More care? She couldn’t help laughing. ‘More care? Roarke, you couldn’t possibly have taken more care than you did.’
‘So, what happened? Were all the men out there blind?’ he teased, more like his usual self.
Ginny sighed. ‘No. It was me. After Mark, I wasn’t about to rush into anything,’ she admitted, surprising him again.
‘There’s been no one since Mark?’ he repeated in disbelief, and her shrug was just a little diffident. She didn’t care to recall how stupid she had been.
‘I made a fool of myself over him, confusing desire with love. The only way to make sure it didn’t happen again was to keep all men at bay. When you’ve been burned, you learn to steer clear of the fire.’ It was a philosophy which had worked well over the years, protecting her.
‘OK, I can understand that. So why me? Why now?’ Roarke asked curiously.
She could have said nothing, but she had already said so much, there was no point in hiding the truth. ‘Because you’re the only man who’s ever made me want to change my mind.’ She told the simple truth.
‘Then I’m honoured,’ he responded with an unexpected degree of sincerity, causing her heart to give a tiny lurch.
Feeling oddly emotional, Ginny had to make light of it or do something silly like burst into tears. ‘You should be. The truth is, I’m under no illusion this time. You’re here and I want you and, try as I might, I couldn’t find a convincing reason not to have you.’
That brought a glint to his eye. ‘You tried, though?’
Her laughter was openly flirtatious. ‘Oh, yes. I didn’t want sex rearing its ugly head and cluttering up my life, but if last night is anything to go by, I made the right choice.’
‘I’m glad you were satisfied.’
Ginny reached out and trailed a finger along the V neck of his sweater. ‘I was satisfied last night, but this morning… You should have woken me. Why didn’t you?’
‘Oh, I wanted to, believe me. You don’t know how hard it was to keep my hands to myself and crawl out of this bed. All I wanted to do was kiss you awake and lose myself in you again. However, I thought you needed the sleep more, and the noble thing to do was leave you alone.’
‘For future reference, I’m not that bothered about nobility,’ Ginny told him wryly. ‘So why don’t you come back to bed?’ she suggested with a winsome smile.
Roarke groaned but resisted temptation. ‘I have to be crazy to pass up an offer like that, but I must. We don’t have much time, and I want to speak to my father before he leaves this morning.’
She was disappointed, but she understood. ‘Then what are you doing wasting time here? Go and find him. There will be other mornings.’ Their desire for each other was not to be satisfied so quickly.
Grey eyes gleamed wickedly. ‘You’re right, and I shall be looking forward to every one of them. Last night was not the end, only the beginning. Now, I’d better go before my resolve weakens. I’ll see you in a little while.’
He pressed a fleeting kiss on her lips then left the room. Ginny sighed wistfully. It was funny how things turned out. Nothing about this weekend had gone the way she expected, and yet it couldn’t have turned out better. She had found her family again, and for that alone everything that had happened would have been worth it. Even running into her father.
And then there was Roarke. Neither of them would have bet on this happening, that they would end up in bed together. Yet she wasn’t sorry. For the first time in a long time she felt as if she was truly herself again. The Ginny who knew what she wanted and went for it, unafraid.
She was older and wiser now. This time she wasn’t going to mistake desire for love. It would be an affair, that was all. There was no love on either side, just a powerful desire. When it was over, she would walk away with her pride intact. There were no false promises, no impossible demands. They wanted each other, and they would enjoy every moment for as long as it lasted.
It was incredibly heady to feel free of the past, and Ginny lay there basking in the newness of it. But eventually her stomach started to rumble and she began to think of food instead of what she might be doing if Roarke was still here. Sitting up, she reached for the travel clock she had set on the bedside table and was startled to find it was getting on for eleven o’clock in the morning.
‘Yipes!’ she exclaimed, thinking of all the things she had to do before she could eat. Galvanised into action, Ginny flung back the covers, scrambled from the bed and hurried into the bathroom.
