‘Start what?’ he asked innocently.
‘The cat-and-mouse game you played last night.’ She eyed him balefully. ‘I do so hope you enjoyed yourself.’
‘Not half as much as I wanted to,’ he said, gazing at her through heavily lidded eyes.
Carly was trying very hard to remain calm when he reached for her water bottle and plucked it from her suddenly nerveless fingers. Keeping eye contact, he took a healthy swallow before handing it back. ‘Thanks.’
With narrow-eyed calm Carly set the bottle on the table. No way could she drink from it now and by his grin he had expected that reaction from her. Fuming that he should think her so predictable, she snatched the bottle back up and guzzled most of it down.
Unfortunately his deep, amused laugh made her spill some of it and she angrily swiped her mouth with the back of her hand.
‘You missed some on your, ah, singlet,’ he advised her helpfully.
‘If you’re looking for your grandfather he doesn’t get up before eight-thirty,’ she advised waspishly.
‘I wasn’t.’
‘Then if you’re heading out for a stroll, please don’t let me detain you.’
‘I’m not.’
‘Then what do you want?’ she snapped, raising her chin and wishing she hadn’t when his eyes dropped to her mouth.
Her breath felt trapped in her lungs as her body responded to his sensual gaze with a mind of its own and she stood in appalled silence like a bystander observing a horror car smash.
She couldn’t want him. It just wasn’t possible and yet all the signs were there... She knew because she’d read about them. She’d just never experienced them before, not without being touched first, and never as strongly as this.
Carly swallowed, thankful that he couldn’t possibly know what was going on inside her head, her body. She took a backward step away from him, reminding herself that his interest was no doubt a falsehood designed to give him some advantage over her. After all, he did think she was sleeping with his grandfather!
‘I want lots of things,’ he said pleasantly, ‘but chiefly I’d like to send you packing.’
Carly squared her shoulders. He would not get the better of her this morning. ‘Did you wake up on the wrong side of the bed, Mr James?’ she said, walking past him.
Dare grabbed her wrist. ‘Money-grabbing little tramps should not be left to take advantage of doddery old fools.’
‘Really?’ Carly glanced down at her wrist as if she couldn’t care less that he was holding it. ‘For your information your grandfather is not doddery at all. He’s completely in charge of his faculties and if he wants to make a fool of himself I’d say that’s his business, not yours. In fact, given your attitude, I don’t know why you care. Unless it’s self-interest.’
His gaze sharpened. ‘You think I want you, is that it?’
Carly noticed the sting of colour that ran along the edge of his high cheekbones as his grip on her wrist tightened. He might want her to think he was completely in control but he was very far from it. Not that she cared. She was glad to be able to annoy him the way he did her.
‘I meant,’ she replied with relish as she peeled his fingers away from her skin, ‘Rothmeyer House.’
Dare saw the light of victory in her eyes and could have cursed himself for revealing just how much he wanted this woman. Last night he’d brooded well into the early hours of the morning, imagining her with his grandfather. And since he’d already had his hands on her—albeit innocently—it was more than easy to picture her naked. Picture her breasts, high and round, falling into his hands as he cupped them and brought them to his lips, picture her thighs parting, the silky triangle of red-gold hair guarding her femininity from his gaze.
He had a violent urge to strip her running shorts down her long legs to find out if he was correct about her colouring, to press her up against the cement column behind her and wrap those long silky legs around his hips right before he pumped himself into her.
The image was so visceral he was already at full mast and he knew if she looked down she’d see it.
God, how he disliked this woman. Disliked her cool sensuality and greedy little heart. Disliked the fact that he wanted her to choose him over his grandfather.
What the...?
The wayward thought did nothing to tamp down the primal aggression running like a live wire inside him. He wasn’t the possessive type. Not where women were concerned. In fact he couldn’t think of anything worse than becoming so enamoured of a woman that he thought about her outside the bedroom, but this woman was like a nagging itch he couldn’t scratch. Which was most likely the attraction. She was forbidden fruit.
Knowing it was a mistake but doing it anyway, Dare stepped into her personal space, forcing her to tilt her head back to look up at him. ‘I don’t need Rothmeyer House or any other of my grandfather’s effects,’ he snarled, ‘but, mark my words, you won’t get them either.’
She inhaled a sharp breath, the sound shooting along his nerve endings.
‘Fortunately that won’t be up to you,’ she said, breathing fire. ‘And if your grandfather has any sense he—’
Dare grabbed her by the shoulders, effectively cutting off her words. ‘He’ll what?’ he rasped. ‘Disown me?’
Carly’s eyes widened in surprise before she could school her features. ‘Take your hands off me,’ she ordered with icy precision.
A feral smile appeared on Dare’s face, raising goose bumps along her skin. ‘You don’t look the worse for wear after last night. Sorry. Did I put my grandfather off his game?’
Carly held herself rigid. ‘I said—’
‘I noticed you have separate rooms, which tells me the old man can’t want you that much.’
Carly sucked in a sharp breath, his words hurting, even though they were incongruous. ‘Spying, Mr James?’ she mocked.
‘Call me Dare.’
‘No.’
