Mistress at a Price (9 page)

‘
I
’
d give a year
’
s pay,
’
he said quietly,
‘
to know what you were thinking.
’

She glanced up, smiling wryly.
‘
I imagine that could be quite a sacrifice.
’

Liam took a sip of brandy.
‘
Another fishing expedition?
’

‘
Not at all.
’
She gave him a composed look.
‘
I was thinking that we
’
ve both absorbed a certain amount of information about each other already. For instance I know that you like uncomplicated food
—
beautifully cooked
—
and that you like to play games,
’
she added.

‘
That,
’
he said,
‘
seems to be something we share.
’
He paused.
‘
And I know, of course, that you
’
re not a big fan of weddings. Tell me
—
was bloodshed actually avoided at today
’
s affair?
’

‘
Fortunately, yes.
’
If you discount the internal bleeding
, Cat thought, wincing.
‘
But it was still fairly grisly,
’
she added lightly.

‘
Was that why you decided to change your clothes? A kind of ritual cleansing?
’

She shrugged evasively, lifting a nervous hand to the neckline of her top. She said,
‘
I needed something more comfortable to travel in, that
’
s all.
’

‘
Yet you haven
’
t been comfortable at all.
’
His voice was gentle.
‘
You
’
re still very much on edge
—
aren
’
t you?
’

Cat bit her lip. She knew that he was right
—
that she
’
d been restless throughout the meal, her fingers pushing back her hair from her face, playing with the gold bracelet of her watch, or constantly raising her napkin to her lips.

He, on the other hand, the cause of her unease, seemed supremely relaxed, long legs stretched out in front of him, while she sat with her feet tucked primly back under her chair, making sure there was no contact.

‘
Perhaps,
’
she said.
‘
It
’
s been a hell of a day, but I
—
I didn
’
t realise it had affected me that much.
’

‘
Treat it as a learning curve.
’
His long fingers were playing casually with the stem of his glass. She watched their movement from under her lashes, as if mesmerised, just as she
’
d covertly studied his every gesture, each turn of his body throughout the meal. Intensely aware of him, she realised, all the time. Unable to break free. Drawn ever more deeply into his web with every second that passed.

He gave her a faint smile.
‘
Decide here and now that your own wedding day will be completely different. Totally angst-free.
’

Cat poured herself some more coffee, thankful that she could keep the cafetière steady.
‘
Actually, I
’
ve been far more decisive than that.
’
She sent him a cool smile.
‘
Because I
’
m planning not to have a wedding at all
—
ever.
’

There was a silence. Liam looked at her, his brows lifted.
‘
Isn
’
t that a little radical?
’

She shrugged again.
‘
I have it filed under
“
necessity
”
. As far as I
’
m concerned, the whole concept is outdated
—
and totally surplus to my requirements.
’
She paused.
‘
You disagree?
’

‘
I can
’
t say I
’
ve ever given it a great deal of thought.
’
He leaned back in his chair, his face meditative.
‘
And I
’
ve certainly never been tempted to try it,
’
he added.
‘
If that
’
s what you wanted to know in some convoluted way.
’

He allowed that to sink in before continuing,
‘
And isn
’
t this conversation straying back into the forbidden zone?
’

‘
Perhaps.
’
Cat met his gaze squarely
—
full eye contact.
‘
So, having yielded a point, do I get to know what you
’
re thinking too?
’

There was a silence, then he said quietly,
‘
Are you sure that you want to? You might not like the answer.
’

‘
It
’
s seems only fair,
’
she said.
‘
So I
’
ll take the risk.
’

‘
Then I have to confess that I
’
m indulging all the basic male fantasies.
’
His eyes went to her mouth, then travelled down to the swell of her breasts. His tone was clipped, his mouth unsmiling.
‘
I
’
m remembering that moment this afternoon when I held you, and felt you tremble against me. I
’
m imagining what it would be like to have you in my arms again, and to kiss you
—
and how you
’
d look without your clothes.
’

She felt as if all the air had been sucked out of her lungs. She was shaking again, but not from shock
—
or fear. Her heartbeat quickened almost painfully.

