‘I wanted to do this then,’ he rasped, jerking her to him, crushing her breasts against his chest. He kissed her with a fierce desperation, driving all the air from her lungs. ‘I want to stroke every inch of you.’ His gaze dropped to the sway of her breasts. The rosy tips swelled visibly under his hot scrutiny and he let out a hoarse gasp before dipping his head to taste the lustrous, soft flesh. ‘Taste every inch of you,’ he continued, his husky voice muffled against her skin.
Anna felt as if she was drowning in the heavy, hot tide of sensual delight. His skilled hands moved in erotic arabesques over her spine even as his lips at her breasts drove her frantic.
‘I’d like to taste you,’ she admitted huskily.
The half-apologetic comment brought his head up. He correctly interpreted the desire for reassurance in her flushed face. ‘You don’t need to ask permission,’ he assured her, his fingers moving to the buttons of his shirt. ‘You can do whatever you like,’ he promised her throatily.
A thrill of excitement trickled through her trembling body. ‘Then let me do that,’ she said with a surge of confidence.
She’d expected her fingers to be clumsy, but the remaining buttons melted under her touch. Revelling in her newly discovered power, she pulled the material back from his broad chest. The tension of the muscles in her belly tightened to a painful level. God, but he was beautiful! She slid the shirt off his shoulders and pressed herself against him, luxuriating in the sensation of flesh against flesh. She winced as the buckle of his belt drove into her belly.
‘Let me get rid of these,’ he said, swinging around to sit on the side of the bed. His back to her, he stepped out of his trousers and then the pants followed suit. His back tapered sharply towards his waist and hips and his buttocks were taut. The muscles that ran smoothly down his thighs flexed and bunched as he took a couple of steps before turning around to face her.
Prepared as she had been for the flagrant image of a man in the grip of primal passion, seeing him still stunned her. Wild thoughts ran through her head. Could it be her own dimensions were not as normal as she’d imagined or was he…?
‘I don’t think it’s possible,’ she gasped, staring at him with an awed fascination. ‘Could be I’m not adequate for the occasion.’ She tried to joke, but her voice was hoarse and weak.
‘Do you trust me?’ he asked, rejoining her. A musky male scent rose from his heated body. There was a measure of tenderness in the passionate glow of his eyes.
‘Yes,’ she said, not having to think.
The pleasure and savage satisfaction of her unthinking response were clear to read in his face. ‘Touch me,’ he commanded, bracing himself above her, almost grazing the quivering flesh of her belly.
She trailed her fingertips over his chest, where the slabs of muscle were sharply delineated, down his flat belly.
‘That’s right, sweetheart, don’t stop…’ he encouraged huskily. His hoarse cry encouraged her tentative exploration. Lower lip caught between her teeth, a faint moan emerged at regular intervals from her throat as she felt him respond to her ministrations. When he caught her hand firmly in his and rolled to one side she made a sound of protest.
‘I’m not losing you on a technicality this time,’ he said, breathing hard.
She gave a breathless laugh even though her earlier doubts had not quite left her. The sound was drowned as his mouth covered her lips. As he moved lower down her body his unerring tongue and hands discovered every vulnerable spot. He told her by word and gesture how beautiful and desirable he found her. When he’d worked his way down the gentle curve of her belly and she thought she’d gone through the whole gamut of possible sensations, he proved her wrong yet again.
‘I think we can dispense with these.’ The silky pants were discarded, and he knelt between her legs to slowly slide the stockings down over her thighs until her legs too were bare.
There was nothing between them now. The erotic thrill of seeing him kneeling over her drowned out her fear of inadequacy. ‘Please, Adam, please,’ she pleaded brokenly.
‘Not yet.’ She could have wept at his firm response. Frustration was gnawing at her; she wanted to feel him, feel him inside her.
His hands were moving over her thighs, gliding over the silky hot skin. She gasped as his tongue tasted the sensitive flesh of her inner thigh. The last remnants of control deserted her as his questing tongue moved higher, following the path his questing fingers had already made to the damp, hot core of her frustration.