If either of them had thought that one week or even one month would see their passion for each other diminish, they would have been wrong. Six weeks after their return from the wedding, the attraction between them was as strong as it ever was. In fact, Ginny almost felt as if it was stronger.
As for herself and Roarke, they were virtually inseparable these days. At work they remained professional, but they no longer had the verbal battles everyone expected, which was causing even more talk amongst the staff. Ginny found herself being watched, and she knew they were being talked about, but it didn’t bother her. She was happy, and breezed through even the most hectic of days because she knew that come the evening they would be together and the world would be shut out.
Roarke appeared happy too. At least the wastebasket in his office was spared the attentions of his foot these days. He had taken to spending most of his free time at her flat, only returning to his own apartment to pick up his mail. Sometimes they stayed in. More often they ate out or went to a show, but always when they came home they would make love.
Ginny was getting used to falling asleep in his arms, and waking to the gentle touch of his lips and hands in the morning. Like now. She had been awake for some time but she was pretending to be asleep for she loved the feel of his hands caressing her. He was so gentle, yet he could stir the embers inside her to life in no time at all. They lay moulded together spoon fashion, and she could feel his arousal pushing against her. It was becoming increasingly difficult to lie still, for as her body responded she wanted to move under his touch and purr like a cat.
‘I know you’re awake,’ Roarke murmured in her ear before nibbling at her earlobe.
Released from the need for pretence, Ginny sighed ruefully and wriggled round to face him. ‘Hi, do I know you?’ she charged teasingly.
‘Very well, if my memory serves me right,’ he returned sardonically, running his hand over the curve of her hip and thigh. ‘Um, this feels awfully familiar to me,’ he added, grinning wolfishly.
Ginny shivered in response as a wave of tingles spread over her skin. ‘And remind me just what it is you do,’ she went on, tracing a finger down the line of his nose and round his lips.
‘Oh, things like…this,’ he told her with a wicked glint in his eye and trailed his hand to her breast, cupping it and circling her hardening nipple with his thumb.
Ginny sighed pleasurably. ‘Ah, yes, now I remember you. We work together,’ she declared, lowering her own hand to his chest and finding a flat male nipple nestling amongst the silky hairs.
‘That’s right.’ Roarke nodded. ‘It’s always better when two people work together. It increases the pleasure.’
Her green eyes flirted with him. ‘Is that so?’
‘Want me to prove it to you?’
‘I thought you’d never ask!’ She laughed huskily. ‘What do you want me to do?’
Laughing softly, Roarke eased her over on to her back and flung back the bedcovers. ‘Nothing. All you have to do is lie there and take notes,’ he told her against the tender skin of her neck. With infinite care he began to trace a wandering path over her body with lips and hands.
Biting her lip as a wave of pleasure washed over her, Ginny had to clear her throat to speak. ‘Will you be asking questions later?’ she asked, her laugh turning into a moan as he traversed the peaks of her breasts, leaving havoc in his wake.
Roarke paused in his roving somewhere around her navel and glanced up. ‘The test will be a practical one
. You have to repeat what you learn here. Points will be added for inventiveness,’ he added as he returned to his ministrations.
She laughed, but when his hands parted her thighs and he sought the core of her with ravishing strokes of his tongue, amusement turned to gasping breaths and low moans of pleasure. With consummate ease he toppled her over the edge into a climax that appeased her immediate need, yet ultimately left her wanting more.
Roarke came up beside her, grinning wickedly. ‘Do you understand what you have to do?’ he asked teasingly, and Ginny sat up, eyes promising retribution.
‘Let me see, we start here…’ She trailed her fingers low across his stomach, and he jerked under her touch, taken by surprise. Smiling to herself, Ginny came up on her knees. ‘No, no, that wasn’t it.’ She tutted. ‘What about…?’ Her hand closed around the velvety length of his manhood and squeezed gently.
‘Hell’s teeth!’ Roarke exclaimed, coming up on his elbows, hot flags of colour staining his cheeks.
Instantly, Ginny was there, easing him back down. ‘Take it easy. I’ll get it right this time,’ she promised, grinning devilishly, which made him groan and throw his arm over his eyes.
