by Diana Fraser
But it had no long-term future. She knew that. He wanted no long-term commitments, particularly with someone who’d betrayed his trust.
But she wanted one more night: a night of passion before she left forever. Could she persuade Dallas to mix business with pleasure? He’d kept his distance for so long, she didn’t know what he thought or felt about her. But she was determined to find out.
The doors slid open and they entered the foyer of the apartment. The maid immediately opened the doors and ushered them inside, to where Dallas was waiting, hands thrust into his pockets, eyeing the fury that was unleashing before them across Wellington. He turned to welcome Bill.
“How did the meeting go?”
“Superb Dallas. Extremely well. I feel thoroughly spoiled with all the attention. Just what an old man needs.“
“Don’t give me that ‘old man’ nonsense, Bill. You’re as sharp as a tack, haven’t changed in all the time I’ve known you.”
“And that’s some time, eh lad?”
Dallas smiled in response, prompted by his obvious affection for Bill.
“A lot of water under the bridge. Anyway, your Cassandra—”
“Not my Cassandra, Bill.”
“Oh, don’t give me that modern crap. Let an old man say it as he sees it. Your Cassandra is going to take you far, Dallas. She’s just what you’ve been needing for years. Brains and beauty—she’ll be indispensable before you know it.”
“I appreciate the compliments Bill, but how about you two stop talking about me as though I’m not here?”
Dallas looked at her with a cool, inscrutable expression. “I fear you’re right Bill. She will be an asset to our company. Indispensable though? Nobody’s indispensable.”
She accepted a drink from the maid and settled down onto the leather sofa, trying to hide the sting she felt at his words. She knew by now that truth was important to him and that he always meant what he said. It was as if he were giving her a warning not to expect too much.
“Come now, Dallas. That’s not true. The journey’s better if you’ve got company.”
“How is Dorrie?”
“Same.” Bill’s face collapsed into sadness. “Rarely recognizes me. But she’s being well cared for.”
“I’m sorry.”
Bill shrugged. “Anyway, I hear she has a regular visitor—a tall, dark handsome man who brings her gifts?”
Dallas grunted. “She’s a lovely lady. She was always very kind to me.”
“She loves you, Dallas.”
Cassandra looked up at the softness that was in Bill’s voice to see a brief wordless connection pass between them, before Dallas turned back to the picture window. Over his shoulder she could see trees straining in the face of the oncoming southerly and the Inter-island ferry slowly edge its way into dock, no doubt relieved to be out of the six meter swells of the Cook Strait.
“The storm seems to be settling in for a few days. Hope you’re not expecting to fly out tonight, Bill?”
“No. Always keep my options open when I’m in Wellington. Got a couple of meetings lined up and some pleasure. Tomorrow night I have tickets to the opera. I’d be delighted if you could both join me.”
Dallas looked briefly across to Cassandra. “I’m out of town on business tomorrow, but I’ll be back in time to come. Cassandra may have other plans.”
She knew he was giving the chance to opt out. He was keeping his word about separating business from pleasure. And she appreciated it. Dallas always kept his word. It was part of the reason she loved him.
“I’d love to come, Bill.”
Dallas shot her another quick glance before indicating they should sit to eat.
“I didn’t know you liked opera.” Dallas’s tone was quiet. He could obviously sense something had shifted. She’d enjoy watching him work it out.
“So many thing you don’t know about me, Dallas.”
Bill looked from one to the other, a smile playing on his lips. “And won’t it be fun finding out, eh Dallas?”
Dallas raised an eyebrow. “Apparently.”
A quiet day in the office was exactly what Cassandra had needed. She had to have time to come to terms with the truth around the deaths of her father and Danny.
There was the fact that apparently the family company had been in worse shape than she’d known. Her father had kept things close. No-one had known or suspected how bad things had got. And then there was the fact of Dallas’s non-involvement.
For the past six months she’d studied both the man and his work to make sure that she could destroy him. All the pain had been channeled into accomplishing this end. And now, after her initial joy at discovering the man she loved was guilty only of loyalty to an errant father, she was left with feelings of frustration and emptiness. They were the only things that were holding back the flood of pain and loss that she’d never accepted, never considered, never had time to deal with.
She had the rest of her life to live without her precious son and her beloved father. How could she do it? Her hands automatically went to her stomach where her and Dallas’s child was growing. She would have to do it, for the baby’s sake.
She stared out into the far distance, rippling hills now misted with rain clouds and felt her eyes burn as they slid down to the cityscape beneath her window, trying to focus on the small square windows of offices in the buildings opposite. They showed small glimpses of life, as office workers moved around, lived their lives concerned with paying for their children’s education, coaching their children’s soccer, nursing their sick children. It was something that she would never have with Danny.
“Ready to go miss?” She hadn’t heard the knock and jumped up when she heard Todd’s voice. He was taking her to Parata Bay to get ready for the opera.
She nodded.
“Everything all right?” He approached her, frowning.
She turned quickly back to the window and with one hand scooped up some files and with the other wiped away the tell-tale tears that had run unnoticed down her cheek.
“Sure. Let’s get going.”