She was moaning his name as her body twisted from side to side. It was way beyond anywhere any dream had led her.
The torture stopped as unexpectedly as it had begun. ‘I need you, Adam,’ she half sobbed.
‘I need you,’ he growled firmly. Kneeling between her parted thighs, he effortlessly lifted her upwards until she faced him sitting across his knees. She felt the thrust of his desire against her lower belly and moved feverishly to increase the contact. She clutched with painful determination at the flesh of his shoulders.
‘That’s it…’ Altering the angle of her body, he slowly and carefully entered her. She opened up like a flower turning to the sun. A series of measured thrusts left her frantic to increase the pressure that brought her such delicious pleasure.
‘Is this what you want?’ His muscles bunched as he pushed deeper into her receptive moistness to be absorbed by the heat of her.
‘Yes!’ she screamed triumphantly. Her hands curved around his muscular buttocks and her legs locked around his back as they moved together as one.
The sudden spasm of release was shocking in its strength. She lost all co-ordination as the waves rippled through her. His release swiftly followed her own, and together they fell back onto the bedclothes, which felt cool under their heated flesh.
‘Adam…?’
‘Mmm?’
‘I’m glad you didn’t let a technicality ruin that.’
‘I’m moderately pleased with myself,’ he confirmed smugly, his teeth grazing her shoulder as he burrowed down onto her breasts to fall asleep.
‘What do you think you’re doing?’
Half in the act of sliding out of bed, Anna stopped. ‘I’ve got to go,’ she said softly, leaning over to kiss his shoulder.
‘You can’t,’ he said in a determined voice. He reached for her and she leant away from the touch, sure that if she didn’t she’d never get away. It had been hard enough to force herself out of the warm cocoon as it was.
‘I must, Adam. It’s five-thirty…’
‘Five-thirty!’ he groaned. He sat up and ran his fingers through his rumpled hair.
‘I promised to do the milking this morning,’ she admitted ruefully. ‘I don’t want to go.’
‘Couldn’t you stay a little longer?’
Anna shook her head reluctantly. She longed to accept the husky invitation. ‘I can’t.’
With a shrug which she found insultingly offhand he accepted this and fell back against the pillows. He put his hands under his head and watched her. Self-consciously she gathered her clothes together and pulled them on.
‘You can borrow my toothbrush if you like.’
With a shake of her head she refused this offer. ‘I’ll manage until I get home.’ No doubt there was a right way to deal with the morning after and to leave a man’s hotel room with poise and self-assurance, but she didn’t know what it was. Thoughts she’d been able to suppress last night refused to be silenced this morning. His next words confirmed her worst fears.
‘I’ve got to go back to London this morning and there’re things—’
‘Have a good journey,’ she interrupted. It was amazing, she reflected, that on the surface she could appear so calm. ‘Ring me,’ she offered calmly. That was it? That was all he had to say? God, what an idiot I’ve been! she admonished herself. She could see from the wariness in his eyes he was dreading her making a scene.
What did she expect? A declaration of undying love? Had he ever at any point mentioned love?
A revelation? No, last night might have been deeply pleasurable for him, but he hadn’t broken down and admitted he really loved her. She had to accept that he wasn’t going to.
Jessica wasn’t about to disappear, because he didn’t want her to, she told herself bleakly. It suited Adam this way. The problem is it doesn’t suit me, she thought bleakly. At least I tried; I’d never have forgiven myself if I hadn’t done that. I don’t want to have an affair with you, Adam, she lamented silently. It’s too little and too much for me to cope with.
‘What, and we’ll do lunch?’ A spasm tightened his features.
‘Whatever,’ she said casually.
‘I think we should work out where we go from here. There are some things I have to tell you. Last night…’
‘No!’ Panic made her voice sharp. Did he want to officially appoint her the other woman? She didn’t want to know where she fitted in his life if she didn’t have a place in his heart. ‘I don’t think we have to go anywhere,’ she added flatly.
