Читать книгу The Platinum Collection: An Australian Conquest - Emma Darcy - Страница 19

CHAPTER ELEVEN

ELIZABETH found herself rebelling against any regret over her decision to take Harry Finn as her lover for one night. It might be stupidly reckless of her to have sex with him. There would probably be consequences she wouldn’t like but she refused to care about what could happen next. Just for once she would be totally irresponsible, except for the important issue of birth control, which was impossible to ignore.

She tackled Harry on that point as soon as he returned to the office. ‘I’m not on the pill,’ she stated bluntly. ‘Will you take care of contraception on Friday night?’

‘No problem,’ he blithely replied. ‘And incidentally, I’ve thought of another condition.’

Elizabeth tensed. If it was too outlandish...

‘When we’re in the villa, I want to call you Ellie.’

She was startled into asking, ‘Why?’

He shrugged. ‘A childhood name, conjuring up the age of innocence. I like that idea.’

‘I’m not innocent, Harry.’ Surely he couldn’t still be thinking she was a virgin.

‘Nevertheless, it’s what I want. Okay?’

She shook her head over his whimsy but...what did it matter? ‘If it pleases you,’ she said carelessly.

‘It will please me,’ he asserted, then smiled at her. ‘I also want to please you. If you think of anything you’d particularly enjoy on the night, let me know. Your wish is my command.’

‘I prefer to leave everything in your very capable hands, Harry,’ she said dryly, not wanting to think too much about it.

But she did over the next couple of days. And nights. It was weird how completely distracted she was from thinking about Michael and Lucy. The now-certain prospect of having sex with Harry made her more physically aware of him than ever, and the anticipation of it was zinging through her almost continually.

He didn’t come up with any more conditions, didn’t raise the subject at all, keeping their time together on a strictly business basis, as she had requested. Somehow that contributed to a sense of secretive intimacy, knowing what they were going to do when Friday night came but not mentioning it.

She found a red string bikini in the boutique and bought it, deciding it suited the occasion since she was acting like a scarlet woman, taking a lover she didn’t love. Oddly enough she felt no guilt about doing it. Somehow it represented the kind of freedom she probably wouldn’t feel with someone she did love. There were no dreams to be smashed, no expectations of sharing a life together. It was just a night of sexy fun with Harry Finn.

On Friday morning, Harry announced he had business in Port Douglas and would be gone for most of the day. He printed a notice that the office would be closed at 6:00 p.m. today and stuck it on the door. ‘Go on up to the villa then,’ he instructed. ‘I’ll be there. Don’t want to miss the sunset,’ he added with a smile that sparkled with anticipation.

‘I’ll bring a bottle of champagne from the bar,’ she said, remembering how she had envisaged the scene with Michael and Lucy.

‘No need. I’ll have one ready to open.’

‘What about food? Shall I order...?’

He shook his head. ‘I have that organised, as well. You only have to bring yourself, Elizabeth.’ He raised his hand in a farewell salute. ‘Bye for now. Have a nice day.’

‘You, too,’ she replied, smiling back at him.

It was a genuine smile, not the slightest bit forced. Not having to keep her guard up against him all the time had made her more relaxed in his company. She had nothing to guard against since she was giving in to what he wanted from her. And if she was completely honest with herself, she wanted it, too.

He was a sexy man.

He made her feel sexy.

She was looking forward to having this experience with Harry tonight. She probably would have hated herself if she’d been seduced into it, but the sense of empowerment that came with having decided on it herself made all the difference.

Nevertheless, when six o’clock came and she was on her way to the pavilion villa, her nerves started getting very jumpy. She had never had an assignation like this before. It was totally out of character for her. But there was no turning back from it, she told herself fiercely. Everything was in place to take this step, and take it she would.

Harry was standing by the infinity pool, looking out to sea. He wore only a pair of board shorts, printed with white sailing ships on a blue background. She paused on the last step leading to the open deck, her heart skittering at the sight of so much naked masculinity—broad shoulders tapering to lean hips, bronze skin gleaming over taut, well-defined muscles. He had the perfect male physique and it tugged on some deeply primitive female chord in Elizabeth.

It was okay to feel attracted to him, she told herself.

It was natural.

On the physical level.

As though sensing her presence he swung around, his gaze instantly targeting her, piercing blue eyes raking her from head to toe, making her hotly conscious that she was still in the island uniform. She quickly held up the carry bag holding the clothes he’d requested and gabbled an explanation.

‘I’ve just finished at the office, Harry. I thought I’d take a shower here.’

He nodded. ‘Make it fast. The sun is already low in the sky.’

