He shouldn’t have come.
Why had he?
Because of the parcel he had found waiting for him on his desk when he returned to the Grayson Security offices early this morning. A parcel that had been delivered two weeks ago, according to the postmark, but which he hadn’t received because he had been out of the country.
Now that he was actually here, he realized what a bad idea this was. Diana wouldn’t want to see him. Why should she? The card with the parcel said its contents were a thank-you and Christmas present from her to him.
Jonas had received a similar parcel. Not the same contents, but nevertheless still a Christmas and thank-you present from Diana. Jonas wasn’t an effusive man, but he had obviously appreciated the small Stephen Baxter original carefully covered in Bubble Wrap inside the robin-festooned Christmas paper. He’d given one of his deep laughs when Seth unwrapped his similarly wrapped parcel and saw what was inside.
A soft black leather duster similar to the one Jonas always wore.
The same black leather duster Diana had said would look sexy on Seth.
He was wearing it now. Hadn’t taken it off since removing it from the tissue paper and trying it on for size. It was a perfect fit, and so comfortable, he might even sleep in it tonight. Not because it was the first Christmas present he had received in years, but because Diana was the one who had chosen and bought it for him.
How fucking juvenile was that?
As juvenile as jumping straight into his car and driving to Wales immediately after opening Diana’s present.
He turned away. He shouldn’t have come here. Would get back in his car and—
“Are you going to leave without even saying hello…?”
Seth froze, his heart plummeting at being found gawping outside the Baxters’ cottage. Plummeted, and then soared at hearing Diana’s voice again.
Four weeks. Four long fucking weeks since they had parted. Here at this very cottage, in fact, after they had opened up Jeremy Moore’s crate of belongings and found the missing emeralds hidden in a soft pouch in his briefcase, of all places.
They had handed Carlos over to the French police before returning to England, then on to the Baxters’ cottage in Wales. Afterwards Seth had left to go back to London to present the emeralds to the police there so they could deal with Oliver Dryden’s part in the case. Then he and Jonas had flown to Colombia to finish tying up the loose ends over there.
And all that time, Diana had stayed here in Wales with her parents, having resigned from her job at the museum in Paris, deciding the city now held too many bad memories for her to stay.
A perfectly understandable decision in the circumstances.
And Seth knew he was only delaying the moment when he would have to turn to face her.
“Seth?” Diana questioned uncertainly as he stood angled slightly away from her so she couldn’t see his face.
But she would know this man anywhere. Facing her or not. Knew how silky that shoulder-length dark hair was to touch. Each and every hard and chiseled inch of his face, including the scar, and every muscle and sinew of his body. She knew this man.
And he was here, in Wales, standing outside her parents’ cottage.
Wearing the leather coat she had bought for him. A perfect fit. Stylish. Sexy.
Seth himself was sexy. So much so she hadn’t been able to stop thinking about him. Or the realization she really had fallen in love with him.
She had ached to see him again these past four weeks. Had been afraid to believe her eyes when she returned from walking her parents’ dog, Alfie, and saw Seth standing there, feet away from her parents’ cottage. And obviously about to leave without even saying hello to her.
She tied Alfie’s lead to the gate. “It looks good on you.” Her voice was husky, the warmth of her breath visible in the cold air.
Seth turned fully to face her, his expression guarded, dark eyes hooded. “I only got back this morning. I… The warm coat was very welcome. I’m sure Jonas will be in touch regarding his gift.”
Stilted. Distant. Guarded. And as much of a thank-you from him as she was likely to get. But Seth was here. And he didn’t have to be. He knew her parents’ address as well as Jonas did, could as easily have sent her a curt thank-you note through the post and that would have been an end to it. They might have to meet again when the different cases came to court, but the police in London had told her it was so complicated, with the different countries involved, that might not happen for months yet.
And Seth was here now.
“Would you like to come inside? For a cup of tea? Or maybe a warming whisky?” she added self-consciously. Seth was hardly the afternoon-tea type.
“I don’t want to put you to any trouble.”
“It’s no trouble.”