‘Feisty.’ His thumbs stroked her collarbones. ‘Does my grandfather like that?’
Carly stiffened. ‘Doesn’t it bother you that you’re so preoccupied with your grandfather’s sex life?’
His gaze fell to her mouth. ‘Maybe I’m preoccupied with yours.’
Ignore him, she told herself. He’s like a tomcat with a half-dead mouse. He wants you to react.
‘Nothing to say, Red?’
Oh, she had plenty to say. ‘I’m not going to give you the pleasure,’ she said archly.
‘Is that right?’ he drawled. ‘Then maybe I should give you some.’
His hands moved to cup her face, holding her gently despite the hardness of his gaze. Carly couldn’t move. If testosterone had a scent it would smell like Dare James, she thought mindlessly.
Dare’s thumbs slowly, but inexorably, forced her gaze up to his.
‘Aren’t you tired of all that aging flesh over yours?’ he husked. ‘Wouldn’t you like to remember what it’s like with someone young? Someone virile.’
Carly’s hands came up to pry at his wrists, holding them instead. ‘Sure,’ she said coldly, ‘let me know if you find someone who fits that description.’
Instead of being angered into letting her go, he laughed softly, moving so close she could feel the soft cotton of his T-shirt against her singlet. To her utter mortification her nipples peaked.
‘Doesn’t the old man like to hold you after sex?’ he murmured.
Carly didn’t know any man who liked to hold her after sex. Not that a grand total of two lovers could be considered vast enough experience. Nor would she tell him that the reason she slept so close to the Baron was in case of a medical emergency. ‘How do you know it’s what he wants?’ she tossed at him. ‘Maybe it’s what I want.’
His mouth twisted into an amused smile and his nostrils flared. ‘I doubt i
t. You have high maintenance stamped all over your beautiful little face. But it’s clear that the old man isn’t satisfying you. I can smell your arousal even now.’
Ignore him, ignore him.
‘Fight it all you want,’ he continued softly, ‘but you can’t hide what your body wants.’
Carly’s eyes flew open. ‘If you don’t let me go immediately I’ll scream.’
‘I don’t think so.’ His head lowered slowly towards hers. ‘If you were going to scream you would have done it already.’ His lips grazed her lower jaw. ‘But you don’t want to scream, do you, Carly? You want me to kiss you.’ His fingers flexed around her jaw. ‘To touch you.’
‘You think you have me all figured out, don’t you?’ Carly said, tugging uselessly at his hands.
‘Not quite.’ His eyes glittered like twin blue flames as they held hers. ‘But this should answer a few questions.’
Then he shocked the life out of her and claimed her mouth with his.
Carly froze. She hadn’t really believed he would kiss her, but now that he was she didn’t know what to do.
Don’t do anything, she told herself. If you don’t do anything he’ll stop and be completely humiliated. He’ll be...he’ll be put off.
She held herself rigidly in his arms as his masterful lips crushed hers, dominating her with angry insolence. She told herself she just had to withstand the pressure, the heat of him, for a moment more. She just had to hold out and he’d change the kiss. He’d...he’d soften his lips and nibble at hers instead of dominating them.
Carly made a small sound in the back of her throat. She could feel the control he exerted over himself in the bunched muscles of his arms, the hard press of his thighs. She never would have thought that physical power in a man was arousing but—
‘Oh...’ She let out a small breath as his tongue ran along the seam of her lips.
‘Yes, that’s it, Red. Open up for me,’ he commanded gruffly. ‘Let me in.’
Carly swayed. Don’t react, don’t— She sighed as Dare slid his hands into her hair and tugged on the band that held her ponytail in place, pulling it free.
The feel of her hair swinging loosely around her shoulders was an added stimulant to the gentle bite of his teeth as he took her lower lip into his mouth and sucked lightly.
Carly heard another soft sound, realised it was from her, and heard an answering one from him. Then she was opening for him, kissing him back with a hunger she didn’t recognise.
He made a victorious groan in the back of his throat but she didn’t care because his tongue was in her mouth, his lips claiming hers with long practised strokes that had her melting against him.
She’d simply never been kissed like this before. Never been kissed with such skill and mastery, never felt a man’s lips consume hers with such deep hungry pulls at her flesh, and she was powerless to do anything but give into him, her body arching closer to his to ease the ache that had risen up inside her. Nothing else mattered but assuaging that ache and she clung to his shoulders, her fingers tangling in the overlong hair at the nape of his neck. It was thicker than hers, slightly curly, but she couldn’t really take it in with his mouth devouring hers so intensely.
His hands moulded her torso, running over her back and then finally cupping her bottom and lifting her into him.
His hungry groan reverberated throughout every cell in her body and his sinful mouth took everything she had to offer and demanded more. And Carly gave it without thinking, her legs giving out completely.
Dare held her tighter, his mouth forcing her head back on her shoulders, his hand rising to cup her breast, searching out the tip. Carly strained against him. Strained for the pleasure of that first contact...
With a feral sound Dare wrenched his mouth from hers and thrust her away from him, his breathing hard and fast. He stared at her as if what had just happened were her fault.
‘No,’ he scorned with a shaky laugh. ‘Just no.’
