“And is love so simple?” His voice was low and rough.
She turned and looked at the rain. “No,” she said slowly. “Love isn’t simple at all.”
Chapter Nine
Cate and Daniel rode up in the lift to the penthouse in a thoughtful silence, with their wet clothes sticking to them.
“I think I overlooked a couple of things on my list of what makes a home,” she said as they hurried into the apartment. “It should be warm and dry.”
He pulled her close for a quick, warm hug and touched his mouth to hers. “Even your lips are cold.”
“Mmm.” She snuggled into his warmth. “Yours aren’t.”
His phone rang.
He hesitated.
“Go on. I need to dry off anyway.” She headed for her room and a hot shower.
“Hi, Amie. Yes, Cate’s here.”
She stopped.
“No, she can’t come to the phone. No. No, that’s not the reason. She’s wet and needs to change.”
Cate came back and held her hand out.
He pulled a face, but passed her the phone.
“Hi, Amie. I’m fine. I just got caught in the rain.” She watched him give an unwilling shrug, accepting her right to stand and talk while she grew steadily colder. He stripped off his shirt, heading for the bathroom. His muscles flexed, and she had to bring her attention sternly back to the phone conversation. It was easier if she didn’t look at him. “Daniel and I were looking at a lovely old house—”
“Ugh,” Amie interrupted. “I hate old houses.”
“You do?” Cate blinked. She looked around, but Daniel had vanished. She shivered in her damp clothes.
“I prefer new houses. Old houses are yuck. What if someone had died in one? Anyway, why I called, I was thinking about bridesmaid dresses.”
Cate hunched her shoulders and listened absently as Amie rambled.
Mostly Amie wanted an audience to share her excitement. She had decided on a garden wedding. “Beautiful photographs and less hassle about booking a venue, which is important given we’ve only got a month to organise things.”
And then there was the question of clothes. “Buy something you like,” Amie said earnestly. “You’ll be my only bridesmaid, just as Daniel will be Rob’s best man. It’ll be an intimate wedding.”
“I think a garden wedding sounds lovely,” Cate said and rang off with a promise to look for a suitable bridesmaid’s dress.
“Daniel.” She put down the phone and went looking for him. She found him stepping out of the bathroom wearing clean jeans and towelling his hair dry. She folded her arms for warmth and tried not to sound accusing as she said. “Amie says she hates old houses.”
“Does she?” The towel hid his face for a second, then he dropped it round his shoulders and looked at her. “If the house is lovely enough, she’ll change her mind. Amie has enthusiasms.”
“Enthusiasm” could be Amie’s middle name. Despite her extravagant claims of not liking old houses, Daniel could be right and she’d change her mind when presented with one as perfect as the one they’d seen that morning. After all, he’d know his sister’s behaviour better than Cate would.
He reached for a shirt and pulled it on, buttoning it casually.
Cate automatically picked up the towel that had slipped to the floor.
He took it from her hand. “I am house trained.” He draped the wet towel over a bathroom rail. “You’re cold. Have a hot shower. I’ll make sandwiches. Then after lunch, we can buy you a ring.”
The hot shower drove the chill from Cate’s flesh, and over a lunch of cheese and tomato grilled sandwiches, Daniel looked so normal that she felt embarrassed by her own suspicions.
How had she thought he’d tricked her into looking at a house more suitable for them, than for modern-minded Amie and Rob?
There is no “us”, she reminded herself fiercely. She didn’t want an “us”. She was comfortable and safe being independent. Her relationship with Daniel was a temporary affair. They would both move on to new lives.
Though her stomach knotted when she thought of him marrying an unknown woman and having children with her. He would have children, and she’d have a book and her independence.
“Not hungry?” He cleared away their plates.
“Not really.” She managed to smile. “I think I need more exercise.” She caught Daniel’s eye and blushed. “Not in bed, or at least, not now.”
He grinned. “How about we walk down to the jeweller’s? It’s stopped raining.”
