Mistresses: Bound with Gold / Bought with Emeralds

She extricated herself from him with a feeling of awkwardness. ’Sorry about that.’ She felt breathless as she met his eyes, as if the air was knocked out of her body.

He smiled. ‘I told you the ground was slippery.’

Caitlin looked away from the amused glint in his eyes. She hated it when people said I told you so. And why had she imagined it pleasurable to be close to him? He was the most irritating type of man you could wish to meet.

She walked ahead of him towards his car, picking her way with care, determined not to need any further assistance. The water on the road flooded over her shoes, penetrating inside to her feet, making them squelch as she stepped up onto the running board of his silver fourwheel drive.

‘Is this really the sunny south of France?’ she muttered once they were safely inside the car.

Ray smiled. ‘When it rains here it usually does the job properly. That’s why it’s lush and beautiful.’

‘Is it?’ Caitlin stared out of the windscreen at the dark watery surroundings. ‘I’ll have to take your word for it.’

There was a certain feeling of security being inside this car, it was higher off the ground than Caitlin’s and the leather interior was warm and comfortable. She watched as Ray engaged the gears before negotiating a steep turn in the road. Then as the narrow track widened their way was barred by a gate.

‘This marks the boundary between your land and mine,’ he said, stopping the vehicle.

‘So to get to your property you have to drive through mine?’ she asked frowning. ‘Isn’t that a bit unusual?’

‘There are several entrances to my estate—this is just a back route—but I do have a right of way,’ Ray muttered. ‘However it is an inconvenience…and that is one of the reasons I wanted to buy Murdo’s property from him last year. I made him a very generous offer, in fact, when I was visiting him in England. But then I suppose you already know all about that.’

‘No.’ Caitlin frowned. ‘I had no idea.’

‘Well, my offer was substantial, which was why I was very surprised when he turned it down and then left the place to you instead.’

Caitlin suddenly understood the barbed note in his tone. Ray had wanted Murdo’s land. She shifted uncomfortably in her seat. ‘His will came as a surprise to me as well.’

‘Really.’

‘Yes, really.’ Caitlin frowned. ‘I don’t know what you are trying to imply but I don’t much care for your tone, Ray.’

He made no reply to that, but instead got out of the car. She watched him in the beam from the headlights as he opened the five-bar gate that blocked their way.

Was he insinuating that she had somehow persuaded Murdo into leaving his house to her? The idea was abhorrent.

Caitlin didn’t know why Murdo had left her his property. She had been stunned when the letter had arrived from the solicitor. But the fact that it had happened at a time when she had reached a crossroads in her life had been like a pointer sent from above and she hadn’t spent a lot of time analysing it.

Yes, it was an overly generous gift, but she certainly hadn’t influenced him into giving her anything. The suggestion was insulting.

Ray got back into the car and drove on through the gates. There was a tense silence between them as they continued on up the long winding road, until suddenly Caitlin couldn’t stand it any longer. ‘Look, I don’t blame you for being a bit miffed that Murdo left his land to me instead of selling it to you. I know your friendship with him goes back years and I’m a stranger by comparison, but I assure you that the decision had nothing to do with me and I certainly didn’t entice Murdo to leave me anything.’

‘I never said you did,’ Ray said quietly. ‘Although the word entice is an interesting choice. And you were…shall we say…rather unsuitably dressed for work when I first saw you…’

Remembering the scanty top and shorts that she had been wearing when she’d answered the door that day made Caitlin’s face flare with colour. ‘You’ve completely misread the situation. That was my day off.’

‘And you usually went around to Murdo’s house on your day off dressed like that…did you?’

The calm question sent Caitlin’s temper soaring. ‘No, I did not! I was around there like that because I had been summoned urgently and I thought it was an emergency. But in fact he’d only sent for me because you were there.’

‘Because I was there?’ Ray sounded baffled.

‘Well…yes…He had this weird idea that…’ Caitlin trailed off, too embarrassed to go any further.

‘Weird idea about what?’ Ray glanced over at her.

She shrugged. ‘Well, you must have known…he thought that…you and I would make a good couple.’

‘You’re not serious!’ There was silence for a moment and then Ray started to laugh. The warm sound of complete amusement grated on Caitlin’s nerves.

‘Yes, all right, Ray, we both know it’s absurd. I don’t much like you and you don’t like me.’

‘No, in fairness I have never disliked you, Caitlin,’ Ray said, shaking his head. ‘I’ve always thought you were very attractive, in fact…for a little gold-digger.’

‘Right, that’s it, turn the car around,’ Caitlin demanded furiously.

‘Why?’

The calm question made Caitlin fizz inside like a firecracker ready to explode. ‘Why? Because I would rather spend the night in a rundown house with no electricity than one more moment with you in this car, let alone the night under your roof. You are rude and and…insensitive and I absolutely detest you. That’s why.’

