I base this story on the book Tidewater Seduction by Anne Mather. So tell me what you think should I keep writing?
 

Chapter One

It couldn’t be him: it shouldn’t be him; but it was. Striding towards her, across the terrace where she was having breakfast,
giving every indication he had expected to find her there.

Brenda glanced, half guiltily, about her, wondering ever then if she was making a mistake. Maybe he had seen someone
else—some other guest. But no. She was breakfasting late, and the hotel coffee shop was almost empty, most of the other
guests all too eager to acquire that all-important tan. She was the only person sitting in her corner of the terrace; her olive skin
as brown now as it was ever going to get.

Uncle Charles, her father’s bother, used to say, teasingly, that she was the changeling in their otherwise so-English family. With
her dark skin and silky black hair, she was nothing like her blonde and brown-haired parents. She had to be a throe-back to
some scandalous liaison in the family’s history. But until her marriage to Jasper “Jax” Jack she hadn’t found it a problem. Of
course, that marriage, and the much-publicized divorce that had followed, had rather shaken her confidence. But, in recent
months, she had managed to put the past behind her. Until this moment, she acknowledged tensely, experiencing and almost
overwhelming urge to run, kicking and screaming, for a confrontation she had never thought to have to face.

Happily, she succeeded in controlling that compulsion, however, and by the time he stopped beside her table she even
contrived a faintly ironic smile. What the hell! She had nothing to be ashamed of, she assured herself tautly, crossing one long
leg over the other in an unconsciously defensive gesture. She had just as much right to be here was he had.
‘ Hello Brenda’
His greeting was scarcely original, and she gained assurance from his difference. ‘Jax’ she returned coolly, toying with the
handle of her coffee-cup. ‘ How are you?’
‘Fine’
And her looked it, she conceded reluctantly. Even though he had never been a conventionally handsome man, the harsh planes
and angles of his lean features possessed a much more potent attraction. A latent radiated from eyes as blue as amethysts,
fringed by short thick lashes, several shades darker than his hair. There were rugged hollows beneath his arching cheekbones,
and she knew his nose had been broken in his youth. But his mouth was what drew her gaze, thin, and hard, and masculine, yet
infinitely sensual, and gentler than when she’d last seen it.
But the silvery blond hair was the same, she noticed, chiding the treacherous emotions that still found beauty in his face. Longer
than was fashionable, it brushed the open collar of his chambray shirt, the fine strands upturned against his neck. He was not a
man you could ever ignore, thought Brenda uneasily, though God knew she had done her best to do so for the past three years.
‘ May I join you’
The question was unexpected, and for a moment Brenda knew the mouth-drying sense of panic she had experienced when she
first was him coming towards her. No, she wanted to say harshly. No you can’t. I don’t want you to. I don’t want to talk to
you. I don’t want you spoiling my affection for these islands by your presence.
But, of course, she didn’t say any of those things. Although she knew she was probably being incredibly stupid, she was far
too- polite- to behave so childishly, so obviously.
So, instead, ‘Why no?’ she murmured moving her glass of orange juice aside, and relocating the cooling pot of coffee. ‘Be my
guest.’
‘Thinks’
With the inherent grace that had always seemed so unusual in a man of his size, Jax pulled out one of the vinyl-cushioned plastic
chairs, and, turning its back to the table straddled it. His bony knee, clad in cream cotton trousers, brushed the side of it was all
Brenda could do not to flinch away from even that slight contact. But Jax seemed not to notice any withdrawal on her part, as
he draped his arms along the back of the chair, and cast a casual eye over the palm-shaded stretch of sand only a few yards
away.
‘Beautiful, isn’t it?’ he observer, and Brenda disciplined herself to make the obvious rejoinder.
‘ Beautiful,’ she agreed, looking towards the ocean, cram on to the crushed coral. Beyond the umbrellas, and oil slick bodies.
Although it wasn’t the Caribbean, the water cradling the sun-rich islands of the Bahamas were every bit as warm and inviting,
their blue-green depths a magnet for yachtsmen and underwater explorers alike. ‘I’ve always loved it.’
