by Susan Napier;Kathryn Ross;Kelly Hunter;Sandra Marton;Katherine Garbera;Margaret Mayo
‘Need any help?’ he asked softly.
‘Oh, hi, Ray.’ She turned and looked down at him. ‘I didn’t expect to see you today.’ She tried to make her voice light-hearted, but in truth as soon as she saw him her body seemed to tense. ‘You seem to be making a habit of catching me off guard.’
‘I do, don’t I?’ He grinned.
And suddenly she was remembering the way he had kissed her last night, the heat of his lips and the passion that had ignited so fiercely inside her.
‘So, what can I do for you?’ She turned her attention quickly back to her struggle with the branch, trying to saw through it with all her might.
Instead of answering her, Ray was watching what she was doing. ‘You are making a mess of that,’ he said.
‘Am I? What am I doing wrong?’
‘For a start you are using the wrong implement for the job.’ He turned and searched through the old toolbox that she had found in one of the outbuildings. ‘This is what you should be using.’ He held up a lethal looking pair of shears.
Then to her surprise he climbed up the ladder behind her. He stood on the rung beneath her, his body pressed close behind hers. ‘You see these branches here.’ He leaned over her to point, his breath soft against the side of her face.
‘Yes…’ Desperately she tried to concentrate but his closeness was sending alarm bells ringing through her.
‘They need to come out and you should always cut just about here.’ He pointed to a joint in the branch, and then clipped neatly, so that the branch fell with one smooth action. In his hands the task seemed effortless. But Caitlin only vaguely registered what he was doing; all her senses were tuned in on the feeling of his body against hers, the scent of his cologne, the strength of his arms wrapped so tightly around her. The sensation was dangerously exhilarating.
‘There, that should do it.’ He pulled away from her and jumped down onto the ground, then held out a hand to help her down.
‘Thanks.’ She put her hand in his and felt as if explosive shivers raced straight from his fingers through her body.
Her feet connected with the ground but as she looked up at him she still felt as if she were falling. The world seemed to be at a crazy angle. It would be so easy to just sway closer into his arms. He was so sexy and the powerful memory of his kiss tantalised and tormented her.
Caitlin pulled away from him and mentally shook herself. She did not want to be one of Ray’s conquests.
‘So, what do you think of the rest of my handiwork?’ she asked, looking around at the orchard and pretending to be deeply absorbed in the work she had done.
For a moment she didn’t think he was going to answer her; he seemed to be studying her face very intently. ‘I think…’ he said carefully, slowly, ‘that you have been working far too hard and should take a break and have some lunch with me.’
‘I can’t, Ray. I’ve got far too much to do.’ She moved away from him, picking up branches to put them into a neat pile.
‘Lunch doesn’t take that long and you can’t work in the heat of the day.’ He leaned back against the stepladder and watched as she moved out from beneath the tree, dusting her hands against slender hips as she walked.
‘I can.’ Her hair was escaping from the confines of the pony-tail and she pulled it free impatiently so that it swung down around her shoulders.
Ray noticed that the dark chestnut colour had gold undertones in the sunlight. For a moment he found himself wondering how it would feel to run his hands through it as he brought her very gently and possessively to climax. ‘You are in France now and you should learn to do things the French way…’ he murmured distractedly.
‘And what way is that?’ she asked, flicking an edgy look around at him.
‘The civilised way, of course.’ He smiled.
She couldn’t help but smile back at him.
‘Anyway, I thought you would say no to lunch and that you’d tell me you were too busy. So I made a contingency plan.’
‘What kind of contingency plan?’
‘You’ll see.’ Without another word he disappeared around the side of the house.
Caitlin felt a jolt of disappointment that he was leaving. Then frowned and hurriedly continued to pick up the fallen branches. She’d done the right thing passing on lunch; she needed to keep her distance from that man.
To her surprise Ray arrived back a few moments later carrying an ice box and a blanket.
