'No,' said Kate flatly. 'If you're staying, then so am I. Harry needs a woman around, and—'
She stopped rather abruptly, and Rafe looked at her quizzically.
'And so do I?' he finished for her. 'Perhaps I do, Kate, but I can manage without you for a few days. It's time for you to go.'
'I'm not leaving, and that's that,' she told him in a firm voice. 'You're right, I am scared, but I can cope with it. Between us, we'll take good care of Harry until he can go back home to his mother.'
Rafe just looked at her for a long time. 'You're as crazy as I am,' he said at last. 'I suppose I ought to cut the arguments, and just boot you straight out of here.'
'But you're not going to?' she said hopefully.
He gave a resigned shrug. 'You're old enough—and intelligent enough—to make your own decisions. Anyway…'
'Anyway, what?' Kate prompted softly.
'I like having you around,' he admitted.
Harry's head popped out of the pool at that moment. 'Are you coming in?' he asked.
'In just a little while,' Rafe told him. 'There's something we've got to tell you first. Come out of the water for a couple of minutes—it won't take long,' he added, as Harry began to look disappointed.
He sat Harry down on the sun-lounger beside him, and then gently explained to the boy why he couldn't go back to his mother for a few days yet. Harry's face fell, and his eyes became suspiciously bright.
'Does my mummy know where I am?' he asked in a small voice.
'Yes, she does,' Rafe assured him at once. 'And as soon as she's feeling better, she's going to come and get you, and take you back home.'
Harry still looked very downcast. 'How many days before she comes?' he asked.
'Not very many,' Kate said. 'Look, I've got a calendar upstairs. Each night before you go to bed we'll mark off a day, and then you'll know when it's getting near the time for your mummy to come.'
'And in a couple of days, when she's feeling better, you can talk to her on the telephone,' Rafe added.
Harry began to brighten up just a fraction. 'I can tell her about the cats. And how well I can swim.' Then he looked rather anxious again. 'Can I stay with you until she comes? I won't have to go—anywhere else?'
Kate knew what he was telling them. That he didn't want to go back to his father's house.
'Of course you can stay with us,' she said gently. 'We really like having you here.'
Harry gave a broad smile. 'Good. Can I go back in the water now?'
As soon as Rafe nodded, he hurled himself back into the pool, sending sprays of water all over them. Kate wiped the drips from her arms, and then gave Rafe a rueful smile.
'It looks as if we're all going to be staying for the next few days,' she said.
'Yes, it does,' agreed Rafe, with a brief flash of his eyes. 'You do know what you're getting into, Kate?'
'Of course,' she said lightly. 'I'm aiding and abetting a kidnapper.'
She knew that Rafe had meant very much more than that, but she chose to deliberately misunderstand his words. She was sure that she wanted to help Harry, but she was still confused and uncertain about the rest of it—about Rafe, himself…
It'll sort itself out in time, she told herself comfortingly. And in the meantime, you don't even have to think about it. Just concentrate on looking after Harry.
The next few days passed with remarkably few problems. Harry settled in with them quite happily, and Kate was amazed that his traumatic experiences had left so few scars. He didn't even look like the same pale, tense boy they had seen on the beach on their first visit to Martin Foster's villa. His eyes were bright, he was eating like a horse, and was full of energy.
Rafe had laid only one restriction on him, which was that he was to remain either inside the villa or very close to it at all times.
'Martin Foster's going to have a lot of people looking for him,' he told Kate in a quiet voice. 'We can't risk having Harry seen by one of them.'
'Perhaps we ought to go back to England?' Kate suggested, a little uneasily.
'I don't have a passport for Harry,' Rafe replied. 'Jillie's going to bring all the necessary papers when she comes. Anyway, I think we're as safe here as anywhere.'
'But Martin Foster's only a few miles down the coast,' Kate reminded him.
'Often the best place to hide is right under someone's nose. It's the one place they hardly ever look.'
