‘In future impose on me as much as you like.’ James took her in his arms and kissed her at length, then raised his head to smile down into her flushed face. ‘Last night Nick Mayhew gave me the key to his house in the Cotswolds. Do you fancy a break from the city?’
As long as James took her with him Harriet didn’t care where they went. ‘I’d like that very much,’ she said sedately. ‘Thank you for my present,’ she added and reached up to kiss him again.
‘You’ve thanked me once already,’ he said huskily, when he finally released her. ‘Not that I’m counting.’
‘Such a beautiful plant is surely worth more than one kiss,’ she said demurely.
‘In that case I’ll bring orchids next time!’
She shook her head. ‘I don’t like orchids.’
‘What a difficult woman you are. No orchids, no caviare, no champagne.’
‘You should be grateful I’m so economical!’
Instead of the sleek, elegant car that she’d first seen outside End House, James drove Harriet to the Cotswolds in a chunky four-wheel drive.
‘What happened to the Italian job you drove to Upcote?’
‘This chap is better for the terrain we’re heading for. Once we get out of this traffic,’ added James as they crawled their way from one set of traffic lights to the next. ‘We should have waited until Friday rush hour was over.’
‘I don’t mind,’ said Harriet, and meant it. Feeling secure in her high perch in the solid vehicle, she couldn’t have cared less about the noise and traffic and heat, simply because she was with James. Maybe this was what being in love was really about. Not just the sex and the excitement, but just being together. But by the end of the trip along the motorway and the more tortuous journey along country roads after it she was glad when James told her there was only a short distance to go. He took a minor road after Burford to a small village a couple of miles farther on until he reached a lane just past a church. He cruised down it slowly until he found a pair of open gates, and turned into a tree-lined drive that led to a house that looked more like a scaled down Edenhurst than the country cottage Harriet had expected.
‘I was expecting something smaller,’ she said when he swung her down.
‘It was a rectory two centuries ago, connected by a path from the back garden to the church we passed back there. Nick bought the house quite recently, so it’s still in process of renovation, with not much furniture to speak of.’ James smiled at her as he unlocked a beautiful wooden door set in a stone arch. ‘But apparently we have curtains, a kitchen, and somewhere to sit and sleep.’
‘Perfect! Can I explore?’
‘You can do anything you like. Lydia’s instructions were to make ourselves at home. They’ve just spent the odd weekend here with the girls so far, but Nick intends retiring down here one day.’
All the rooms had the same panelling as the square hall, but the only one in use was a large sitting room with triple-light latticed windows looking out on a garden in urgent need of attention.
‘Nick isn’t much of a gardener,’ said James, eyeing his surroundings with a look of nostalgia.
‘Do you wish you’d been able to keep Edenhurst on as a home?’ she asked with sympathy.
‘Of course I do. But it’s so much bigger than this it was never an option.’ He shrugged philosophically. ‘Have a look at the rest of it while I unpack the car.’
The large kitchen and the solitary upstairs bathroom had been modernised, but only two bedrooms were furnished. Harriet looked round with a smile as James joined her in the smaller room.
‘This is obviously where your friend’s daughters sleep.’
‘Do you want to sleep here?’ he said bluntly.
‘No,’ she said, equally direct. ‘I took it for granted I’d share with you. Isn’t that why we came?’
He touched a hand to her cheek. ‘I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t part of it. But there were other reasons. You looked so tired after your interior decorating I thought you needed a rest.’ He smiled wryly. ‘You don’t like my London flat very much. And for obvious reasons I didn’t think you’d fancy a weekend in the one at Edenhurst. I could have taken you to a hotel somewhere, but when Lydia suggested this place last night I was pretty sure you’d prefer it.’
‘I do. It’s lovely. Have you brought anyone else here?’ she added casually.
‘No. I’ve never been here before. Why?’
‘Just curious.’
‘Let’s eat,’ said James firmly, and led her down to the kitchen, where a large hamper kept company with a cool box on the table.
