by Marinelli, Carol; Hayward, Jennifer; Stephens, Susan; Anderson, Natalie
‘Shall we go?’
‘Where are we going?’ she asked.
He named a new restaurant that—according to his PA—had a waiting list of months.
‘There’ll be celebrities there.’ She frowned and glanced down at her dress.
‘Are you going to ask for their autographs?’
A giggle burbled out of her.
‘You look amazing,’ he assured her briefly. ‘We need to leave. Now.’
Now or never. Fortunately, Paolo was waiting with the engine running.
‘You can’t drive yourself anywhere?’ she asked pointedly as he held the door for her.
‘Why would I when I can hold hands with you in the back seat instead?’ he answered, sliding in after her.
He picked up her hand and felt her curl it into a fist. His sensual awareness was stronger now he knew how good she felt pressed against him. Hell, he wanted that again. Now. The energy between them crackled in the air in the confined space. It took all his willpower not to pull her right into his arms and kiss her into saying yes. Instead, he made himself stay a safe distance away. He could stay in control of this. He would always stay in control.
‘Sorry we’re late,’ he said smoothly as he led her to the two vacant seats his colleagues had left in the middle of the large table at the rear of the restaurant. ‘I hope you’ve gone ahead and ordered.’
Catriona’s hand tightened on his. ‘You promised no parties,’ she whispered as she sat in the seat next to him.
‘This isn’t a party. This is dinner.’ He released her to hold her chair out for her.
‘It’s a dinner party,’ she whispered, pausing. ‘There are like…’ she glanced around the table ‘…fifteen people here.’
Wasn’t that the point of dinner? To socialise? He liked being around people, but she didn’t seem comfortable. He took a closer look at her face. ‘You okay?’
‘I’ll just fake it till I make it,’ she muttered as she glanced again at everyone at the table before sitting down.
He wasn’t even sure he was supposed to hear that little quip, but the honesty underlying it smote him. A small surge of protectiveness made him reach out to clasp her hand in his again as they sat side by side. Did she honestly doubt how stunning she was? Was she really intimidated by these others present?
Or was it that she’d wanted to dine alone with him tonight? His pulse struck an irregular beat. He couldn’t remember when he’d last dined alone with a woman. Always he had extras with him—work colleagues and acquaintances, or another couple of women, friends of his latest lover. He liked being surrounded by busy, happy people. That was normal, right? And there was safety in numbers.
Too much time alone with a lover might lead to complications he didn’t want.
All he really wanted from the women he dated was physical release and fulfilment—the delights of mutual pleasure. If he took a woman home, he encouraged her to leave after they’d had sex. Generally he’d drive her home, then would drive alone for a while, enjoying the late night and the city, the relaxed state of his body. Or if his lover was fast asleep in his bed—as some of them pretended to be—he went into his study and worked through till dawn. When a woman woke up and realised he wasn’t there, she soon got the message. Even when he dated a woman for a few weeks, he wanted his own room at the end of each night. He needed his intimate space to himself. Always. And—other than amusement—he needed his emotions minimally engaged.
‘Order something to eat—you’ll feel better.’ He opted to tease Catriona into sparking back at him. Humour was always good.
‘I’m starting to think you must be an emotional eater.’
He laughed. ‘No, I just recognise “hangry” when I see it. You didn’t stop for lunch—you must be starving.’
‘And you know this because?’
‘Paolo reported in to me.’
‘Oh, so my every move is being documented and reported back to you?’
‘Naturally. My fiancée’s welfare is very much my concern.’
She glowered at the menu and he bit back his smile.
‘Something wrong?’ He waited, knowing she’d find something. She was never going to make this easy for him.
‘I’m vegetarian.’ Her glance at him now was positively sugary. ‘So this whole French foie gras and raw steak thing isn’t working for me.’
Of course she was. ‘Another whim of yours?’
