Mistresses: Bound with Gold / Bought with Emeralds

by Susan Napier;Kathryn Ross;Kelly Hunter;Sandra Marton;Katherine Garbera;Margaret Mayo

  Ray shrugged. ‘And then of course there was the time that I overheard you reassuring him that you weren’t attracted to me…’

  ‘I wasn’t reassuring him!’ Caitlin spluttered angrily. ‘I was telling him in no uncertain terms how absurd his notion was about us.’

  Ray grinned. ‘With the benefit of hindsight I can see I might have got things wrong.’

  ‘Not might…You definitely made a big mistake,’ Caitlinsaid firmly.

  Ray nodded. ‘Absolutely. So, now we have that cleared up, how about I take you upstairs so you can freshen up before dinner?’

  Caitlin shrugged. In truth she was a bit hungry and she was longing for a hot shower. And she supposed he had apologised…‘Okay.’

  ‘Good.’ He smiled and she noticed how his eyes were almost as dark as the raven-black of his hair; there was something intensely sensual about those eyes. ‘I’m glad we have sorted that out.’ He reached out and, to her consternation, stroked back a stray strand of wet hair from her face.

  His touch was oddly tender and as she looked up into his eyes there was a crazy moment where she felt her stomach flip as a wild rush of pure physical attraction hit her. Hastily she stepped back from him. What the heck was wrong with her? she wondered frantically. She disliked Ray…disliked him intensely.

  ‘So, tell me, where is your fiancé?’

  The sudden question was almost as disconcerting as the feeling that had just struck her.

  ‘He’s back in Manchester.’

  ‘Well, I gathered he wasn’t here,’ Ray said sardonically.

  A heavy rumble of thunder filled the air and the electric lights flickered.

  ‘The storm sounds like it’s directly overhead,’ Caitlin said nervously.

  ‘Yes, seems like it.’ Ray turned away. ‘Come on, I’ll show you up to your room.’

  Relieved that the subject of David had been dropped, Caitlin followed him upstairs. Ray opened a door and led her through into a large bedroom decorated in a pale shade of lemon.

  ‘There’s an en suite bathroom through there.’ Ray waved a hand towards the other end of the room. ‘Just make yourself at home.’

  ‘Thank you.’

  He nodded, seemed about to turn away then paused.

  ‘So…you didn’t tell me…Is your fiancé following you out here?’

  He seemed to be looking at her very closely and she realised that, as well as being incredibly sexy, his eyes could also be disturbingly intense, as if they could reach into her very soul and find all the secrets hidden there.

  She intended to tell him that her engagement was off but instead she found herself saying something completely different. ‘Yes. He’s just too busy with work to come over at the moment.’

  ‘I see.’ Ray smiled and she wondered if he did see…if it was entirely obvious that David would never be joining her here. ‘Well, I’ll leave you to freshen up. Come down when you are ready.’

  Caitlin stood where she was as the door closed quietly behind him. Why had she done that? she wondered. Why had she lied?

  Maybe it was just that her pride wouldn’t let her admit that she had made a mistake with David. Or maybe because she felt vulnerable around Ray Pascal. She didn’t know what it was, but the guy fascinated her in some strange way. He seemed to have danger written all over him.

  Chapter Two

  THE storm was still raging outside as Caitlin finished drying her hair. She stepped back to survey her appearance in the bedroom mirror. The mud-spattered jeans had been replaced by a clean faded blue pair and a black top with a scooped neckline, not particularly glamorous apparel but at least she looked human again. Her dark hair was shining and healthy-looking, and the shower had restored some colour to her cheeks.

  Her eyes flicked towards her waistband. She had lost weight. Caitlin had always been slender but now her jeans hung slightly on her waist. It was stress, probably. She had always been the same—as soon as something worried her, weight just dropped off her. And the past few weeks had been amongst the worst of her life.

  The strange thing was that there had been no hint of what was to come. Everything had seemed so settled…her wedding date fixed. Okay she’d had a few fleeting doubts about the marriage, but she had brushed them aside thinking they had just been the normal cold feet variety, the kind of uncertainties that faced most people before they made such a massive lifelong commitment.