From some great distance she heard herself say quietly, huskily,
‘
How strange, because I
’
m wondering much the same about you.
’

Liam pushed back his chair and rose. He came round the table to her, taking her hand, pulling her to her feet.

He said softly,
‘
So why waste any more time? Why don
’
t we simply go upstairs
—
and satisfy our mutual curiosity?
’

He looked deeply into her eyes.
‘
Well?
’
he asked, and she nodded mutely in reply.

Still holding her hand, Liam strode through the restaurant, threading his way between the tables.

Cat tried to hang back. She said breathlessly,
‘
But we can
’
t just leave. There
’
s the bill to pay…
’

‘
They
’
ll know how to find me,
’
he said.
‘
When they need to.
’

They climbed the stairs together, side by side. When they reached the door of her room Cat said,
‘
Will you give me a few minutes?
’

He framed her face in his hands, looking down at her, his mouth wry.
‘
Having second thoughts, Cat? Planning to run away again
—
or lock your door against me?
’

She shook her head.
‘
None of those, I
—
I promise. I just
—
need a little time to myself.
’

‘
Maybe we both do.
’
He released her, his hand stroking the hair back from her face.
‘
But don
’
t keep me waiting too long.
’
And strode away.

The room, she discovered, had been made ready for the night
—
curtains drawn, bed turned down, the lamp lit on the night table and her nightgown fanned across the coverlet.

The hotel staff must have known all along that she would stay, Cat thought, biting her lip. Just as she had known it herself, of course, in spite of her denials.

She undressed without haste and put on her nightgown, adjusting the narrow straps on her shoulders. She brushed her hair, and sprayed her pulse-points with her favourite scent.

Then she turned off the lamp and drew back the curtains, opening the window a little so that the cool fragrance of the night drifted into the room along with the moonlight.

As she turned back into the room she caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror. In her filmy gown, with its low-cut bodice and straight skirt, she looked like a slender ghost. But the swift hammer of her pulses and the heat invading her body told her that she was all too mortal.

His knock at the door was quiet.

‘
Come in.
’
Her voice was equally subdued, even shaking a little.

He had changed too, she saw. He was barefoot, and she knew that his dark blue silk dressing gown was his only covering.

He stood watching her for a long moment, the open hunger in his gaze mixed with a kind of wonder that made the breath catch in her throat.

He said huskily,
‘
You are almost
—
too beautiful. Do you know that? So lovely that you scare me.
’

She shook her head, colour sweeping into her face. She felt shy, suddenly, and incredibly vulnerable in the face of his passion.

She tried to smile.
‘
I
’
m frightened too
—
a little.
’

He came slowly across to her, resting his hands lightly on her bare shoulders, his thumbs stroking the delicate hollows of her collarbone.

He said,
‘
But I
’
m not the first? I can
’
t be.
’

‘
No.
’
Cat, for one strange moment, found herself wishing desperately that her answer could have been different. That she could have told him she was still a virgin
—
that there had been no other man in her life and that the night ahead with him would be her true initiation.

She said,
‘
Liam…
’

‘
Shh,
’
he whispered.
‘
The past doesn
’
t matter. Just the pleasure of the present
—
remember?
’

He bent his head and found her mouth with his. Her lips parted willingly, eagerly under the questing pressure, meeting the sensuous invasion of his tongue with her own ardent warmth.

His fingers slid down her arms to her waist, then moved to the base of her spine, his hands hard as he drew her against him and the heated passion of his arousal, and Cat sighed brokenly as she felt her body respond to his desire with its own surge of liquid fire.

When the long kiss finally ended, she was trembling like a leaf caught in the wind, her breathing shallow and driven, astonished at the depth of emotion he had engendered in her.

She took one small step backwards, away from him, staring at him with enormous eyes as slowly she hooked her fingers under the thin shoulder-straps and pulled them away and down, releasing herself from her nightgown.

As it slipped to the floor the delicate fabric seemed to shiver against her fervid flesh, grazing the hardening peaks of her expectant breasts, lingering for the length of an indrawn breath over her hips, until she faced him, naked, her body an exquisite challenge.

Her voice was a husky wisp, half lost in the depth of the silence between them.
‘
Now it
’
s your turn.
’