Christmas at Pendragon (BookStrand Publishing Romance)

by Rosemary J. Anderson

  Finally, as the first pink streaks of dawn lightened the sky they all made their way to their beds, intent on getting a few hours’ sleep. Annabel, Hannah noticed stayed glued to Goran’s side linking her arm in his as they slowly ascended the stairs. Hannah’s eyes narrowed as she stopped at the door to her room and watched a trifle enviously as Goran and Annabel sailed past. Were they going to spend the night together? Or was Goran just playing the gentleman and seeing a lady to her door? Wanting to hang around and find out, she thought better of it as Goran pinned her with his gaze.

  “Goodnight.” She spluttered pushing open her door, and very nearly falling over her own feet in her haste to get the wood between herself and that stare.

  “Well,” she breathed, leaning back against the wood. “So much for my charms such as they are.”

  Chapter Seven

  Morning came and with it the strident ringing of her alarm clock beating like a thousand hammers into Hannah’s befuddled brain. Surely it wasn’t morning already? Opening an eye she peered myopically at the time and grabbing the clock attempted to shut off the din. That failing, she shoved it under a couple of pillows, and closing her eyes determinedly tried to return to her blissful though slightly muddled dreams.

  But it was no use, the ringing just vibrated her brain and hurt her ears, and she worried that it might cause her to have a brain haemorrhage so she got up.

  Breakfast proved to be an uneventful meal with Annabel sleeping in and the children slightly subdued in their Godfather’s presence. Beyond a whispered good morning Hannah kept silent except for the occasional yes, no, please and thank you.

  “You’re very quiet.”

  Hannah looked up from shovelling cereal into her mouth. She couldn’t seem to do right for doing wrong. One minute he was admonishing her for chattering, the next questioning her because she was quiet. She just couldn’t win. “Just tired I guess.”

  “Mmm, it was a good party wasn’t it?” he persisted.

  Quickly swallowing the mouthful of cereal she’d just shovelled in she smiled in remembrance. “Oh excellent, everyone seemed to enjoy themselves, especially Annabel.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  Curses! Bother to her runaway tongue. “Nothing, just that she seemed to have had plenty of dances.”

  “Dances?” He raised a satanic eyebrow.

  “Well, what I mean is, she’s very popular, what with being so pretty and all. Don’t you agree?”

  “Oh absolutely. I think she was by far the most fetching woman in the room last night.”

  Well really, could he be any ruder? What was she—Cinderella’s ugly sister? “Oh absolutely, the most—fetching.” Hannah smiled until her face ached.

  Silently he stared at her waiting for she knew not what.

  He sighed. “Anyway Hannah, thank you for all your help yesterday with the setting up etc., but now, it’s time for work.” He looked at the children. “Emily, Henry’s niece will be along shortly and has promised to help make a snowman, but until then I suggest you go up to the nursery and find something to do. There are old toys and games on the shelves. But be quiet don’t wake Annabel or your grandmother they didn’t get to bed until late.”

  The morning passed swiftly and it was over lunch of jacket potatoes, cheese, coleslaw and salad that Goran announced that an afternoon outside was needed to clear away the cobwebs. Annabel visibly shuddered at the thought of going outside, but Hannah positively beamed. What fun it would be, they could build a snowman, make snow angels and have a good old-fashioned snowball fight. Her eyes gleamed in excited anticipation of battering Goran with a volley of snowballs. Emily had arrived and would be joining them in the garden just as soon as she’d finished helping in the kitchen. It seemed Emily was a Jill-of-all-trades, helping out when and if needed between her spells at university where she was studying to be a doctor.