Kate fervently hoped that he was right. She was beginning to feel a lot more relaxed now, though, as the days began to pass and nothing alarming happened. Harry had spoken to his mother on the phone, which had cheered him up enormously, and every night they crossed off another square on the calendar, so he could see how long it would be before he would be going home.
At the end of the first week, Kate suggested to Rafe that it would be good for Harry to have a day away from the villa.
'He's been very good,' she explained, 'but I think he's beginning to get bored. He's spent so much time in the pool that he's starting to look like a prune, he's teased the cats so much that they've left home, and I don't think I can face another board game. We've played them all for hours!'
Rafe frowned. 'I'd rather he stayed here.'
'I know. But I thought a day at the beach wouldn't be too risky. If we choose somewhere packed with holiday-makers, surely no one will notice us?' she said persuasively. 'You know what the beaches are like— bodies packed in like sardines, and kids running around all over the place. We'd just get lost in the crowd. And it really would be good for Harry if he could pal up with some kids for the day.'
Rafe looked as if he still didn't like the idea, but he didn't actually veto it altogether. The next morning, he walked into the kitchen and looked at Kate with a touch of resignation.
'I suppose Cannes would be crowded enough,' he said. 'The three of us should be able to get lost there quite easily.'
'Cannes? Great!' grinned Kate. 'Come on, Harry, shovel down the rest of your breakfast. We're off to the beach for the day!'
'I've finished,' Harry said promptly, quickly choking down his last piece of sausage.
'Then go and get a towel and a pair of trunks—oh, hang on, you haven't got any trunks, have you?' remembered Kate. 'Well, it doesn't matter. A lot of people at Cannes don't bother with swimsuits.'
Rafe shot a severe look at her. 'I expect you to bother,' he told her.
'Spoilsport!' she shot back at him. Then she got up and quickly began to clear the table.
As they clambered into the car, the sunshine was hot and golden, and it promised to be a perfect day. When they reached the coast road, Rafe seemed to relax as he saw how much traffic there was around. Kate was relieved, as well. She was sure that no one would be able to pick them out in this constant stream of cars.
When they eventually reached Cannes, they cruised along the sea front for a while. As Kate had predicted, the beach was covered with tanned and virtually naked bodies. Trees and palms lined the promenade, giving it a faintly tropical air, and behind it rose the luxurious and expensive hotels where the rich and famous stayed. Elegant yachts and motor-boats packed the marina, and there seemed to be more gorgeous girls here than anywhere else along the coast.
Rafe noticed Kate looking at them. 'They're probably hoping to catch the eye of some passing millionaire,' he remarked. 'If you're looking for money, this is the place to come.'
'Well, thanks to Great-Uncle Henry, we're not exactly poor,' Kate reminded him.
'Maybe not. But we're certainly not in the same league as a lot of these people.'
Just then, Kate's head whipped round. 'Did you see who that was?' she said a little breathlessly. 'I saw her on television just a few weeks ago!'
'Well-known faces are two a penny around here,' replied Rafe, in an unimpressed tone.
Slightly annoyed by his blasé attitude, Kate slumped back in her seat and didn't say a single word when she saw a world-famous film star saunter by.
They finally managed to find
a parking space, and then trooped down to the beach. Harry raced on ahead, obviously delighted to be free of the confines of the villa. Kate watched him fondly.
'I'm really going to miss him when it's time to hand him back to his mother,' she admitted.
'So am I.' Rafe looked at her. 'You like kids?'
'Yes. Do you?'
'They've got a habit of growing on you,' he said wryly. Then he quickened his pace. 'Let's get a move on, or Harry's going to leave us miles behind.'
Ten minutes later, Kate was stretched out on the sand, with a giant parasol overhead to shade her from the fierce rays of the sun. She gave a small sigh of contentment. 'This is great,' she said dreamily.
Rafe was sitting beside her, but definitely not looking quite so relaxed.
'I didn't know you were going to wear that bikini again,' he growled, with a quick glance at the fuchsia-pink bikini which she had bought in Nice and, on impulse, had slipped on this morning.
