From Mistresses To Wives?

‘It crossed my mind,’ he admitted.

‘Anything to keep your cousin from gaining an advantage. I gather there might not be a lot of love lost between the two of you?’

Zac’s jaw tautened a fraction. ‘Let’s just say we hold very different viewpoints.’

‘With regard to business?’

‘With regard to most things.’

The two top logs fell in, sending a burst of flame up the chimney. Jessica stirred herself as Zac rose with the obvious intention of adding another log from the pile stacked in an alcove to one side of the fireplace.

‘Don’t bother for me. I’m ready for bed. Alone,’ she added with purpose.

‘What else?’ he returned mockingly. ‘Sleep well, green eyes!’

The way she felt right now, it was unlikely, she acknowledged, making her way from the room. He’d been right earlier: she did ache. And it wasn’t going to go away.

Yet another restless night left her feeling decidedly sluggish. A shower went some way towards reviving her, but the thought of several more hours in the Prescotts’ company was no help.

The April sun was welcome after yesterday’s rain, the view from the bedroom window over rolling Dorset countryside very different from the one she’d left in Majorca, though no less captivating. She could well understand why the Prescotts had chosen to spend their retirement in this part of the country.

It was probably doubtful though that Esther would stay on alone here after her husband had gone. The house was too big for two, much less one. Taking into account the fact that women usually lived a piece longer than men to start with, and her apparent good health at present, it was possible that she was facing a good many years without him. Not a happy prospect.

She gave Zac no opportunity to reply when Henry Prescott asked at breakfast how long they would be staying.

‘I’m afraid I couldn’t get any time off,’ she said, deploring her newfound facility for spur-of-the-moment concoction. ‘I have to be at work tomorrow. Of course, Zac doesn’t have to leave too.’

‘You could ring through and ask for another couple of days,’ Zac suggested smoothly.

‘The sooner you get back, the sooner you can start on the wedding arrangements,’ said his grandfather. The gaze he rested on Jessica’s face was deliberative. ‘Will your parents want to be involved in the arrangements?’

More lies coming up, she thought unhappily, searching her mind for some adequate response.

‘In the circumstances, I think it’s going to be simpler all round if we handle it ourselves,’ Zac put in.

‘No Register Office,’ Henry asserted. ‘Brady was married in church, the right and proper way!’

Zac’s face remained impassive. ‘I understand church weddings have to be booked months in advance.’

The expression that flickered across the older eyes gave Jessica the impression that he’d actually forgotten the shortage of time for a moment or two, though he sounded quite steady when he answered.

‘It seems the Register Office it might have to be, then.’

He left it at that, to Jessica’s relief. She couldn’t have taken very much more without blurting out the truth.

‘This is going from bad to worse!’ she berated when she managed to get Zac in his own for a few minutes. ‘Your grandfather’s no fool. If he isn’t already suspicious, he’s going to be before long!’

‘He doesn’t have long,’ Zac reminded her. ‘His heart could give out any minute.’

‘And if by chance he continues to defy the odds?’

‘Then I’ll simply have to face the music. What time were you considering leaving?’ he added with irony.

Jessica made a helpless gesture. ‘I don’t know. Two? Three?’

‘Let’s make it three. We should be in London by six-thirty—seven at the latest. Plenty of time to find you a hotel.’ He reached out unexpectedly to smooth a stray curl of chestnut hair into place, his smile mocking her involuntary reaction. ‘Then it’s goodbye.’

‘Yes.’

She could think of nothing else to say. In a few hours he would be gone from her life. She could tell herself she was glad of it, but it wouldn’t be wholly true. Faultless he wasn’t, unforgettable he might very well prove to be.

Henry was quiet over lunch, his thoughts obviously turned inward. It couldn’t be easy to come to terms with the knowledge of impending death at any age, Jessica reflected. Personally, she would prefer to be left in ignorance.

Taking her leave of him later, she could hardly bring herself to look him in the eye. When he kissed her cheek, and thanked her for taking the time and trouble to make the trip, she felt like a traitor.

‘This has been the worst experience of my life!’ she said with feeling in the car.

‘I’d have thought finding Paul in bed with another woman ran it pretty close?’ Zac returned.

