The Seduction Season (HQR Presents)

by Helen Bianchin

  ‘Want to share?’

  ‘No, I don’t want to share anything with you!’ She drew in a deep breath and released it. ‘Nothing, nada, niente. Do you understand?’

  He filled a mug with steaming aromatic black coffee, stirred in sugar, and savoured a mouthful. His shoulders lifted in a deliberate Gallic shrug. ‘That’s certainly specific.’

  Anneke flung her arms in the air in a gesture of enraged despair. ‘You’re not going to do as I ask, are you?’

  His eyes pierced hers, dark, dangerous and lethal. ‘No.’ He picked up cutlery and cut a neat slice from the corner of his toast. ‘Not until the nuisance calls stop.’

  ‘I’m twenty-seven years old, not seventeen. I’ve lived alone for seven years in a city known for its high crime rate. I can take care of myself.’

  Sebastian forked a mouthful of toast and egg into his mouth, chewed and swallowed it, then proceeded to cut another slice.

  ‘You’ve forgotten one thing.’

  The anger was still evident, simmering beneath the surface. ‘And what, pray, is that?’

  ‘I gave Vivienne my word.’

  ‘And your word is sacrosanct,’ Anneke declared with marked cynicism.

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘So get used to it?’

  ‘I’m simply telling you how it is,’ he said calmly.

  ‘In that case, there’s nothing more to say.’

  ‘No.’

  There were several more words she could have uttered, many of them blistering and not in the least ladylike. However, restraint in this instance was a favoured option.

  ‘Fine.’ She turned towards the back door and walked from his kitchen, then crossed the stretch of lawn and garden separating each cottage.

  Her car stood in the carport, and, making a split-second decision, she went indoors, changed her clothes, caught up her bag and mobile phone, then locked up the cottage, slid behind the wheel and reversed down the driveway.

  Within minutes she gained the main road leading onto the northern highway. The Gold Coast was only two hours’ drive away. Shopping centres, movies, glitzy boutiques. Just the place to escape to, Anneke decided.

  She had travelled less than five minutes when her mobile phone rang, and she automatically activated it.

  ‘Tell me where you’re going, and what time you expect to be home.’

  Her stomach performed a backwards somersault at the sound of Sebastian’s voice on the line. It sounded impossibly deep, his accent more pronounced.

  Anneke took a deep, steadying breath. ‘Go to hell.’ Then she cut the connection.

  It should have made her feel better. Instead, she felt more and more like an angry juvenile kicking out against authority.

  Examining the situation analytically, she was allowing emotions to overrule common sense.

  Damn. She thumped a fist against the steering wheel. This contrary ambivalence was ridiculous.

  Without further thought she slowed down and pulled off to the side of the road. She caught up her mobile phone and prepared to punch in digits she realised she didn’t have. Sure, he’d written down his number, but that was on a piece of paper tucked into a teletex in her aunt’s kitchen.

  OK, all she had to do was ring directory service. Two minutes later she de-activated the call, and groaned with frustration. Sebastian Lanier’s phone number was ex-directory.

  One car passed, then another. She didn’t notice the Range Rover ease to a halt behind her, nor was she aware as the driver slid out from behind the wheel and trod the bitumen to the passenger side of her car.

  A firm tap on the glass was the first indication she had of anyone’s presence.

  Anneke’s head swung towards the window, and even as her elbow moved in automatic reflex to punch down the central locking device the passenger door opened and Sebastian slid into the passenger seat.

  His eyes were dark, almost black, his expression grim and unrelenting.

  ‘Careless,’ he drawled. ‘Very careless.’

  ‘My knight in shining armour,’ Anneke mocked. Her eyes were sheer crystalline emerald.

  One day soon he would take that spitting tongue of hers and tame it. Was she aware just how close he was to doing it now?

  His eyes seared hers as he placed an arm along the top of her seat. ‘Co-operate, Anneke, and we’ll get along fine.’

  It was impossible to ignore the clean male smell of him, the faint aroma of aftershave. Just as it was impossible to dismiss the way her pulse tripped and raced to a quickened beat in his presence.

