Suddenly she didn’t want to let him go, running across the newly cut lawn to open her gate and follow him as he walked towards the lights of the grey-stoned manor house. ‘Hey, Pierce, I—’
‘For God’s sake!’ His expression was fierce as he turned to see her running lightly after him. ‘Go back,’ he shouted harshly. ‘Danny, go back!’
She came to an abrupt halt, staring at him with stricken eyes. Why had he returned to his initial coldness so suddenly? Minutes ago he had…
‘Danny, go back!’ He began to run back to her as the sound of the dogs barking could be heard, all the time the sound coming closer and closer. ‘Oh God!’ he groaned as the two Alsatians bounded around the corner of the house, still barking as they ran towards them, two of the biggest of their breed Danny had ever seen. ‘Heel!’ Pierce commanded as he turned to face them, pushing Danny behind him. ‘For God’s sake heel!’ He was breathing hard in his effort to stop the howling beasts.
‘Sit, you two.’ Danny stepped in front of Pierce, the two panting dogs obediently sitting down at her feet, looking up at her with adoring eyes as she patted them affectionately on the head. She turned back to Pierce. ‘It’s all right, they won’t hurt you while you’re with me.’ She smiled at him reassuringly, concerned at how pale he was.
‘I—thought—they—might—attack—you!’ he said through gritted teeth.
‘Fang and Killer?’ She laughed at the thought of them possibly hurting her.
‘I believe their names are Ferdinand and Kilpatrick.’ He stepped out from behind her, looking down in amazement at the two stupidly drooling dogs that were supposed to be trained killers, Kilpatrick even rolling over on his back now to have his stomach rubbed by one slender, playful hand.
‘Oh, they are.’ Danny nodded. ‘Such silly names for these fearsome creatures.’
‘They don’t look very fearsome at the moment.’ Pierce looked on with disgust as Ferdinand joined his brother by rolling on his back, his big feet waving ridiculously in the air.
‘Oh, you mustn’t mind them.’ Danny straightened, pulling down the ribbed halter-top as it rode up towards her breasts. ‘They know me very well.’
‘They know me, too,’ he derided. ‘But they don’t“roll over” for me!’
She frowned. ‘You seemed frightened of them a moment ago…?’
‘I told you, I thought they were going to attack you,’ he explained impatiently. ‘I had no idea they were aware of your scent.’
‘We’re old friends.’ She absently stroked the two regal heads as the dogs stood as close to her as they could get. ‘Danton introduced me to them their first day here; he thought it best in the circumstances.’
‘Yes,’ he agreed tersely. ‘Speaking of Danton,’ his eyes narrowed as he looked about them, ‘he should have been here with his dogs by now.’
Danny shook her head. ‘He probably thinks they’re taking a run with me, we usually take one together late at night when it isn’t so hot. I just haven’t had the time tonight.’
Grey eyes were disbelieving. ‘You run Danton’s dogs for him?’
‘Of course not,’ she scorned. ‘They just run along with me when I jog five times around the wall perimeter.’
‘Good God, how far is that?’
‘About five miles, I think. Then I—’
‘Don’t tell me any more!’ He closed his eyes. ‘What on earth do you want to half kill yourself in that way every night for?’
‘I don’t half kill myself.’ She smiled at his horror. ‘I’m keeping myself in shape—my Raquel Welch shape,’ she added teasingly.
‘Gardening doesn’t do that?’
Danny shook her head. ‘It doesn’t loosen up the muscles like jogging does.’
‘But it doesn’t kill you either!’
‘Exercise, properly supervised, doesn’t harm you at all,’ she reproved. ‘I’m sure you don’t keep your own body in that great shape by sitting about all day.’ The candidness of her gaze showed him just how good she thought that body was.
‘I swim thirty lengths of the pool daily,’ he grudgingly admitted.
‘There you are, then,’ she said smugly. ‘Actually, that’s why I came after you.’
‘Because of my great body?’ he lightly mocked.