‘Anna!’ She ignored the sound of his voice as she slammed the door behind her.
‘We seem to be ships that pass in the night at the moment,’ Charlie Lacey observed as he carried his daughter’s case downstairs.
Anna smiled and opened the front door for him. ‘I won’t be gone long,’ she assured him as they walked to her car. She closed the boot after he’d placed her case inside.
‘How long?’
‘Well, Mrs Morgan is back next week but I’m not sure when Simon will be back, or if.’ She was keeping her fingers crossed for him.
‘Have you been getting enough sleep whilst we’ve been away?’ he asked, touching her cheek with one calloused finger.
Anna suddenly felt very close to the tears she’d been holding at bay all day. ‘I’m fine,’ she lied cheerfully.
‘Thanks for holding the fort until this afternoon. Your mother did try and ring earlier on to let you know we’d be late.’
‘I must have flicked the “off” switch on the phone without realising it,’ Anna remarked casually. ‘At least you know I haven’t been running up an enormous phone bill.’ I’m getting quite good at this lying business, she thought wryly as she kissed her father goodbye and got into her car. It had either been ignore the phone completely or switch it off. She just hadn’t felt capable of coping with any communication with Adam just yet. It could be she never would.
She drove along wrapped in thought. She didn’t regret last night; it had been a deeply special experience for her and she would treasure the memory for ever. Only true love could have liberated such feeling in her; she was confident of that.
Had it been wishful thinking or just stubborn stupidity to believe that Adam would feel the same way? She hadn’t wanted to pressure him; she’d wanted whatever he said to be spontaneous. She groaned, recalling the things she’d said to him in the throes of passion. He hadn’t been fighting against love, just frustrated lust. She’d been so sure he was capable of love—of loving her!
I have to face the truth, and get on with life. Adam doesn’t love me. But I’m not going to wither and die, or anything equally pathetic, she told herself firmly. Angrily she wiped the wetness from her cheeks.
At least the time alone house-sitting for Simon would give her time to think. She didn’t have to put on a bright face for her parents. Her mother had already noticed something was amiss and all she would need was tender concern and she would crumble. I don’t want to crumble, she thought angrily.
It was six in the morning when a loud hammering downstairs on the post-office door awoke her. She’d only drifted off into an uneasy slumber an hour earlier. Her fatigue-fogged brain tried to concentrate. The noise would wake half the street if she didn’t do something about it.
Tying the belt of her robe, she ran down the staircase into the shop. Even through the frosted glass she knew who stood on the other side.
‘Go away, Adam!’ she yelled as he applied his fist afresh to the wooden panel. ‘I’m not going to open this door.’
‘Fine, I don’t mind conducting this conversation at high volume. I can see net curtains twitching already. I’m sure the neighbours will find it illuminating.’
He would too! ‘With any luck someone’s already called the police,’ she hissed spitefully as she wrestled with the deadlock.
‘It’s true, then!’
She blinked, taking a step back as he surged into the room, his face livid with rage. ‘I could confirm or deny it if you told me what is true.’
He gave her a contemptuous look. ‘When your father told me where you were I could hardly believe it.’ His lips pulled back over tightly clenched teeth.
‘My father rarely lies.’ She was still trying to make some sense of the outrage he was exuding from every pore. How had she ever thought him unemotional and cool?
Her comment seemed to inflame him further. ‘You aren’t even going to try and deny it. God, what a fool I’ve been. A blind idiot. I thought—’ He broke off and looked at her with loathing. ‘Where is he, then? Hiding under the bed?’
Light dawned—he thought she was here with Simon! He actually imagined… She shook her head incredulously. He wasn’t just angry, he was insane.
‘Adam, Simon isn’t… Will you listen to me and stop pacing about like that? You’ll knock something over.’ She winced as he narrowly avoided collision with a stack of tinned peaches.
‘Listen to you!’ he snarled scornfully.
