Elusive Lover

by Carole Mortimer

  ‘I’ll go and meet him. You’ll be okay, Erin?’

  ‘Fine,’ she nodded. It would be childish to say otherwise, although she felt rather shy with the other woman.

  ‘Good girl!’ He moved to kiss her lightly on the lips— much to her embarrassment, and the house suddenly seemed quiet as he strode outside into the evening sunshine.

  Erin didn’t know where to look, aware of Martha’s speculative glance. Josh wasn’t the type of man to make explanations to anyone for his actions, but he had left her feeling as if she should. ‘Josh and I——’

  ‘Like each other,’ Martha finished gently. ‘You don’t have to tell me anything, Erin. It’s enough that you’re here with Josh. Would you like some coffee?’

  ‘Yes, please,’ she sighed her relief of Martha’s easy acceptance of her, liking the other woman immensely. So far she had liked all Josh’s friends, she just felt uncomfortable with the man himself.

  She chatted easily with Martha while they waited for the return of the two men, telling the eager Martha all about England.

  ‘I’ve always wanted to go there,’ the other woman said dreamily. ‘Alberta’s beautiful, and I never want to move away from here, but we’re such a new country. Do you know Alberta only celebrated its seventy-fifth birthday in 1980? England has so much history.’

  Erin laughed lightly. ‘I hate to tell you this, but most of that history is crumbling into the dust.’

  ‘No, don’t spoil it,’ Martha laughed. ‘I’ve almost persuaded Jim to take me next year—if I can get him away from his precious horses,’ she added ruefully. ‘We breed Arabians, and Jim doesn’t think anyone else can take care of his horses like he can. A month away from them seems like a crime to him.’

  ‘They look beautiful horses,’ and they did, although Erin knew next to nothing about them—except that she didn’t like them within six feet of her! Which probably amounted almost to a sin in a country where most people knew how to ride, even if they didn’t own, a horse.

  Martha nodded. ‘We make a living.’

  ‘Is that what Josh does too?’ she asked casually.

  ‘Josh?’ Martha looked startled. ‘But Josh is——’ she broke off as the two men could be heard entering the house. ‘Excuse me,’ she stood-up to go and greet them.

  Damn! Erin’s curiosity about Josh’s profession had been about to be answered. It hadn’t bothered her at first, but Josh’s reluctance to supply any answers himself had made her eager to know. He looked like a rancher or farmer, he even acted like one, she had to admit that, but there was the puzzle of his hands, strong hands, long and sensitive, with not a callous on them. She had put her fate into the hands of an enigma!

  Martha came back into the room her hand resting in the crook of the arm of a man with reddish-brown hair and twinkling blue eyes, their complete rapport showing them to be husband and wife. Josh followed them, looking searchingly at Erin, giving her the impression that he knew of her effort to find out more about him.

  ‘Missed me, honey?’ he mocked, his arm settling lightly across her shoulders as he joined her on the sofa.

  ‘Should I have done?’ she returned coolly, determined this wasn’t going to be a repeat of her embarrassment in front of Dave.

  The man who had to be Jim Halliday burst out laughing. ‘I think I like you already Erin Richards,’ he chuckled. ‘It isn’t often I get to see Josh put in his place. It’s good to at last meet the woman who can do it,’ and his hand met hers in a strong grasp of welcome.

  ‘I’m more interested in putting Erin in her place,’ Josh drawled tauntingly.

  She blushed fiery red, knowing exactly where he thought her ‘place’ to be. And later on tonight she would be there! She couldn’t even get used to the casual way he kissed or touched her whenever he felt like it, staking claim to that ownership he felt was his, let alone imagine letting him make love to her.

  He stood up. ‘We have to be on our way.’ He pulled her effortlessly to her feet, muscles rippling beneath his denim jacket.

  ‘You’ll bring Erin back again before you leave?’ Martha requested. ‘It’s so nice to have another woman to talk to for a change instead of you strong, muscular types.’

  ‘Thanks!’ her husband said dryly. ‘Come over Saturday, Josh?’

  ‘We’ll see,’ his answer was noncommittal. ‘You know me, I never like to make definite plans.’

  ‘Give yourself a break, Josh,’ Martha encouraged.