She looked at him demurely. 'I was only following your instructions. You were the one who said I had to wear a swimsuit. Remember?'
'Two scraps of material like that hardly count as a swimsuit. I expected you to wear something decent.'
Kate glanced down at herself. 'This looks perfectly decent to me. It covers everything that it's meant to cover.'
Rafe's dark brows drew together. 'Only just!'
'You're lucky I'm wearing anything at all,' she told him, at the same time batting her long eyelashes at him provocatively. 'I did consider going topless. After all, hardly anyone around here seems to bother with bikini tops. And a lot have discarded the bottoms, as well,' she pointed out.
Rafe flung a brooding look at her. 'So, what stopped you?'
'I didn't want to be a bad influence on Harry,' Kate replied modestly. The grunt that Rafe gave was fairly hard to interpret, and she stifled a grin. Then she went on in the same innocent tone, 'Of course, it's not a very secure bikini. It's only held together with a couple of small bows. I do hope I tied them tightly enough,' she said thoughtfully. 'If they work loose—or someone gives them a gentle tug—it could just fall apart.'
Rafe muttered something under his breath that she couldn't quite catch. Then he got to his feet. 'I'm going for a swim,' he said roughly, and he rather quickly strode off down the beach.
This time, Kate allowed the broad grin to spread right across her face. She knew that she was flirting with Rafe quite outrageously, and she was amazed to find how much she was enjoying it. And she wasn't bothered about the consequences. She was perfectly safe, sitting here on this crowded beach.
While Rafe was swimming, she kept an eye on Harry. He had already made friends with a couple of boys of his own age, and they were playing football near the water's edge. Kate sat back and relaxed. She had the feeling that this was going to be a really good day.
The three of them had lunch at an open-air cafe, and then returned to the beach for the rest of the afternoon. Harry soon found his friends again, and was obviously having a perfectly marvellous time. Rafe, on the other hand, seemed to be getting increasingly restless, especially after Kate had been for a swim and came back to sit beside him with the pink bikini soaking wet, and clinging to her like a second skin.
By late afternoon, it was clear that Harry was at last running out of steam. He gave a couple of huge yawns, and didn't make any real objections when Rafe decided that it was time for them to return to the villa.
He fell asleep during the drive back, and when they reached the Villa des Anges, Rafe picked him up and carried him inside.
'I'll take him straight up to bed,' he said. 'My guess is that he won't wake up again until tomorrow morning.'
Kate smoothed Harry's tousled blond hair. 'He's had a great day,' she said. 'Can we do it again?'
Rafe reluctantly shook his head. 'It's too risky. I think we'd better stick close to the villa from now on. We don't want anything to go wrong at the last moment.'
He went upstairs with the boy, and Kate slowly trailed after them. She felt rather languid after all that sun and fresh air, and as Rafe took Harry to his bedroom she wandered into her own room.
Once inside, she stripped off her shorts and T-shirt, and then untied the bows on the bikini. Her skin was salty from swimming, and she decided to have a shower. She pulled on a light bathrobe, and then yawned. Like Harry, she was really sleepy. She might have half an hour's nap before she showered and dressed, ready for dinner.
The sound of the bedroom door opening made her heavy eyes fly wide open again. Then she gave a small sigh of relief as she saw it was Rafe.
'I wish you wouldn't do that,' she told him. 'It makes me really jumpy.' Then she frowned. 'Is everything all right? Harry's OK, isn't he?'
'Harry's fine,' replied Rafe, closing the door behind him and coming further into the room. 'He's still very soundly asleep.'
Kate's nerves prickled with the first intimations of alarm. 'Then what are you doing here?' she asked edgily.
'Because I'm not so fine. And I think you know why.'
'Do I?' she countered in a wary tone.
'Oh, yes,' Rafe told her softly. He took another step closer. 'You've had a lot of fun today, haven't you, Kate? Winding me up, and knowing that I couldn't do a damn thing about it?'