  Caitlin had thought she loved David…The only thing that had concerned her was the fact that he had never set her passions completely on fire. But as soon as those thoughts had entered her head she had always dismissed them, feeling guilty for even having given them space. Because David had seemed so easygoing and he’d made her laugh. He had been boyishly good-looking. Not as powerfully handsome as Ray, but attractive nevertheless with thick sandy-blond hair, grey eyes and a pleasing physique. Most of all she had felt safe with David. And after the disastrous relationship she’d had before him, that feeling of security had been important to her. She had been ready to start a family…Her thirtieth birthday was looming and she could feel her body clock starting to tick.

  David had agreed that they would start trying for a baby straight after the wedding. Caitlin remembered how after that discussion he had pulled her into his arms and held her tight. ‘I’ll make you happy, Caitlin,’ he had whispered. ‘I promise I will.’

  There had been something of the little boy about David, she thought now; something endearing. And like her he wasn’t afraid of hard work. He had a high-flying career and all the glossy accessories that went with it; a top-of-the-range sports car, expensive clothes and a taste for the high life. They’d had a good time together, meals out, trips to the races with never more than a modest flutter, a good circle of friends. There had been nothing to suggest that he wasn’t the respected and responsible man that he claimed to be.

  Then a few months ago he had arrived home without his car. He’d told her it had been stolen and she’d had no reason to disbelieve that. At the time she had been too worried about Murdo to give it much thought anyway. His health had been deteriorating rapidly and she’d been spending most of her spare time with him. Then she had arrived home late one night and had thought they had been burgled. The TV had gone, so had the stereo and DVD player. In fact anything of any value had just been ripped out, including personal items of jewellery. She’d been alone in the flat and terrified. David had arrived just as she’d been phoning the police.

  ‘You don’t need to do that,’ he said calmly, taking the phone from her and putting it down. ‘It’s all under control. They have already been around here.’

  Caitlin believed him. She’d had no reason not to; she trusted him.

  It wasn’t until later in the week when she phoned the police to see how the investigation was going that she realised David had lied to her and something was very wrong, because the burglary had never been reported.

  When she went in to see Murdo that day she didn’t intend on saying anything, but he caught hold of her arm as she made to leave his bed.

  ‘So what’s the matter with you?’ he asked gruffly.

  ‘Nothing.’

  He didn’t let go of her and his grip was surprisingly strong. ‘We’ve always been able to talk in the past.’ He’d pulled her back towards the bed and she’d sat beside him.

  ‘It’s just this burglary…David didn’t report it; at least, the police say there is no record of it being reported. And when I rang him at work to ask him about it he was furious with me, said the police had made a mistake and lost the report or something. He said he’d deal with it later and I wasn’t to get involved.’

  She remembered the look on Murdo’s face. He was frail; his skin as grey as the colour of his hair, but in those few moments there was a glimpse of his former vitality in the sudden anger of his dark eyes. ‘Do you believe him?’

  Caitlin shrugged and looked away from him. ‘Why would he lie?’

  ‘David may not be all that he seems,’ Murdo sa
id softly. ‘I didn’t tell you this, Caitlin. But a long time ago…about five months after you came to work for me, David came to collect you. There was some money sitting on the coffee table in the lounge. And when he’d gone…so had the money.’ He noted the expression of horror on her face. ‘I didn’t tell you because I knew you’d look like that and, anyway, I’d no proof and I didn’t want to risk you falling out with me.’

  ‘How much money was it?’ Caitlin asked distraught.

  ‘The money doesn’t matter.’ Murdo was dismissive. ‘It wasn’t that much anyway…It’s you I care about.’ He squeezed her hand. ‘If I’d had a child…a daughter…I’d have wanted her to be just like you; you know that, don’t you? And I appreciate everything you have done for me—’

  ‘Murdo, you don’t need to say this,’ she said tearfully.

  ‘Yes, I do. Because the time we have together is growing short now. And I want you to know that I care about what happens to you and I want you to be happy. And, quite frankly, Caitlin, I don’t think David is right for you.’

