hair at last revealed in all its long shimmering glory as Joanna carefullyremoved the delicacy of the pure lace veil.D iana ' s a t t en t i on was he ld by t he bouque t o f r os es t ha t l a y on a

table in the corner of the room—today's offering from Chris, thec a r d a t t a c h e d t o t h e m h a v i n g r e m a i n e d u n o p e n e d a s t h e y h a d ar r i ved du r i ng t he r ush and bus t le o f t he ha l f an hour be f o re t he show began. She had felt no urgency to open the envelope and readthe card inside because she had thought it would be the same as theo t h e r s d u r i n g t h e w e e k ; t w o s i m p l e w o r d s — ' M a r r y m e ' . B u t perhaps this time she had been wrong; surely Chris knew his father was here, in Paris?She hastily pulled on her robe over her near-nakedness, tying the belt securely about her waist even as she crossed the room to theroses, taking the card from the small white envelope and readingt h e m e s s a g e t h e r e . T h o s e s a m e t w o w o r d s s t i l l f e a t u r e d , b u t underneath, as if added later, was another message.It read, 'The Falcon is on the hunt.' They both knew the Falcon wash i s f a t h e r . I f o n l y s h e h a d t a k e n t h e t i m e t o r e a d t h i s c a r d , s h e would at least have had some warning that Reece Falcon might behere in Paris, if nothing else. She had to accept that he probablyknew something of her relationship with Chris too; the fact that hew a s h e r e , t o n i g h t , w a s s u r e l y m o r e t h a n j u s t a c o i n c i d e n c e . I t would more than explain that glitter-eyed look!'Com ing to t he pa r t y? ' Ca l l y appeared a t he r s i de , unashamed l y attempting to read the card that Diana slowly crushed in her hand,sh r ugg ing d ism iss i ve l y a t t he movement , t he babb le o f vo ic es

c o n t i n u i n g b e h i n d t h e m , e v e r y o n e o b v i o u s l y r e l i e v e d t h a t t h e evening had gone as well as it had and that the week of hard work was over.W i th a t i n y ha l f - sm i le o f apo log y , D iana s hook he r head in t he negative. It had been a rhetorical question on Cally's part anyway; both of them already knew that she wouldn't go with the others tothe huge party being thrown for them all.'I thought not,' Cally grinned with an unoffended shrug. 'Back tothe ho te l , ' s he gues sed , ' a good n igh t ' s s leep . And then back t o E n g l a n d o n t h e f i r s t a v a i l a b l e f l i g h t i n t h e m o r n i n g , ' s h e s a i d knowingly.D iana ' s sm i l e w idened a t t h i s t o t a l l y c o r rec t as sessment o f he r p lans f o r the nex t t we l ve hours , t he unguar ded sm i le i ns t an t l y revealing exactly how young she really was, the heavy make-upshe had been wear ing f o r mode l l i ng a l l e ven ing t end ing t o add years as well as the required sophistication.'Am I so predictable?' She shook her head ruefully.'I shouldn't worry about it,' Cally shrugged dismissively. 'It onlyadds to the elusiveness of the Divine Diana image.'In part, it was only an image, one she had deliberately cultivatedover the years. But the truth of the matter was that she didn't reallyhave any interest in the social side of her profession; she earnedher living as a model, but she didn't feel that meant she had to be had no i dea ! ' He reached ou t and shook the o t he r man ' s hand . ' I would be delighhted to design a wedding gown for you—well, notf o r you pe rs ona l l y , o f cou rs e . ' He gave a l augh a t h i s own l i t t l e joke.Diana had no doubts as to the reason why Charles o delighted att h e p r o s p e c t o f d e s i g n i n g a w e d d i n g g o w n

e x c l u s i v e l y f o r t h e Fa lcon f am i l y : t he wedd ing gown wou ld be pho t og raphed and s h o w n a l l o v e r t h e w o r l d , w o u l d e a r n i t s d e s i g n e r w o r l d w i d e publicity and prestige.But the fact that there was to be a wedding at all filled Diana withmisgivings.S i l ve r c l ashed w i t h g reen a s she f ound he r gaze m ee t ing Reece Falcon's head-on for the first time, something akin to an electricshock passing through her body at the force she encountered there,a barely leashed energy behind the outward calm. He returned her gaze co ld l y , cha l leng ing l y— a lmos t as i f he k new wha t she was thinking, feeling. Impossible. He couldn't possibly know!The original Ice Maiden, Reece realised with mocking amusement.H e h a d m e t m a n y w o m e n i n h i s l i f e — t o o d a m n e d m a n y , h e a c k n o w l e d g e d g r i m l y — s o m e o f t h e m , a l t h o u g h n o t m a n y , a s coldly distant as this particular one. But none of them had been asyoung or possessed of such a removed air as this model Divine.He was curious in spite of himself, and thought now that he should

perhaps have taken the trouble to find out a little more about her b e f o r e c o m i n g h e r e , o t h e r t h a n t h e f a c t t h a t s h e w a s b e i n g d i s r up t i ve t o h is p l ans f o r h is s on . Now t ha t he had s een he r f o r himself, and could see how beautiful but strangely elusive she was,he realised why Chris was so fascinated by the young woman thathe had risked even Reece's anger to continue seeing her.This young woman could be trouble with a capital T. Good God, there was no could about it!He broke their gaze with easy dismissal, turning back to CharlesO x ley , k nowing a m oment a r y sa t i s f ac t i on as he d id so t ha t t he other man was no longer touching this exquisitely lovely creature —although he knew that none of that pleasure would be obvious inhis expression; years of schooling his features and learning to hideh i s i n t h o u g h t s a n d e m o t i o n s m e a n t t h a t h e n o w d i d i t automatically.Until a few minutes ago when Diana joined them he had wonderedat Oxley's sexual inclinations, but the way the other man looked atthe model has left in no doubt. Or was it just that this woman childwas so exo t i ca l l y l o ve l y t ha t no man cou ld look a t he r w i t hou t appreciating her understated sensuality...'I don't want a gown designed, Charles,' he drawled dismissively. 'Iwant the one I saw tonight.'Charles frowned. 'The one...? But—I think the bride should see it

f i r s t b e f o r e m a k i n g a n y d e c i s i o n , d o n ' t y o u ? ' h e a t t e m p t e d t o c a jo le . ' I t m ay no t be — what she wan t s f o r he r se l f . I wou ld be pleased to set a time when we can all get together to discuss whatyou would like,' he added lightly, obviously not wanting to offend by refusing the wedding gown Divine had modelled earlier.Reece knew exactly why the other man was prevaricating, couldappreciate Charles Oxley's reluctance to let a woman wear a gown,wedd ing o r o the r w i se , t ha t he was n ' t abs o lu t e l y pos i t i ve wou ld look right on her and at the same time be a credit to his undoubtedreputation as a designer. At the same time that he could appreciatethe other man's feelings, however, he also knew that he wanted thegown!She's seen it,' he told the other man drily. 'She likes it. It's what shewants.' And what that particular lady wanted, she got!This time there was no mistaking a reaction in the model Divine asshe stood at Charles Oxley's side. She didn't move, and her facialexp res s ion—s t r ange l y , f o r one s o young — rema ined pe r f ec t l y controlled. And yet Reece knew his words had disturbed her; hecould feel the tension in her.Tension was the very least of what this young woman should feel;she was responsible for trying to thwart his plans for Chris. A facthe

intended rectifying at the first opportunity.Although he had to admit, if Chris had to choose a woman to have

ultimately she knew she wouldn't—couldn't do that; that she wouldnever show any sign of weakness towards this man.Instead she looked at him coldly. 'If you don't release my arm, Mr F a l c o n , I ' m g o i n g t o s t a r t s c r e a m i n g , ' s h e t o l d h i m w i t h c a l m indifference. Inside she was just so relieved that she was managingto sound as c on t r o l led as she no rma l l y d i d— when i n r ea l i t y she really did feel like screaming!'And when I scream it will be-----Thank you,' she accepted coollyas he slowly released her wrist as he saw she meant every word shes a i d . ' T h e t r u t h o f t h e m a t t e r i s , M r F a l c o n , ' s h e c o n t i n u e d pleasantly, as if she hadn't just directly challenged the man—andwon !— ' t ha t I 'm ve r y t i r ed j us t now, and I ac tua l l y in t end go ing back to my hotel for a bath and a long sleep-----''Which hotel?' he demanded quickly, his voice an angry rasp, allhis earlier amusement—at her expense-having faded.' G e o r g e t h e F i f t h , ' s h e s u p p l i e d w i t h o u t h e s i t a t i o n , h a v i n g n o r eason to f ee l t h rea tened ; s he had no in ten t ion o f t a l k i ng t o t h i sm a n a n y w h e r e t o n i g h t — s h e r e a l l y d i d f e e l v e r y t i r e d a f t e r t h e g rue l l i ng week s he had j us t had . And ta lk i ng t o t h i s man a t a l l wasn't helping her exhaustion; in fact her nerves felt stretched to breaking-point. 'But-----'' D i a n a , y o u f o r g o t t o t a k e t h e s e w i t h y o u ! ' C a l l y c a l l e d o a t , hu r r y i ng over w i t h t he bouque t o f r ed roses D iana tad l e f t i n t he

