Swallowing hard, Kate came straight out with it. ‘My guest house, the fact that I pushed ahead with my plans without so much as consulting you and—’
‘Sometimes it’s good to have an input of new ideas,’ he murmured, staring at her with an intensity that looped a band of love around her soul. ‘Who says I have all the right answers?’
‘As far as I’m concerned, you have most of them,’ Kate breathed, her lips almost touching his.
‘Only most of them?’ he said in a voice not much above a whisper as he began teasing her lips with his tongue.
When he finally stopped kissing her for a moment, Guy shot a look around the blacked-out room and frowned as he weighed up the flickering candles. ‘Why are you still in the dark?’
‘Because the electricity’s off again,’ Kate said wryly, breaking away to find some more candles.
‘J’y crois pas!’ Guy exclaimed as he reached out to haul her back. ‘Didn’t I sort that out for you once already?’
He would believe it if he knew how vindictive Mariamme D’Arbo had been, Kate thought ruefully. But hadn’t Ms D’Arbo done enough damage already? She would spare him the detail for now. ‘You did sort it out,’ she confirmed. ‘This is just a glitch. I’ll see about it tomorrow.’ And when he tried to argue she put her fingers over his lips. ‘Guy, I really don’t want to talk about electricity.’ She saw his expression change from indignation to amusement and then on again to something different.
‘Ma petite héroine,’ he murmured wryly as he wrapped his arms around her and nuzzled her neck. ‘You have no idea how much I love you, do you?’
‘You love me?’ Kate whispered while she still could.
Dragging her close, he kissed the breath out of her while his hands roved freely over her trembling body, naked apart from the oversized tee shirt she wore to bed. Before she knew what was happening he had pulled it over her head. Then, gripping her just below the waist, he turned her slowly to face away from him. ‘Now I see why you wanted these mirrors,’ he said with a low, sexy laugh.
‘Guy!’ Kate protested without much force. She dragged in a long shuddering breath as she watched his hands move very slowly to claim her breasts. Then his lean, supple fingers started work on her nipples until they grew so erect she could only press back against him with her eyes fixed on the seductive reflection—which she knew was just what he intended. Without giving her a chance to ease down from the high erotic plateau, Guy hooked a padded bench with his foot and nudged against the back of her legs until she was kneeling on it. As he eased her over the counter Kate felt the chill of cold granite replace the warmth of his hands. Then a powerful thigh came to lodge between her legs as he looped one arm around her waist while he loosened his zipper and tugged off his beige chinos.
Every sensory zone seemed to be swelling on command and, as his touch grew more urgent Kate angled towards him, shamelessly craving more. In the otherwise silent room their breathing sounded hectic and, suddenly aware of it, she met his gaze in their reflected world. But Guy only granted her the briefest glance. He was already clasping her buttocks, ready to direct and control. Kate found the intensity of his concentration only heightened her arousal and, as he made a slow and deliberately tantalising pass, she thrust towards him, taking him by surprise as she captured him and drew him deep inside her. For a moment, lost in fierce pleasure, he remained completely still.
‘Don’t stop,’ she managed to beg as his eyes flashed up a warning. ‘I need you so much.’
Guy won the next round easily, with a withdrawal so slow Kate felt every nerve-ending go into spasm. But, just as she started whimpering with disappointment, he plunged deep again, increasing his grip as he brought her steadily into rhythm with him. He answered all her needs as he took her with him to the highest peak of pleasure, choosing the moment to step off into a shuddering cascade of sensation that left them both convulsing violently with an intensity that left them clinging to each other thoroughly shaken.
Minutes passed before either of them was even capable of speech and then Kate asked shyly, ‘Did you mean it? Do you really love me?’
‘Tu es la personne à laquelle je tiens le plus au monde!’ Guy exclaimed. ‘I’m sorry,’ he said with a wry laugh as he gathered her up in his arms. ‘What have you done to me, Kate? I couldn’t even think in English for a moment. Of course I love you. How can you doubt it?’
‘So you—’
‘I just told you in French that you are the most special person to me in all the world.’
‘And I love you…more than my life,’ Kate breathed, knowing it was true.
‘For all your life?’ Guy murmured as he swung her off the ground.
‘For all my life,’ Kate confirmed softly as she nestled against him.