‘Yes.’ Jax’s mouth compressed. ‘Your family have a villa here, don’t they?’
His brows, distinctly darker than the ash-pale subtlety of his hair, drew together speculatively, but before he could voice the
question his words had provoked Brenda forestalled him.
His brows, distinctly darker than the ash-pale subtlety of his hair, drew together speculatively, but before he could voice the
question his words had provoked Brenda forestalled him.
‘Not any more’ she stated swiftly, avoiding his inquiring gaze, ‘In any case, it’s not important. And I’m sure it has nothing to do
with why you’re here.’
‘No.’ Jax agreed with her. ‘But you are.’
Brenda started at him. ‘You knew I was here?’
‘Obviously.’
‘ No, not obviously.’ She felt her nails digging into her palms, and determinedly relaxed herself ‘ I assumed you must be here on
holiday. That-that meeting was accidental.
‘Hardly.’ Jax regarded her dispassionately. ‘That would be quite a coincidence, wouldn’t it?’
Brenda took a steadying breath. ‘ Then I think you’d better leave. Or I will.’
She wanted to get to her feet. She wanted to walk away from the table, and pretend this had never happened. Perhaps, if she
pinched herself hard enough, she might wake up. Oh, what she would give to find out this was all a dream or a nightmare!
But she had run away from Jax once before, and she was damned if she’d do it again. He couldn’t hurt her now. Not any more.
And she would just be playing into his hands, if she allowed him to see he had upset her.
So, with admirable restraint, she helped herself to a croissant, from the napkin-lined basket in front of her, and picked up her
knife to butter it.
Jax watched her. She was aware of his gaze, though she didn’t acknowledge it. He had always had the ability to make her
aware of him, even when she least wanted it. There was a brooding intensity to his appraisal that pierced any façade of
indifference she might rise against him. Even now, buttering her croissant, with hands that only by a supreme effort on her part
remained steady, she could feel his eyes upon her. What was he thinking? She wondered. What did he want? And how had he
known where she was?
‘ Mad, aren’t you?’ he said at last, and Brenda fought back the angry defense that sprang to her lips.
‘I’m-curious,’ she admitted, proud of the lack of aggression in her tone. ‘ How did you know I was here?’
‘Lois told me,’ he replied, mentioning his aunt’s name without inflexion. ‘ You must know we keep in touch. And just because
she’s English, you shouldn’t automatically assume she’ll take your side.’
Brenda swallowed hard. Lois. She thought grimly. She should have guessed. Blood was thicker than water, and the Jacks-even
estranged ones-evidently believed that stronger than most.
‘Don’t think badly of her,’ Jax said now, as Brenda stared down at the croissant.
‘ She didn’t have a lot of choice. Not in the circumstances.’
But Brenda wasn’t listening to him. Damn Lois, she was thinking, abandoning the untouched roll in favor of another cup of
coffee. She knew, better than anyone that for the past three years Brenda had done her utmost to forget Jax and what he had
done to her life did did. How could Lois tell him she was here, taking the first holiday she had had in twenty solid months of
hard slog? This was supposed to be her reward to herself for finishing ahead of time. The painting for the exhibition were
completed. She hadn’t even brought her materials with her. She had intended to have a complete break. And Now-
‘Where’s- Chloe?’ She demanded, looking beyond him, as if expecting the other women to appear.’ You did marry her, didn’t
you?’ She forced a mocking lilt her voice, as she added, ‘ Chloe Jack! Oh, yes, that sounds so much better than Brenda Jack
ever did.’
Jax lips tightened. ‘You won’t get an argument from me,’ he retorted, but she realized to her amazement- and delight-that, for
once, she had got under his skin. A faint trace of color ran up beneath his tan, and the hands resting on the chair-back balled
into fists.
But then, exercising the same kind of control Brenda had used earlier, he expelled his breath. ‘I didn’t come here to talk about
Chloe,’ he said tautly, meeting her gaze. ‘My father’s dying.’
Brenda gulped. She couldn’t help it. John Jack had always appeared invincible to her. It scarcely seemed credible that he was
mortal, like the rest of them.