“Your parents…”
“Would love to see you again.”
“I somehow doubt that.” Seth was under no illusions regarding the Baxters. They had been polite enough when he drove Diana home before Christmas, but he was hardly the sort of man they would welcome cluttering up their small sitting room with its chintz covers on the furniture and matching curtains.
A killer shark in a tank full of goldfish.
His mouth twisted with self-derision. “I shouldn’t have come here.”
“Why did you?”
He grimaced. “Good question.”
“Well?” Impatience snapped in her beautiful turquoise eyes.
Why had he come here? Because after four weeks, he had needed to see Diana again. To be with her again, if only for a few minutes.
She looked amazing. Her eyes were completely free of the shadows that had haunted her for so long. Her cheeks were flushed with good health. She appeared warm and at ease in a red parka and faded jeans tucked into ankle boots, a matching red hat pulled over her hair.
Diana seemed happy and healthy, and she certainly didn’t need Seth coming here reminding her of the past year of trauma she had suffered through.
He shrugged. “I wanted to see for myself that you’re doing okay.”
“And?”
“And you obviously are.”
Diana was sick of this stilted conversation. This polite conversation. A politeness that had never been high on their list of priorities when they were together before.
She unlatched the gate. “If you think for one moment I’m going to let you drive away after you’ve come all this way to see me, then you’re mistaken.” She grabbed hold of his arm and pulled him toward the cottage.
“Your parents—”
“What the hell is it with my parents, Seth?” She stopped walking and turned to face him. “What is it about the two of them that makes you want to just get in your car and drive back to London?”
His jaw clenched. “You know who I am, Diana. What I am. I’m hardly the sort of man any parent wants to see their daughter involved with—”
“Stop right there.” Her cheeks warmed with temper. “My parents currently have zero confidence in their ability to approve or disapprove of any man in my life, because they now know they were as mistaken about Jeremy as I was. As for what sort of man you are… What sort of man is that, Seth? Because from what I remember, you’re protective to the point of being a pain in the ass. Ditto your arrogance. And your honesty. But you’re also loyal, both to your friends and the people you work with. And decisive, utterly capable.”
“I’ve also killed people.”
“Only when you absolutely had to. And I could so easily have killed we-have-a-little-fun-first Carlos— What do you mean by ‘involved’?” she prompted sharply as it finally registered exactly what he’d said. “Are the two of us involved…?” Her heart was pounding so loudly in her chest, as she waited for his answer, she was sure Seth must be able to hear it too.
He looked uncomfortable. “I’m not quite sure what being involved is. But we did go to bed together. You also agreed to—well, anything and everything—and we haven’t done any of that yet,” he remin
ded her.
The heat deepened in her cheeks. “So you’re here to collect on that promise?”
His jaw tightened. “And if I am?”
“Get it out of the way.” She repeated the phrase that had once so incensed him.
It made him frown again now. “I wouldn’t have put it quite like that…”
Diana moistened her lips with the tip of her tongue. She did it again when she saw the way Seth’s eyes darkened as they avidly followed the movement. “We obviously can’t do those things together at my parents’ cottage.”
“No.” He frowned his disappointment.
“But I could come back to London with you…”
He brightened. “You could?”
She nodded. “I could…I could stay with you at your house for a while.”
His eyes narrowed. “Define a while?”
Diana was still too uncertain as to what Seth really wanted from her. He was all the things she had described him as being, but he was also enigmatic as hell. So much so, it was difficult to know what he was thinking at any one time. Difficult to know what he wanted her answer to be. Whether he wanted her visit to be a short or a long one.
“Well…” She chewed on her bottom lip, and once again Seth’s gaze fixated on the movement. “Certainly long enough for us to explore all that ‘anything and everything.’”
“That might take a while.”
“Yes.”
“A long time.”
“Define a long time.” She shot his own challenge back at him.
Seth realized this was one of those life-hanging-in-the-balance moments that came along so rarely. He could continue the game they were playing, take Diana back to London with him “for a while,” and hope she eventually felt something more for him than sexual fascination. Or he could tell the truth now and risk not having even that amount of time with her.
