‘Yes, the worst kind,’ she murmured, moving closer to him. ‘The kind who thinks he knows what’s best for someone else. You won’t listen when I tell you I don’t love Dan. But I don’t—and I’m going to force you to accept that, because I can be a bully too.’
A new look had come into his face. Confusion, mixed with hope and a little alarm, as though he feared to hope for too much.
She met his gaze, silently telling him what to believe.
‘My methods are ruthless,’ she said, ‘and by the time I’m finished you’ll have to believe me.’
‘How are you going to manage that?’ he whispered.
‘Like this.’
Reaching up, she drew his head down far enough to rest her lips against his.
‘Freya—’
‘Kiss me, Jackson. That’s an order. You’re not the only one who likes to be obeyed. Kiss me.’
He obeyed with fervour, wrapping his arms right round her so that she couldn’t have escaped if she’d wanted to. But she didn’t want to. She wanted the pressure of his lips, growing fiercer with every moment. She wanted the feel of him shaking with desire against her own body, which was also shaking as never before—not for Dan, not for any other man, only for this man in her arms, where she was determined to keep him.
She had everything she wanted. He was hers as completely as she was his. His lips told her so, as did his arms, and the powerful beat of his heart that she could just hear. She wanted him with an intensity that only one thing could satisfy, and she was determined to have it.
When she drew him towards the bed he hesitated for a tiny moment, as though not daring to believe that his dreams could come true. But then doubt was swept away by desire and they fell onto the bed together, kissing, embracing, murmuring, pulling at each other’s clothes until there was not a stitch left between them.
He made love to her with a mixture of tenderness and passion that left her dizzy. She responded with everything in her, and had the delight of seeing in his eyes that she had taken him by surprise.
Afterwards he held her close, her head against his chest, so that she could hear his heart again, beating more slowly now, with sweet, gentle contentment.
‘I feel as though we’ve only just met,’ he murmured.
‘Yes, that’s just how it is,’ she said happily. ‘This is a new life for us. And there’s something else as well. Thanks to Harriet, I know you better than ever before.’
‘Harriet?’
‘She told me about that baby seal on Herringdean, and the sacrifices you made to protect it. I’d already heard a rumour about how you quarrelled with a production firm and stormed out, but it made you sound grim and threatening.’
‘Good,’ he said at once. ‘If my father knew the truth he’d cut me out of his life.’
‘But it made me want you in my life. I began to understand how much you need me and how deeply you long to be needed in return. Not just loved, but needed.’
‘Yes,’ he breathed. ‘Yes. I didn’t realise before. Freya, is this really happening to us?’
‘I don’t know. I can hardly believe it. It’s so beautiful. Can it be true?’
‘It can be as true as we make it.’
‘Yes,’ she murmured. ‘Oh, yes.’
‘There are still questions whirling in my brain,’ he murmured against her hair. ‘You were so much against me. You didn’t want my love. At least, you said you didn’t. When I held you in my arms and kissed you I dared to hope that you wanted me a little—’
‘More than a little, my darling. I’ve wanted you for quite a while, but I wouldn’t admit it even to myself. I was afraid. After what happened with Dan I didn’t want to fall in love—’
‘Especially with me,’ he said wryly.
‘Yes. I was more afraid of getting close to you than anyone else—maybe because I knew it was inevitable. That night in Monte Carlo I resisted you because I felt caught up in something beyond my control. I know now that I was right, but I shouldn’t have been afraid of it because the fate beyond my control was love.’
‘Mine too. That’s why I came here as Dan’s spokesman. I thought it would be what you wanted.’
‘You thought I’d let you spend your life watching over me?’
‘Let me?’ His voice became teasing. ‘You couldn’t stop me.’
‘Oh, yes, I could. There’s a very simple way.’
‘Tell me.’
‘I won’t marry Dan. I’m going to marry you. That way I’ll be your protector. So come on—we’re getting married. That’s an order.’
‘Hey, I was going to say that.’
‘Tough. I got in first.’
‘Yes,’ he said happily. ‘You did. I guess I’ll have to get used to you taking command.’
‘You’ll have to get used to me protecting you as much as you protect me.’
‘Joint partnership.’
‘Fifty-fifty.’
Solemnly they shook hands.
‘I can hardly believe in such happiness.’ She sighed blissfully. ‘And it’s even more lovely in this place, where so many of the family are happy too. All except—’ She broke off and sighed.
‘Your mother and my father,’ Jackson supplied. ‘Yes, it’s sad, isn’t it? How can we really enjoy our own happiness when things are still so wrong between them? At first I thought they’d sort it out soon and rediscover what they used to have. But it’s getting worse.’
‘It’s because he overheard Mum say she had doubts about him and wasn’t sure that they’d stay together,’ Freya recalled. ‘That really seemed to knock him sideways.’
‘Yes, he’s used to women wanting him more than he wants them. I’m sure he could win her over if he tried, but he doesn’t know how to give in, to say he’s sorry.’
‘He’d see it as a weakness,’ Freya said. ‘And he avoids that like the plague. I remember him telling you that you shouldn’t let anyone know anything about you that they could see as weak and use against you.’
‘Right. He’s never understood that when you really love someone you’re not afraid to let them know your weakness, the way you know mine.’
‘Mum hated coming here to Russia. She thinks Varushka was the great love of Amos’s life because of the way he rushed out here to her deathbed.’
‘She’s wrong. I think Janine means more to him than any other woman has, but he doesn’t know how to show it. Even with her he can’t risk seeming vulnerable, and it could be the worst mistake he’s ever made.’
‘But if they can make it right,’ Freya said hesitantly, ‘how will you feel? After what you told me about your mother—’
‘I know. But I like Janine. She’s always been pleasant to me. And she’s his victim too. As for Amos, he’s still my father, and I’d still like to see him find happiness in love.’ He drew her closer. ‘Especially now that I’ve found it myself.’
‘Yes,’ she murmured. ‘Enough about them. I want to think only of you. Come to me, my darling—come to me—that’s right—yes—yes—’
* * *
The christening