Even so, he had never been any friend of hers, and her dark brows rose without sympathy. ‘ Is that supposed to mean
something to me?’
Jax regarded her grimly. ‘ He wants to see you.’
‘ To see me?’ Brenda’s voice came out several degrees higher than normal, but Jax only nodded.
‘ That’s what I said.’
Brenda caught her breath. ‘You can’t be serious.’
‘ Why not?’
‘ Why not?’ she made a sound of disbelief.
‘ Why – he doesn’t even like me!’
Jax’s eyes dropped. ‘ Maybe he does,’ he said, picking up the spoon that was laying besides the unused place setting in front
of him. ‘ Maybe he doesn’t.’ He spun the spoon between his fingers. ‘ In ant case, he says he wants to see you, and that’s all
there is to it.’
‘You wish’ Brenda stared at him incredulously. ‘If you think I’m going to give up my holiday to go see an old man who never
even gave me the time of day, if he could help, you’re very much mistaken!’
Jax looked up, and the blue eyes were as steel between narrowed lids. ‘ Are you really that hard?’ he asked, his lips curling
contemptuously. ‘ God, Ma said you wouldn’t come, but I didn’t believe her.’
‘Believe it’ said Brenda flatly, pressing her hand down on the table and getting to her feet. ‘ I wish I could say it’s been a
pleasure, Jax, but lying was never my strong point!’
‘Like hell!’
Jax had kicked the chair out from under him, and was up on his feet to confront her, before she could make good her escape.
And, even though she stood a good five feet nine inches in her ankle boots, she was no match for his six feet plus. Add to those
broad shoulders, a flat stomach, and long muscular legs, and she could see no means to retreat. Short of causing a scene, of
course, and Brenda didn’t want to do that, when this was only the second morning of her holiday.
‘ Isn’t this rather ridiculous, Jax?’ she asked looking up at him rather tensely. ‘ What do you hope to achieve? You can’t force
me to go with you.’
‘ Can’t I?’
Jax’s response was predictable enough, but it lacked conviction, and Brenda realized that, for all his belligerence, he was
unsure of his ground. It gave her a feeling of triumph just watching him-a rippling sensation of pleasure she hadn’t felt before.
‘ I think you’d better get out of my way,’ she said, not afraid to meet his gaze. ‘What can you do to me- that you haven’t
already done?’
‘ Son of a---‘
Jax bit off the expletive, but no before Brenda had glimpsed the raw frustration in his eyes. It was the first time she ever
remembered him being at a loss of words, and there was a tantalizing enjoyment in watching him squirm.
‘ So, if you’ll excuse me’
Brushing his chest with just the tips of her fingers, Brenda edged sound him- and he let her. It was rather like baiting a tiger, she
thought, the fluttering excitement in her throat threatening to choke her. It was so intoxicating that she felt quite high, and she
could hardly contain herself as she deliberately sauntered across the terrace into the hotel.
She knew his eyes followed her. She could feel him, boring into her back, as she swayed provocatively between the table. And
she was glad he would see nothing to betray the emotional trauma he had once wrought in her life. Her figure was as slim now
as it had ever been, due as much to hard work as careful dieting, Her legs were long, and shown to some advantage in the
frayed Bermudas she was wearing with a buttoned vest. Even her hair had the shiny patina of good health, longer now than she
used to wear it, and caught at her nape in a silver barrette.
Of course, she came down to earth again as quickly as she had gone up. As soon as she was inside the glass screens, which
had been folded back to allow free access between the indoor and outdoor sections of the restaurant, the sense of exhilaration
she had felt while she was with Jax quickly abated. Besides, once the desire to thwart his plan had been accomplished, she was
troubled by an annoying twinge of conscience. Whatever Jax thought, she was not as hard as he imagined. And, although it was
true that Jon Jack had never accepted her as Jax’s wife, he was an old man, and drying, if Jax was to be believed.
She paused in the lobby of the hotel, not sure now of what she wanted to do. She had been intending to get a book from her
room and spend the morning setting in the sun, but her confrontation with her ex-husband had left her disturbed and restless.
