Читать книгу The Holiday Escapes Collection - Сандра Мартон - Страница 44

THE room service meal arrived at that moment. Charlotte stood to one side as the trolley was wheeled in, the aroma of their meals luring her appetite out of hiding when the silver lids were lifted after the plates were set down on the table near the windows over-looking the stunning night view of Sydney Harbour.

The attendant bowed out with a generous tip in his hand and Damon moved to pull out Charlotte’s chair.

‘You are feeling a little hungry now, ne?’ he asked.

Immensely relieved with the subject change, she freely admitted, ‘Yes…a little…’

He took the seat opposite and flicked open his napkin and laid it across his lap. ‘You mentioned earlier that your mother died three years ago. Was it sudden?’

‘Yes and no…she was ill for a few months, but death is always sudden, even when you’re expecting it to occur.’ She met his eyes briefly. ‘I was so sorry to hear of Eleni’s death. That must have been very hard on you and your mother.’

A shadow passed over his face as he reached for his wine. ‘It was. It is still hard to believe she is gone.’

‘What happened?’

He stared at the red wine in his glass for a moment before he spoke. ‘She became tired and run down over a period of several months. She had blood tests taken but nothing showed up. She went to Athens and had a chest X-ray done and it showed lymphoma. She was dead within nine months. The aggressive chemotherapy was supposed to prolong her life. In the end it ended it. She caught pneumonia and slipped away.’

Charlotte felt the prickle of tears for what he must have suffered. His mother Alexandrine would have been devastated, she was sure. Giving birth to her own daughter had made Charlotte realise the depth and breadth of parental love. After all, wasn’t that why she was here sitting opposite the man who had fathered Emily so she could protect her, even if it cost her everything she had, including her self-respect?

‘I’m so very sorry,’ she said again. ‘She was a lovely girl.’

‘My mother is now very keen for me to marry and have children,’ he said, handing her the rocket and roasted kumara salad. ‘But so far I have resisted.’

Charlotte took the serving utensils with unsteady fingers, her heart beginning to thump behind her breast. She served a small portion of the salad for herself before asking, ‘You don’t think it’s time for you to settle down?’

He took the bowl from her, his eyes meeting hers. ‘I am only thirty-two years old. I would have thought there was plenty of time for me to play the field for a little longer.’

Charlotte couldn’t hold his gaze. ‘So, like most men, you want to have your cake and eat it too,’ she said as she reached for her cutlery.

‘What about you, Charlotte?’ he asked. ‘You are—how old now…almost twenty-six. I would have thought you would have found yourself a rich husband by now.’

‘It may surprise you, Damon, but I’m not interested in having a rich husband or indeed any sort of husband.’

‘So, like me, you prefer to play the field?’

She frowned. ‘No…no, of course not. I hate the shallow short-term relationships that seem to be so commonplace these days.’

His mouth tilted in cynicism. ‘And yet you agreed to this short-term affair with me, did you not?’

She gave him an embittered look. ‘You left me with no choice. Do you really think I’d be sitting opposite you now if I’d had any say in the matter?’

Anger flared in his eyes. ‘The way I see it, I gave you plenty of choice. You had the choice of seeing your sister arrested or spending time with me, which I might remind you I paid for very dearly. But if you want to put an end to this right now, I will not stop you. You can return my cheque and your sister can face the prosecution she deserves.’

A vision of her sister sitting injecting herself stopped Charlotte from telling him where to put his cheque. She sat stiffly in her chair, her appetite completely gone as the bars of her own prison began to close in on her.

‘Nothing to say, Charlotte?’

She brought her fiery gaze back to his. ‘I have plenty to say but you’ve put a lock on my tongue, remember? I have to be polite and charming to you even though you can insult me any time you like. It’s hardly what I’d call a level playing field.’

