The Temptress (33 page)

Lulu

I gazed out of the window as we approached a set of
ornate black gates, with a small set of thatched gatekeepers cottages either
side. The gates swung open and we headed over a cattle grid, the vibrations rising
up through the limo and rattling my bones. It was too dark to see much, other
than a tree lined avenue that seemed to stretch on as far as the headlights
would allow me to see. I was acutely aware of Luc next to me, even without
looking directly at him I could feel him watching me, his thumb rubbing back
and forth over my knuckles as he tightly held my hand, not helping my rapid
heart rate, which had failed to calm down since that frantic fucking and
intense orgasm. I blushed as I played it back in my mind. And to think an hour
ago, or less, I’d been worried about our sexual compatibility. No, that
definitely wasn’t an issue. I looked around as he lifted my hand and kissed it.

‘You are very quiet,’ he observed with a frown.

‘I’m still recovering and there’s a lot going
on in my head.’

‘Which we will talk about over dinner. I need
to know what she has said to upset you.’

‘Who says she upset me?’ I asked, as I broke
his gaze. If I had to explain, it would mean revealing I had a son and I wasn’t
sure yet if I was ready to tell him.

‘Do you want to be taken over my knee again? I’m
sure that your bottom remembers that I don’t tolerate lies or deception. I can
see it written all over your face, you are sad and nervous at the same time.’

‘It didn’t go as well as I’d hoped. Please
don’t let it ruin your plans, we can talk after dinner, on the way home, so we
don’t upset the other diners if you’re going to get mad.’

‘If you think I will get mad, then we are
definitely talking over dinner. Bon, nous sommes ici,’ he advised, as I felt
the limo come to a standstill. Luc let go of my hand and hopped out, before
Mike had a chance to go and open the door for him. I watched him button his
jacket, before he ducked his head and offered me his hand. ‘Come.’

‘Been there, done that,’ I winked, making him
chuckle.

‘And you will again before you return home,’ he
winked in return, flashing me one of his sexy dimpled smiles. I stepped out of
the car and straightened up. We were on a gravel drive, with a fountain set in
the centre and a large old grey stone double fronted Georgian house confronted
me. It was magnificent and had creeping ivy clinging to its walls, stretching
up to the slate tiled roof.

‘I’ll see you at work on Wednesday,’ came
Mike’s voice, startling me. I looked around to see he’d lowered his window and
had his elbow jutting out as he peered up at us.

‘You’re not taking me home?’ I asked, confused.

‘Non. I am,’ advised Luc.

‘That’s really not necessary and it’s also ill
advised, what if she’s watching my house still?’

‘Merde! She knows where you live?’ he asked
with deep frown.

‘One of the things we need to discuss,’ I
sighed, but honestly I was more worried about him asking to come in, of seeing
children’s toys and paintings, or turning up in future on spec. ‘I’d really
prefer Mike take me home.’

‘Non, I am seeking a divorce, she is doing the
same, why should I not drive my girlfriend home? I am not ashamed of what we
are doing. You are trying to tell me that you are?’

‘Girlfriend?’ I repeated, looking up at him
shyly through my lashes as my stomach did a series of backflips. I thought that
we were going to discuss what we were and where he saw this heading over
dinner, I thought that was the whole purpose of this evening, but it wasn’t
like I needed another few hours to know that I wanted him, still.

‘Oui, girlfriend,’ he smiled, his deep brown
eyes glistening happily, ‘ça va?’

‘Oui,’ I replied, confirming it was ok, more
than ok, as I bit my lower lip, feeling the flush in my cheeks brighten as he
squeezed my hand and beamed.

‘Bon. Then it is decided, Mike has the rest of
the evening off. Thank you,’ he nodded and I watched him dip into his pocket
and pull out some notes to hand to him.

‘No need, Mr. Le Grand, Miss McQueen pays me
well enough for what I do.’

‘I insist, I have not made your life easy with
all this cloak and dagger routine,’ Luc replied firmly. Mike looked up at me
for support and I shrugged with a shake of my head.