  ‘We’ll see,’ he tapped her lightly on the nose. ‘Don’t push, little cousin.’

  ‘You always were infuriating,’ she said crossly. ‘When you get to the screaming stage, Erin, just make him bring you right over.’

  ‘I’ll try,’ Erin promised, wondering how many other women had got to the ‘screaming stage’ while staying with Josh. How many other women had he had living with him?

  ‘Right, let’s go,’ and Josh more or less pushed her out of the house to the truck.

  ‘Don’t do—Oh, my God!’ She hastily backed out of the cab of the pick-up, backing farther away as a huge dog launched itself at her. Erin dodged behind Josh, her hands on his shoulders as she peered around his body at the large black dog now licking his hand. ‘What is it?’ she shuddered.

  Josh laughed, pulling her out from behind him. ‘Meet Sheba.’ He stood her in front of the dog, its huge jaws and lolling pink tongue looking vicious to her.

  ‘I—Where did she come from?’ She pressed herself back against him as the dog began to sniff interestedly at her legs, uncaring of the fact that Josh was enjoying the ex-perience immensely.

  ‘Martha and Jim have been looking after her for me while I was away,’ he murmured close against her ear.

  Erin swallowed hard. ‘You mean she’s yours?’ She turned to look at him, instantly wishing she hadn’t as the movement brought his face within inches of her own.

  ‘Yes,’ he confirmed softly. 'What’s the matter, don’t you like dogs?’

  She looked down as the dog began to nuzzle against her hand, expecting the huge jaws to close about her flesh at any moment. ‘I thought I did,’ she muttered nervously.

  ‘Don’t tell me,’ he mocked. ‘There wasn’t a lot of opportunity for dogs in South London.’

  ‘Not in a flat there wasn’t!’ Her eyes flashed at him, aware of the other couple looking on in amusement. ‘And stop laughing at me!’ she hissed at Josh.

  He sighed, putting her away from him. ‘Then stop being ridiculous. I would hardly have let you meet Sheba like that if she was in the least vicious.’ He moved forward to the dog, bending down to stroke her silky throat. ‘Good girl, Sheba,’ he murmured affectionately. ‘Good girl! Come and say hello.’ He took the dog’s two front paws and placed them on Erin’s shoulders.

  Erin looked down horror-struck as the long nose came to rest on her shoulder too.

  ‘She’s saying hello,’ Josh told her.

  ‘Really?’ she squeaked.

  ‘Yes, really.’ He gave her an impatient look before putting the dog back down on all fours. ‘You’ll get used to her.’

  Which was fine for him to say, Erin fumed as they drove on to his home. He wasn’t the one who was frightened of the lolling beast that sat between them, one eye seeming to be permanently focused on her as Sheba tried to give the impression of being asleep.

  ‘She can sense your fear,’ Josh rapped out as she sat stiffly on her side of the seat, as far away from Sheba as she could get.

  ‘I can’t help that,’ she snapped. ‘You should have told me—warned me——’

  ‘Yes,’ he agreed heavily. ‘But how was I to know you’d be frightened of a little dog?’

  ‘Little? She’s huge!’

  ‘German Shepherd and Labrador cross-bred,’ he said proudly. ‘The best cross-breed you can get as far as I’m concerned.’

  ‘Well, of course you would think that,’ Erin said agitatedly. ‘Although I must say Labradors are lovely dogs,’ she added grudgingly.

  ‘Sheba
is as gentle as a lamb.’ He caressed the dog behind her floppy ears.

  Erin snorted disgustedly. ‘Lambs don’t have teeth like that.’

  ‘I don’t suppose you like horses either?’ he derided.

  She pulled a face. ‘Do you have one of those too?’

  ‘A couple. Don't you like them?’

  ‘I—Of course I do,’ she lied with bravado.

  ‘You ride?’

  His surprise angered her. ‘Of course.’ Her bravado was slipping somewhat, although Josh looked convinced. ‘All the time. We do have horses in England too, you know.’

  ‘I’m sure you do. That’s fine, then, you can join me for my early morning ride tomorrow.’

  ‘I—I can?’ This seemed to be backfiring against her. But she couldn’t have said that they didn’t have much opportunity for horses in South London either!

