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INTIMATE STRANGERS 23
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2023-04-13 17:25:33Related chapters
YOUR LOVE (ROMANTIC SERIES) SILK WICKEDNESS 1
SYNOPSIS ‘What about us Guy? Don’t you care about me and the baby?’ When I was asked to act as a kissogram for dishy Guy Hamilton, I didn’t mind. After all, I was doing it for charity. But somehow things didn’t turn out quite as expected. Guy looked much too angry when he saw me, so I decided to tease him a little. Unfortunately the plan backfired, and now I’m stuck in Arabia with him and his maddening teenage daughter! Still, it could be worse; I could have fallen for him and he could be carving my name - Claudia Maitland - on his bedpost. He’s way out of my league and I know I’d never be able to hold him. So why oh why do I keep hoping that this holiday will last forever?CHAPTER 1Long before the taxi pulled up outside the restaurant, Claudia was having second thoughts. Third and fourth thoughts too.By the time it stopped her mouth felt like freeze-dried sawdust. Even now, it would be so easy to run away. One horrified gasp while she was paying the cabbie and a neat little fib a
Last Updated : 2023-03-19YOUR LOVE (ROMANTIC SERIES) SILK WICKEDNESS 2
Suddenly she could just hear Kate’s voice. Her friend Kate had her own way of grading men. It went like this:Category One: Not worth shaving your legs for. (Ninety per cent of men fell into this category)Category Two: Worth shaving your legs for, but only if you’re wearing a skirt.Category Three: Worth shaving your legs for whatever you’re wearing.Category Four: Worth having your legs waxed for, and a cellulite treatment thrown in.‘Definitely a four,’ Kate would have said, with more than a hint of yum-yum in her voice.She had to admit that Kate would be right. If you were into that brand of dark and rather intimidating masculinity, of course.‘You didn’t come here to pass the time of day,’ she remarked. ‘Would you like to state your business?’‘Idle curiosity,’ he mused, still scanning the posters. ‘I was wondering what kind of primeval lowlife makes a living like this.’However heartily she agreed with him that Ryan was a superlative example of primeval lowlife, it wouldn’t do
Last Updated : 2023-03-19YOUR LOVE (ROMANTIC SERIES) SILK WICKEDNESS 3
‘No, but I’ve watched that chap on the telly who exposes posh crooks. They all sound like old Etonians and keep racehorses and stuff and their kids belong to the Pony Club.’Claudia barely heard her. ‘Mmm.’‘Where’s that photo?’ Kate demanded. ‘I’ll be able to tell if he’s dodgy. I can spot dodgy men at fifty paces with my eyes closed.’‘I keep telling you, he doesn’t look dodgy.’‘Show me anyway. I’m dying to see what he looks like.’‘I must have left it in the taxi. Can’t find it anywhere.’ This was a big fat lie. The photo was safely tucked in the zip pocket of her bag, along with might-have-to-take-it- back receipts and dry-cleaning tickets. She had not shown it to Kate for the simple reason that Kate’s eyes would spark instantly like a faulty fuse-box. She’d say things like, ‘Wow! I wouldn’t mind playing sardines-in-the-dark with him,’ and the fluttery feelings Claudia had felt in the office would return, redoubled. And Kate would know, and then there would be no peace.‘You’re h
Last Updated : 2023-03-19YOUR LOVE (ROMANTIC SERIES) SILK WICKEDNESS 4
How often had her mother said that? And how often had Claudia replied, ‘Mum, you’d be a gift to any con-man with lovely manners and “good family” shoes.’‘Sorry I’m a bit late,’ she said, taking the seat opposite. ‘The underground was murder. A heaving mass of humanity off to do its Christmas shopping.’He put his FT on a spare chair. ‘You should have taken a cab.’She nearly said, I’m trying to save money, not squander it, but desisted. ‘The traffic’s even more murderous than the tube. Last time I took a cab on a wet Saturday morning, the driver cursed all the way. He possessed the most colourful repertoire of curses, but since they were mostly muttered, I couldn’t quite catch them all. It was maddening.’One corner of his mouth lifted in the half-smile she was beginning to associate with him. Did he ever smile properly? she wondered. Or was the other side of his mouth permanently fixed in world-weary mode?‘Have a drink,’ he said.There was no classic suit this time, and no suede ja
Last Updated : 2023-03-19YOUR LOVE (ROMANTIC SERIES) SILK WICKEDNESS 5