changing-room, and pausing to give Reece Falcon an encouragingsmile once she had handed the over to Diana, although she hastilymade her and left again when he just returned her gazeDiana held on to the bouquet of roses. 'That wasn't very kind,' sheto ld Reec e Fa lc on c r i t i c a l l y , k nowing s he wou ldn ' t r ea l l y have expected anything else from him!‘ K i n d " i s n ' t a w o r d t h a t I ' v e h e a r d o f t e n t o d e s c r i b e m e , ' h e acknowledged derisively. 'From my son?' He looked at the roseswith narrowed eyes.Her arms tightened about the flowers defensively. 'Yes.'He nodded , as i f he had never doub ted i t . "Then I ' l l ca l l a t you r ho te l t omor r ow morn ing and we c an have b reak f as t t oge t he r . Unless-----' his mouth twisted mockingly '—you're one of thosem ode ls who l i ve on le t t uc e leaves and b lack co f f ee? ' He a rched dark brows questioningly.She k new tha t s ome o f he r f r i ends d i d have a p rob lem k eep ing the i r we igh t down, a l t hough she though t a d ie t o f l e t t uce l eaves was probably a slight exaggeration; it didn't surprise her at all thatReece Fa l con s hou ld be t o ta l l y f am i l i a r w i t h t he p r ob lem some models had—no doubt he had been involved with more than one of them in the past!'One o f t he t h i ngs I ' ve en joyed mos t abou t be ing in Par i s , ' s he d r a w l e d , ' h a s b e e n m y f r e s h c r o i s s a n t s a n d c r e a m y c o f f e e f o r

breakfast,' smoothly answering his derision.He gave an acknowledging inclination of his head. 'In that case, I'll be at your hotel for breakfast at eight-thirty. Too early for you?' hechallenged.She shook he r he ad c oo l l y . ' Pe r f ec t . ' Bec ause by t ha t t im e s he would no longer be at the hotel but at the airport, waiting for her flight home!'Tomorrow morning then.' Reece Falcon nodded abruptly beforestriding

confidently away.Because he didn't doubt, as he had decided it would be so, that thet wo o f t hem wou ld be s i t t i ng down t o b r eak f as t t oge the r in t he morning at eight-thirty!Arrogant.Setf-centred.Autocratic. No wonder Chris found him just too much to try to Eve up to.W e l l , i f R e e c e F a l c o n t h o u g h t t h a t s h e w a s i m p r e s s e d w i t h h i s a r roganc e he was s ad l y m is t ak en ! Now tha t s he ad met t he m an , actually spoken to him, she disliked him even more intensely thanshe had before.A n d s h e h a d a l r e a d y h a t e d w i t h v e h e m e n c e t h e m a n w h o h a d ruined her father, made his life so unbearable he had been left withno alternative but to take his life.

a n d w h i t e b l o u s e b a n e a t h t h e j a c k e t , a s t h e g l a m o r o u s m o d e l Divine. It was exactly the way she liked it to be.She enjoyed her work; she had really meant it when she had toldReece Falcon that if she didn't enjoy modelling any more then shewouldn't be doing it. She was thrilled that so many people liked theway she looked, how clothes looked on her.Bu t t ha t was the p r o f ess iona l s i de o f he r l i f e , and as D i v i ne s he accepted that, but as Diviniaa Lamb she liked to keep her life very private indeed. But even if anyone had recognised her on the early bight this morning they had been too polite to bother her. No, her t e n s i o n h a d r e a c h e d a h e a d - p o u n d i n g p i t c h g b e f o r e s h e e v e n reached the airport.S h e h a d n ' t s l e p t l i g h t , h a d j u s t b e e n t o o t e n s e , t o o h a u n t e d b y memor ies , t o be ab le even to t h ink o f r e l ax i ng enough to g rab a f ew hours ' s leep . Reec e Fa lc on ' s p resence i n Par i s had deep l y disturbed her. As it was, she had packed and left hotel long befores he needed to , and had then sa t mod a t t he a i rpo r t c ons t an t l y looking over her shoulder in case Reece Falcon should alreadyhave she had gone and followed her there!He hadn't, of course, but by the time she boarded the aircraft boundfor Heathrow her tension had been such that she had almost leaptout of her seat when the air hostess approached her quietly from behind and asked if she would like a drink!

Lying back in this bean-bag, her eyes closed, the coffee-mug nowhanging limply from her fingers, she realised this was the first times he had re l axed in ove r t we l ve hour s . S inc e tha t mee t i ng w i t h Reece Falcon. She could almost, almost... fall asleep...The s t r i den t r ing ing o f the door be l l d i d l i t t l e m ore t han e l i c i t a heartfelt groan of protest; she was too exhausted at that moment todo more than that.She knew who it was, of course. Christopher had wanted to be withh e r i n P a r i s t h i s l a s t w e e k , b u t h i s f a t h e r h a d s e n t h i m o f f o n business for him—deliberately, Diana now realised—to America.Diana had told him how busy she was going to be with the show— too busy to spend much time with him really, and so he had finallygone to America, protesting all the way, hence the arrival of thoser ed roses f rom h im every day t hey wer e apa r t . Bu t Chr i s s hou ld have arrived back in England this morning too, and had no doubtcome to see her now with the intention of repeating his marriage proposal.In spite of herself, she actually liked Chris. She certainly hadn'twan t ed t o , hav ing c ons ide r ed be f o re s he m et h im tha t as Reece Falcon's only child he was as much the enemy as his father was.But Chris was nothing like Reece Falcon; he was very easygoing by nature, and, taking after his American-born mother in looks, talland blond, with the physique of an athlete: Even so, Diana had no

intention of marrying him...!'Keep my seat warm, Puddle,' she sighed wearily as she

got up toa n s w e r t h e s e c o n d r i n g o f t h e d o o r b e l l , t h e n o w

b u l g i n g c a t instantly taking her place on the warm cushion.B u t t h e t i r e d s m i l e o f

w e l c o m e t h a t c u r v e d h e r l i p s f r o z e i n t o something resembling a grimace

as she opened the door to find itwasn't Chris who stood there at all, but his father—Reece

Falcon!S i l v e r e y e s g l i t t e r e d w i t h m o c k i n g s a t i s f a c t i o n a s h e s a w

t h e stunned expression she was too tired to mask, his mouth

twistingderisively.'Breakfast.' He held up the brown paper carrier-bag he held in onearm. 'I told

you we would have breakfast together.'And what he 'told' her he was going to do, he obviously

did, Dianarealised dazedly as he brushed past her into the flat, easily findinghis way into her

spacious kitchen—probably following the smell of c o f f ee ! — t he s ound o f h i s wh is t l i ng

c om ing f rom the re s ec onds later, accompanied by the rustling of the paper bag as he

obviouslyunpacked its contents.S h e h a d s e r i o u s l y u n d e r e s t i m a t e d h i m

o v e r t h i s , D i a n a n o w realised. She had thought that, once he discovered she had left

thehotel before his arrival, he might just follow her to the airport; it h a d n e v e r

o c c u r r e d t o h e r t h a t h e w o u l d f o l l o w h e r b a c k t o

such a thing, Chris would never forgive you.'' D a m n y o u ! ' R e e c e g r a t e d f u r i o u s l y a t w h a t h e k n e w t o b e t h e truth, his jaw tightly clenched.'Possibly,' she returned coolly. 'Now if you would excuse me...?'She arched mocking brows. 'Chris may be here in a minute, and Iwould like to look my best for him,' she added pointedly.Reece Falcon looked as if he would dearly love to strangle her withh i s ba re hands , c on t r o l l i ng h is r age w i t h obv ious e f f o r t , be f o re turning on his heel and slamming out of the flat.Only once Diana was completely sure he had gone, the door safelylocked behind him, did she allow the trembling reaction to begin.And once it started she couldn't seem to stop it! She didn't knowhow often, or how successfully, she was going to be able to copewith meetings like that one.But she had to. Had to!Reece's anger lasted all the time it took his chauffeur to drive himacross town to the penthouse apartment he had in London on thetenth floor of the prestigious building he owned.But he knew, deep inside, that it was himself he was angry withabove all else. Good God, he was jealous— jealous, damn it!—hewho had never known the emotion before, with any woman.Jealous of his own son's relationship with Diana Lamb...!Diana was still badly shaken when the doorbell rang a couple of

m inu tes l a te r f o r t he second t ime t ha t mor n ing . I f Reece Fa lc on had come back to issue more threats and dire warnings...!Bu t i t wasn ' t h im who s tood on he r door s tep t h is t im e when s he wrenched the door open. 'Chris!' she greeted him weakly; she hadmockingly made that challenge to Reece Falcon a few minutes agoabout Chris's expected arrival here, but it hadn't been strictly true,and now that he was here-----!Good God, she was surprised the two men, father and son, hadn'tac t ua l l y me t a t t he l i f t , one l eav ing , t he o the r one an t i c i pa t i ng seeing her again.She wasn't quite sure in her own mind yet what she should say toC h r i s abou t h is f a the r ; Jus t t ha t she had ' seen h im ' d idn ' t e ven begin to cover those two momentous meetings she had had withR e e c e F a l c o n , b u t t e l l i n g C h r i s t h e t r u t h a b o u t t h e m w a s n ' t something she wanted to do either. Oh, she had no doubt that to doso wou ld c ause f r i c t i on be t ween f a the r and s on , bu t t ha t was n ' t actually what she wanted at this point in time. She would just haveto stick to the 'seen him' explanation!' Y o u

c o u l d l o o k a l i t t l e m o r e p l e a s e d t o s e e m e , ' C h r i s g r i n n e d teasingly, in complete contrast to his father in looks, his blond hair kept styled slightly overlong, warm eyes a deep shade of blue, his boyishly handsome face showing none of the cynicism his father displayed so readily.

