A Past Revenge (7 page)

'Well....'

'Lewis!'

He grimaced. 'That might be
a
little more difficult,' he finally admitted ruefully.

'Why?' she demanded sharply.

'Well.... You see, I—'

He didn't need to explain any further, not any more. Danielle recognised the house in the exclusive part of London that he was parking the BMW outside, even though she had only seen it once before. The Andracas house!

'Lewis, who invited you to this party?' she turned to him stiltedly.

He looked evasive. I didn't think you would
mind,' he almost pleaded. 'And I've heard he gives
really good parties. I thought you would enjoy
yourself. We don't have to stay long if you—'

'When
did he invite you, Lewis?' she queried in a softly patient voice.

'He telephoned me this morning, just before I called you and asked you to come with me,' he told her reluctantly.

That's what she had thought! Well if Nick thought he had outwitted her he was mistaken. Forewarned is forearmed, and she was now fully armed. 'We had better go inside, then, hadn't we?' she said brightly, getting out of the car.

'Danielle—?' Lewis hastily followed her as she —walked up the steps to the house.

'Hm?' she met his gaze with innocent inquiry.

He looked slightly overawed by her sudden composure. 'You aren't—angry or—anything?'

If she was it certainly wasn't at him; he didn't have a devious bone in his body. But she knew who did! 'Should I be?'

'Well —no. But—'

'Then I'm not,' she put her arm through the crook of his. 'We've been invited to a party, Lewis, so let's go and enjoy ourselves.'

He seemed relieved that she was taking it so well after telling him she didn't even want to talk about Nicholas Andracas, smiling his relaxation as they entered the house together.

Danielle wasn't relaxed at all, although that wasn't obvious from her smiling demeanour, looking at Nick with coolly uninterested eyes as he came over to greet them, the lounge much as she remembered it, filled to capacity with guests tonight, too.

'I'm so glad you could both make it,' he drawled, his gaze mocking on Danielle.

She met his gaze unflinchingly. 'I wouldn't have missed this for anything.'

'No?'

'No,' she echoed softly. 'Everyone has heard of the famous Andracas parties.'

'Indeed?' he didn't look impressed. 'Well I'm afraid there is only one Andracas here tonight. Will I do?'

'Er—Shall we go and get ourselves a drink, Danielle?' Lewis cut in before she could make the scathing reply that was imminent, wary of what she might say to this undoubtedly important man.

'Good idea, Vaughn,' Nick answered him. 'Carolyn, be a good girl and take Mr Vaughn over to the bar,' he requested of a beautiful blonde standing nearby.

'Oh, but—'

'Go ahead, Lewis,' Danielle smiled at him reassuringly. 'I'll see you in a few minutes.'

Nick's hand rested lightly on her waist as he guided her further into the room, and although she disliked the familiarity she raised no objection. 'I told you I wouldn't ask again,' he murmured close to her ear.

She looked up at him with emotionless eyes. 'So you asked Lewis instead,' she drawled.

He gave an inclination of his head in acknowledgment of his ploy. 'It worked too, didn't it,' he said with satisfaction.

'If by that you mean I came to your party with Lewis, then the answer is yes.' She moved pointedly away from him. 'But that's all your invitation has achieved. Where is Miss McDonald tonight?' she mocked.

Nick was more relaxed tonight on his own ground, the smoky grey velvet jacket fitting tautly across his shoulders, the black shirt and trousers moulded to the leanness of his body. 'She's here somewhere,' he dismissed. 'All the cast from the play are.'

Danielle frowned at his way of describing the
other woman's presence here. 'I'd better go and
find Lewis—'

His hand on her arm stopped her. 'He'll find us.'

'That isn't the point—'

'Audra and I are no longer seeing each other,'
he held her gaze searchingiy.

'But you just said—'

'She's here with the others, not as my personal guest.'

Danielle had had a strange feeling he was going to say that, had guessed it from the other woman's behaviour today, and the things she had said.
Obviously Nick now considered there were no barriers separating them but a little reluctance on her part—and no doubt he felt confident he could deal with that!
'I
hope that isn't on my account,' she dismissed with uninterest. 'Because I came here with Lewis and I intend leaving with him.'

