Chapter Five #3
‘You’re up.’ He pushed himself away from the desk and folded his hands behind his head.
She looked fresh and very, very young. Her pale hair flowed over one shoulder and caught the sun pouring through the huge windows, brightening the strands to a silvery white.
She looked wholesome and sexy at the same time, although he was certain that she was utterly unaware of how appealing the combination was.
* * *
‘I’m sorry I overslept. How long have you been up?’
‘Three hours.’
‘You should have woken me.’ But she was relieved that he hadn’t. She shied away from thinking about him shaking her until she opened drowsy eyes and looked at him, both in the same bed, warm from their shared body heat. ‘I’m ready to go now, anyway.’
‘Breakfast?’
‘I’m not hungry.’ She was starving but nobly decided to ignore her hunger rather than risk those cool, assessing eyes watching her as she tucked into a plate full of food.
‘Sure?’
Sammy nodded, walking towards her handbag, which she had left in the sitting area on a chair. She stole a sideways glance at him as he rose elegantly to follow her to the door, casting a last look at the suite before opening the door for her.
She could see why he was taking her shopping. Next to him, her clothes shrieked bargain basement and whilst he really didn’t seem to mind what kind of clothes she chose to wear, he certainly cared about the price of them.
Outside, she breathed in the heat, revelling in the sun as it poured down on her shoulders, and, as they were ferried to the most expensive shopping street in the city, she looked left and right at the enormous diversity of the architecture.
Old and new jostled side by side. Coffee shops spilled onto pavements. There were elements of the past in the gracious Victorian buildings and arcades and elements of the ultra-modern in spacious glass and chrome buildings that housed offices and shops.
The yellow taxis and glimpses of trams held her rapt attention because it was all so different in ways she couldn’t quite put her finger on.
They entered an ornate arcade and he took her hand in his, linking his fingers with hers.
It didn’t matter how many times she reminded herself that this was a business arrangement, she still couldn’t stop herself from reacting to him and she was doing it now.
Heat flooded her body and she knew that her face was red because all she could focus on was the feel of his cool fingers entwined with hers.
They hit the first shop, which, under normal circumstances, would have been way out of her price range. She didn’t need to peruse the racks of clothes to establish that. She could tell at a glance from the lack of price tags and the elegant glacial beauty of the two shop assistants.
It was a large boutique, white and clinical, with a high-tech spiral staircase leading to an upper area.
Sammy hesitated by the door and felt him gently tug her in. ‘Where’s the excitement?’ he murmured, leaning down, his breath warm against her ear.
‘I’m not sure this is the sort of place that would stock anything I would like...’
‘You haven’t looked.’
‘I can tell from the racks.’ She smiled weakly at the saleswoman whose eyes briefly scanned her then moved on to Leo.
‘Nonsense!’ He firmly ushered her forward and Sammy watched, entranced, as he charmed the blonde beauty.
Somewhere along the line, she got the impression that the other woman had recognised him, although, of course, it would have been totally out of order for her to have said anything.
The actress he had dated was world famous.
It wouldn’t have surprised her if half of Melbourne recognised him.
‘Now, darling...’ he turned to her, dark eyes shielded ‘...take your pick.’ He leaned down and gently cupped the side of her face in his hand, his fingers grazing her hair, which was as soft as silk and smelled of flowers.
He lingered for a few seconds, startled by how much he was enjoying the feel of it, slippery under his fingers.
‘If you feel the clothes here are a little too modern or revealing for you, then say the word.’
She was only twenty-six years old but he made her feel like a granny.
Who could blame him, though? There was no denying her outfits had an old-fashioned flavour about them.
It was brought sharply home to her just how much she had grown accustomed to hiding her figure behind baggy and unrevealing clothes.
Comfort dressing was obviously a habit that she had become used to.
The soothing, patronising tone of his voice got her back up and she pursed her lips before smiling tightly at the shop assistant.
‘Why don’t you go and have a wander?’ She reached up on tiptoe to cup his face just as he had done hers, going one step further and pressing her lips against his cheek.
‘You don’t want to spend your time sitting here looking at your watch while I try on outfits, do you? That’ll be really boring for you.’
The show of loving familiarity was all for the benefit of their attentive spectators but Sammy still wasn’t prepared when he curved both arms around her and drew her closely against him, angling her so that their bodies were neatly pressed together, his legs squarely planted apart to accommodate her between them.
Breathless, Sammy’s eyes widened. Her whole body tingled and she was aware of herself, of every tiny pore and every strand of fine hair on her skin, in a way she had never been in her life before.
She shivered, as helpless in his embrace as a leaf being whipped along in a force ten gale.
Instinctively, she leaned into him, overwhelmed with a sudden craving that shook her to the very core.
