by Penny Jordan
His hand covered hers, placing it against his flesh. Hot colour scalded her skin and he laughed.
‘Shy? I can hardly believe it.’
His words brought her back to reality. He thought she was a sexually experienced and available woman, while in reality…
‘At this moment, there’s nothing I want more than to take you to bed, but I’m afraid right now that’s impossible. Have dinner with me tonight?’
He took her silence for assent, and no wonder, after the way she had just behaved, she berated herself, retiring to her own side of the car and running her fingers through her tousled hair as he set the car in motion.
Hazard swore suddenly, braking hard, and she froze, half expecting to see they were about to hit something. When she looked at him, there was a white line of tension around his mouth and his eyes were glittering with the intensity of his emotions.
‘What is it? What’s wrong?’
He was looking at her, and suddenly she realised why. The movement of her arms as she tried to restore some sort of order to her hair had dragged the fine material of her shirt taut across her breasts, outlining both their shape and the hard arousal of her nipples.
They were still in the car park, and with one swift movement he bent his head, pulling her towards him so that she was turned into the curve of his body. His hand cupped her breast, his thumb stroking urgently across her nipple, and then to her shock she felt the moist heat of his mouth possessing her aroused flesh. Even through the fabric of her shirt and bra she could feel the heat of his mouth. Her body ached and pulsed with fierce need, her hands going up to hold his head, her fingers pushing urgently through the thick darkness of his hair.
The sound of a car horn out on the street brought them both back to reality. Hazard released her reluctantly, breathing hard as he sat back in his seat. Tiny beads of perspiration dampened his skin, and the aroused, musky male scent of him filled the car. Once, she would have found him frightening, now…now she found it arousing, she admitted shakily, fighting for her own self-control.
‘Come on,’ Hazard said hoarsely. ‘Let’s get out of here. The sooner we get this interview out of the way, the sooner we can be alone.’
* * *
After that, it was impossible for the day not to be a success. They were lucky with the traffic and found the motorway relatively unclogged with cars.
Hazard was a confident and competent driver with whom she felt completely at ease. They stopped once, just off the motorway, for coffee and something to eat, but neither of them were disposed to linger.
In an effort to restore some sort of normality to events, Susannah told him all she knew about Emma King. He tried to draw her out about her own life, but she was reluctant to tell him too much, in case he guessed how much she had been deceiving him.
He would have to know some time; she accepted that. They were going to become lovers, that was inevitable, but she could face the problem when it arose. She was an active young woman of twenty-four, her virginity might be no more than a technicality, rather than a physical barrier. She wasn’t going to start worrying now about his reaction to the truth; she wanted to enjoy what she was experiencing without any worries to mar it.
During the drive, the weather had gradually worsened, but inside the protection of the warm car it was possible to ignore the sheeting rain and howling winds. However, once they neared York, and Hazard switched on the car radio, they began to learn how grim the weather conditions actually were. The Ouse had risen rapidly, and parts of York were apparently in danger of flooding.
Frowning slightly as he concentrated on the news bulletin, Hazard turned up the radio. He had good hands, Susannah noticed, her body melting on a surge of awareness of him: long and lean, with clean blunt nails.
Now that she was prepared to admit herself that at the root of her fear of and antagonism towards him lay a much more potent and far different emotion, it was as though a door had opened in her life, allowing her to step through into a new world.
With David, she had never been free to give full rein to her emotions, they had always been something she had had to guard cautiously and fearfully; but, amazingly, especially after her experience with David, with Hazard she felt an immediate and intense trust. It was like coming into a room that was heated with a warm fire, after being out in the cold.
Perhaps once, before her parents’ deaths, she had experienced the same feeling, but never since. Oh, Aunt Emily had been a marvellous substitute parent, but she had brought Susannah up on the same diet of stern remoteness which had guided her own youth. Odd how, until she was actually experiencing it, she had not realised quite what she had missed.
‘You’re quiet. Something wrong?’
