The Passionate Lover

by Carole Mortimer

  Jenny glanced down at the book, her brows rising as she recognised Gavin's lawyers. 'I'll do that,' she promised. 'After I organise a taxi to take you home.'

  'I—'

  'No arguments, Shelby,' she told her sternly. 'You aren't in any condition to drive, and you know I can't.' She turned to look at the rigidity of Kyle's back. 'And don't you dare bully her while I'm gone,' she warned him.

  The only indication he gave that he had heard her was the slight stiffening of his back, turning slowly as the door closed behind Jenny. 'Just what the hell did you tell the woman about me?' he ground out. 'I get the feeling Attila the Hun would have got more of a welcome than I did!'

  She couldn't help smiling at that. 'Jenny is just very protective.'

  'That has to be an understatement!' he frowned. 'What did you tell her about me?'

  'Until you arrived here a few minutes ago absolutely nothing,' she answered truthfully. 'Until then she wasn't even aware of your existence.'

  'I'm not sure if that's a compliment or an insult?' he drawled. 'I didn't even merit a mention during one of your girlish chats over a cup of coffee?'

  'No.'

  'I thought all women liked to discuss whether or not the man in their life was a good lover.'

  She flushed at his derision. 'You aren't the man in my life any more. And Jenny and I don't have those sort of chats,' she dismissed. 'I certainly didn't tell her any details about you.'

  'Why not?'

  She shrugged. 'Our relationship isn't the sort of thing I usually discuss with my friends.'

  'Our affair, you mean?' he bit out.

  'A week together hardly merits that description,' she derided. 'You never did say what you're doing here, Kyle?' she prompted, feeling a little better now.

  'I came over on business. And I did say I would call on you if I was ever in London.'

  'So you did,' she acknowledged brittlely. 'I just didn't think that day would ever come.'

  His mouth twisted. 'Sorry to disappoint you.'

  'Oh, I'm not disappointed,' she assured him hastily. 'Just surprised, as I said earlier. When do you expect to return to Montana?'

  'I only arrived yesterday,' he derided.

  'Oh.' That really did surprise her, she wouldn't have thought he would have found the time to come and see her so quickly. 'Do you have somewhere to stay?'

  'Well I didn't sleep on a park bench last night!'

  She flushed at his mockery. 'I was only being polite, Kyle.' And trying to find out which hotel he was staying at!

  'Don't worry,' he taunted. 'I didn't come here expecting to stay with you.'

  She met his gaze unblinkingly. 'You could have done, I have a spare room.'

  His eyes hardened at her pointed reference to separate sleeping arrangements. 'And wouldn't the "man in your life" find that a bit strange?'

  She knew he was referring to the fact that she had claimed he was no longer that man. She toyed with the idea of lying to him, and then dismissed it. She certainly wasn't going to be reduced to playing those childish games to protect herself from the love she still felt for him. 'There is no man,' she told him bluntly. 'And if you had told me you were coming I could have got the spare room ready for you.'

  'It was a last-minute business decision. And I'm not sure I would have presumed on your hospitality even if I had thought of it. You're different here,' he spoke slowly. 'More remote.'

  Remote, when all she really wanted to do was throw herself into his arms! But she daren't even let him that close, knew the intimate contact would make him aware of the changes in her body since he had last held her. She had to keep her distance, but at no small cost to herself.

  'This is my world, Kyle,' she shrugged. 'I'm bound to seem different here. And Montana is your world.'

  'In other words, you would rather forget what happened between us there, wish that I hadn't come here to see you?' he bit out forcefully.

  'That isn't the way I feel at all,' she snapped. 'In fact, I was just about to invite you over for dinner tonight.' She heard herself make the suggestion with dismay. She should have just let him walk out of here with the intention of never seeing her again; this way she had exposed herself to her secret being discovered.

  'Tonight?' he questioned sharply.

  'Yes,' she nodded, not willing to back down now that she had made the offer.

  His gaze raked mercilessly over her face. 'Are you sure you're well enough for entertaining?' he rasped.

  'I will be by tonight,' she nodded with confidence, knowing that a few hours' sleep and she would be herself again.

