Her Heart's Desire (9 page)

His touch made her quiver with desire. She so wanted a baby. Maybe tonight they would make one?

Marcus led his wife to the bed and made love to her slowly. She wanted a kid, and he wanted her kept busy. His sole aim in life was to make things as easy as possible for himself.

Later, as he collapsed on top of his wife, he mused what it would feel like to romp with the little American. He wondered if she would be as receptive. Rolling off Felicity, he lit a cigarette and inhaled deeply.

‘Oh, must you smoke in here Marcus? You know how I hate it,’ Felicity grumbled. He sighed and walked to the window. Opening the latch, he leaned out to blow smoke outside. ‘Thank you!’ Felicity called from the bed.

Marcus grunted and finished his cigarette, then slammed the window shut. He sucked his breath in before turning to smile at her.
The sooner she had a kid the better. He may even have to move to a separate bedroom to get some sleep at night once the baby came, now that could be useful.

* * * *

Marisa removed her fingers from her ears and listened. Silence at last! Oh, why did she have to be in the room directly above Marcus and Felicity? She didn’t think she could take much more of their hideous sex noises. Imagining Marcus screwing made Marisa’s skin crawl, she couldn’t get the image of him trying to kiss her out of her mind, and she still wondered who the blonde in the maze was.

After a great night’s sleep in her new bed, she woke excited and happy. She was off to London, with James St. John!

She showered quickly and dressed in her nice blue suit. She styled her hair in gentle waves, applying minimal but pretty makeup, a slick of lip gloss, mascara, and blush, and she was done. She slipped her feet into patent pumps and, checking her reflection in the full-length mirror, she decided she would do—smart and attractive, a nice balance.

James was finishing breakfast as she entered.

‘Oh, I’m not late, am I?’ Marisa inquired as he approached.

‘No, not at all, in fact, there has been a change of plan. I shan’t be requiring you in London today after all,’ he said, turning his attention to the Times.

‘Oh.’ Marisa felt a huge pang of disappointment.

‘Still, plenty to do around here.’ He folded his paper, tucking it under his arm. He excused himself and left briskly.

Marisa slumped into a chair and felt sorry for herself; she had been so excited to see London,
with him.
She wondered why the sudden change and why was he so distant today after their lovely walk in the forest on Friday?

She worried if he was upset with her. Maybe he didn’t really like her being so friendly with the children. Had she overstepped a boundary? Or
maybe Mrs. Reed had said something about interfering with the children’s routine. Had she been complaining to James? Now
that
wouldn’t surprise her at all.

* * * *

The weeks soon passed by and before she knew it, Marisa realized she had been at Highcroft for almost three months. James never seemed to spend much time in the office with her since the cancelled London trip, and she felt quite lonely. She looked forward to spending her free time sightseeing, getting out and about, and mingling with the tourists as she explored the surrounding area.

She had visited Oxford, Henley, and Bath, all stunningly pretty English towns that took her breath away. She enjoyed taking lots of photos and couldn’t wait to create an album to show Melanie.

She still longed to see London and felt sad she had never gone there with James. He had been very distant over the last few weeks. Any attraction he seemed to have had for her had vanished. He never spent time alone with her, and there had been no more near intimate moments.

She was very disappointed but decided it was for the best. She would have been nuts to get involved with her boss.

She enjoyed being at Highcroft though. She felt quite settled, and thoughts of Mike had nearly disappeared. The pain was no longer raw. The dreadful sickness in the pit of her stomach had passed almost as soon as she arrived at Highcroft.

She knew her attraction to James had been a pleasant distraction, and it had stopped her obsessing over Mike. What was it Mae West said? To get over one man the best thing you can do is get under another. Well, she hadn’t managed that, but she had certainly thought about it enough!

She felt a pang of sadness upon realizing she would never know what his kiss felt like or how his hands on her body would make her feel. She had fantasized about making love to him so many times, and now it would never happen. She resigned herself to the fact her crush was over, and it was good that nothing had happened between them. She concluded it must have all been in her head. She decided to take William up on his offer of a night out. She called him on his mobile, and they arranged to meet at Marylebone station on Friday evening. Marisa felt excited. She was going to see London at last!

* * * *

William was feeling very smug. He was very pleased to hear from Marisa. He had almost given up asking her out, so he was rather surprised when she had called. He started making mental plans. He would take her to some swanky west end wine bars, then on to Whiskey Mist for some dancing and hopefully a bit of a fumble if she was up for it.

He hadn’t got any vibes from her, but maybe after a few glasses of champagne and his charming company, she would be a little more interested in getting to know him better.

He knew he had better go careful, though. He certainly didn’t want to upset her. She was so sweet and sexy, and he knew James thought a lot of her. He decided to see how the evening went before making his move. He wondered if James was keen on her himself. He certainly talked about her a lot.
Hmm, surely not so soon after Corinne
? William was sure that wouldn‘t impress Marisa at all, being one in a succession of secretaries to shag his brother. No, that wasn’t her style, no way.

William knew he had a chance. She was definitely interested, otherwise, why ring him?

He rang Langan’s and reserved a table in the main dining room for Friday at eight.
Oh, well,
he thought.
May as well push the boat out.
He grinned, feeling very pleased with himself. Marisa would love the traditional and elegant restaurant famed for its celebrity clientele. She couldn’t fail to see he had made a big effort for her. She was going to get the full treatment, wined and dined then seduced in his fantastic bachelor pad overlooking Trafalgar square. How could she resist?