‘I think you’re learning a little too fast now.’ She pretended irritation, the twinkle in her sherry-coloured eyes belying that emotion. ‘I wondered if I could join you in your swim.’
‘You can think in a pool, too?’
‘I’ve never tried.’ She shrugged. ‘I didn’t really have that in mind when I suggested the swim.’
‘Oh?’
‘My, what a suspicious mind you have, Mr Sutherland.’ Danny looked up at him reprovingly. ‘Your uncle lives in a sterilely safe world but I would have thought you had more sense. I certainly don’t have designs on that great body of yours,’ she said angrily.
He had stiffened at the mention of his reclusive uncle, but his expression lightened at the latter, until finally he smiled, albeit resignedly. ‘Go and get your bikini, Danny,’ he sighed. ‘I’d hate you to miss your daily exercise and lose that figure.’
An imp of mischief possessed her as she looked for her bathing costume, picking up one of Cheryl’s, a skimpy black article on her petite sister, even more so on her more generous curves. But Pierce’s last comment had been a little patronising, and she intended shaking him out of his arrogant complacency.
She certainly did that when she joined him, waiting until he surfaced at the side of the pool before dropping her black robe, almost giggling out loud at the widening of Pierce’s eyes as he leant his chin on his folded arms, water dripping down his face.
‘I was wrong,’ he said slowly. ‘Your body is better than Raquel Welch’s!’
She moved to the poolside with exaggeratedly provocative movements. ‘Eat your heart out, Pierce Sutherland.’ She gave him a sweetly triumphant smile. ‘I’ve already promised not to touch you.’
He watched her as she slowly entered the water by the stairs. ‘I didn’t make the same promise,’ he reminded huskily. ‘Although we would have little privacy here.’ He grimaced.
She glanced up at the brightly lit windows. The pool, another recent addition for the new owner, was built close to the back of the three-storey house. ‘Mr Sutherland isn’t back in the house, is he?’ she prompted cautiously, doubting Henry Sutherland would like the idea of his gardener cavorting about in his pool with his nephew.
Pierce shook his head. ‘I can assure you Henry is not in the house.’
‘Do you call him that?’ She swam over to his side, treading water when she reached him. ‘It doesn’t seem respectful somehow. He’s a very powerful man, isn’t he?’ She wrinkled her nose at one man having as much power as Henry Sutherland was reputed to have.
‘Very,’ Pierce agreed grimly.
‘Where do you fit into the scheme of things?’ she asked interestedly. ‘Your cousin does the accounts,’ she explained at his questioning look. ‘I wondered what you did for the Sutherland empire.’
‘A bit of this, a bit of that.’ Pierce shrugged dismissively. ‘It’s a big organisation.’
She nodded, looking appreciatively at the blue-bottomed pool, liking the privacy the fenced-in area offered—except from the house itself! ‘How many lengths have you done?’
‘Ten.’ He shook the water from his hair. ‘Feel up to doing the other twenty?’
‘I can try.’ She nodded. ‘Although don’t make it a race; I’m completely out of practice. They closed the pool down in Bedmont, you know,’ she told him as they struck out in leisurely strokes.
Pierce moved smoothly through the water, obviously pacing himself to her slower movements. ‘Feel free to use this one any time you want.’
‘Won’t your uncle mind the intrusion?’ ‘Henry can be a very generous person,’ he told her drily.
‘I suppose it’s nice for him, having his two nephews working for him,’ she said thoughtfully.
‘He doesn’t have any children of his own, does he?’
‘No.’
‘I heard his wife died.’
‘A long time ago,’ Pierce confirmed abruptly.
‘How sad. And he never married again?’
‘No.’
‘It seems a pity, I’m sure he must have a lot to give a relationship.’
Pierce’s mouth twisted. ‘He is very rich.’
‘I didn’t mean in that way.’ She gave him a stern look for his cynicism. ‘With all that wealth he must also be a very travelled man. Very interesting, I should think.’
‘To my knowledge no woman has ever wanted him for his mind,’ Pierce drawled drily.