‘Ray, what on earth are you doing?’ she asked as he spread the blanket out under the dappled shade of the olive trees.
‘What do you think I’m doing?’ He glanced over at her wryly. ‘If you won’t go to the restaurant, then I’ve brought the restaurant to you. The chef at Chez Louis put together an interesting menu. I hope you’ll approve.’
Caitlin walked a little closer, curiosity making her lean over to look in the cooler box. She watched as he brought out an ice bucket with a bottle of white wine. ‘So what else have you got in there?’
‘Salade Niçoise, which is a speciality of the region, followed by goats’ cheese and a Mediterranean vegetable roulade, and then, to follow, a selection of fruit.’
‘Sounds wonderful, but I won’t be able to do any work this afternoon if I eat all that.’
Ray reached up and, catching her off balance, pulled her down onto the rug beside him. ‘You know what you need, don’t you?’
‘No, what?’ Breathlessly she watched as he poured a glass of white wine.
‘You need to relax.’ He pressed the glass into her hand and for a moment their eyes met across the rim.
‘Well, thanks.’ Quickly she looked away and held up the glass in salute. ‘This is very kind of you.’
Caitlin took a sip of the wine; it had a honeyed undertone and was crisply cold. It was bliss after the busy morning in the orchard. Moving slightly so that her legs weren’t touching his, she leaned back against the bark of the tree.
‘Shouldn’t you be working today?’ she asked him.
‘I always take time off for lunch.’ He was unwrapping tin foil from some china plates, so she took the opportunity to study him. She noticed the muscle of his arms in the cream short-sleeved shirt, the stylish yet casual lightweight beige trousers. He looked incredibly stylish and yet there was such an air of strength about him. The pale colours he wore emphasised the dark tan of his skin and the almost blue-black hair.
He looked around, caught her watching him and smiled. ‘How’s the wine?’
‘Delicious.’
‘Try a little of this with it.’ He held out a fork with some goats’ cheese wrapped in crispy pastry.
After a moment’s hesitation, she allowed him to feed it to her. There was something sensuous and intimate about allowing him to do that. She felt self-conscious but at the explosion of taste on her tongue she closed her eyes and gave herself up to the experience.
‘What do you think?’ he asked.
‘Heaven…I’m sure it’s the food of the gods.’ She opened her eyes and smiled at him.
‘Good.’ He put the plates between them and some small bowls of black and green olives.
She was surprised at how hungry she was. Never had a meal tasted so amazing. Maybe it was because they were eating out of doors in the heat of the day, maybe it was the tranquil silence of the orchard, only broken by the occasional drone of a bee. Or maybe it was the company she was in. It seemed that just being around Ray sharpened all of her senses.
‘The chef who put this together needs a gold medal,’ she murmured as she leaned her head back against the tree and treated herself to another mouth-watering morsel. ‘What did you say his name was?’
‘Louis, he owns a bistro down in the village. I’ll take you there for dinner one evening.’
The casual offer stirred up an anything-but-casual response inside Caitlin; she felt her stomach tighten with the kind of anticipation that had nothing to do with the thought of food.
‘Well, thanks for the offer but I’m prett
y busy at the moment.’
Her answer met with a moment of silence. She slanted a surreptitious glance over at him. He was lying on his side propped up on one elbow. ‘You are very serious sometimes, you know,’ he said lightly. ‘Life is for living.’
‘I know and I am living.’ She grinned. ‘I’m lying in my own orchard eating food prepared by a gourmet chef, a glass of wine in my hand and the heat of the sun beating down. I feel quite decadent, as a matter of fact, and more relaxed than I have in ages.’
‘That’s good.’
‘It’s just a pity I’ve got to get back to work.’
‘Well, you are now your own boss so you could take the rest of the day off.’
‘But then the garden will never get done.’
‘If it makes you feel any better I have a lot of work to do this afternoon as well.’
‘Do you work from home?’
He nodded. ‘I have an office upstairs. I work three weeks here, one week in Paris.’
