Double Fault by Sheila Claydon Page B

until that fateful moment in the Spa when an over active testosterone had got the better of him. What would have happened if Maggie hadn’t burst in on them she would never know.  She did know he was irritated with her though because he hadn’t tried to hide it when Maggie eventually delivered her to his suite. Nor had he made any reference to what had happened between them in the Spa. Instead he’d merely asked her if she was hungry, ordered a meal that she only picked at, and then left her quite alone.
    She smoothed her sweater over her hips and combed her fingers through her hair. That would have to do. Nobody was going to see her anyway, not at this time of night. She collected her scuffed leather tote from the bedside table and her trainers from beneath the bed. Then she tiptoed to the door and pushed down the handle. She would go and see Mel. Trying to sort out her thoughts on her own wasn’t working but maybe talking them through with someone would. Pierce had thrown the keys to the van onto the kitchen counter when they arrived at Greenleas so unless he’d moved them, getting there was no longer a problem, nor was disturbing her friend in the middle of the night. Nothing fazed Mel. She was exactly the person Kerry needed and she was going to see her even if she had to walk every step of the way. 
    She gave a scream of fright as the door handle jerked under her fingers and then she jumped backwards as the door crashed open revealing Pierce, clad in a loosely tied silk dressing gown and a scarlet rage.
    “And where exactly do you think you’re going?” He advanced menacingly until she was backed up against the bed. “What do you want me to do Kerry? Tie you down until Saturday?”
    For the first time she was frightened. She had never seen him like this before, never heard the snarl of rage in his voice. He’d often been angry, with her, with himself, with his tennis opponents, but this was something darker. She started quaking inside but it didn’t show in the lift of her chin.
    “You can do what you like but I won’t marry you. It isn’t fair to either of us or to the children.”
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     

Chapter Six
     
    “I didn’t realize fairness had a place in your life,” Pierce’s voice cut through her explanation like a knife. “After all there was nothing very fair about bringing two children into the world and then depriving them of their inalienable right to a mother and a father as well as a stable home.”
    “There will be nothing stable about a home continually tormented with arguments,” Kerry snapped, the edge of guilt his words prompted tipping her into an answering anger. “Leave them with me Pierce and visit us sometimes. I don’t want you disrupting our lives.”
    At her words the high color faded from his face leaving it sallow and drawn and when he answered her, his voice was clipped and cold.
    “I’ve already told you they belong here at Greenleas , with both their parents, not shut into a shabby house with a mother who is too tired to care for them properly and a father whose visits would apparently disrupt their routine. Make your choice now Kerry. Are you coming too, as my wife, or do Ben and Lauren come alone? And before you answer make no mistake about it, you come on my terms or not at all.”
    “Which are?” Although her heart was pounding and her throat was dry, Kerry kept her head high.
    “That we work together. As far as the children are concerned we will present a united front. We will be the parents they deserve. I don’t want to continually fight you over them. I want to give you the chance to be a proper mother, not someone who is too worn out to think straight, but I’m not going to let you do it at my expense. You owe it to me to cooperate while I catch up on the two years I’ve spent without them.”
    He paused and gave her a tight little smile. “I’m under no illusions Kerry. One word from you could reduce me to a bogeyman