‘You’re nothing but a damned tease, Ginny Harte,’ he told her tautly.
Ginny ran her hands over his chest, teasing the nipples into hardened nubs. ‘I forgot to take notes—sorry. Something distracted me. Now, tell me how this feels.’ Before he could guess what she was about, she was sitting astride his hips and had taken him inside her.
Roarke removed his arm and lay watching her, breathing raggedly. ‘Feels good,’ he murmured thickly.
‘And this?’ She moved, biting her lip as pleasure began to mount inside her.
‘O—oh, yes,’ he agreed through clenched teeth.
Her eyes met and held his as she continued to move seductively. It was incredibly arousing to entice him this way, but the need for satisfaction was growing inside her.
‘Let go,’ Roarke urged gruffly, and with a gasp she abandoned the fight for self-control and instead drove on towards the goal her body craved. Roarke’s hands fastened on her hips as she flung her head back in an agony of pleasure, and he matched her rhythm. It was a wild, frantic ride, and minutes later they climaxed together with mingled cries.
Collapsing on top of him, Ginny closed her eyes and waited for her pulse to stop galloping. Finally she had enough breath to speak.
‘It just keeps getting better and better, doesn’t it?’
Roarke ran his hands caressingly up and down her back. ‘Guess we must be doing something right.’
Sighing, she raised her hand and flicked her hair back out of her eyes. ‘Was that inventive enough for you?’
‘You can say that again. I don’t know how I’m supposed to get up and go to work now.’
She knew how he felt, but the remark brought something else to mind. ‘They’re talking about us at the office, you know.’
‘There’s nothing new in that. They always talked about us,’ Roarke was quick to point out.
‘Yes, but now they’re talking about us because we’re not arguing. Do you think they suspect?’
‘Probably.’ Roarke used a finger to tease away hair that had stuck to her cheek. ‘Do you mind them suspecting?’
‘No,’ she said with a shake of her head. It wasn’t the suspecting that bothered her, it was the knowledge that the staff would now be speculating on how long it would last, and how she would deal with the end of it. Something she didn’t know herself and, frankly, didn’t want to think about.
Sensing something was wrong, Roarke frowned. ‘But?’
Easing herself away from him and sitting up, Ginny grimaced. ‘It’s nothing really. I simply realised that if they do suspect we’re having an affair, they’ll also be betting on how long it lasts. Your track record isn’t good,’ she reminded him dryly, making light of it though she wasn’t that amused really. Whilst their attraction showed no signs of waning, she could not ignore the fact that the longer the affair lasted, the closer they came to the end. A prospect that was far from pleasant, though she wasn’t ready to ask herself why.
Roarke sat up too. ‘I’m sorry it’s bothering you. Do you want me to put a stop to it?’
Ginny shook her head and slid off the bed, reaching for her robe and slipping it on. ‘You can’t stop them wondering. It’s human nature.’
‘Maybe not. But I don’t like the idea of people gossiping about your private life.’
She laughed wryly. ‘The only way to stop them is to end the affair. Is that what you want?’
‘You know damn well it isn’t,’ Roarke growled, eyes gleaming wickedly. ‘I don’t know what makes you so different, but I can’t get enough of you. There’s no way I’m letting you go.’
It did her spirits a power of good to hear that, for she wasn’t ready to end it, either. ‘So we just let the gossips get on with it?’
‘We’re news now, but it will pass the minute something better comes along.’
He was right, of course, but as she showered a little while later she couldn’t help remembering, and knowing that if they were news now one day she would be old news. It was a thought that tightened invisible fingers about her heart.
Ginny was busy working on a colour scheme for one of their small hotels, which was due to be redecorated in the off season, when Roarke let himself into her office via the connecting door. Glancing up, she smiled a welcome, then glanced at her watch.
‘Hi. I thought you had a lunch appointment,’ she reminded him, at the same time angling her head up to receive the kiss he deposited on her lips.
‘I have,’ he confirmed, perching himself on a corner of her desk. ‘I just got off the phone from talking to Caroline.’
