Stormy Vows - Iris Johansen [118]
“Oh, most unusual,” Jake answered dryly. “You might say she's one of a kind.” His hand tightened imperceptibly on the stem of his wineglass as he gazed expressionlessly at Jane. “However, the girl has duties to perform in the kitchen. I'm afraid that you'll have to do without her.”
“The kitchen!” Kahlid scoffed. “It is criminal to send this one to the kitchen, when she could give such pleasure to me. You have any number of servants who can work in the kitchen. Send one of them!” He turned to his friend with the pleading look of a lonesome puppy. “Assign this little Jane to me as my personal steward,” he asked impulsively.
Jane's eyes widened in surprise as they flew to Jake's impassive face.
“Impossible,” he said coolly. “As I said, Jane has other duties. I assure you that you'll be quite content with the steward whom Captain Benjamin has assigned you.”
Kahlid shook his head stubbornly. “Content, perhaps, but not happy,” he argued, his eyes running almost caressingly over Jane's heart-shaped face. “I know this little Jane could make me very happy,” he finished softly.
A flicker of annoyance passed over Jake's face at Kahlid's persistence, but his tone was still even. “I said no, Ahmet.”
It appeared that Kahlid was a man who did not recognize the meaning of the word. He smiled jovially. “Then you must change your mind, my friend,” he said persuasively. “You are not usually so inhospitable to your guests. What I have asked is not unreasonable. Did I not provide you with all that you could desire when you visited my home in Algiers last year?”
“You don't understand,” Dominic said deliberately, “Jane is my personal servant.”
The jovial smile faded from Kahlid's face, and he sighed despondently. “I suppose that I should have suspected. Never before have you had a female servant on your yacht.” He turned back to Jane, his bright eyes regretful. “It is really too bad, little Jane; you would have brought me much pleasure.” Without waiting for a reply from the bewildered girl, he asked Jake, “If you grow weary, you will send her to me?”
Dominic smiled mockingly. “Are you not my friend?” he asked evasively. He rose and threw his napkin on the table. “Now, if you will excuse me, I'd like a word with Jane before she returns to her duties. I'll join you in a moment.”
He took Jane by the wrist and strode toward the door, forcing her almost to run to keep up with him. He did not stop until they were out of the room and on deck. When they'd reached a deserted area a little distance from the lounge, he released her wrist, but only to take her by the shoulders and swing her roughly around to face him.
His black eyes were blazing. “Was it too quiet for you?” he raged. “Was everything going so smoothly that you were compelled to raise a little hell just to make things interesting?”
“It's you who's raising a fuss over nothing,” she said indignantly, trying futilely to pry those iron hands from her shoulders. “All I was trying to do was perform my duties as efficiently as I was able, and all you can do is yell at me and order me around. I didn't want to be there, you know!”
“It wasn't enough for you to come prancing into the lounge wriggling that cute little bottom in front of Kahlid, but you had to coo sweet nothings in Arabic to him,” Jake said furiously. “Have you no sense at all?”
“Prance? Wriggle?” she squeaked, outraged. “I do not wriggle, and I was merely being courteous to the man. What was I supposed to do, ignore it when I spilled the wine?”
“You were supposed to serve lunch, keep your mouth shut, and stay the hell out of Kahlid's way. Now look what you've done, with all that melting tenderness and cooing.”
Cooing? It was the second time he had used that nauseating word. “I do not coo,” she said between her teeth. “I was merely being sympathetic to the poor man. He was obviously homesick and a little lonely. What harm did it do to show a little concern and kindness? I only uttered a few words to your friend.”