Читать книгу The Society Groom - Mary Lyons - Страница 7

CHAPTER TWO

‘IT’S been a long time since we last saw one another,’ Dominic drawled smoothly.

‘Yes, it has,’ Olivia agreed, thoroughly rattled by his sudden, unexpectedly swift appearance at her side.

‘So... what have you been doing with yourself all these years?’

She shrugged. ‘Not a lot.’

‘Oh, really?’ he murmured. ‘You certainly seem to have been quite busy today.’

‘Well, yes. As you can see, I run a business arranging weddings,’ she muttered, avoiding his eyes as she gazed past him at the crowded throng of guests.

He gave a short bark of dry laughter. ‘Yes—I had rather gathered that fact,’ he told her, not bothering to hide the note of hard irony in his deep voice. ‘Is it a successful business?’

She gave another shrug of her slim shoulders. ‘I make a reasonable living!’

‘I’m glad to hear it,’ he drawled, his lips twitching with wry amusement and clearly not at all perturbed by the girl’s obvious reluctance to continue the conversation. ‘But what about your private life?’

‘What about it?’ she queried stonily, still avoiding his gaze as her eyes flicked nervously around the room, frantically searching for some avenue of escape from the tall, dark figure now standing so close to her.

‘Well, now...’ he drawled mockingly. ‘I was merely wondering if you are happy and content with your life? Whether you’re married or single? Are you still living in the country—or do you have a home here in London? Nothing very dramatic,’ he added with a grin. ‘Just the normal, boring type of questions that one usually asks at this kind of function.’

‘Yes, I am happy. No, I’m not married—and, yes, I live in London,’ she snapped tersely. ‘And now, if you don’t mind, I really think that I must go and...’

‘Oh, but I do mind,’ he murmured, quickly taking hold of her arm and leading her reluctant, nervously protesting figure to a small alcove in the far corner of the room.

‘No...really...I’ve still got a lot of work to do, and...’

‘It can wait,’ he said, firmly sitting her down on a small padded bench, effectively screened from the rest of the room by heavy velvet curtains.

‘We’ve both been on duty quite long enough. So I feel we’re entitled to a short break, don’t you?’ Dominic continued, not waiting for an answer as he added, ‘I’m just going to get us both a drink. But don’t make the mistake of trying to escape me yet again, hmm?’

Despite the cool smile on his face, there was no mistaking the intimidating, icy note of menace in his voice as he stood staring down at her for a moment, before swiftly turning on his heels and striding across the room in search of a waiter.

As she watched Dominic’s tall, commanding figure smoothly making his way through the crowd, Olivia desperately tried to bring her chaotic thoughts and emotions under some sort of control. To have so unexpectedly met again the man who’d once meant so much to her, and from whom she had parted so abruptly and painfully, was proving to be almost more than she could cope with.

It was ridiculous to be meekly sitting here—doing as she was told and not daring to move, just as though she was a naughty child, she told herself, suddenly irritated with herself for being so weak and feeble. However, as she acknowledged with a heavy sigh, it was obviously pointless to continue trying to evade any contact with Dominic. There were still some hours to go before the end of the wedding reception—and she could hardly keep ricocheting back and forth around this large room, attempting to avoid the man. She would just end up looking totally ridiculous.

In any case, she was damned if she was prepared to let Dominic guess just how devastated she’d been by the abrupt termination of their brief love affair. In fact, if she’d had any sense at all—and hadn’t been so thrown by his sudden appearance by her side a few moments ago—she ought to have lied her head off and told him that she was happily married. Or at least laid claim to a highly active sex life with a whole string of highly glamorous lovers.

Come on...come on! You’ve got to get a grip on yourself. You’re not a teenager any more, she told herself roughly. You’re a successful businesswoman of twenty-eight years of age. So there’s absolutely no reason why you should put up with any nonsense, she was telling herself firmly as she saw Dominic returning back across the room, a glass of champagne in each hand.