A quick look into Hazard’s face showed the genuine depth of his concern. She shook her head.
‘I think I’m still rather overwhelmed by the speed of…things.’
‘Yes, I’ve had a little more time to get used to the idea, I suppose,’ he agreed. ‘I know what you mean, though. Before I met you, I had no idea…’ He broke off and Susannah was surprised to see a faint dull flush of colour stain his skin. For a moment, he had almost looked…guilty! She had seen the expression so often in David’s eyes, she was hardly likely to mistake it.
‘Could you check the directions for me? I think we’re on the right road.’
It was probably just that, like her, Hazard was rather overwhelmed by the turn of events, Susannah comforted herself as she picked up the map.
Emma King lived in an isolated farmhouse in a remote part of the flat plain surrounding York and, as Hazard drove, Susannah kept getting glimpses of the ominously swollen Ouse.
‘We’re looking for a sign for Bywater,’ Hazard told her, momentarily slowing down, his hand brushing hers as he looked down at the map.
If the merest touch of his hand could send her weak with delight, what was she going to feel like when…
‘No, I think we’re still on the right road. It’s only a couple of miles on, though. Are you sure you’re all right?’ He looked at her with such concern that she practically melted with pleasure.
‘Yes. Yes, I’m fine.’
Now it was her turn to colour, the intimacy of her thoughts turning her pale skin pink.
What would it be like to cradle Hazard’s body in her arms, to run her fingers over his skin? Was he tanned all over? A tiny shudder of sensation began deep inside her and spread quickly through her body.
‘Susannah?’
She turned blindly to look at him as she caught the note of worry in Hazard’s voice.
‘Don’t… For God’s sake, don’t look at me like that!’
The raw male growl thickening his voice made her pulses race with excitement. Never in her whole life had she been so aware of her vulnerability.
‘I want you,’ he groaned thickly. ‘I want to take you in my arms and make love to you, and I know that you want it, too.’
‘Yes.’
The whispered admission darkened Hazard’s eyes, his hands clenching on the steering wheel.
‘You choose the damnedest times, you know that, don’t you?’
She could only look helplessly at him.
‘There’s the signpost.’ Her voice shook breathlessly.
Hazard cursed as he almost missed the turning, and the tide of desire rising up inside her retreated as Susannah forced herself to concentrate on their surroundings.
They passed through the small village Emma King had described. The river was already lapping over its banks, and Susannah was not surprised to see a small group of people watching it with concern.
Emma King’s home was six miles outside the village; a sizeable stone-built rambling building set among what, on a fine day, was no doubt beautiful countryside, but which at the moment was obscured from view by the curtain of heavy rain.
A white-painted farm gate stood open, and Hazard drove through it and parked.
As Susannah made to get out of the car, Hazard fores
talled her. ‘You wait there until she opens the door. You’ll get soaked.’
He was right, she admitted, watching him dash across to the front door and knock.
Seconds passed and Hazard knocked again. Susannah glanced at her watch worriedly. They were virtually on time, only a few minutes late, quite a feat after such a journey, and she did not think Emma was the sort of woman who made appointments and then forgot all about them.
‘I’ll go and have a look round the back,’ Hazard called out to her. ‘These old farmhouses have thick walls. There might be a bell round there.’
He was back within minutes.
‘We’ve got a problem,’ he told Susannah abruptly. ‘She’s had a fall. I can’t tell how bad it is without moving her, and I can’t do that. Apparently she came out to check on the river—it runs a hundred yards or so from the back of the house—and slipped on the cobbles. Will you stay with her, while I drive down to the village for the doctor? It will be quicker than trying to raise him on the phone.’
‘Yes, yes, of course.’ Concern quickened Susannah’s footsteps as she followed him round the back of the house, and it deepened when she saw the writer lying on the wet cobbles.
‘There’s a rug in the boot of the car,’ Hazard told her. ‘I’ll go and get it. She’s soaked through already, but…’
‘There’s no need to talk about me as though I’m not here, you know.’