Hav ing ac t ua l l y c ome t o l i k e t h i s impe t uous young man , D iana deeply regretted that she might be the one to put the first lines of disillusionment on that charmingly attractive face.But she couldn't develop a conscience over Chris; he was a Falcon,and all of that family had to be her enemy. All she had to do wask e e p r e m e m b e r i n g t h a t a l l t h e t i m e R e e c e F a l c o n h a d b e e n destroying her father, her family, the secure life of nine-year-oldDivinia, he had been lavishing love and money on his own child— Chris! All she had to do was make sure she never forgot that fact,reminding herself that perhaps it was time, in Chris's privilegedlife, that he did learn there were some people who could say no tohim, that she intended doing so. But not yet. Not yet...She returned his smile teasingly, moving to kiss him lightly on thelips, the two of them of a similar height, even with Diana standingin her bare feet; it was a source of deep irritation to him that if shedid wear shoes with a heel on she instantly towered over him. Sheimpatiently dismissed from her mind the recollection that ReeceFalcon had been one of the few men she had met who would still be taller than her even if she chose to wear three-inch heels on her shoes!'Of course I'm pleased to see you,' she told Chris lightly as she puther arm through the crook of his to pull him inside the flat and shut

the door behind him.'Then c ou ldn ' t you show i t a l i t t l e m ore? ' He gave a d i sg run t l edgrimace at the lack of passion in the kiss she had given him justnow.She laughed softly, back on familiar ground with this young man —not like with his father; that was l ike walking on an unmarkedminefield. 'Not at eleven-thirty in the morning I couldn't, no,' shedismissed easily, balking slightly as they entered the comfort of her sitting-room and she saw the food Reece Falcon had put out on plates earlier and put on the floor. Although she recovered well— she thought. 'You see, I've been expecting you-----' She indicatedt h e p l a t e s o f f o o d ; a f t e r a l l , s h e a n d R e e c e F a l c o n h a d n ' t h a d chance to eat any of it, and Puddle had only sneaked off with onelittle pastry!Chris's face lit up with pleasure at the sight of the food he thoughts he had go t in f o r h im , and D iana a l lowed hers e l f to f ee l j us t a little guilty for not being instrumental in providing the food at all.But she didn't think, considering how unconstructive this morning'smeeting between herself and Reece Falcon had been, that the older man was likely to mention to his son that he had brought the breadand pas t r ies he r e w i t h t he in t en t i on o f sha r i ng t hem w i t h D iana himself!'My favourite!' Chris bit hungrily into an apple danish. 'And made acted like a prize fool over her earlier closeness to Christopher!She knew, this witch of a child, that he wanted her for himself.And God, how he wanted her. Exclusively. For as long as it took him to satiate himself with that intriguing combination she had of cool calm and youthful vulnerability. Because he would tire of it— h e h a d n o d o u b t o n t h a t s c o r e — a s h e h a d t i r e d o f e v e r y o t h e r woman in his life.But until that time came he wanted her.In his arms.In his bed.God, most of all he wanted that! Wanted her silken limbs wrappedaround his, that golden hair entwined about his throat like a silkenchain,

those green catlike eyes dark with a passion only he couldassuage...He could feel his body harden just at the thought of making love tothis elusive Circe. Incredible. Absolutely incredible!' I ' m s o r r y , d i d y o u s a y s o m e t h i n g ? ' S h e a r c h e d d a r k b r o w s i n questioning innocence as he gave a low groan in his throat.H is mou th t i gh tened a t he r ba re l y conc ea led mock er y . 'No , ' he snapped tautly. 'Although, as Christopher well knows, I do have alot to say concerning this relationship between the two of you-----''Not now, Dad,' Chris put in hastily, shooting him a pleading look.'Just get to know Divine-----'

' He r nam e i s D iana , as you ve r y we l l k now, ' Reece r as ped , s t i l l annoyed that he hadn't known that fact when he first met her.Chris flushed at the rebuke. 'Well, just get to know her first, hmm?'he encouraged hopefully.G e t t o k n o w h e r ? G o o d G o d , h e w a n t e d t o s t r a n g l e h e r f o r intriguing him the way she did when he barely knew her; wanted tot ak e ho ld o f t he s l ender de l i cac y o f he r s hou lde rs and shak e he r until—oh, God!—until he couldn't stop himself from kissing the provocative pout of her lips any longer!'There would be little point in that,' he bit out tautly, furious at hisown weakness in wanting this woman at all. He had known womenmore beautiful, damn it, sophisticated women who knew the ruleso f be ing a pa r t o f h i s l i f e ; he had a f ee l ing D iana Lamb had he r own set of rules for any man in her life, and that they were nothingl i k e h i s ! ' I d o u b t M i s s L a m b a n d I w i l l m e e t o f t e n e n o u g h t o war r an t m y "ge t t ing t o k now" he r , ' he d ism is sed ha rsh ly , eyes narrowed.Da rk br ows ros e over deep g reen eyes . ' No? ' D iana c ha l l enged softly.As if to prove her point, Chris's hand moved possessively over hersas i t r es ted on the t ab le - t op , h i s exp ress ion one o f i l l - c oncea led fury as he glared across the table at Reece. 'You may as well getused to the idea, Dad,' he told Reece bitingly. 'Diana is in my life

to stay!'Over his dead body!Unfortunately, Reece had a strong feeling that, if Chris did actuallysucceed in making this beautiful young woman his wife, somethingins ide Reece h im se l f wou ld s h r i ve l up and d ie . The l as t t h ing he wanted to be to Diana was her father-in-law! And as Chris's wifeshe would be totally out of reach to him, forbidden fruit, no matter how the marriage should turn out.H e l o o k e d a t C h r i s m o c k i n g l y . ' I s n ' t t h a t g o i n g t o b e a l i t t l e awkward?' he taunted pointedly.Chris's frown became even fiercer. 'Don't do this to me, Dad,' hewarned softly.His brows rose. 'Well—isn't it?' he drawled.'I told you-----''Don't tell me, Chris,' Reece bit out harshly. 'I 'm not the one youhave to explain yourself to.'' I - - - - - ' Chr i s b ro k e o f f r esen t f u l l y as t he i r f i r s t c ou r se began to arrive. And by the time they had all been served his angry retort toReece's taunt no longer seemed appropriate.But those few minutes' respite hadn't frustrated Reece in the wayt h e y h a d h i s s o n . O n t h e c o n t r a r y , t h e y h a d g i v e n h i m t i m e t o pause and reflect on Chris's behaviour. There was something verywr ong he re . Chr i s was t oo de f ens i ve , a lm os t as i f - - - - -Bu t no , he

mus t have t o ld D iana ; he c ou ldn ' t have k ep t s ometh ing tha t im - p o r tan t t o bo th o f t hem to h ims e l f . And ye t . . . when had i t e ve r come up in

