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‘You should know, Theo,’ Heather said shyly, barely able to believe her ears. ‘Aren’t you supposed to be a connoisseur of women? I’m not built…well, along the lines of a model, am I?’
Theo didn’t answer. He was finding it difficult to remember why he had ever been attracted to his past models. He slid his hand along her side, enjoying the womanly dip of her waist and the full, smooth rise of her hip.
‘You don’t know what it’s like going through your teenage years without the advantages of being thin.’ Especially, Heather thought, when you had a sister who looked like hers. ‘Boys made snide remarks at school and my girlfriends felt sorry for me. It just wasn’t cool to have a figure like mine, so I learned to cover it up.’
For the first time she felt truly proud of her curves, especially when he so blatantly enjoyed them. He pushed her gently onto her back and pleasured himself at her breasts. A man could lose himself in them!
Heather sighed with enjoyment and languorously squirmed under his exploring mouth. The heat that had subsided was building up again, and with a soft moan of anticipation she parted her legs so that he could touch her.
Want, need, love and utter fulfilment bathed her in warm joy, and as she curled her fingers into his hair she gave herself up utterly to the experience.
CHAPTER FIVE
OBSERVING his own situation through detached eyes—something Theo was remarkably good at—he knew that he should be feeling trapped and restless. He was, after all, currently occupying his own private vision of hell. His working hours had been severely curtailed. The past fortnight had seen him first at the hospital, where his mother had been recuperating after heart surgery, and then latterly at his apartment, where he had insisted she remain for at least another couple of weeks, until she was strong enough to venture back to Greece.
She had dutifully grumbled, but had given in without too much persuasion.
Theo suspected that his mother was secretly enjoying the relaxation of being pampered. Heather spent part of her day working on her portfolio, but seemed content to sacrifice the remainder to taking his mother for little walks and experimenting with Greek food in the kitchen under Litsa’s eagle-eyed tutelage.
‘It helps me,’ his mother said tetchily, when he tried to convince her that she needed to take it easy. ‘And I am not doing the cooking, Theo. Just supervising. What would you want me to do? Lie in bed all day like an invalid?’
He had diplomatically refrained from pointing out that she was an invalid, whether she chose to accept the fact or not.
Litsa had never been one to sit around doing nothing, and she wasn’t about to change the habits of a lifetime. She was also in her element, bonding with the woman she imagined to be her future daughter-in-law—and Theo couldn’t blame her. She had, after all, waited long enough.
The fact that his mother was dealing with an illusion was something that only impinged slightly on his conscience. The advantages of the situation as far as his mother’s health was involved were too self-evident. Her progress, the consultant had told him a few days earlier, had been really impressive. Theo didn’t think that would have been the case had she been sitting in his flat from dawn till dusk on her own, with nothing but her own worries and doubts for company.
No, Heather had been good for her—as had the pleasantly warming thought that she was dealing with her son’s significant other.
And at the moment, it happened to suit him as well. Even though the invasion of his working life should have had him fuming.
He snapped shut the lid of his laptop computer and headed for the jacket hanging in the wardrobe of his office.
Jackie, his personal assistant, popped her head around the door and surreptitiously glanced at her watch. She knew that his mother was staying with him, and that there had been a minor medical problem which had been dealt with, but it still shocked her whenever she walked into his office at five-thirty to find him getting ready to go.
‘Whatever it is, Jackie,’ Theo said, without looking around, ‘you’ll have to cancel it. I’m on my way out.’
‘Yes, but…’
‘No buts.’ He slipped on his jacket and turned to her. ‘After five-thirty I’m off duty, until my mother is on her feet and back in Greece.’ He began packing his computer into its leather case. He could use his mother as his excuse for the temporary derailment of his working hours, and, yes, he knew that he had to be there for her, that waltzing in at ridiculous hours, long after she would have retired for the night, just wasn’t on, but the prospect of Heather waiting for him back at the apartment was an enticing one.