Relief spread through Susannah as the older woman spoke.
‘Don’t try to move,’ she warned her, as Emma struggled to sit up. ‘Hazard is going to go for the doctor.’
‘I think it’s only a sprain.’ She tried to move and winced. ‘Stupid of me to come out in these wretched high heels instead of wearing boots, but the weather forecast warned that the Ouse was rising rapidly, and I wanted to check.’
‘You’re too far away to suffer flooding, surely?’ Susannah asked her.
‘Here, yes, but not in the village. We’ve had several floods down there and, when something like this happens, it’s a case of all hands on deck.’ She winced as, inadvertently, she moved and jarred her twisted ankle.
Hazard produced the rug, and draped it carefully over her. ‘I’ll be as quick as I can,’ he promised.
‘A very capable and charming man,’ Emma pronounced as Hazard drove off.
‘He’s my boss.’ Susannah avoided Emma’s eyes, her emotions too new to share with anyone else.
There was nothing she could do to make Emma more comfortable, so instead she tried to distract her by talking to her. At the very least, there must be a danger to her from exposure, Susannah reflected, shivering herself as the rain beat down on them. Emma wasn’t a young woman, and even a short time lying out here, exposed to such weather…
‘Don’t worry. I’m pretty tough.’
Emma must have read her mind, Susannah thought, starting a little, but the sound of a car drew her attention, easing her anxiety.
‘Here’s Hazard,’ she announced with relief.
‘And Dr Barnes… That’s her car coming down the lane, I think. She said when I saw her last week that it needed a new exhaust.’
In no time at all, the doctor and Hazard had Emma safely installed in her bedroom. Left to her own devices downstairs, Susannah noticed that the old-fashioned boiler needed stoking. She remembered that Emma had told her that, as yet, their remote village did not have access to gas, and it was a simple enough task to go outside and find the outhouse containing the fuel. It took her back to her childhood, and Aunt Emily’s temperamental Aga, which had to be fed with solid fuel at regular intervals.
She made a pot of tea, quickly familiarising herself with the foibles of the old-fashioned range. It was very similar to Aunt Emily’s Aga, and soon responded to Susannah’s deft coaxing.
Dr Barnes was a tall, slim woman in her mid-thirties, who looked rather tired and drawn.
‘My goodness, how on earth did you manage that?’ she asked, looking impressed when Susannah proffered the tea. ‘That range is a monster. I’ve told Emma that she ought to get rid of it and either go on to electricity or bottled Gaz, but she won’t.’ She frowned, and pushed a tired hand into her hair. ‘Her ankle’s only sprained, but really I should take her into hospital for observation. However, she’s a stubborn lady and flatly refuses, and if I’m honest I would have the devil of a job getting her into a bed. She can’t stay here on her own, though; she has a niece who lives in York who would come and look after her, but apparently she’s away with her husband at the moment, out of the country, and not expected back until tomorrow afternoon.’
‘I could stay.’
The words were out before Susannah realised what she was saying. Guiltily, she looked across at Hazard. He was, after all, her boss, and he might not take too kindly to the idea of her volunteering her services.
‘I’ve got a better idea,’ he said calmly. ‘We’ll both stay.’
‘Well, if you could…’ Dr Barnes looked relieved. ‘Conditions are rather primitive here, I’m afraid. There is electricity, but we’ve been warned to expect high winds tonight, and that will probably cause disruptions in the service. Emma does have some oil lamps. What am I doing, putting you off?’ she asked wryly. ‘If you don’t stay, I’m going to have to conjure up a nurse from somewhere, and heaven alone knows how I’m going to do that.’
‘We’re staying,’ Hazard told her firmly. ‘We wouldn’t dream of leaving Emma alone.’
‘She’s lucky to have such good friends.’ The doctor stood up, giving Hazard a warm smile, before Susannah could point out that he hadn’t even met the older woman before today.
She was jealous, she recognised, suddenly realising why she was experiencing such sharp pangs of resentment over that exchanged smile. And it was ridiculous.