‘Unless you want to make a complete fool of yourself that is.’ Anger was beginning to stir in her veins, sending the blood surging through her tired brain. The initial satisfaction she’d felt when she knew she was capable of making him jealous was rapidly dissipating. The inconsistency of his feelings bordered on the farcical. He was here, all sweeping condemnation over her supposed liaison with Simon when he had Jessica waiting for him at home.
‘It’s a bit late for that, isn’t it?’ he grated. ‘To think I actually imagined for one instant that the other night meant something to you. Does he know he’s got me to thank for this new, sexually liberated Anna? Shall I tell him? Did you say the same things to him you did to me? Good God, I never thought you could be so cheap! I should have guessed when I saw you in that clinch in the garden.’
Cheap, was she? She felt a dizzying surge of white-hot anger. ‘How dare you spy on me? You’re so smug, aren’t you? It must be nice to be able to look down on us mere mortals from such an Olympian height. How dare you preach at me? At least I’m not marrying someone else. You’re the only cheat here, Adam.’
‘Oh, but I’m not,’ he countered. ‘That’s shocked you, hasn’t it? What’s wrong, sweetheart? Would you have answered my calls if you’d known I was on the market like your precious Simon? And a much better prospect, if I say so myself. If you’d waited five minutes I’d have told you that morning.’
‘It couldn’t be that a cheap tart like me made you break off a match made in heaven, could it?’ she mocked, swallowing his shocking announcement. Questions crowded into her brain.
‘Let’s just say I took too much for granted,’ he said grimly. A white line of rage outlined his compressed lips as he regarded her with cold disdain. ‘To think I thought…’ A sound of self-disgust erupted from his chest.
‘You thought I might be worthy of you? Am I supposed to be consumed with remorse now?’ she asked coldly. ‘I’ve lost my shot at the greatest catch of the century! It might interest you to know that I’m not sharing the bed upstairs with Simon or anyone else. Simon is in Canada patching up his marriage and I am house-sitting. I did try and tell you,’ she said as he went deathly pale. ‘But you were so eager to rip my character to shreds I couldn’t get a word in edgeways.
‘No, Adam!’ She forestalled his interruption with a raised hand. ‘It’s my turn now. You’ve had your say, and it was most instructive. For your information I wouldn’t take Jessica’s place if you were the only man on the planet! I think you’re a narrow-minded, arrogant bore!’ The rage burnt
itself out abruptly and she suddenly wanted to weep. She wanted to throw herself into his arms and bawl like a baby. She didn’t, of course. She stiffened her spine and tilted her chin defiantly.
‘I think it only remains for me to say goodbye. You’ve covered about everything else,’ he said austerely. If he felt anything at all it didn’t show on his face as he retreated silently out of the door. One flicker of emotion would have been enough to make her break down.
Good riddance, she thought, locking the door firmly. I’m better off without you. Then, despite this self-congratulatory thought, she burst into inconsolable tears.
CHAPTER TEN
‘HELP me pin this on, Mum.’ Anna took the number she held in her teeth and passed it to her mother along with the pins she held in her fist.
‘Turn around, then.’ Beth took the large ‘66’ and pinned it to the pink material of the tutu her daughter wore. ‘That’s it.’ She pushed her daughter away to get the full effect of the pink tutu and pale tights offset by football boots and orange stripy socks. ‘Very eye-catching, but not exactly aerodynamic, dear.’
‘I’m not in this to win, Mum, just to raise lots of lovely money.’ Anna pointed to the logo emblazed on her front.
‘It’s so sad when hospitals need charity to keep them afloat,’ Beth sighed.
‘I’d argue politics, Mum, but while I’m talking there are probably dozens of kids out there who would benefit from this scanner. The appeal has almost reached the target.’
‘Everyone has worked very hard,’ Beth agreed.
‘Looking out this old outfit made me think of that video Jason made for me,’ Anna said casually. ‘I couldn’t find it anywhere; I don’t suppose you…?’
‘It must be around somewhere. Goodness me, I do believe you should go and line up now, dear.’
‘Mother…’ Anna said warningly.
Wild and Willing! Page 16
