Stormy Vows - Iris Johansen [148]
As Jane's unhappiness grew, she was grateful for Kahlid's attention. Jake had not asked her to dance once in the hours they had been at the nightclub, though he'd danced frequently with Lola. To add to her misery, a depressingly gorgeous blonde with a face that had graced hundreds of magazine covers and wearing a gown with a neckline even more decolleté than Lola's had suddenly appeared at Jake's elbow. She'd been introduced to everyone at the table. Cindy Lockwood, a model from New York, had attached herself to Jake like a seductive limpet. He had danced with the model even more than he had with Lola, Jane noticed unhappily.
The explosive combination of Cindy Lockwood, her own unhappiness and resentment, and Kahlid's champage sparked a wildness in Jane. She proceeded to ignore Jake entirely, dividing her attention between Kahlid and Simon with feverish gaiety. She didn't know how many times she changed partners in the next two hours as she whirled from Simon's arms to Kahlid's and back.
At one point she found herself dancing with a handsome Latin who held her much too close and murmured romantic Spanish nothings in her ear. She vaguely remembered gaily accepting his invitation to dance when the young man presented himself at their table. His name was Ramon de… something or other, and she found that his arms were just as comforting as Kahlid's or Simon's if she couldn't be with Jake.
Then an authorative hand tapped the man on the shoulder, and she looked up to see a grim-faced Jake beside them. “My dance, I believe,” he said crisply, placing his hand at Jane's waist and whisking her firmly into his own embrace.
Ramon frowned crossly, but after a glance at Jake's face, he turned sulkily away.
“Your Latin lover gives up easily,” Jake said with a savage grin. “I'm disappointed. I was looking forward to rearranging those classic features.”
Jane only half heard him as she nestled closer into his arms, everything forgotten but the blissful fact that she was in Jake's embrace.
“This is the first time we've danced together,” she said dreamily as her arms slipped around his neck. “I did so want to dance with you, Jake.” Her face clouded. “Then somehow everything was spoiled.” She shook her head bewilderedly. It was all too complicated to think about now.
“You seemed to keep yourself well occupied,” he said harshly as they moved languidly around the floor. “It was quite fascinating watching you try out your wiles on every man in the room. Did you enjoy yourself, Delilah?”
“No,” she said simply, her cheek rubbing gently back and forth on his white linen shoulder. “I only wanted you.” She looked up into his face with pleading eyes. “Take me home, Jake.”
He looked down at her, his face expressionless except for the flickering flame in his dark eyes. “Champagne appears to make you quite amorous, my little sex kitten. By all means, let's go back to the yacht. After all, it's my privilege to end the evening with you, regardless of how many men you require to keep you contented.” He stopped dancing in the middle of the room and turned away abruptly. Grasping her by the wrist, he strode through the dancers toward the front door of the nightclub.
“Where are we going?” Jane gasped, trying to keep pace with his long-legged stride.
“We're going back to the yacht, where else?” he replied mockingly. “You want to be alone with me, remember?”
A nagging uneasiness pierced the golden haze induced by the champagne, like the first rays of sunlight through the morning fog. “But we can't just run off and leave the others without saying a