‘I would treat you with respect if I thought you were worthy of it,’ he clipped out, his mouth tight with anger. ‘You betrayed my trust and I will not forget that. The very same lips that kissed mine lied to me time and time again.’

‘I have never lied to you.’ As soon as she said the words Charlotte felt her colour run up under her skin. Of course she had lied to him! She was lying to him now and felt sure he could sense it.

His eyes narrowed as they clashed with hers. ‘You lied to me this evening, Charlotte, and I can prove it.’

His words sent an icy chill down her spine but she forced herself to project an outward calm. ‘Oh, really?’ she said.

‘Yes,’ he said, watching her closely. ‘You told me you had no idea where your sister was.’

‘I don’t.’

‘I can make one phone call and prove your mendacity.’

She felt her throat begin to tighten in panic, her breath catching in the middle of her chest as she did her best to hold his challenging gaze.

‘You see, Charlotte,’ he continued, ‘I have been keeping a close eye on you.’

Charlotte reassured herself that Emily was safe at Caroline’s. She had been for two days in a row. There was no possible way he could know about her existence.

But Stacey was another matter.

She lowered her eyes and accepted defeat, hoping it would keep him away from the truth. ‘All right…I admit it,’ she said. ‘I lied to you about Stacey. She came around to see me this evening.’

‘No doubt to share the spoils of her theft with you.’

Her eyes came back to his. ‘I had nothing to do with the theft of your wallet.’

‘At the very real risk of repeating myself, I am afraid I do not believe you,’ he said.

She tossed her napkin aside and got to her feet. ‘I’d like to leave.’

His eyes locked on hers. ‘You will leave when I give you permission to do so.’

‘So, along with blackmail, you’re now into abduction as well, are you?’ she asked.

‘And bondage if it is called for,’ he said as he stood up from his chair and, skirting the table, came towards her.

Charlotte started to back away. ‘You can’t hold me against my will.’

‘Ah, but it will not be against your will,’ he promised silkily. ‘You will be begging to stay, I guarantee it.’

‘You promised me you wouldn’t do this tonight. You gave me your word.’

He smiled as he came closer. ‘So I lied. Doesn’t everyone now and again?’

Charlotte felt the back of her knees come up against the huge bed and panicked. ‘I can’t do this, Damon. I’m not on the pill.’

‘I have protection and, if that is not enough insurance for you, then we could always think of other ways to amuse ourselves,’ he suggested as his thighs brushed against hers. He took her hand and held it against him, his dark eyes holding hers meaningfully. ‘You loved to do so in the past, remember?’

Charlotte could feel the pulse of his body beneath her fingertips and her heart rate began to accelerate. She had to get out of here before she betrayed herself. How could she agree to such an intimate act when he hated her so vehemently?

‘I—I can’t do this…’ Her voice broke on a sob. ‘I just can’t…’ Another sob followed the first, then another until she was crying uncontrollably, her hands going up to her face, her whole body shaking with emotion.

Damon pulled her into his arms and held her close, her shuddering sobs reverberating through his chest. He was shocked by how distressed she sounded. It made him feel as if he had missed something somewhere. He wasn’t sure how to handle her in such a state. Had seeing him again brought her guilt back with a vengeance? Perhaps she had tried to put that part of her life to one side and seeing him again had brought it all back.

‘Charlotte, do not distress yourself like this,’ he said against her fragrant cloud of hair. ‘We have done this before, many times in the past.’

She looked up into his eyes, her bottom lip still trembling. ‘But not like this…not so cold-bloodedly. Do you have to hate me this much?’

He gave her a rueful smile. ‘You think I need to tone it down a bit, ne?’

She tried to give him an answering tremulous little smile but it fell a little short of the mark. ‘Maybe just a little bit…’

He let out a sigh and brought her back against his chest, his voice rumbling against her breasts. ‘Surprising as it may seem, I do not hate you, Charlotte. I desire you. I cannot seem to turn it off, even though I want to.’

Charlotte retreated into the haven of silence.

