Chase. Flora Dain

tired and the hasty dab-wash I managed in the staff toilets did nothing to cool me down. I’ve no satin or scent to help me out, just kooky pigtails and too-tight, day-weary pedal-pushers.

      I’m defenceless – alone and unarmed.

      And as I stare at him, still not making any sense of all this, an awful possibility washes over me. Is this it? Is this how it’s done? Is this how he dumps me? Is this what happens when his mysterious love life ricochets from one dazzling beauty to another: skipping over the shy, awkward teacher-cum-poet he somehow got stuck with somewhere in between?

      Famously crap at relationships: Ryan’s description. My ex should know. He was famously crap at them himself.

      Darnley’s expression is unreadable. I want to scream and shout, tell him to get that woman the hell out of here. But something in his manner stops me.

      He’s unnaturally still, his look unnaturally intense. ‘You are,’ he says at last.

      I see a flicker in his eyes. There’s something under the surface here, something he’s not telling me.

      And he’s pissed about it. Correction. He’s pissed at me.

      ‘No towels in here.’ The silvery voice slices between us as the woman reappears. She glances up at me. ‘Call me Cola, by the way. And you’re Ella?’

      He rolls his eyes. ‘I said try the en-suite. Better still, go ask my housekeeper.’

      She sighs heavily and pads off in the other direction.

      Now Darnley frowns at me, his expression faintly exasperated. ‘She’s here with the South American trade delegation. Cola’s over here looking for an internship. She’s being stalked. I’m looking after her for now.’

      He steps up close, touches my cheek with one finger, his expression thoughtful as he lowers his voice. ‘It’s a family thing, Ella. It can’t be helped. You really don’t know who she is? I find that hard to believe. But here goes. She knew how to find your class today. She even knew your name. So it looks to me like you two already met. But if we’re still play-acting, then here goes. She’s a friend of the family. She’s with my mother. They’re on a visit from Washington.’

      I hardly have time to draw in a deep breath of joy and relief before he pulls me into his arms and fastens his mouth on mine. We kiss for an age – or no time at all. I lose track. He tastes wonderful – heaven and spice in one heady mix.

      As he pulls away his expression hardens. ‘Hey, never mind her, it’s Friday night. We’re now on Wolfe Time. And we have things to discuss. Starting with these.’

      I knew it. Arousal fizzes through me, scorching all my pent-up feelings into hot, hard lust. I bite my lip and look up through my lashes. ‘There’s a problem?’

      His eyes narrow. ‘Damn right there’s a problem. You’re wearing it. And we’re going to deal with it right now.’ He pats my backside none too gently and hustles me into his room.

       CHAPTER FOUR

      At that moment there’s a commotion outside. I follow Darnley’s glance and see a large black sedan, flanked by an outrider on a motorcycle. They both have diplomatic number plates and small foreign pennants fluttering at the front.

      ‘Ah, Cola’s escort. Let’s hope she’s decent.’ He turns to me, the gleam in his eyes hinting that I am anything but. ‘I’d better see her off. You stay here.’ He steps up close and brushes his lips to my face. ‘And no touching.’ He runs a finger along my cheek, his lip curling at the corner, and then lowers his voice. ‘I’ll know.’

      I wait by the window, breathless, while the fresh-washed spoilt brat is herded into the vast car, doors are slammed and she’s driven smoothly away. I draw in a long breath and let it out slowly as relief floods over me.

      My relief lasts just forty seconds, the time it takes him to get back upstairs. The minute Darnley’s door closes behind him I know I’m in trouble. He folds his arms, his jaw stern. He looks lean and mean. I feel shaky.

      I sense a wave of power emanate from him. Or maybe mine just ebbed away.

      His eyes narrow as he steps closer. ‘Freaky Friday, indeed. Now you can tell me just what the hell you think you’re playing at dressed up like that.’ His eyes fill with heat.

      I shiver, part playful, part scared, as he slowly lifts one of my pigtails and runs it through his fingers, letting the tight braid glide over his hand. His eyes stay locked on mine.

      ‘I was at work. Seriously, Darnley, I’d no idea I’d see you today.’

      ‘And that makes it OK, does it?’ He arches an eyebrow but his voice lowers a notch, making me shiver.

      I lower my eyelids, thrilled at where we’re going but determined to hold my ground. Down below my belly contorts in an agony of arousal. At this rate I’ll come where I stand. ‘It’s for work. We all do it. Anyway, I’m not exactly slutty schoolgirl …’ I tail off at the sudden gleam in his eyes.

      ‘That’s for me to say. How many people saw you today?’

      I stare at him, confused. ‘Hardly anybody. It’s just for work, Darnley. I’d no idea you were going to walk in and play Die Hard in my drama class.’

      He flicks my pigtail with one finger and then seizes the other and pulls me towards him. ‘I know a bad girl when I see one. And I also know when she’s digging a hole for herself. How many, Ella?’

      He’s grinning now but watchful, poised for some kill. I shiver as he draws me into his arms and his hand runs down my side to my tense, tightly clad backside. I haven’t worn pedal-pushers in a while … He squeezes gently as he presses against me and now I know instantly from the hard, jutting column of power that burns up against my belly that he’s suffered as much as I have while we’ve been apart, maybe even more.

      And I sure as hell know what he needs now.

      Now I know where we’re going I hardly care how we get there. What’s more, I can take all the time I like over my journey. I smile up at him through my lashes and go for broke. ‘No idea. Let’s say … about a hundred?’

      If I’d said a thousand he couldn’t look more pleased. He masks it quickly, stern now as he looks me over, assessing all the possibilities of my silly, kooky outfit and the fake innocence in my eyes, growing wider now in real alarm.

      He doesn’t play at this. And as he senses my hesitation his eyes gleam with a new awareness.

      Playtime just got serious.

      I try for a quick distraction. ‘So it’s really bad, this stalker thing?’

      His eyes flicker. ‘Her family think so. Her father’s got business rivals here – and something of a reputation. She’s OK in Washington but coming to Boston stretched her team a bit. And anyway, you’re stalling.’ His expression hardens. ‘Don’t think I hadn’t noticed. Come here.’

      I flow into his arms like wilful honey. For a long minute we fuse together, our mouths fully engaged, our hearts beating as one, barely millimetres of flesh between them as our bodies re-acquaint.

      Mine, pulsing steadily, already glowing lower down, maps his hard, jutting landscape with a deep, belly-warming thrill. His, stronger, leaner, more powerful, tests my softness and my warmth with hot, probing flexes of muscle and sinew, his hands easing over the curves of my lower back and along my sides, lingering on my hills, easing deep into my valleys while his swelling erection thickens between us – our connection and our divider.

      ‘I’ve missed you so much.’ My soft whisper fills the space between our lips when he finally eases away, the glimmer in his eyes warning our separation will be brief.