She lowered the menu and turned to correct him. ‘I’ve been vegetarian since I was seven.’
‘You just made that choice one day?’
‘Pretty much.’
‘Your parents agreed?’
‘Of course not. So I went on hunger strike until they did.’
He grinned, imagining the stubbornness of a red-headed wilful child. ‘How long did that take?’
‘Just over a week.’
‘That long?’ He’d have given in to her much sooner. ‘Why don’t you wish to eat meat—for slimming or ethical reasons?’
She sent him a withering look. ‘You really have to ask?’
‘When you feel strongly about something, you go the whole way with it, don’t you?’
‘All or nothing.’ She nodded blithely. ‘Otherwise what’s the point?’
‘So when you’re wrong, you’re really wrong.’
‘No,’ she answered haughtily. ‘I’m rarely wrong.’
‘Oh? What about men?’ He laughed, enjoying her cut-glass perfection. ‘Third time lucky, do you think?’
‘Once I’m shot of you?’ she muttered so the others couldn’t hear. ‘I’m checking in to a nunnery.’
‘Oh, no,’ he chided. ‘That would never do. You’ll always need a release for that passion.’
‘That’s what my art is for,’ she said airily.
He laughed, genuinely amused. Catriona had far too much fire for any kind of life of denial.
‘What’s so funny, you two?’ one of the women across the table called to him.
‘Alejandro delights in teasing me,’ Catriona answered before he could.
He was going to delight in teasing her. Very much.
He listened as she assumed the role of society fiancée. Most of the guests were over from the States like him, a couple of younger ones for the first time, and Catriona efficiently schooled them in the ‘off the beaten track’ tourist ideas, getting in a plug for her brother’s upcoming play too, he noticed with a wry grin. And, for someone who was ‘faking it’, she was doing a good job. When the food arrived she quietened, tucking in to the specially ordered vegetarian dish with gusto. All or nothing indeed.
‘What are you thinking about?’ he asked her gently when he saw the curve of a smile on her mouth.
Her eyebrows shot up. ‘Seriously?’
‘Yes.’ He wanted to know everything that was going on in that head of hers.
‘I was thinking how delicious that was.’
‘So, despite the initial disappointment of the menu, we’ve managed to please you?’
‘Mm hmmm.’ She sat back with a satisfied smile and looked at him.
Her eyes sparkled in the light; her skin was so pale it was almost luminescent. She had such striking colouring and, whether she intended it or not, there was challenge in those emerald eyes. Challenge he could no longer resist.
He pushed his chair back and stood. ‘Come with me; there’s something you need to see.’
‘We’re leaving now?’ She looked startled and glanced back at the other dinner guests.
‘Only for a moment. This way.’ He threw a polite smile at the others but firmly took her hand and led her out the back and down the gleaming black corridor. At the very end he paused and turned to face her.
‘Why are we here?’ She still looked bemuse
d. And beautiful.
‘To admire this painting.’ He waved a distracted hand at a large modernist painting that was conveniently hung on the wall. ‘As an artist, I thought you’d appreciate it.’
‘I’m not really that much of an artist. And not the painting kind.’ She frowned at the canvas.
‘Okay, I brought you here because I wanted to be alone with you.’ He wasn’t afraid to be honest. He knew she wanted him too. And he wanted her to look at him again, not the stupid painting.
She faced him, that frown replaced by a laughing smile, but it still wasn’t enough.
‘I thought you liked dinner parties with billions of people,’ she teased.
‘Shh.’ He’d hardly touched her all day and he couldn’t resist now. He wanted to taste that smile, to press against the pretty pout of her full lips. He wanted to feel her softness and lithe strength, he wanted to claim her body with his own and see her buck and then break under the pleasure he could push her to—
Her eyes widened as she looked up at him. ‘Alejandro—’
He caught her lips with his, groaning as he felt her part for him immediately. Caution and control faded. He tugged her closer, pressing her body against the hard ache of his, wrapping his arms around her waist so he could explore her shape. He couldn’t get close enough. He tried to keep it gentle, but the kiss deepened. So did his frustration. He wanted to be alone with her. Warm. Naked. He wanted all the time in the world to explore her—to taste every inch and every secret part of her. But he had to make do with just her mouth. It was good. Too good. And it wasn’t enough.
