Lea gave a small nod, her gaze still focused on their joined hands. For years, she had heard everyone refer to it as an accident. A chance thing, a driver error that had gone horribly wrong. Her memory might have been patchy for months after the crash, but one thing she had always known was that it hadn’t been a simple driver error. “It wasn’t an accident.” She brought her gaze back to his, her voice tighter, her throat tighter. “It was a deliberate car crash.”Dave’s hand stilled on hers, his eyes widening in alarm. “What do you mean?” His tone was hollowed out, echoing with shock.“My father wanted to kill us all. He drove the car into the tree because my mother told him she wanted to leave him.”“Oh, Lea, I'm so sorry." Dave’s hand gripped hers as if he were trying to anchor her to him. To stop her from being swept away by a tide of distressing memories. ‘I can’t imagine the panic, fear, and pain you must have gone through. What a cowardly act. A disgustingly cowardly act.’ His voi
Lea couldn’t hope to conceal her shock at his embittered words. Her mouth was open, her eyes wide, and her heart heavy for what he’d been through and the guilt that still plagued him. He had told her a few days ago that things hadn’t been as perfect between him and Susanna as she had believed, but she had still assumed he loved his fiancée. Dearly loved her. Lea had always seen them as the ideal couple. They’d looked so good together; they seemed to treat each other with the utmost respect; they came from the same world of wealth and privilege.But had she wanted to see them that way? To fulfil her own girlhood romantic fantasy. Ignoring the subtle clues that things weren’t quite as rosy and romantic as she’d wanted to believe,.But who knew how any relationship worked from the inside? Hadn’t her childhood more than proved that? Happy Families was a game her father had played and played extremely well. Only those on the inside, behind the door closed to the public, knew what the true
Of course, she loved him. Lea wasn’t sure when it had started. It had been a gradual awakening, a slow burn of interest and attraction that had morphed into a persistent and powerful emotion.Dave laid her down on the bed and came down beside her. He slowly undid the buttons on the front of her pyjama jacket, the feel of his fingers against her bare skin making her shiver in anticipation. He peeled the silky jacket from her shoulders, and his breath audibly hitched. ‘You’re so perfect, so beautiful…’ he said, his hand cupping her right breast and his touch sending tingles shooting through her body.Perfect? That was a word Lea wasn’t used to associating with herself. Neither was the word beautiful, but right then she felt like a beautiful woman. A beautiful, desirable woman who was embracing her sexual power for the first time.She explored the toned muscles of his chest, her fingers finding his hard, flat male nipples. His chest was lightly dusted with dark hair that narrowed down to
‘Um…no, I—I just feel a bit embarrassed about being…naked.’ Lea bit her lip and couldn’t hold his gaze.Dave came over to the bed and sat down beside her. He pushed the fall of her hair back behind her shoulders, his hand going to the small of her back in a warm circular caress. ‘I saw the blood on the condom. You don’t have to be embarrassed about having your period.’Lea swallowed, her heart beating so loudly she could feel it in her ears. ‘I’m not having my period.’ The words fell into the room like a loaded grenade, fizzing in the sudden silence.Dave’s hand stilled on her back, his body stiffening as if snap-frozen, his expression etched in shock as realisation slowly dawned. ‘You were a…a virgin?’ His voice was so hoarse it came out like the screech of tyres on gravel. He shot off the bed and shoved a hand through his hair, looking at her in alarm. ‘Why didn’t you say so?’Lea pulled the bedcovers closer. ‘It’s not like it’s a disease.’He let out a short sharp swearword. ‘I hur
A couple of weeks later, after yet another party, the journey to the city and back to the castle was painfully silent. Lea tried once or twice to engage Dave in conversation on the drive home, but he only answered in monosyllables and seemed preoccupied with his thoughts. He rarely touched her. In fact, he seemed to be avoiding all contact, even eye contact. Was he still regretting their lovemaking? He had been so tender and considerate afterwards that a hope had sprouted in her chest that maybe he would agree to deepening their relationship. Had he weighed up the potential consequences and decided it wasn’t worth it?That she wasn’t worth it?Why? Was she not enough?On the drive back to the castle, Dave drove with clenched hands and jaws, his forehead creased in a perpetual frown, which didn’t nurture her fledgling hope one little bit.‘You know, we’re not going to be very convincing as a married couple if we don’t even exchange a few polite words now and again,’ Lea said.He flicke
Lea looked at Dave once the door was closed on their entry into the castle. His expression was thunderous, and a muscle kept flicking in his cheek.‘Are you okay?’ she asked.He let out a rough-edged sigh, shrugged himself out of his jacket, and hung it on the coat rack near the entrance. ‘I’m sorry about that. My sister can be a prize mother sometimes. Most of the time, actually. But she meant no harm. She just thought we were a real couple.’‘It’s okay.’ She began to unbutton her own coat. ‘Our relationship must’ve come as a bit of a shock. I mean, you and me? It’s a bit of a stretch to think you would ever be—’His hand came down in a gentle press on the top of her shoulder, his expression softening. ‘Don’t keep doing that. You’re a beautiful and desirable woman, and if things were different, I would…’ He pressed his lips together as if determined not to voice the words out loud.‘Would what?’ Lea’s voice was barely more than a whisper.His navy-blue eyes darkened and his other han
He lifted her sweater so he could access her breasts, desperate to feel her soft creamy skin against his palm. He unclipped her bra to find her nipples were already tightly budded and he lowered his mouth to each one in turn, lavishing them with strokes and licks of his tongue, teasing them with the gentle press of his teeth. She made soft murmurs of approval, her breathing rate increasing, her hands reaching for the waistband of his trousers.Dave hauled her sweater over her head, tossing it to the floor and only just missing Flossie, who was lying on her side, snoring. It was enough to break his stride and he took a deep steadying breath and grasped Lea by the upper arms.‘Let’s take this upstairs. I want you to be comfortable and I’d rather not have an audience.’ He jerked his head towards the sleeping dog.A shadow of worry passed through Lea’s gaze. ‘What if you change your mind before we get upstairs? I thought you were okay with taking our relationship further the other night b
Dave had mostly travelled abroad during the month of December, so he could escape the all too often grey and dismal progression of the Highlands’ final month of autumn into winter. But spending the time with Lea at Brathellae had turned the normally cold and bleak time into something else entirely. The shorter days and longer nights were no longer an inconvenience but an excellent excuse to relax over a drink in front of a roaring fire. Or to spend long hours in bed, making love, then snuggling up in a cocoon of cosy warmth. And with winter and plenty of snowbound days heading their way, instead of feeling trapped and contained, he felt…free.More open, more relaxed. More human and less of an emotionless workhorse machine.The days at Brathellae belonged to Lea and him, no one else. Well, apart from Flossie but the old dog spent most of the time snoozing by the fire, only stirring for meals and comfort breaks. Aunt Elsie had extended her holiday and, apart from the occasional ground s