‘Is that a yes?’‘I’m afraid not. I have every sympathy for you,’ she went on quickly, ‘but I just couldn’t play the bossy, big- sisterish, have-you-done-your-history-type figure. It would go right against the grain.’‘That’s only one aspect. Even if she were as earnest and studious as her headmistress would wish, she’d be fed up on her own all day. I’m not entirely unfeeling.’She was not convinced. ‘She’d hate me on principle.’‘She would at first, but she’ll have a sneaking respect for anyone with the nerve to strip off in a top-notch eatery.’‘I did not strip off ’ Much to her annoyance, she coloured faintly at the mere ghastly memory. She might as well have stripped right off, the way they’d all reacted. The silk teddy had felt like a G-string.‘You know what I mean.’ He leaned back, scanning her face so minutely she felt he could see right into her head. ‘By your own admission, you loathed it. Can you really face doing that again? Can you face being groped and squeezed and slobb
Last Updated : 2023-03-19YOUR LOVE (ROMANTIC SERIES) SILK WICKEDNESS 6
Oh Lord. In that case , she’ll hardly be in a sunshine and smiles mood. This proposition is beginning to look about as inviting as a fortnight banged up in Holloway.With this in mind, the sight of his credit card on the bill made her feel vaguely awkward.Why? You can bet it’s nothing to him.That’s not the point.Before he could stop her, she whipped the bill away, glanced at it, put it back, and took her purse from her bag. Extracting roughly the right amount, she pushed it across to him.‘Put it away,’ he said.‘It’s my half.’‘I’m not going to argue the toss about it.’The waiter took the saucer away, and still her money lay there. By the time the bill was signed and they were ready to go it was still there, unloved.‘It’s up to you/ he said shortly, rising to his feet. ‘Either you take it, or that waiter’s going to think it’s Christmas already.’She knew he wasn’t going to give in. Leaving a small extra tip, she returned the rest to her purse. ‘Are you always so pigheaded?’‘Yes
Last Updated : 2023-03-19YOUR LOVE (ROMANTIC SERIES) SILK WICKEDNESS 7
Feeling she’d only made matters worse, Claudia rose to her feet. ‘I’ll go home,’ she said awkwardly. ‘You go up to her and explain.’A cynical snort escaped him. ‘Her door’ll be locked for hours. And then it’ll be fun and games, telling her why you were here.’Reality hit her like a cold shower. Heaven help me. What was I about to do, just before she opened that door? Was I quite mad?‘Guy, I’m terribly sorry,’ she said unsteadily, ‘but this minder business just isn’t on. I can’t see her even condescending to talk to me, let alone listening to anything I say. It’d be an utter waste of your money.’‘She’s not so stroppy with everybody, you know. It’s generally directed at me.’Why? she wanted to ask. But what was the point? Adolescent dramas were common enough. ‘It wouldn’t work. I might make matters worse, and I couldn’t have that on my conscience when I think what it would all cost.’Not just what he was going to pay her, but the air fare, the hotel bill . . .She was half expecting
Last Updated : 2023-03-19YOUR LOVE (ROMANTIC SERIES) SILK WICKEDNESS 8
She feigned indifference.Ryan was grinning fit to split. ‘And then you’ll do the ears bit, and the teeth bit, and then you’ll say, “Goodneth me, Mithter Wolf, ith there one thingle thing about you that ithn’t abtholutely whopping?” And then Big Bad Wolf 11 - ’‘I get the message.’ Acting harder than she ever had in her life, Claudia flopped into her chair with a yawn. ‘Sounds a bit tame for a rugby club, if you ask me.’It was no comfort to see the grin wiped off his face as he left. He had deflated, just as if somebody had stuck a pin in him.Kate was out when she got home. She had left a note.Paul’s dragging me off to some do in darkest Hampshire. Will stay the night as will probably be far too ratsoto drive back.See you tomorrow, luv K. XXXX.Paul was Kate’s latest and had already lasted four months, which was a record, for Kate.Typical , she thought. Just when I need a shoulder to moan on.After a long, soaky bath she donned the tartan flannelette pyjamas her mother had besto
Last Updated : 2023-03-19
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YOUR LOVE (ROMANTIC SERIES) INTIMATE STRANGERS 23
