Witchchild

by Carole Mortimer

  Neither of them spoke, as if they knew something rare would be destroyed if they did. And soon they had no need for words anyway; Hawk was hardening inside her as his mouth moved against her in slow drugging kisses.

  This time their lovemaking was hot and quick, Hawk rolling over to pull Leonie above him, holding her hips as she rode them both to shuddering release, his teeth biting hungrily on her offered nipples.

  Exhaustion quickly claimed her; she was unaccustomed to even one of those earth-shattering explosions that had taken her to the heavens, having reached that pinnacle twice, her body racked by only slighter, smaller rockets of emotions in the interim. She fell asleep with her head resting on Hawk's chest and their bodies still joined, feeling complete for the first time in her life.

  Morning brought with it a rude awakening!

  'Your little diversion didn't work!' Hawk rasped furiously.

  Leonie woke slowly at the sound of his anger, knowing instantly that she was alone in her bed, that the body she had nestled up to in the night after Hawk had carried her here some time before dawn had been removed. She opened heavy lids to look up at a fully dressed Hawk, fury glittering in accusing grey eyes.

  She sat up, pushing the hair from her face, pulling the sheet up over her breasts as she realised her movement had bared them to his gaze. Not that he looked as if he could be aroused just now. Except to anger, of course!

  'What's wrong?' She blinked to clear the exhaustion from her mind, her body aching from the fierceness of the lovemaking she and this man had shared the night before. Maybe she should feel uncomfortable about having made love with a man who had been a stranger to her until yesterday afternoon, but the pleasure they had shared precluded her feeling anything but gratitude. She now knew what it was like to feel completely a woman, a desirable woman.

  'What's wrong?' he repeated scornfully, the forceful lover of the night before replaced by a man held in the grip of burning anger. 'You knew damn well that Hal and Laura weren't coming back here last night, and you used your body to distract me from that fact.'

  'What?' Her eyes were wide with disbelief.

  His eyes glittered coldly. 'Don't play the innocent with me!' he stormed, the heavy stubble of a beard darkening his jaw, giving him a piratical look. 'You went to bed with me last night purely as a way of diverting my attention from the fact that Hal and Laura weren't returning—a fact that you were well aware of when you brought me here!'

  The tiny bubble of hope that had begun to emerge from their closeness last night was firmly burst, the small bud of trust withering and dying, and Leonie assumed her air of detached recklessness like an old, well-worn glove. 'I believe it was your idea that we make love, Hawk,' she mocked lightly. 'But you're right, I did know Laura and Hal were away for the whole weekend. You're completely wrong about my motives, however.'

  'Oh yes?' he prompted contemptuously.

  'Hm,' she nodded. 'I had it more in mind that you might look a bit more favourably on their relationship if you had what you seemed to want— me.' She met his gaze challengingly, knowing that none of her inner disillusionment showed; she had learnt long ago to hide her true feelings. 'Obviously I misjudged the situation,' she added derisively.

  'Damn right you did!' growled Hawk. 'Care to try a little blackmail of your own?' he prompted softly.

  Her eyes widened, then she gave a slow smile. 'It wouldn't look too good to Hal if he were to find out you'd taken me to bed, the sister of the woman he loves, only hours after meeting me,' she taunted. 'But I wouldn't do that to Hal, Hawk,' her eyes flashed. 'He doesn't deserve to be hurt by knowing what a bastard his father is!'

  His mouth thinned. 'Maybe I ought to tell him, just to show him how far you and your devious sister are prepared to go!'

  Her trembling hands gripped the sheet in front of her. 'Maybe you should,' she agreed flatly.

  'But I won't,' he declared. 'It's bad enough that I know what sort of a fool I was last night. But if you think what happened made me look with favour on Hal's and Laura's relationship you couldn't be more wrong; God knows what your sister is capable of if you're capable of going to bed with a man to give her what she wants!'

  Leonie sat forward in the bed. 'What are you going to do?' she asked.

  His mouth twisted, his eyes mocking her. 'Whatever it is you can depend upon it being a direct result of what you did with your sexy little body last night!'

