Nathan laughed. ‘I can’t stop you trying, but it’s only fair to warn you I’m a hard nut to crack.’
Ames laughed too. ‘There would be no fun if you weren’t. Now, I think we’ve abandoned the others long enough, don’t you?’ He indicated they should move to the door, but as they did so the telephone rang on the desk. ‘Do excuse me. I must answer that,’ he apologised.
Nathan slid an arm around Rachel’s waist and herded her out ahead of him. ‘No problem. We can find our way back,’ he said calmly, and closed the door behind them.
They walked down the passageway that led back to the main staircase, and it was a little while before Rachel realised Nathan was laughing.
‘What on earth is so funny?’ she asked, smiling herself at his patent amusement but mystified as to its cause.
‘Ames, of course,’ he replied, scarcely shedding any light.
‘I fail to see what’s so amusing about telling someone we know to be a thief that you have a priceless antique that he covets beyond anything else. I hope your home is alarmed, because if you don’t sell to him he’ll probably arrange to steal it!’ she exclaimed in some concern, but that only made him smile more broadly.
‘He’d have a job,’ Nathan responded dryly, and suddenly she saw the light.
‘You don’t have it, do you?’ she charged in admiration.
‘Nope,’ he confirmed, grinning.
She shook her head at his nerve. ‘I believed you!’
‘So did Ames, and that is far more important. If all else fails, we now have a bargaining chip.’
‘Very clever. But you don’t have the ivory to swap,’ she pointed out dryly.
‘Ah, but Ames doesn’t know that. A good poker player has to know when to bluff.’
She stared at him in wonder. ‘Lord, but you frighten me sometimes. I can’t read you at all.’
‘Good. Let’s hope Ames suffers from the same failing, hmm?’ Nathan rejoined as they descended to the entrance hall. Rachel added a silent amen to that.
‘Not that I approve of you having an ivory collection at all,’ she reproved him, wanting to make her position clear. ‘It’s people like you and Ames who keep the disgusting trade alive. If people didn’t buy ivory, poachers would be out of a job and valuable animals would still be alive.’
Nathan studied her animated face in amusement. ‘I agree with you one hundred per cent.’
The wind having been taken out of her sails, she looked at him suspiciously. ‘You do?’
He nodded seriously, though his eyes glinted with humour. ‘Absolutely. If you want the truth, I don’t collect ivory, in any shape or form. I simply used it as a ploy to get into Ames’s private rooms. Now we know exactly where they are, it will be easier to search them.’
Rachel listened to his explanation in exasperation. She had read him the Riot Act quite unnecessarily. ‘You might have told me,’ she complained.
‘There wasn’t time,’ Nathan pointed out, and she reluctantly admitted that was true. They were having to think on their feet, and so far each had been quick enough to back the other up. She just hoped they could keep it up.
She glanced at the archway which would take them to the patio and the other guests, and pulled a face. ‘I suppose we do have to join them?’ she asked without enthusiasm.
Nathan took a quick look round, then caught her arm and steered her in the opposite direction. ‘Not if we can avoid it. Let’s go down to the lake. At least there we can be sure of some privacy. We need to talk, and I get the uneasy feeling these walls have ears.’
CHAPTER SEVEN
BY DINT of testing doors as they went, they eventually found a side entrance and made good their escape. They must look like a couple of schoolkids dodging lessons, she thought with a smothered giggle. To their left there was a somewhat overgrown path through the undergrowth bounding the house, and without hesitation they followed it as it appeared to be heading off in the right direction.
‘What if Luther misses us?’ Rachel queried, stepping over a rotting log that had almost tripped her up.
‘That’s easy. You gave us the perfect excuse earlier. As a keen angler, where else would I go but down to the lake?’ he replied dryly, and she spared him a glance, for something had just that moment occurred to her.
‘Er…as a matter of interest, do you fish?’ she asked tentatively.
‘Now she asks me!’ Nathan exclaimed with a groan. ‘Don’t worry. I doubt very much if I’ll be asked to prove my prowess in that direction.’