  ‘Sure,’ he nodded. ‘It will put some colour in your cheeks.’

  ‘I think I’d rather have a lie-in——’

  ‘Good idea,’ he grinned. ‘I’ll join you.’

  Colour flooded her cheeks. ‘I—Maybe going out for a ride would be nice after all.’ For a moment she had forgotten she would be sharing his bed! If they both stayed in bed in the morning it was obvious what would happen.

  ‘I don’t mind either way,’ he shrugged.

  How flattering! ‘Are we nearly there?’ she asked wasp- ishly; the bumpy track was getting on her nerves now.

  ‘Another mile or so.’ He quirked an eyebrow at her. ‘In a hurry, are you?’

  She flushed at his implication. ‘I thought maybe you wanted me to chop a few logs before dinner,’ she snapped.

  His mouth quirked with horror. ‘Not tonight.’

  ‘How kind!’ Her sarcasm was obvious.

  Sheba raised her head to look at Erin, her brown-eyed gaze steady, her mouth open as she breathed, her tongue lolling over her long teeth. Erin instantly fell silent.

  She was starting to feel decidedly hungry now, she only hoped it wouldn’t take too long to get this damned range started. Maybe they could just have soup or something——

  ‘Martha’s mention of steak has made me feel like one— how about you?’ Josh interrupted her thoughts.

  ‘Fine,’ she agreed wanly. Heavens, it would be midnight before they ate!

  As soon as she saw the house she knew Josh had been making a fool of her. It was a long cedarwood bungalow, very modern in design, with Georgian-style windows; a smooth lawn and pretty flower-beds, trees edged the house on three sides, the fourth containing the corral with the two horses, a huge chestnut-coloured stallion and a quieter- looking dark brown gelding.

  It was like coming across an oasis in a desert, or in this case, a dream house in the middle of a forest. It was absolutely beautiful.

  ‘You lied to me!’ She turned furiously on Josh as he took out the control to the garage, pressing the button that opened the door before driving smoothly inside.

  ‘Did I?’ he asked innocently, climbing out of the truck, Sheba following faithfully at his heels.

  Erin got out her own side, too angry to admire the black Porsche that was already parked in the garage. ‘You know you did,’ she stormed, joining him as he strolled over to the corral.

  ‘How did I do that?’ he asked casually, stroking the horses affectionately on the muzzle.

  ‘You deliberately let me believe——’

  ‘What you wanted to believe!’ His eyes snapped with anger. ‘We aren’t backward over here, you know. In fact, we have a hell of a lot more to offer than England.’

  ‘I——’

  ‘You were being damned patronising!’ He turned to face her, the heel of one boot resting on the bottom rail of the fence, his elbows on the top rail as he pushed his hat to the back of his head. ‘And I wasn’t lying about the well,’ he nodded behind her.

  Erin’s eyes widened as she took in the small brick well with the slate roof. It looked a little like an English wish- ing-well. ‘Is it real?’ She walked over to take a closer look.

  ‘This part of it is just for show,’ Josh joined her. ‘But there really is a water supply down there, an underground stream, the water more pure than in any English reservoir.’

  She looked up with a weary sigh. ‘We aren’t in competition. I’m sorry if I sounded patronising earlier. It was just that we hadn’t discussed where you lived, and it was a surprise to me when you drove out this way.’

  He nodded. ‘Apology accepted.’ His arm went companionably about her shoulders. ‘And I shouldn’t have teased you,’ his tone lightened. ‘Except that you’re so easy to tease.’ He was openly grinning now.

  Erin relaxed as his good humour returned. She would rather have him as a friend than an enemy. ‘Tell me more about the well,’ she invited huskily. ‘Do you really get your water from there?’

  ‘Yep,’ he nodded. ‘The water is about ninety feet down, cold and clear, and it’s pumped over to the house. We’re lucky, we get about twenty gallons a minute, if we want it, some acreages only get five or six, and they often go short of water.’

  ‘Is the water treated with anything?’ She couldn’t imagine people drinking untreated water in England, the disease associated with it from olden times was still too vivid in a lot of people’s minds.

  ‘Ours isn’t. Sometimes it has too much iron, and then it’s treated, but otherwise you’re drinking stream-water. Come on, I’ll show you the inside of the house. I think you’ll like it.’