She glanced out the window, concentrating on the view rather than her own thoughts. The clouds had cleared away. A weak sun shone, glittering on the river far below. “A walk sounds good.”
They walked hand in hand, strolling along and stopping to look in shop windows.
“I thought you’d be more impatient, an A to B man with no time for meanderings,” she said as they looked in a bookshop window.
“Sometimes. But I find I like meandering with you.” His thumb moved caressingly against her wrist.
Fleetingly, she leant her head against her shoulder. “You’re a sweet-talker.”
He smiled down at her. “Can I sweet-talk you into a ring?”
“Very probably,” she said, and loved how the smile creases in his lean face deepened.
They walked on a few steps and he pushed open the door to the exclusive jewellery store.
An elderly man looked up from his study of a morning newspaper. He had a fringe of white hair around a bald patch which shone in the store’s elegant lighting. Silver-rimmed spectacles perched on his nose, giving him a comically inquisitive expression as he peered over them.
Daniel introduced himself and Cate, and the jeweller brightened. He glanced betrayingly at a paper lying on the counter. “You are, perhaps, after an engagement ring?”
“Yes.” Daniel glanced down at her. “Though I’m not sure what style we want.”
“Something fairly traditional. Not ostentatious.”
The jeweller beamed his approval and studied Cate’s slender fingers a moment. “I would suggest a gold band with your skin tone. As for the stone, were you thinking diamonds? Some ladies prefer a coloured stone like a ruby, or a mixture? We could design something.”
“No, we’d like something today.” Daniel was uncompromising.
“Of course. And do you have any preferences?
“A diamond, I guess. I don’t want it snagging in things.” She’d hate to lose a loose stone in the month she wore the ring.
“A low setting,” the jeweller murmured. “Ah.” He dived into his back room and returned carrying a small tray.
“Oh.” Cate stared at the ring displayed on a square of black velvet. A pink diamond glowed in its simple setting.
“You like it.” Daniel picked up the ring and her hand, and slid the ring into place. He looked into her eyes.
“A perfect fit,” the jeweller said.
Cate and Daniel simply stared at one another. The cool gold band warmed fast, seeming to scorch her skin.
Six years ago, he hadn’t bought her a ring. There hadn’t been even a pretence of romance in their arranged marriage. But now, her fingers trembled in his hold, and she had to force her gaze away from the blue intensity of his eyes.
“The ring is beautiful.” She tilted her hand and the diamond sparkled as it caught the light. It was a ring of celebration and promise. Far too good for a pretence. She wanted to hand it back to the jeweller and ask for something less beautiful.
“We’ll take it.” Daniel took a credit card out of his wallet. “Thank you.”
While the jeweller processed the payment, Daniel raised Cate’s hand to his lips and kissed it. Then he kissed her lips.
Dazedly, she tried to hold onto the fact that this was all for show, like the ring itself. But her body knew that the passion between them was real.
“Ahem.” The jeweller handed Daniel the receipt and a box for the ring. He smiled discreetly, brown eyes twinklin
g behind his spectacles. “I can design a matching wedding ring. Something to keep in mind.”
Daniel slipped the box and receipt into his pocket. “I’ll keep it in mind. Good-bye.”
“Good-bye,” Cate echoed faintly. She waited till they were outside the jewellery store, then the words burst out. “Don’t you dare buy a wedding ring. That’s taking pretence too far.”
“Well, when I start something, I like to finish it, but I’ll try to control my urge to complete the set.”
She glanced up from studying the ring to protest, and realised she was being teased. All her confused emotions and expectations whooshed out in a loud breath.
He laughed. “What should we do now?” He took her hand and ran his thumb over the ring.
“I don’t know.” She looked down at their joined hands. “I really don’t know. I guess I promised Amie I’d look for a bridesmaid’s dress.”
“Perfect. I’ll help.”
“You?” She stared at him.
He looked triumphant and vitally masculine, not a perfect fit for a dress shop.
