Forever Scarred (6 page)

“Just came over a little light headed. I shouldn’t have had the wine. I don’t have much of a head for it.” She pressed her fingertips to her brow
, desperate to regain some calm. It took her a few moments to realize that the pounding in her chest was nothing to do with the thought of a thirty foot tower of boxes, but everything to do with being in Joe’s arms. She risked a glance towards him wondering if he was feeling as confused as her, but her stomach dropped when she saw only curiosity in his eyes.

Patrick was staring between the two of them, the faintest of smiles evident at the corner of his mouth.

“Yes, the wine can be a little potent. Heady even. Maybe Joe should escort you back to your room?”

Lucy glanced up at Joe who was staring at Patrick, his eyes narrowed.

“Yes, of course.” His voice sounded stiff and slightly forced.

Lucy stepped back from the desk
almost too embarrassed to speak.

“No, don’t
worry, I will be fine by myself. I’m perfectly capable of finding my own way back.” She turned back to the door, willing her feet to move quickly. There was no way that she could be in Joe’s presence any longer. Her heart fluttered madly again and she stumbled as she crossed the threshold into the hall.

Joe was beside her in a second. Before she could even right herself he
had picked her up, his arms beneath her knees and around her back, holding her close to his chest as he carried her towards the wide staircase. She automatically flung her arms around his neck and stared up at him.

“Put me down Joe. Honestly I was fine on my feet. I just tripped.” But she didn’t struggle to free herself.

Joe grunted and tightened his arms around her.

“And have you fall down these stairs
and hurt yourself. No way.” He marched quickly up the stairs, carrying her as if she weighed no more than a feather, and took her along the corridor to her room. He stopped at door way and let her down.

For a moment Lucy thought she might collapse a
gain. Her head was spinning in confusion, her heart thumping wildly in her chest. She didn’t know what was happening to her. Everything about Joe was calling to her. His scent, his strength, his voice. Something rose up inside her and she could barely contain the feeling that filled her with need. She didn’t want anything else. She just wanted him.

She
quickly turned the handle on the door and stepped into her room, feeling the loss of his warmth immediately.

“Thanks.”
Her voice was soft and she cleared her throat as she looked back at Joe.

He
stared at her, his hands half fisted at his sides, his shoulders tense.

“What time does your boss arrive exactly? I’ll need to schedule something if he’s going to arrive very early.”

Lucy shook her head.

“Not until the evening.” And then she frowned. “Well, he said not until the evening, but I took the early ferry and was here at about four, so maybe they will need something organized.
You can never tell with Carter. He changes his mind at a moment’s notice.” She gave an odd little shiver and looked down at the floor.

Joe leaned against the door frame and stared down at her.
Something was off about this whole scenario and he wanted to know what it was.

“Why do you work for him Lucy? Does he have some hold over you?” His voice was only just above a whisper.

She looked up sharply as she considered not answering. She couldn’t possibly tell him how much debt she was in or what hold Carter Freeman held over her. She gave an involuntary shiver and then shrugged it away.

“It’s just a job Joe. I need to keep the wolf from the door as much as anyone else.” She stepped further away from him trying to put some distance between them, not trusting
herself to keep her mouth shut.

But Joe wasn’t quite as easily put off as she had hoped.

“And you can’t find another? He sounds as though he’s a nightmare to work for.” His tone was slightly strained.

She took hold of the door and began to close it as she looked deep into his eyes.

“It’s not so bad and the pay is good. I’ve worked for him for nearly six months now so I’m used to it. I don’t want to leave and then find myself in a worse position.” She stood half hidden behind the door and Joe stepped away from the frame at last. 

He took a deep breath and then stepped back into the thickly carpeted hall.

“Right, I suppose there is that. I’ll say goodnight then. If you want anything in the night you had probably best just go and find it. We don’t have any night staff on tonight as we weren’t expecting guests. Most stuff is in the kitchen or scullery next door to it so just help yourself. David and Geraldine have a suite on the top floor, but neither myself or Ellen and Patrick live in the Chateau. They will be in their cottage and I’ll be down at my cabin by the river. If there’s anything urgent and you can’t raise David, call me on the phone. Just dial three and I’ll pick up, okay?” He waited until Lucy nodded and then added as swift. “Night then, See you tomorrow.”

Lucy lifted her chin.

“Night Joe. See you tomorrow.” She closed the door as he turned and walked swiftly along the hall then she leaned against the heavy dark wood. Her heart was racing, her mind jumping from one thought to another. There was no doubt that she found the big man attractive. She had no clue as to why, with his ravaged face it wasn’t as if he was devastatingly handsome, but her heart didn’t seem to care what the reason. It flipped over again as she touched her own body, the imprint of his hugely muscled arms still warm on her skin.

And then she shook some sense into herself. He had carried her because she had almost asked him to. Appearing to be faint and then stumbling
about like a fool, he must think her a complete flake. She moved through the sitting room to the bedroom and slipped out of her clothes, folding them carefully and placing them in the huge wardrobe that stood facing the end of the bed. Then she quickly walked into the bathroom, rinsed her face and brushed her teeth before climbing naked into the cool cotton sheets on the vast four poster bed.

She lay
, staring up at the canopy above her, trying not to think of Joe and where he might be sleeping down near the river and she came over all hot again. The perspiration broke out on her forehead and her skin became clammy and warm. She swished back the drape and stood up, moving over to one of the high arched windows in her room. The room overlooked the beautiful formal gardens that covered the grounds in front of the chateau. She fiddled with the catch on the window and then managed to push the heavy glass open a few inches.