  And he had left her then.

  If Laura had been any other than what she was Hawk would never have got away with asking them to wait a year before marrying; he would have lost his son. He hadn't realised, still didn't seem to realise, that it was because of Laura that he still had a son who loved him.

  Hawk's daughter had been conceived that night in his arms when Leonie had briefly begun to hope again, even her veneer of cheerful recklessness stripped from her when she learned that she carried his child.

  Looking at Hawk now, as he faced her so steadily across the lounge, waiting for her to deny that Holly was his child, Leonie knew he was the last man she should have gambled even the tiniest piece of love on, that it was just as well he had killed the emotion before it had even begun to possess her. She would have been destroyed utterly by caring for this man. Or his child.

  'If you've come for Holly I'm sure June could have her things packed in about half an hour or so,' she told him calmly. 'Do you have someone you can get to take care of her for you?'

  CHAPTER THREE

  What the hell did she mean, he could just pick up the baby and walk out of here! She had almost died giving birth to Holly; didn't she care for her at all? He couldn't accept that. Leonie loved Laura with a fierceness that bordered on over-protective-ness; she couldn't possibly care any less for her own child!

  And yet she had just told him he could take Holly with him when he left.

  He drew in a ragged breath. 'Laura has gone to call Hal,' he told her abruptly. 'I've withdrawn all my objections to their getting married.'

  If he had hoped that news at least would please her he was disappointed; she remained as unmoving as ever. What was wrong with her, damn it! Could she have post-natal depression? He had heard it could totally devastate a woman after she had had a baby, especially if she had been through a rough birth.

  'Leonie, did you hear what I said—'

  'Did you hear what I said?' she interrupted calmly. 'I told you Holly can be ready to go when you are.'

  Hawk rose forcefully to his feet. 'You can't mean that!' he exploded.

  'If you would rather wait until you've made arrangements for someone professional to take care of her she can stay on here for a while,' Leonie offered. 'She's quite comfortable here. We have a nursery—'

  'Quite com—!' Hawk echoed thunderously.

  'That's your child you're calmly discussing giving away!'

  She looked at him with emotionless green eyes. 'I'm not giving her away—she's your daughter.'

  Even though he had already been certain of that it still left him breathless to hear Holly called his daughter. He and Amy had always wanted other children besides Hal, but she had been killed before it became possible. At his age he had given up any idea of having other children, deciding he would bounce Hal's children on his knee instead when the time came. Holly was an unexpected—and delightful!—gift to him; he couldn't accept that Leonie didn't feel the same way about her.

  'I have no intention of taking Holly away from you,' he bit out between gritted teeth.

  The uncertainty in her eyes was quickly masked. 'You don't?' she enquired coolly.

  'Leonie, you almost died giving birth to her!' He frustratedly tried to elicit some show of emotion from her, aching inside at the thought that he might have lost her for ever and not known about it until now.

  She gave a vague smile. 'I told you, I'm much better now.'

  If anything she looked more ethereal this evening than she had earlier, the daylight hours seeming to have drained her of the small store of energy she had.<
br />
  He had done this to her, had wanted her to the point of madness that night, and then tried to blame it all on her the next morning.

  Because all those months ago she had got to him in a way that no other woman had, not even Amy. She had touched him with her humour, with her spirit, and lastly with the overwhelming capacity she had for passion. He could have stayed buried in her all night long, on one long continual high, never wanting to reach the point of release. God, he had stayed in her most of the night; it was only when morning came, the cold light of dawn revealing her duplicity to him, that he had forced himself to remember exactly who she was. He couldn't allow himself to care for her!

  When she had admitted to going to bed with him only as a means of placating him for Hal's and Laura's sake he had struck out in the only way he was able without actually exerting physical violence, and had watched as the softness drained out of her, as she too forgot the beauty of their lovemaking.