‘I’d better go. I’ve got several more calls to make. Thanks for the tea.’ She smiled at Susannah, but not as warmly as she had smiled at Hazard. ‘Good luck with the boiler.’
‘I’d better go up and tell Emma that we’re staying,’ Susannah said awkwardly once they were alone. She was suddenly experiencing a sensation of feeling almost tongue-tied and oddly shy.
‘I’ll come with you, just in case she turns awkward,’ Hazard told her with a grin.
As he opened the kitchen door for her, he caught hold of her arm and said softly, ‘You know, you’re one hell of a lady, Susannah. Not a bit as I’d imagined you to be. Generous, warm-hearted—all the things a woman should be.’
‘I’m glad you approve.’
She had meant to sound cool and mocking, but instead her voice wobbled slightly, and her breathing became suspended as Hazard bent his head and whispered against her mouth, ‘Oh, I approve.’
He kissed her slowly and thoroughly, his mouth firm and warm against her own. It was like sinking into a warm bath, Susannah thought mistily as she responded to the seduction of his kiss.
He released her reluctantly, pushing her gently towards the door.
‘There you are, the Hazard Maine seal of approval.’
The look in his eyes told her much more than the words. If only they were completely alone, she could show him just…but they weren’t, and Emma was no doubt lying upstairs, worrying about what was going to happen. The habit of responsibility instilled in her by Aunt Emily was too strong to ignore. Resolutely Susannah turned away from Hazard and headed for the stairs.
CHAPTER SIX
DESPITE HER OBJECTIONS, Susannah sensed Emma’s relief when she was told of their plans.
The cupboards and freezer were well stocked, she told her, so they need have no worries about running out of food.
‘Whether or not you’ll be able to eat anything hot, though, is another matter. The range…’
‘I think I can handle it,’ Susannah told her, explaining that she had virtually grown up with something very similar.
‘There’s a chicken in the fridge that I was going to cook for lunch. Perhaps we could have that tonight…’
‘A good ide
a,’ Susannah agreed. ‘Is there anything you’d like? Something to read?’
In point of fact, Dr Barnes had told them that she had given Emma a sedative that would make her sleep but, guessing that the older woman would try to fight its effects if she knew, Susannah said nothing.
‘No, I don’t think so, thank you, my dear. To be honest, I’m feeling rather tired.’
‘I won’t disturb you, then.’
‘Please make yourselves at home. I’m afraid I can’t provide Hazard with anything in the way of pyjamas—my husband never wore them. You’ll find aired sheets and pillowslips in the airing cupboard, and there’s a nightdress in the bottom drawer in the chest in the next bedroom. One of my nieces bought it for me, but it isn’t my style.’ She chuckled. ‘To be honest, I prefer a pair of thermal pyjamas these days; I always get so terribly cold in bed. My late husband used to complain that my feet felt like blocks of ice.’ She sighed and yawned, and Susannah suspected that, by the time she was downstairs, Emma would be fast asleep.
‘There’s a phone in Emma’s study,’ Hazard told her when she got downstairs. ‘We don’t need to alert the office at this stage, but if you’ve made any arrangements for the weekend…’
‘None,’ Susannah told him. ‘You…you don’t have to stay on,’ she added, hoping her voice would not give away how much she wanted him to. ‘I…I think I can manage.’
‘I’m staying. Think what they’re going to say to us at work when we get back?’ he teased her. ‘The pair of us, virtually alone here, in a remote farmhouse!’
Reporters had fertile minds, and Susannah pressed her hands to her hot face as she contemplated the type of remarks her colleagues were likely to make.
‘Don’t look so anguished. No one need know.’
Why did she feel he had withdrawn from her slightly? She looked at him and saw that his eyes were faintly shadowed.
‘I’m sorry. It’s just that I’m not used…’ She broke off, uncomfortably aware of where her unguarded words were leading her, and her flush deepened. Her guilt at deceiving him, not once but twice, brought a small worried frown to her forehead.