‘Trust me, he’s not a man to be argued with,
I’d just accept.’

‘Thank you then,’ Mike nodded as Luc passed
over the notes. ‘Have a great night.’

‘Thanks, Mike,’ I waved him off and looked
around again, surprised to see no other cars. ‘It’s a very quiet looking
hotel,’ I observed.

‘Hotel?’ Luc laughed. ‘This is not a hotel.
This is my house.’

‘It’s what?’ I looked up at him stunned.

‘I purchased it last year, I have grown sick of
living in the hotel every weekend. I’ve been slowly doing it up with the
intention of moving in, but this last week I’ve had a couple of rooms done a
bit faster, so I could bring you here to see what you think.’

‘I think it looks beautiful. It has its own
grounds? That was a long drive.’

‘Just a few acres,’ he shrugged, his cocky
smile telling me that he was totally underplaying it. ‘I will bring you next
weekend to stay with me so you can see it in daylight, you may even see some of
the deer down by the lake.’

‘You have deer and a lake?’ I asked, wondering
what possible excuse I could give for not spending next Saturday and Sunday
with him too. He wasn’t going to be happy, not when weekends were the only time
he had in England to see me.

‘It’s sizeable, with a helicopter pad too.
Come, dinner will be ready, I had my new housekeeper start today and she has
cooked for us.’

I looked around in awe as he led me into the
reception hall, which was larger than my open plan lounge, dining room and
kitchen. It had stripped back bare plaster walls, an enormous granite fireplace
and high ceilings, with all the original coving and ceiling roses in place,
with two magnificent chandeliers dangling from them. We walked past a sweeping
mahogany staircase and Luc opened a door, gesturing for me to go in first. I
stepped onto polished travertine floor tiles and into the most enormous kitchen
diner I’d ever seen. It had a shaker style new white kitchen, with black
granite worktops, a range and an Aga set into the fireplace at one end of the
room. There was a roaring fire in the one at the other end of the room, where a
large solid oak dining table had been set for two at one end, with a vase of
orange and yellow roses. Luc had a real soft side, buried deep under that hard
domineering exterior, it made me smile.

‘Mr. Le Grand, you made it,’ came a woman’s
voice. I looked around to see a petite blonde, in her mid-forties I’d guess,
appear from a door over by the Aga.

‘Mrs. Pattison. This is Lulu McQueen my
girlfriend, Lulu, my housekeeper Mrs. Pattison.’

‘Pleased to meet you,’ I smiled, extending my
hand, trying to ignore the fluttering in my stomach at hearing Luc call me his
girlfriend again. Honestly, I was thirty years of age, not thirteen.

‘The pleasure’s all mine,’ she smiled, giving
me a firm handshake. I liked her already. ‘Please be seated, everything’s
ready. I’ll serve up and be out of your hair. I’ll be back Friday morning
unless you need me sooner, Mr. Le Grand?’

‘Please, call me Luc, and no Friday would be
perfect. Lulu and I will be coming to spend the weekend, we should arrive at a
similar time on Friday night,’ he advised. I went to open my mouth to protest,
given he hadn’t actually even discussed this with me, let alone asked if I had
other plans, which I did with Tristan, Dom and Coco, but I decided to bite my
tongue for now. Mrs. Pattison didn’t need to see the two of us having our first
heated row in front of her and I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that it would
be heated. Luc led me to the table and pulled out a chair for me, with me
smiling my thanks as I sat. He quickly poured me a glass of red wine, from the
bottle that was already open and breathing on the table and poured himself half
a glass, before sitting next to me.

‘It’s a beautiful room,’ I nodded as I looked
around.

‘The first I had done up. A Frenchman can live
without anything but good food, wine and of course passion. There’s a pantry
through there as well and these French doors behind us lead out onto the patio,’
he nodded, gesturing to the glass doors behind us. ‘The patio overlooks the
orangery which houses the pool and the gym.’

‘O my God. How big is this place?’