She wanted to deny it, but it was rather hard when she knew perfectly well that it was true. She didn't know why she had done it, though. All she knew was that she was definitely beginning to regret it—although she had the uncomfortable feeling that it was rather too late for that.
'What—' She swallowed hard, and tried again.
'What are you going to do?'
Rafe's face relaxed into a slow smile that made her stomach flip over. 'What am I going to do?' he echoed, looking at her thoughtfully. 'Well, for a start, I think that it's my turn to have some of the fun.'
His tone was lazy, but his movements were quick and much more purposeful. Kate scarcely had time to blink before he had closed the gap between them and bent his head towards hers.
His first kiss wasn't too hard or too fierce, but it still stopped her from saying anything. And when his mouth finally released hers, she couldn't even remember what words she had been trying to get out.
She was just reassuring herself that it hadn't been too bad, that she could cope with this situation quite well and hadn't found it too disturbing, when Rafe embarked on his second kiss.
This one was definitely different—and in just about every way! His lips demanded a response, and then reacted immediately when they got it. By the time the kiss was finally over, Kate felt as if she hadn't been left with a single scrap of privacy. His lips and tongue had explored so thoroughly that she felt completely drained, as if she had just given part of herself to him.
She tried to console herself with the fact that she was still on her feet, with her legs holding steady— although only just! She had to admit that that last kiss had definitely been a bit of a knee-trembler. She had somehow got through it, though, and she supposed that Rafe would be satisfied now.
'Going somewhere?' he enquired as she tried to pull away from him.
'But I thought—' she began, apprehension creeping into her voice.
'Thought what, Kate?' he asked silkily.
'Well, that you…' She gave an audible gulp. 'That you just wanted a kiss,' she finished, in a bit of a rush.
'I think I'd like a little more than that,' Rafe told her, his eyes gleaming brightly now.
His hands moved towards her, and easily slid open her bathrobe. Kate hurriedly tried to close it again, but Rafe caught hold of her wrists and held them away from her body; then his gaze slid over her, darkening with pleasure as he drank in the details.
'I thought I knew exactly what you looked like,' he murmured at last, 'but that bikini did hide a few secrets. For instance, I didn't know that your nipples were pale pink. Very pretty,' he said huskily. 'Almost childish—although there's definitely nothing immature about the rest of you, Kate.'
Kate'
s face was flaring bright scarlet by now. Rafe looked at her with a first touch of surprise. 'You're not shy, are you? Not with me?'
'Of course not,' she muttered, quite untruthfully. 'I'm just a bit—confused,' she finished evasively.
'Then let's see if I can confuse you some more,' he said with a slow smile.
His hands left her wrists and slid inside the bathrobe. Kate gave a small gasp of surprise, but then stood quite still as his hands began to move expertly over her.
'Like that?' he prompted. Then his smile deepened. 'There's no need to answer. I can see—and feel!— that you do.'
Kate was alarmed that he could read her so easily. And she was even more alarmed when, a moment later, he bent his head. She actually squeaked out loud as his tongue curled round the tip of her breast.
Rafe wrinkled his nose. 'Salty,' he commented. 'I'd prefer to lick you after you've had a shower.'
'I don't think I want to be licked at all,' she somehow got out in a distinctly shaky voice.
'Why not? It can be very, very nice,' he purred. 'I'd like to show you, but I'd probably end up with a raging thirst—in more ways than one,' he finished ruefully.
His fingers moved rather restlessly again, and Kate jumped.
'I think—I think you ought to stop that,' she gulped.
'In just a moment,' Rafe promised, and there was a new huskiness threading its way through his voice now. His hand skimmed lower, and a wave of pleasure echoed through Kate's body. Instinctively she leaned towards him, and he gave a murmur of satisfaction. Then he shifted a little restlessly.
'Want to touch me, Kate?' he invited softly.
She curled her fingers into tight fists, to stop them giving in to the overwhelming impulse to do exactly as he had suggested.
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