‘I didn’t mean to drop you in it like that. It just seemed a good idea,’ Rachel apologised, pushing aside an overhanging branch. ‘Grandfather will tell you I have this tendency to jump in without thinking, and I assumed as a man you could fish.’
Nathan barely prevented the branch from hitting him in the face as she released it. ‘Oh, I can fish all right. Whenever the opportunity arises, I head up to the Scotland for some fly fishing.’
‘Really? I’m surprised you find the time, what with your women and all!’ she couldn’t resist retorting mockingly. ‘Or do you take them with you for light relief when the fish aren’t biting?’
‘You know, that tongue of yours is going to get you into all sorts of trouble,’ Nathan warned silkily.
‘Promises, promises,’ she jibed, just as they burst out of the undergrowth onto the lakeshore. Words dried on her tongue at the scene which opened up before them.
The lake stretched out as far as the eye could see. Sun danced on the ripples of water as it broke over the rocks at the water’s edge. It was as if they had walked through a portal into a different world. They found themselves in a perfect little cove, where dappled sunlight fell on the grassy banks. All that could be heard was the buzzing of bees and the melodious calls of distant birds.
Rachel was glad now that she had changed into those shorts, for it allowed her to kick off her shoes and wade knee-deep into the water. It was sheer bliss, and she threw back her head, raising her face to the sun.
‘You look like some pagan water goddess.’ Nathan’s voice interrupted her hedonistic pleasure and she glanced round, shading her eyes against the sun’s glare.
He was standing watching her with his hands braced on his hips, and he looked so powerful and sexy her mouth went dry. All at once she wanted him to kiss her quite badly. And, if the heat in his eyes wasn’t just a trick of the sun, he was thinking about that kiss they had shared, too. It was time to put on a little pressure, to take the fight to him.
‘Why don’t you join me?’ she invited with a smile, holding out her hand to him.
‘Wouldn’t that spoil the effect? I can admire your luscious body better from here,’ he replied sardonically, and she dropped her hand. Her smile turned sultry, for she knew his tactic of using words against her now.
‘Is that what you think I’m doing? Trying to entice you?’ she asked, with just the right hint of husky seductiveness.
‘It had occurred to me,’ he responded dryly. ‘I thought it best to tell you you were wasting your time.’
‘Oh, I wouldn’t say that,’ she corrected as she waded to the shore with an exaggerated swing of her hips. ‘After all, you got a good look in before feeling compelled to put me straight,’ she added with heavy irony. As she brushed past him she reached up and ran her fingers over his jaw caressingly. ‘I don’t mind you looking at me, Nathan darling. I don’t mind at all.’
Smiling to herself, for she had caught the flash of annoyance in his eyes, she went to the nearest sunny patch of grass and flung herself down on it, folding her arms behind her head.
‘This isn’t going to work, you know,’ he told. ‘I’m not about to let myself be seduced by you.’
She feigned surprise. ‘Am I trying to seduce you?’
‘It sounds like it to me,’ he retorted, and she laughed softly.
‘Well, you should know. You’ve had enough practice yourself.’
‘Precisely, so you know I know all the tricks. Why don�
��t you give up whilst you’re ahead, hmm?’
Rachel sent him a knowing look. ‘Would you, if you were me?’
Nathan rubbed his thumb along the ridge of his nose, and finally sighed ruefully. ‘I guess not. OK, do your worst, if you must, but don’t say I didn’t warn you.’
Oh, she knew what the danger was better than he. Nathan was thinking solely of her pride, whilst she knew he could break her heart. Still, she was prepared to risk it, for a faint heart never won anything. And if all else failed she could still take refuge in the character he disliked so much. He would never know she loved him.
She patted the ground beside her invitingly. ‘The grass is lovely and soft. Why don’t you join me? You should learn to relax more, you know.’
‘I’ll relax when this is over. Right now there isn’t time.’
Which, deplore it though she might, was no less than the truth. ‘OK, I get the message. This is strictly business. So tell me, what are we going to do now? Do I keep Luther busy whilst you look? Or should I slip out whilst you’re playing cards? Maybe I could get an invite to his bedroom,’ she added goadingly, and his head shot round as if it was on a swivel.