  Well wrapped up against the cold they all piled out of doors. Annabel had decided to join them after all and chose to wrap herself in fur, much to Hannah’s disgust and sit in the gazebo with the outdoor heater on and sip mulled wine. Whilst herself, Goran, Emily and the children after a fun ten minutes of making snow angels elected to build a snowman. Soon the man of snow stood tall and proud with a red scarf wrapped around its neck, a top hat left over from last night’s festivities on its head, and twigs for arms. The buttons down its rotund body were pieces of coal as were his eyes, the nose was a knobbly carrot filched from the kitchen table. All the heaving, rolling and falling about finished they stood back to admire their handiwork and Goran smiling into Hannah’s glowing face caught her small cold hand up in his. Hannah’s breath stopped in her throat at the small intimacy and her pulse raced like a greyhound around a track. She gazed silently up into Goran’s intent face. Now she thought, should I now take the opportunity to tell him of my feelings. Opening her mouth to put thought into words she closed it with a snap as the children shouting for a snowball fight brought her back to earth and slowed her rapidly beating heart. What on earth had she been thinking? Thank goodness, she thought, shaking away the silly sentimental thoughts, thank goodness for the children.

  It was decided that the snowball fight would be men against women. Goran teamed up with John and the gardener who just happened along at the right moment, whilst Janet, Emily and Hannah made up the other team. Soon snowballs were flying thick and fast around the garden, some finding their target with deadly accuracy whilst others broke up in the air showering anyone in the vicinity with icy flakes. Laughter filled the silence of the winter garden and under a barrage of snowballs Hannah slipped and fell onto her bottom. Screaming in laughter she cried pax, but instead of ceasing the barrage of children piled on top of her pushing handfuls of snow down her neckline sending chills throughout her body. Tears of laughter streamed down her face and stopped her breath, until on a mission of mercy Goran lifted the children out of the way, and smiling indulgently sent them with Emily into the house to get dry and have some hot chocolate. It was the promise of hot chocolate that did the trick and hollering in excited anticipation they raced Emily and Fred the gardener back to the house.

  Hannah gazed up at Goran the laughter dying in her throat as he stretched a hand down to her. A seconds hesitation and she carefully placed her hand in his, feeling the warmth of his fingers as they closed around it like a glove. A gentle tug and she was standing breathlessly before him. He gazed down into her face, then, his hand reached up and tucked a stray strand of hair gently behind her ear. His touch was like fire licking through her veins and she very nearly moaned. His knuckles grazed her cold cheek and the fire was back turning their pale softness to a rosy hue. Hannah’s tongue appeared to moisten her suddenly dry lips and his gaze followed the movement. His head bent and his lips found hers in a kiss that whilst masterful, softened, caressed and encouraged. Wrapping her arms around Goran’s waist Hannah leaned in, her breasts brushing the soft cashmere of his jacket, her stomach yielding against the hardness of his pelvis. Holding her face gently between his hands Goran deepened the kiss and Hannah groaned a soft, whisper of sound that encouraged his exploration. Time seemed to stand still, the birds still sang in the winter sky, the snow still fell softly, gently to earth, and the afternoons sun still shone weakly behind heavily laden clouds, but Hannah’s heart stopped for an infinitesimal second. The kiss deepened and her heartbeat resurrected with a definite thump. Each beat of her heart became a yearning, a desire, a longing to love and to be loved in return. But all too soon it was over and he was putting her from him. Wanting to reach out and hold onto him for as long as she could her fingers clutched at his jacket. However, she suddenly and thankfully found her pride and let her hands slip reluctantly from his waist. Wanting to beg him to love her, to take her and make her his, she opened her mouth to say the words, but it was too late he was already turning from her. And as the mist of love lifted from her eyes she could see why—Annabel was walking towards them with a suspicious smile on her face.

 
; The rest of the day passed uneventfully. Hannah went back to work, the children to the nursery with Emily, and Goran—well Goran went who knows where. But if Hannah wasn’t suspicious by his absence, she was soon disturbed by it when she discovered that Annabel was also absent. So much for that kiss.

  Later that night curled up in her warm bed. Hannah tiredly wondered just what Goran had meant by that kiss? Why had he kissed her? After all if he wanted a light dalliance Annabel was on hand? However, what she needed to ask herself was, why had she let Goran kiss her? Yes she loved him, but she was also realistic enough to know that just because you loved someone didn’t always mean that they would love you in return. And yes, she also knew that someone like Goran Pendragon was way out of her league. Why would an eminent astrophysicist want someone like her? A girl who was clearly way below his educational background, his financial portfolio and his weary worldliness.