Kitty lost track of time and space and sanity. Never had she been kissed like this. Never had she felt as if she was so close to soaring—so high, so quick. There was only Alejandro, only this warmth, only this surging sense of delight. And need. She wanted to burrow closer, she wanted him to touch her more…there…everywhere. His kisses drugged and ignited desire. Never had she wanted a man like this. The way his tongue teased, the way he nipped the inside of her lip with his teeth, the soothing—then stirring—caress of his lips, the pleasure he promised with every stroke…
She writhed helplessly and recklessly against his firm hold, grinding her hips against his. Her wantonness shocked her. She didn’t want this to stop. She didn’t want this ever to stop. But—oh, God—that was why it had to. They couldn’t. Not here. Not now.
She tore her lips from his, jerking her head back and reminding herself of where they were.
‘Alejandro,’ she pleaded breathlessly, pushing against his chest. ‘There are people.’
They were making out in the restaurant corridor like teen lovers who couldn’t go home to their parents’ houses for privacy, and she felt out of control.
‘We’re engaged,’ he lifted his head and pointed out with annoying reasonableness. ‘Of course we’re going to kiss. No one would ever believe I was engaged and not be touching my fiancée any time I could.’
She pushed back a strand of hair and sent him a baleful look, locking her knees to stop her legs from shaking. How could he remain so collected when he kissed like that? ‘There’s an occasional kiss, and then there’s indecent behaviour. I only agreed to this so I wouldn’t get arrested, remember?’
He looked amused. ‘A few kisses aren’t going to get you arrested. Or were you about to strip naked and have your way with me up against the wall?’
Oh, if he only knew. She jabbed her finger in his chest. ‘Stop provoking me.’
‘But it’s the most fun I’ve had in years.’ He pulled her close again and brushed another quick kiss on her lips. ‘You respond so magnificently. Like lightning, you flare. You must be incandescent when you orgasm.’
A wave of heat almost turned her to cinders on the spot. ‘Right now I’m incandescent with rage.’ She wished the lighting in the corridor was dimmer so he couldn’t see how violently he was making her blush. ‘Stop talking like that.’
He bent his head and whispered in her ear, ‘But it’s turning you on.’
‘Everyone is staring,’ she hissed. Well, only the couple of people who’d ventured down the corridor, and they’d quickly gone again.
‘I don’t care.’
‘Well, I do.’ She pushed hard against his chest. If he kept kissing her like that she’d agree to anything he suggested and she refused to let him win so easily. ‘It’s past my bedtime.’
‘You want to go home to bed?’ He stepped back and looked wickedly at her.
‘Alone,’ she lied. ‘Yes.’
‘Then let’s get you there.’
CHAPTER SIX
OFFICIALLY, PARKES HOUSE had eight bedrooms, all of them with private bathrooms. Half were on the second floor, the remainder on the third.
‘Which room did you take?’ Alejandro asked as they climbed the stairs. ‘The one next to mine?’
‘Of course not.’ It had interested her to see that he’d claimed one of the smaller rooms as his, but maybe that was just because there was so much stuff shoved into all the others.
‘So you know which is mine.’ He grinned. ‘Did you go in and take a good look at my things?’
‘Naturally.’ She battled her blush and tried to act as if she wasn’t embarrassed. ‘The more one knows about one’s enemy, the better one is equipped to win the battle.’
‘Enemy?’ He laughed. ‘Bit extreme, don’t you think?’ He took hold of her hand. ‘Did you learn anything of use?’