The anticipated stab failed to penetrate very deeply. She hadn’t thought about Paul much at all this past couple of days. There had been far too many other things on her mind.

‘That was different,’ she declared. ‘It’s also history.’

‘No chance then, of you going back to him?’

‘None,’ she said flatly. ‘Why the interest anyway?’

Zac’s shrug was brief.

His seeming indifference stung. Yet what else might she expect from him? Jessica asked herself. Despite what he’d said last night, her role had only ever been temporary.

As predicted, they were in London by six-thirty. Zac insisted on booking a room at the Savoy for two nights. They took their leave in the foyer. Jessica forced a level tone.

‘I can’t say it’s been a pleasure, because it hasn’t.’

The expression that sprang in the grey eyes was a warning in itself, but short of creating a scene, there was no escape. It took everything she had to stay unresponsive to a kiss that stirred every vital inner part of her.

Zac said nothing when he released her at last, but simply turned on his heel and headed for the main doors. She didn’t wait to see him disappear through them.

Chapter Four

THE double room was luxurious, the bathroom big enough to hold a dance in. Under other circumstances, Jessica would have thoroughly enjoyed the experience of staying in one of the city’s top hotels. As it was, it meant little.

Unpacking was no priority. Especially when she’d only be here a couple of days. Reluctant to venture downstairs to eat, she ordered a light meal from room service. Looking back while she waited for it to arrive, she regretted giving up her job in Gloucester. Seeing Paul and her replacement together had been humiliating, true, but she should have stuck it out.

The evening wore on. She ate the beautifully prepared prawn salad and watched a little television, although she couldn’t have said just what she was watching. The hunger growing in her had nothing to do with food. It was Zac she craved for.

When the knock came on the door, she assumed it must be a valet or someone calling to see if there was anything else she needed. She went reluctantly to answer it, heart leaping into her throat on seeing who was standing there.

Zac didn’t wait for an invitation, kicking the door shut behind him as he took hold of her. Jessica melted into the passionate embrace, returning fire for fire, all rational thought suspended. She leaned against him helplessly when he finally lifted his head.

‘I couldn’t do it,’ he said roughly.

‘Do what?’ she managed.

‘Let you go.’ He put his lips to her temple where the hair clung. ‘Not with so much to be resolved between us.’

Jessica made a supreme effort to bring her mind to bear on the words rather than the actions.

‘Such as what exactly?’ she whispered.

‘The future,’ he said. ‘Our future.’

‘We don’t have a future.’

‘We could.’ His tone softened. ‘Marry me, Jessica.’

The shock of it struck her dumb for several moments. She gazed at him blankly.

‘What game are you playing now?’ she got out.

‘I’m serious,’ he said. ‘I want you to marry me.’

Green eyes darkened. ‘Just to make sure of a few shares?’

Zac shook his head. ‘Not just the shares. Not just to satisfy grandfather either.’

‘Oh, then it must be love, of course!’ The sarcasm was a defence of sorts. ‘Three days to fall head over heels!’

‘The time is irrelevant,’ he said. ‘We belong together.’

‘You can’t say that!’ Her voice had a crack in it. ‘You know almost nothing about me!’

‘I know all I need to know.’ The determination was there in his eyes, in the set of his jaw. ‘I won’t give up on this, Jess. The way you responded just now, you can hardly claim to have no feelings at all for me.’

‘There are feelings and feelings,’ she said, battling her weaker instincts. ‘What we have isn’t love.’

Something flickered deep down in the greyness, but his tone didn’t alter. ‘It can be part of it. A very vital part.’

Jessica steeled herself as he put his lips to hers again, but there was no resisting the surging response, no shutting out the inner voice urging her to let matters take their own course. She found her fingers easing the suit jacket from his back, dropping it to the floor to seek the buttons of his shirt with an urgency echoed in his own dextrous movements.

Her nipples sprang to his touch as both blouse and bra joined his garments on the floor, the ache increasing to almost unbearable proportions when Zac lowered his head to run the very tip of his tongue over the tender flesh. Her skirt slid all the way down her legs, leaving her nude but for the flimsy lace panties that were no barrier against the gentle caress.

