by Maggie Cox
Again, in spite of his irritation with Sophie for thinking he was trying to insult her, Dominic sensed the blood heat in his veins as though it were being pursued by a fire. The memory of flashing blue eyes the colour of cornflowers started an ache inside him that suddenly made moving too quickly a hazard. He knew she was passionate and principled…if misguided…and she had been a totally responsive and highly provocative lover. He had not arranged for the coat to be sent as an insult in any way. He had certainly not sent it aspayment for sexual services. He had mostdefinitely sent it as a reason to speak to Sophie again.
When he’d woken up on Saturday morning and found her gone he’d barely been able to believe it. No woman had left him that way before…ever! Initially irked, he’d told himself she must have had some appointment to rush off to. Why else would she not have waited at least to say good morning? When he’d calmed down, and reflected on the sensational sex they’d enjoyed the night before, Dominic had also known that Sophie hadn’t left because they hadn’t hit it off together. Whatever her reasons for leaving, one thing he hadn’t doubted was that she would naturally want to see him again.Why wouldn’t she? When she rang him to thank him for the coat, as he’d fully expected her to do, Dominic had been planning on inviting her out for dinner.The sooner the better, as far as he was concerned, because he hadn’t been able to get the woman out of his mind. Which was why he had included a card with his home address and telephone number on.
‘How does accepting my gift make you beholden to me?’If only it did , Dominic thought, in frustration. It had been a long while since a woman had commanded his attention in such an emphatic way. He probably just needed to go to bed with her a few more times, to get her out of his system, he acknowledged with typical male frankness.If she gave him the chance…
‘It just does.’
Suddenly tired of verbal sparring, and with her growling stomach letting her know that she hadn’t eaten a thing since lunchtime, Sophie had it in her mind to end their fruitless conversation there and then. Tomorrow she would send Dominic the coat back, and that would be that. Her time and her thoughts would surely be better served this evening in working out how she was going to afford another car to get to school in. She couldn’t rely on the vagaries of public transport. The head of the primary school in which she worked was a real stickler for punctuality, and Sophie knew it. It wouldn’t do to get on the wrong side of him and blot her so far unblemished record.
‘Anyway,’ she added, once more examining the print of the pretty ballerinas on the wall, ‘I’ll have to say goodnight. I’ve just got in from work, I’m tired and hungry, and I’ve got schoolwork to arrange for tomorrow.’
‘Schoolwork?’
‘I’m a teacher.’
‘Diana didn’t mention it.’
Not believing even for a second that a man so high up in the echelons of wealth and personal achievement would deign to discuss something as mundane as his assistant’s friends, with her, Sophie sighed. ‘Why should she? Goodbye, Dominic.’
‘Why did you rush off like that on Saturday morning?’
Sophie wished he would leave the subject of Saturday morningand specifically Friday night alone. She felt bad enough about succumbing to her baser instincts so recklessly,and with the most unsuitable man she could imagine!
‘You may find this hard to believe, Dominic, but I’m not the kind of woman who usually goes in for one-night stands. In fact, this was the first…and I hope the last one ever. It was an emotional day for me, and I—my judgement wasn’t at its best. You can rest assured I won’t be bothering you again in any way.’
Dominic doubted that. Just thinking about the way she had curled her slender legs around his back and driven her nails into his flesh, in the throes of passion made him almost too hot and bothered for words!And what did she mean her judgement hadn’t been at its best? Was she suggesting that making love with him had been a mistake? Now, thatdid hit at the heart of his pride.
‘If you won’t accept the coat, why don’t you bring it to my house instead of mailing it?’ Dominic suggested smoothly, his calm tone belying the myriad of feelings flooding through him.
Her senses hijacked by surprise and shock, Sophie bit down on her lip. ‘Bring it to your house?’ she repeated, not sure that she’d heard him correctly.
‘Tomorrow—after work. You have the address on my card?’
‘Why are you doing this, Dominic?’
‘I would like to talk to you about Diana,’ he replied.
‘Diana?’ Drawing her brows together in confusion, Sophie glanced down at the floor. Some of the maroon carpet tiles were curling at the edges and needed replacing. A sudden wave of irritation and uncharacteristic despondency briefly descended. She totally loved her job—teaching for Sophie was a vocation—but she wished not for the first time that it paid better and allowed her to maintain a slightly better standard of living.
‘I want to buy her a wedding present…something special. I thought perhaps you could advise me.’
Taken aback, Sophie really didn’t know what to say.
‘Well?’ Dominic prompted into the heavy silence that ensued.
‘Aren’t you supposed to buy a present in time for the actual event?’
‘I was away in Singapore on a business trip the week leading up to her wedding, so I did not get a chance to arrange a suitable gift for her.’
But he’d paid for her wedding breakfast just the same, Sophie reluctantly recalled. Diana had said he was generous. She immediately discarded the thought with irritation.
