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SILK WICKEDNESS 32
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2023-03-19 14:24:40
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YOUR LOVE (ROMANTIC SERIES) SILK WICKEDNESS 33
Guy had stopped waving. He had swum a little further with a powerful crawl. He stopped again, and gave another beckoning wave. Claudia waved back. ‘We’re coming!’ she yelled, but knew he couldn’t hear.Anoushka was suddenly rigid. ‘Get out!’ she screamed, waving her arms frantically. ‘Get out!’Claudia stared at her, aghast. ‘What on - ’‘Can’t you see?* She ripped off her sunglasses, handed them to her. ‘Look! In the water!’Claudia went cold.Without the sunglasses she could never have seen. But with powerful lenses cutting out the glare she could see all too clearly.There must have been a half a dozen of them. Dark, streamlined, stealthy shapes, circling beneath him.'Where there's food about, there are always predators .’This time, she knew they weren’t dolphins.- - -What must have gone through his mind when he finally realized why they were yelling and waving their arms so frantically she could not bear to think.He glanced behind him, but there was nothing to see, no fins br
Last Updated : 2023-03-19YOUR LOVE (ROMANTIC SERIES) SILK WICKEDNESS 34
Once out of the shower, she lay on the bed again, longing for sleep that wouldn’t come. There were too many things in her head.I’ve upset Mum now. Why ever didn't I keep my mouth shut? And why did I lie to Kate about Guy ?You know why. So she won't feel sorry for you and make it even worse when you get back home and that bloody phone never rings.Who says it won’t ?Your intuition, that’s what. Things have changed a bit, haven’t they? He’s got a chance to re-establish a relationship with his daughter. She’s in an intensely vulnerable state, and he’s sensitive enough to know it. You saw her face in the silver souk. She was jealous. She’s probably been jealous of every relationship he’s ever had. If he’s got any sense, he’s not going spread himself around for a bit. Besides . . .She didn’t like the way her thoughts were going, but they wouldn’t stop.Let’s face it, it’s got all the classic ingredients of a holiday fling. Exotic setting, two adults who fancy each other, and opportunit
Last Updated : 2023-03-19YOUR LOVE (ROMANTIC SERIES) SILK WICKEDNESS 35
For the rest of the meal Claudia avoided Guy’s eyes as if they were death rays.What exactly had that ‘but’ been saying? I want you, but that's all it is, so don't get any ideas. Or, I want you, but it's just not on at the moment . Or even a bit of both. I want you, but I'm not sure whether it's any more than that, and in the circumstances I'm not that bothered about finding out.By the time their coffee arrived, the strain of keeping up airy smiles and chat was a nightmare. When he suggested a liqueur, she shook her head. I'm ready for bed. I didn’t sleep very well last night.’‘You slept this afternoon,’ he pointed out.‘I’m still tired,’ she fibbed.Anoushka gave a large yawn, covering it belatedly with her hand. ‘I’m shattered too.’ She glanced up at Guy. ‘Do you mind if I go up now?’‘I’ll come with you,’ said Claudia, a little too quickly.‘If you’ll both wait one minute till I’ve signed the bill,’ he said patiently, ‘we can go up together.’Until they were in the lift, she avoi
Last Updated : 2023-03-19YOUR LOVE (ROMANTIC SERIES) SILK WICKEDNESS 36
The flight was tedious in the way only a long night flight can be, but it could have been worse. If they’d been crammed into Economy she might have had to endure sitting next to him, his arm brushing against her, his scent tormenting her, even his hair brushing her cheek as he slept.He was sleeping now, just across the aisle, his face turned towards her. She could not sleep, and it was impossible to keep her eyes away.She thought of him sleeping beside her after they’d made love. She remembered the feel of him, skin-to-skin against her, his arm around her. She remembered how delicately she’d run her fingers over his chest, trying not to wake him. She remembered the way his arm had tightenedaround her in his sleep, how she’d dared herself to touch his other sleeping bits and how his chest had shaken as he’d laughed.Tears filled her eyes. She stole to the loo to recover, but not before an eagle-eyed stewardess had seen her. ‘Are you all right?’‘Fine,’ Claudia sniffed, with a forced