She buried her face in the broad expanse of his chest as he swung her up in his arms to carry her across to the wide, canopied bed. Laid there, she watched through slitted eyes as he stood back to remove the rest of his clothing, stirred to even greater depths by the sleek muscularity of waist and hip, the masculine strength in the taut thighs. Already fully aroused, he was magnificent—the essence of manhood in all its prime. Jessica had never wanted anything as much as she wanted what was about to happen between them right now.

She reached for him eagerly, wantonly, as he lowered himself to her side, hearing his sharp intake of breath at the exquisite sensation. With Zac she felt no restriction, just an overpowering desire to explore every inch of the superb male body—to open herself to his exploration—to have him inside her, a part of her.

Zac kissed her again before removing the scrap of material that was the only hindrance left. His touch was delicate, parting the quivering flesh to find the warm, welcoming softness within—drawing a gasp from her own lips as he delved her secret depths. Back arching, face constricted, she gave herself up to the movement, the cry torn from her as she climaxed smothered as he claimed her lips once more.

‘For you,’ he said softly. ‘Now this is for both of us.’

He played her like a violin, his lips and tongue wreaking havoc in their exploration of her whole body, making her writhe in an ecstasy of sensation. She wrapped her arms about the broad shoulders as they merged at last, lost to everything but the moment. They reached the summit in perfect unison, collapsing together to lie in suspended animation while the world steadied around them again.

It took the sudden chill when Zac lifted his weight from her to fetch Jessica back from the land of milk and honey. He didn’t go far, propping himself on an elbow the way he had done that very first night, the smile on his lips echoed in his eyes as he viewed her.

‘I owe you an apology,’ he said. ‘I’m afraid the practicalities went completely from mind. Not a habit of mine, I assure you.’

‘If you’re worried about me being pregnant, you don’t need to be,’ she murmured. She searched the hard-boned features uncertainly, trying, without success, to read the mind behind the grey eyes.

‘What are you thinking?’ he asked softly.

‘That most people offered the same opportunity would probably grab it with both hands,’ she admitted.

‘It isn’t an offer I’d consider making to most people.’

‘Then why me in particular?’

Zac studied her arresting face, framed by the spread of chestnut curls over the pillow, dropping his gaze down the curvaceous length of her body and back again with another slow smile. ‘I’d say the answer to that was pretty obvious.’

‘I don’t have anything a thousand other women don’t have,’ she insisted.

‘I haven’t had dealings with a thousand other women,’ he returned equably. ‘Anyway, there’s a lot more to it than just looks. The spark was there from the word go. All it needed was the match.’

‘I’d as soon do without the clichés,’ she retorted, evoking a swift grin.

‘There go some of my best lines!’

Looking into the laughing grey eyes, Jessica felt as if a hand had gripped her heart. It would be so easy to love this man. Why on earth was she hesitating?’

Easy to love, maybe, came the answer, but what about trust? Was it really her he wanted, or just a means to an end?

‘Your grandfather…’ she began, and saw the laughter fade, his mouth take on a straighter line.

‘I can’t pretend he isn’t a factor, but only insofar as the time element is concerned.’

Jessica kept her tone level. ‘You mean, you’d still want me to marry you if he died tonight?’

Zac returned her gaze without a flicker. ‘I’ve never been against marriage itself. I just never met anyone I could contemplate being with on any permanent basis before.’

‘Which you can with me?’

‘Very much so.’

What was she waiting for? Jessica asked herself. How many times in her life was she going to be offered all that Zac could give her? There might be little real depth to what they felt for each other as yet, but that could be true of many a marriage in its early stages.

‘All right,’ she said recklessly. ‘Let’s do it!’

She closed her eyes as his mouth sought hers again.

Waking at first light to see a head on the pillow next to her, Jessica thought for a fleeting moment that she was back in the flat with Paul. Memory brought little reassurance. Last night had been sheer madness! How could she possibly contemplate marrying a man she barely knew?

Judging from his steady breathing, Zac was still deeply asleep. She slid slowly and carefully from the bed, and pulled on her cotton wrap, standing for a moment to gather herself.