  Erin was sure she would. Even if it weren’t beautiful she would have liked it, simply because it had running water and electricity. After what she had been imagining it was a relief to see the luxurious kitchen area, the stove, fridge, dishwasher, walnut cabinets, and cream and marble effect worktops, the floor carpeted. From the kitchen they entered what in England she would have called a living- room, but over here she knew it was called a family room, the open brick fireplace the centrepiece of the room, the comfortable furniture arranged accordingly.

  The fireplace served two rooms, a lounge on the other side of the wall, the dining-room at the end of this, every room having the same gold and brown mottled carpet.

  ‘The bedrooms are through the back,’ Josh informed her as her eyes widened with the luxury of what she had already seen.

  Erin stopped at the bottom of the staircase just off the lounge. ‘And what’s up there?’

  ‘My workroom,’ he dismissed.

  After the cabin she had been expecting this house came as a shock to her, a pleasant shock. For all his casual appearance this house was the last thing in luxury, the four bedrooms just as nicely furnished, the bathroom for the three smaller ones a deep, dark brown.

  But the master bedroom was the most luxurious, the room large in itself, the huge double bed covered with a brown continental quilt, the furniture a rich gold, and adjoining this room was the bathroom. Erin gasped as Josh flicked the door open. She had never seen a sunken bath before, let alone bathed in one, and the round cream bath did look very inviting.

  ‘There’s a shower in here if you’d prefer it.’ Josh opened glass doors to reveal a shower big enough for two people.

  Now why had she thought that? She had never bathed or showered with anyone in her life, and she wasn’t about to start now!

  She looked at Josh with new eyes. In Calgary he had just seemed like a very attractive man who had offered to help her, for a price. But this house, its luxury, pointed to him being more than that.

  She licked her lips nervously. ‘It’s all—very lovely.’

  ‘Thanks,’ he smiled. ‘I helped design it. Now, let’s see,’ he opened several of the drawers in the dressing-table. ‘You can put your things in here,’ he emptied the contents of two of the drawers into the other two.

  ‘No! I mean, surely that isn’t necessary,’ Erin forced calm into her voice. ‘I won’t be here long enough for that. I can leave my things in my suitcase.’

  ‘You can put them in here.’ Josh didn’t even raise
his voice, his tone was enough to tell her that her arguments would be of no avail. He moved to the fitted wardrobe, pushing his clothes to one end. ‘Hang the rest of your stuff in here.’

  ‘Josh—’

  ‘I’ll go and get your suitcase from the pick-up,’ he cut across her protest, leaving the room with long strides.

  She looked around her luxurious cage, studiously avoiding the bed. In other circumstances it would have been fun to stay in a house like this, but as Josh’s live-in lover it was going to be sheer hell.

  She hadn’t thought of the emotional side of this situation when she accepted his offer, had thought it would be like sleeping with a stranger, someone she need feel no guilt with, someone easily forgotten once she was back in England. But she was slowly getting to know Josh, he wasn’t the sort of man you could push to the background, too forceful a personality for that, and the more she got to know him the more embarrassing this arrangement was turning out to be.

  ‘What’s the matter?’ He had entered the bedroom without making a noise, studying her pale face with narrowed eyes.

  She swallowed hard, chewing on her bottom lip. ‘Josh, I don’t think I can——’

  ‘Don’t try and back out now,’ he scowled, dropping the suitcase. ‘I’m not driving back to Calgary, and you aren’t staying here with me without sharing my bed.’

  ‘But I don’t think I can do it.’ She looked at him pleadingly, unaware of how small and defenceless she looked.

  ‘And I can’t stay here with you without taking you to bed,’ he told her bluntly. ‘I want you.’

  ‘But——’

  ‘I want you, Erin,’ he repeated huskily, moving to stand just in front of her, his hands cupping either side of her face, his thumbtips parting her trembling lips. ‘I want you,’ he murmured before his dark head bent and his mouth took possession of hers.

  She stood passively in his arms. This afternoon she had been too shocked to do anything but respond to the potency of his experienced kisses, but here, where the full force of her commitment had come home to her, she could only remember the other men who had used her in her life, their reasons very different, but the pain going just as deep.