He hasn’t changed at all, she thought, her mood swinging from firm resolution to nervous misery in the twinkling of an eye; she instantly recognised an old, all too familiar ache m her body at the sight of the most devastatingly attractive man she’d ever known.

There were, of course, a few threads of silver amidst the dark hair at his temples, and his face was now somewhat leaner, with a more stern expression than she remembered. There also appeared to be a more forceful, autocratic stance to his figure. However, that was perhaps not so surprising, since Dominic had inherited both his title, the huge castle in Kent and the management of ten thousand acres on the death of his father some years ago. And with such an inheritance had also come noblesse oblige: the heavy duties and responsibilities of those born to wealth and grandeur.

While she might not have physically laid eyes on him for the past ten years, Olivia was well aware—from both the newspaper columns and glossy magazines—that if Dominic played hard, he also worked very hard as well. He sat on the boards of various large companies involved in farming, he’d been appointed by the Queen as Deputy Lord Lieutenant for the County of Kent, and, as she knew from her own father, who lived nearby, Dominic was also president of many various local charities.

However, as he now handed her a glass of champagne, she realised that while his outward appearance might have changed slightly over the past ten years, he still possessed that glittering aura which instinctively drew people to him: an almost sinister air of stillness and self-control that had always set him apart from anyone else she’d ever known.

‘We’ve a lot of news to catch up on,’ he said, sitting down beside her on the small bench. ‘How is Lord Bibury these days? I haven’t seen him for some years.’

‘Oh, Dad’s all right,’ she muttered, trying to inch away from the tall, broad-shouldered figure, whose hard, muscular thigh was now pressed closely to her own. ‘Actually... actually, my father isn’t too good these days,’ she added, her attention slightly distracted as she realised that it was a waste of time to try avoiding contact with Dominic—since the bench had clearly been designed for midgets!

‘I’m sorry to hear that,’ he murmured, his lips twitching with wry amusement at the girl’s obvious reluctance to sit too close to him. ‘What’s the problem?’

Olivia sighed. ‘Poor old Dad got totally hammered in the Lloyds of London debacle.’

‘What bad luck.’ Dominic frowned. ‘Did he lose a lot of money?’

‘Just about everything.’ She sighed heavily. ‘We’ve managed to hang onto the house. But I’m afraid all the land was sold some time ago.’

‘And what about your stepmother?’ he queried. ‘I can’t imagine Pamela having been too happy about that sort of situation?’

‘No, she wasn’t!’ Olivia agreed with a snort of grim laughter as she stared down at the glass of champagne in her hand.

A whip-thin, socially ambitious blonde woman, who’d managed to sink her hooks into Olivia’s father only a year after his wife’s death, Pamela had been responsible for making Olivia’s teenage life an absolute misery. So when Pamela—the archetypal wicked stepmother—had been faced with the sudden collapse of her comfortable life, and her role as Lady of the Manor, Olivia hadn’t been in the least surprised by her subsequent actions.

‘When the going gets tough—the tough get going. Literally, in the case of my stepmother!’ Olivia told him with another bark of harsh laughter. ‘Because she quickly dumped my father and is now married to a rich northern industrialist—Reg Plumley. Although, as you might guess, she still calls herself “Lady” Plumley—if and when she thinks she can get away with it!’

Dominic gave a low, soft rumble of laughter. ‘She really was a dreadful woman, wasn’t she?’

‘Oh—absolutely awful!’ Olivia agreed, the past ten years seeming to fade away as she grinned up at him, their mutual sense of humour and appreciation of the ridiculous aspects of life clearly as strong as it had always been.

‘It’s good to see that you haven’t really changed at all,’ he murmured, placing an arm around her slim figure and pulling her closer to his strong, firm body. ‘I’ve missed you all these years.’

It didn’t need the warm, sensual note in his deep voice, or the decided glint in those gleaming grey eyes beneath their heavy lids, to set the alarm bells ringing loudly in her brain. At the first touch of his strong arm about her shoulders Olivia had immediately begun to feel almost sick and breathless. And, with her face now only inches away from his own, every nerve-end in her body seemed to be tingling in response to this man’s extremely dangerous, rampant sex appeal.