The scattering of clothing across the floor bore mute testimony to just how wild a night it had been. She followed the trail, gathering the garments up as she went. A bare week ago she hadn’t even known Zac Prescott existed!

It wasn’t going to happen, of course. Zac would have second thoughts too in the cold light of day. What he needed to do this morning was go back to Dorset and clear things up. His grandfather might be angry enough to do as his grandmother had intimated, but that was a chance he would simply have to take.

As to herself, she would be doing as originally planned and taking advantage of Leonie’s offer. If the idea held little appeal, that was something she was just going to have to live with.

She was standing at the window looking out at the river scene when the strong male arms encircled her waist.

‘Why didn’t you waken me?’ Zac asked softly, nuzzling her ear. ‘I know a far better stimulant than coffee!’

‘Don’t men ever think of anything else?’ Jessica jerked out.

‘Depends on the place, the time and the incentive,’ came the undaunted answer. ‘Particularly the last. I can’t have enough of you!’

Gritting her teeth, she put the coffee cup down on the sill. ‘You’ve had all of me you’re going to get.’

He gave a low laugh. ‘That’s fighting talk, lady!’

‘I mean it!’ She caught at the hand sliding between the edges of her wrap, knowing if he touched her the way he was aiming to do she’d be lost. ‘Let go of me, Zac! I want you to let go of me!’

He did so immediately, standing back with hands raised in mock defence as she turned to face him. He was wearing one of the white towelling robes from the bathroom. It gaped at the chest, revealing the wiry thicket of dark hair she had found such a stimulant last night. She ran the tip of her tongue over lips gone dry, desisting abruptly on seeing the look in the grey eyes as they followed the movement.

Zac put his hands down and leaned against the nearby chest of drawers. His regard was devoid now of humour. ‘So, why the change of mind?’ he asked. ‘You were all for it last night.’

‘Not all.’ Jessica did her best to at least sound in control. ‘I let my better judgement be put aside for a time, but I knew deep down that it couldn’t possibly work out.’

‘Give me reasons why not,’ he said levelly.

‘Because it would be for all the wrong reasons. The only thing we have in common is sexual attraction.’

‘Not true. Not from my side, at any rate. As I told you last night, there’s a whole lot more to you than a face and body. I like being with you. I was under the impression that you felt much the same way about me.’

‘It isn’t enough,’ she declared. ‘You’ve no idea what love is.’

Zac studied her with a certain cynicism. ‘Are you all that sure you do?’

About to return a short sharp affirmative, Jessica caught herself up. Did she though? If she’d truly loved Paul, would she have got over him as fast as she appeared to have done? Would she have even considered marrying another man within a few weeks?

‘I know enough to be sure that what we have isn’t anywhere near it,’ she said at length.

‘Maybe not yet. We can learn together.’ Zac hadn’t moved from his position, but there was nothing indolent about him. ‘I’m not giving up on this, Jess!’

She looked back at him helplessly, rent by opposing forces. Dark hair tousled, jawline shadowed, the towelling robe that was so obviously his only covering on the verge of falling all the way open, he stirred every part of her.

Zac settled the conflict by reaching for her, drawing her close to kiss her with a passion she couldn’t hold out against. She felt the swift sure touch of his hands at the tie belt of her wrap, then the garment came loose, exposing her to the exquisite sensation of skin to skin; tying her innards in knots that could only be untangled one way.

‘Come back to bed,’ he murmured.

Whatever doubts she still harboured deep down, the rapture to be found in Zac’s arms was more than a match for them. Lying utterly drained afterwards, she could only compare what she felt like right now with what she’d known in the past. With no other experience to draw on, she had taken it that Paul’s self-interest was typical of all men. Zac had certainly rid her of that notion. Her pleasure was so obviously as important to him as his own.

No more hesitation, she resolved. If this wasn’t love, it was certainly heading that way. They had the rest of their lives to get to know one another.

Her objections to ordering breakfast for two via room service were rendered invalid when Zac informed her that he’d booked the room in the name of Mr and Mrs Prescott.

‘You were so sure of me?’ she said.

‘Sure I wasn’t going to give you up without one hell of a struggle,’ he returned. ‘I left you to save a scene in the foyer, that’s all.’