This was much more than a kiss—this was the feel of his hard masculinity against her and it sent flames of desire licking through every part of her body.
Panicked, she flattened her hands against his chest but she wasn’t allowed to push him back.
With a deep-throated growl of masculine satisfaction, Leo kissed her.
He wasn’t into public displays of any sort, least of all when there was an audience, and there was very much an audience in the shop. Indeed, he had heard the sound of the door opening as more people entered but even that was not sufficient incentive to tear himself away from her.
What had started out as a little lesson to teach her that if she wanted to touch him to make a point then he was going to touch her right back to make an even bigger point had turned into something altogether different.
Way too different.
He drew back, releasing her abruptly, and it took a few seconds for his sudden withdrawal to register and, when it did, Sammy stepped smartly back, shaken to the core.
How had that happened? How had she let it happen? For a few long, long moments it had felt as though that kiss were the real thing, as though he were a real boyfriend. She just hoped that he hadn’t sensed it. She smiled brightly at him but her eyes were unfocused.
Leo was looking at her narrowly. Had she intended to draw him into that kiss? His instinct was to have said no, but the way she had responded, throwing herself into it...
He had felt the yielding softness of her body beneath the cheap cotton dress, had felt the fullness of her breasts pushing against him.
She had known just how to get to him with that little teasing taunt, just how to up the ante so that, for a minute there, he had well and truly lost sight of the fact that she wasn’t one of his lovers.
She made a big song and dance about not liking the world of money, paparazzi and untold luxury into which she had been thrown but he knew women and he had never met one whose head hadn’t been turned by the glimmer of what his money could buy them.
In fairness, most of them had needed no persuasion to kick back and enjoy what he could give them, but because she had started reluctant didn’t mean that she would end up that way.
He hoped she wouldn’t start getting ideas because that would be inconvenient.
And, just in case she did, even if the thought was just a shadow, a barely formulated shadow at the back of her brain, then he would have to cool the shows of ardour.
Certainly no more loss of self-control, which was what had regrettably happened just then.
‘I like the way you’re learning to play to the audience,’ he murmured, low enough for her to hear and with an intimate smile that would convey to anyone who might be looking that sweet nothings were being whispered. Typical of a couple besotted with one another.
‘Learning to play... Yes, well.’
‘You’re a quick study.’ He dealt her a slashing smile and she smiled tightly back.
‘No more cold war. No more protesting... I like it. It’ll make this a whole lot easier.
’ He stood back and smiled at the saleswoman, who was managing to keep her distance without losing her quarry.
‘Take care of her.’ He gave her a little reassuring squeeze and waited until the blonde had approached them with an ingratiating smile.
‘Darling—’ Sammy looked up at him with a smile that oozed sugary sweetness ‘—don’t make me sound so helpless!’ She patted his cheek and their eyes met—hers blue, pushing the boundaries, his dark, knowing just what she was up to.
‘I can’t think of anyone less helpless than you,’ Leo murmured with heartfelt sincerity. ‘I’ll return for you in an hour. Think that will be long enough for you?’
‘Oh,’ Sammy said breezily, ‘I might have bought the entire shop by then!’
Their eyes tangled and she could see exactly what he was thinking.
Bought the entire shop? Hardly. You don’t like shopping, you don’t care about clothes... You’ll head for the least daring racks and you’ll be done in under fifteen minutes.
Sammy smiled. ‘I think,’ she said slowly, batting her lashes and frowning in a faraway manner, finger tapping the side of her mouth, head tilted to one side, ‘I might actually need a little longer. Why don’t we meet at Giles King’s offices at three?
’ Was this what being assertive with a man was like?
It felt good, particularly when Leo frowned, caught on the back foot by a suggestion he hadn’t anticipated.
It dawned on her that he was accustomed to calling the shots in every single area of his life. As far as he was concerned, he was paying her for her participation in this charade and he didn’t expect her to do anything but follow his lead. She smiled brightly at him.
‘You don’t know where his offices are,’ Leo pointed out.
‘I think I’m smart enough to make my way there. I know the name of his firm.’ She turned to the blonde, who was watching this exchange with fascinated interest. ‘Men. They really do like to think of us as the weaker species, don’t they?’
‘I would never dream of being so cavalier where you are concerned, my sweet.’ Leo wasn’t sure whether to be amused by these antics, impressed by her ingenuity because she was putting on a show of loving familiarity that would have taken some beating, or uneasy because he wasn’t on familiar ground and he had no idea where she was heading with this show of independence.
Then he relaxed.
Where could she possibly be going? As always, he had everything under control and, in the meantime, well, who ever said that life had to be predictable all of the time?
He thought that he might just start enjoying the next week and a half...