‘Sounds like a good arrangement.’
‘Yes, I like it.’
‘I’ve never been to Paris.’ She leaned her head back and looked up at the clear blue sky through the green tracery of branches. ‘I saw the road signs for it on the drive down and was sorely tempted to make a quick detour into the centre, but I thought if I got in there I might not be able to find my way out onto the right road again.’
‘You would have enjoyed the visit. It is a very beautiful city, especially at the moment with the horsechestnut trees in bloom; the view along the Seine is magnificent.’
Caitlin took a sip of her wine. ‘Well, maybe I’ll go one day.’
‘Come with me next week if you want. I have to go into the office most days but I’d still have time to show you the sights.’
If his invitation to dinner had caused a stir inside her, it was nothing to the reaction to this oh, so casual enticement. It caused a major landslide to her senses and the temptation to accept was powerfully strong.
When she didn’t answer him immediately he shrugged. ‘I suppose you are too busy working on this place.’
Something about the sardonic edge to his tone made her instantly defensive. ‘Well, look at it, Ray. It needs all my attention.’ She waved a hand towards the house.
‘You know what they say about all work and no play?’ he said lightly.
She looked away from him and swirled her wine around the glass, watching the way the sun made its contents gleam deeply gold. ‘How many bedrooms has your apartment got?’ She forced herself to ask the question and then glanced over at him uncertainly.
‘Two. But it is not obligatory to use them both.’ He watched the flush of tantalising colour over her cheekbones and smiled.
Caitlin held his gaze for a second too long and she knew without doubt that if she accepted his offer they definitely wouldn’t be sleeping in separate beds and she didn’t think she was ready for that. ‘Yes, well, maybe I’ll take you up on that some time in the future. But as I said earlier, I’m far too busy now.’
‘Of course.’ He smiled at her, a teasing half-smile that confused her.
‘Why are you looking at me like that?’
‘No reason.’ He reached across and topped up her wineglass. ‘I just think you are scared to relax around me. What is it, Caitlin? Are you afraid you might enjoy yourself?’
‘I’m not afraid of anything.’ Her heart pounded dramatically against her chest and her panic levels rose as he leaned a little closer. It made her distressingly aware that she was lying; she wasn’t just scared, she was terrified. But she wasn’t scared of him; she was scared of herself, of her own body’s traitorous reaction to him. Because there was a wild part of her that wanted to throw caution away and say, Yes…take me out to dinner…take me to Paris…take me to bed. It was a crazy desire and the sane part of her fought it with every ounce of fortitude she could muster. Rebounding from one disastrous relationship to another was not what she needed right now.
‘David and I were to be married next week.’ She blurted the words out impulsively. ‘And we were to honeymoon in Rome. So, you see, going to Paris with you…especially next week…just wouldn’t be right.’
‘Paris isn’t Rome,’ he said with a shrug. There was an uncomfortable silence. Then he looked at her with that penetrating gaze. ‘Do you think your marriage would have worked out?’
The calm question made her frown. ‘No, I don’t suppose it would. But that doesn’t stop the breakup hurting. We lived together for three years.’
‘But he wasn’t right for you, Caitlin, and when something isn’t right you have to move on.’ He reached out and stroked her hair back from her face so that he could see her more clearly. It was a tender gesture that brought a lump to her throat.
‘How long have you been living apart?’
‘Two months.’ She had stormed out of the apartment on the day she had discovered the truth and had taken refuge at Heidi’s house. It had been a tough few weeks, cancelling wedding arrangements, trying to untangle her finances from David’s and grieving for Murdo. Caitlin took a sip of her wine and tried not think about it.
‘What day should you have got married next week?’ he asked casually as he started to pack away empty dishes into the basket.
‘Saturday.’
‘Well, if you don’t want to come to Paris for the whole week, why don’t you fly out towards the end of next week and join me…shall we say Friday? I’ll meet you at De Gaulle airport and we can spend the weekend together, fly back together Sunday afternoon.’ He turned and looked up at her. ‘It will take your mind off what you would have been doing that weekend.’
