That brought a faint smile to his face, but then it faded. ‘When I had that call from Mother, asking me to fly out to Singapore, I can’t tell you what I imagined. I suppose I was feeling pretty low already— wanting to follow you to London, afraid of another brush-off.’
‘I’m sure you must have spent your whole adult life being afraid of a brush-off from one woman or another,’ she mocked, brushing her mouth against his.
‘From you.’ He corrected. ‘I said nothing about anyone else. Anyway, I flew out to the parents not knowing quite what I’d find, and certainly with no idea that any of it involved you. Then, when I reached Raffles Hotel-where they were spending a night or two—and when they told me... For a while I simply could not take it in. Suddenly...a blinding light. Was it possible that this was why, with all the signals pointing in one direction, you’d so assiduously rejected each of my tentative advances...?’
‘Tentative!’ Ginny exploded.
‘You yourself mentioned a casual goodnight kiss.’
But that was a reminder she chose to ignore. ‘Tentative? When after we had been to the club you had me on the bed? Can you begin to imagine how I would have felt if I hadn’t come to my senses? If events had been allowed to reach a natural conclusion?’
‘And speaking of that...’ A trail of light, heady kisses touched her cheek, came to a teasing halt at one side of her mouth. ‘Would you like to see the bedroom?’
‘In a moment.’ Indulging in light-hearted teasing was surprisingly exciting.
‘Thwarted again.’ The brilliant eyes smiled down in complicity. ‘Just like in London. When I arrived at your flat ready to be swept off my feet... No, don’t laugh. I promise you, I was ready and eager—and that was when you produced that feeble...Nick, wasn’t it?’
‘Mmm. Kate’s brother,’ she agreed dreamily. ‘Oh, and Jake, Kate was thrilled with the bracelet you gave her.’
‘I thought attorneys were trained to stick to the subject.’
‘I just thought you would like to know. Anyway, we’ve been all through the Nick connection already, but if anyone had told me—’ She paused, shaking her head in mild disbelief.
‘Go on.’ Nudging her gently with his chin, he had the chance to study her expression closely. ‘If anyone had told you...?’
‘If anyone had suggested I’d meet someone and abandon everything and follow him to the ends of the earth and marry him within a month or two...’
‘The ends of the earth, eh?’ Eyes gleamed threateningly. ‘As I told you once before, most Virginians would be deeply offended by such a description—especially since they know their State is just about the centre of the universe.’
She glanced around, one eyebrow raised questioningly. ‘But Virginians are more than a little inclined to exaggerate. At least, if this is what they call a log cabin.’
‘It is built entirely of wood.’
‘Mmm. But not of logs, I suggest.’ She rubbed the toe of a patent shoe on the immaculately smooth polished floor.
‘Once upon a time it was a simple log cabin—the family rebuilt it about twenty, thirty years ago.’
‘And now it’s a luxury holiday home.’
‘Something like that. The parents come when they feel the need to get away, to unwind completely. And when someone had the bright idea that we spend our first few days here, I thought...’ He hesitated.
‘Yes?’ She raised luminous brown eyes and when she interpreted his expression felt herself begin to blush. ‘Yes? You thought...what?’
He was laughing. ‘I thought about it in great detail—in fact, I would go so far as to say -I thought of little else. I planned everything and plotted. I planned to woo you—after all, I hadn’t had the chance to do a great deal of that. So I decided I’d woo you with the most delicious meal, ply you with the finest wines, and then...’
‘Hmm?’ The blush was dying, and a smile curved her mouth as she flicked him an upward glance—a consciously provocative, flirtatious glance. ‘And then?’
‘And then I meant to take you to bed and make love to you till you begged for mercy. But now...’
‘But what about that other promise—you said you’d show me the Blue Ridge Mountains.’
‘Ah. Those. Well, I promise there’s the most perfect view of them from the bedroom window—from the bed itself, if you’d care to look.’
‘Remember how once I asked you not to crowd me...?’ In apparent abstraction she rubbed her cheek against his.
‘Mmm. I do remember. But if you mean to repeat the instruction, you are unlikely to find me so tolerant.’
Wide-eyed she looked up at him. ‘Promise?’
For a moment he stared, before resigning himself to a wave of delighted amusement. ‘You minx.’ His eyes darkened as he gazed down at her, his thumbs caressing the planes of her face as the smile gradually faded.
‘I am so looking forward to being married to you.’ As she was about to interrupt, his fingers across her mouth stopped her. ‘And I don’t simply mean in the way you are thinking, but as I was about to explain to you earlier... Now where was I? I seem unable to keep my mind on what I’m saying when you look at me with that peculiar expression...’
‘Peculiar?’ Her tone was loud with outrage.