Almost savagely he swung away from her and stormed inside the French doors, thankfully leaving her to pull herself together without him watching.
When she finally caught her breath, Carly didn’t know who she was most angry with. Dare for grabbing her and kissing her or her for responding.
Flustered and furious, she stormed off towards the kitchen to speak with Mrs Carlisle about the lunch menu. She had a job to do, she reminded herself, and standing around arguing and kissing Dare James wouldn’t get it done.
CHAPTER FOUR
‘NO, NINA, DON’T worry about forwarding the investor profiles to my handheld, have them delivered to my apartment. I’ll be back in London by...’ Dare checked his watch. If he left straight after lunch he should make it back by... ‘Six, six-thirty.’ If he opened up the throttle maybe even five.
Shoving his phone back in his pocket, Dare leaned against the balcony railing and took in the view. Green lawns for as far as the eye could see bordered by manicured hedges and a glassy pond set close to the house. A healthy woodland stretched out beyond the house and behind that a church spire pierced the clear blue sky. No, Benson wasn’t doing it tough, he thought cynically.
Unfortunately Dare had needed to tend to some issues at his office all morning so he hadn’t had a chance to corner Benson before his mother had arrived.
Then it had been too late. She’d been enveloped back into her home almost as if she had never left. But she had left, or rather she was forced to leave, and Dare sometimes wondered why she had put up with his father for so many years once it became clear that he wasn’t the man she had thought him to be.
Love, he supposed, with a twist to his lips. It didn’t always come with hearts and flowers. Sometimes it came with pain and desertion over and over and over.
And to think his mother had come from this genteel society; it was difficult for him to grapple with when he thought about how hard his mother had had it over the years. His pride in her grew even more when he thought about how easily she could have sold herself out and returned to the lap of luxury. But she wasn’t that kind of person. She hadn’t had it easy just because she could.
His gut clenched.
There was no way the delectable Carly Evans would be duping his mother out of her inheritance if she decided she wanted it. And he hoped she realised by now that he was not a man to cross.
Of course, if his mother did decide she wanted nothing more to do with Rothmeyer House then the little gold-digger could have it and good luck to her. He supposed in her own way she was earning her money and he could hardly blame his grandfather for wanting to keep her. Hell, after that kiss this morning—
Dare stopped his thoughts dead in their tracks.
After that kiss this morning nothing. Why he’d even given into temptation was still eating away at him. It was something his fool father would have done. Gone after a magic moment and to hell with the consequences. And Dare knew Carly hadn’t told his grandfather about it because the old man hadn’t tried to take him out.
In some way he wished he had because the thought that he’d come on to his own grandfather’s mistress made his stomach turn. Especially when he didn’t even like her. In fact the only reason he’d even touched her was because she’d damned well goaded him into it.
Yeah, just like Jake Ryan forced you to steal a car when you were fifteen to take a joy-ride that could have ended a lot worse than a lecture from the local sheriff.
Dare sighed. Bottom line he’d wanted to kiss her and so what if it had driven him almost to the point of no return? His emotions were all over the place right now. Unusual, yes, but not unmanageable and certainly not worth thinking about. In a matter of hours she’d be history—at least for him—and he’d consign any memory of her to the bin. Where it belonged.
Hearing voices on the terrace below, he glanced over the wrought-iron railin
g. His mother was holding a bunch of flowers his grandfather had just given her.
Nice touch, he complimented cynically. His mother loved flowers.
Another voice joined theirs and Carly stepped into his view looking fresh and dazzling in white trousers and a striped T-shirt.
Scowling, he stepped back inside, changed into fresh jeans, a T-shirt and boots. It wasn’t exactly garden-party attire, but then he hadn’t brought garden-party clothing in the duffle that fitted beneath the seat of his bike. Nor was he in a garden-party frame of mind. And he certainly wasn’t here to impress anyone.
He cast his helmet a pained glance. Two hours and he’d be on the open roads again.
* * *
‘Walk to the village?’ Carly repeated, not sure she’d heard right.
She had been counting the seconds until this torturous lunch would be over and now the Baron wanted her to extend it. And extend it with Dare of all people!
Oh, she knew why he had asked. He wanted some private time with Rachel without his odious grandson breathing down his neck and she couldn’t say she blamed him. Sure, Dare hadn’t been as hostile as he had been the previous evening, but he hadn’t exactly been nice either. But take him on a walk to the village? That was definitely going above and beyond the call of duty. She was here to take care of Benson’s physical health, not his emotional health.
‘He’ll be bored.’
‘I’m game.’
Both she and Dare spoke at the same time and the older two at the table chuckled at them.
Carly’s eyes cut to Dare’s irritating blue ones, even more vibrant in the matching knit shirt.
He couldn’t be serious. Why would he say that when it was clear to anyone watching that he wanted to monitor what went on between his mother and grandfather?
‘It’s quite a walk,’ Carly muttered, hoping her intentions to put him off weren’t too obvious.
She had liked Rachel on sight, finding Dare’s attractive mother warm and down to earth, her tiny stature belying a woman with a core of steel. She also had a core of gentleness and evidently had a very close relationship with her son.
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