‘I’m sure you don’t need me to advise you what to buy Diana.’ She shrugged, wondering why he should suggest such a surprising thing when she had already professed herself insulted by his gift of the coat.She would have thought he’d be glad not to get himself further entangled with Diana’s ‘unsuitable’ friend.
‘You are her close friend. You know her tastes, her preferences. That information could help me a lot in choosing a gift she would really like.’ His voice was almost hypnotically persuasive, and Sophie couldn’t believe she was actually hesitating over her natural instinct to refuse.
She’d told herself that Friday night had probably meant nothing very much to a man like Dominic, other than sexual gratification with an available, attractive woman. She’d told herself she could handle it, despite feeling somehow ‘used’ when she received that beautiful coat as a gift. Now her feelings were all mixed up, and even more confused.
‘Isn’t there anyone else you could ask?’ Even as she uttered the question Sophie knew she was clutching at straws. Dammit! She was nervous about going to Dominic’s house. Who wouldn’t be? It wasn’t every day that an ordinary girl like her got invited to a billionaire’s home!Especially one she’d had a hot one-night stand with! She’d be nervous even if theyhadn’t slept together.
‘Is it too much to ask that you might do this for your friend?’ Deftly and without remorse, Dominic slid home his advantage.
‘No. No, of course not. I’ll come, then. What time?’
‘I will send Louis to collect you at about eight o’clock. I will see you then, Sophie.’
CHAPTER THREE
DETERMINEDLYclutching the large box containing the coat she was returning, Sophie glanced nervously through the stained glass panels on the swish and elegant Regency front door, and willed the butterflies in her stomach to cease their incessant fluttering just for a moment.
She wasn’t looking forward to seeing Dominic Van Straten again one little bit. Right now she felt as if she’d voluntarily agreed to step up to the guillotine and have her head separated from her body.That was how much she hated the idea of even being here—no matter how beautiful or imposing the house in front of her, or how exclusive the address, or the fact that she’d just been transported there in a chauffeur-driven car.
Sophie could find no pleasure in any of it. She just wanted to return the damn coat and get out of there as fast as her legs could carry her. But when the door o
pened graciously before her eyes, and an elderly man dressed in a dark suit with neatly combed grey hair stood before her with a smile that was inordinately polite, she forced herself to speak and go forward.
‘Hello. I’m Sophie Dalton. I have—I have an appointment with Van Straten.’
‘Of course. Please come in, Dalton. Van Straten is waiting for you in the drawing room. Shall I take your coat?’
Quickly unbuttoning it, while the man briefly held her package for her, Sophie wished she could have refused. But it seemed churlish and ignorant to be deliberately difficult with a man she’d never even met before, so she handed it to him and gratefully took back the package. Trying not to goggle at the magnificent entrance hall, with its elegant air of grace and opulence and its fine, grey-veined white marble floor, Sophie obediently allowed him to lead her to Dominic. After announcing her arrival at the entrance to the room, the manservant discreetly withdrew, and closed the doors behind her.
It didn’t take her long to locate the man she’d come to see. He was standing by the white marble fireplace, a drink in his hand, his lips slightly curving in a smile that appeared without question to be self-satisfied and slightly smug. What was he thinking? Was he gloating that he’d been able to persuade her to do as he’d asked?
Sophie almost retreated back the way she’d come. Although the room was gracious and elegant in the extreme, the most intimidating, magnetic element in it was Dominic himself. He was the pivot around which all that exceptionally good taste revolved. Even at the not inconsiderable distance between them she couldn’t fail to see that it was his very presence that marked their surroundings more than anything else.
As his emerald eyes examined her with cool detachment and, yes…perhaps arrogance, Sophie told herself she must have lost her mind to have come here. Wasn’t it enough that she’d shamed herself by sleeping with him the first day they had met? Was she really so eager to entertain even more embarrassment?
Feeling her lip quiver slightly with nerves, Sophie clamped down her teeth to quell it. ‘I brought the coat…like I—like I said I would,’ she announced, desperately trying to rescue her rapidly dwindling confidence.
‘So I see,’ he said.
An awkward silence descended. Sophie had just about decided to make her excuses and leave when Dominic put his glass down on the mantelpiece, moved away from the fireplace, and gestured towards the long white couch behind her. ‘Why don’t you sit down? We can discuss the coat later.’
‘There’s nothing to discuss. I don’t want it, so I’m returning it.’
Defiant, and determined not to let him get the better of her in any way, Sophie placed the box down on the glass table in front of her, and did not shy away from the definite irritation in his gaze that he directed back.
‘Nevertheless…I still think you should sit down. What can I get you to drink?’
She didn’t want a drink, and she didn’t want to sit down. All Sophie really wanted to do was leave. But, quelling her almost overwhelming desire to escape, she forced herself to sit down on the couch, and folded her hands neatly in front of her on her lap. Glancing around the beautiful room, with its exquisite antique furniture and imposing art on the walls, she was suddenly seized with uncharacteristic self-consciousness.