‘Come, mon coeur,’ Guy said, heading for the stairs. ‘It’s time for bed.’
The first cockerels were already heralding the gauzy light of a new day when they finally fell into a deep and contented slumber. The stress of the past few days and the fact that Guy had had little sleep had made no impression at all on their hunger for each other. It was as if no amount of lovemaking could ever be enough; as if they needed to make up for every single moment they had been apart.
And when Kate finally woke in Guy’s arms, it was to find him drinking in every detail of her face as if they had only just met.
‘Sometimes I can’t believe this moment has come,’ he murmured as he kissed her brow, her cheeks and, with lingering intensity, her lips.
‘Why not?’ Kate queried softly, linking her hands loosely behind his neck so that she could look into his face.
‘Because I wanted you the moment you walked back into my life,’ Guy admitted easily. ‘But the age difference—’
‘It’s not so much,’ Kate told him with a grin. ‘Just enough to ensure you know what you’re doing in the bedroom department…’ She squealed with delight as he made a grab for her.
‘You are still incorrigible!’ he exclaimed, seeming pleased. ‘But you must be serious for a moment—’
‘If you insist.’
‘I do insist,’ he said, pretending to be stern as he let her soft golden hair stream through his fingers. ‘I can’t imagine now how I held off from seducing you for as long I did—’
‘You’re very confident,’ Kate teased with all the assurance his love had given her.
‘Completely confident,’ he said, with brutally male assurance. ‘I confess it took time for me to appreciate that you are not the same little Kate who used to visit her aunt in Villeneuve each year—’
‘But I am the same person,’ Kate warned teasingly.
‘In some ways,’ Guy admitted tolerantly. ‘But you have matured into a very beautiful woman.’
‘Well, improved at least, I hope,’ Kate qualified. ‘Like a good wine?’
‘Exactement,’ Guy agreed, his steely eyes twinkling with humour.
‘So, now it’s time to taste me?’ she guessed provocatively.
‘Let’s just say I’m overwhelmed by you and by everything you do.’
‘Does that mean you approve of my activities at the cottage?’
‘You never miss an opportunity, do you mon ange?’ Guy demanded in a voice laced with dry amusement. ‘But I am forced to admit that it is the rebel in you that has always attracted me.’
‘Taming the tiger?’ Kate suggested innocently.
‘Well, the pussy cat at least,’ he said, knowing how that would provoke her.
Kate knew he took great pleasure in pinning her down when she made a lunge for him. ‘And is that all you find attractive about me?’ she demanded, making a pretence of being disappointed.
Guy let his gaze rove slowly over the length of her before commenting, ‘There are one or two other attractions—’
‘Brute!’ she flared, trying to escape.
‘Why don’t you just learn to give in?’ Guy suggested evenly as she continued to struggle ineffectually against his controlling hands.
‘Never!’
‘Well, you should calm down or you might miss what I have to say to you.’
Feigning a frown, Kate made a sound of begrudging capitulation and then finally lay still.
‘That’s better,’ Guy told her.
‘So?’ Kate prompted. ‘What do you have to say to me?’
‘First, I’d like to thank you for giving my mother a new lease of life—’
‘That was my pleasure and you know it,’ she challenged. ‘So that can’t be what you have to say. What else is there?’
‘Thank you for pointing out the fact that I should not rely on an agency to supply crucial members of my staff—’
‘Mariamme D’Arbo?’
‘Exactly,’ he admitted. ‘Did you know she stole Mother’s ring?’
‘The police have assured me they have recovered it,’ Kate said. ‘It was the first thing I checked on when Mariamme D’Arbo was arrested.’
‘Let’s move on to your plans to run a guest house on my estate—’
‘You don’t mind, after all?’ Kate said hopefully, struggling to read Guy’s unreadable expression.
‘There is one condition—’
‘And that is?’
‘I insist that you base yourself at the château.’
‘At the château?’ Kate queried as she worked the idea through in her mind. ‘It could work out,’ she murmured. ‘If your mother moved into the cottage—’
‘Ah, I was hoping you’d say that,’ Guy cut in with some satisfaction.
‘Why?’