“You model, and I’ll give you my opinion, on the dress.”
“Won’t you be bored?”
A wolfish grin slashed his face. “Not likely. I like looking at you, Caty.”
She fought her blush and shook her head. “I don’t know what shops to try. I should have asked Amie for a recommendation.”
“Never mind.” He put her hand at his waist, then slipped his own arm around her. “We’ll wander along and see what we find.”
They found an expensive boutique where the sales assistant swayed forward on three inch heels that had Cate wincing at the thought of standing in them all day.
The woman’s blonde hair was cut short and styled to dramatic sleekness, and contrasted smartly with her flattering little black dress.
Cate was uneasily reminded of the utilitarian nature of her own clothes.
“I’m Moira. How may I help you?” The sales woman recognised the value of Cate’s engagement ring instantly, sighed once in Daniel’s direction, then gave herself totally to the task of fitting Cate with a stunning, and stunningly expensive, gown.
“But it’s not a bridesmaid’s dress,” Cate wailed as the woman ruthlessly zipped her into a figure-hugging, cleavage-displaying, thigh-baring firecracker red dress. “It’s not appropriate.”
“With a man like yours waiting for me out front. I’d forget about appropriate.” She gave Cate a push. “Don’t be shy. With your figure, you’ll knock him dead.”
“Shy? There’d be more fabric in a corset,” Cate muttered.
“We sell those too.”
Cate hurried out of the change room, pretending not to hear.
It didn’t matter that Daniel had seen her nude, she felt naked in this dress. She walked up to him hurriedly. “I know it’s not a bridesmaid’s dress. The sales lady here is pushy. There’s a frothy peach silk and lace dress which will suit a garden wedding better. It’s more—”
“You’re gorgeous.”
“Daniel!” The heated look in his eyes peaked her nipples.
Of course he noticed and smiled. “We’ll buy this one for fun. Go try on the other dress.”
The sales assistant refrained from saying, “I told you so”, but her eyes were eloquent. She held up the garden party frock.
Cate took it thankfully. She felt raw and exposed. It was natural that her body responded to Daniel’s interest and she felt comfortable enjoying the sexual tension between them. But when she’d raced out of the changing room to assure him she wasn’t looking to buy something inappropriate for Amie’s bridesmaid, she hadn’t been thinking of sexual tension. She’d been worried about his approval.
Since when do I need someone else’s approval?
Her emotions scared Cate. Hadn’t she learned her lesson six years ago? She’d spent her teen years striving to earn her dad’s approval. She’d squashed her own dreams and the daring, independent side of her nature to reassure her dad that all was well with her. She’d done everything to earn his infrequent, sad smile after her mum’s death. And her uncertain, teenage search for approval had been met with the stunning bluntness of an attempted arranged marriage and the destruction of her dreams.
She’d forgiven her dad, but she wouldn’t forget the lesson: a strong woman, a survivor, lived by self-validation, not by the approval of another.
To find herself weakening into fearing Daniel’s disapproval and trying to avoid it, horrified her. She’d been seduced by the day’s romantic false dreams: house-hunting as part of a couple, buying an engagement ring, and now, modelling for a lover.
Cate looked down at the dress. At least this feminine creation wouldn’t bring the heated look to Daniel’s eyes. It was a dress for a wedding, a charming dress to celebrate love and happy-ever-after. It didn’t seduce, it promised.
Amie would love it.
Cate shook out the folds of the peach dress and checked the scooped neckline, its modesty protected with lace. In the mirror, she looked elegant and summery, and as she walked, the silk skirt flirted about her ankles.
Daniel stood as she walked towards him.
She kept her eyes steady on his face, trying to blank her own expression. She didn’t want to care what he thought.
His gaze swept the length of her and returned to her face. At his sides, his hands clenched, and he thrust them into his pockets.
“It’s almost bridal, isn’t it? Perfect for a bridesmaid,” the sale assistant said. “Truly lovely.”