The glass doors to the villa were open. The layout inside was similar to the one Jack had shown her. She headed straight for the bathroom, anxious not to be found wanting in keeping to her side of their deal. One minute to turn on the shower taps and strip off her clothes, two minutes under the refreshing beat of the water, one minute to towel herself dry, one minute to pull on the red bikini bottom and put on the butterfly blouse, fastening only one button to keep it more or less together.

Accessible was what he’d asked for. He couldn’t say she wasn’t delivering it. The shape of her braless breasts and the darker colour of her areolae were certainly visible through the sheer fabric, and her nipples were already stiffening, poking at the butterfly wings. She hoped he had the champagne ready. Carrying this much accessibility off with any air of confidence required some alcoholic fortification.

It was only on her exit from the bathroom that Elizabeth caught a waft of nose-teasing scent coming from the mezzanine level. She looked up to where the king-size bed was waiting for intimate activity. Candles—from small to large—lit a path to it. A long sniff identified their fragrance as frangipani, the flower most reminiscent of tropical nights.

Harry must have set them up. Had he bought them in Port Douglas today? Why go to the trouble? This was not a night of romance. Did he want her to imagine it was? And why should he want that? She didn’t understand. But it was...nice of him to do it.

She was smiling over what she had decided was playboy fun as she walked out onto the deck. ‘Do you treat all your women to scented candles?’ she asked.

He was about to pop the cork of a bottle of champagne. He paused to give her a very long, all-encompassing look that made her extremely conscious of every female part of her body. ‘No. I simply associate the scent of flowers with butterflies, Ellie. An innocent pleasure,’ he said softly.

His use of her childhood name instantly reminded her of how he’d linked it to an age of innocence. She wished she knew what was going on in his mind. It seemed to be off on some quirky journey tonight.

He popped the cork and reached for one of the flute glasses sitting on the low table that served the sun-lounges. A plate of lush fresh strawberries was placed beside the ice bucket that awaited the opened bottle. As he poured the champagne, Elizabeth saw that a couple of crushed strawberries lay in the bottom of the glass, making it a very sensual drink.

‘Enjoy,’ he said as he passed it to her, his smile inviting her to share all sorts of pleasure with him.

‘Thank you, Harry,’ she said appreciatively, grateful that he wasn’t grabbing at her accessibility or doing anything off-putting.

He waved her to one of the sun-lounges. ‘Relax. Looks like being a spectacular sunset.’

She sat on the lounge, not quite ready to put herself on display by stretching out on it. Harry poured champagne for himself, then clicked her glass with his. ‘To our first night together,’ he said, smiling as he dropped onto the adjacent lounge, propped himself against the backrest, lifted his long legs onto the cushioned base and gazed out to a sea that was shimmering like polished crystal.

It released Elizabeth’s inhibitions about doing the same. This villa certainly had a prime position for viewing the sunset. The subtle colour changes in the sky would challenge any artist—impossible to capture on canvas, she thought. It truly was lovely, just watching it and sipping strawberry-flavoured champagne.

‘Have you ever been to Broome?’ Harry asked.

‘No.’ Broome was right across the country on the coast of Western Australia. She knew it was world famous for its pearls but she’d never had any reason to go there. ‘Why do you ask?’

‘Sunset there is amazing. People drive down on the beach, set up their barbecues, bring eskies loaded with cold drinks, play music, sit back and enjoy Mother Nature’s display for them. They completely tune out from news of the world and just live in the moment.’

He rolled the words out in a low, almost spellbinding tone that was soothing, like a physical caress that eased the last threads of tension in Elizabeth’s body.

‘We don’t do enough of it...living in the moment,’ he went on in the same seductive murmur. ‘Let’s try to do that tonight, Ellie. No yesterdays...no tomorrows...just each moment as it comes.’

‘Yes,’ she agreed, happy with the idea.

They sipped their champagne in silence for a while, watching the sun slowly disappear below the horizon.

‘My parents used to do this...have a sundowner together at the end of the day,’ Harry said, slanting her a reminiscent little smile. ‘What about yours, Ellie? Do they have a special time to themselves?’

She shook her head. ‘My mother died of cancer when I was nineteen. I haven’t seen my father since the funeral. He’s a miner and living with some other woman in Mt Isa. It was never much of a marriage. Mum more or less brought Lucy and me up by herself.’

Harry frowned at her. ‘Your father doesn’t care about you?’

She grimaced. ‘I think we were responsibilities he didn’t really want. Mostly when he came home on leave from the mine, he’d get drunk and we’d stay out of his way.’

‘What about when your mother became ill?’

‘He came home less. Didn’t want to be faced with what was happening to Mum. He said it was up to me and Lucy to take care of her.’

‘That must have been hard,’ Harry said sympathetically.

‘Yes. Though it was a special time, too. Like you said...living in the moment...because the last moment could come at any time so every good moment was precious.’