Cool, flower scented air wafted up at her and the
sound of voices broke the peace of the surrounding forest.

Joe jogged down the main staircase and moved across the hallway quickly. He didn’t want to meet Patrick again that night. The man was positively nauseating the way he kept giving Joe meaningful glances. Just because he was deliriously happy himself, he had to try and make everyone else go round grinning like a fool and generally behave in a ridiculous manner. Ellen was hardly any better either and David and Geraldine had been positively gleeful during dinner.

Lucy was beautiful
that was for sure and she didn’t appear to find his face, or lack of one, off putting, but he knew that she would never look at him in the same way as she would a man without the dreadful injuries. He bit back the feelings of bitterness. There was nothing he could do about it. She would be gone in a few days and he would be able to forget her over time.

His heart lurched in his chest as he thought of how her
blonde hair had cascaded over his arm, how her now familiar perfume had wafted up at him, branding him with her scent. He took a long slow breath as he moved quietly across the huge hallway. He had to get himself under control. He couldn’t let her into his heart like this only to have it broken at the end of the week. He should never have carried her up the stairs. It was only going to lead to him thinking about her even more. Joe shook his head and tried to get the feeling of her body heat and her luscious curves to leave him.

He was about to push the huge front door open and slide out into the night when there was a small cough from inside the office and he knew that he had been rumbled.

“You rushing off Joe? We’ll walk with you part of the way. Give us a second to close down the computer and we’ll be right with you.” 

Joe stopped by the door and waited as Ellen walked out into the hall.

“Patrick won’t be a moment. He just told me about that Freeman guy. Is he some kind of control freak or something?” She yawned as she moved across the floor.

Joe gave a grim smile.

“The something I think. I wonder why he’s pushing us like this? They are just a telephone sales company from what I gather. Lucy seems to think the workforce don’t really know what they are coming here for. Freeman told them it was a more desk based experience. I have the feeling that there are going to be a few unhappy faces by the end of the week unless I can work out something that’s not too strenuous. Maybe we’ll get them map reading around the forest or something.”

Ellen yawned again and looked back to the office
as she spoke.

“You’ll find something suitable Joe, you always do.”

Patrick came out and closed the door quietly behind him. He walked over to his wife and pulled her into his side, gathering her gently and supporting her as they turned towards the front door.

“You said to Lucy to help herself to anything
from the kitchen?” He asked Joe quietly and Joe nodded.

“She’ll buzz David or me if she has any prob
lems, but she was pretty tired from the drive. She’ll probably sleep right through.”

Ellen smiled softly.

“I don’t think she’ll be calling on David to help her with anything.”

Patrick snorted a laugh as he pulled the door closed behind him
and grinned at Joe.

“You got that right. The way she was looking at you mate, I’m almost willing to bet there are going to be wedding bells before the end of the week.”

Joe let out a quiet groan.

“Oh, be quiet the two of you. Just because you lot are all loved up you think that the rest of us want to be. I like being on my own. I don’t need anyone.” It was only after he had spoken the words that he heard a small creak above him. He glanced u
pwards, just in time to catch Lucy staring back down at him from her bedroom window. He held her gaze for one long moment and then her shoulders slumped and she turned and disappeared from his view.

Chapter Five

“Sixty thousand Euros!
You have to be completely off your head!” The voice echoed loudly enough to be heard all around the huge entrance hall. There was some nervous shuffling of feet and some murmured agreements from the gathered company waiting to hear their fate.

A deep voice rumbled in response.

“You have put us to considerable inconvenience Freeman. Extra staff had to be engaged as I had given everyone three days off. We have had to work overtime to get the place ready since our previous clients only left yesterday morning and you forced one of your staff to stay overnight last night. There are expenses incurred when you try to change our way of operating. We can do it of course, but it comes at a price and sixty thousand euros is my price. This is a luxury chateau experience. We are offering you a full board service and all of our in house facilities will be available for you to enjoy each evening. For twenty two of you it’s an excellent package. You can take it or get yourself and your staff out of my wife’s chateau.” Patrick pushed back his chair and stood up.

Freeman le
aned back in his chair and kept his eyes on his fingernails. Having once seen the vile looking man standing in front of him, he wasn’t keen on doing it again. He wondered how on earth he had ever found a wife in the first place but then realized that Reeves had probably been married before whatever had happened to him had ruined his looks.  Freeman was a master at getting his own way and how this twisted lump of garbage could hold the shots over him at this stage he didn’t quite know but it seemed that with twenty tired staff waiting at the door, this man had him by the balls. He cleared his throat.

“I never said I wouldn’t pay it, especially as you are offering an extra day. I was just curious to know why the price had tripled. I was expecting double but this amount seems fantastic.” He watched the tall man slowly sit back down in his chair.

Patrick hid a moment’s satisfaction at Joe’s idea of upping the price even more before he took a deep calming breath and began to explain.

“The course is set up a certain way for you and your staff to get the most out of it in the shortest space of time. Many of the resources that we use are
not just things that we can keep from one course to another. It takes time to prepare and set up. Even as we speak my course expert is out preparing events for you and your staff, but whereas he may have been able to accomplish everything by himself in three or four days, your early arrival has meant that we have had to employ casual staff too. That doesn’t come cheap. We have also had to bring in extra catering and cleaning staff at short notice. The problems are not insurmountable but you are the one who has to pay for them seeing as it was you that moved the goalposts. To be frank with you Freeman, I have a very pregnant wife and as much stress as I can manage at the moment so if you don’t want to take this deal then I really don’t care. Your ten thousand pound deposit is non-refundable so I’m really not worried what you do.”