'A pity,' Nick drawled. 'I was hoping to persuade you not to leave at all.'

Her brows arched mockingly. 'Surely you don't entertain your lady friends here?'

'Usually they entertain me.' he told her with a taunting smile. 'But you're right, my family home is not usually the place for such friends. I have an apartment of my own near the park.'

'That's what I thought,' she said derisively, remembering the apartment well.

'But that wouldn't do for you,' he added with seductive softness.

'I'm different, hm?' she said with scepticism.

'Yes,' he ground out, angry at her derision. 'I want you for more than just—'

'Here we are.' Lewis had finally managed to push his way through the crowds of people in the room, the two glasses of champagne in his hands also intact. 'Sorry, Nick,' he gave him a rueful glance. 'I could only carry the two.'

Nick looked blazingly angry at the other man's success in frustrating his attempt to persuade Danielle into an affair with him. 'I'll talk to you both later.' he muttered, turning in the direction of the bar.

Lewis looked dazed by his behaviour. 'Did I say something?'

'Not a thing,' she assured him with a warm smile, determined the two of them would enjoy themselves, in spite of it being Nick Andracas' party.

Audra McDonald did not look as if she were exactly the life and soul of the party when Danielle caught a glimpse of her a short time later, listening with a bored expression to the efforts of the young Adonis at her side to gain her attention. Much as she disliked the other woman Danielle could not help feeling grudging respect for the fact that Audra had come here tonight despite the fact that Nick had discarded her so callously in the week.

When the two of them found themselves alone upstairs in one of the bathrooms later in the evening she could not help but feel wary, and not just because of the marked attention Nick had been paying her all evening.

Audra gave her a sideways glance as she retouched her lipgloss. 'I expected to see you here tonight,' she said conversationally.

'Really?' she brushed her hair. 'Then you knew a lot more than I did.'

'You just didn't listen to me before, did you, Danielle?'

'Sorry?'

'I
won't lose Nick,' the other woman snapped, ready to leave the bathroom now.

She shrugged. 'I think you may already be too late to stop that happening.'

Brown eyes flashed the other woman's hatred of her. 'But
I
can so easily get him back again.'

'Then do so,' she invited, beginning to tense at the venomous gleam in the other woman's eyes.

"God,
I
could—' Audra unclenched her hands with effort.
'I
want him back, Danielle,' she spoke in a calmer voice now. 'And if I have to I'll use what I saw this afternoon to do it.' She watched as Danielle paled, satisfaction in her expression. 'You know what I mean?'

'Yes, I know what you mean,' her voice was so soft it could barely be heard in the silence of the room.

'Then you'll give Nick up.' It was a statement rather than a question.

'He ' She started again. 'He isn't mine to give up,' she shook her head.

'Do your best,' Audra drawled, picking up her clutch-bag and leaving.

Danielle drew in a controlling breath. The other woman would carry out her threat if pushed to. And if she did that...!

CHAPTER FOUR

She
couldn't sleep;
how
could she with the threat now hanging over her head? Much as she hated Nick and wanted to punish him for the past, she wanted to protect that past too. No matter how much Nick deserved to pay for his arrogance she would have to stay as far away from him as she could in future, or as far away as he would let her!

The ringing of the doorbell interrupted her pained thoughts, and she knew as she glanced at the clock at her bedside and saw it was two in the morning that her visitor could only be Nick Andracas—he was the only person she knew who would have the arrogance and nerve to wake someone up this time of morning!

She pulled on her negligee over her nightgown, going to the door. 'What do you want?' she hissed through the thickness of the wood.

'As I'm standing outside your apartment it must be obvious I want to speak to you,' he made no concessions to what time it was by lowering his own voice.

'You spoke to me—earlier.'

'Before you left so abruptly,' he acknowledged grimly. 'I want to know what Audra said to you.'

Poor Lewis, she had dragged him away from the party as soon as she could after Audra had made her threat, assuring him that Nick wouldn't notice their absence among so many other guests, not wanting to talk to him again when she was feeling so raw. She had been as wrong about underestimating him as she had about the actress.