Harriet helped him unpack the food, her eyes widening as they stored away enough for the weekend with some left over.
‘I put the wine to chill first of all,’ he informed her.
‘I hope it’s not Barolo,’ she said, laying the table.
James looked appalled. ‘Certainly not. Only a barbarian would chill Barolo. Why don’t you like it?’
Harriet pulled a face. ‘Our delightful dinner party at La Fattoria put me off it for life.’
‘For me it was the only thing bearable about the entire meal. You were so hostile towards me the food stuck in my throat. Your parting shot was the last straw,’ James added as he carved a succulent joint of ham. ‘Did you mean it?’
‘I don’t remember what I said,’ she muttered, feeling her face grow hot.
‘Oh, yes, you do,’ he said, brandishing the carving knife at her. ‘You informed the company at large that it’s unnecessary to like a man to want sex with him. Were you speaking from past experience, or just alluding to me?’
‘I was hitting out at you.’ Her chin lifted. ‘Between you and Tim I felt cut to pieces that night, James Devereux.’
‘You cut me back,’ he said, and waved a dramatic hand at his chest. ‘Right to the heart.’
‘Then I’d better kiss it better,’ said Harriet, her eyes gleaming as she strolled towards him. Greasy from the ham, he flung his hands wide as she slid one arm round his waist and began undoing his belt buckle and shirt buttons with the other.
‘Harriet, that’s not fair,’ he said, breathing raggedly.
‘All’s fair in love and war,’ she informed him, and kissed the taut, warm skin over his thudding heart.
‘Which—is—this?’ he said with difficulty.
‘Both?’ Harriet warmed to her task, teasing his bare back with her fingernails while her open mouth and flicking tongue moved up his chest to caress his flat nipples, then changed direction and moved slowly downwards until they reached the top button of his Levi’s. She heard the sharp hiss of his breath as he sucked in his stomach muscles, and released him to stand back, her smile triumphant. ‘You can wash your hands now.’
James let out the breath he’d been holding, his eyes blazing into hers for a moment before he turned away to lean, head bowed, over the sink, breathing hard as he ran hot water and detergent over his hands, then held his wrists under the cold tap. When he turned round he gave Harriet a smile that sent shivers down her spine. ‘I’m hungry, otherwise I’d retaliate right now,’ he informed her, buttoning his shirt. ‘Instead I shall defer it to another time.’
‘If you didn’t like it I won’t do it again!’
‘You know damn well I liked it,’ he growled. ‘But I’d like it a lot better with my hands free.’ His eyes gleamed. ‘So would you.’
They stared at each other for a long, sexually charged moment, then James smiled and she smiled back, and suddenly they were laughing, and bumping into each other in their rush to get the meal together.
For the first time since starting to paint her room Harriet felt hungry. Suddenly she was ravenous, and James nodded in approval as he cut thick slices of bread.
‘That’s better. It’s time you started eating properly.’
‘It was the paint. I didn’t know I’d hate the smell of it so much. My grandmother had any decorating done while I was away in school.’ She smiled at him happily, and then stop
ped dead, halfway through slicing a tomato.
‘What is it?’ he demanded.
Harriet looked at him in wonder for a moment. ‘I just realised that for the first time since my grandmother died I feel utterly and completely happy.’
He sat very still. ‘Why?’ he said at last.
‘Because I’m here with you,’ she said simply.
James got up and walked round the table to pull her up into his arms and kiss her with tenderness she responded to with delight. ‘I’m happy, too,’ he said, raising his head, ‘for the same reason.’ He trailed a finger down her glowing cheek. ‘Now finish your dinner like a good girl.’
‘I’m always a good girl,’ she said, sitting down, and then grinned at him. ‘Well, mostly.’
To Harriet’s surprise James gave her a parcel to open after dinner, when they were settled on the sofa in the sitting room.
‘What is it?’ she said, tearing paper aside to find half a dozen brand new novels from the best seller lists. ‘Oh, James, how wonderful!’
‘Have you read any of them?’