Cassandra opened the sash window and closed her eyes against the cool damp air.
She began to unbutton her shirt but her fingers fumbled. All her movements and thoughts, seemed slow, studied, difficult, as though simple actions required great effort, as though she were wading through water.
A sense of numb confusion pervaded her. It was as if her mind had stalled, stopped thinking and feeling at any depth as a self-protection mechanism. The truth was she’d never anticipated beyond this point. She had never contemplated a future beyond ruining Dallas Mackenzie. Now she was beyond the point of imagining. Now, there were no plans, no strategies to shore up her innermost feelings of pain and guilt. She knew she would not be able to keep the pain at bay for long. She would have to face the feelings she’d buried six months ago on the day she’d given up hope of ever seeing her son alive again.
But not yet. She would have tonight first. She would inch her way to feeling, moment by moment and savor the sensations the night with Dallas would bring her—whatever they might be—that she’d blocked from her life all those months ago.
And then tomorrow she would be gone.
Tomorrow she’d have to face the pain and guilt of her loss and the knowledge she’d very nearly ruined an innocent man. The man she loved. The man who, she knew, would hate her once he’d discovered the depths of her lies and intrigue. She knew he’d hate her because she hated herself.
But she’d have one night before he hated her: a night in which he would make love to her.
As she was leaving her room she caught sight of herself in the mirror and stopped abruptly. She didn’t recognize herself: curly hair licked her shoulders and tumbled down her bare back, framing a face dominated by her dark red lips and eyes that shone with a message that was purely sexual.
And then there was the dress. The demure trappings under which she’d denied her sexuality had been banished. In their place
was a dress she’d bought to wear as a slip underneath a sheer dress. But, on its own, it was perfect for what she wanted.
Seduction.
Light shimmered over the sheer red satin, highlighting every curve and hollow of her body, leaving little to the imagination. Just one look at her and Dallas would know what it was she wanted: him—fully and completely—but only for tonight.
The front door slammed shut on a gust of wind followed by voices at the foot of the stairs. Dallas had arrived home. She glanced at her wristwatch. They’d be leaving in an hour. She had time to complete everything.
She packed slowly. She didn’t have much but, as she folded her business clothes, she relived the moments she’d worn them, the moments she’d been close to Dallas, had felt his touch on her sleeve or had noticed his eyes drop to her dress.
The thoughts intensified the slow burn that smoldered inside.
An hour later she was ready. Her bag packed, the room empty, a spare bedroom once more. Ready for the next PA. The thought caused her pain: a tiny stab of jealousy, deep within, found its mark. She ignored it. She had no right to be jealous. She had no rights at all, not after what she’d tried to do to Dallas.
She took one long last look out of the window, at the dark, swirling sea, confused by the twisting direction of the wind and the turn of the currents and at the island, immoveable and brooding, around which confusion reigned.
Some things never changed. She could never imagine Dallas away from here. He was too much a part of it, of its history and its future. But she, like the swirling tides, the flotsam and jetsam taken up by the waves and flung far afield, was moving on.
She leaned her forehead against the cool pane of glass and closed her eyes, trying to calm the heat that was building within. The wind moaned and the waves crashed on the shore far below. Now they were joined by other noises. Dallas had re-entered the hall, talking on his cell phone.
It was time.
She placed her packed bag by the door where Rosa would find it when the taxi came, picked up her wrap and purse, and closed the door quietly behind her.
She paused on the unlit landing and looked down the sweep of stairs into the large hallway. Dallas was leaning against the wall, with his back to her, one hand clamping a cell phone to his ear, the other pushing back his hair. The dinner jacket hung from his broad shoulders as only a bespoke tailored jacket could. She moved forward to see him more clearly, making no noise but still she could see a sudden tension appear in his shoulders. He turned slowly around and returned her gaze, not speaking and not revealing anything but their connection.
She could hear a voice on the other end of the phone as he dropped it from his ear and turned it off, without taking his eyes off her.
“Cassandra?”
His voice was barely a whisper: a question asking more than confirmation of her identity. And she knew her real answer would be conveyed, not by a word, but by the emotions she could no longer keep from her voice.
“Yes.” A statement of readiness.
He went to the foot of the stairs and waited.
As she walked down the long sweep of stairs, her stilettos clicking on the wooden risers, his eyes left hers for the first time and swept the length of her body. She felt as if she were walking down the steps naked and, from his expression, she knew that that was just what he was seeing.
As she stepped off the bottom step, Dallas took her hand.
“You look amazing.”
“I feel amazing. But that’s nothing to do with the dress.”
“There’s nothing much of the dress.”
Cassandra laughed, breaking the tension, filled with happiness at the sight of Dallas’s rare flash of smile. “I wish you would smile more often.”
He brought her hand to his lips, contemplated it as if deep in thought, before turning it and kissing her palm. “I feel like smiling when you’re around.”
He wasn’t smiling any longer though, and nor was she, as they moved closer, absorbing each other’s presence, inhaling their scents.
Suddenly, the kitchen door slammed and Rosa emerged.
“Todd has the car ready Dallas. You ready? Ah, Cassandra. Don’t you look pretty? Where you going Dallas? You’re on time for once, don’t disappear.”