She hadn’t dressed up in any way, shape or form for this little interview with Dominic. She’d kept on what she’d worn to school that morning: a red V-necked wool sweater, and a black calf-length skirt with matching low-heeled boots. And she’d deliberately not fussed with her usual minimal make-up either. She hadn’t even reapplied her lipstick. There was no way that she was going to make Dominic imagine for one moment that she’d make any sort of effort with her appearance for his benefit. Sophie wasn’t interested in what the man thought about what she looked like, or even if he thought about it at all. The sooner they discussed what they had to discuss the sooner she could be out of there, and heading home again.
‘I’m fine,’ she replied coolly. ‘I had a cup of coffee before your chauffeur arrived to pick me up.’
‘I didn’t mean coffee. Will you have a Scotch or a brandy? It’s cold outside. It will help warm you up.’
Even as he said the words, Dominic doubted very much whether any amount of alcohol could effect a thaw in Little Miss Frigid sitting over there on his couch. He hadn’t expected this coldness after what had transpired between them on Friday night, and the fact that she clearly took no pleasure in either his company or his beautiful house seriously bothered him. Whatever people said about him, when he invited them into his home he wanted them to feel welcome.
Seeing her again, Dominic realised how much he’d been anticipating her visit. With her vivid blue eyes and her short, dark hair curling becomingly round her small ears, she was even prettier than he’d remembered—despite her frostiness towards him. And he couldn’t deny the warm little charge of electricity that was surging through him just by being in the same room with her. He’d thought he’d let his feverish imagination run away with him where Sophie’s appeal was concerned, but now he saw that he hadn’t. He just couldn’t understand this wild desire he was harbouring for a woman who was now displaying all the signs of complete uninterest and none of the passionate attraction she’d demonstrated on Friday. It certainly pricked his pride.
‘I’d rather not, thank you. You said you wanted to talk about a wedding gift for Diana?’
Reaching into the discreet side pocket in her skirt, Sophie withdrew a folded piece of paper and, getting to her feet, handed it to Dominic. ‘I’ve scribbled down some ideas that might help. Of course, not knowing what kind of budget you had in mind, my suggestions might be somewhat limited.’
A smile touching his lips at the mere idea of a ‘budget’, Dominic accepted the slip of paper and dropped it onto the table as if it barely concerned him at all. Seeing the gesture, Sophie felt her stomach execute an anxious cartwheel. Indignant that he hadn’t even glanced at what she’d written, she sat back down on the couch with definite trepidation.
‘You’re not even going to look at it?’
‘Later.’
What did he mean, ‘later’? Wasn’t that why he’d invited her round in the first place? To discuss ideas for a present?
‘About the coat…’ Dominic began.
Hot colour poured into Sophie’s cheeks. ‘What about it?’
‘Did you even try it on?’
She was ashamed to silently admit that she had. It had felt wonderful, too—a perfect fit. She’d loved the way the expensive fabric had swished round her legs and made her feel like a million dollars. But there was no way she was going to let him know that.
‘The point is, Van Straten—’
He couldn’t believe she’d referred to him so formally.Why was she now trying to erect fences between them when they had already been so intimate?
‘Dominic. We surely know each other well enough to use first names?’ he interceded smoothly.
Startled blue eyes met slightly mocking green ones, then quickly glanced away again.
‘We hardly know each other at all! Despite…despite what happened between us. I told you on the phone that I couldn’t—wouldn’t—accept the coat. What happened, happened, and now we should both just forget about it. Diana is married and on her honeymoon, and hopefully having a good time. That’s all that matters now.’
‘Do something for me, Sophie, if you will? It would please me greatly if you tried on the coat.’
To Sophie’s astonishment he was taking it out of the package and holding it out to her by the shoulders, ready for her to slip into, as though nothing she’d said previously had got through to him at all. The idea—the verythought of letting him help her on with his expensive unwanted gift was tantamount to agreeing to strip naked in front of him. Sophie blanched.
‘Dominic, I—’
‘What is it, Sophie?’
‘I don’t want to try on the coat!’
‘Why not? What can it hurt?’
&n
bsp; ‘Are you always this persistent?’
‘When I want something badly enough…yes.’
‘Oh, this is just too ridiculous for words!’
Seeing that he clearly had no intention of discussing anything else until she submitted to trying on the coat, Sophie suddenly felt very foolish at making such a fuss. He was right. Whatwould it hurt? She could slip it on quickly, remind him she had no intention of accepting it, then take it off again and insist that he kept it. After that, she could make her excuses and leave.
But as Sophie grudgingly got to her feet and stepped around the table towards Dominic, turning at the last minute so that he could slip the garment onto her shoulders, she was so overwhelmed by him that she felt herself tremble. His heat and his nearness, and the dynamic, powerful presence he exuded as easily as some men wore cologne, was a heady cocktail for any woman. The effect it had on her was like some kind of powerful opiate that sent her spinning off into a whole other stratosphere.