She needed her swimsuit anyway, so, forcing thoughts of Jax aside, she took the lift u to her room. She was on the fourth floor,
just one below the pint house suites. She had a large room that was part setting room, part bedroom, with a wide balcony over
looking the Atlantic. All the room had balconies, but they were made private by the solid walls that divided them.
As she stripped off her vest and shorts and put on a scarlet maillot, Brenda couldn’t help wondering were Jax was staying. She
guessed he must have flown down from California yesterday evening, and it was infinitely possible that he was staying at the
hotel. But he had probably just booked in for one night. He had no doubt expected to persuade her to fly back with him later
today.
She sighed, regarding her reflection in the long closet mirrors, without really noticing how well the strapless swimsuit looked.
Perhaps she should just sunbathe on her balcony this morning, she was thinking. She didn’t think Jax would know her actual
room number, and even if he did he was unlikely to come looking for her.
Then she frowned. No, she told herself firmly. She was not going to run away from this. She had proved she could challenge
Jax and get away with it. Why shouldn’t she do so again, if it was necessary? It didn’t matter what he said, or what he thought
of her. And she was a free woman. She could do what she liked.
In any case, she added, in a less than radical afterthought, Jax was unlikely to hang around, once he realized she meant what
she said. It was early May, after all. And if his father was seriously ill-
But Brenda refused to think about it. She would not allow herself to feel guilty about a man who had always hated her and her
beliefs. Dear God, he had even destroyed his own son in his efforts to get what he wanted!
The phone rang as she was pulling an outsize T-shirt over her head. The baggy cotton garment barely skimmed her thighs, but
its shoulders would keep her cool if the sun got too hot. It served the dual purposed of covering her swimsuit and providing
protection, and she liked it better than some custom-made jacket.
When the phone rang, she hastily jammed her arms into the sleeves, and tugged it down around her. Then, halfway to answer
other call, she halted. What if it was Jax? She was not sure she was as immune to his censure as she thought.
But the realization that it was most likely to be her mother, calling to make sure everything was ok, forced her to think again.
Neither of her parents had been particularly keen on her taking this holiday alone, not to mention travelling so far from home in
London. In spite of her abortive marriage to Jax- or perhaps because of it- they had become increasingly protective, and,
although she had phoned them on her arrival two days ago, they probably wanted an update on her movement.
Even so, there was a definite edge to her tone as she picked up the receiver, and the women’s voice that greeted her revealed a
similar tension.
‘Brenda, dealing, is that you? Oh, God, you sound so clear. Are you really thousands of miles away?’
Brenda’s relief was almost palpable, and, running her tongue over her dry lips, she smoothed one damp palm down the seam of
her T-shirt. But with the relief came a kindling of resentment towards her caller, and her voice was only slightly warmer as she
answered, ‘ Yes. Yes, Lois, it’s me. A setting duck, as you expected.’
‘Oh, Brenda!’ Lois sounded anxious now. ‘I know what you must be thinking, but try to understand my position. John is my
brother-in-law, after all. When-when Jax asked where you were, I had to tell him.’
Brenda absorbed this in silence. Although she still resented the fact that Lois had betrayed her whereabouts, without even
clearing it with her first, she wasn’t unmindful of Lois’s family responsibilities. Oh, it was easy enough to dismiss them by
reminding herself that Lois’s marriage to John Jack’s brother had been no more successful than her own, but the truth was Lois
was more dependent on the Jacks than she was. Lois and Luke Jack had two sons, Evan and Luke Junior. If she wanted to
continue seeing her son on a regular basis, she couldn’t afford to offend the man who could deny her that privilege.
‘Brenda, Brenda, are you still there?’
Lois’s worried tones brought Brenda’s attention back to the phone. It was her own fault really, she thought. As her marriage to
Jax broke up, she should have found herself another agent. But she had known Lois for almost ten years. Lois had recognized
her talent long before the water-colours she produced became popular. Heavens, it was through Lois that she had met Jax-
though the virtues of that particular introduction had long since been debased. Nevertheless, she was fond of Lois, she owned
her a lot, and it wasn’t fair to expect her to jeopardize her relationship with her own flesh and blood.