* * * *

James glanced up from his computer screen as Marisa entered. He hadn’t seen her for a few days, and he caught his breath. She looked lovely, as always. She was wearing a pretty pink silk blouse, and her grey pencil skirt was tight around her bottom, accentuating her curves.

He felt his blood temperature rise. She smiled at him warmly, and he made an effort to look cool and professional. He smiled back and said hello then went back to his screen, trying to concentrate on something other than her. Realising he couldn’t, he switched his computer off and stood to leave.

‘I’m going up to London on Friday. I’m meeting up with William. He’s going to show me around a bit,’ she said suddenly as she busied around organizing files over-spilling with pages of menus.

His jaw tightened as jealously overwhelmed him.

Not William, the Playboy of Mayfair
! He loved his brother dearly, but he wasn’t about to allow him to seduce Marisa and toss her aside like all his other conquests.
He had to think quickly. He cleared his throat and smiled at her.

‘Oh, I see. Well, that’s a coincidence because I was in fact going to ask you to come up to London with me tomorrow. I think it’s high time you met the London team.’ James waited for her reaction.

‘Right, I see. Well, I suppose two trips to town in one week are better than none.’ Marisa seemed pleased, but James felt deflated. She was still going on Friday! He couldn’t have that. William fawning all over her? It just wasn’t on. He decided to try something else.

‘Is William picking you up on Friday?’ he asked casually, watching his computer screen, pretending to be otherwise engrossed.

There was an edge to his usual soft, deep voice, and he wondered if she could tell he was reacting strongly to her date with his brother.

‘No, I’m meeting him in London, at the station,’ she replied. He gazed at her, his mind working rapidly for a logical solution.

‘Well, that won’t do at all,’ he said. ‘If you are so eager to see London, may I suggest that you forfeit your plans with William and I take you to London myself on Friday instead?’

Marisa’s face lit up. ‘Well, of course if that fits in better with your plans, I can change my evening with William to another night. I’m sure he won’t mind,’ she said gently.

James clenched his jaw. He had to stop himself from telling her he didn’t want her to go out with William ever. That William was entirely unsuitable for her. He was crazy with jealousy; he couldn’t stand the thought of another man touching her, let alone his
own brother
!

‘Very well, Friday it is then.’

‘Great, it would be useful to familiarize myself with the London office, in case you ever needed me to go there alone,’ she said.

‘Yes, you’re quite right, Marisa. I should have taken you long ago. it‘s important you know where it is.’

‘Okay that‘s great. I will look forward to it.’ She smiled.

‘Well, that’s settled then,’ he said, gazing at her, feeling like a lovesick fool.

* * * *

Marisa practically skipped out of the office. She was bursting with joy. He wanted her, he really wanted her. She hadn’t been imagining it. He was clearly jealous about William. She could tell! She felt all warm and fuzzy, as though she were floating on air. She glided towards the lounge, rehearsing what she would say to William in her mind.

William sounded pissed when she told him. Silence hovered over the phone line. Marisa felt uncomfortable, She hadn’t realized it meant so much to him.

She felt bad when he told her he had reservations for Langan’s restaurant and VIP passes for Whiskey Mist, both exclusive London venues!

All she could do was apologize when he said he had been looking forward to seeing her and showing her the town.

She felt real bad, and it was obvious he was trying to make light of it when he joked that she should think herself lucky, women were falling over themselves to date a handsome young aristocrat!

She finished the call by promising to catch up with him soon.

Marisa hoped they would still be friends.

She thought about James’s reaction and his obvious jealousy. He had been so eager to get her to change her plans; surely he wouldn’t just take her to the office and back to Highcroft?

No, he wanted her. She was sure of it. Friday night could be
the
night. She felt a sudden rush of excitement and hugged herself. If things went her way, she hoped she would be spending the weekend in James St. John’s arms!

Marisa dressed for the London trip. She was bursting with excitement as she got ready. She chose a smart figure-hugging dress with short sleeves and a deep V-neckline, serious and sexy. She made sure her makeup was perfect. She wanted him to notice her, to see she was making herself pretty for him. She wore her hair loose, trying to look sexy and elegant—a perfect balance. She wrapped up in a full-length cashmere coat, coveted from last spring’s Barneys sale.

He smiled at her when she walked into the room, and she could see he was a bit flustered as his eyes travelled all over her body. He was openly staring, and she shivered with excitement seeing his reaction was thrilling to her. He fancied her, it was obvious!

He was quiet on the drive up, and Marisa felt the attraction between them as strongly as ever and wondered if he felt it, too. She hoped he would make a move on her soon or she would explode with the tension!

They left the car at the back of the office in his private parking bay and took the lift to the fifth floor. The office was a swish and corporate affair, gleaming and sedate. The receptionist was pretty, and Marisa felt a twinge of jealousy. Did he have other interests here, she wondered.

He introduced her to the small team who ran the London hub, and she thought they were all charming. They clearly adored him, but then who wouldn’t?

‘Right, Marisa, I expect you would like to see the sights now?’ he said.

‘Oh, really?’ She smiled broadly, feeling excited like a little kid at Christmas.

‘Yes, really. I have been very selfish; I should have brought you up to town last week. It won’t take long to have a peep at the Tower and London Bridge at least, as they are on our way to the restaurant.

‘OK, sounds great, thanks.’ Marisa was delighted and could barely contain her glee.

He left his car behind the office and they took a black cab across Tower Bridge. She marvelled at the sight of the Tower of London, lit up in the evening dusk.