Desperately trying to combat the insidious aura of sensuality which had always seemed to surround Dominic—and was still as highly potent today as it had been ten years ago—Olivia made a determined effort to pull herself together.

‘You’re quite wrong,’ she told him as firmly as she could, although she was well aware of the slightly tremulous wobble in her voice as she quickly jumped to her feet. ‘I have changed. In fact, I’m now an entirely different person—and light years away from the silly, immature girl that you once knew. Believe me, she was dead and buried a long time ago,’ Olivia added with a grim smile.

‘As for that ridiculous statement about your having missed me—I’ve never heard such nonsense!’ she continued, calmly handing him her still full glass of champagne. ‘I’ve got eyes in my head, and I can read the newspapers and gossip columns along with everyone else. So, quite frankly, Dominic—’ she gave a short bark of sardonic laughter ‘—I suggest that you save that sort of chat-up line for some other young girl who hasn’t yet cut her wisdom teeth!

‘And now, if you’ll excuse me...’ She quickly straightened her velvet jacket, before brushing some fluff from her skirt. ‘I must go and see how the arrangements for the buffet supper are coming along.’

How she was able to walk away from him with her head held high and with such firm, determined steps, Olivia never quite knew. However, the knowledge that she’d at last had the great pleasure and satisfaction of being able to give Dominic such a well-deserved put-down was definitely a soothing balm for her strained emotions.

She might well regret having been so foolish in the past. But at least she’d now drawn a line under that silly, immature affair which had taken place between them so long ago. Because there was no way a proud, arrogant man like Dominic FitzCharles would ever again try to smooth talk his way into her affections.

However, if Olivia had paused to look over her shoulder, she might well have been surprised to see that far from being dejected and cast down—or, indeed, furiously angry at being given the cold shoulder by an old girlfriend—Dominic was regarding her progress across the floor with a raised, dark quizzical eyebrow and a highly amused smile on his lips.

‘Well, well! Now, that really is very interesting,’ he murmured softly to himself as he rose to his feet, handing the two glasses of champagne to a passing waiter. It definitely seemed as if the once soft, shy young girl had now developed some very sharp claws!

Moreover, he was intrigued to note over the next few hours that Olivia had indeed changed over the past ten years. In fact, it was obvious that a considerable number of men, both married and single, were attracted to the tall and slim tawny-haired girl as she moved confidently and serenely through the crowd of guests, making sure that no one had an empty glass and that all the arrangements went smoothly. Yes...it certainly looked as though the pretty young cygnet had now become an extremely graceful, elegant swan.

As far as Olivia was concerned, while she was doing her best to appear cool, calm and collected, she was actually in a state of utter panic. Where on earth were the bride and groom?

All thought of Dominic had been driven completely from her mind as she hunted high and low for the happy couple. Goodness knows where they’d got to. But since they were due, in five minutes’ time, to open the dinner-dance by taking the floor in a slow waltz, it was imperative that she track them down as soon as possible.

‘Oh—thank heavens! I thought you really had taken off for Gretna Green!’ she exclaimed, beaming with relief as she spotted Mark and Sarah coming out of a lift on the ground floor. ‘Where on earth have you been?’

A flush rose up over Mark’s face as he adjusted his tie and pulled down his waistcoat. ‘Well, the thing is...’

‘The thing is,’ Sarah echoed, her eyes gleaming with laughter, ‘Mark and I decided to nip upstairs to our fantastically luxurious, glamorous bridal suite—to see if the bed was really quite as comfortable as it looked!’

‘Oh, honestly!’ Olivia muttered, unable to repress a grin as she quickly straightened the bride’s dress, adjusting the diamond headband before brushing out the tangles in Sarah’s long black hair. ‘There’s a time and place for everything, you know!’

‘That’s what we thought, too,’ Sarah agreed solemnly, before almost collapsing in a fit of giggles.