She gently breathed out, trying to slow her pounding pulse. ‘You’re a show-off. As if you can read all those books at once.’ The pile beside his bed had almost exclusively been non-fiction, on a wide and eclectic range of subjects.
‘I like reading,’ he said. ‘You won’t find the diamonds, by the way. I keep them with me at all times. They’re too precious.’ He looked at her curiously as they walked along the corridor of the third floor. ‘So which room?’
Her heart still thudded too quickly. She had no idea how she was going to resist him. ‘My own.’
His eyes glinted. ‘And it’s not one of these?’ They’d passed all the doors now.
She shook her head.
‘Show me.’
‘Fine.’ She led him to the stairwell again and went first.
‘You were up in the attic? Servants’ quarters?’
‘Don’t go thinking I was some kind of Cinderella,’ she said gruffly. ‘In some ways I was very spoilt.’
‘Tell me something I don’t know,’ he drawled.
She glanced at him but he was smiling. At the top she went a few paces along the much narrower corridor, opened the door, flicked on the light switch and then stood back to let him go in first.
‘Oh…’ He muttered something under his breath.
‘What?’ She peeked around the doorway, stopping when she saw he’d halted only a few steps into the room.
He turned to face her. ‘It’s so light.’
She glanced at the white walls, white furnishings and the myriad small windows that gave the most glorious views to the skies. She couldn’t help smiling because he was right—the light was what made this room. Even at night, it had a brilliant quality. She couldn’t believe he’d not seen it before.
‘Have you not been up here at all?’ She was amazed as he shook his head. ‘You bought this house and everything in it without even taking a proper look?’
‘I liked the location, the convenience to work and the outlook.’ He shrugged. ‘Anything else I want I can add or rebuild later.’
Didn’t he see what was special about the place—its history, its quirks, its sense of home?
‘I liked the view up here. The light and the space.’ She tried to explain it to him as she walked past him. The angles of the ceiling were random because of the roofline. When she’d turned thirteen she’d had the room
enlarged to become both her bedroom and her first sculpture studio. Her father hadn’t minded paying for the renovation and it had kept her occupied and away from the parade of women he was bringing home. She’d been unable to compete with those beauties who’d turned his attention from his children. She’d spent hours alone up here.
Alejandro was staring grimly at the narrow single bed in the corner with its plain white coverings. Then he turned those penetrating eyes on her. ‘Did you sneak boys up here to share this bed?’
‘Of course not. What kind of a question is that?’ She stuck her hands on her hips and shook her head at him. ‘You have such a one-track mind.’
He laughed at her reaction and her heart started its crazy trip-along pace again. ‘Oh, come on, all those times using that secret hidden key of yours?’ He folded his arms and leaned against the wall, looking utterly roguish.
‘Absolutely not.’
Sneaking a lover in was totally the sort of thing he’d have done. No doubt he’d been sowing his wild oats since he was a youth.
‘I was a good girl,’ she added when he kept staring at her with those dangerous eyes.
‘You amaze me,’ he said dryly. ‘Then why the need to sneak in and out if it wasn’t to go wild?’
‘I was exploring the art scene.’ And pushing boundaries to get her father’s attention. It hadn’t worked.
‘So you were the young muse for the Bohemian set?’ He waggled his brows at her.
‘Actually, my first boyfriend was three months younger than me. He was another art student when I was at university.’
‘Was it sublime?’
Of course it wasn’t. She turned her back on his low laughter.
‘Poor Catriona. And then there was the dastardly fiancé.’
She hated that he guessed her lack of experience so easily. ‘It’s not that easy for everyone, you know,’ she muttered grimly.
It was a disappointment. She would have liked to have been one of those free spirits who flitted from romance to romance and emerged unscathed, but it wasn’t to be. She was nothing like Alejandro. And she didn’t want to be with someone who she knew would let her down. Sure, she had his attention now—for whatever reason—but soon enough that attention would turn to someone else and she’d be left in the cold again.