‘I’m not turning the car around,’ he said, without losing a shred of his cool detachment. ‘So if you want to go back to Murdo’s house you’ll have to walk.’

Caitlin stared out at the dark wild night lit every now and then by the bright flicker of lightning and, as much as she didn’t like Ray, she decided that walking wasn’t an option. ‘I’ll phone for a taxi, then.’

‘Please yourself. But no taxi will come up here in this weather. So I think you are stuck with me for tonight.’

Caitlin’s hands curved into tight fists and she felt her nails digging into her skin. ‘Well, I suppose I’ll have to put up with you, then,’ she muttered tightly.

‘I suppose you will,’ he said with a hint of amusement in his tone.

The drive turned and through the rain an impressive building came into view, its windows spilling welcoming light out into the darkness. It was the kind of château that you would see in the pages of glossy magazines, quintessentially French with fairy-tale turrets at either side of the long straight edifice. Caitlin couldn’t help wondering why he was so bothered about the dilapidated house down the road when he owned this palatial spread.

He parked by the front door. ‘I’ll get your case. You run ahead, the door will be unlocked.’

Caitlin did as he asked and hurried through the rain, almost tumbling in through the front door as an almighty roar of thunder cracked the air. It was a relief to be out of that weather and away from the close proximity of Ray Pascal. How dared he suggest that she was some kind of gold-digger? She was still reeling with shock at the horrible accusation.

Apprehensively she glanced around at her surroundings. The house was as impressive inside as it had been outside. She was standing in a wide flagged entrance hall and through an archway she could see a stone fireplace where a log fire crackled invitingly. Drawn towards the warmth of the fire, she went into the room. It was like something out of a film set. Pale orange sofas were placed strategically at either side of the huge fireplace and a staircase led up to a wooden gallery that encircled the room. Caitlin walked over and stood with her back to the fire as she admired the antique furniture, the crystal lamps that sent out a delicate warm glow, the vases of fresh flowers, the writing bureau placed by the window.

It was a large house for one man to live in alone and Caitlin wondered fleetingly if there was a serious woman in his life. Murdo hadn’t seemed to think so, but then Murdo couldn’t know everything. All right Ray had been widowed in his twenties, but he was about thirty-eight now she reckoned. It was a long time for a man to be on his own.

One thing was certain: Murdo had been absolutely crazy to think she and Ray were suited.

Ray came into the house carrying her case. She watched as he put it down to hang up his jacket, muscles rippling through the thin cotton of his shirt. She was willing to bet her last penny that there was no shortage of women falling into his arms or his bed…

‘Have you eaten?’ he asked, turning and catching her eye.

She shook her head.

‘Okay, I’ll show you up to your room and you can get out of those wet things while I rummage through the kitchen and see what is in the cupboards. Unfortunately my housekeeper is having some time off so you’ll have to suffer my cooking.’

‘I don’t want anything to eat,’ she said with stiff politeness. ’So if you don’t mind I think I’ll just turn in.’

‘Of course you want something to eat. You must be starving.’ He came closer. ‘I’m sorry I said I thought you were a gold-digger, okay, so can we just drop the Ms Iceberg act now?’

The casual tone of his apology did little to cool her annoyance with him. ‘No, it’s not okay actually,’ she said stonily. ‘That was a very insulting remark.’

He shrugged. ‘You know you can’t blame me for thinking what I did. Murdo never stopped extolling your virtues and telling me how beautiful you were. I wanted to talk to him about business and all he could talk about was you. I thought he was in love with you.’

‘He was sixty-five. I’m twenty-nine,’ Caitlin said rigidly.

‘Your point being?’ Ray enquired lightly.

‘That’s disgusting.’

Ray shrugged. ‘You wouldn’t be the first twenty-nine year old to capture an older—rich—man’s heart.’

‘I was engaged to be married,’ Caitlin said furiously.

‘Murdo made no secret of the fact that he didn’t like your fiancé.’

Caitlin’s heart thumped uncomfortably against her chest. She had always thought Murdo’s dislike of David had been irrational—after all, he’d hardly known the guy. But in light of recent discoveries it seemed Murdo had been right all along.

‘You can’t blame me for wondering what was going on,’ Ray said.

‘That’s your suspicious mind; there was nothing going on!’

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.

Конец ознакомительного фрагмента.

Текст предоставлен ООО «ЛитРес».

Прочитайте эту книгу целиком, купив полную легальную версию на ЛитРес.

Безопасно оплатить книгу можно банковской картой Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, со счета мобильного телефона, с платежного терминала, в салоне МТС или Связной, через PayPal, WebMoney, Яндекс.Деньги, QIWI Кошелек, бонусными картами или другим удобным Вам способом.