‘Only the reviews,’ she said, inspecting the titles. ‘I wait until they come out in paperback.’ She leaned up to kiss him, her eyes sparkling. ‘You obviously don’t intend boredom to be a problem this weekend.’
‘You’ve got it all wrong. The books are to take home with you. While you’re here with me I demand all your attention,’ he informed her, and pulled her onto his lap. ‘All of it. Starting now,’ he whispered.
In Italy their lovemaking had been a tidal wave that swept over them without warning. Here, in this half-empty lamp-lit room, with the curtains drawn to enclose them in their own special world, the magic was different, but no less potent than in the moonlit tower where they’d first made love. This time James was in no rush, and Harriet melted against him with a murmur of pleasure as he kissed and caressed her with restraint all the more exciting because she knew that fire was held in check behind it. Fire, she knew, that would flare up and engulf them both in time, but for the moment just burned steadily, with a glow that permeated her entire body. Suddenly it flamed higher as his tongue found hers in a substitute penetration that triggered off immediate desire for the physical union they both yearned for with equal intensity.
James set Harriet on her feet and stood up, held her close for a moment, then took her hand and led her in silence up the dimly lit stairs to the dark bedroom. He reached out for a light switch but she stayed his hand, afraid that the sudden glare of the overhead light would destroy the magic.
He picked her up and walked in darkness to the bed, where he set her down with care, and leaned over her.
‘There’s a wall light here,’ he whispered. ‘I want to see you as we make love.’
Harriet kissed him by way of consent, and smiled at him when the intimate light of a rose-shaded lamp revealed the taut, beautiful male face above her, his eyes alight with an emotion she wanted so much to believe was love, not just the basic desire of a man desperate to mate.
James kissed her as he began to undress her, and she kissed him back as she helped him, and suddenly they were clumsy, panting and laughing as they fought with buttons and zips until at last their naked bodies were in contact, and the laughter died away. They held each other close until just holding was no longer enough, and James began tantalising her with swift, sweet, drinking kisses that moved from her mouth in a grazing, slow descent that filled Harriet with such unbearable expectation that at last she could bear no more.
‘Please,’ she gasped, but he held her still and continued on his downward path until his tongue penetrated her innermost hot recesses to find the hidden bud that sprang erect in response to his caress. Harriet moaned and tried to push him away, writhing in anguish because she didn’t want this to happen yet, but it was coming and coming and she was helpless against the hot, delicious throbbing as he brought her to the climax she experienced alone.
Face flaming, Harriet scrambled away and turned her back on him, but James slid his arms round her and pulled her against him. He kissed the back of her neck, his hands cupping her breasts and caressing her nipples, rolling them between his fingertips, and she gave a smothered moan, and felt his erection nudge her and to her amazement found she was ready for him again. James flipped her over onto her back, slid his hands beneath her bottom and raised her, holding her there for a moment, then sheathed himself to the hilt, the look of fierce possession in his eyes heightening her pleasure as he withdrew slowly and thrust home again, and repeated the skilled manoeuvre again and again, each time a little faster and deeper, the frenzied rhythm culminating at last in release so overwhelming Harriet wondered if she’d died of it, until James kissed her to confirm she was alive before pulling up the covers to hold her in close embrace as she fell asleep.
For weather it was the worst weekend of the summer. For Harriet it was the best weekend of her life. The rain came down in torrents, and for two whole nights and days she never left the house except for a quick dash round the garden under an umbrella with James as a gesture to getting some fresh air. James went out both mornings for the daily paper to read together over the breakfast Harriet made while he was out. They did the crossword, drank coffee, then went back to bed to make love again and sleep until the need for food woke them up. And after a disgracefully late lunch the first day Harriet decided it was time to get a few things straight between them.
‘James, about this relationship of ours—’
‘Hallelujah!’ he said in triumph. ‘You actually admit that we have a relationship.’
‘Of course I do.’ She eyed him warily. ‘But I’m not clear about the exact nature of it. You said you wanted me in your life—’
‘Surely I’ve made that plain enough!’ He paused, frowning. ‘I assumed you wanted me in yours.’