'I
don't know what you're talking about,' she dismissed. 'Now if you don't mind, I'd like to go to bed. And shouldn't you be returning to your guests?' she added pointedly.

'My last guest left fifteen minutes ago,' he rasped. 'That's why I'm here.'

'All
of your guests left?' she mocked. When she and Lewis had left so suddenly Audra had been leaning so close to Nick she was almost a part of him.

'All of them,' he confirmed abruptly. 'Now will you open this door and talk to me?'

'No.'

'Danielle—'

'I'm sorry,' she cut in sharply, knowing how close he was to losing his volcanic patience. 'But I don't intend opening this door to anyone this time of night.'

'You know it's me, damn you,' he ground out.

She could imagine the fury in his face, knew how he hated to be thwarted. 'Of course I know it's you,' she said softly. 'That's just another reason for not opening the door.'

The muffled swearing on the other side of the door told her that her barb had hit its mark. 'I'll be back, Danielle,' he warned her softly. 'And I don't intend leaving until I have some answers next time.'

She listened to the ascent of the lift as he waited for it, heard it go down again before she returned to her bedroom. Both of them knew that his threat where she was concerned was an idle one, that she didn't, and wouldn't, tell him anything she didn't want to. But Audra may not be so easy to handle....

In the end she slept little, her sleep troubled when she did manage to doze for a while, her appearance heavy-eyed as she lingered over a pot of coffee for her breakfast the next morning. She had lived a relatively peaceful existence the last seven years, and now within days of meeting Nick again he was turning her world upside-down.

When she opened the door to him half an hour later she wasn't exactly overjoyed to see him!

'I told you I would be back," he walked into her apartment uninvited, casually dressed in grey fitted trousers and a navy blue shirt. 'Now tell me what Audra said to make you leave last night,' he pinpointed her with narrowed grey eyes, seeming not to notice that she only wore her thin negligee over her nightgown.

Danielle looked slightly to the left of his face, unable to meet his gaze. 'I don't know what makes you think Miss McDonald spoke to me at all,' she dismissed lightly.

'Simple,' he drawled. 'She told me she had.'

'Oh,' Danielle paled slightly, wondering what else the other woman told him. And then dismissed the idea; if Audra had told him he wouldn't need to ask.

'Yes,' he acknowledged grimly. 'She seemed to think, for some reason, that I needed her help in eliminating you from my life.' His expression boded ill for the other woman.

For such an intelligent woman Audra McDonald had been rather stupid in overestimating her, or any other woman's, importance in Nick's life; should have realised he would resent such blatantly confessed interference. Or maybe the other woman just felt confident enough of her 'ace up her sleeve' to dare such a liberty. Whatever the reason both women knew Danielle would never go out with Nick. Although that certainly didn't guarantee that he would go back to the other woman either, the opposite now, she would have thought.

'She still wants you,' she told Nick softly.

His mouth tightened. 'And we both know it's over between us,' he rasped.

'I think Miss McDonald would prefer it if it weren't,' she derided.

'I'm well aware of Audra's feelings in this,' he snapped. 'And now she's well aware of mine.'

That boded ill for Danielle, and she knew it, chewing worriedly on her inner lip. Audra certainly wasn't going to calmly sit back and take this.

'Go out with me just once, Danielle,' Nick's voice had softened persuasively. 'I promise you'll enjoy yourself,' he encouraged as she looked at him blankly, her thoughts far from his invitation.

But she had no doubt that he could be overwhelmingly charming if he wanted to be, she just couldn't go out with him, not now. 'I'm sorry,' she refused. 'Now if you'll excuse me,' she added pointedly. 'I'm going out.'

His mouth tightened ominously. 'With Vaughn?'

Until she had made the statement she had no intention of going out, now it seemed like a good idea. She couldn't sit here and brood all day, just wondering if Audra were going to use her knowledge against her. 'No, not with Lewis,' she answered evenly. 'I—I'm going to see my parents,' the idea suddenly occurred to her.

He frowned. 'Couldn't you see them some other time?'

'I
could,' she nodded. 'But I told them I would go today, and I always keep my promises.'