And why not enjoy the holiday? Theo decided, irritably aware that Jackie was still hovering.
‘Why don’t you head home as well, Jackie?’ he said kindly. ‘The reports can wait till tomorrow.’
Jackie grinned at him. She hadn’t lasted three years as his PA without having a good sense of humour and an ability to speak her mind in the face of any gathering thunder clouds.
‘I think I’ll make that remark a special entry in my diary tonight,’ she said tartly. ‘Considering it’s the first time you’ve ever been known to admit that anything can actually wait until tomorrow.’
‘Keeping diaries is a very sad hobby for a woman in her forties,’ Theo informed her gravely.
‘Well, I hope you’ve managed to keep in your diary a certain date for tomorrow evening.’
Theo frowned and opened his mouth to issue an instruction that all meetings should be off the agenda until he advised otherwise, but Jackie was already continuing in a firm voice, ‘It’s the annual company do.’ She handed him the standard invitation which he had, naturally, committed to memory. ‘Everyone will be expecting you to attend.’
Theo knew what the event would be like. His employees would all be waiting to see which bombshell he brought, and far too much alcohol would be consumed, but the food would be good, and as far as morale-boosting went the annual event was always a winner. He would give a short but salutary speech about company profits and bonuses in the pipeline, and would make sure that he stayed for the duration, even though his dates invariably got bored halfway through and began making complaining little noises shortly after dessert was served.
‘Wouldn’t miss it for the world,’ Theo murmured, pocketing the invitation.
‘And will you be bringing one of your gorgeous dates?’
‘Wait and see, Jackie. Now, clear off. You have diaries to maintain, a husband to feed and children to sort out.’
‘I know! Don’t I lead a wildly exciting life?’
On the way home, Theo mused on his own less than wildly exciting life. Under normal circumstances he would have left the office no earlier than eight, and would have probably been looking forward to dinner with some extravagantly stunning creature followed by all the sex his heart could desire.
Normal circumstances were lying just round the corner, as far as he was concerned, but in the meantime…
By the time he arrived at the apartment his head was full of images of Heather, who would probably have cooked something and would be waiting for him with his mother, doubtless absorbed in one of those intensely irritating reality shows which seemed to cross all language barriers.
He was whistling as he let himself in.
Heather rose from the chair to greet him, her face wreathed in smiles. ‘You mother is much better today, Theo.’ She reached up to kiss him, enjoying the lingering feel of his mouth on hers. ‘We went for a walk and stopped off at the corner shop to buy some stuff. I’ve been showing her a typical English meal.’ She looked over her shoulder to Litsa, who was smiling at them from the comfort of the sofa. ‘Would you like a drink?’
‘I’ll tell you what I’d like a bit later on, when we’re alone.’ He brushed his hand casually across her breast and watched her face go bright red.
Heather happily contemplated the night ahead. Life was so wonderful at the moment! A few weeks and whatever rebellious spark she’d had had been extinguished under Theo’s lazy caresses at night, his magical, sensitive, amazing lovemaking. She adored his mother, who was brave and wise and gentle…and that said something, didn’t it? How many women actually liked their boyfriend’s mothers?
Because that was what she told herself she was. Theo’s girlfriend. And, yes, it had started off as a pretence, but that was then and this was now. And right now she fell into his arms at night, loving every bit of him, and he found her irresistible. He’d told her so himself.
Life couldn’t be better!
She had put her career on hold, at least for the moment, and had managed to fob off Beth’s exasperation at her lack of direction. The flat, apparently, was still available, but Heather wasn’t in the least interested.
She was just too busy enjoying the bliss of living the dream.
When, later, Theo invited her to his company do, Heather closed her eyes with pure happiness and accepted.
Amused at the rapturous expression on her face, Theo felt obliged to tell her that she could expect a very prosaic event. Lots of food and drink and the usual horseplay between the younger members of staff.
Heather barely heard. ‘What shall I wear?’