‘You think me a barbarian and a savage for forcing you here but I was prepared to do anything to have you in my arms again,’ he went on. ‘But I can see you are feeling compromised, as well you should.’

If only he knew how compromised she felt, Charlotte thought.

‘So I have come to a decision,’ he said, releasing her to look at her upturned face. ‘I will give you a couple more days to prepare yourself for our relationship.’

Charlotte blinked at him. ‘You mean…I don’t have to…’

‘No. Not tonight.’

She ran her tongue over her dry lips, her emotions see-sawing between disappointment and relief. She couldn’t understand her reaction to his offer of a short reprieve. It wasn’t as if she still loved him. He had killed those feelings with his ruthless treatment of her in the past, but still…

She caught her bottom lip with her teeth. ‘But you paid me to be your partner for this evening…’

‘I have not forgotten our deal,’ he said. ‘I am just allowing you some breathing space.’

‘I’ll pay it back.’ Charlotte didn’t know how she would do it, but she determined she would definitely pay it back.

‘Yes, indeed you will,’ he said with chilling implacability. ‘I want you and I am prepared to wait a day or two until you are ready to come to me willingly.’

She stood uncertainly before him, torn between wanting to bolt and to stay and feel the magic of his touch once more.

She twisted her hands together. ‘Damon…I don’t know what to say…’

‘What I would like you to say is that you will have lunch with me tomorrow,’ he said.

She shifted from one foot to the other. ‘Um…’

‘You do have a lunch hour, do you not?’

‘Yes, but I don’t think…’

‘Just lunch, Charlotte,’ he said. ‘Nothing else. For now.’

For now.

Charlotte suppressed a tiny shiver as the ominous sound of those two little words seared her soul. She couldn’t help feeling that he was toying with her, allowing her to briefly glimpse freedom before snatching it away again. Being with him in any context was flirting with danger. She considered rejecting his invitation but was worried that by doing so he would withdraw his temporary reprieve and insist on her staying this evening.

She couldn’t risk it.

But lunch would certainly be a whole lot easier than dinner, she reasoned. Emily would be at crèche all day, which meant she wouldn’t have to call upon Caroline to babysit.

‘All right…’ she said after a little silence. ‘Lunch will be fine.’

‘I will meet you on the steps of the museum at one p.m. Is that convenient?’

‘Yes…’ She swallowed the uneven lump in her throat and met his eyes once more. ‘So…so you’re not going to withdraw your sponsorship for the exhibition?’

His coal-black eyes held no trace of the warmth she craved. ‘I am still thinking about it, Charlotte. It depends on many things.’

Her teeth worried her lip again. ‘Wh-what sort of things?’

He studied her for a seemingly endless interval.

‘I am still making up my mind about you,’ he said. ‘Whatever you might have done in the past, it seems reasonable to conclude you would not be in such a responsible position now if you had not proven yourself to be trustworthy.’

Hope brightened her eyes. ‘So you finally believe me when I say I didn’t steal those things from your mother’s gallery?’

He took another long moment to answer, his gaze holding hers as if he was still weighing up the pros and cons of her innocence.

‘As I told you earlier, I have not yet made up my mind.’

It wasn’t quite the answer she was hoping for, but she knew it would have to suffice. There was no way of proving her innocence and the only way forward was to let it go. It was a black mark against her name but it seemed there was nothing she could do to remove it.

Her heart gave a little flutter as his firm warm fingers enveloped hers, his eyes growing even darker as they meshed with her blue ones. He drew her closer to him, his chest brushing against her breasts, his mouth so near hers that his warm breath felt like a caress on her up-tilted face.

‘Your mouth is still the most kissable mouth I have ever seen,’ he said, his voice low and deep. ‘I have thought of it many times over the years.’

‘Y-you have?’

‘Yes,’ he breathed his answer into her mouth as she opened it on a shaky little sigh.

