The Deserving Mistress

‘Leave her, Jude,’ April said, reaching up to put a restraining hand on his arm as he would have turned to follow May from the room.

‘Like hell I will!’ he rasped, easily moving away, one glance at the hurt so visible in April’s beautiful eyes enough to propel him into action.

Jude strode purposefully from the room, almost bumping into May as he found her standing just outside, closing the door behind him as he swung her round to face him. ‘What the hell do you—?’ He broke off his angry tirade, frowning darkly as he saw the tears coursing down her cheeks. ‘May…?’ He blinked his utter confusion with this whole situation.

‘Leave me alone!’ she choked, pulling away from him. ‘All of you, just leave me alone!’ She glared up at him. ‘Go back inside to your—your friend!’ she added accusingly, frantically searching through her handbag now for her car keys.

Jude looked down at her frustratedly, totally thrown by the tears still falling down her cheeks. He had followed her intending to give her a good shaking, to demand an explanation for her rude behaviour, but he could see by her tears that there was more going on here than he had at first realised.

‘Is it because of what I said to y

ou earlier about David Melton’s obvious pleasure at seeing April when he came over to our table at the restaurant yesterday evening?’ he probed frowningly. ‘Do you think he’s involved with April? Is that what’s upsetting you?’

‘David…?’ May stared up at him uncomprehendingly. ‘David?’ she repeated impatiently. ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about, Jude.’ She shook her head dismissively, having at last found her car keys.

‘I’m talking about the fact that you were damned rude in there just now.’ He nodded in the direction of the bar.

‘Was I rude to you?’ May challenged hardly, eyes overbright.

‘No, of course—’

‘Was I rude to David?’ she snapped.

‘I wouldn’t give a damn if you were rude to him—’

‘Then it must have been April Robine I was rude to,’ May bit out scornfully.

‘You know very well that it was.’ Jude was fast losing any patience he might still have had with her.

May eyed him mockingly. ‘And that upsets you?’

‘Of course it—’ He broke off, taking several deeply controlling breaths. He never raised his voice in anger, never became angry if at all possible; anger had a habit of making logical thought impossible, behaviour irrational, and those were two things he didn’t allow. ‘May, for goodness’ sake tell me what’s wrong with you?’ he prompted evenly.

‘Wrong with me?’ she repeated tauntingly. ‘Why, nothing is wrong with me, Jude. I’ve already told you, I simply have something else I have to do.’

‘So important that you have to go and do it right now? So urgent that you can’t even sit down and have lunch with us first?’ he said disbelievingly.

‘Yes,’ she answered flatly.

His mouth tightened. ‘And the tears? I suppose they’re for nothing, too?’

Her eyes flashed angrily. ‘Let’s leave my tears out of it—’

‘No—let’s not,’ Jude rasped harshly, grasping her shoulders. ‘I want to know what’s going on, May—and you’re going to tell me,’ he assured her grimly.

‘No-I-am-not!’ she bit out between gritted teeth, at the same time trying to pull away from him.

Jude had no idea what all this was about, couldn’t even begin to understand what was making her behave in this strange way. And he didn’t like feeling in the dark in this way!

He stared down at her impotently, anger fighting with his sheer frustration over the situation. There was only one way he had found to subdue this woman—

‘Let me go, Jude!’ May ordered coldly, as if she had already guessed what his intention was.

‘No.’ He shook his head uncompromisingly. ‘I—ouch!’ He gave an involuntary cry of pain as May turned her head and bit the side of his hand, releasing her abruptly to look disbelievingly at the teethmarks clearly visible on his skin. ‘What the hell did you do that for?’ He looked at her dumbfoundedly.

She gave an unconcerned shrug. ‘I asked you to release me, you refused—’

‘And that was reason enough to bite me?’ He scowled darkly.