conversation? Now that he had time to think about it,even when he had spoken to Diana alone yesterday, never oncehad either of them mentioned-----Damn it, he hadn't done so because he hadn't thought it necessary! But Diana didn't know, hewas sure of it, and the more he thought about it, the more sure he became.What the hell did Chris think he was playing at, keeping somethinglike that from the woman he supposedly loved? Whatever it was,Reece knew he had him now. The only question now was, whendid he reel in the stupid little fool and watch him flounder?H e c o u l d a l m o s t h a v e f e l t s o r r y f o r C h r i s — i f h e d i d n ' t f e e l s o damned r e l i e ved fo r h ims e l f t ha t h i s son ' s r omance w i t h D iana L a m b w o u l d s o o n b e a t a n e n d . I t w a s a c e r t a i n t y t h a t C h r i s wouldn't like it at all if Reece immediately tried to date Diana, but,knowing the relationship would be over, and soon, perhaps Reececould afford to be generous and wait a few weeks before makinghis own move. Diana might be a little more amenable too given afew weeks' uncertainty concerning his interest in her, which she soobviously knew about.Yes, he had a feeling he was going to enjoy this meal after all. Andthen over coffee...! herself with.''Diana-----''Accept your let-out with good grace when it 's presented to you,Chris,' his father advised harshly at his agonised protest, Reece'so w n g a z e r e s t i n g a d m i r i n g l y o n D i a n a a s h e s p o k e . ' A n d s a v e ever yone i nvo l ved f u r t he r embar r assm ent , ' he added f i rm l y as C h r i s w o u l d h a v e p r o t e s t e d a g a i n , h i s s i l v e r g a z e r e s t i n g challengingly on his son now.D i a n a h a d t o s e c r e t l y a d m i r e t h e n e a t w a y h e h a d t u r n e d t h e situation around to his advantage, so that Chris had now been put i n t he pos i t i on o f no t be ing f a i r t o he r e i t he r i f he c on t inued to pressure for acceptance of their relationship. Admire it—but at thesame time despise it!Reece Falcon obviously had some sort of business interest of hisown tied up in Chris's engagement to Madeleine; hence it was inh i s i n t e r e s t s t o k e e p t h e e n g a g e m e n t a l i v e n o m a t t e r w h a t t h e feelings of the other people involved. Diana was sure, if there had been s ome advan tage t o Reece Fa l con by Chr i s be ing invo l ved with her, he wouldn't have objected to the relationship at all!'W hy don ' t you go and see Made le i ne now? I t i s n ' t t oo la t e , ' h i s father suggested softly. 'Try and smooth things over with her, offer abject apologies for being a naughty boy,' he added with the ghostof a smile. 'Offer to take her shopping tomorrow if you have to; we

can spare you at the office.'Diana's mouth twisted disgustedly at this insult to the other girl'sintelligence; she was offended on Madeleine's behalf at having her b r u i sed emot i ons d i sm iss ed s o c a l l ous l y . ' Tha t ' s s u re t o p laca t e her!' she scorned, eyes flashing deeply green.Reece looked at her mildly, his mouth twisted with mockery as heeas i l y guess ed a t he r i nd igna t i on . ' You m igh t be s u rp r i s ed , ' he drawled confidently.' V e r y ! ' s h e a c k n o w l e d g e d s h a r p l y — a l t h o u g h , r e m e m b e r i n g Janette's values in life, perhaps not...Reece shrugged. 'You don't know Madeleine-----''Neither do you if you seriously think my going over there now andoffering to drag around the shops with her tomorrow is going to inany way appease her for the wrong she thinks I've done her!' Chrisc u t i n d i s g u s t e d l y . ' B e s i d e s , I d o n ' t w a n t t o , ' h e a d d e d a l m o s t p e t u l a n t l y . ' D o n ' t y o u u n d e r s t a n d , D a d ? I d o n ' t w a n t t o m a r r y Maddy any more; I want to break our engagement-----''Then maybe you should be man enough to go to her and tell her that!' his father bit out with even control, his expression harsh, nota musc le o r ne r ve t w i t c h ing as he l ook ed s tead i l y a t h i s

s on i nsilent challenge.Chris returned that gaze uncertainly, moistening his lips nervouslythe longer it continued. 'And you?' he finally ventured. 'How would

you feel about my doing that?'O h , Chr i s , D iana g roaned w i t h inwa r d p i t y . Away f rom Reec e F a l c o n h e h a d p r o v e d h i m s e l f t o b e e n t i r e l y h i s o w n m a n , b u t obviously, when it came to opposing his father's will, he was nodifferent from all the rest who were terrified of challenging him.Excep t he r . She wou ld oppos e th i s man t o he r la s t b r ea t h , t o t he very gates of hell themselves ...!Reece shrugged, totally relaxed and unconcerned as he sat back inhis chair at the table. 'Why don't you try it and see?'Chris's uncertainty deepened as he looked at his father searchingly,obviously unsure of his mood now.Which was more than Diana was! She knew exactly what ReeceF a l c o n ' s e m o t i o n w o u l d b e i f C h r i s d a r e d t o b r e a k h i s a d v a n t a g e o u s — t o R e e c e ! — e n g a g e m e n t t o M a d e l e i n e . A n d i t c e r t a i n l y w o u l d n ' t b e a p p r o v a l f o r a t l e a s t h a v i n g d o n e t h e honourable thing!Finally Chris's gaze wavered and then dropped away completely ashe too seemed to realise that; he sighed raggedly. 'I had hoped thatm e e t i n g D i a n a m i g h t m a k e a d i f f e r e n c e t o h o w y o u f e l t a b o u t things, might make you realise-----''Might help compromise me into feeling differently, you mean,' hisfather accused knowingly.'No!' Chris protested frustratedly. 'I thought once you had realised

Chr i s l ook ed s tunned by h is sugges t ion , and D iana - D iana j us t look ed a t h im w i th t ha t c a lmness o f he rs , r evea l ing none o f he r inner emotions.God , how he wou ld l i k e t o see th is wom an bu rn w i t h des i r e , a l l cool veneer gone as her passion matched his own! That momentcouldn't come soon enough for him!' I t h i n k t h e s o o n e r y o u h e a l t h e r i f t b e t w e e n y o u r s e l f a n d Madeleine, Chris, the better,' he told his son decisively, his tone b rook ing no a rgum ent t o t he a r rangem ent s he had s ugges ted f o r their departure.And he wasn't being completely selfish in this—quite a lot, but notcompletely! He actually had no doubts that Chris would eventuallym ar r y Made le ine , i f no t now, t hen s ome t im e i n t he f u tu re . The c o u p l e h a d k n o w n e a c h o t h e r f o r y e a r s w e r e i d e a l l y s u i t e d , understood each other. It was just as well Madeleine understoodChris at the moment, otherwise he would be in more trouble thanhe actually was!One thing Reece was absolutely certain of was that Chris was notg o ing t o m ar r y D iana Lamb! I f wha t D iana h ad sa id abou t t he i r r e l a t ions h ip was to be be l i e ved— and he had no doub t t ha t t h i s woman wou ld ra t he r us e hones t y t o wound than l i es ! — t hen sheand Chris had never been lovers. And now Reece knew they never would be.

Chris still looked rebellious. 'I told you, I don't want----- I can paym y own way, t hank you ! ' He s na t ched t he b i l l f r om i n f r on t o f Reece as he would have been the one to pick it up.Reece raised dark brows. 'Can you?' he queried softly. Pointedly.He hated doing it, but it was time Chris realised, once and for alltime, that he held the purse -strings-----God, he groaned inwardlywith self -disgust, what the hell was he doing? Did he really wantDiana Lamb so much himself that he was willing to threaten hisown son to get her? The answer—painful as it was to admit it— was

yes!Thank f u l l y Chr i s was too ag i t a ted h im se l f by t h i s t ime t o t ak eexc ep t i on t o t he ve i l ed t h r ea t , h i s movements agg ress i ve as he dealt with the bill.Reece almost felt sorry for him. If it had been any other woman butDiana-----!Bu t i t was n ' t , and Reec e wan ted he r f o r h ims e l f , cou ld f ee l h i s tension rise as Diana sat forward to touch Chris's arm as she spoket o h im so s o f t l y t ha t Reece cou ldn ' t hear wha t was be ing sa id — even though he did try!So instead he could only look at her, at the way her curtain of hair had fallen forward, so thick and luxuriant that Reece just wanted toe n t a n g l e h i s h a n d s i n i t — a t t h e s a m e t i m e h i s b o d y b e c a m e entangled with hers! He felt like a callow youth as he felt his body

harden with desire, knowing that he couldn't get up and leave the table just yet without

totally betraying himself.His attention tensed as Diana finally stopped talking to Chris

inthat undertone and looked across at Reece with those unfathomablegreen eyes. So cool,

so calm, and yet she commanded interest— his, at least!—without even trying!' A s

C h r i s a n d I c a m e t o g e t h e r b y t a x i , ' s h e s p o k e s o f t l y , ' w e appreciate

your offer to drive us both home.' There was challengein her voice now.Because they

all knew it wasn't what he had offered at all. But hec ou ld see i t was a way o f

s av ing f ace f o r a l l o f t hem. And tha t Diana had achieved it with the minimum of

fuss...It would also mean, once he had Diana safely inside his car, thath is p l ans

f o r be ing t he one to t ak e he r home we ren ' t com p le te l y lost. Although he

didn't for a moment fool himself into thinkingshe had eng ineered i t t ha t way!