Amusement flickered in warm brown eyes. ‘Now that is disrespectful,’ she teased.
‘But true,’ he rasped, striking out in stronger movements. ‘Let’s speed this up or we’ll be here all night!’
She managed fifteen lengths before hauling herself out and collapsing on the cool marble surround to the pool. By the time she had recovered her breath enough to sit up Pierce was on his final length. He glided easily through the water, obviously not tiring at all, his strokes still strong and smooth, a grim look of satisfaction to his face as he levered out on to the side, picking up a towel to drape it around his neck.
‘I’ve been thinking…’
‘Well, it worked for one of us, didn’t it.’ She grinned.
His brows rose. ‘You have no solution to your problem?’
‘Not yet, but I’ll find one,’ she dismissed confidently. ‘You were thinking…?’
‘When you go on this late night jog of yours,’ he dropped down on to the marble beside her, ‘why don’t alarms go off and the lights come on?’
‘It’s quite a security system, isn’t it,’ she acknowledged. ‘What does your uncle have in the house that he needs to protect?’
Pierce’s mouth twisted. ‘That most elusive possession, privacy.’
Danny grimaced. ‘And an expensive one, too, if the guards and security system are anything to go by.’
‘You didn’t answer my question,’ he prompted hardly.
‘About the bells and lights?’ She shrugged. ‘Dave Benson switches them off while I take my run.’
‘He what?’
Danny frowned at his harsh anger. ‘Don’t panic,’ she teased. ‘There’s still the visual surveillance, and the actual guards. Besides, it isn’t for very long, and—’
‘Long enough,’ Pierce ground out fiercely, his eyes icy grey. ‘I can’t believe this.’ He shook his head. ‘Are you really telling me that Benson switches off a million pounds worth of highly technical equipment so that you can jog five miles a night?’
‘A million pounds?’ Danny gasped at the figure. ‘Is that really how much it cost? I know he’s a rich man, but—’
‘Does he?’
She shrugged. ‘I don’t know what all the fuss is about, it’s only for a few minutes—’
‘Long enough for someone to get in to the grounds and up to the house,’ Pierce snapped, anger etched deeply into his face.
She shook her head. ‘Not with the dogs loose.’
‘Ferdinand and Kilpatrick are with you, remember,’ he bit out tersely.
Danny gave an impatient sigh. ‘In that case there are still the men patrolling the house and immediate grounds.’
‘After learning of the shambles you’ve made of the rest of the security system I wouldn’t be surprised to know that they’re watching you, too! God,’ he exploded into a sitting position. ‘This is incredible!’
She chewed on her bottom lip as she realised how seriously upset he was. ‘Are you going to tell your uncle?’ She grimaced.
His head snapped round, his breathing uneven. ‘You can be sure he needs to be told what’s going on in his own house!’ he told her hardily.
‘What will he do?’
‘Well, I wouldn’t advise any more late night trips into the grounds,’ he warned grimly.
‘Dave Benson isn’t going to get into trouble, is he?’ she asked pleadingly, wishing she had just kept her mouth shut. But it had been something she had never been able to do. Besides, she hadn’t realised it would cause this fuss.
‘Mr Benson is going to get exactly what he deserves!’
His steely tone made her cringe. Pierce Sutherland was obviously a man without mercy, which led her to wonder if he wasn’t his uncle’s hatchet-man; he gave the impression of having to make harsh decisions and seeing that they were carried out.
‘Pierce, I—’
‘What do you think you’re doing?’ he rasped, looking down at her coldly.
Sherry-coloured eyes widened in bewilderment. ‘Sorry?’
He looked down pointedly at the hand she had placed on his chest as she made her plea.
Danny looked down at the hand too, the skin almost the same colour as his own mahogany, hours spent working in the grounds meaning it wasn’t a pretty or delicate hand, the nails were kept short and square, the long fingers were capable rather than refined, several callouses on her palm. No, it wasn’t a pretty hand, but it didn’t deserve the dissecting regard Pierce was giving it, either.
‘Why are you touching me?’ he asked slowly.
