He nodded abruptly. ‘I’ll carry him up,’ he grated impatiently.
Laura watched frowningly as he slung Stephen over his shoulders and strode out of the room with him. ‘Does he do this sort of thing often?’ she asked uncertainly.
Hawk gave a grim smile. ‘Only when he’s had an argument with his father. I would say he and Jake had a full-scale battle, judging by his condition tonight!’
‘Parents certainly seem to put their children through it,’ Leonie put in censoriously.
Now was not the time to remind him of the idiot he had made of himself concerning Hal’s relationship with Laura! ‘You should know,’ he rasped, instantly regretting the taunt as her freckles were suddenly very livid against the paleness of her cheeks.
He was trying to go slow with her, and considering that he hadn’t cared this much about a woman’s feelings since he had been with Amy it wasn’t coming easily to him. But that had been a low blow when he knew exactly why she held herself aloof from Holly.
‘I’m sorry,’ he said gruffly, searching the wounded expression on her face as she moved to open the door of the bedroom Stephen was sharing with Hal. She looked as if he had beaten her! He didn’t want to hurt her, he just wanted to love her. He was out of practice of loving any woman. Amy would have told him exactly what an idiot he had been making of himself, he acknowledged ruefully. Poor Leonie, in contrast, had taken so many knocks from life that she didn’t even realise he was reacting instinctively, jealously.
He was forty years old, he knew when he wanted a woman, and he usually took one. It wasn’t easy standing back and not pressing the advantage Leonie having admitted once wanting him gave him, knowing that if she had wanted him before then he could persuade her to want him again. But he was in love with Leonie, had made love to her without realising that, and now he had to go back to the beginning and start all over again. Although he needed a little of Leonie’s lovemaking to sustain him, even if he admitted it was too soon for them to make love the way he longed to do.
The first thing he intended doing was making it clear to the young pup he had thrown over his shoulder that Leonie was off limits to him. As soon as Stephen sobered up, of course!
The light from the hallway gave him enough vision to be able to see where to put Stephen down. The figure in the bed opposite slept peacefully on.
‘Get used to it,’ he told Laura in a hushed voice as she looked down on Hal indulgently. ‘He’s been this way since he was a kid,’ he added ruefully. ‘He even slept through an earthquake once!’
She smiled, her eyes full of love. ‘I have my own way of waking him,’ she admitted a little shyly.
‘I’m sure you do,’ he drawled ruefully; when was he going to realise that Hal was going to marry this woman! ‘Maybe you would like to use it now,’ he added dryly. ‘I could use a little help getting Stephen undressed.’
Laura blushed. ‘I—’
‘I’ll help you,’ Leonie cut in briskly, already unbuttoning Stephen’s shirt.
‘Stop that!’ Hawk bit out harshly, clasping her hand tightly in his. God, seeing her touch another man like that made him feel violent! ‘I can do it,’ he told her gruffly, slowly releasing her hand, sorry for the livid marks he had made there. But it had driven him wild to see her touching Stephen.
‘But—’
‘I said I can do it,’ he insisted roughly. Anyone would think she actually wanted to take Stephen’s clothes off! ‘Maybe I won’t bother,’ he added grimly. ‘It isn’t going to hurt him to sleep in his clothes for once. It will remind him in the morning that he has something to apologise for!’ He closed the door forcefully behind them, sure that both young men slept peacefully on. How was he supposed to go back to sleep after this! He needed to be alone with Leonie. But he didn’t doubt that she wouldn’t come back to his room with him, or that she wouldn’t welcome him in her room either! The last months of celibacy were certainly taking their toll on him.
‘I think I’ll go and make a cup of coffee,’ Laura said wearily. ‘I don’t think I can go back to sleep just yet.’
Coffee sounded good to him. Perhaps the caffeine would help calm his ragged nerves. Although he wouldn’t count on it! ‘I think I’ll join you,’ he nodded. ‘Leonie?’ he raised his brows.