‘I’m glad that you’ve had a good time.’ Olivia grinned. ‘However, can you both get yourselves onto the dance floor as soon as possible? Because to tell the truth, Mark, your new mother-in-law looks as if she’s going to blow a gasket any minute!’

‘Oh, Lord! Thanks for the warning,’ Mark muttered, quickly grabbing hold of Sarah’s hand and hurrying towards the ballroom.

‘There was nothing to worry about,’ she assured Mrs Turnbull, who’d clearly been getting up a full head of steam about the temporary disappearance of her daughter. ‘Sarah just needed to make a minor repair to her dress,’ Olivia lied smoothly, well used to coping with new brides and grooms unable to resist an early celebration of their marriage.

Luckily, the remainder of the evening passed without another hitch. Although, as very much a spectator at these sort of events, Olivia was unable to avoid the sight of Dominic, constantly surrounded by a large number of highly attractive women

And good luck to him! she told herself firmly. She simply wasn’t interested in him one way or another. Although, if she was going to be strictly honest with herself, she really hadn’t cared for the sight of that young blonde starlet—regularly featured in some of the more downmarket, glossy magazines—who’d been all over Dominic like a rash while they’d enjoyed a smoochy dance, late in the evening.

And then, soon after midnight, the bride and groom were being waved off to their bridal suite. Although it was another hour before most of the young guests decided to call it a day, leaving the very tired but happy parents of the bride and groom to also seek their beds.

Well—that’s another job well done, Olivia told herself as she shepherded the last stragglers to the door, leaving them in the capable hands of the uniformed doorman in his top hat, either to order taxis or see them to their own vehicles.

Collecting her own hat from the ladies’ cloakroom, and thanking the manager on duty for all the help and expertise of his staff, she at last felt able to make her own way home.

Unfortunately, although there was normally no problem in finding a taxi in Brook Street, the mass exodus of guests had obviously depleted the usual number of vehicles normally to be found outside the hotel. Standing outside on the street, stamping her feet to keep warm, Olivia found herself regretting that she hadn’t, in fact, realised that there might be a problem and sensibly parked her own car around the corner earlier in the day.

‘It’s funny how there never seems to be a taxi when you want one, isn’t it, miss?’ the doorman said with a grin, stepping out into the street and looking up and down the road. ‘However, I’m sure there’ll be a taxi along in a minute.’

‘I hope so,’ she muttered, pulling her jacket tightly about her cold figure. ‘At least it isn’t raining,’ she added, her teeth chattering as a blast of icy wind swept down the street.

‘You waiting for a taxi, lady?’

‘Yes, I am...’ she muttered, her eyes widening as she looked up to see a large blue Range Rover drawn up before her shivering figure.

‘You’d better hurry up and jump in.’ Dominic grinned at her through the open driver’s window. ‘Unless, of course, you don’t mind freezing to death out there!’

‘Well...’ Olivia glanced up and down the deserted street, but there was clearly no sight of a taxi. ‘Oh, all right,’ she agreed with a helpless shrug as she went around to the passenger door. ‘But you don’t know where I live. It might not be on your way home.’

‘I expect I’ll manage to find the way—to wherever it is.’ Dominic grinned again. Then, as she still hesitated, he told her roughly not to be such a fool. ‘You could be waiting out here for ages,’ he pointed out. ‘Still, if you don’t mind catching pneumonia that’s your problem, not mine!’

‘Thanks!’ she grumbled, before quickly deciding that he was quite right. There was no sight of any other form of transport, and the thought of having to stand outside the hotel, freezing to death in this weather, was more than she could face.

‘I live in Holland Park,’ she said, hitching up her skirt and climbing up into the high vehicle. ‘I hope that’s not too much out of your way? Are you planning to drive back down to Kent tonight?’ she asked breathlessly, not at all sure that it was sensible to accept a lift from Dominic, but not seeing that she had any alternative.