‘Stay out of his room, Rachel. That’s an order!’
There was nothing feigned about his disapproval, and she wondered if he realised how much he was giving away every time he responded so angrily. She came up on her knees and executed a rakish salute. ‘Yes, sir!’ she snapped out, and was delighted to see his lips twitch. She liked making him laugh, especially when he didn’t want to.
‘Cut it out, sweetheart. Just remember there are certain things in this crazy enterprise of ours that you aren’t required to do,’ he told her seriously, and she loved him for saying it. He wouldn’t throw her to the wolf, no matter what.
She smiled winningly. ‘I’m glad to hear it. There is only one pair of arms I’m interested in having around me.’
Nathan drew in a ragged breath and shot her a long-suffering look. ‘Can we keep to the point?’
She immediately folded her hands in her lap obediently, eyeing him attentively. ‘OK, I’m listening.’
It was plain Nathan fought with an urge to do something physical, and, to her regret, mastered it. ‘It’s best if we play this by ear. We don’t want to make Ames suspicious. Whichever of us gets the first opportunity should take it. I…’
He said more, but Rachel had stopped listening. She found herself watching his mouth as he talked, remembering the feel of it on hers. Then there were his hands. He used them to underline what he was saying. They were strong and tanned, and she longed to feel them on her skin. So strong was the need that she didn’t want to wait. Nor did she have to. Fate took a hand. Somewhere in the woods behind them an unwary animal stepped on a twig and snapped it. When she realised Nathan hadn’t heard it, she saw it as an omen and took her chance.
With a faint cry of alarm she flung herself at him, catching his look of surprise just before her lips found his, cutting off what he had been saying. Nathan tumbled backwards, his arms instinctively locking around her as he fell. At the last minute he rolled sideways, taking her beneath him. The kiss was broken, and he frowned down at her in dark suspicion.
‘What the devil are you playing at?’ he demanded to know, and she shook her head vehemently.
‘Shush! Somebody’s coming,’ she lied in an urgent whisper, and slipped her arms around his neck to drag his head back down to hers.
He resisted, head cocked, listening. ‘I don’t hear anything,’ he responded equally softly.
Rachel groaned inwardly. Trust him to argue. She tugged on his neck, bringing his head a little closer. ‘I tell you I heard something!’ she insisted, and his eyes locked on hers searchingly. Clearly he didn’t know whether to believe her or not. ‘Nathan!’ she persisted urgently, and at the sound of his name his gaze dropped to her lips, scorching them with his glance, then travelled up to lock with her eyes.
She could see the banked fires in the blue depths and knew that vital sexual awareness had sparked to life when their bodies had touched. He didn’t believe her, but he wanted to kiss her, and the battle he fought was with himself. She knew when it was over, for he gave a guttural groan and closed the gap separating them.
His body came down on hers as he angled his head, the better to kiss her. She welcomed his weight with a tiny sigh of satisfaction, giving herself up to the pleasure of his drugging kisses. Free at last to respond, she allowed her hands to rove over the taut contours of his back, then slid one hand into the lush thickness of his hair and let it curl sinuously around her fingers. It was like silk, and she gloried in the feel of it, losing herself in the moment.
When Nathan’s lips left hers and traced a path to her throat, she arched her neck into that burning caress with a tiny moan. His tongue darted out, tasting her, and she shivered. One large hand glided over her hip, skimmed along her ribs and found the mound of her breast. She felt herself swell into the cup of his palm, her aroused nipple pushing upwards in silent demand. He answered it with the sweep of his thumb, causing her to gasp as her stomach clenched on a powerful wave of desire.
She moved beneath him restlessly, feeling the response of his body, knowing his desire was as strong as her own. He rocked his hips against hers and she moved to accommodate him, frustrated that the barrier of their clothes kept them from the closeness she longed for. Then his fingers brushed her skimpy top aside and his mouth closed on her breast and she forgot to think. Her fingers took a death-grip on his hair as his tongue teased her turgid flesh, his teeth grazing the proud peak into a hard nub of pleasure.