  ‘The moment the police discover the source of your nuisance calls,’ Sebastian assured her with a degree of cynicism, ‘you’re as free as a bird.’ His expression hardened. ‘Now, tell me where you’re going, what time you expect to return.’

  Her chin tilted and her eyes assumed a fiery brilliance. ‘What if I don’t?’

  ‘That was the first option,’ Sebastian said hardily. ‘The second is for me to tag along with you.’

  ‘Don’t be ridiculous!’

  ‘Choose, Anneke.’

  ‘And if I don’t have any set plans?’

  ‘The second option applies.’

  Why was she fighting him? She couldn’t win. He wouldn’t allow it.

  She took a deep breath, then slowly released it and handed him her mobile phone. ‘Press “redial”, and you’ll discover I was trying to reach you for the sole purpose of relaying my whereabouts on the Gold Coast and estimated time of return.’ When he didn’t take the phone, she hit the ‘redial’button and pressed the unit to his ear. ‘Except your number is ex-directory, and not even the citing of an emergency would reveal it.’

  She delved into her bag, pulled out a piece of paper and a pen and thrust them at him, watching as he stroked a series of digits, then handed back the paper.

  ‘Satisfied?’ she demanded.

  ‘Ring me when you leave the Coast.’

  It wasn’t negotiable, and she didn’t even bother to refuse him. Although it was impossible not to resort to sarcasm. ‘Do we synchronise our watches?’

  Sebastian cast her a look that was more expressive than mere words, then he reached for the door clasp and slid out from the seat. ‘Drive carefully.’

  He closed the door, then covered the distance to his Range Rover.

  Anneke watched him in the rear vision mirror, then she activated the ignition, eased the car onto the road.

  It should have been a wonderful day. The sun shone brightly in a clear azure sky. The temperature soared to a midsummer high. With only two weeks to go before Christmas, the shops bore colourful decorations and there was an air of expectancy among the many shoppers filling the malls and walkways.

  Christmas carols, and a store Santa handing out lollies and balloons to eager children added festive anticipatory cheer.

  Anneke had thought to spend Christmas with Aunt Vivienne, but now it appeared she’d be spending it alone.

  She could fly to Seattle, join her mother and stepfather for a ‘yours, mine and ours’ family Christmas.

  Or, alternatively, there was her father, happily ensconced in London, who would welcome her into his extended family.

  A small body careened into her legs, and she held onto the runaway child, soothing the little boy until a harassed and very pregnant young mother caught up to him.

  Within minutes her mobile phone rang, and after a moment’s hesitation she answered the call. There was a sense of relief to discover it was a friend from Sydney, wanting to exchange mutual news. Difficult in the face of that friendship not to reveal her whereabouts, although ‘the Gold Coast’ was hardly a fabrication. She simply didn’t add that she was only there for the day.

  Lunch comprised a salad sandwich washed down by mineral water in an upmarket café, and afterwards she selected a number of Christmas cards.

  Her mobile phone rang again while she hovered in a specialist boutique specialising in imported toiletries, and she gave the sales assistant a helpless shrug accompanied by
a faint smile, then moved to one side to gain a little privacy.

  ‘Anneke.’ The familiar male voice was quiet, almost restrained, but very clear on the line, and her stomach flipped as she gripped the phone.

  ‘Adam.’ Calm, keep calm. Act nonchalant, a tiny voice persisted.

  ‘Bitch,’ he hissed before she had a chance to disconnect the call. ‘No woman runs out on me.’

  ‘There’s a first time for everything,’ she said crisply. ‘Chalk it up to experience.’

  ‘Didn’t think I could find you, did you, sweetheart?’

  Relief, revulsion…both washed over her in realisation that Adam had been the source. ‘Making nuisance calls wasn’t very smart, Adam.’

  ‘Payback time,’ he dismissed. His voice lowered to a seductive drawl. ‘You should have played with me; we could have had a ball.’ He proceeded to explain his sexual preferences in graphic detail. ‘Pity, but I value my skin, and you’ve proven to be way too much trouble. Ciao, darling. Have a good life.’