‘No, I’ve got a small pad in Chelsea which I and my sisters use when we have to stay overnight in London,’ he told her, putting the car in gear and driving off down the street.

With very little traffic around at that time of night, it should have been a quick and easy journey home. But as he drove them up Park Lane and around Marble Arch, towards the Bayswater Road, she began to find the atmosphere within the large vehicle becoming increasingly claustrophobic.

There was absolutely no reason for her to be feeling quite so tense and apprehensive—not to say distinctly nervous. Nevertheless, she was finding it difficult to combat the strangely insidious, intimate atmosphere within the close confines of the vehicle. Even after tearing her gaze away from the sight of his strong hands gripping the wheel, and closing her eyes as she leaned back against the headrest, all her senses appeared to be disturbingly alive, acutely conscious of the scent of his cologne, and the slight movements of the tall, powerful body seated so closely to her own.

‘I think you’d better direct me from here on,’ Dominic said quietly as they sped through Notting Hill Gate and entered Holland Park Avenue.

However, just as she was telling him to take the next left turning into Holland Park, she was surprised to find their way barred by bollards with flashing lights and two police vehicles parked across the entrance of the mews.

‘What the heck... ?’ she muttered as a policeman approached and Dominic pressed a button to lower his window.

‘Sorry, sir—we’ve got a slight problem here,’ the man told him. ‘It seems that there’s a burst water main, and—’

‘Oh—not again!’ Olivia groaned.

‘Yes, I’m afraid so, miss.’ The policeman shrugged. ‘Someone from the Fire Brigade told me that there’s often a problem here in Holland Park Avenue. Although I understand the mains are due to be replaced in the near future.’

‘That’ll be the day,’ she grumbled, fed up to the back teeth with the aged water pipes which had caused so much trouble for such a long time.

‘How long will it take before it’s mended?’ Dominic enquired.

The other man shrugged. ‘I’m told there’s no access to either end of the mews for the next four hours at least. And I shouldn’t be at all surprised if it doesn’t take a lot longer than that,’ he added gloomily.

‘OK. Thanks,’ Dominic said, closing the window and quickly putting the car into reverse before speeding off back down Holland Park Avenue.

‘What are you doing? Where do you think you’re going? ’ she cried, feeling stunned by the speed of events, and desperately trying to work out where she was going to spend the night.

‘I’ve got a spare bedroom, so it makes sense for you to stay the night in my house,’ he told her. ‘Unless, of course, you’d prefer that I take you to a hotel?’

Olivia turned to glare at him in the darkness. ‘Oh, yes—that’s a great idea!’ she grumbled sarcastically. ‘First of all I’ve got to find a hotel that’s still open at this time of night. And even if I do they probably wouldn’t be willing to take me in—not without any luggage, or even a toothbrush to my name,’ she added grimly.

Dominic merely shrugged his shoulders. ‘It’s up to you, of course. Although it doesn’t look as if you’ve got much choice, does it?’

‘No.’ She gave a heavy sigh. ‘You’re quite right—it doesn’t.’

However, by the time he was parking the large Range Rover in Markham Square, Olivia had managed to overcome her instinctive anger and annoyance at finding herself at the mercy of some arbitrary fate.

‘I’m sorry,’ she said. ‘I really ought to apologise for being so ratty just now. I expect that I’m just a bit tired—and I was looking forward to returning home and putting my feet up. But I shouldn’t have taken it out on you,’ she added, turning to give him a brief, apologetic smile. ‘And I really am very grateful for the offer of a bed tonight.’

‘there’ no need to apologise.’ He waved a hand dismissively in the air. ‘We’ve both had a long, tiring day.

‘Just a minute,’ she said as he released his seatbelt and opened his door to alight from the vehicle. ‘This “spare room” of yours? I take it it really does exist—and isn’t some figment of your imagination?’

