Serpent In Paradise

Chapter one

Teri glanced at her watch and saw it was even later than she had realised. Her lunch-hour was half over and she still had to get to the supermarket before popping in to Mrs. Roland.

It was the storm that had delayed her. Tropical thunderstorms were always to be reckoned with in Johannesburg in the summer. There had been one each day for the last week, always in the late afternoon, when the traffic out of the city was at its busiest.

This storm had erupted unexpectedly, and Teri, caught in open-toed sandals and without an umbrella, had to shelter beneath the wide awning of a shop-front until the worst of the downpour had abated.

She grimaced as water squelched in her shoes, and just for a moment she wondered if she had been foolish not to go back to the library without visiting Mrs Roland.

Emma Roland would have understood. But she would have been disappointed. With her twisted ankle keeping her temporarily immobile, she was depending on the groceries that Teri had promised to bring her.

She was not far from Mrs Roland's flat now, and across the road was the supermarket. Teri usually crossed the road at the traffic lights, but they were some distance away; with her sandals waterlogged and uncomfortable she decided to jaywalk.

She had just stepped off the kerb when she saw the car in to angle-park. She took a hasty step backwards, but she was not quick enough to escape the rush of muddy water stirred up by the tyres, and a swirl of it hit her dress.

It would be the one good dress she possessed! she thought, throwing a furious look at the car. It was silver-grey, long and sleek and expensive-looking. For some reason its elegance served to enrage her further. Without thinking she bent, picked up a ball of mud and hurled it at the car. The sight of the mud spattered on the shining chrome gave her a moment of intense and gleeful satisfaction.

She had reached the opposite kerb when she felt a hand close on her arm, and spinning round, she found herself looking up, quite a long way up, into a pair of intensely blue eyes, and she felt the oddest quiver.

She had never seen a face that was so handsome, nor quite so self-assured. Thick fair hair was vivid against a deep tan, and the lines of a hard mouth and chin combined in an unusual mixture of power and sensuousness.

Fear was delayed, coming seconds later than it normally would have done. This was not one of the more desirable parts of the city, strangers were not to be taken lightly. What did he want of her? In sudden panic Teri glanced sideways, wondering if anyone would come to her aid if she screamed.

"I won't harm you." The blue eyes were mocking, as if he understood the gist of her thoughts. "I'm the owner of the car." He made a small gesture. "Why did you chuck mud at me?"
"You dirtied my dress," she said, thinking that his dark suit and silk shirt went well with the car. Both had the same look of money and elegance.

His eyes left her face and descended to the dress. There was something blatant in the way that he studied it, as if he was seeing through the garment to the shapely figure it clothed. Teri's earlier outrage returned.

"A pretty dress," was all he said. "It happens to be the only one I possess." Not true, but not wildly over-exaggerated either. "You were jaywalking," he pointed out mildly. "My sandals were wet through and the traffic-lights are a million miles away. You must have seen me." "I actually didn't." "You could have let me pass anyway. Did nobody ever teach you to be considerate?"

"Illogical and a virago." The corners of his lips lifted. "At worst I was looking for an apology. At best I thought you might offer to clean off the mess you made. I certainly didn't expect an attack."

Teri drew herself up to her full height- five feet and six inches seemed oddly small beside what was surely six feet two leanly muscled manhood. "You must be crazy if you thought I'd do either! May I have my arm back- I'm in a hurry."

She was walking away when she heard him chuckle. For a moment she was tempted to turn so that she could see how the autocratic face looked when it was amused, but pride stopped her just in time. Stiffening her shoulders, she squelched her way with as much dignity as she could into the supermarket.

(A/N: Hello readers. Hope you liked this chapter. Enjoy :) By the way there's a picture of Teri above)