‘G’day Kerrien, my darling girl, had a nice time?’ She was nodding and smiling encouragingly but Kerrien could say nothing. ‘Lovely day, thank you. It’s good of you to feed me again,’ she added. “Come on in. Make yourself at home,” she urged. ‘Must use the bathroom, if I may,’ Kerrien asked. Brett shoved his mother out of the room and Kerrien could hear the whispered voices rising and falling. ‘For heaven’s sake boy, do I get the champagne out or not?'*I don’t know Mum, she hasn’t given me an answer yet.” Kerrien listened in growing discomfort. She was beginning to feel coerced, trapped. If she said yes, it was going to be for all the wrong reasons. If she said no, she might just be acting foolishly out of some misplaced sense of romanticism. She went slowly back to the family room, where Brett was waiting for her. ‘Do I get my answer yet?’ he asked. The blue eyes were shuttered and she could read nothing from them. “Yes Brett, yes I will marry you.’ She wondered why she didn
YOUR LOVE (ROMANTIC SERIES) INTIMATE STRANGERS 22
Sleep was impossible and Kerrien paced her room for much of the night. Ashton was evidently going through some personal crisis which seemed to exclude both herself and the children. What was he talking about with her and Brett? News? Excited? He could only think that they were getting engaged. She wondered where he had got that idea. It was the very last thing she would have wanted him to think, when all the time she desperately wanted jum. She also wished that his future with Martine was less certain. Double wedding indeed! Ashton said little the next morning before rushing off to work. She caught him staring at her a couple of times, as if looking for some clue in her face. If he believed something special had recently happened to her, he did not voice his thoughts. ‘I won’t be home for lunch and don’t wait dinner for me tonight. I may be out. Have you decided when you’re going out at the weekend?’ he asked. ‘Saturday, if that’s OK,’ she replied. ‘I'll organize things before I go
YOUR LOVE (ROMANTIC SERIES) INTIMATE STRANGERS 21
‘I haven’t felt this way about anyone before,’ Brett said. She drew a quick gulp of air and her reeling senses came back to earth. ‘And you’ve had plenty to choose from, I suppose.’ The harsh words hit him like a slap across the face. “I’ve never tried to pretend anything different,” he defended, a hurt expression in his eyes. “Look, you may be innocent or try to give the impression of being innocent but I know a true response when I feel it. Yes, OK, call it experience. Tell me, do you intend going through your entire life celibate and end up a sour spinster?’ ‘I think I'd better go,’ she said, bristling at his accusation. ‘Kerrien, I’m sorry! I didn’t mean it. I want you Kerrien, on whatever terms you insist on making. Think about it. I can offer you everything you’ve always wanted.’ His face looked almost child-like in its pleading, like Ben or Jodie begging for just a few minutes longer, before going to bed. She almost smiled at the thought. They may want to stay up longer, Br
YOUR LOVE (ROMANTIC SERIES) INTIMATE STRANGERS 20
‘I thought you had something vital to tell me,’ Ashton said at lunch. ‘Something that couldn’t wait a moment longer.’ ‘Perhaps I’ve got things in perspective a little better,’ Kerrien replied, twisting her fingers together in her anxiety. ‘What I have to talk about is important but something has come up that I must deal with and quickly. I have to see Brett and the sooner the better.’ He stared at her, peering into her eyes as if he could read something in them, as if he could somehow see into her mind to know what she was thinking. She was an enigma to him. One minute bursting with some news she needed to discuss urgently with him and the next, planning an evening out with her boy-friend. He had no doubt as to the reason for her sudden need to meet Brett. She had to give him an answer to the vital question and having made her decision, she obviously couldn’t wait to tell him. ‘Look, I know it isn’t really my evening off but things have been hectic lately and I am still owed some t
YOUR LOVE (ROMANTIC SERIES) INTIMATE STRANGERS 19
Kerrien sipped a cup of hot chocolate in the cafeteria, her hands wrapped round the comforting mug. She hoped that Kate and her friend didn’t have the same idea. Kerrien had no prejudices about people’s right to choose their sexual partners but somehow, Kate’s whole attitude to life suddenly seemed to have become clearer. All these nasty, sometimes spiteful . remarks were probably made because Kate didn’t know how to cope with the cards that life had dealt her. She did genuinely seem fond of the children but perhaps felt that Ashton would be less than understanding if he knew that his sister loved another woman. It took some getting used to but Kerrien was convinced that she was not mistaken. The way the two women had looked at and spoken to each other showed quite clearly that they shared a deep relationship. It may also explain why Kate was so resentful of Kerrien. Her easy going manner with people was something of a contrast with Kate’s own more restrained nature. She wondered if