  Kyle frowned deeply at that. 'What's actually wrong with you?' he asked slowly.

  She could feel her face blushing her guilt. 'After my month away,' she spoke quickly, 'there was a lot of work to catch up on. I overdid it.'

  'You seem to have a habit of doing that,' he derided. 'I don't—'

  'Taxi's here,' Jenny came in to cheerfully announce, looking questioningly at the two of them as they fell silent. 'Everything all right?'

  'I haven't taken advantage of your absence to beat Shelby into submission across her desk, if that's what you mean,' Kyle was the one to answer her, walking confidently to the door. 'And for your information,' he looked down at Jenny with mocking eyes, 'I don't bully Shelby, she manages to give out as good as she gets. Better sometimes.'

  'Good,' Jenny smiled.

  He grinned back at her. 'I'm glad you think so.'

  'Kyle—'

  'I'll see you later, Shelby,' he told her softly. 'And don't worry about dinner, I'll bring it with me.'

  'Just what did he mean by that?' Jenny asked suspiciously once he had left.

  She gave a rueful shrug, knowing she was in for an argument. 'I've invited him over for dinner tonight.'

  'You've done what?

  She sighed. 'Jenny—'

  'You're in no condition to give him dinner or anything else!'

  She laughed at the latter. 'I didn't intend giving him "anything else".'

  'You're going straight home to bed and staying there,' her friend told her determinedly. 'You certainly aren't getting up later to cook his dinner!'

  'You heard Kyle, he'll do it.'

  'He said he would bring it,' Jenny corrected impatiently. 'That isn't the same thing at all.'

  'I can assure you that he's a very good cook,' she teased.

  'I don't care if he's Cordon Bleu, you had no right to invite him over tonight.'

  'At least this way you'll be certain I've eaten,' she reasoned.

  'I can always be sure of that, I had a word with your maid weeks ago to make sure she left you a good meal.'

  'She told me,' Shelby nodded.

  'I'm beginning to think you and this Kyle deserve each other!' Jenny said at her stubbornness.

  She was smiling openly now. 'I'm sorry you didn't like him.'

  'Who says I didn't like him?' her friend frowned. 'How could any woman not like him?'

  'He is rather attractive—'

  'He's delicious,' Jenny sighed. 'But I won't have you almost destroying yourself over him again!'

  'No, ma'am,' she affected a good imitation of Kyle's attractive drawl.

  'Don't be cheeky,' her friend warned. 'That man makes Kenny Whitney look like a mere child when it comes to lethal charm.'

  She couldn't help smiling at that apt description of Kyle; she was just surprised she hadn't realised it sooner than she had. 'You've realised that already, have you?' she mused.

  'Who could miss it?' Jenny drooled. 'But enough about him, let's get you home.'

  'I'll be all right on my own,' Shelby assured her as she stood up to collect her things.

  Jenny's mouth opened in protest, and then quickly clamped shut again as she saw Shelby's stubborn expression. 'Go straight to bed as soon as you get home,' she was still issuing orders as Shelby climbed into the waiting taxi.

  She smiled up at the other woman. 'I think I'm going to have to do something about you,' she murmured teasing
ly. 'All this new-found power has gone to your head.'

  Jenny grinned. 'And at the moment you aren't strong enough to stop me.'

  'But I will be,' she warned half seriously. 'And when I am, watch out!'

  'I'm hoping by that time motherhood will have mellowed you,' Jenny mocked.

  She laughed softly. 'When you hope to take over running the salon full time.'

  'Yes.'

  'You've got it all worked out, haven't you?' she couldn't help chuckling.

  'You bet,' Jenny grinned.

  Shelby's own humour faded as soon as the taxi was out of eyesight of the salon. Kyle was here, actually in London! And she knew that if it weren't for the baby they would have been able to resume their affair for the time he was here. Kyle simply wasn't the type of man to just look up an old mistress, he had obviously intended them to become lovers again.

  Three months hadn't dulled her love for him in the least, in fact the baby growing inside her meant it had increased. And she had to deny them both, couldn't do any other.