‘ Yes, I’m still here, Lois,’ Brenda answered now, expelling her breath on a long sigh. ‘ Ok, I forgive you. I suppose you didn’t
have a lot of choice. But, damn it, you should have warned me! I couldn’t believe it when I saw Jax across the terrace.’
Lois made a sound of surprise. ‘ You’ve seen Jax?’
Brenda frowned. ‘Of course.’ She paused. ‘What did you expect?’
‘ Oh- I don’t know.’ Lois sounded doubtful. ‘ When he phoned, I got the impression he didn’t want to leave Tidewater at this
particular time.’
Brenda shrugged. ‘Well, he must have changed his mind.’
Lois hesitated. ‘ And are you going back with him?’
‘NO’
‘No?’ Lois sounded dismayed. ‘ But Brenda, John’s dying!’
‘ So?’ Brenda refused to allow the other woman to influence her.
‘ He has cancer,’ Lois persisted ‘ according to Jax, the doctors give him a few weeks at most. Brenda, he is Jax’s father. Can’t
you find it in your heart to feel some compassion? I know you and he have had your differences, but-‘
‘Differences!’ Brenda almost spat the word. ‘Lois, that man and I did not have difference! We were totally opposed to one
another in every way. John Jack doesn’t deserve anyone’s compassion. He’s a twisted, evil man!’
Lois sighed. ‘ You really hate him, don’t you?’
‘ Wouldn’t you? Don’t you?’
‘ Not hate, no’ Lois was tentative. ‘ Oh, I know what you’re going to say. If John hadn’t made such a big thing of my wanting
something independence, Luke would never found the guts, strength-call it what you will- to make that ultimatum. But Brenda, it
was Luke who made me choose between staying at tidewater, and vegetating, or making a life for myself. John might have
fashioned the bullets, my dear, but Luke fired them.’
‘ Yes, But-`
‘ Hear me out, Brenda. I want you to know I haven’t regretted what I did. Not really. Oh, I miss my boys, of course, but it’s
not as if they were babies when I left. And I’ve had a good life here. Running the gallery, becoming Ned’s partner. He and I
have more in common than Luke and I ever did. Luke was different. He was exciting. And I don’t deny that Ned and I –will
we don’t have the same kind of relationship. Ours is more intellectual, if you know what I mean. But I’m not bitter. I have
everything I need. I can afford to feel pity.’
‘Well, I can’t’
Brenda pressed her lips together, and Lois breathed deeply. ‘No,’ she conceded, after a moment. ‘ No, I see that. I suppose
I’d forgotten how much you love Jax-`
‘ Loved!’ Brenda amended harshly. ‘You’d forgotten how much I loved Jax. Not any more. That love died when they killed
Nathan. Or did you forget about him too?’
There was silence for a while, and when Lois spoke again there was regret in her voice. ‘ No’ she said softly. ‘No, of course I
haven’t forgotten Nathan. I’m sorry, Brenda. Naturally you must do what you think best.’
Conversely, Brenda felt guilty now. Oh, not about John Jack, she consoled herself, but perhaps she had been hard on Lois.
‘It doesn’t matter,’ she said, forcing her mind on to other things. ‘ Um- how is the arrangement for the exhibition going? Do you
think it’s going to attract enough interest?’
‘ Are you kidding?’ Lois responded eagerly, evidently as anxious as Brenda to turn their conversation on to a business footing.
‘ I’ve already had acceptances to the opening from all the most important critics, and even Howard Jennings has agreed to
make an appearance.’
‘Oh. Good.’
Brenda tried to summon some enthusiasm for the news that the editor and presenter of a monthly television arts programmed
was apparently interested enough to attend, but somehow the importance of the exhibition had been blurred. In spite of all she
had said, the image of Jax’s father, sick and dying of that most pernicious of diseases, would not go away, and she was
inordinately grateful when Lois said she would have to go, and rang off.
But, if she had hoped that by severing the connection with Lois she could sever all thoughts of the Jacks, she was mistaken.
Memories of Jax, and his father, and Tidewater just kept on coming back, and it was with an angry sense of resentment that she
picked up the bag containing her book, sunscreen, and dark glasses, and left the room.