‘They’re back from their honeymoon at last? How are they?’
Roarke grinned. ‘They’re fine. They’ve been back a fortnight, apparently.’
Her brows rose. ‘Two weeks? Where have they been hiding themselves?’
‘In the house they’ve bought in Surrey. They’ve already entertained your parents, and my mother. Now it’s our turn. We’ve been invited to dinner tonight,’ Roarke informed her, and her smile faded to a wary look.
‘Does James know?’ Her last meeting with her brother had been less than comfortable.
‘Um-hum. Apparently he’s relaxed a lot. He even argued with your father during their visit.’
‘James did?’ Ginny couldn’t have been more surprised. Her brother had had the stuffing knocked out of him by their father’s strictness many years ago. That he would argue with him was tantamount to treason. ‘I can’t believe it. The Brigadier must have gone ballistic!’
Roarke rubbed the side of his nose judiciously. ‘He wasn’t too amused.’
Ginny started to laugh. ‘Oh, I wish I could have seen that,’ she said, wiping a tear from her eye. ‘She didn’t happen to say anything about Lucy?’
Ginny had been expecting her sister to turn up at her door ever since she had returned from Switzerland, but there had been no sign of her. Though she knew Lucy would come to no harm, she guessed that their father had been keeping an eagle eye on her, making it difficult for her to get away.
‘No, she didn’t. You’ll have to ask her tonight. Are you worried about your sister?’ Roarke asked in concern, and Ginny sighed, tapping her fingers on the desktop.
‘No more than usual. I just wish she was here and not there.’
Roarke laid a reassuring hand on her shoulder. ‘Lucy looked the resourceful type to me. She’ll come when the time is right. Only she will know that.’
‘You’re right. It’s the mother hen in me. I want her where I can look out for her,’ Ginny replied wryly, then frowned as the rising sounds of a commotion in the outer office had them both turning and staring at the door.
‘What on earth…?’ Roarke muttered, but before he could make a move to go and investigate, the door was thrown open and Jenna stood in the doorway. ‘Jenna?’ he exclaim
ed in surprise, rising to his feet.
‘Don’t you Jenna me, you snake in the grass!’ his stepmother declared in a loud voice. She took several not-quite-steady steps towards Ginny’s desk, and it didn’t take a genius to realise she had been drinking. It was by closing the distance between them that the woman finally recognised who Roarke was with. A sneer slid across her face. ‘Well, well, well. If it isn’t your little bedmate!’ she exclaimed, and Ginny’s heart sank as she saw the group of people huddled in the doorway. Judging from the looks on their faces, they had heard every damning word.
Roarke appreciated the situation too, and he waved the goggle-eyed group away. They went reluctantly, closing the door behind them. Only then did he turn his attention to the other woman.
‘What are you doing here, Jenna?’ he demanded to know in a voice that dripped ice.
‘I came to tell you what I think of you, you rat! I suppose you’re proud of yourselves, aren’t you? You and this little tramp!’ She waved a hand in Ginny’s direction.
Frozen to her seat, Ginny was looking from one to the other like a spectator at a tennis match, but the thunderous expression on Roarke’s face when he heard that made her catch her breath.
‘Say what you like about me, Jenna, but don’t even think of insulting Ginny in front of me. Believe me, you won’t like what would happen next!’ he told her in a voice so full of dislike the other woman must have felt it despite her condition.
‘So that’s the way the wind blows, is it? My, you must have got it bad to rush to her defence this way.’ She laughed scornfully.
‘My feelings for Ginny are none of your business.’
‘What’s she got that I haven’t?’ Jenna wanted to know.
Roarke folded his arms and looked at her stonily. ‘Integrity, for one thing. The ability to care about other people. And she doesn’t see dollar signs when she looks at a man. Will that do?’
Jenna shot him a vicious look. ‘All I wanted was a little fun, you sanctimonious hypocrite. What was so wrong with that?’
‘You were married to my father, but I take it from your presence here that’s about to change.’
His After-Hours Mistress Page 14