It sure as hell would, she thought dazedly as she met his eyes. The thought of spending a weekend in Paris with him was like some kind of adrenalin drug that made her dizzy with confusion.
‘I don’t know, Ray, it’s a bit soon for me to be having weekends away. But thanks for the offer.’
He grinned. ‘The words “I don’t know” suggest you haven’t made up your mind yet. But the words “thanks for the offer” sound like a definite no. Which is it?’
‘It’s…’ She hesitated as he moved even closer and her heart missed a beat as she noticed that his eyes were on the softness of her lips.
‘So which is it?’ he asked again.
‘It’s a definite…’
He reached over and took the glass of wine from her hands to put it down on the grass beside her and she found that she couldn’t concentrate on what she was saying at all now, because he was leaning closer. ‘You were saying?’ He whispered the words against her ear.
‘Ray, stop it…’ But her tone was half-hearted and when he pulled her down to lie beside him on the rug she made barely a murmur of protest.
He smiled down at her. ‘So…where were we?’
Her heart was thundering so fiercely now that she was sure he would feel it pounding against his chest as he leaned against her.
‘Ray…’ His lips silenced her and suddenly all coherent thought was gone. The kiss was tender and the hands that cupped her waist were gentle as he lifted her T-shirt and slid them beneath. His hands were cool against the heat of her naked skin. She could have pulled away but mortifyingly, she found she didn’t have the inner strength. Instead she started to kiss him back and the sensations of wild need that raced through her body were forcefully compelling.
She longed for his hands to move higher, to touch her all over, but they remained at her waist, stroking her, tantalising her until she thought she would go out of her mind with wanting him.
His kisses were passionately sensational; it was as if he set alight some bonfire inside her that she hadn’t even known existed.
He was the one to pull back and he smiled down at her lazily. ‘Shall I take that as a definite yes?’
She hadn’t wanted him to stop and a mixture of frustration and fury raced through her veins; frustration because she wanted to reach up and put her arms around him, tell him…no, beg him…t
o continue, and fury because he was so damned sure of himself.
‘It was just a kiss, Ray,’ she murmured gruffly. ‘Don’t get carried away.’
His eyes raked over her flushed countenance and the swollen softness of her lips and he grinned at that. ‘I wasn’t the only one who was getting carried away,’ he reminded her teasingly.
She moved from him, furious with herself for responding. The guy was arrogant and overbearing and…she should have smacked him not kissed him back.
Trouble was, he was a good kisser…The shivery, delightful sensations he had stirred up inside her were still flowing around in her body now. She tried to ignore them, tried to ignore him as she stood up. But it was difficult because she was intensely aware of him.
Self-consciously, she adjusted her clothing.
‘Okay, it was just a kiss…’ He also got to his feet. ‘But you’ve got to admit there is a certain chemistry between us.’
‘Is there? I hadn’t noticed…’ Her voice trailed off huskily as he took a step closer.
‘Care to put that to the test again?’ He smiled as he saw the flicker of turmoil in her cat-green eyes. ‘No? Well, that’s a pity.’
‘Stop teasing, Ray,’ she muttered.
‘I’m not teasing. I’m very serious. And I’m especially serious about our weekend together in Paris. In fact, to prove it to you I will offer to sleep in the spare room.’ He spread his hands wide, a boyish look of contrition on his handsome features. ‘Now I wouldn’t do that for just anybody.’
She felt herself melt under that smile like an ice block put in the microwave.
‘Yes…well, I’ll think about it.’ She added hastily. ‘Now I’d better get inside and see how Patrick is progressing.’ It was a relief to change the subject towards something mundane.
‘Patrick went for lunch just as I arrived,’ Ray informed her, and then added, ‘He said to tell you that he would be back at four and you’ve got a problem with the floor.’