W hy was i t t ha t t h i s pa r t i c u la r young lady , t he one he was f i nd ing he

wan ted bad l y enough toeven cu t ou t h i s own s on , d i dn ' t seem in t he leas t

impr ess ed by him, and made no effort to hide the fact?Oh, he had never fooled himself

into believing it was the way helooked that brought most women he desired into his

life, usuallyfor as long as he wanted them there. He had learnt long ago

thatm o n e y a n d p o w e r w e r e c o m p e l l i n g a p h r o d i s i a c s f o r a l o t

o f

this unexpected attack from her when she so rarely deviated fromthat serenely calm exterior she usually presented to the world.In fact Diana was disappointed in herself for the lapse; she couldn'tstart to become over-emotional now, when she still had a very longway to go.S h e g a v e t h e g h o s t o f a s m i l e . ' A f t e r m e e t i n g y o u r f a t h e r , i t ' s obvious where you get your determination from.' But in the father it was arrogance, pure and simple!'We've had fun, Chris,' she shrugged, her smile warming slightly. 'Let's part as friends, hmm?' she encouraged.H i s uncer t a i n t y d is so l ved t o be r ep lac ed a lm os t by pan ic as he realised, once and for all, that Diana was actually saying goodbyeto h im , and h i s hands reac hed ou t in s t i nc t i ve l y t o c l as p bo t h o f hers, his expression beseeching. 'But it's you I care about-----''Sure?' Diana teased; if he wasn't still in love with Madeleine thenwhy hadn't he made more of an effort to break the engagement? Itcould just be—in fact it probably was—that with the other girl's p ro longed absenc e in Swi t ze r land Chr is had j us t f o rgo t t en how much he did care for Madeleine: absence didn't always make theheart grow fonder!He looked shamefaced now. 'I'm so confused—it isn't funny, damnit!' he scowled as Diana began to chuckle wryly.She shook her head, sobering slightly, although a smile still curved

the natural pout of her lips. 'I'm not laughing at you, Chris, only atthe ridiculousness of the situation. Usually it's the woman who's"so confused"!'For a moment he remained unyielding, and then he gave a ruefulsmile of acknowledgement. 'I suppose it is pretty silly,' he finallyconceded. 'But—well, the truth is, I don't want to lose you, Divine.''There's another way of looking at it, Chris,' she shrugged. 'Younever really had me.'Blue eyes widened at the starkness of the statement, and then he f rowned . ' No , ' he s a id s l ow ly . ' No , I never r ea l l y d id , d i d I ? ' he realised regretfully.D iana moved to k i ss h im l i g h t l y on t he c heek ; a f t e r a l l , he r war was with his father, not with him. 'Take your father's advice and goand see Madeleine, if not tonight, some time soon,' she told himsoftly. 'Even if it's only to say goodbye.''Hmm,' he sighed heavily. 'I owe her that, don't I?''At least,' Diana nodded.' And i f I do s ay goodbye c an I c ome and see you? No , ' he du l l y answered his own question at her ruefully mocking expression.'It's over between us, Chris,' Diana confirmed almost gently.He s cowled . 'And onc e aga in m y f a the r has h is own way ! You c a n ' t i m a g i n e j u s t h o w g a l l i n g t h a t i s . ' H e s h o o k h i s h e a d frustratedly.

Oh, yes, she could, only too well! 'I won't tell him if you don't.' Shecouldn't quite manage to

keep all of the' pent-up bitterness out of her voice, but luckily Chris was just so relieved to

hear her say thatthat he was too self-absorbed to notice her vehemence.'Let him stew for a

while,' he agreed with satisfaction, obviously brightening at the prospect of bettering his

father for a while, at thesam e t ime ack nowledg ing h is r e la t i onsh ip w i t h D iana

was over mainly because of his own stupidity in deceiving her in the way hehad and believing

he could get away with it.Diana's own smile lacked humour. It suited her own purposes

notto let Reece Falcon know—yet—that his son no longer played a part in her life. 'I

hope things work out for the best with Madeleine,whichever way that might be,' she said with

quiet sincerity, awareonce more that she had genuinely come to like Chris.He looked at her

with regret. 'You won't change your mind...?' hesaid hopefully as he sensed she

was weakening. 'No,' he acceptedag a in du l l y as s he made no rep l y t o wha t

t hey bo t h k new was a silly question. 'God, what a prize fool I've been!' he

groaned self-disgustedly.Diana chuckled softly with understanding for his inner

frustrationw i t h h i m s e l f . ' I t ' s a f a l l a c y o f e v e r y h u m a n b e i n g , C h r i s , '

s h e comforted.He scowled again. 'Not my father.'

In some ways it was a relief to have her suspicions confirmed after all—almost a triumph, but in another way she knew she would beg e n u i n e l y d i s a p p o i n t e d , n o w t h a t s h e k n e w R e e c e F a l c o n w a s invo l ved , no t t o be i nvo l ved in t he new mak e -up l i ne a f t e r a l l . Because she had been verging on considering it because she had b e e n g e n u i n e l y i m p r e s s e d b y e v e r y t h i n g s h e h a d s e e n t h i s morning.Except Reece Falcon.He had changed little in the last four weeks; he still wore his hand-m a d e s u i t , a d a r k g r e y t h r e e - p i e c e t h i s t i m e , w i t h a r r o g a n t disregard for the elegance of its design, his hair cut meticulouslys ho r t , h i s sk in l ook ing more t anned t han ever , t hos e g rey eyesglittering silver as he met her gaze challengingly now.Her hackles, as usual, rose just at the sight—and sound!—of him.' I wou ld r a the r no t , t hank you . ' She s hook he r

head , mak ing no effort to move from the doorway. 'Perhaps you could thank MrsCarlton for me, but-----''S t op be ing s o b loody s t ubbor n and c ome in he r e and j o in me! ' Reec e had c rossed the room i n long s t r i des even as she s pok e , closing the door firmly behind her, dangerously close to her now asthey both stood just inside the room. 'You are definitely the mosts t u b b o r n , ' h e b e g a n e x a s p e r a t e d l y , ' i n f u r i a t i n g a n d d e s i r a b l e woman it has ever been my misfortune to meet!' This last came out

as an agonised groan as his arms moved about her slenderness tomould her body to his while his lips lowered towards hers.Every instinct in her body cried out in protest at the fierce demandof his mouth moving against her, but she forced herself not to pushhim away as she longed to do, knowing that if she attempted to dothat she would only antagonise the situation. Let him realise for himself that she wasn't responding.A n d s h e h a d m e a n t t o s u f f e r h i s k i s s i n s i l e n c e , t o r e m a i n unmoved, and yet as the seconds passed and he showed no signs of his determination to elicit a response from her, any response, sheknew it wasn't going to be as easy to do as she had thought.Her body , t oo long den ied any f o rm o f phys ica l c l os eness , w i t hanyone , was reac t i ng ins t inc t i ve ly , m e l t i ng i n t he wa rmt h o f ahuman embrace. How long since anyone had held her, gathered her into the closeness of their warmth?Oh, there had been men over the years who would have been onlytoo pleased to hold her like this, make love to her, but she knew,deep i ns ide he r , t ha t i f she ever a l l owed t he warmth o f ano t he r human being to penetrate the protective shell she had built aroundher emotions she might never recover from the vulnerability thatwould ensue.The one man s he had been su r e wou ld never b reach t ha t ba r r i e r had been Reece Falcon!

Bu t pe r haps , a f t e r a l l , he was the on ly pe r son who cou ld . . . Oh , God, she groaned inwardly as her slenderness curved instinctivelya g a i n s t t h e h a r d m u s c l e s o f h i s b o d y , h e r l i p s s o f t e n i n g a n d flowering beneath the insistent demand of his, his hands travellingthe length of her body now with a sureness that made her tremble.She had to stop this. Now!Bu t i t s eemed s he had no w i l l l e f t t o do t ha t , he r t h r oa t a rch ingnow as t he ha rd wa rmth o f h i s l i ps m oved c a ress ing l y down the pulsing column there, burning a path of desire in their wake, Dianatrembling at this assault on her senses.' L e t ' s s k i p l u n c h a n d g o b a c k t o m y a p a r t m e n t , ' R e e c e s p o k e g ru f f l y aga ins t he r ea r lobe , h is own body pu ls i ng h i s need . 'O r your flat,' he amended as he felt her instantly begin to withdrawfrom him. 'I don't give a damn which—I just want to be alone withyou!'Maybe i f he hadn ' t s pok en , i f she hadn ' t hear d t he sound o f h i s voice—but he did, and she had! And she thanked God that he had;h is ho ld o f sensua l i t y was b r ok en now, a l l ow ing he r t o rea l i s eexac t l y wha t s he had been a l l ow ing to happen be t ween t hem — worse, she had been responding! But that voice, the voice that hadh a u n t e d h e r n i g h t m a r e s f o r y e a r s , b o t h a w a k e a n d a s l e e p , h a d broken the spell he had weaved about her emotions.She pulled sharply away from him, too shaken by her own ragged

emotions at that moment to hide the contempt she felt for him asshe looked into the

dark, rugged beauty of his face.But as his eyes narrowed she realised she should have

been morecareful about hiding that disgust—Reece was too astute a man notto r ea l i s e

t he re was s omet h ing ve r y wr ong abou t he r behav iou r now after she had

responded to him so naturally seconds ago. Thisman was no f oo l , and s he had to

r emember t ha t , mus t never be deceived into thinking otherwise, no matter what the

provocation.And it was her own pride, a disgust at herself that had given her that

momentary lapse.S h e t h o u g h t q u i c k l y t o c o v e r h e r m i s t a k e — f o r m i s t a k e

i t h a d a s s u r e d l y b e e n — t h a t n a r r o w e d , s t e e l y g a z e

s t u d y i n g h e r searchingly now. 'This office, Barbara Carlton's office, is

hardlythe place for this,' she told him coldly, deciding attack had to beher best form

of defence—until she was more in control of her own betraying emotions!His expression

remained woodenly unchanged. 'That was why Isuggested we leave,' he reminded her

quietly.' I d i d n ' t m e a n t h a t , ' D i a n a

r e t u r n e d i m p a t i e n t l y a s h e misunderstood her, her

cheeks still f lushed, her eyes wide green p o o l s o f d i s t u r b e d e m o t i o n . ' A s

y o u r f i a n c e e , M r s C a r l t o n i s obviously-----''As my what?’ Reece cut in incredulously.

