AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Life has become busy of late.”
And they dared to look at each other’s’ eyes. His feline ones observed her so attentively as to absorb every single nuance of her. Her huge translucent stare held his for as long as she could. So they dilated, snitching her in every possible way. She flushed intensely and had to lower her gaze.
“You know you can stay for as long as you want.” But underneath he was nearly commanding her to stay forever.
“Thanks. That’s very kind of you.” Just a faint smile because her body was beginning to feel so heavy and malleable. So.receptive.
At this his eyes hardened, his brows lowered in anger. “I am not kind and I don’t want your gratitude!” He said in a grave menacing voice.
She lifted her eyes again to him, startled by his tone. She looked at him with wide eyes. “I...” But the words got stuck on her throat.
In a brusque movement, Mark rose from the table so quickly that the chair fell back. He walked out of the dining room.
She saw him walking away and was at a loss what to do. After a couple of seconds she followed him.
He was striding the sitting room as a jailed panther. A very tall one, by the way. He watched her coming but didn’t stop. His hands raked his dark hair.
“I-I’m sorry.” She babbled. “I just meant to be polite and...”
“Grateful?” He stopped abruptly and stared directly at those translucent honey pools. Two steps and he stood merely inches from her. He grabbed her forearm and pulled her to him.
Her soft lush body shocked with his and she looked up at his angry glance in bewilderment. Her lips parted in surprise. She was going to say ‘appropriate’ but it never came out.
He bent slightly over her in a possessive gesture. “Exactly how grateful have you been lately?” She bent back instinctively, which made their midriffs almost touch.
Her heart raced dementedly, her breath became unsteady and she wasn’t able to discern if it was awe or arousal. “There wasn’t a single drop of thankfulness in me when we...interacted.” She lacked a better word for that devastating flame they shared. Her eyes met his hard and as angry.
He breathed out a sour grin of disbelief. “And you’re going to tell me that it never occurred to you that we, this is...eccentric!” Now he was holding her both shoulders and his eyes bored into her very soul. He tried to fight back the desire that was threatening to break free.
“I don’t give a damn to what’s eccentric or conservative!” She could feel his irregular breath on her cheeks. Of course she would absolutely never confess to him that she had had a crush on him the first year she was living in the Georgian mansion. It was difficult enough to admit it to herself, even at that moment.
“What is this? A rebellious remnant from university days?” His eyes hovered over her face and stuck on her full parted lips. Body-language and rational communication mingled in both of them.
Hearing this made her rage rise. She jerked from his grip and put distance between them. “It never, ever, crossed my mind that this was any different from anything else.” She tried to imprint steadiness to her voice. But she still breathed hard. “If you have doubts about this, all you have to do is to talk it over like any civilised person.” She faced him for long seconds before she whirled and rushed upstairs.
Talk it over? He thought, his eyes following her up. As far as he could see, clear thought was never a trait between them. He lost all vestige of control when she was around. Blazing passion just overtook him and led him to dissolve himself in her with urgency. Exactly as he wanted to do now. The whole night. All nights.
Amy was completely off-balance when she reached her room. It was a strain to hold back her need for him and having an argument on top of that didn’t make it any easier. She sat on her bed and put her face on her hands. It was clear to her that she had caused him to think that she felt only gratefulness for him when they last talked in Nice. And his reaction tonight had been explosive, as expected. Oh, dear! That was going to be a restless night.
Mark went to his study and made a feeble attempt to do some work but his concentration tended to zero. All he could think of was that he wanted to go up to her, feel her warmth, her softness, her scent. He wouldn’t dare, though. Not after this exchange of harsh words. He’d better put himself together and endure a night of unreachable closeness.
Next morning when he met her at breakfast, she was dressed up, ready to leave. The night had proven to be unendurable, actually. The need for her had reached peaks of desperation and more than once he walked to her door to beg her for mercy. The only thing that had stopped him was his self-respect.
“Good morning.” A thin layer of politeness covered his voice and his manners.
Amy looked at his exhausted face. She had had a broken sleep full of unsatisfied need. She was glad when morning light rose and she could set the day in motion. “Good morning.”
“What time are you leaving?” He took a seat in front of her.
“Soon.” She sipped her coffee. She had already bid farewell to Mrs Smith, who was very sad she was leaving.
“I’ll drive you.” He poured coffee to his cup.
“Thank you, but I’ve called a cab.” They avoided staring at each other.
“Fine.” He murmured, disappointed to be deprived of a little more time with her.
The bell rang. “It must be the driver.” She said. She looked at him with a neutral expression on her face. “Good bye.”