She breathed softly as she realised the reason for his terse query. ‘I talk with my hands,’ she dismissed. ‘My father says that if my hands were tied behind my back I’d be silent.’
‘I doubt that,’ Pierce drawled derisively.
‘It’s true. I—’ The light explanation was cut off as firmly moulded lips descended almost roughly on to her own.
Surprise was quickly followed by pleasure, and with a low groan of surrender she curved her body in to his, her arms going up about his neck, opening her lips as the rigidity of his tongue probed against them.
Her mouth widened even more as she gasped at the coolness of the marble against her back as she was lowered to the ground, the hardness of Pierce’s chest crushing her breasts in a most erotic way, the peaks erect through her bikini top.
‘Danny— What is your name?’ Pierce demanded against the curve of her breast.
She mumbled her reply, surprised she could remember her name, feeling dizzy at the expertise of this man’s kisses. God, he…
‘I’m sorry, Mr Sutherland, I had no idea—!
My God, Danny!’ Don Bridgeman, Head of Security for the Sutherland estate, gasped as he stood several feet away from them, his dark-suited figure strangely out of place.
‘What is it?’ Pierce sat up, effectively shielding Danny as she straightened her bikini.
‘We have a security alert on the west wall—’
‘I’m surprised you were aware of it,’ Pierce snapped with icy reproval as he stood up.
‘Sir…?’ Don Bridgeman looked puzzled.
‘Never mind,’ Pierce dismissed. ‘I’ll talk to you about that later. Wait for me outside.’
Danny watched the exchange with a puzzled frown, feeling sorry for the older man, knowing his rebuke had all been her fault. But how was she supposed to know her casually given admission would cause this much trouble; the alarm was only off for a matter of minutes, for goodness’ sake!
‘I’m sorry about this.’ Pierce put out a hand to pull her to her feet, instantly releasing her as she straightened. ‘I had no idea we would be interrupted.’
She dismissed the apology with an impatient shrug. ‘What are you going to do about Dave Benson?’
His head went back haughtily. ‘I don’t believe that is any of your business.’
‘But—’
‘If you’ll excuse me, I have to go and check on this break in security,’ he cut in pointedly.
Danny would have liked to have said more, but she could see by the implacability of his rigidly clenched jaw that Pierce wasn’t in the mood to listen. With a shrug she collected up her robe and left, the mischievous leaps and bounds of Ferdinand and Kilpatrick as they accompanied her back to the cottage not soothing her at all. Pierce seemed t
o be a powerful and respected man—and she was more deeply attracted to him than any man she had ever met.
CHAPTER TWO
‘ANY more lemon meringue pie?’
Danny stood up with a smile, going to the dish that stood on top of the cooker.
‘You make the best lemon meringue pie I’ve ever tasted.’ Gary watched her movements.
It had been a successful meal, plain English cooking, soup, roast beef with all the trimmings, and Gary’s favourite dessert, lemon meringue pie, but she knew that was the sort of food he preferred, not a man to go in for exotic food. Thank goodness, because she couldn’t cook exotic food!
She had finally come up with this idea midweek, inviting Gary over for a meal, knowing he would mention it to Cheryl the next time he saw her, and knowing that her sister would instantly be suspicious; her lack of cooking ability had become a family joke over the years, and it was something she avoided at all costs. Close as the sisters were, Cheryl would not appreciate Danny inviting Gary here when she herself wasn’t present.
Gary was her own age, the two of them in the same class at school, in fact it had been because of their casual friendship that Cheryl and Gary had met and fallen in love. Cheryl would not be pleased to know Gary had spent the evening with Danny.
The idea had come to her as she spent the afternoon in the seclusion of the vegetable garden, trying desperately to think of some way to bring Cheryl to her senses, her sister having telephoned her again the previous evening before going out to a party with Nigel Patrick. It had suddenly seemed imperative that she do something to stop the relationship, sure that Cheryl would regret it if Gary should find out about the other man. She had decided that a little healthy jealousy on Cheryl’s part might not be a bad thing.
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