unaware of his presence there until he spoke, but knowing as she looked at him that his taunt had been deliberate—and that he didn'treally believe she meant that at all. She moved slightly to one sideto allow him into their group. 'If I didn't believe that, I would haveaccepted Carlton Cosmetics' offer,' she pointed out mildly.'Maybe,' he shrugged. 'Or maybe you just have a more lucrativeoffer in mind.'Diana eyed him pityingly for the explanation he had come up within his own mind for her refusal of the offer; he really didn't haveany other value in his life than money and the power it gave him.But then, she had always known that. Any man, businessman or not, with the sort of wealth Reece Falcon had, had no need to pushanother man to the desperate extreme of taking his own life just tog i v e h i m m o r e m o n e y a n d p o s s e s s i o n s . U n l e s s h e w a s R e e c e Falcon...!And he had obviously looked for, and believed he had found, theonly explanation he could understand for her refusal of the CarltonCosmetic contract.She shrugged. 'It wouldn't necessarily have to be more lucrative,'she told him quietly.His mouth twisted with derision. 'Just something you "feel rightabout"?' he scorned.He had obv ious l y been l i s t en ing t o t he i r convers a t i on f o r s ome

time before speaking up himself—although Diana doubted he hadheard her disparaging remarks about mid-life crisis; he would be alot more cutting with if he had, she was sure. 'Not even that,' shesaid calmly. 'Carlton's new range of cosmetics sounds exactly whatI approve of.''Then-----''Bu t when , o r i f , I bec ome invo l ved i n a c on t r ac t l i k e t ha t , ' s he continued firmly over his interruption, 'it will have to be one that Id idn ' t t h ink you wer e ins t rument a l i n a r rang ing ! ' Her head wen t back proudly as she issued the challenge.Madeleine could be heard drawing in a sharp breath, and Chris'seyes widened incredulously—it obviously hadn't even occurred tohim that there was such a connection between the contract offer and his father.B u t n o w i t d i d . A n d , c o n s i d e r i n g h o w s t r o n g l y a g a i n s t h e r h i s father had been at their last meeting, he was now realising how oddit was that the contract had been offered at all!Diana looked at

Reece, seeing the mixed emotions on his darklya r r ogan t f ac e — t he adm i ra t i on he f e l t f o r t he d i rec tnes s o f he r challenge, irritation that she had chosen to issue it in front of anaudience. And such an interested audience!So she had known it was him behind the offer and not just CarltonCosmetics, Reece acknowledged impatiently. Well, he had wanted

to know—and she had certainly told him! But so much more thanhe had really wanted to know, and in front of Chris and Madeleinet o o . W o u l d t h i s w o m a n n e v e r c e a s e a n n o y i n g h i m ? H e h a d a feeling the answer to that was no!'Is that really the only reason you refused the contract?' His intentgaze didn't leave the cool beauty of her face for a second.She gave an inclination of her head. 'Of course.'Straight for the jugular. No nonsense. As sharp as a dagger. Andthe result was he just wanted her more!' I n b u s i n e s s i t p a y s n e v e r t o l e t e m o t i o n s p l a y a n y p a r t i n t h e decisions you make,' he drawled dismissively.‘ E v a l u a t e t h e s i t u a t i o n a n d a c t o n i t , ' h e s h r u g g e d , f r o w n i n g conc erned l y as he s aw her r eac t ion t o h i s words . A l l t he c o lou r seemed to have d ra ined ou t o f he r f ac e , and he r eyes wer e w ideand haun ted , deepen ing in c o lou r now un t i l t hey a lmos t l ook ed black. What the bell-----?That he had somehow said the wrong thing he had no doubt, thathe had touched on some personal pain he also didn't doubt. ThatDiana could display such fierceness of emotion set him back on hisheels! She was always so composed, so much in control, that healso despised himself for being the one to cause her pain now, buta t t h e s a m e t i m e h e c o u l d o n l y w e l c o m e a n y s h o w o f e m o t i o n

other than that coldness she usually showed him.But he wondered about the pain he saw in her eyes now, at whathad caused it. He knew that a model 's life, unless she was at thet o p o f h e r p r o f e s s i o n a s D i a n a n o w w a s , c o u l d b e a h a r d o n e , r ea l i sed t ha t du r i ng t he ea r l y years , as in any o t he r bus ines s , i t c ou ld be d i f f i cu l t t o k now whom to t r us t and whom no t t o t r us t . And young g i r l s look ing f o r f ame and f o r t une wer e a lways t he ripest for being cheated and taken advantage of. Somewhere, in thelast four years of her career, Diana must have known just such a painful experience.And Reece wanted to strangle the man responsible for hurting her!‘ T h e r e w a s n o e m o t i o n i n v o l v e d i n m y d e c i s i o n c o n c e r n i n g Car l t on Cosmet i cs , ' s he t o ld h im now harsh l y , he r c heek s s t i l l waxy-pale. 'It was cut and dried from the onset. I only attended them e e t i n g b e c a u s e m y a g e n t a s k e d m e t o . Y o u a r e C a r l t o n Cosmetics.' She looked at him unblinkingly.Reece returned that gaze searchingly, and saw, for all her pallor,that she was back in control again now. If had ever lost it. Whichhe was no longer sure about.W h a t h e w a s s u r e o f w a s t h a t h e w a s s i c k o f t h e s i t u a t i o n t h a t e x i s t e d b e t w e e n h i m a n d t h i s w o m a n . H e w o u l d h a v e h i s s a y where she was concerned once and for all, and then if necessary— God, how he hoped it wouldn't be!—he would move on. He had w o r k e d , b e c a u s e h e r l o v e f o r h i m m a d e h e r d o u b t h e r o w n convictions that he was really as selfishly manipulative as she had believed all these years. She knew he had to be, because of whathad happened to her father, but, at the same time, how could shelove the monster she had blown Reece up in her mind to be sinceshe was nine years old...?'It's selfish, I know,' Reece murmured softly as he came

up behindher with the drinks he had just poured for them both. 'I keep all the b e a u t i f u l t h i n g s I o w n f r o m t h e c o v e t o u s g a z e o f t h e g e n e r a l public' His mouth twisted.Diana had turned slowly, from the painting of a young child in afield of wild daffodils, to look at him. 'Does that include women?'s h e c h a l l e n g e d s o f t l y , h a v i n g m i s s e d n o n e o f h i s t i g h t - l i p p e d frustration yesterday when she had told him she intended carryingon with her career after they were married.She d idn ' t doub t , f ee l ing as he d i d now, t ha t he wou ld be qu i t e happy to lock her up in one of his luxury homes and throw awaythe key! After the fiasco any wedding between them promised to be he might still feel that way, but she doubted he would want to be locked in there with her!Reece scowled his irritation at her astuteness, handing her the glassof orange juice she had asked for, as he thought quickly how bestto answer her without causing an argument. He was still far from

sure of her, despite having his engagement ring on her finger, andD i a n a w a s a n i n t e l l i g e n t w o m a n — s h e w o u l d s e e t h r o u g h a n y prevarication on his part in answer to her question.'I travel all over the world on business,' he began slowly. "The lastt h i ng I wan t i s you j e t t i ng o f f t o New York wh i l e I 'm f l y i ng t o Hong Kong!'She gave a faint smile. 'But just think of the reunions, Reece,' shegently mocked.He had thought of little else but making love to this woman almostsince the first moment he had looked at her, but now that he knewof her innocence he was determined to wait—no matter how muchit physically pained him to do so!—until after they were married.With Diana he wanted everything to be perfect, everything theydid together to be the first time for them.'I have,' he acknowledged gruffly. 'And they wouldn't be enoughfor me.' He shook his head. 'Diana, I want you with me-----' Theslender length of her fingers against his lips silenced him, and helooked at her with impatient eyes.'I happen to like my career, Reece,' she told him firmly. 'Enjoy it.W o r k e d h a r d t o g e t w h e r e I a m t o d a y . I t s i m p l y w o u l d n ' t b e enough f o r me to s i t abou t wa i t i ng in one l uxu r ious ho t e l a f t e r another waiting for you to spare me a few minutes of your precioustime between business meetings-----'

'It wouldn't be like that!' he protested.'Oh, yes,' she nodded with gentle assurance, her golden

hair fallingforward over her bare shoulders and down over her breasts in thedark

green strapless gown she wore that clung revealingly to thes lender c u r ves o f he r

body t o j us t above he r k nee . ' I t wou ld be exactly like that.''No, damn it, it wouldn't!'