She looked undecided, probably not relishing the thought of him being alone with Laura and so able to ask as many questions as he liked about her, but also not wanting to spend any more time with him tonight. He felt irritated when the latter won. Damn it, he wasn’t some sort of ogre, a selfish bastard perhaps, but not some sort of monster!
And then he noticed the way she was trying to avoid looking at him, as if something about him greatly disturbed her. It was better than nothing, he supposed, but what—He gave her a considering look as, having glanced down at himself, he realised that carrying Stephen had messed up his robe, the belt at his waist having kept him decent, but his chest was almost completely bared. And it was bothering Leonie! Maybe she wasn’t so indifferent to him after all.
The woman moving about the kitchen preparing the coffee looked like Leonie, even smelt a little like her, of fresh spring flowers, and if he shut his mind off to the fact that it wasn’t her he could almost imagine what it was going to be like being married to Leonie. He daren’t allow himself to even think of failure.
The coffee did little to soothe him, and he stared down at the black heavily sweetened brew with dissatisfaction.
‘It’s decaffeinated,’ Laura told him as she saw his preoccupation.
‘Oh.’ He pushed it away uninterestedly. ‘Laura, will you and Hal be free to babysit tomorrow night? I mean tonight,’ he added, the kitchen clock showing it was almost three-thirty in the morning.
‘Of course,’ she nodded instantly, sitting across the table from him. ‘But don’t you think you should ask Leonie if she wants to go out with you before making any arrangements?’ she added dryly.
He gave a rueful smile. ‘If I asked she’d say no, so I’ll present her with a fait accompli.’
Laura sobered. ‘The way you did with Holly?’
He drew in a harsh breath, relaxing with a heavy sigh. ‘Go ahead,’ he invited softly. ‘You’re entitled.’
She shook her head. ‘It’s none of my business. Just don’t hurt her.’
He gave a puzzled frown. ‘Hal was more vocal than that,’ he reproved.
Laura sighed. ‘Leonie needs—someone. Someone who will care for her, love her as she deserves to be loved. If that someone is you then I’m not prepared to judge your methods of achieving that.’
They were a puzzling pair, these two sisters. Hawk doubted if Hal realised just how little he really knew of the woman he intended marrying. There were things about Laura and Leonie that they didn’t seem prepared to reveal to anyone, things that probably held the key to what had made them the women they were. Even love didn’t seem to be able to unlock those doors.
But if Laura found his relationship with Leonie unexpected she didn’t exactly disapprove, and that was much more acceptable than the opposition he had been expecting.
Now all he had to do was persuade Leonie into going out with him!
But first he had to talk to Jake about Stephen, and the mood the other man had been in of late, that didn’t augur well for their friendship.
When he came downstairs the next morning he found Jake alone in the kitchen drinking coffee. And he didn’t look any more pleased with the result than he had the night before!
‘It’s decaffeinated,’ Hawk supplied dryly, taking a seat opposite the other man, ignoring the pot of coffee.
Jake pushed the cup away with a disgusted snort. ‘Like sex without the climax!’
Hawk had heard it put more delicately than that, but that just about summed it up! Obviously Jake’s mood hadn’t improved any. ‘Did you and Stephen argue last night?’ Might as well get straight to the point; Jake didn’t look as if the subtle approach would reach him this morning.
Jake’s head we
nt back sharply, his expression suddenly wary. ‘What’s it to you?’ he challenged.
Hawk shrugged, holding his temper with difficulty; Jake might be feeling like hell at the moment, and from the look of him he probably had a hangover that would rival Stephen’s when the younger man finally woke up, but in all the sixteen years of their friendship Jake had never spoken to him this way before.
‘When the son of my friend comes back to his hostess’s house at three o’clock in the morning stoned out of his mind I think I have reason to feel concerned.’ He raised questioning brows at Jake.
The other man pushed his chair back noisily as he stood up. ‘Stephen is my affair and I’ll deal with it,’ he bit out harshly. ‘Where is he now?’
‘Still in bed. Look, will you calm down, Jake?’ Hawk attempted to soothe. ‘He only got drunk. Neither Leonie nor Laura minded. But you looked a little hungover yourself this morning, and I just wondered—’
‘Stay out of this, Hawk,’ Jake cut in coldly, his eyes glacial. ‘I’ll deal with Stephen in my own way.’
