Dangerous Alliance. HELEN BIANCHIN

she suffered his appraisal with unblinking solemnity, all too aware of what he saw, for it was an image she knew in detail.

      Pale, fine-textured skin, a delicate bone-structure, a wide, generous mouth framing even white teeth, a nondescript nose, wide-spaced deep blue eyes, and shoulder-length natural ash-blonde hair.

      ‘It’s successful,’ she dismissed with a negligible shrug. ‘Women like to look good, and most are prepared to spend money in the name of beauty.’

      ‘Merely for self-gratification?’

      ‘Of course. And pleasing a man.’ She could recall instantly the features of several socialites who devoted much of their morning hours on a regular basis to one beauty treatment or another. Aromatherapy, a facial, brow and lash-tinting, massage, waxing, manicure and pedicure, to mention a few. When that failed to revive the passage of nature satisfactorily, they resorted to the skill of cosmetic surgery. Chasing elusive beauty and maintaining it was an expensive pastime, and Leanne was a skilled beautician, dedicated to her craft.

      Dimitri reached forward and extracted a peach from the fruit bowl which he proceeded to peel and stone before offering her a segment. ‘No?’

      The need to be free of his disturbing presence was overwhelming, and she excused herself from the table.

      ‘I’ll be caught up in the city for most of the afternoon,’ he revealed as she got to her feet. ‘Be ready at six. We’ll visit Paige, then go on somewhere for dinner.’

      Leanne was unable to resist the query. ‘Won’t Shanna object?’

      His gaze was remarkably level. ‘Shanna has nothing to do with my taking you to dinner.’

      ‘You could always drop me home, then meet her later.’

      ‘This conversation is going nowhere, Leanne,’ Dimitri drawled hatefully.

      ‘In that case, I’ll give Eleni a hand clearing the table, unpack, then visit Paige,’ she returned with the utmost politeness, and his husky laughter made her want to lash out in anger. Except that such an action would invoke his temper, and she’d already insulted him. To do so again on the same day would be the height of folly.

      * * *

      It was almost two-thirty when Leanne entered her mother’s suite and her heart contracted as Paige complimented gently, ‘Darling, you look so well.’

      What could she say in return? It was difficult, much more difficult than she’d envisaged, and she simply pulled a chair close to the bed and sat holding Paige’s hand.

      ‘Dimitri is very fond of you,’ Paige offered huskily. Perhaps medication had eased her pain, for she didn’t seem to be under quite so much strain. ‘Anything you need, he’ll advise and guide you. He’s given me his word.’

      Leanne wanted to cry, and her vision began to shimmer with the onset of tears. Oh, dear God, she agonised, help me.

      ‘Yanis loved you so much, almost as much as I do. He adored having you as his daughter.’

      ‘He was a wonderful man.’

      ‘Yes,’ Paige agreed simply. ‘As is his son.’

      No. The single negation was a silent scream which seemed to reverberate inside her brain. Don’t do this to me. She longed to say that Dimitri had been the embodiment of her fantasy hero, as seen through the eyes of a teenage child. Her problem was in discovering he had feet of clay.

      ‘Everything I have will be yours. Property, jewellery,’ Paige continued after a long pause. ‘It amounts to a very sizeable inheritance, darling.’

      Leanne felt her chest tighten with emotional pain, and her throat began to constrict as she attempted to gain some control over her turbulent emotions. ‘I don’t think I want to talk about it. It hurts too much,’ she whispered.

      ‘But I’m not afraid. Really,’ Paige assured her gently, her eyes a soft blue without any hint of fear. ‘My beloved Yanis will be there. And I don’t want you to be sad.’ Her eyes misted, and her lips curved into a soft, tremulous smile. ‘If I could have one wish, it would be to see you happily settled with a man who will love and care for you. Marriage,’ she continued quietly, and her fingers stroked Leanne’s hand with an absent, abstracted movement. ‘And children.’

      Grandchildren you’ll never have the pleasure of seeing, Leanne said silently. It wasn’t fair. Paige would have made a wonderful grandmother.

      Leanne was aware that any moment now she’d burst into tears. ‘I am happy,’ she said quickly. Too quickly. Paige’s illness and level of medication hadn’t diminished her perceptiveness in any way.

      ‘Are you, darling?’

      Unable to find any adequate words that wouldn’t sound defensive, Leanne offered a shaky smile and launched into an amusing anecdote about something that had happened at the clinic. Then she left Paige to rest for an hour, and returned briefly with some of her mother’s favourite roses as well as some fresh fruit in the hope of tempting her appetite.

      It was almost five when she arrived home, and after alerting Eleni that she was back she moved swiftly upstairs, shed her clothes, donned a swimsuit and then made her way down to the pool.

      Perhaps if she set herself a rigorous number of lengths she would be able to dispel the haunting image of her mother’s pale features and the infinite sadness beneath her gentle smile.

      It didn’t work; nor did attempting to focus her thoughts elsewhere. Consequently she was feeling infinitely fragile when she descended the stairs a few minutes before six.

      Dimitri was in the lounge, a tall glass of chilled water in one hand, and his dark eyes speared hers as she entered the room.

      ‘A cool drink?’ He indicated a crystal water-pitcher liberally filled with ice-cubes and decorated with sliced lemon and sprigs of mint.

      ‘Please.’

      He took a glass and filled it, then handed it to her, his expression musingly speculative as she carefully avoided touching his fingers.

      He looked what he was: a well-educated man, well-versed in the analysis of humankind and aware of the limits of his control. It was a mantle he wore with uncontrived ease, and she felt a thousand light-years removed from his particular brand of sophistication. Which was crazy, especially as she’d been privy to an elevated lifestyle during the past ten years, and could converse knowledgeably on a variety of subjects.

      It was Dimitri himself who unsettled her, for his degree of sensuality was a heady, potent entity she constantly fought against, aware that if she were ever to lose her inner battle the results would be totally cataclysmic.

      He subjected her to an thorough appraisal, then let his gaze rest thoughtfully on the contoured pink fullness of her mouth.

      ‘When you’ve finished, we’ll leave.’

      In the car he slotted a cassette into the stereo system and concentrated on negotiating the early evening traffic. Leanne conjured up a number of conversational subjects to pursue, only to discard each one, and she sat quietly as the sleek, powerful vehicle ate up the distance.

      Paige had already eaten, and she brightened as Leanne preceded Dimitri into the room.

      ‘You look lovely, darling,’ Paige complimented her gently. ‘That shade of blue does wonderful things for your eyes.’ Her gaze shifted to the man at her daughter’s side. ‘Don’t you think so?’

      ‘Stunning,’ Dimnitri agreed as he crossed to the bed and brushed his lips against Paige’s temple. ‘How are you feeling?’

      There was such a depth of affectionate concern in his voice that Leanne’s body quivered slightly, and she was conscious that her voice sounded a little too bright as she greeted her mother, then sank into a chair which Dimitri had pulled close to the bed.

      He merely stood close behind her. Much too close.