“I have something I want to show Cassandra.” Cassandra smiled as Dallas retreated backwards towards the study. “It won’t take long.”
Rosa banged the kitchen door shut once more, muttering as she went.
As the door closed behind Rosa, Dallas extended his hand to Cassandra. She took it immediately and he gripped it tight and pulled her into the study and closed the door.
“What’s this all about?” His thumb moved heavily in her palm, stirring her already acute sensations even further.
“It’s about this moment, Dallas. Nothing else.”
They stood close, connected only by their hands, his eyes roaming her face. His nostrils flared as they inhaled her scent and she could sense his growing excitement only in the tensing of his jaw. He contained it all.
“Why the change of heart? Did Bill put you up to this?”
He was close but not close enough. He still had no idea why she was really there—thank God—and no idea of what Bill had said to enlighten her.
“Of course not. No, this is just between you and me.”
“You know I want you, Cassandra. I’ve wanted you from the moment we met. But you’re my employee and I don’t intend to break your contract. You’re too valuable to me. Does that mean you’re willing to be my lover and my PA?”
She drew closer, her lips not quite touching, luxuriating in the feel of his quickened breath upon her cheek. “Definitely.” She breathed the words onto his lips and then pulled away, relishing the lust in his eyes, the throb of the pulse in his neck. His lips, however, were compressed and firm. He was determined to be in control.
But it would be her that would be in control tonight.
“I want to be close to you tonight, Dallas. That’s all that’s important.”
She drew away from him and, following her lead, he opened the door for her to pass through into the hall.
“Tonight it is then.”
CHAPTER TEN
Dallas tried to inhale Cassandra as she passed a hair’s breath away from him. Her scent, a heady mixture of perfume and her own unique fragrance, intoxicated him. He could never get enough. The sight of her breasts, unconfined by a bra, shifting as she walked, the hard nipples rubbing directly against the satiny fabric, made him want to grab her there and then and make passionate love to her. But something held him back.
He feasted on her rear view, on the way the fabric’s nap lightened where it grazed her rounded behind. Again there was no visible sign of underwear to impede his imagination. His hands itched to pull up the dress and pleasure that body that was made for love-making. But more than that he wanted to pleasure her mind, her spirit and that meant that he had to wait, he had to follow her cue. Cassandra had taken control and he was more than happy to wait and see what she had in mind. Somehow, he was sure it would be worth it.
Outside the trees that surrounded the house on the upper side of the cliff, strained against the buffeting wind. A shiver ran through Cassandra’s body and she pulled her wrap around her shoulders. She wasn’t cold. Here, in the walled garden, the flowers merely trembled as the wind raged overhead. It was anticipation of spending the night with Dallas that aroused and stimulated her senses.
She looked up at him as he pulled the door close, his eyes fixed on her. She wondered how she could ever have been intimidated by this man. He had his weaknesses—a temper, alcohol—but he’d mastered them and his passion, his loyalty, his kindness and his integrity shone through. She trusted him with her life.
“What are you thinking?” He touched her cheek.
“I’m thinking you trick people, Dallas.”
His eyes narrowed. “You know I don’t.”
“You fool them into thinking you’re a tough
son-of-bitch. But you’d do anything for anybody—except yourself.”
“Don’t overdo the analysis Cassandra. I know who I am and I know what I want. And just at this moment I want you. That has to be enough. Is it?”
“Just this moment is fine. It’s all I want too.” Cassandra moved closer to him, drawn into his space, impelled by a primitive instinct she could barely control.
His lips curved slightly as he approached her and bent his head to hers. Instinct made her lift her lips to his, but he paused and simply looked at her, the expression in his eyes more tender than she’d seen them before. She closed her eyes and parted her lips as his hand brushed down her back and rested briefly on her bottom. The hovering sense of anticipation solidified into a electric flash of fire inside her as he kissed her softly on the lips. Her breath caught in her throat as he pulled away once more.
“Shall we?” It was only the low, roughened tone which betrayed his need.
She opened her eyes to see him watching her, his eyes dark, his mouth firm once more. “Shall we, what?” All thought, all sense of purpose had fled her mind.
“Go?” A smile twitched at the corners of his mouth as he took her arm and indicated they should move through the garden.
“Of course.” She took a deep breath. She would have only one night with him and she was determined to enjoy every part of it. She could wait for the satisfaction only his body could bring her and she knew that Dallas would make the waiting almost as pleasurable as the consummation.
The scented garden had never looked more beautiful, more abundant, more full of promise. A flurry of wind showered them with droplets as they passed under the rose arbor. Cassandra felt with remote fascination a trickle of cold rain water descend her back. She shook the droplets off her hair, made wild by the damp, wind-tossed air.
Once outside the garden wall, the fury of the storm was fully evident. The bush creaked and groaned with the erratic pounding of the wind gusts that whined over the roof iron of the outbuildings, causing the sea to pound and roar at the foot of the cliff. She paused for one moment and closed her eyes, acutely aware of her heart beating in accord with the raging elements. Then she felt Dallas’s large hand enfold over hers and pull her out of the chill air and into the car.