Automatically her free hand scrabbled at his shirt, dragging it from his trousers so that finally she could touch him. He was hot and silky and she gloried in the way his body moved in reaction to her soft exploration.
‘Oh…yes, Nathan. Yes,’ she sighed achingly as his mouth continued its moist caress, and that brought his head up, his eyes gleaming hot and passionate.
‘Have they gone yet?’ he asked huskily, brushing his lips along her jaw, sending her thoughts haywire.
‘Yes. No. I don’t know,’ she groaned, then felt compelled to confess. ‘I lied.’
He looked at her again, whilst his hand traced a path to her thigh and stroked it gently. ‘I know.’
One hand slipped under her shorts, finding the curve of her bottom, and her eyelids fluttered. ‘I wanted you to kiss me,’ she sighed raggedly.
His hand stilled and he stared down at her, jaw clenching, ‘I wanted to kiss you, too.’ he admitted, and her lips, swollen from his passionate kisses, curved into an encouraging smile.
‘That wasn’t so difficult to say, was it?’ she teased softly. ‘Let’s try it again,’ she suggested, but didn’t get the response she expected.
Nathan closed his eyes for a moment, then abruptly pushed himself up, away from her. Turning to face the water, he wrapped his arms around his knees. ‘My God, I underestimated you badly,’ he declared in a voice loaded with self-disgust.
Realising he was not about to come back to her, Rachel sighed and straightened her clothes. Chilled by his abrupt desertion, she tipped her head so that she had the perfect view of his broad-shouldered torso.
‘How? You knew it was a trick all the time,’ she charged, in a voice made husky by passion.
‘Sure I did, but you were so good I almost forgot what I know about you,’ he shot back with another incredulous shake of his head.
Her heart leapt at the confession that, for a time at least, he had forgotten who she was. It had to mean she was making progress. ‘I keep telling you there’s a lot you don’t know about me,’ she replied softly.
He rolled his neck, easing out the kinks. ‘When it comes to you I know too much already.’
Her lips twisted into a pained grimace, for she knew where he was going. Somehow, no matter where they started, their conversations had a way of turning full circle and coming back to that scene he had witnessed. ‘And as far as you’re concern
ed all of it is bad,’ she agreed dryly. ‘Does it matter so much?’
That brought his head round, their eyes meeting and locking. ‘It matters, sweetheart, because it makes it hard for me to like you,’ he revealed simply, surprising the breath out of her.
‘I didn’t know you wanted to like me!’ she exclaimed breathlessly, her heart catching in her throat. ‘Why would you want to?’ she asked, feeling the answer had an importance way beyond the obvious, but not knowing why.
Blue eyes scanned her face, then met her eyes again. After what they had just shared the shutters were absent, allowing her to see the blatant desire he felt for her. ‘Why? Because it would make wanting you a hell of a lot easier to accept,’ he said bluntly, and her heart stopped, before rushing on madly.
She hadn’t expected this confession, but she knew she had to feel her way carefully. ‘You finally admit you want me, then?’
A rueful smile twisted his lips as he nodded. ‘It would be foolish not to, when I’ve given myself away so obviously,’ he went on. ‘I always knew you were trouble with a capital T. You’re talented and intelligent. Undeniably beautiful, and sexy as hell. If it wasn’t for that damned flaw in your character this conversation would be redundant.’
It was stunning to realise what he meant. But for that one sticking point they wouldn’t be wasting time talking now, they would be making love. The prospect set her nerves fluttering in her stomach.
‘Couldn’t you simply forget about it?’ she suggested a little hoarsely, and he shook his head.
‘I’d only remember it again.’
Her eyebrows rose fractionally. ‘Is that another way of saying you’d hate yourself in the morning?’ she quipped faintly, and his lips twitched.
‘I guess so. It would be easy for me to lock the facts away whilst I sate myself with your body, but the trouble is I don’t use women that way.’ He turned away from her again, looking out over the shining water pensively. ‘If things were different…’ He left the sentence hanging tantalisingly.
A Daring Deception (Harlequin Presents) Page 10