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'I model,' she said, rather quickly so as to get the untruth out before it
caused her too much trouble.
'You model.' His glance seemed to strip her naked and she blushed.
'What do you model? Clothes? - or do you merely - er - model?'
Her blush deepened. She felt anger rise, but dejection also. This man
from Greece could hurt.
'I model clothes,' she replied quietly, avoiding his gaze.
'I'm sorry,' he murmured across the table. 'I should not have implied
that you modelled in the nude. Forgive me.'
Alaine raised her eyes, wondering at the sudden prick behind them.
Cimon appeared to be genuinely regretful of his implication. She
gained the impression that he had no wish to antagonize her.
'It doesn't matter.'
'I'm sorry,' he repeated. The apologetic way was totally unsuited to his
personality, to his bearing and his powerful physique which in itself
gave him the mark of superiority and arrogance. It was a little while
before he spoke again, not in fact until Alaine had finished eating,
when he asked her if she would like to go an deck. He himself had
eaten very little, and he had drunk only one cup of tea. Alaine was not
surprised by this lack of indulgence. Despite the tallness of him and
the wide shoulders which spelt great strength, his body was all muscle;
Cimon Duris was obviously one of those people who had no intention
of being hampered by superfluous weight.
'Yes, I'd like to go on deck now.' All dejection melted under his smile
and the tingling sensation was there in her spine again. As she and
Cimon were about to stand up Alaine glanced around. Hal was sitting
by a window watching her, and although she could not read his
expression at this distance she somehow knew he was angry and hurt.
But she could not waste pity on him. This was her holiday of a lifetime
and she meant to take advantage of all it had to offer. Already three
days had gone - three days spent in the company of Hal, with whom
she had no desire to be anything except polite. He had deliberately
pushed himself, and Alaine had begun to feel trapped, convinced that
she was to be restricted to his company - and that of Donna and Jim -
for the entire duration of the cruise. But now ... Here was excitement;
Cimon had stated his intention of dancing with her for the whole
evening, and she knew he meant it. It looked as if he wanted to be her
companion for the six days while he was aboard, and if after that she
found herself alone, unwanted by those three, then she would not
mind. It would have been well worth it. Already girls who had come in
for tea were- giving Cimon their attention - and no wonder, he was so
arresting. Glances came Alaine's way too .. . glances of undisguised
envy. Cimon eased himself unhurriedly from his chair, smiling down
at Alaine from his superior height as she picked up her small bag and
rose from her chair. His hand automatically fell on to her shoulder and
she quivered under its touch. Was this the start of a shipboard
romance? Her mind and her nerves and in fact her whole being was
affected as she and Cimon walked the full length of the lounge,
watched by many eyes, as they made for the door and stepped out on to
the deck.
'Shall we sit down?' Cimon opened up the chairs without waiting for
Alaine's reply. They had strolled to the end of the deck, away from the
more crowded area, and Cimon put their chairs close to the rail. They
sat down and Cimon's hand came across so that it covered Alaine's as
it rested on the wooden arm of the chair. She turned her head,
overcome with shyness; her eyes met his and she saw an expression
that set her heart racing. Was he really attracted to her? she wondered,
asking breathlessly - because she had to,
'Do you - do you live alone? - or have you some - relatives?'
There was a distinct edge of sardonic amusement in his voice as he
replied,
'If you're asking if I'm married - as I presume you are - then the answer
is no ' He broke off and his lip quivered as she coloured. 'You're
probably of the opinion that I wouldn't admit it if I were. I don't know
whether I would or not,' he told her with candour, and added
thoughtfully, 'I expect it would depend on what sort of woman my
wife was. However, as I'm not married the question doesn't arise.' No
comment from Alaine; she was too put out by the fact that he had seen
through her question. 'Would it have mattered to you had I been
married?'
She turned her head then, not fully understanding his question.
'I don't know what you mean? Why should it matter to me whether you
are married or not?'
'We're going to be friends, aren't we?' Soft tones, persuasive yet almost
arrogantly confident. He was certainly sure of himself, this dark Greek
with the superlative looks and physique. What would be the outcome
of this friendship, as he termed it? Alaine was no simpleton with
dreams of high-speed romance and marriage as the end-product.
Cimon Duris was not that type of man - just the reverse, in fact. He
could be dangerous, Alaine had no illusions about that... yet wasn't
danger often exciting? Her life had been drab up till now and
excitement in any form was alluring. Friendship, he had implied ... but
Alaine foresaw for herself risks and temptations, but the prospect was
thrilling because of the very unpredictable nature of the situation. It
must of course end in goodbye, and their paths would never cross
again ... but the goodbye was six days hence. In the meantime Alaine
meant to live - without of course going to any perilous lengths. She
was not Estelle, and although she had on occasions, usually when too
many bills arrived or some other expense cropped up, told her aunt she
would not be averse to taking a lover, never for one moment had she
been serious about what she said.
'I've asked you if we're going to be friends?' Cimon's rich clear voice
cut into her thoughts and she smiled at him and nodded her head.
'Yes, we're going to be friends,' she replied, and hoped she did not
sound too eager - or too cheap.
CHAPTER FOUR
ALAINE opened her eyes and through the first shaft of consciousness
the vision of Cimon appeared. She and he had danced until two o'clock
this morning, and even after that they had remained out on deck for
another half hour or so. Cimon's caressing voice lingered, and so did
his smile; his kiss had been gentle and his manner towards her
respectful. Had she been mistaken in her first estimation of his
character? After having been held in his arms for so long, in the
romantic setting of the dimly-lighted night club, Alaine had been half
expecting Cimon to make a suggestion of sorts; instead, he had held
her merely by an arm around her waist when they came on deck, and
even when he kissed her good night his hands remained on her arms -
except for one delicious moment when he had taken her face between [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]