Hawk shook his head, never having seen Jake anything like this before. ‘Maybe you should deal with yourself first,’ he suggested softly.
Jake turned to him sharply. ‘What’s that supposed to mean?’
He sighed, wishing he could talk to Jake as he used to. Maybe they really had come to the end of their friendship. He had hoped Jake would eventually reconsider his resignation, but the other man seemed to be getting worse, not better. And taking his frustration out on Stephen wasn’t going to help the situation.
‘I think Stephen’s problem might be you—’
‘Keep out of my life, Hawk,’ Jake growled savagely. ‘Just keep the hell out of my business!’
Hawk released his breath slowly as his friend stormed out, at a complete loss as to how to deal with that situation.
At a complete loss as to how to deal with anything at the moment!
CHAPTER SEVEN
‘WHAT am I doing?’ Leonie questioned Rose as the pure white cat sat on the dressing-table watching her enquiringly as she applied a light make-up. ‘He tells me we’re going out to dinner, that he needs the break. I told him I didn’t want to go, and yet here I am getting ready,’ she said self-disgustedly, shaking her head.
The cat just continued to look at her, her beautiful green eyes completely untroubled by this human dilemma.
‘And where have you been when I needed you?’ Leonie turned to Tulip as she lay on the bed washing her long fur with a wet rasp of her tongue. ‘You used to terrorise Michael if he came anywhere near me!’ She remembered the dislike had been mutual; Michael had put the cats out of the house every chance he got. But she had thought her husband was going to strangle Tulip the night she had leapt on his back as he made love to her. After that Tulip had spat at him every time their paths crossed. Today Leonie had actually seen the tortoiseshell cat lying on her back while Hawk tickled her tummy! ‘You have no taste,’ she reprimanded the unconcerned cat. ‘Well, perhaps some,’ she conceded, remembering how Michael had turned out. ‘But it doesn’t extend far enough!’ She waggled her hairbrush at Tulip as the cat continued to wash, completely unaware of the faux pas she had committed today.
Everyone, even the creatures she had believed to be her friends, seemed to accept Hawk’s presence in the house as if he had a perfect right to be there. Laura and Hal were even babysitting for Holly tonight while Hawk took her out to dinner. And if that wasn’t turning traitor she didn’t know what was!
She had protested that she didn’t want to go, that she didn’t feel strong enough yet, but Hawk had completely overridden all her objections, telling her the change would do her good.
So what was she doing getting ready to go out with him? She didn’t know any more than Rose did!
‘Neither of us has any taste!’ she told Tulip vehemently. ‘Because after months of being cooped up in the house I actually want to go out—even if it is with Hawk Sinclair!’
‘I’m glad to hear it.’
She turned guiltily at the drawled comment, her cheeks fiery red. Although any retort she might have made to Hawk’s intrusion got stuck in her throat as she took in his appearance; the black evening suit and snowy-white shirt fitted him perfectly, emphasising the bronze of his skin. She dispassionately acknowledged that he looked perfectly beautiful, better than she did, in fact! Her silver-red dress was one she had worn before she had Holly, and although she had lost weight her hips were slightly larger than they used to be; the dress clung a little too revealingly for comfort.
‘I was on my way downstairs when I heard you arguing with someone,’ he drawled dryly. ‘I was a little concerned, and when you didn’t answer my knock… I had no idea you were arguing with your cat.’ He looked at her blandly.
Leonie put down her hairbrush. ‘And I was losing too!’
Hawk chuckled softly. ‘I think my witchchild is on the way back!’
‘Your what?’ She looked at him disbelievingly.
He shrugged, coming completely into the room to close the door behind him. ‘That first day we met you bewitched me in some way,’ he admitted huskily. ‘And yet you still looked so much like a child. You became my witchchild.’
Leonie reminded herself that he was a master at the art of seduction. ‘Well, my bewitching days are over,’ she dismissed in a bored voice. ‘And I’m certainly no longer a child,’ she added.