  She was a little annoyed when she got home to find that as well as calling the lawyers for her and cancelling her appointment for this afternoon Jenny had also telephoned her doctor. He arrived a few minutes after she did, giving her a firm reprimand after finding her blood pressure was slightly raised, ordering her to stay away from the salon for another week. She knew Jenny was only doing what she thought best for her, but she cursed the other woman for her interference as she was instructed to go to bed and stay there.

  But she would be up and waiting for Kyle when he arrived, she was determined about that…

  CHAPTER NINE

  A light burnt low on her bedside table when she woke, taking a few minutes to become aware of her surroundings, her eyes widening in shock as she saw the man sitting beside her bed.

  'Kyle…?' she questioned warily, still not sure that seeing him at all hadn't been a dream.

  He sat forward so that the lamp cast his face in a golden shadow. 'Don't be alarmed,' he soothed. 'The maid let me in when I told her who I was.'

  She blinked, not imagining Susan letting just anyone into her flat. 'Who you are?' she asked slowly.

  He nodded. 'I told her I was a friend. My name seemed to do the trick.'

  Because Susan had assumed he was the 'Mr Whitney' she was going to marry! Her maid had never met Kenny, his visits to her flat always made in the evening when the middle-aged woman had gone home for the day.

  'What time is it?' she asked sleepily.

  'Eight-thirty.'

  'Eight—!' She blinked dazedly. She had slept for over six hours. 'I'm sorry, Kyle,' she frowned. 'I had no idea… I meant to be up in time for dinner.'

  'You will be,' he stood up. 'I'll have it cooked by the time you've showered and dressed.'

  She sat up quickly, and then wished she hadn't as the room revolved for several seconds. 'I couldn't ask you to cook dinner—'

  'You didn't,' he told her softly, his dark gaze moving to the thrust of her breasts beneath the black lacy nightgown she wore. 'I offered,' he added gruffly.

  She blushed under the heady warmth of his gaze, wishing she could fulfil the promise of passion in his eyes. Instead she chose to ignore it. 'In that case,' she said lightly, 'I accept. Ten minutes?'

  He dragged his gaze up to her face with an effort. 'Fine,' he nodded tersely.

  She was determined to erase that lapse into intimacy, her dress completely shapeless, although the green was a perfect match for her eyes. She applied only the lightest of make-up, just enough to stop her looking too pale, her mouth outlined in pale peach lipgloss. No one could accuse her of trying to attract Kyle!

  He had prepared two beautiful steaks by the time she joined him in the kitchen. His casual glance took in everything about her as he turned from serving up the food, although he made no comment, either derogatory or complimentary, just as she didn't comment on his appearance— dark and virile in casual grey trousers and a black, fitted shirt.

  'Is there anything I can do to help?' she asked brightly after finding he already had the table laid.

  'The wine is in the 'fridge.' He carried the plates through to the dining-room. 'Sit and eat,' he ordered as she moved about the kitchen tidying up the small amount of mess he had made while he worked.

  She sat. His arrogance hadn't changed at all. Thank goodness! She didn't want anything about him to change, loved him just the way he was.

  'Why didn't you ever telephone again?' he asked suddenly after they had been eating in silence for several enjoyable minutes.

  She looked up in surprise, frowning slightly as she sensed reprimand. 'Telephone…?'

  He nodded, his eyes narrowed. 'The ranch. I expected you to call back after Helen told you I wasn't at home. But you never did.'

  Too much had happened since that time for her to dare call him again. She moistened dry lips. 'Didn't Helen give you my message? She said she would.'

  'She gave it to me,' he acknowledged grimly. 'I still expected you to call back.'

  'Why?'

  'Damn it, because—' he broke off, drawing in a controlling breath. 'Didn't our time together mean anything to you?' he demanded bitterly. 'Or was I just another good time to you, a salve to your pride after Kenny decided not to marry you?'

  Her eyes gleamed angrily. 'That's a foul thing to say!'

  'But true?'

  'You know it isn't,' she snapped. 'I was always honest with you about my attraction to you.'

  'Then why the silence after you left?' he bit out. 'Do you have any idea how I felt having to ask Kenny for your address?'