‘At least you knew that,’ he murmured, nodding understandingly before throwing her a wry little smile. ‘Mickey and I...we didn’t realise how precious those good moments were until after our parents were gone.’

‘I guess that kind of sudden death is harder to come to terms with,’ she said thoughtfully.

‘I don’t know. We didn’t have to see them suffer.’ He shook his head. ‘You were only nineteen. How did you manage?’

‘I was at business college so I could be home quite a lot. Lucy dropped out of school to look after Mum when I couldn’t be there.’

‘Did she pick up her education again at a later date?’

‘No.’ Impossible to explain that school had never been easy for Lucy. She didn’t like people knowing about her dyslexia. ‘She didn’t want to, didn’t need it to get work.’

‘But without qualifications...’

‘Lucy is adept at winning her way into jobs.’

‘While you’re the one with the steady career. That’s why she calls you her anchor.’

Elizabeth heaved a sigh. ‘This is a weird conversation to be having when we’re supposed to be enjoying a night of sexy fun, Harry.’

‘Oh, I don’t know. I’d call this an intimate conversation. We have all night to get to physical intimacy. We’ve been on the fringes of each other’s worlds for two years. I think I know Elizabeth fairly well—’ he rolled his head towards her, giving her his quirky smile ‘—but I want to get to know Ellie tonight.’

‘That’s yesterday, Harry. My childhood,’ she pointed out. ‘It’s not living in the moment.’

The blue eyes gathered the piercing intensity that always gave her discomfort. ‘Ellie is inside you right now,’ he said softly. ‘She’s the foundation of the woman you are. She directs your life.’

‘That’s ridiculous!’ she protested.

‘Is it? You’re the older child, the one who helped your mother, the one who protected your sister, the one who carried the responsibility of arranging everything when your mother was ill, when she died, the one who wants a man in her life who will never do to her what her father did to her mother, to his children.’

He was digging at her again—digging, digging, digging! In a burst of frustration, Elizabeth swung her legs off the lounge, sat up straight and glared at him. ‘I did not come up here to be psychoanalysed, Harry.’

He swung his legs down to the deck in a more leisurely fashion, his eyes holding hers in glittering challenge. ‘No, you didn’t. Ellie wanted to break out of the Elizabeth cocoon and fly free for once, didn’t she?’

She hated how he could connect everything up and be so damned right about everything! It made her feel naked in far more than the physical sense. In a purely defensive action, she snatched the bottle of champagne from the ice bucket, intending to refill her glass.

Harry took it from her. ‘Allow me.’

She did, letting him pour the champagne, though it made her feel he was taking control away from her, which wasn’t how she’d planned to have this encounter with Harry. ‘Do you probe into the lives of all your one-night stands?’ she asked waspishly.

He cocked an eyebrow at her. ‘What makes you think my life consists of a series of one-night stands?’

‘The way you flirt. Michael said you flirt with every woman. It isn’t just me.’

‘Flirting can be fun. It can be enjoyable to both parties. In a way it’s a search for that magic click which will lead to bed, but that doesn’t happen very often. When it has, I can’t recall one instance when it only lasted for one night. You’ve assumed something about me that isn’t true, Ellie.’

‘Well, this is only going to be for one night,’ she insisted, needing to regain the control that seemed to be sliding out of her grip.

‘Why?’

‘Because...’ She floundered, not wanting to say the whole idea had erupted from the fact his brother was going to be here with her sister and she hadn’t really looked beyond that painful circumstance. ‘I just don’t want to get heavily involved with you, Harry,’ she said evasively, wishing he would simply accept what she’d offered him.

‘Why not? You think I’ll let you down?’

Yes was on the tip of her tongue but he didn’t give her time to say it.

‘Did I let you down when you needed to cover up your distress over Mickey attaching himself to your sister? Did I let you down when you needed an escape from them? Have I let you down in fulfilling your requests this week, meeting what you wanted? Haven’t I shown I care about how you feel, Ellie?’

She couldn’t deny any of that, yet... ‘It...it fitted into your own agenda,’ she blurted out.

‘Which is?’ He bored in.

Her head was spinning from the pressure he was subjecting her to with all his questions. She had to seize on the one point she was certain of, drive it home. She set her glass on the table, stood up, challenging him to get on with what he’d been aiming for all along.

‘Having me like this! Accessible!’ She threw the words at him. ‘So why don’t you stop talking and take what you want with me?’

* * *

Anger burned through Harry. He’d tried to reach out to her, tried to find a special meeting ground with her. She just kept closing her mind, shutting the door on him, keeping him out. He set his glass down, rose to his feet and hurled her confrontation right back in her face.

‘You want to be treated like a piece of meat instead of a woman I care about? Fine! Just stand there and let me oblige!’