‘Substantial. Through these old sliding wood
doors is the formal dining room which seats twenty, but it’s not finished yet.
Through those sliding wood doors is the family room, which I’ve finished so I
have somewhere to relax when I come and stay. At the front of the house are
another two large rooms, one will be a formal lounge, which I’ve yet to finish,
the other which is nearly done, my home office. Upstairs on the first floor are
four very large bedrooms, all with en-suites, then on the top floor is the
master suite and another guest room with en-suite and a final bedroom that
could be used as an office or hobbies room.’

‘Nothing over the top then,’ I teased with a
roll of my eyes and he laughed.

‘I forgot the basement. I have a wine cellar,
cinema room, laundry and an …
extra room
. We’ll explore later.’

‘Does Mrs. Pattison live here too then?’ I
asked.

‘Not in the house. I had the gatekeepers houses
modernised. She lives in the one with her husband Ron, he’ll be tending to the
grounds, with additional help from one of the villagers.’

‘Here you are,’ Mrs Pattison interrupted, as
she deposited a black pot on an oil burner in front of us and a plate of French
bread, carefully cut into cubes. ‘Pudding is ready in the fridge. Would you
like me to do anything else Mr. Le … sorry, Luc?’

‘No thank you, it smells delicious, I’ll see
you on Friday.’

‘Good night, nice to meet you again, Miss
McQueen.’

‘Please, just Lulu,’ I smiled. She nodded with
a smile in return and scurried off. ‘Something does smell good,’ I confirmed as
I looked back at the table. I gasped as Luc handed me a long silver prong and
lifted the lid to show a cheese fondue bubbling away in the pot. ‘You
remembered our first meal,’ I whispered, as I blinked back some tears.

‘I remember everything about that weekend,’ he
replied, as he clutched my chin and kissed me. ‘I’m starving, let’s eat and
have small talk. On reflection we can save the big discussion for when I show
you around before I get you home. I’d prefer for us to have some quality time together
before we argue.’

‘Who says we’ll argue?’ I questioned, as he
speared a piece of bread, swirled it in the mixture and offered it to me. I
delicately took it between my teeth, savouring the strong flavour of Gruyère
and kirsch.

‘You have that look in your eye, the one that
says you have strong opinions and as you already know, I am not a man to back
down from my convictions. We will argue, of this I am sure. For now, eat.’

I tried to relax and we spent the next hour
feeding each other and discussing his plans for the house and grounds. He told
me that he’d like to try and spend more time in London and was already looking
for a permanent office base to work from on a Friday and Monday, seeing his
clients in Paris from Tuesday to Thursday. I filled him in on Dom, Coco and my
parents, given they were the most important people in my life. We rounded off
our meal with a delicious tarte au citron, just as we had in Paris. Luc had
switched to drinking water and I hadn’t noticed that he’d been topping up my
glass, so it was a shock when he rose up and offered me his hand, to find
myself unsteady on my feet. He chuckled as he pulled me against him.

‘It seems my recollection that you could not
hold your alcohol was also true. Good, you lose some of your inhibitions with
drink, maybe you will be more inclined to discuss what weighs so heavy on your
mind.’

‘Luc, I …’ I went to protest, but he silenced
me with a passionate kiss.

‘Sssshhhh, ma belle. All in good time, watching
you eating has stirred my appetite again. The tour and talk can wait. Come, I
want to christen my bed.’ He stooped down and made me squeal and giggle as he
hauled me up into his strong arms.

‘Watching me dribble cheese down my chin was
sexy?’

‘Watching you do anything is sexy, you have a direct
hotline to my cock no matter what you do.’ He dipped his head and kissed me
again, before carrying me effortlessly up the two sets of stairs into the
eaves. I was sure my heart was thudding louder than his footsteps on the bare
wood floors as he crossed the landing and toed open a door. I gasped to see a
totally white interior, with just a large white four poster bed in the middle
of the room, with two white bedside tables, but everywhere I looked fairy
lights were twinkling, it was magical. He carefully lay me down and smiled as
he reached to undo his shirt cuffs. ‘I do not want it said that Luc Le Grand is
all about fucking. For you I am prepared to do romance and the making of the
love.’