His silver gaze watched her steadily. ‘Part of you will always be a child,’ he finally answered softly. ‘The part of you that seeks love and approval in spite of yourself.’
Leonie stood up abruptly. ‘Shall we go?’ she prompted coolly. ‘The dinner reservation was for eight-thirty, I believe you said.’
He didn’t move out of her way as she approached the door, and her heart began to hammer against her chest. Then at the last moment he seemed to think better of it, opening the door for her with a flourish. Leonie’s breath left her in a relieved sigh as she swept past him.
June had retired to her room for the night, Stephen had disappeared for the evening again, only Laura and Hal sat in the lounge. And the two of them looked as if they were just longing for the time they would be alone for a few hours.
Leonie felt a little guilty that it should be herself and Hawk who were going out and not the engaged couple; the two of them hadn’t been alone since Hal arrived yesterday.
Hawk clasped hold of her arm before she could speak. ‘We’ll see you both later,’ he informed them firmly, drawing Leonie out of the house.
‘Why did you do that?’ She released her arm as soon as they were outside. ‘I was only going to—’
‘Offer to let them go out instead of us,’ he finished dryly, unlocking his car door. ‘Couldn’t you see they didn’t want to go anywhere—except perhaps into Laura’s bed?’ He held her car door open for her.
By the time he slid in next to her behind the wheel she had the blush on her cheeks under control. Of course Laura and Hal wanted to be alone in the house and not surrounded by a roomful of strangers! And trust Hawk to point that out to her so bluntly.
She took undue interest in the surrounding countryside as he drove in to Claymont, all the time aware that he kept shooting her mocking glances. If he had said just one word… But he didn’t, being more astute where she was concerned than she would have given him credit for. Or just more prudent.
‘I hope this is all right,’ he remarked as he held her elbow lightly on the walk into the hotel where they were to eat. ‘Jake said the food isn’t too bad,’ he shrugged.
The leading hotel in Claymont, it was nowhere near as luxuriously furbished as photographs Leonie had seen of the HS Hotels. But what it lacked in luxury it more than made up for in charm; the dining-room was run with that old-world courtesy that was usually lacking nowadays.
‘It’s very nice.’ She laid the damask napkin lightly across her lap as they were served their soup.
‘So this is what it’s like to be seen with a famou
s authoress,’ Hawk remarked suddenly.
Leonie followed his gaze as he looked pointedly around the room. Not all the twenty tables were full in the large dining-room, but at the ones that were several people kept shooting curious looks their way.
Humour lightened her eyes as she leant slightly across the table to whisper conspiratorially, ‘I think it’s probably more a case of them speculating what you did to me to merit my punching you in the mouth!’
He put his fingers up to his mouth to hide the bruising. ‘Witch,’ he murmured.
He made her feel beautiful and bewitching. And he also made her fear both feelings.
His hand suddenly covered hers as it rested on the table-top. ‘Don’t let the laughter die out of your eyes,’ he pleaded huskily. ‘I’ve waited a long time to see it back there.’
It had been a long time since Leonie had allowed herself the luxury of laughter, and Hawk’s intensity made her tremble slightly. She couldn’t let him past her defences.
She pointedly removed her hand from beneath his. ‘The soup is delicious, isn’t it?’ she remarked casually, putting another spoonful in her mouth.
She smiled at the waiter as he whisked away their soup bowls before serving them their main course. ‘Your assistant didn’t look too happy today.’ She looked up with a frown once the waiter had departed back to the kitchen.
Hawk’s hand faltered slightly as he lifted his wine-glass to his lips, taking a sip of the golden liquid before answering her. ‘Believe me,’ he said with a sigh, ‘it hasn’t only been today.’
‘Did he and Stephen argue last night?’ she frowned, remembering how embarrassed Stephen had been this afternoon when he had apologised to her for his behaviour during the night. Never having had a brother she wasn’t too sure how a man of Stephen’s age would react to an argument with his father; Hal certainly wasn’t a typical twenty-year-old, so his responses to Hawk were no example to go by!
Just One Night (Presents Plus) Page 11