He took the glass out of her hand and put both drinks down on the coffee-table beside them. 'I

wouldn't let it.I w a n t t o b e w i t h y o u , D i a n a , n o t s t u c k i n s o m e

b o a r d r o o m o r office somewhere-----Don't laugh at me, damn you!' He

scowleddarkly as she chuckled softly, shaking her head indulgently.She still smiled at him.

'Are we having our first engaged-coupleargument, Reece?' she taunted softly.Good

God, so they were! And he knew exactly why. It might be pa r t o f D iana ' s

a t t r ac t i on f o r h im tha t s he was he r own per son , completely independent in

everything she did and said—and yet itwas also damned frustrating!He felt himself smile

back at her ruefully. 'The first of many, nodoubt!' he grimaced self-derisively.She sobered

suddenly, her eyes shadowed to almost as dark a greena s h e r d r e s s n o w . ' I d o n ' t

l i k e a r g u m e n t s , R e e c e , ' s h e t o l d h i m gruffly.' Bu t t h i nk o f t he m ak ing up ,

D iana , ' he enc our aged a s h is head

mor e t han he des erved , bu t he c ou ldn ' t e xac t l y s ay he l i ked t h i s constant feeling of uncertainty.And knowing Diana, as he had come to, she wasn't going to be anyless determined herself even once they were married. His frownreturned as he thought of her stubbornness over her career.He would have to deal with that later. One thing at a time; he hadto get his wedding-ring on her finger first!Over the next few days Diana learnt that Reece wasn't about to betalked out of a date next month for their wedding. And once thenews paper s go t ho ld o f t he s to r y o f t he i r engagement — she wasa lm os t s u re i t was Reece h im se l f who had g iven i t t o t hem as a way of achieving his objective!—the whole thing was taken out of her control anyway.T h e a n n o u n c e m e n t o f t h e i r e n g a g e m e n t , o f t h e w e d d i n g n e x t month, was big news. Charles telephoned immediately he heardand o f f e r ed he r t he Par i s wedd ing gown t o mar r y Reece i n , an offer Reece was only too pleased to take him up on, telling Dianaarrogantly that he couldn't allow anyone else to wear that weddinggown—not even Madeleine!—when it had been seeing her in thatdress that he had first known he wanted her.Diana had never imagined when she modelled the wedding gownt ha t s he wou ld be t he b r i de t o wear i t . I t a lm os t made her c r y t o t h i n k o f s u c h a b e a u t i f u l d r e s s b e i n g w o r n o n w h a t w o u l d ,

ultimately, be an unhappy occasion...She and Reece were followed everywhere they went in the daysthat followed the announcement, constantly photographed, articlesabout their movements and wedding plans emblazoned across all the more gossipy newspapers.I t m i g h t a l m o s t h a v e b e e n a r o y a l w e d d i n g — t h e q u e e n o f mode l l i ng , and t he k i ng o f en te r p r i se was how one newspaper described them. It was rubbish, of course, but it sold newspapers,Diana realised cynically.A n d o n c e t h e i n i t i a l r a z z m a t a z z h a d p a s s e d t h e r e c a m e t h e speculation of their future life together, of where they would livea f t e r t h e w e d d i n g — a l t h o u g h D i a n a h a d n ' t k n o w n w h a t t h e y t hough t was wr ong w i t h Reece ' s apar tmen t ! —and , f i na l l y , h o wmany little 'princes and princesses' they would have to inherit thatvast wealth.This latter speculation startled Diana to start with, and then she feltonly disgust. It was all so utterly ridiculous anyway, when Reecea l r e a d y h a d a n h e i r i n C h r i s . B u t t h e n e w s p a p e r s s e e m e d determined to speculate, much to Reece's displeasure. 'They'll be p i c k i n g o u t n a m e s f o r u s n e x t ! ' D i a n a p u s h e d o n e o f t h e newspapers away in disgust, looking across at Reece as the two of them relaxed together in the sitting-room of her flat after eating themeal they had enjoyed preparing together.

It all looked so cosy, she realised with regret; she was finding theseincreasing day-to-day intimacies between them more than a littledisturbing, and knew that she was actually beginning to anticipatetheir evenings together, to enjoy the time they spent alone together.And she knew without a doubt that it would all come to an end themoment Reece knew who she really was.Her face became shadowed as she thought of that time, a time thatwould happen all too quickly if Reece had his way—as he seemeddetermined he would!—and they were married within the next fewweeks. She knew now she could no longer wait until the wedding,that she

couldn't do that to him so publicly, that she would have totell him before it came to that.She felt the inner pain as she thought of how lonely her life wasgoing to seem without him now. For years it hadn't bothered her t h a t s h e l i v e d a l o n e ; i n f a c t s h e h a d p r e f e r r e d i t . B u t n o w , s h e acknowledged, she knew that was because she had never realised b e f o r e h o w m u c h l o v i n g s o m e o n e c o u l d f i l l y o u r l i f e . O r h o w much being without that person could empty it again...'Diana, you have to know, I don't want any more children!'The harshness of Reece's statement broke into the misery of theemotional dilemma she had made for herself by falling in love withthis man.S h e f r o w n e d a t h i m n o w , a t t h e g r i m n e s s o f h i s e x p r e s s i o n .

'Reece...?'He s tood up ab r up t l y , hands th rus t i n to h i s t r ouse r pock e ts .

' I 'm thirty-nine years old Diana forty in a few months' time; that's tooold to be a father

again!'It was because she had known there was no point in even thinkingabout the two of

them having children that the speculation in thenews papers had seemed so

r id i cu lous . Bu t as she look ed up a t R e e c e ' s p a l e f a c e s h e k n e w h e

h a d g i v e n t h e s u b j e c t s e r i o u s thought...'I've always believed it was the

mother's age that was the importantone,' she said slowly.'My life wasn't geared for having

children the first time around,'Reece rasped, eyes narrowed. 'It's even less so

now!'D i a n a s h o o k h e r h e a d a t h i s v e h e m e n c e . ' S h o u l d n ' t t h i s

b e something we sit down and decide together?' She didn't even knoww h y s h e w a s

b e i n g s o p e r s i s t e n t — t h e r e w o u l d b e n o c h i l d r e n between them anyway,

so the conversation was utterly pointless.But at the same time this seemed very

important.Reece was still stony-faced. 'Is it going to be relevent to whether or not you marry

me?''No.' She shook her head dazedly. 'But-----''No c h i ld r en , D ian a , ' he t o l d he r

ha rs h l y . ' I t i s n ' t t r ue t ha t t hey enrich a marriage,' he added less forcibly as he

saw how stunned

Diana expectantly.Diana turned and fled the room, shaking badly as she went out intothe hallway. She couldn't believe this was happening to her. And itwas all her own fault. If she had never gone near Reece...!And she wasn't fooled for a moment by Janette's explanation of her divorce now that she had had even a short time to think about it; she knew there had to be more to that than Janette was telling her.But, whatever the real reasons for Janette's divorce from Marco, ithad pushed Janette into coming here to ask for money. Blackmail,Diana had called it, and blackmail it was!She f e l t he rs e l f s way d i zz i l y as she opened the door and f ound Reece standing there! She should have known who the 'persistentlittle devil' was, should have guessed. Instead she felt as if she hadreceived yet another blow to her solar plexus.'Diana!' he groaned softly, making no effort to take her in his arms.'I had to come and see you.' He was very pale, a nerve pulsing inhis cheek. 'I owe you some sort of explanation for last night.'Last night? She stared at him, dumbfounded; what had happenedlast night?He had spent a long, restless night going over and over in his mindt he d i l emma he had pu t h ims e l f i n , had d ress ed and gone to t he office this morning knowing it was a waste of time—that he had tos e e D i a n a . H e k n e w n o w , a f t e r h o u r s o f w r e s t l i n g w i t h h i s

c onsc ienc e , t ha t he cou ldn ' t e ven t h ink o f mar r y ing he r w i t hou t telling her the truth about himself. And he wasn't looking forwardto it.He had gone through a whole gamut of emotions and uncertaintiesthrough those long hours of sleeplessness during the night. Guilt.Pain. Tenderness. Love. But most of all he had known fear, as hehad never experienced it before. He was terrified of losing Diana.Diana, on closer inspection, didn't look any better than he did. Shewas very pale, and there was a haunted look in her eyes.Reece felt himself tense when Diana moved away from him as hewou ld have t ak en he r in h i s a rms . Had s he a l r eady guess ed t he t r u th? D id s he k now? Or had s he j us t r ea l i sed , as she l ay in he r own lonely bed, that she couldn't accept what he had said to her?Oh, God, they had to talk!' I d o n ' t k n o w w h a t y o u m e a n , R e e c e . ' S h e s h o o k h e r h e a d i n confusion, looking incredibly young and oh, so vulnerable at thatmoment. 'And now isn't really a good time to talk about it.'He knew she had an assignment this afternoon, but he also knewthere was never going to be a 'good' time to talk about this, and hewas tensed up to do it now. 'It has to be now, Diana,' he told her softly—before he lost his nerve and just grabbed at her with bothhands and took the consequences for deceiving her after they weremarried!