Last Updated : 2023-03-19YOUR LOVE (ROMANTIC SERIES) SILK WICKEDNESS 37
One could hardly storm out and slam the door. She said, ‘Night, everybody,’ and smiled apologetically when her aunt said, ‘Going up already?’ She managed another smile when her uncle made a crack about the younger generation having no stamina, and escaped.Room five at Weeping Ash Inn was half the size of her Muscat room but just as comfortable, in a rose-sprigged, English way.Bloody Ryan! If only I could go home now.It was out of the question. The do proper wasn’t until the following night, and she’d never, ever be forgiven.Twenty minutes after she’d gone up, there was a tap at the door. ‘Claud, are you asleep?’‘Yes, so shove off.’He rattled the door anyway. ‘Claud, let me in.’‘Bugger off!’‘ If you don’t let me in, I’ll go and get a pass key. ’ He sounded positively injured. ‘I have every right to know why you want me willyless after I just gave you a sodding great cheque.’‘I’ve earned a sodding great cheque, after what you put me through. Now get lost!’The old, mischievous
Last Updated : 2023-03-19YOUR LOVE (ROMANTIC SERIES) SILK WICKEDNESS 38
Another volunteer was painting the ceiling. ‘Steve, I feel really dreadful -I think it’s paint fumes on top of this cold. I’ve got to go home. Will you clear up my paint and stuff? I’ve nearly finished that wall.*He frowned at her from the ladder. ‘Are you all right to drive?’‘Fine. I’ll be back tomorrow if I feel better. Tell Julie I’m really sorry.’She was out in seconds and into the shiny new Peugeot she’d indulged in. Parked right next to it was a Range Rover, just like the one they’d used in Muscat, but black.With tears spilling onto her cheeks, she accelerated over the gravel drive and escaped.You fool. Couldn’t you have stayed, just to see him? Acted your brains out?Like this ? She glanced at her face in the rear view mirror. With a red nose and paint on my face? Dressed like a sack of manky old King Edwards ?It was the first sunny day for ages, and the world and his wife and kids were out. It took her ages to get home. Kate and Paul were out, househunting, and only Port
Last Updated : 2023-03-19YOUR LOVE (ROMANTIC SERIES) SILK WICKEDNESS 39
If you actually needed an excuse to come to Barbados , Claudia thought, as she collected two rum punches from the bar, a wedding isn't a bad one.The tree frogs were just beginning to tune up as she padded back through the gardens to the beach. Guy was sitting in the sand, gazing out at the placid Caribbean, where the dying sun cast liquid gold on the water.‘If Kate gets through the next two days without murdering her mother, it’ll be a miracle,’ she said as she sat beside him. ‘They’ve had another row. Kate simply cannot share a room with Paul the night before the wedding. It’s bad luck. She’s insisting that I move in with Kate and you move in with Paul for the night.’‘Fine,’ he said absently.Not for the first time in the past few days, she gave him a searching look. She’d thought she was imagining it at first, but it had steadily got more noticeable. It had started even before they’d got on the plane - a certain preoccupation, as if something were on his mind.Hesitantly she aske
Last Updated : 2023-03-19YOUR LOVE (ROMANTIC SERIES) SILK WICKEDNESS 40
She drew them before getting dressed in a little jade silk top that showed just enough cleavage. Her legs weren’t brown enough to flash, however, so she teamed it with a pair of cream linen trousers.He was acting like mad, but not quite well enough. ‘You look gorgeous,’ he said, almost as if he meant it, and slid an arm around her waist. ‘I can see I’m going to have trouble with that Italian guy tonight. It might even come to a punch-up.’Anything you can do, I can do better . . .‘Dear me,’ she said reprovingly. ‘If you’re going to get all horrendously possessive, I might have to think again about this relationship.’She longed with desperation for him to say roughly, ‘How can I help being possessive? Don’t you know how I feel about you?’Dream on, Claudia.His only reply was a tense, ‘I’m sorry - I didn’t mean it literally. If you’re ready, let’s go.’All through dinner, in the open air dining room with just a roof to keep the odd tropical shower off, she acted her brains out, laug
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