Caution warred with truth inside him.
Truth won.
“A lifetime,” he stated evenly, hoping to God the anxiety he felt inside wasn’t evident in his face.
“A lifetime,” Diana repeated as evenly.
He gritted his teeth. “Yes.”
A frown creased her brow as she gazed at him searchingly. Seth returned that gaze unflinchingly.
“You love me,” she finally murmured incredulously.
“I didn’t say that—”
“Seth.”
“What?” he snapped.
“I love you too.”
“You— I— You can’t possibly—” Seth was aware he was babbling, but he was too shocked—and so fucking grateful to whatever guardian angel seemed to be looking out for him—he couldn’t seem to get his brain to work with his mouth.
“Oh, but I can!” Diana glowed as she beamed at him. “I love you, Seth Armstrong. I love you!” She threw herself into his arms. “Kiss me as if you’re pleased to see me.” She used the same words she had at the bar that night so long ago.
Pleased to see her? Seth had discovered these past four weeks that he didn’t want to live without her. The parcel he had received from Diana this morning had given him an excuse to drive to Wales, but he knew, now he was back in England, he would have driven here sooner rather than later anyway. Because he couldn’t stay away any longer. Four weeks was more than long enough to be parted from her, and he wanted this woman, and the love he now knew they shared. He wanted that forever.
His arms tightened about her. “I want to marry you.” He held back from kissing her yet, knowing that once he did, he wouldn’t be able to stop. “Will you marry me, Diana?” He gazed down at her searchingly. “Could you marry someone like—”
Diana’s fingers against his lips stopped him from finishing that sentence. “If it takes me a lifetime, I’m going to convince you that you’re a good man, Seth Armstrong.” She looked at him sternly. “You’re the best man I’ve ever known. Or ever want to know. So yes, I’ll marry you. Of course I’ll marry you.” Her eyes started to sparkle again, a seductive smile curving her lips. “But we don’t have to wait until we’re married to try at least some of that ‘anything and everything,’ do we?”
“Absolutely not.” Seth picked her up and twirled around with her in the snow, the two of them laughing like children when he finally put her back on her feet. He sobered as he gazed deeply into her eyes. “I do love you so very much, Diana. And I’ve never said that to another person. Ever.”
“I love you, Seth,” she returned as seriously. “So very much.”
“We’ll have a good life together.” He made it a promise.
“I know we will.”
“A long and happy life.”
“Yes.”
“And children who will never doubt our love for them or each other.”
“Oh yes.”
“Grandchildren.”
“Those too.”
Seth had never envisaged anything like this for himself. Never thought he would ever meet someone he loved, or would love him enough to want to share a lifetime with him. With Diana, a lifetime didn’t seem nearly long enough.
“Now that’s settled, will you kiss me as if you’re pleased to see me?” she teased him softly.
“Not as if, but because I am pleased to see you. I’ll always be pleased to see you. To be with you,” Seth vowed.
Because he was.
He always would be.
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About The Author
Carole Mortimer is the author of over 200 novels, contemporary and Regency romance. She is a USA Today Bestselling Author. Recipient of the 2015 RWA Lifetime Achievement Award. Received the 2014 Pioneer for Romance Romantic Times Award. Entertainment Weekly Top 10 Author. She was also recognized by Queen Elizabeth II in 2012 for her ‘outstanding service to literature’.
She is happily married to Peter. They have 6 sons, and live on the beautiful Isle of Man. She also loves to hear from Readers!
Other books by Carole Mortimer
ALPHA series:
Christmas Alpha: Novella
Dark Alpha: Full-length novel
Shadow Alpha: Full-length novel
Midnight Alpha: Full length novel
Renegade Alpha: Full length novel
Warrior Alpha: Full length novel
Rogue Alpha: Novella
Savage Alpha: Full-length novel - Release March 2016
Regency Unlaced Series:
The Duke’s Mistress
Claimed by the Marquis - Release January 29th 2016
Knight Security Series:
Alexandre – Release February 2016
Rogue Alpha (Alpha 7) Page 12