His lips connected with hers in a kiss as soft as feather down, but it was enough to set fire to her soul. She felt the rush of need like a river of flame along her nerve-endings, each one screaming out for more of his touch. His tongue met hers with a flicker of need that sent a shockwave through her entire body. Her breasts came alive as his hands moved up along her ribcage to shape them, her stomach caving in with delight at the feel of his possessive touch. Her mouth was on fire under the onslaught of his, the stroke and glide of his tongue setting her alight with aching need. Her body secretly prepared itself, the deep throb of wanting making her whimper as he began to suckle on her bottom lip. She felt the sexy rasp of his tongue against hers and the scrape of his teeth as his kiss became more and more urgent. His tongue drove into the warm cave of her mouth again and again, reminding her of all the times he had driven into her with his hardened arousal, the thickness of his desire sending her senses on a rollercoaster ride of ecstasy.

How she had missed this wild abandoned excitement. Her body felt alive with sizzling sexual energy, each nerve within her tingling with fully charged responses to his touch.

He broke the kiss to look down at her with desire still burning in his eyes. ‘This is probably a good time to stop,’ he said with a wry curve to his mouth.

‘Yes…yes…I guess it is…’

He took her hands in his. ‘Where did you park your car—in the hotel car park downstairs?’

‘No…I parked a few streets away.’

‘Then I will walk you to it,’ he said.

Charlotte’s heart gave a sudden lurch. Emily’s child booster seat was in the back of her car. ‘No!’ she said.

He frowned at her emphatic response. ‘No?’

‘I—I lied…’ She reluctantly brought her gaze back to his. ‘I didn’t drive here tonight…I…I caught a cab.’

His dark gaze studied her for a lengthy pause.

‘Why did you feel it was necessary to lie about something as common as catching a cab?’ he asked.

‘I—I don’t know…’ she faltered.

His expression closed over as he took her hand. ‘Come on, Charlotte. I will escort you to the cab rank.’

She tried to pull her hand away. ‘There’s really no need to bother.’

His fingers tightened a mere fraction. ‘It is no bother, really,’ he insisted.

Charlotte had no choice but to allow him to escort her downstairs and into one of the waiting cabs. She gritted her teeth behind her forced smile as he waved her off.

‘Where to, miss?’ the cab driver asked as he began to pull out of the hotel driveway.

She gave him a sheepish look. ‘You’re not going to believe this…’

‘The airport?’ he asked with a grin. ‘Every person I’ve picked up this evening’s been going to the airport.’

‘Actually, no, much closer than that,’ she said with rising colour. ‘See that yellow car parked under that tree on the next block?’

‘You’re kidding me.’

‘Sorry.’ She grimaced. ‘But do you think we can do a few rounds of the block. I don’t want my…er…friend to see me getting into my car.’

He gave her another smile. ‘No trouble. How many rounds do you think we should do?’

Charlotte glanced back over her shoulder at the hotel, but there was no sign of Damon watching.

‘Two should do it,’ she said, releasing a sigh as she settled back into the seat.

‘Two it is,’ the driver said, and made a turn to the left.

‘Stacey?’ Charlotte called out as soon as she got back to the flat. ‘I’m home.’

A chill ran down her spine when there was no answer. She dropped her bag and called out again, but the flat was eerily quiet.

She checked each of the rooms but it wasn’t until she got to her bedroom that she saw the note stuck on her laptop computer screen.

Sorry, Charlie. I know you’re going to hate me but I’m just not ready. Forgive me. S.

Charlotte peeled off the note with a sinking heart, the sharp edges of the paper sticking into the soft skin of her palm. She tossed it in the bin but the movement of her hand against her little desk disturbed the computer mouse and the computer screen came to life.

She stared at her internet banking details, her stomach churning in despair when she realised what her sister had done.

‘Oh, Stacey…’ she cried out in frustration. ‘How could you do this to me?’