‘You assumed right,’ she said impatiently. ‘I thought I’d made that plain enough, too.’
James leaned across and took her hand. ‘So what’s the problem, darling?’
‘You have a life of your own and so do I. Quite apart from Tim and Dido, I have friends I’m very fond of.’ She looked at him in appeal. ‘Even if you and I spend time together on a regular basis I still want—need—to go on seeing them.’
‘Why on earth shouldn’t you?’ he said, surprised. ‘My work takes me away from London quite a bit, so I don’t expect you to sit at home at night, languishing until my return. As long as I get the lion’s share of your time when I’m in town, of course,’ he added.
‘That goes without saying.’ Harriet smiled at him luminously. ‘Good. I’m glad that’s settled. After all, I may need my friends one day.’
‘And what day is that?’ he demanded.
‘When you and I are no longer in this relationship of ours.’
His eyes narrowed. ‘You’re so sure it won’t last?’
Harriet smiled sadly. ‘In my experience people I care for disappear from my life all too often.’
James frowned. ‘I may be older than you, Harriet, but I’m not going to die just yet, I promise.’
‘No. But you might tire of me.’ She looked at him squarely. ‘These things happen.’
‘That’s so unlikely it isn’t worth discussing,’ he said scornfully. ‘But let’s get something straight. You’re happy to have me in your life, but you don’t want to live with me. Am I right?’
‘Try to see it from my viewpoint.’ Harriet braced herself. ‘I need time to get used to the idea of sharing my life with someone like you.’
‘Someone like me,’ James repeated. ‘What do you mean by that?’
She sighed. ‘I’ve had boyfriends in the past, until my double act with Tim ruled that out for a while, but I’ve never had a lover.’
He smiled as his hand tightened on hers. ‘You’ve got one now.’
‘I know.’ She breathed in deeply. ‘But it’s hard to come to terms with that. I’ve never felt like this about anyone before.’
James got up, drawing her up wi
th him. ‘Maybe we should continue this on the sofa.’ He put his arm round her as they crossed the hall to the sitting room, and kept it there as he drew her down to sit on his lap. ‘Now tell me exactly how you feel.’
Harriet curled up against him as she tried to find the necessary words. ‘I don’t think I can be in love with you,’ she said honestly.
His eyes narrowed. ‘Why not?’
‘Because Dido’s been in love quite a lot—’
‘With men other than my irresistible brother?’
Harriet nodded ruefully. ‘She’s always searching for someone like him.’
‘She won’t succeed,’ James assured her. ‘Hopefully there’s only one Timothy Devereux.’
‘Amen to that. Anyway, while she’s in love with the current Mr Wrong she’s so starry-eyed, she’s blind to faults which seem all too apparent to me.’ Harriet smiled apologetically. ‘I don’t feel like that about you.’
‘You mean my faults are glaringly obvious?’
‘I have good reason to know that you’re kind and generous, but you’re also impatient and autocratic sometimes. I can see all that clearly, but it doesn’t alter the way I feel.’
‘For God’s sake, Harriet,’ he said with sudden impatience. ‘How do you feel?’
‘Happy when I’m with you, and as though half of me is missing when you’re not…’ The rest of her words were smothered by a kiss that went on so long both of them were gasping for air when he let her go.
‘I’ve known you since you were thirteen years old,’ he said huskily, his hands in her hair to keep her looking up at him. ‘I always disapproved of your relationship with Tim, but it was only when we met in Upcote that I realised why.’ He smiled slowly, looking deep into her eyes. ‘I wanted you myself.’
Harriet knew perfectly well that James Devereux wanted her. His way of showing it thrilled and delighted her. But she needed more than that before committing herself to a long-term relationship. Or even a short one. ‘Are you in love with me, James?’ she asked bluntly.
He looked at her in silence for a while, as though memorising her every feature. ‘Yes,’ he said at last. ‘Utterly and completely and for as long as we both shall live.’
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