Dominic gave a low rumble of sardonic laughter. ‘Relax! I have at least three spare bedrooms—so you’ll be able to take your pick,’ he told her, before coming round to open the passenger door. ‘Although, of course, I’d be more than happy to offer you the use of my own bedroom. ’

‘If it includes you as well—the answer is thanks, but no thanks!’ she snapped, her nerves not improved by the sight of his wide grin and the glint of ironic amusement in his eyes, clearly visible beneath the sodium glare of a nearby streetlight.

‘Calm down, darling,’ he drawled, helping her down from the vehicle and issuing her in through the front door of a large house. ‘I can promise you, on my word of honour, that I won’t lay a hand on you.’

‘You’d better keep your promise—or you’ll be sorry!’ she muttered grimly as he led the way into a sitting room.

So much for the ‘small pad in Chelsea’! Olivia told herself, recalling how Dominic had described his home in London as she gazed around the large, elegantly decorated room. Having been forced to save up every penny for her own small mews house, she was in no doubt that this huge building would, on the open market, fetch well over a million pounds.

‘Now...why don’t we both relax and have a drink?’ he was saying, with a slow, sensual smile which practically made her hair stand on end. ‘I can offer you some whisky, or brandy, or...’

Olivia gave a nervous shake of her head. ‘No, thanks all the same, but I’m really feeling very tired. It’s been a long day,’ she added quickly. ‘If... if you don’t mind, I’d like to go to my room straight away.’

‘Of course,’ he said, opening the door and waving for her to go ahead of him up the wide flight of stairs, before leading her along the landing and throwing open the door of a large guest room.

‘As you see,’ Dominic told her, walking across the large room and opening a door in the far corner, ‘this guest bedroom has its own en suite bathroom. I’ll just check...’ He switched on the lights and peered around the door. ‘Yes, there appear to be plenty of towels. But let me know if there’s anything else you require, OK?’ he murmured as he retraced his steps across the room, giving her a slight smile before closing the bedroom door behind him.

Well, things could definitely be a lot worse, Olivia told herself some time later, almost groaning with pleasure as she lay back in the deliciously oily, highly perfumed bath water, closing her eyes and letting all the stresses and strains of the day drain out of her tired body.

Although she’d been fed up at not being able to relax in her own bed, it was kind of Dominic to have placed a spare room at her disposal. Not that he wasn’t the same tricky, conniving, two-timing rat that she’d known all those years ago, of course, she quickly reminded herself. Leopards didn’t change their spots—right? And the way that blonde bimbo had practically glued herself to his tall, broad-shouldered figure on the dance floor had been nothing short of disgraceful!

But why should she care? It was, after all, years since she’d first tumbled headlong into love with Dominic. But she was no longer a silly teenager, and if he wanted to make an exhibition of himself—or go to bed with half the women in London, for that matter—it was absolutely nothing to do with her.

Well, yes...OK...she had been upset to see him again. But that was only because his appearance at the wedding had been so totally unexpected. Any woman would be likely to feel slightly shocked and thrown a bit off base by the sudden appearance of an old flame. So her reaction had been a quite normal one, she assured herself firmly. And, after a good night’s sleep, she would be perfectly capable of saying a cheerful goodbye to her host before going back to her own home and never giving him another thought.

Having sorted out the current situation to her own satisfaction, Olivia felt a whole lot more cheerful. Of course, the relaxing effect of a hot bath had a lot to do with it, she told herself, climbing out of the deep tub and wrapping a thick fluffy towel about her slim figure. However, it wasn’t until she was walking slowly back into the bedroom that she suddenly realised she had a slight problem.

Although many of her friends slept in the nude, she’d never been at all keen on getting into a cold bed stark naked. And, since she’d made the mistake of rinsing out her underwear and leaving it to dripdry by morning, she was now well and truly stuck without anything to wear. However, just as she was wondering whether to wrap a fresh, clean towel about herself, in place of her usual night attire, she heard a brisk tap on her door.

‘I hope you haven’t gone to sleep in the bath,’ Dominic’s amused voice called out from the other side of the door. ‘Would you care for the use of a spare dressing gown?’