‘Then created one kissing me the way you did,’ she accused.

‘A mere parting gesture between husband and wife. A little premature, perhaps, but good practice for the future.’

Jessica had to smile. ‘I’ll remind you of that the first time you forget.’

‘See me off the same way every morning, and there’s no chance!’

There was something in that statement that bothered her a little, but the thought passed from mind as she contemplated the more immediate future. Mrs Zachary Prescott! Who would ever have believed it?

She opted for coffee and croissants from room service, watching in some bemusement as Zac demolished a full English breakfast.

‘How do you manage to keep so fit if you eat like that every day?’ she queried.

‘I don’t,’ he said. ‘Not every day. I just happen to have a need for extra sustenance this morning.’ The grey eyes crinkled at the corners. ‘Can’t imagine why!’

‘It’s going to be difficult telling Leonie about us,’ she said. ‘She thinks I gave you the brush-off.’

‘So, I refused to be brushed off.’

‘But aren’t you going to feel rather…awkward? I mean, considering the circumstances?’

Zac gave her a speculative glance. ‘Anything that’s taken place between Leonie and me happened before I knew you even existed. You must know her well enough to have a fair idea of her reaction. She’ll be surprised, naturally, but she’ll take it in her stride. She takes everything in her stride.’

Jessica could agree with that assessment up to a point. She’d yet to see her cousin thrown by events. Only this was surely a case on its own.

‘Just how much do I tell her?’ she queried.

Zac lifted his shoulders. ‘I see no need to bring Grandfather into it.’

‘Not even to explain why we’re getting married in such a hurry?’

‘We don’t have to explain it,’ he said. ‘It’s entirely our own affair. We’ll start the ball rolling this morning.’ He paused. ‘What about your parents?’

What about them? she almost asked, biting it back to say instead, ‘I’ll be contacting them, of course.’

Dark brows lifted. ‘Contacting?’

Jessica met his gaze with an equability she was far from feeling. ‘I haven’t seen all that much of them since the divorce. They live opposite ends of the country now.’

‘It’s hardly that big a country.’ Zac studied her thoughtfully. ‘What kind of a relationship did you have with them before the divorce?’

‘Not terribly close,’ she admitted. ‘They spent most of the time at loggerheads with each other.’

‘With you in the middle.’

‘On the periphery. I learned to stay out of it as much as possible.’

‘Could be things might have been better all round if they’d divorced a great deal earlier than they did.’

‘They probably would have done if it hadn’t been for the hotel. Finally, even that failed to keep them together.’

The grey eyes held an empathic expression. ‘It sounds as if you had a hellish childhood.’

‘Not really,’ she said. ‘They were never hard, just a bit indifferent.’ She hesitated. ‘How’s your mother going to react to all this?’

His smile was brief. ‘She’ll be happy enough once she’s met you. She always wanted a daughter.’

A daughter-in-law was hardly the same thing, Jessica reflected. ‘You must miss your father a great deal still,’ she said.’

‘Yes, I do. He’d have liked you,’ he added. ‘Grandfather does.’

‘With some reservations,’ she suggested lightly.

‘True.’ The smile this time was teasing. ‘You’re a mite too lippy at times, he thinks, but that’s up to me to do something about.’

‘I’ll make a note to be properly subservient the next time we see him.’ Jessica sobered again at the thought of how little time he might have.

‘How long is it since your cousin Brady got married?’ she asked after a moment.

‘Nearly a year.’ Zac had sobered too. ‘His wife is pregnant, hence the increased pressure on me to at least make a move toward following suit.’ He paused, regard veiled. ‘Were you serious about wanting children yourself?’

Jessica lifted her shoulders, hardly knowing which way to answer. ‘It isn’t something I’ve ever given any thought to. I just told your grandfather what I believed he’d want to hear.’

‘Right.’ There was no telling what his own thoughts on the subject might be. He put down his knife and fork and pushed back his chair. ‘We’d better get moving.’

Jessica made the appropriate answer, only too happy to put the question from mind. She would need to be a whole lot more certain of the long-term future before she gave it any consideration at all.