  Just thinking about that conversation—one of the last conversations she’d had with Murdo—made her eyes fill with tears.

  Hurriedly she brushed a hand underneath her eyes. It was strange how she and Murdo had bonded. There had been so many years between them and no blood ties, and yet when he had died it had been like losing a member of her family.

  Murdo had been right about David. When she’d got back to the flat that night she had raided the cupboards and drawers to see if she could shed some light on what was going on. And that was when she had discovered the pawn tickets for their belongings and the joint credit cards that she knew nothing about. Cards with bills that she was jointly responsible for…

  It had turned out that David had a serious gambling habit, although he didn’t see it like that. When confronted, he had become almost violent towards her and the tone of his voice had frightened her. It had been as if he had become a stranger when he had informed her that he could do what he liked with his life, was just going through a bad patch, that if she left it to him he’d sort it out in a few weeks.

  Even as she had walked out of the flat with her bags packed he had been telling her that he’d fix everything, and that she was being stupid…that it was a set-back and he’d had them before. And of course they would still get married.

  If David was waiting for her to go back to him, he was going to have a very long wait.

  But should she stay in France? The question churned inside her as she headed back downstairs.

  Apart from the fire that still burned brightly in the stone fireplace, the lounge was in darkness.

  ‘Ray?’ Caitlin paused at the end of the stairs, wondering which way she should go.

  There was no answer, only the roar of thunder and the bright flickering light of the storm illuminating the trees outside the lattice windows.

  ‘Ray?’ She wandered down the long hallway glancing through open doors at darkened rooms. Then as she rounded a corner she saw light at the end of the corridor and heard the low murmur of a radio.

  ‘Ah, there you are.’ He turned from the stove as she stepped through the doorway. ‘You look better,’ he said, his eyes sweeping over her.

  ‘Well, it wasn’t hard,’ she said self-consciously. ‘I looked dreadful before.’

  ‘No, you didn’t…You looked…’ He paused, as if searching his perfect English for the exact word. ’Strained.’

  ‘Well, I’d been driving since the early hours of this morning…and the house was a bit of a shock. Not to mention your…wild accusations—’

  ‘Hey.’ He caught hold of her arm as she walked towards him. ‘I’ve apologised for that…so can’t we just forget it?’ He seemed to be looking very deeply into her eyes.

  She shrugged, feeling uncomfortable again. ‘Yes, I suppose so.’

  ‘Good.’ He smiled at her and she felt a surge of butterflies inside. What on earth was wrong with her? she wondered dazedly. She didn’t like this man; he was arrogant, irritating and, anyway, she was off men, probably would be for the rest of her life.

  Carefully she moved away from him and walked across to the stove. ‘Can I do anything to help?’

  ‘No, it’s all done. I made pasta…I hope that’s acceptable?’

  ‘Very.’

  ‘Okay, well, I’ll lay the table in the dining room and we can move through.’

  ‘Let’s just eat in here, shall we?’ Caitlin said quickly, not liking the thought of leaving the warmth of this kitchen for the darkened intimacy of a dining room. There was something reassuring about this friendly light space, the stylish country pine décor, the Aga, and the babble of the radio even if it was in French.

  ‘If you like.’ He shrugged.

  ‘Shall I lay the table for you?’ She pounced as he opened a cutlery drawer. ‘I may as well make myself useful.’

  ‘Okay.’ He stepped back. ‘I’ll open a bottle of wine.’

  ‘That would be lovely.’ Caitlin busied herself clearing the pine table, transferring the vase of daisies and some post over onto a sideboard.

  They sat down opposite each other at the table. Caitlin glanced across at him apprehensively. She noticed that he had changed his clothing since they had arrived back and was wearing a dark shirt and dark trousers. The attire was more formal and made him appear even more intimidating for some reason.