  Anneke closed the phone and replaced it in her bag. She should, she silently castigated herself, have cut the connection as soon as she heard his voice. Now she simply felt angry, sickened, as his words echoed and reechoed inside her head.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  THE impetus to continue shopping was sadly lacking. She needed a different image, something to distract her from dwelling on Adam’s bitter invective.

  There was a multiple number of cinemas within the shopping complex. She’d go buy a ticket and choose a film to view.

  A film about the Titanic was currently showing, and it was after six when she entered the car park, located her car and slid in behind the wheel.

  Her mobile phone message-bank listed that two calls had been received during her cinema sojourn. One was from Sebastian, the other from the police. She contacted the duty sergeant at the designated number, who relayed the fact that trace on her aunt’s telephone had been successful, then contacted Sebastian.

  He picked up on the second ring. ‘Lanier.’

  A concise, deep voice that had the ability to raise goose-bumps on the surface of her skin.

  ‘Anneke.’ She barely paused a second. ‘I’m leaving now.’ She cut the connection, then switched on the ignition and eased the car down several floors to street level.

  The drive to Byron Bay was uneventful, and soon after crossing the Queensland-New South Wales border she passed paddocks high with mature sugar cane. Banana plantations dotted the distant rolling hills, and there were avocado farms, and rich, fertile soil revealing row upon row of pineapples.

  Dusk fell swiftly, the shadows lengthening and deepening as light gave way to dark, and it was almost nine when she pulled in beneath the carport adjacent her aunt’s cottage.

  She switched off the ignition, left her numerous purchases in the boot, then locked the car and trod the path to Sebastian’s back door.

  Five minutes, ten at the most, then she’d leave.

  The screen door was unlocked, and Shaef stood on the other side, tail swishing back and forth in welcome.

  Anneke knocked and entered the kitchen, then moved down the hall. Sebastian had had part of the wall between two bedrooms removed. A large executive desk complete with a state-of-the-art computer sat in the middle of one room, and the other was lined from floor to ceiling with bookshelves. In the centre of the room was a large antique buttoned leather armchair, with a matching ottoman, and a standard lamp. Combined, it made a large office-cum-library.

  He looked up from the sheaf of papers he was studying, and leaned back in his chair.

  ‘Take a seat.’ He indicated one of two sited on the other side of the desk.

  ‘I’d really prefer to keep this short.’

  He noted the weary curve of her shoulders, the faint lines of strain marring an otherwise smooth forehead.

  Shaef moved forward, nuzzled her hand, then slumped at her feet.

  Sebastian sent her a long, considering look. ‘Sit down.’

  ‘Still giving orders?’

  He ignored the sally, his eyes dark and far too discerning. ‘Have you eaten?’

  Food, in any shape or form, would probably make her ill. ‘I had something earlier.’ It wasn’t exactly a lie.

  ‘I’ll make some tea.’ He rose to his feet, crossed round the desk, then moved into the hall.

  Anneke could hear the distant sound of water flowing from a tap, the faint hum of an electric kettle as it heated, the chink of crockery.

  She closed her eyes. It had been a hell of a day. And it wasn’t over yet.

  Sebastian re-entered the room, saw the fringe of lashes touching each cheek, the pale, translucent skin.

  She was beat, and without doubt emotionally exhausted.

  He placed the cup and saucer near the edge of the desk, and watched her nostrils flare slightly as the aroma of bergamot teased the air. Her lashes lifted, then swept upwards in a slow, curving arc.

  ‘Thanks.’

  It was hot, heaven, and sweeter than she preferred. She took another appreciative sip, then put the cup carefully back onto the saucer.

  ‘I guess you know the police scored a positive trace to Adam’s mobile phone?’

  Sebastian leaned one hip against the edge of the desk. ‘Yes.’

  She tilted her head and looked at him. ‘Thank you for your concern.’ He deserved that. ‘And your help.’

  ‘As I recall, you weren’t too keen to accept either,’ Sebastian said drily.

  No, she hadn’t been. ‘You were very controlling.’

  One eyebrow rose, and his mouth curved with a tinge of humour. ‘I’m surprised you don’t add “manipulative”.’

  ‘That, too,’ Anneke agreed.

