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She hadn’t been voted Victrix Ludorum at school three years on the trot, Liv reminded herself as she lined up with the other women, only to be beaten by a vertical wall and Cade Grant’s massive ego. And, okay, maybe she had been between seven and ten at the time, but that slanted, mocking, tough-guy look was getting right up her nose. As well as into places it was better not to think about if she wanted to make it to the finish line…
But she cannoned into Cade at the base of the wall, and contact with him knocked the wind out of her. He steadied her on her feet again, asking, ‘Are you okay?’
She was too busy gasping for air to answer him. Too busy trying to keep her balance in the mud. Too busy fighting off the urge to remain where she was in the beguiling safety of Cade’s arms. Freeing herself determinedly, she staggered back a step to take a look at the impossible obstacles standing in her way—one of them impossibly gorgeous, and the other, not quite so appealing, made of wood.
‘Shall I give you a leg-up?’ Cade offered.
‘No, thank you.’ Liv’s mouth firmed with determination.
She had spotted a foothold, and he stood back as she tried once…twice to reach it, before falling back again. Instinct pressed him forward, but she held out her hands, warding him off. Sucking in a deep breath, she tried again, and this time made it—breaking all her nails in the attempt, he guessed as she cursed viciously. Overcoming that disaster, she launched a grab for the top and made that too. Scrambling up, she speared him a look just before she disappeared over the other side. ‘What’s keeping you, soldier?’
A cold heart? Moral scruples?
Did she have any idea how provocative she was? Challenge and vulnerability were a combination that rang his bell. He maintained a dignified silence until he heard Liv drop safely down on the other side and sprint away, then, springing up the wall like a cat, he swung easily over the top of it, landing on his feet with barely a sound.
She had to stop. She was exhausted. She took stock of the race with her hands on her knees, fighting for breath. Someone should have warned her when she applied for the job as Cade’s housekeeper that it would involve running a marathon in arctic conditions and pouring rain. But as this was England in the height of summer, what did she expect?
She gasped as he caught up with her. ‘Can’t I even breathe now?’
‘I don’t know—can’t you?’
He invaded her space, coming close enough to touch without touching her. Was there some advanced degree in titillation? If so, Cade had a first. It was as if he’d raised an invisible shield between them allowing her to look, but not touch. The end result left her aching with frustration. A fact she tried to hide—though something in Cade’s dark gaze told her she was wasting her efforts on pretence.
‘Are you enjoying yourself?’ His gaze slipped to her lips.
‘Immensely. Are you?’ Her lips parted to drag in air as her craving for him grew.
‘I like a challenge.’
‘And so do I.’ How could she hide her feelings for him, when even her quickened breathing had thickened the clouds of mist between them?
‘You never know what you’re capable of until you try, Liv…’
‘You’re so right…’ Knowing what Cade was capable of was all it took to send her level of awareness into the danger zone. The humour in his gaze bathed her in warmth that flooded her veins until it pooled with insistent pulsing heat at the apex of her thighs.
‘I’ll just have to make sure the challenges continue…’
If he didn’t, she would never find release. And the thought of that—
‘Are you ready to move on now?’
She closed her eyes. More than ready.
‘Come on, then,’ Cade chivvied softly as he might coax her into bed. ‘Let’s finish what we started.’
She stood and watched him jog away, wondering if Cade had any idea of the state he’d left her in. Parts of her had been so expertly prepped with desire she wasn’t even sure she could run.
She must run.
She had to finish this course. It was a test for her as much as for anyone else. It was a milestone; a sea change in her self-belief structure that she couldn’t afford to fail—not unless she wanted to go back to her old life. But at least there was only the bosun’s chair over the river to negotiate now, Liv consoled herself as she started off in Cade’s footsteps.
The chair tipped.
In order to prevent it doing so, you were supposed to secure a lever at the base. One of the ladies had forgotten to do so, and Liv fell into the freezing river, screeching like a banshee.
She was thrashing about, disorientated, when Cade came wading in to save her.
‘Get off me!’
He hoisted her into his arms. ‘That’s not very grateful of you, is it?’
‘I hope I soak you through!’
‘You have. But I draw the line at letting you drown.’
He strode with her up the bank where the ladies of the WI were waiting to congratulate him.
‘You’re such a hero,’ one of them gushed.
‘Such a—’ Cade’s hand slipped over Liv’s mouth before she had chance to add her comment to the forum.
‘And you are really far more of a handful than you look,’ Cade murmured to Liv while smiling at the ladies.
As Cade’s hand was firmly secured around one of her breasts Liv could see why he might think that. ‘Cade, the ladies—’
‘Don’t worry. I have plans for them.’
‘You do?’
‘Yes. They’re going home.’
CHAPTER SEVEN
HAVING stayed out on the field to help clear up, Liv arrived back at Featherstone with Cade to wave off the team from the WI. Standing next to him was like standing in an electric force field. She had to concentrate on waving to all the happy faces pressed up against the windows of the minibus, and could see why all the ladies wanted one last sight of Cade. It was more than his sex appeal, though that was potent; more than his rugged appearance, though he was an incredible-looking man. There was a side of him she hadn’t guessed at. It was a kinder side; a side that made the longing inside her all the more intense. She guessed today couldn’t have been in starker contrast to Cade’s life as a serving soldier, but he’d put the same sort of energy and enthusiasm into it that must have led him to the top of his career.
/> She walked back into the kitchen ahead of him, buzzing with awareness and uncertainty about the future. It was as if fate were telling her to back out now if she didn’t want this to go any further. She kept on walking.
When Cade joined her in the kitchen there was an ease between them that hadn’t been there before. All the gruelling exercise and threatening frostbite had been worth it, Liv mused ruefully.
‘You did well today.’
‘And you’re surprised?’ she teased him, feeling a glow of satisfaction at his praise. Whatever she thought of herself, there was no denying Miss Prissy Pants had come a long way.
‘A little bit,’ Cade admitted, throwing her a look. ‘And what you need now is a long, hot bath.’
Her face must have reflected her thoughts on that. For a lukewarm bath in the frigid attic bathroom, she could wait. ‘Shall we eat first?’ she suggested.
‘I don’t want you catching cold.’
Was that concern for her, or for his staffing levels? Probably because she was feeling pretty good about herself for once she felt like giving him the benefit of the doubt. ‘I surprised myself. I enjoyed today.’
‘Just as well. I plan to have a different group of people coming here each month.’
‘So you’ve left the army?’
‘No.’
That one word filled her with dread. His scars told her in graphic detail the risks he faced. ‘But you wouldn’t go back in the field?’ she pressed.
‘I’m a serving officer, Liv. I go where I’m needed. At the moment, that’s here.’
‘For how long, Cade?’ Maybe she was showing too much interest, but she was acutely conscious of those scars. How many more did he need?
‘I can’t say. But in the time I have here I plan to train staff to take my place at Featherstone when I’m away. Hot bath,’ he reminded her, dismissing her concerns.
‘I’ll make your supper first,’ Liv insisted stubbornly.
‘You’re wet through and freezing,’ Cade pointed out, adding with a certain degree of sense, ‘and, if you don’t mind, I’d rather keep you out of the kitchen for now. We can warm up soup together when we’ve cleaned up.’