“Yes.” Daniel cleared his throat.
“I think Amie will like it.” Cate glanced down at the dress, glad to look away from him. She didn’t trust the way her heart thumped, reading messages in his silence. Despite her embarrassment in the daring red dress, she preferred his heated, teasing approval to this unnamed tension.
The sales assistant broke the silence. “You can bring your friend in tomorrow, if you like. Is she the bride?”
“Yes.” Cate smoothed a lace frill. “Amie’s marrying my brother in a month.”
“That doesn’t allow much time.” The other woman frowned. “Definitely bring your friend in as soon as you can. I don’t think the dress needs much alteration, if she approves it. But you’ll need to think of matching accessories. Maybe a hat?”
“I’ll bring Amie in, tomorrow.” Cate was glad of the sales assistant’s spate of words, and the reminder of their real purpose in the shop. “Excuse me, I’ll change back into my everyday clothes.”
And my everyday mind, she added silently.
She stripped off the peach silk and hung it carefully before pulling on the familiar practicality of her chambray shirt and trousers.
Daniel bought the red dress while Cate changed.
She saw the white and gold bag he held, but didn’t challenge him. She felt too unsettled. A lover could buy such things, and enjoy the giving and receiving. If she protested, how could she explain the protest? Unless she wanted to call a halt to their love-making?
She cuddled herself around his arm. “Let’s go home.”
“Will you model the red dress again?”
The tension between them eased; shifted into the less stressful realm of desire.
“I could be convinced,” she said.
“So do we take a taxi or walk?”
She saw the teasing in his eyes. “For that, I’ll make you wait and walk.” She released his arm and he slipped it around her waist.
“You’re punishing yourself, too.” He caressed her hip a moment, then pulled her closer. “You don’t have to model the dress.”
“I wouldn’t mind.” She wet her lips and looked up at him from under lowered lashes. “But someone promised me an office fantasy. There was mention of a desk…”
“Promises should always be kept,” he agreed solemnly. “Tell me, what did the fantasy include?”
She glanced around, but no one was close enough to hear their murmured exchange. “Well, I thought I’d be a jo
urnalist interviewing a sexy businessman, and each time I get an answer I like, I undo a button, maybe take off a piece of clothing.”
“What questions will you be asking?” Daniel’s voice went husky.
It bolstered her confidence with the sexual game. She put her arm around his waist and angled her body so the side of her breast brushed him as they walked.
“Questions?” She sounded demure. “I thought I’d ask what you like. What sounds do you like a woman to make in love-making, whimpers or words, sighs or screams? Where do you like to touch her? How do you like her to touch you? If I like your answers, we’ll move on to a practical demonstration.”
She felt the tension in his body and the faster rhythm of his breathing. Her own body was heating and melting. Words, just words, but they seduced them both.
“Tell me,” he said.
“For the practical demonstration, you’ll be sitting in your chair. It’s large and solid and leather. I’ll be naked. I’ll slide onto your lap and help you undress. I’ll touch you the way you tell me to, and then, you’ll touch me, until we’re both so hot and desperate for one another that you stretch me out across your desk and plunge into me.”
He shifted the shopping bag so it covered the evidence of his arousal.
“And I’ll take you so deep and so strong that you scream my name, and I’ll explode like a firecracker from the pleasure of you thrusting into me on the wide, smooth, wooden desk,” She finished triumphantly as they walked into the lobby of the apartment building.
He punched the lift button. The doors opened and he pulled Cate inside and hit the penthouse button. He pushed her back against the wall, lifting her to cradle his hardness, and thrust against her. “You, torment.”
He thrust again, and she rode the strength of his need. She ached for the reality of his possession. His mouth came down on her, and she answered from her own hunger. Lips and tongues mated, and demanded more.
The lift doors opened, and he stumbled out, carrying her wrapped around him. He groaned with the agonising friction of each step.
Somehow they got the penthouse door open, themselves inside, and the door shut again against the outside world.
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