  She could imagine it only too well, she could also imagine Kenny's pleasure in being the one to have the information Kyle needed. He surely wouldn't have made it easy, especially as he would rather the two of them never met again. 'I never imagined you would want it,' she shrugged. 'As for telephoning again,' she added hardly, 'I could never be sure you wouldn't be out visiting Mrs Judd.'

  His eyes narrowed to steely slits at her sarcasm. 'I told you, she's only a friend.'

  'So you did.' She continued to eat, although she was no longer enjoying the delicious food, just needing something to do. She and Kyle were behaving like jealous lovers, and although they had assuredly been the latter you had to feel love to know the former. And Kyle didn't love her. Maybe he was just annoyed at the fact that he didn't have the willing lover waiting for him in London that he had envisaged. 'How are Kenny and Wendy?' she changed the subject abruptly.

  'They've moved in with Wendy's father now,' Kyle answered after a slight hesitation.

  'He's forgiven them, then.'

  'Yes. He—' he sighed. 'The advent of his first grandchild did the trick,' he revealed curtly.

  'Wendy's pregnant?' her eyes widened. 'How wonderful for them.'

  'You think so?' he said dryly.

  'Don't you?' she frowned.

  'I was thinking of you.'

  'Me?' She expressed her surprise.

  'It could have been your child if you had married Kenny as planned,' he rasped.

  The thought of the child she carried being Kenny's filled her with revulsion. She moistened her lips as they became dry again. 'What a lucky escape I had!'

  'You don't want children?'

  'I don't want Kenny's children,' she shuddered. 'How has he taken to the idea of fatherhood?' she added quickly before he could ask if she would mind someone else fathering her child.

  Kyle's mouth twisted. 'He would like anything if it meant it bridged the rift with Ben.'

  'That's cynical,' she reprimanded gently. 'He might make a good father.'

  'As his own was!' he rasped.

  'He can't be held responsible for his father's actions,' she pointed out reasoningly.

  Kyle became suddenly still. 'You know about that?'

  'Helen told me,' she nodded. 'It may not all have been her husband's fault, the woman involved must have encouraged him to a certain degree.'

  'Oh she did,' he acknowledged g
rimly. 'The woman involved was my mother!'

  Shelby was left speechless. Katherine had been Kyle's mother! It was incredible, tragic—and it explained so many things, Helen's gratitude that she had been allowed to stay on at the ranch even after her husband's betrayal of his family, Kenny's resentment of both Kyle and his father over what he considered to be their charity.

  'Tell me about it,' she encouraged softly.

  He was scowling heavily, having imbibed more than his share of the wine after Shelby had refused more than one glass. 'I thought you said you knew about it.'

  'Only that Helen's husband left her for another woman, I had no idea it was your mother.'

  He shrugged. 'There isn't much more than that to tell. My uncle's and my mother's selfish love for each other left two families broken-hearted.'

  'From what Helen told me of her husband she was better off without him!'

  His eyes were icy. 'Maybe she was, but my father never got over my mother's desertion of us. He died when I was only twenty. Can you imagine that, a man of forty-eight just giving up and dying?'

  'He must have loved her very much,' Shelby sympathised.

  'Yes,' Kyle ground out.

  'And your uncle and mother?' she prompted.

  'They were married after the divorces. I expect they're still together somewhere.'

  'Don't you know?' she gasped.

  Kyle glared at her. 'I don't want to know!'

  'I'm sorry,' she told him quietly. 'I didn't mean to interfere. I suppose it's just that both my own parents being dead made me think it was better to have one parent alive than none.'

  'My mother has what she wanted,' he bit out. 'She didn't give a damn about either of us when she walked out. And I'll never forgive her for killing my father.'

  The cold set to his face told her that he never would either. Kyle was a man of deep and lasting feelings, and the woman who had mothered him would never know his forgiveness.

  But as he had spoken of his mother and uncle something else had occurred to her, something that she didn't even want to contemplate but which persisted in tormenting her.

  'What about me, Kyle?' she suddenly asked jerkily, unable to contain herself any longer.