  But his respite from the torture of reliving her softness in his arms had been only brief, never a day passing during the following months when he hadn't imagined he could smell her, taste her on his lips, feel the very essence of her as her body melted into his. It had been a frustrating nine months, when no other woman had felt right in his arms, until eventually he had stopped even looking at other women, knowing it was this sprite he wanted. He had taken Sarah with him to any social functions he just couldn't get out of, knowing he didn't have to put on an act with her, that she just ignored his bad temper. Neither did she expect him to make love to her at the end of the evening, and get upset when he didn't want to!

  He had been hell to live with, making Sarah's and Jake's lives hell too. No wonder Jake was walking out on him! He should really be grateful that Sarah wasn't considering leaving too!

  But it was reaching Leonie that concerned him right now! 'I was wrong that day nine months ago,' he came down on his haunches beside her armchair. 'I was angry with myself—'

  'And me,' she put in dryly.

  'Yes,' he admitted with a sigh. 'It never even occurred to me that you might feel you had to go to bed with me because it was what I wanted. Leonie, I don't use women in that way,' he shook his head.

  'I know,' she nodded. 'I think I knew that as soon as you began to make love to me.' He took one of her hands in his, surprised at how cold it was considering the temperature inside and out. 'Then why did you do it?' he prompted softly.

  She shrugged, releasing her hand with the minimum of fuss. 'I thought it would anger you if I said no.'

  He drew in a ragged breath. 'That really was the only reason?' He looked at her searchingly, hoping for some sign that she had felt even one tenth of the attraction that he had—that he still did! She had lost all her vitality, and the sparkle had gone from her eyes, but she was still Leonie, the woman he wanted to the point of obsession.

  'I enjoyed our lovemaking—'

  'That's something!' He sighed his relief.

  Her mouth twisted with dry humour. 'Don't worry, Hawk, you didn't rape me that night.'

  He had known that; her response had been complete and uninhibited.

  'But,' she continued—and he felt a sinking sensation in his chest, 'being shown the delights of the flesh rather than the abuses—because that's what my marriage consisted of,' she added hardly, 'would make any woman feel pleasure,' she finished dismissively.

  Hawk rose slowly to his feet. Perhaps he should feel grateful that he was at least able to give her that. But he had come here earlier today knowing he wanted much more than a physical relationship from her. After months of fighting himself he had finally come here to admit he had been wrong, to ask Laura to please make Hal happy by marrying him, and to claim Leonie for his own. Instead he had jumped to a wrong assumption about Holly's parentage, alienating himself from this woman yet again.

  He didn't know how to handle this situation any more, he was too close to it all. One thing he was sure of, Leonie cared nothing for him.

  But once they were married—Yes, that was the answer! She would be his wife, and Holly would be his daughter. And then he would be able to show her just how much he cared. He might even stop making a damned fool of himself every time they were together!

  'We can be married as soon as Hal arrives—' he began.

  'I'm not marrying you!' Leonie cut in incredulously, staring at him with wide eyes. 'I'm not going to marry anyone!'

  His mouth tightened. 'I'm not "anyone", damn it, I'm the father of your child!'

  She gave a weary sigh. 'I've told you you can take Holly.'

  Hawk's hands clenched at his sides as he fought down the need he felt to pick her up and shake her; she looked as if she might disintegrate in front of his eyes if he so much as touched her. 'I don't just want Holly, I want you too—'

  'Hawk,' she cut in quietly, rising slowly to her feet, 'I don't want to marry you. I don't ever want to be married again.'

  He longed to put his arms about her, to take away the vulnerability that she couldn't hide, no matter how valiantly she tried to do so. 'It wouldn't be like last time, Leonie,' he assured her gently. 'I'm nothing like Michael Spencer,' he added hardly, wanting to crush the other man—slowly— for the pain he had inflicted on this woman.

  'I don't want to marry you,' she told him again harshly. 'And there's no way you can force me to do so. I'm sure that if you tried to stop Laura and Hal marrying now they'd both defy you!' She looked at him challengingly.

  He shook his head. 'I'm not going to try and interfere in their lives any more. I certainly wouldn't use that as leverage against you. Didn't I convince you of anything just now?' he added gruffly.