  “Just forget him, Hannah, put him out of your head. The man clearly only wants a dalliance with you, he has Annabel for a lasting relationship,” she whispered to herself as a tear ran gently down her cheek and onto the lavender-scented pillow.

  Chapter Eight

  Morning came and with it a sense of relief at finally having made a decision to forget about Goran Pendragon. Sense told Hannah that there was no way she would ever mean anything to him other than a good assistant who was open to a bit of light flirtation along the way. So with that in mind she made her way down to breakfast resolute in her thinking that she would not let herself be put in the position of having to spurn Goran’s advances. However, at the breakfast table with him sitting beside her so close that their arms were almost touching, she worried whether he had it in mind to make any such advances for her to spurn.

  The morning passed swiftly with her glued to the computer. Goran had somehow found the time to scribble oodles and oodles of badly written notes and dictated chapters of his book on the Dictaphone. To give him credit he also kept his nose to the grindstone sitting opposite her at his enormous desk muttering darkly and scribbling incessantly.

  Passing him some of the notes she had printed, he read them with a scowl on his face and something told her that the scowl didn’t bear well for her.

  “Do you actually know what an astrophysicist does, Miss Darling?”

  Miss Darling! Such formality certainly didn’t bode well that’s for sure. “Well, I…” She took a deep breath. “Well yes, I don’t you study black holes and stars and such like?”

  “And such like,” he muttered irritability. “Reading this codswallop you’ve just printed makes me think you know next to nothing about astrophysics.” He sighed and even the sigh sounded irascible. “Astrophysics, my dear Miss Darling, actually deals with the physics of the universe. Chemical compositions of planets, cosmic microwaves and in part, theoretical physics, along with all number of other disciplines, it is not…” He looked back at the typed sheets. “Astrology, which in my opinion is a load of bunkum.”

  Hannah nodded. Everything he had just said had gone straight over her head, she knew nothing about physics let alone astrophysics and as to her accidentally typing astrology… Well, a girl can’t help having a funny five minutes every now and again especially when there was a brooding, charismatic, male animal sitting just across the room from her.

  Taking a deep breath Hannah knew that whatever she said wouldn’t be right, judging by the scowl he was not to be appeased, so…

  “Sorry.”

  “Sorry?” he repeated askance.

  “Okay, I’m very sorry. Look, Goran, it was an error, a typo if you will. I didn’t make the mistake to annoy you, or because I thought it would be funny. However, if you can’t accept my apology well so be it, but I’ve nothing else to say.”

  Scowling savagely at her Goran pushed back his chair and throwing the sheaf of papers onto his desk strode from the room.

  “Well!” she breathed, staring in stupefied amazement after him. “Talk about an overreaction.”

  Keeping her head down she corrected her previous work and then continued with the rest of his dictation only lifting her head as the door opened.

  Henry appeared like the proverbial Genie with coffee and biscuits, a welcome sight after her fraught morning.

  Pouring her coffee, Hannah noticed that there was in fact two cups on the tray and she apprehensively wondered would Goran be joining her?

  She wasn’t left to wonder for long as the door swung back and Goran strode in. Throwing himself back into his seat he smiled wryly at her, charm oozing from every pore. Hannah gulped, what was there about this man? He only at to look at her and she turned to jelly.

  “How is it going?”

  Well no apology then. “Fine, I’ve amended the document with the error on.”

  “Good.”

  Was that it? She turned back to the computer.

  “We’ll go out I think.”

  “Out? Where?”

  “I need to blow away the cobwebs, so we’ll go for a walk. I’ll show you some of the scenery around here, it really is spectacular.”

  “Oh okay, that sounds—nice.” She stared at him her hands neatly folded in her lap.

  He sighed impatiently. “Well get a wriggle on then, you’ll need to dress warmly and put some boots on.”