‘Because she confided in me,’ he revealed. ‘She explained that the big house is too full of painful memories for her. Everywhere she turns she sees my father—’
‘I can understand that,’ Kate said, suddenly serious. ‘They were together for so long, Guy. If I can do anything…anything at all to help—’
‘I think you can,’ he said, matching her mood. ‘The warmth and camaraderie at La Petite Maison has had such a healing effect on her I don’t want it to stop. She says she is happier now than she has been since the accident and that it is all due to your return and the wonderful atmosphere you have created at the cottage. And, with your agreement, Kate, I thought she might find contentment again, given time.’
‘Of course she’s welcome,’ Kate said warmly. ‘Your mother can have all the time she needs—and that’s not just for her benefit, but for ours too. She’s been the most wonderful help. Everyone loves her. And not just because she’s the Countess—she’s so full of ideas and so interesting to be around.’
‘And she has gained so much from you and from Megan and from your guests.’
Kate felt it only fair to warn him. ‘They may not all be as charming as the last group.’
‘I think you’ll find she has some steel in her backbone along with that old-world charm,’ he said wryly. ‘She’s taking a real interest in life again, Kate. Something I thought I’d never see—’
‘You really don’t have to twist my arm,’ Kate insisted. ‘You know how much I love your mother, Guy. And if she could take charge of things here with Megan… Well, I could easily hold cookery classes at the château. The kitchen is more than adequate for my needs—’
‘I am relieved to hear it,’ he said solemnly. ‘Here in Villeneuve we like to do things as a team.’
‘Mmm,’ Kate sounded in contemplation, her forehead puckering as she thought over his words. Then her face cleared as she came to a decision. ‘You really don’t know how lucky you are to belong to something as special as this.’
‘Oh, but I do,’ he said. ‘Don’t you, Kate?’
‘Me? Guy, are you teasing me again?’ Kate demanded, suddenly suspecting he might be. As he ran his hands lightly over her arms she began to tremble, certain now that he was only playing games with her as he always had.
He shook his head in fond exasperation. ‘You’re as much a part of Villeneuve as I am, Kate. Deep down you always knew that to be the case. That’s why you came back.’
‘You’re very wise,’ she said softly, snuggling into the pillows again as his gaze warmed her face.
‘So—’ Guy drawled with his unique brand of male satisfaction ‘—if I’m so wise, you won’t think it foolish of me when I ask you to marry me.’
Kate’s eyes widened as she turned a face blank with surprise in Guy’s direction.
‘I can’t promise you an easy ride, at least not to begin with,’ he went on evenly. ‘I still have some issues with the property that I’ve yet to resolve.’
A bolt of sensation thrilled through Kate as she went on staring at him.
‘But from what I’ve seen so far—’ he continued, clearly oblivious to the chaotic state of her emotions ‘—I think you can handle it.’
‘Yes, Guy.’
‘I have to tell you, your use of the DNA test was a really great—’
‘Yes, Guy,’ Kate said a little more insistently.
He stopped and looked down at her, his expressive grey eyes eloquent with enquiry.
‘Yes, I will marry you,’ Kate said steadily, gazing up with a heart full of love into the eyes of the man around whose roots she now understood she had always been entwined.
‘Little Katie Foster…all grown up,’ he murmured softly, tucking a wayward curl behind her ear.
‘That’s right,’ Kate whispered as she gazed into his eyes. ‘Grown up with you and for you, Guy.’ Then her expression changed to one he knew of old. ‘But are you quite sure you can put up with me?’
He pretended to think about it for a moment. ‘I can only try. Do you think you can put up with being the Countess de Villeneuve?’
Kate’s lips curved in wry acceptance as she lifted her shoulders in the pretence of a shrug. ‘I can only try,’ she said cheekily as he gathered her up in his arms and kissed her.
ISBN: 978-1-4268-8075-9
THE FRENCH COUNT’S MISTRESS
First North American Publication 2003.
Copyright © 2003 by Susan Stephens.
All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher, Harlequin Enterprises Limited, 225 Duncan Mill Road, Don Mills, Ontario, Canada M3B 3K9.
All characters in this book have no existence outside the imagination of the author and have no relation whatsoever to anyone bearing the same name or names. They are not even distantly inspired by any individual known or unknown to the author, and all incidents are pure invention.
This edition published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.
® and TM are trademarks of the publisher. Trademarks indicated with ® are registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office, the Canadian Trade Marks Office and in other countries.
Visit us at www.eHarlequin.com
The French Count's Mistress Page 18