  Leonie shrugged. 'I'm willing to accept that you had no idea of the obligation I would feel because you wanted me and you had complete control over my sister's happiness—'

  'You don't accept it at all,' he groaned, his eyes closed. 'But it's the truth, I swear it!' He had believed his desire for her to be completely reciprocated that night, totally separate from Laura and Hal. He had never had to use coercion as a way of getting a woman into bed with him, and he certainly hadn't done so, knowingly, with Leonie.

  'I accept it,' she said wearily. 'Now if you'll excuse me, I'm very tired, I'd like to go to bed.'

  'I want to marry you!' he called after her as she reached the door.

  She turned slowly. 'Just tell me when you want Holly and I'll see that she's ready.' The door closed softly behind her.

  She couldn't mean that, she couldn't mean to give her child up without a fight! There had to be more to it than that.

  Hawk was sitting in an armchair absently stroking the silky fur of a long-haired tortoiseshell cat as it sat on his lap when Laura came into the lounge. The cat was either Daisy or Tulip, and he was giving it the benefit of the doubt and assuming it was Tulip, the cat which had jumped on the back of Leonie's ex-husband, Michael Spencer, the man Hawk had already decided would find his fist in his face if he ever met him.

  'Tulip, stop that!' Laura shooed the cat off Hawk's knees, confirming her identity. 'I'm sorry about that,' she gave him a bright smile. 'Leonie lets them do just as they want.'

  Hawk studied the young woman with a more discerning gaze than he had so far used today, noting how the last months had left their mark on her too. He had caused unhappiness in four people's lives, and then been too damned obstinate to admit he had been wrong. He had even continued to play his stupid game by trying to tempt Laura away from Hal with the offer of the television series for Leonaura Brandon. As far as he could see neither of the sisters had used any of the considerable payment they had received from the television rights to change their life in any way. Only the housekeeper was an addition to the household. The furnishings were as old and comfortable as before, and he was sure that the sisters could have paid for June's services out of their royalty payments on their books. Neither Laura nor Leonie had a mercenary bone in their bodies, and he had just put pressure on all of them for nothing.

  Laura and Hal might
be able to forgive him for that—at least he hoped they could!—but he doubted if they were going to be quite so understanding when he admitted to being Holly's father! He wasn't quite sure he forgave himself for that, knowing it had endangered Leonie.

  'Hal's getting the first plane here,' Laura told him glowingly. 'He should arrive some time tomorrow.'

  Time enough then for him to admit to being Holly's father. He might as well make his confession a sweeping one!

  'Laura,' he began slowly, 'what's wrong with Leonie?' He studied her with narrowed eyes.

  'I told you she's been ill—'

  'It's more than that,' he interrupted harshly. Steady, he cautioned himself impatiently, you're letting your emotions take over again! 'She doesn't seem as—attached to the baby as she could be.' Again he watched Laura closely for her reaction, this time noticing a shadowing of her eyes. Something was wrong.

  'She cares for Holly very much—'

  'But?' he prompted impatiently.

  Laura gave a pained frown. 'There's a barrier there,' she admitted. 'As if she daren't care. I suppose it's only natural after last time, but—'

  'Last time?' Hawk echoed sharply, his heart beating an erratic tattoo against his chest.

  'Mr Sinclair, I really don't think—'

  'Hawk, damn it,' he rasped. 'And I want to know why your sister daren't let herself love her own baby!'

  Laura glared at him. 'Because her son died only hours after he was born!'

  He couldn't have felt the blow any more if someone had taken a fist and slammed it into his stomach. Leonie had had a son?

  'Michael didn't want the child,' Laura continued with a hard glitter in her eyes for the man who had caused her sister so much unhappiness. 'He refused to accept the doctor's advice that Leonie should be treated with extreme caution during her pregnancy, continuing to exercise his conjugal rights, as he put it,' she said harshly. 'Leonie went into labour too early again, even earlier than she did with Holly. They did everything they could to save little Daniel, but he died three hours after he was born. Leonie never left his side.'