  * * * *

  Well wrapped up against the cold in a thick red duffle coat and long leather boots, Hannah smiled in secret delight as Goran took her hand as they made their way into a nearby wood. The wood was dark the trees stood like tall sentinels guarding the woodland creatures from the ravages of winter. Birds chirped in the trees, and robins hopped from branch to branch. Goran explained that robins were very territorial and would fight other birds for their part of the wood. Hannah was delighted to see small snowdrops growing at the base of some of the trees their little white flowers like the dresses of magical fairies. Even though it was winter, the wood seemed to be alive with living things. The trees, small woodland creatures, the birds, and of course the flora, ivy, fern, holly and mistletoe. Trekking through the big timber, their feet crunching the ice-encrusted snow, Hannah felt her life had suddenly become surreal. From a bedsit, to a stately castle in Cornwall, and from grotty employment to a wonderful job that allowed her to wander through a winter wonderland. Some would say it was magical. The comparisons were even more extraordinary for her. Going as she had in the past, from a hideous touchy feely ex-boss, to a brooding charismatic employer whose mood swings caught her unawares. She was sure that it was more than just good luck it was—kismet!

  The trek through the woods continued and Hannah felt astonishingly comfortable in Goran’s company. There were no awkward silences, instead they chatted animatedly enjoying each other company and embarking on a proverbial voyage of discovery. He talked about his work and childhood and in return she revealed more of her lonely upbringing. It was a couple of hours later when Goran decided to stop for a rest in a small clearing. Sitting on a fallen tree trunk Goran opened the pack he had brought with him and pulled out a flask of hot chocolate and a couple of plastic mugs. Sitting beside him contentedly sipping her drink Hannah felt at peace, and yes, safe. It was a wondrous feeling, and one she had never experienced before, there had always been something to make her uncertain, lack of work, lack of company, lack of finance, and a certain amount of trepidation as regards to the future. Looking up at Goran as he refilled her mug she realised that even though there was no future with this man, he had given her something to remember him by, and that was a sure and certain knowledge that love did conquer all, including her fears about the future.

  * * * *

  Feeling Hannah’s gaze on him, Goran looked down into her sweet face. Quickly she looked away, a rosy hue washing over her cheeks. She had only been in his life a couple of days but she had changed it forever. Her quiet presence, her rather offbeat sense of humour and her inner kindness all shone in her beautiful, extraordinary violet eyes. Being with her felt right, felt comfortable, and yes, she completed him. I
t was astonishing what the presence of one human being could do for another. He frowned thoughtfully. She made him feel as if there was more to life than work, and that maybe one day there could be other things. Things such as a wife and family, something he’d never thought to have, never sought. But what did this mean? Did he want Hannah to be that special someone? Or was he just caught up in the festivities, wanting that elusive something, that until now seemed to be beyond his reach?

  Feeling his gaze, unnerved her and Hannah looked up, her eyes questioning. He smiled a bare movement of his lips and she smiled tremulously in response. Reaching out a hand Goran gently cupped her cheek. Involuntary her eyes closed and she nestled against his hand, feeling the slight calluses and the warmth of his palm.

  “Hannah?”

  Opening her eyes she looked into his. “Yes,” she breathed, her breath caressing his wrist.

  Rising to his feet he pulled her up with him and took her into his arms. Wrapping her arms around his waist she pressed closer.

  “Goran,” she whispered lifting her face for his kiss.

  His head bent and her eyes fluttered closed the lashes resting on her cheeks like the fluttering wings of a butterfly. His lips touched hers, tenderly, caressingly, discovering their shape and their softness, tasting her sweet breath as he deepened the kiss. Pulling her further into his embrace he explored her mouth before moving onto her eyelids, her cheeks, the softness of her ears and onto the slender length of her neck. Hannah’s head fell back, offering her white throat for his caress. His touch set her on fire, sending scorching flames licking at her nerves and sensitising her skin. In turn she pushed her hands under his jacket gently following the contours of his muscular back under the wool of his sweater, and down to his narrow waist. Hesitatingly at first, she pulled his jumper away from the belt that swathed his narrow hips, feeling the firmness of his flesh at his waist. Her breath caught as Goran’s hands found their way under her clothes to caress the softness of her breast encased in the serviceable cotton bra. His thumbs brushed across her nipples, bringing them to life. Gently adjusting her clothing to reveal the fullness of her creamy breasts he bent his head and found her nipples with his mouth. His hot tongue circled their peaking perfection and he suckled firmly sending arrows of a pleasurable pain down her body to explode in her pelvis.