Stormy Vows - Iris Johansen [147]
When Jake swung Jane down into the launch, she was surprised to see Marcus Benjamin and Simon Dominic at the wheel in the front of the boat. Impulsively Jane made a sudden movement toward them, and Jake gripped her arm swiftly.
“Over here, darling,” he said caressingly, and shepherded her to a seat near the rear of the boat. He settled her so gallantly, so solicitously, that he might just as well have stamped her with a brand of ownership. She could feel her face burn in the darkness as Jake slipped a casual arm about her waist.
Jane had an idea that Jake's actions were as deliberate and primitive as those of a jungle cat staking out its boundaries. Her move toward Simon had been only an innocent impulse, principally aimed at reassuring herself that she still had Simon's respect and friendship despite her position in his cousin's life. Jake had seized on the excuse to establish his public claim with no regard to the embarrassment such an action would bring her. She couldn't help but feel a burning resentment at the inconsiderateness of his action. “I didn't know that Simon and Captain Benjamin were going with us,” she said tightly.
“Lola insisted,” Jake answered curtly. “She's never happier than when she's surrounded by men—a common feminine characteristic I've noticed.”
Jane maintained a cool silence during the forty-minute ride to the pier at Cozumel. Her own reserve went unremarked in the wake of Lola's vivacious gaiety and Kahlid's equally good spirits. Jake seemed maddeningly undisturbed by Jane's disapproval and displayed a lazy good humor that was a barbed irritant to her rapidly deteriorating mood. Her gaze went frequently to the front of the launch, where Captain Benjamin and Simon conversed casually in low voices. Both men wore sparkling white uniforms that compared very favorably with Jake's and Kahlid's white tropical dinner jackets and dark pants, Jane thought idly.
Suddenly Jake's grasp around her waist tightened sharply, and his voice in her ear was a silken murmur. “I've always heard that women were fond of men in uniform,” he said caustically. “Don't you think you're being a little obvious in your admiration?”
Jane raised her chin defiantly. “Perhaps I feel an affinity with them,” she said with sweet sarcasm. “If you remember, I was wearing a uniform myself until today. There's a certain kindred spirit among us menials, you know.”
Dominic's rapier glance was as black as his muttered imprecation, and he was grimly silent for the rest of the trip.
El Invernardero was a thoroughly enchanting nightclub located in the heart of Cozumel. It was a converted greenhouse constructed entirely of paneled glass, and a multitude of exotic plants and flowers bordered the interior walls in colorful profusion. The highly polished dance floor was encircled by the usual damask-covered tables, but on each was a charmingly arranged bouquet of fresh flowers.
Their party was shown to a large ringside table by an obsequious waiter. Jake pulled out a chair beside his own for Jane, but Lola had other ideas.
“Don't be selfish, Jake,” she said, her dark eyes sparkling with mischief. “You can have Jane to yourself anytime.” She gave Jane an imperious nudge that placed her across the table, between Kahlid and Simon. She herself slid into the seat next to Jake and smiled dazzlingly into his frowning face. “Now, isn't this delightful?”
“Delightful,” Jake echoed grimly, his watchful gaze fixed on Kahlid as the sheikh helped Jane solicitously with her chiffon wrap.
For Jane, as the evening wore on, what had promised to be an exciting and romantic evening with the man she loved rapidly deteriorated into a miserable debacle. Jake's mood progressed from testy to utterly foul. Separated by the width of the table, Jane was still conscious of the black