  What was it about Ray that unnerved her? Caitlin wondered as she watched him surreptitiously from beneath dark lashes. Was it the fact that he was able to wind her up with such insouciant ease? Or the fact that he was overwhelmingly handsome, or was it just the whole package? There was a latent power about him, a look that magnetically drew and held the senses. Everything about him was enthralling, from the way his clothes sat so easily on his broad-shouldered frame to the fact that he was French and spoke perfect English with an accent that sent shivers of sensuality racing down a woman’s spine. Then there were his eyes…His most lethal weapon, dark and penetrating, they had a way of slicing through you that could disconcert and disarm all at the same time.

  As if sensing her gaze, he turned those eyes on her now. The impact was intense. It had always been the same; on their first meeting just over a year ago he’d glanced at her and her senses had reeled into chaos. That one man should be able to exert so much power over her senses had scared her then…It still did now.

  He smiled, a faint, almost imperceptible light of amusement in his eyes.

  ‘Well, I’m sure Murdo would approve of us dining here together tonight,’ he said. ‘So maybe we should drink to absent friends?’

  ‘Absent friends…’ Caitlin raised her glass and touched it against his.

  He smiled at her and she felt that same prickle of unease that told her she had to keep her wits very firmly about her.

  Hastily she looked away.

  There was silence between them filled with the drumming of rain against the window and the soft melody of a French song on the radio.

  She looked at the bottle of wine and noticed it had a label with the name Pascal on it. ‘Is this any relation to you?’ she asked, tapping the label curiously.

  ‘It’s from this estate. But I have little to do with it now. My cousin is the local wine producer; I just rent him the land.’

  ‘It’s very good.’

  ‘Not bad.’ Ray nodded. ‘So how long did it take you to drive here?’ he asked, switching the subject.

  ‘I broke the journey at my mother’s place in London last night. Then set off at four-thirty this morning.’

  ‘That’s a long drive. You should have flown from Manchester.’

  ‘I wanted to bring as much of my belongings as possible. Plus it gave me a chance to see my mum before leaving.’ Caitlin remembered the horrified look on her mother’s face when she had told her that her relationship with David was definitely over and that she was moving to France.

  ‘Couldn’t David have driven over later with your belongings?’ Ray ask
ed.

  Caitlin tried to concentrate on what he was saying and shut out the image of her mother, who had tried to persuade her to stay on in London with her to think about things. ‘Do you really want to finish with David?’ she had asked in some distress. ‘All the invitations are out. The wedding is only weeks away. Caitlin, you are probably just suffering from nerves.’

  She hadn’t wanted to tell her mother that the breakup was down to something far more serious than nerves. The truth would just have been too much for her to bear. It had been better to sound upbeat and positive, as if she had made the right decision and the split had been amicable.

  ‘Caitlin?’

  ‘Oh, sorry.’ Aware that Ray was waiting for an answer, she quickly pulled herself together. ‘I suppose he could have driven over later, but as I told you earlier he’s pretty busy at work right now.’

  ‘What does he do for a living?’

  Caitlin toyed with her glass. Why did he keep asking her about David? she wondered irately. ‘He’s in advertising.’ With a determined effort she fixed him with a direct look and changed the subject. ‘What about you?’ she asked. ‘What do you do for a living?’

  ‘I’m an architect.’

  ‘Oh, yes, I remember Murdo telling me now.’ She smiled. ‘He said you were a rare combination of creative genius and hard-headed businessman, and that you could sometimes be a bit eccentric.’

  ‘Coming from the king of eccentricity, I’ll take that as a compliment,’ Ray said easily.

  ‘Well, he was an artist and I suppose they are allowed to be eccentric,’ Caitlin reflected.

  Ray smiled. ‘I suppose they are,’ he conceded. ‘His paintings are fetching tremendous sums of money, I believe.’

  ‘Yes, so I heard.’

  ‘He left me two in his will as a matter of fact. I haven’t received them yet—they are being crated up and shipped out to me next week.’

  ‘That was kind of him.’ She looked over at Ray hesitantly. ‘He seemed very fond of you.’

  ‘He was an old family friend.’ Ray shrugged. ‘Best man at my parents’ wedding and later when my father died he helped my mother through a difficult time.’