YOUR LOVE (ROMANTIC SERIES) INTIMATE STRANGERS 18
“So what do you say Kerrien? Will you stay with us, for as long as you can?’ His deep, soft eyes were pleading with her. She felt again that urge to wrap her arms round him and hug him better but she knew that any physical contact with him would spell disaster to her own strength of purpose. ‘Think of the children,’ he added, knowing this was his trurmp card. She genuinely loved them and would never let them suffer. Besides, it would mean that she would still be around in his life and that meant a great deal more than he cared to admit. ‘I need to think about it. I’ll stay for a while, certainly. At least until you have made whatever arrangements you plan to make. Don’t worry.’ Her heart was near breaking as she spoke. She desperately wanted to be gone once Martine was living here. She couldn’t bear to see the other woman doing all the things she wanted to be doing, having the exclusive love of the wonderful man she herself loved so much. If he should ever find out how she felt, she
YOUR LOVE (ROMANTIC SERIES) INTIMATE STRANGERS 17
Once Ashton had left for work, Kerrien decided that she simply couldn’t face another evening staying at home. She dialled Brett’s number and swallowing her stubborn pride, asked if he was free that evening. She was taking a slight risk that she wouldn’t have to babysit but as she hadn’t taken any time off for ages, it was not unreasonable to expect a free evening. His response was very positive. If he had made other plans, it was not obvious. He suggested a movie and then a meal out. It sounded exactly what she needed to take her mind off things here. When Kate eventually turned up, sometime after eleven, Kerrien had started the lunch preparations. She made some coffee for them both. Kate seemed edgy and moody. Things were evidently not going as well as she would have liked. But, she obviously controlled her wandering thoughts and agreed to mind the children for the evening, if Ashton was out. The woman seemed subdued and uncommunicative, so Kerrien left her alone and went to play wi
YOUR LOVE (ROMANTIC SERIES) INTIMATE STRANGERS 16
The next few days were difficult. Kate bad only one topic of conversation — the wedding — and seemed totally unaware of the discomfort of those around her. The children were silent and withdrawn, reminiscent of the time when Kerrien had first arrived in Australia. Kerrien herself was thoroughly sick of hearing about the fabulous designer wedding dress Martine was planning, and whether Ben should be dressed in green or cream velvet. Either was equally revolting, or so Kerrien thought and she instinctively knew that Ben would agree! 'I think you should start looking around for another job,” Kate suggested brightly one morning. 'I see. Your idea or Ashton’s?’ Kerrien asked. ‘It must be obvious even to you that this situation can’t go on. Once they’re married, I expect they will be starting a new family and Martine is sure to want someone of her own choice, to look after the new baby as well as Ashton’s two. Besides, Ben will be at school and you surely wouldn’t want to be hanging arou
YOUR LOVE (ROMANTIC SERIES) INTIMATE STRANGERS 15
It was nearly lunch-time when Kerrien returned from her trip to drop Brett home. A quick hallo to Margaret and a coffee before she had left, made her later than she intended. She’d then taken a couple of wrong turnings, her mind pre-occupied. The journey took longer and longer, it seemed. There was strange feeling of unreality about everything, as if she was in the middle some sort of dream that would end when she awoke. The house was quiet and Ashton’s car was missing from its usual place. He must have gone to work, even though she’d thought he wasn’t on duty this weekend. Perhaps he had gone out — to be with his fiancée she thought miserably. She had to keep experimenting with the words, so that she would get used to it. How could he want to marry someone who was so negative towards those two lovely children? It was obvious to anyone with half a mind, that Martine couldn’t care less about them. It was equally clear that the children also felt the same way about their father’s fiancé