Hesitating for a moment, she quickly wrapped the towel more tightly about her before opening the door.

‘Yes, I would,’ she admitted, noting from his damp, curly dark hair that he, too, must have recently had a bath or shower. And, instead of his elegant morning dress, Dominic was now wearing a knee-length, dark red silk dressing gown. And not much else, if the sight of his long, tanned bare legs was anything to go by, she told herself grimly as he walked across the room to open the door of a large cupboard.

‘There’s a spare gown in here,’ he said, taking out a long, silky garment and handing it to her. ‘There are also one or two nighties—but I’ll leave you to make your own choice.’

‘That’s very kind of you, but I really don’t think that—’

‘Don’t worry—they are definitely not my old girlfriends’ castoffs!’ He turned to give her a quick grin as he closed the door of the wardrobe. ‘My older sister, Connie, was over from the United States last year, and she left some articles of clothing behind when she returned home.’

‘Oh, right,’ Olivia muttered, feeling slightly flustered by his uncanny ability to read her mind. Because of course she couldn’t have faced wearing anything left behind by any of his usual girlfriends,. Most of whom—if the glossy magazines were to be believed—consisted of glamorous film stars with truly amazing chest measurements.

‘Is there anything else I can do for you?’ he asked, moving slowly towards her.

‘No, I’m fine,’ she murmured, instinctively backing away from his advancing figure.

There really ought to be some sort of law to prevent highly attractive, sexy men from walking around practically stark naked, she told herself grimly. Because the sight of his tall figure in the deep red dressing gown—despite the fact that it was tightly belted about his slim waist—was enough to make any poor, susceptible woman feel distinctly lightheaded.

Viewing the soft, silky material clinging so closely to his damp body, emphasising his broad shoulders, slim hips and strong, muscular chest covered in dark curly hair, Olivia could almost physically feel her senses being assailed by his overpowering aura of sheer, rampant masculinity.

‘I think that I’ve got everything,’ she muttered helplessly, moistening her lips, which had suddenly become dry and parched. ‘I expect...I’m sure...that you must be as tired as I am...’ Her voice trailed away as she noticed his eyes gleaming with amusement at her obvious confusion.

‘Are you quite sure that you’ve got everything you want...?’ he drawled softly, the low, sensual note in his voice playing havoc with her nervous system, her pulse almost racing out of control as she took another step backwards.

But then, as she felt her spine jar against the wall beside the door, she made a desperate effort to pull herself together.

‘I—I’m not interested in playing stupid games,’ she told him as firmly as she could, bitterly aware of the breathless, hoarse note in her voice as she clutched the towel tightly about her slim figure. ‘So, will you please leave this room—and return to your own bedroom.’

‘Of course I will,’ he murmured, continuing to move forward until his figure was virtually touching her own. ‘I was merely intending to kiss you goodnight before I go.’

‘Cut it out—Dominic!’ she protested huskily as she felt the weight of his hard, firm body pressing her up against the wall. ‘I thought you’d promised not to lay a hand on me?’

‘You’re absolutely right!’ he agreed with a low rumble of laughter, before placing the palms of his hands flat on the wall either side of her head. ‘And I have every intention of keeping my promise,’ he murmured, leaning forward to brush his mouth across her quivering lips with a teasing, erotic sensuality that left her breathless with desire.

‘Goodnight, Olivia,’ he breathed softly against her mouth as his kiss deepened, his lips and tongue seducing her into a state of helpless, trembling rapture. And then, quite suddenly, he raised his dark head and she found herself released from the heavy pressure of his hard body.

For a brief, fleeting moment, it seemed as though the gleaming grey eyes held a strange message as he stared intently down at her, an oddly tense, strained expression on his handsome tanned face. But by the time she’d managed to pull her dazed mind and body together Olivia realised she must have been mistaken. Because he appeared to be regarding her with a perfectly normal, light smile on his lips.

‘I’ll see you in the morning,’ he murmured, running a finger gently down over her soft cheek before swiftly leaving the room.