‘Peculiarly sensual... arousing. And that is something you ought to address soon.’ His eyes sparkled with mischief, especially when he saw the colour rise in her cheeks.
‘You were going to tell me something.’ With an effort she was able to maintain an appearance of detachment.
‘Ah, yes.’ He seemed unable to wrench his eyes from hers—a problem they had in common, Ginny reflected in a moment’s detachment. ‘I was describing how I’d planned to wine and dine you, then to carry you off to...’ Laughter gurgled in his voice. ‘To admire the Blue Ridge Mountains, but now... I think if we were to do things in reverse order...’
For a second she couldn’t follow his drift, but the moment she did it was clear she approved. ‘Ah, and since it seems no time at all since we were eating that delicious wedding breakfast...’
There was no need to say any more for they were already moving, without the least suggestion of haste, taking time to kiss, to tease and to sigh, revelling in the tantalising build-up, in the heightened sense of touch, of taste, in the novelty and delight of exploration.
Only when they reached the bedroom was Ginny briefly diverted—firstly by the sun slanting in through the window, deepening the already glowing shades of wood on wall and floor, and then by the striking patchwork quilts, one covering the bed and a second, even more beautiful, the single decoration on the wall above.
‘Oh, Jake.’ She had no need to explain her distraction, the direction of her interest was obvious.
‘The one on the wall is two hundred years old—it’s called “Kentucky Rose” and it was stitched by Mother’s several times great-grandmother. The one on the bed is called “Wedding Ring”, and it’s supposed to ensure fertility for those who sleep beneath it. So...don’t you think this is the most appropriate moment to put it to the test?’
‘Oh, Jake!’ Again she felt her skin grow hot, but she was laughing, linking her arms about his neck and not resisting when they collapsed onto the bed—nor when he began to unfasten the row of tiny buttons on her butter-yellow blouse. She abetted when he began to pull the pins from her hair, rejoicing in the touch which pushed delicate straps from her shoulders and traced heady, sensuous paths across her skin. Never, never would she resist.
When he spoke, his voice was low and husky as he pushed her deeper into the incredible softness of the pillows. ‘Do you remember that very first evening, when I made a forecast which you contradicted fiercely? Do you remember?’ he insisted as she reached up, twining her fingers through his hair.
‘No.’ How could she think, remember, when those bewildering eyes, more violet-blue than in her wildest dreams, were gazing down with that entrancing mix of mischief and purpose? When his hands... Ginny held her breath for a delici
ous, shuddering moment. ‘No, I don’t.’
‘I told you you would be married within two years. And your reaction was total rejection—with a hint of misogamy.’
‘No.’ She smiled. ‘Never that. Perhaps if I had known you were putting yourself forward as a candidate...’
‘Oh?’ His mouth was very close to hers. ‘In that case, I was at fault for failing to make my position clear. And since we have wasted so much time...’
It was early evening when she woke. All that remained of the day was a streak of rose-gold in the sky, the dark hills in stark relief.
‘Tea?’ Jake, a brief towel round his waist, came into the room with two cups on a tray, one of which he put on the table beside her. He smiled, shaking his head in reproof as she tried to pull a cover up to her chin. ‘It’s too late for that.’ Perching on the bed, he leaned forward, rubbing his cheek on hers. ‘Much too late for modesty. And don’t, please don’t, tell me you’re sorry.’
‘Much too late for that too,’ she teased, then grew more serious. ‘But I’m not. How could I be, when...?’ Fingers trailing across his naked chest, she caught her breath when she picked up his strong heartbeat. ‘When I feel like this?’
‘When we both feel like this,’ he said huskily as he stretched out beside her, holding her close as they gazed at the darkening sky.
It was a moment before Ginny spoke. Then she whispered, ‘Bliss.’ Her manner was dreamy. ‘Or Joy. Oh, Jake, don’t you think so?’
‘Both.’ Now he was looming over her with that purposeful air, the one which made her heartbeats quicken, encouraged her to wriggle a little lower in the bed. ‘Yes, definitely both.’ And he was laughing.
‘Not that.’ Meaning to be repressive, instead she sounded soft and yielding and seductive. ‘I was thinking about the foal—you said I should choose a name which would remind us...’
His mouth brushed against hers. ‘Then let’s try them out again. It would be a pity if we found we had made the wrong choice after all.’
‘Mmm.’ To disagree would have been perverse, since it was a plan she approved wholeheartedly. And it would have been impossible when he was doing that...and that... But she was certain their decision was about to be made...it was... Bliss.
ISBN : 978-1-4592-6355-0
A RECKLESS AFFAIR
First North American Publication 1998.
Copyright © 1997 by Alexandra Scott.
All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher, Harlequin Enterprises Limited, 225 Duncan Mill Road, Don Mills, Ontario, Canada M3B 3K9.
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