  ‘Did it ever occur to you to question why?’

  With just a few words their conversation had taken a subtle shift, and she wasn’t comfortable with the change. ‘Maybe we can continue this another time.’ She stood to her feet, and immediately wished she hadn’t, for it brought her much closer to him than she would have liked. ‘Although it really isn’t necessary, is it?’ She took a backward step, and missed the faint gleam of amusement apparent in those dark eyes.

  ‘You think not? Perhaps I’d better clarify it.’ He reached for her shoulders and pulled her forward until she stood anchored between his thighs. Then he slowly lowered his head and brushed his lips against her temple. ‘Are you beginning to get the picture?’

  One hand slid down her back and cupped her buttocks, while the other slipped up to hold fast her head.

  ‘Sebastian—’

  His lips feathered down to the edge of her mouth, lingered there, then teased a trail of light kisses along the full lower curve.

  ‘I don’t think this is a—’

  ‘Good idea?’ He slid his tongue between her lips and felt rather than heard her breath catch.

  ‘No,’ Anneke whispered, as her heart raced to a faster beat, and heat flared through her veins.

  His mouth was a soft caress as his hands moulded her close.

  A kiss, she told herself. That’s all it is. Why, she could even persuade herself that it didn’t mean anything. Nothing at all. Men had kissed her before, in friendship, affection, and with a lover’s passion.

  She lifted her hands and linked them together at his nape, then leant in against him to enjoy the sensation of closeness. And came seriously unstuck when his mouth firmed on her own.

  He’d kissed her before, as a questing, seeking experiment, and as a form of angry punishment.

  This, this was different. Very different. It was both possession and promise. And it made her feel terribly afraid.

  He had the touch, the instinctive skill of a man well versed in a woman’s needs. His hands, his fingers, knew when to glide, where to caress, to drive her wild.

  It was as if every sensitive nerve-end quivered in anticipation, then shrieked at each teasing stroke, every light pinch.

  Dear God, she was silk, her skin satin-smooth, and each e
rogenous zone reacted like fire to his touch. He wanted to free her beautiful body of the restriction of clothes, to explore each indentation, each curve, until she moaned with delight, then begged for release.

  That it would be him, only him she saw when he drove himself into her and made her his own. And him, only him, who had the power to take her to the brink, then tip her over the edge. He who held her tight and caught her when she fell.

  His fingers sought the clip fastening of her bra and deftly released it, then he slid his hand to cup the fullness of her breast, teased its hardened peak, then trailed his mouth down her throat to the creamy crest. And felt her resistance.

  What was she doing? This had gone way beyond mutual exploration, or mutual gratitude.

  Anneke could feel the evidence of his arousal, the hard potent shaft beneath the zip of his jeans as it pressed high against his belt. Sensual heat emanated from his skin, and the beat of his heart was hard and deep.

  His mouth settled on hers, persuasive, evocative and devastatingly sensual.

  It would be easy, so very easy to let him take her wherever he wanted to go. To give in to the magic he promised and just enjoy whatever the night might hold.

  Yet, no matter what the enticement, casual sex wasn’t her style.

  It took considerable effort to retreat, to drag her mouth from his and push herself to arm’s length. More to quieten her fast-beating heart and attempt to regain her breath.

  ‘I think,’ Anneke enunciated unevenly, ‘it would be best if I left. Now,’ she added, dropping her hands from his arms.

  ‘Best for whom?’

  ‘Me. You. Us,’ she added for good measure. ‘I mean, there is no us.’ This was getting worse with every passing second. ‘It’s just—’

  ‘Quit while you’re ahead,’ Sebastian advised gently, watching the fleeting change of expression chase across her features as she struggled for control.

  He could pull her close, wreak havoc with that beautiful mouth, and take her here. On the desk, the floor. It didn’t matter.

  And that was the part that bothered him. He’d always displayed finesse with a woman. Wining, dining, flowers, pretty compliments. Sex by mutual consent, albeit that it might be wild or restrained. Rarely had he felt the urge to tear clothes from a female body, abrade her skin with his mouth, his hands, and join himself with her like a plundering conqueror.