'No!' She held her hand up in apology as she realised bow sharplyshe had spoken.

'You don't understand, Reece,' she added shakily.'It isn't convenient just now. I—have a

visitor.'His frowned deepened, and he looked at her more intently. She had been behaving

oddly ever since she'd opened the door and saw himstanding there, now that he thought about

it, but at the time he had pu t t ha t down to t he f ac t t ha t s he m us t be ups e t abou t

l a s t n igh t too.But he realised now that she was standing almost defensively inthe

doorway, that she obviously didn't want to invite him inside.Obv ious l y she d i dn ' t wan t

h im t o see whoever i t was she had in t h e r e ! W h o t h e h e l l

c o u l d i t b e t h a t s h e w a s b e h a v i n g s o defensively?J ea lous y

r ipped th r ough h im the way he im ag ined the bu rn ing sensation of a knife

being thrust into his chest would feel, and he p u s h e d p a s t h e r

e f f o r t l e s s l y t o t a k e d e t e r m i n e d s t e p s i n t h e direction of the sitting-

room. If it was Chris she had in there-----!B e c a u s e t h e r e w a s s o m e t h i n g e l s e h e

h a d r e a l i s e d a s h e ' d l a i n awak e las t n igh t : D iana m igh t have ag reed t o

mar r y h im , m igh t wear his ring on her finger, but not once had she ever told him sheloved

him...! She had to love him; why else would she have agreedto marry him? But even so-----

'Reece!' She hurried after him now, clutching at his arm. 'Reece,

'Until you could find yourself a husband rich enough to continues uppor t i ng you i n t ha t ex t ravagan t l i f e s t y le you had so com e to love!' Reece accused disgustedly. 'You stole from a child, Janette,'he said incredulously. 'A child who had already suffered a shock sosevere it had left her with lasting scars.'Janette gave a harsh laugh. 'She took something of mine too, onceshe was o ld enough to r ea l i s e how sus cep t i b le Ma rc o was t o a young lissom body!''That isn't true!' Diana gasped, at last able to contribute somethingto a conversation that was becoming more and more incredible bythe minute. 'I was just sixteen, Reece,' she told him defensively. 'Had no idea— certainly didn't want—Marco tried to rape me!' Sheswallowed hard at Reece's sharply indrawn breath. 'And when Itold Janette she said she didn't believe me.' She looked at the other woman accusingly now for what she had admitted to the contrarysuch a short time ago. How could she

have done that to a youngchild?'Of course I believed you,' the other woman admitted again. 'I hadhad to sit by for months watching as Marco's interest in you slowlyc hanged as he r ea l i s ed you we re g row ing up ; I saw the way he looked at you, knew that he wanted you!''Then-----''If I had once acknowledged that I knew of his interest in you, then

my marriage would have been at an end!' Janette explained tautly.'I would have had no other choice, not with my own stepdaughter.So I pretended it had never happened, and you helped to lessen thetension by keeping to your room for the rest of that holiday, andhaving the good sense never to come back. But Marco never forgotyou,' she rasped bitterly.'When your modelling career took off and your photograph beganto appear with sickening regularity in the newspapers I used to seehim leering over them, and he would tell anyone willing to listenthat you were his beautiful stepdaughter!'D i a n a h a d f e l t a c o l d s h i v e r d o w n h e r s p i n e a t t h e t h o u g h t o f Marco looking at her at all. It was disgusting, obscene, made her feel as if she never wanted her photograph taken ever again.'I've never hit a woman, Janette,' Reece spoke in slowly measuredtones, his face pale, that warning nerve pulsing in his tautly heldcheek. 'And I'm certain ly not about to soil my hands on you,' headded contemptuously as she instantly looked alarmed. 'So I wantyou to j us t t e l l D iana abou t Cha l f o r d now and then go be f o re I f o r g e t m y p r i n c i p l e s , g e t o v e r m y a v e r s i o n , a n d s t r i k e y o u anyway!'' L e t m e r e m i n d y o u t h a t I n e v e r w a n t e d t o b e h e r e i n t h e f i r s t place,' she glared—but Diana noticed she took a step back awayfrom Reece, just in case!

' Then you shou ldn ' t have c ome here t r y i ng t o b lack ma i l D iana , ' Reece

reminded her harshly.'I wouldn't have done— if it weren't so damned obvious that

therewas something odd going on,' Janette scorned. 'If you had knownwho Diana

Lamb was then I would have heard from you, I knewt ha t , ' s he sneer ed . ' And i f

s he hadn ' t t o l d you who she was t hen there had to be a reason why she hadn't...' She

smiled knowingly. 'Isuddenly realised exactly what Little Miss Prim was up to.''And decided, in

your usual devious way-----'‘I was being devious?' Janette interrupted Reece

tauntingly. 'Oh,come on, Reece, you can't blame a girl for-----'' J us t ge t on w i t h i t ,

J ane t te , ' he adv i sed ha r sh l y . ' Cha l f o rd , ' he prompted her bitingly.She shrugged,

turning to Diana. 'Chalford is yours,' she told her ina b o r e d v o i c e . ' I t w a s

h e l d i n t r u s t f o r y o u , m e t i c u l o u s l y maintained,' she added with a

derisive twist of her lip. 'But I wasonly allowed to stay there if you did, and-----'' J ane t te ! '

Ther e was no doub t ing Reece ' s a lmos t lo ss o f con t ro l now.She sighed. 'I

didn't want to live there anyway, too many damnedmemories-----OK,' she soothed as

Reece looked ready to explode.' T h e h o u s e i s y o u r s , D i a n a ; i t b e c a m e

l e g a l l y y o u r s o n y o u r twenty-first birthday.'

woken her early this morning with a passionate intensity that had le f t t hem bo t h b rea t h less . I t wou ld have been n i ce i f t hey cou ld have taken a nap together then, but the events of the day had takenover, and it had been mid-morning before she finally found a fewminutes to relax in the sitting-room of the beautiful country housethey had bought in Berkshire, only to have actually drifted off tosleep, she now realised.And

s he d idn ' t need t wo gues ses a t wha t had t h rown Reece in t o this minor panic—she knew it could only be one of two things.' Ah , t he re you a r e , ' he s a id w i t h obv ious r e l i e f as she appear ed , slightly tousled, in the sitting-room doorway. 'Help!' He stood inthe middle of the hallway looking completely at a loss.Diana couldn't hold back her indulgent smile, moving gracefullyf o r ward t o r e l ie ve h im o f one o f t he shawl -wr apped bund les he held in his arms.' S t e r i l e , i n d e e d ! ' s h e m o c k e d t e a s i n g l y a s s h e t o o k f i r s t o n e daughter in her arms and then the other, both of them crying for their food now, which was obviously the reason why Reece waslooking so helplessly harassed. One baby he could deal with, but their twin daughters contrarily designed to want to do everything atthe same time. And poor Reece, so capable and ordered when itcame to business, was always at a complete loss to know what todo with them.

'You omitted to mention that your grandmother was a twin,' Reecereminded her as he sat down to watch the rapt expression on hisdaughters' faces as they latched on to their mother for their milk,a l m o s t a s m u c h p l e a s u r e o n h i s f a c e a s h e g a z e d a t t h e m w i t h tender love.'You were sterile, remember, so I didn't think it was important youshould know.' She smiled at him indulgently over to the top of twosilky blonde heads, absently stroking their legs.She could still remember the exquisite happiness of knowing sheand Reec e were t o have a c h i ld o f t he i r own a f t e r a l l , and s t i l l chuckled softly to herself every time she thought of Reece's facethe night she went into labour and not one baby was born to them but two, both girls, and completely identical. Nothing of twins hads h o w n u p o n t h e s c a n s h e h a d h a d , a n d s o t h e y h a d o n l y b e e n expecting the one baby. But she loved Alexandra and Victoria witha fierceness she knew Reece echoed—for all they threw him into a panic every now and then!'Thank God I became a father again before I'm presented with mygrandchild!' Reece said now with feeling.'On l y j us t , ' D iana l aughed so f t l y . 'Maddy ' s baby i s due i n t h r ee w e e k s ' t i m e . ' A n d C h r i s a n d M a d d y ' s m a r r i a g e , f o r a l l t h e r e la t i ons h ip had had a f ew rock y pa tc hes , was a happy one , t he young couple ecstatic at the thought of their own child, and Chris

almost as shocked as his father at the birth of twin sisters!'As long as they don't have twins too,' Reece grinned, still a littled a z e d b y h i s t w o d a u g h t e r s , e v e n t h o u g h t h e b a b i e s w e r e t w o months old now.But Diana had no doubts that these two little imps in her arms weregoing to twist their wonderful father around their tiny little fingersas t hey g rew up , and tha t Reece wou ld l av is h as muc h love on them as he did on her.Happ ines s , as D iana k new on l y t oo we l l , was l ov ing and be ing loved by this man. END