Dream Lover (14 page)

‘No dream… I’m so sorry...’ he watched while she blinked rapidly to stop the tears falling from her eyes.

‘You’re sorry…. Oh my God what have you done?’ Quinn pressed her fingers over her eyes wiping away tears. ‘When…when did you...’ she gave a sob that shook her body and tore at his heart.

Max curled his hands into balls aware the last thing she wanted was for him to touch her. ‘London… after Giles attacked you…. I didn’t know then you walked in your sleep…’

‘I was asleep… don’t you know when a person is asleep?’ she moved her hands from her face and looked into his eyes, ‘or don’t you care?’

‘I didn’t realise at the time…you appeared to be awake...’ he said quietly.

‘Where you ever going to tell me?’ she demanded angrily. ‘You despicable man you weren’t going to… if I hadn’t been pregnant you wouldn’t have told me would you?’ she sobbed.

‘I tried to tell you, every time I brought the subject up of London; you told me you didn’t want to talk about it.’

‘I thought you meant about me being attacked,’ she yelled at him. ‘I want to go home,’ suddenly she started to cry; unable to stem the flow of tears she brushed the palms of her hands across her eyes. Quinn lifted her face to look into his once again, ‘This is why you were so concerned when I was sick… why you kept asking how I felt…’

‘Yes... I wanted to tell you then that you could have been... I just couldn’t find the right words,’ his words faded as he looked into her ashen face, quickly pushing his hands into his pockets to stop from reaching for her when she started to cry again. ‘I’m so sorry, please don’t cry...’

‘Don’t cry!’ She shouted at him, ‘I…have every right to cry,’ she sobbed and turned away, ‘oh what am I going to do?’ Suddenly she realised why she had been so tired, her periods had always been erratic to say the least so a missed one here and there meant nothing to her at all.

‘It happened before I knew about you sleep walking, if I had realised,’ he sighed, ‘I would never take advantage of you Quinn, I think too much of you.’

She gave him a look of total disbelief. ‘I thought it was a dream,’ she said softly between sobs, but this time more to herself than to him.

Max rested his hand against her shoulder and turned her back to face him, ‘You dream about making love with me?’ he said quietly. Quinn said nothing but shrugged his hand away from her. ‘If I tell you what happened…damn it Quinn I didn’t realise you were asleep or that you were a virgin I wouldn’t have...’ he stopped and looked into her pale face. ‘I don’t mean to be insensitive but you were very encouraging. And just so you know you enjoyed it...very much,’ he lifted his hand and caught her chin while he looked into her eyes, ‘I made sure you did… I’m not selfish in bed….’

‘Oh shut up,’ she snapped angrily, now her face burnt red with embarrassment.

They both turned toward the door when room service arrived with their refreshments. While Maxwell let the waiter into the room Quinn stood up and walked into the bathroom to splash cold water on her face; numb with shock she sat on the side of the bath and stared unseeingly at the floor. She was still there when the waiter left.

Max gave her a few minutes on her own before pushing the bathroom door open. Quinn was sat on the side of the bath staring down at the floor, he gave a small grimace even the top of her head looked angry, and who could blame her.

‘Come and get something to eat,’ he crossed the room in two easy strides and took hold of her hands and pulled her up leading her out and toward the sofa.

Quinn could never recall being so out of kilter, her emotions ranged from anger to disbelief. How could he do that to her while she slept? She looked up quickly while he fixed their drinks, never mind drinking the coffee she would like to pour it over his head.

Max poured them both coffee but as he went to offer her the cup he hesitated, ‘Should you drink coffee?’ he asked looking from her to the black liquid.

‘Just give me the bloody stuff!’ she snapped angrily at him.

‘Don’t swear, its most un-lady like,’ he told her placing the cup in her outstretched hand.

Quinn gave a harsh laugh, ‘Yes and it’s un-gentlemanly to have sex with a woman while she’s asleep!’

They both sat in a tense stunned silence, unaware he was watching her she laid her hand across her still flat stomach.

‘I’ll take care of you… both of you,’ he said with a slight catch in his deep voice.

‘I don’t want anything from you and I certainly don’t want you to ‘
take care’
of me!’ she threw at him. Then looking into his eyes she took a deep shuddering breath before she spoke. ‘I have strong beliefs about sex before marriage, old fashioned as it may seem in this day. It wouldn’t have mattered if I had been fifty before I met the right man,’ her chin quivered, ‘I would have waited. Now you have taken that… when you had no right,’ she brushed away the tears that ran freely down her cheeks. ‘I was asleep you bastard…’

This time as her tears fell he pulled her into his arms, ignoring her protests and struggles he held her tightly against his chest. ‘You shouldn’t upset yourself, it’s bad for the baby,’ he said soothingly.

She looked up to him with tear filled eyes, ‘I shouldn’t be pregnant, and then it wouldn’t matter how upset I am, you rat…’

He ignored her insults and held onto her gently rubbing her shoulders and back as she sobbed. ‘We’ll work something out, I promise to look after you and the baby...’

‘The only thing I want is to go home… I don’t want anything off you and I certainly don’t want you to ‘
work
’ anything out. I want to go home and never see you again.’ Quinn’s breath caught, what where her family going to think, what a dreadful mess he had made of her life. ‘You bastard,’ she sobbed softly.

Maxwell sat and watched her fighting to control her emotions, ‘We’ll talk later when you’ve got over the initial shock,’ he informed her, using a tone of voice normally reserved for Boardroom Meetings.

‘I don’t want to talk to you now or later,’ she retorted as she started to stand.

‘Well that’s tough,’ he said pulling her back beside him, ‘because I want to talk to you!’

His angry words upset her and she burst into tears once again, Maxwell did what he had wanted to do since he found her sat in the hospital bed, he pulled her tightly against his chest and buried his face in her soft fragrant hair.

When the phone call had come through to the meeting that his p.a. was in hospital he had raced to her bedside concerned she was ill, at first no one seemed aware of what had happened to her, all he was told was she had been taken to hospital. It was only when he arrived that the reception nurse filled him in with the details. Worry turned to relief she was unharmed, relief turned to anger when he realised she had been running away from him, but he was not just angry he was hurt because it had been a long time since he had allowed himself to become emotionally close to a woman.

‘Everything will be all right,’ he promised smoothing down her hair.

‘You don’t even like me,’ she whispered her words muffled against his chest, ‘how could you…’

He stopped stroking her hair and lifted her head from his chest, ‘I like you very much Quinn. I thought I made that quiet clear to you last night, besides I don’t sleep with every woman that offers herself, no matter how much she encourages me,’ he brushed his fingers across her tear flushed cheeks. ‘I have to feel something for her,’ he told her honestly.

She looked up into his eyes for some sign he was lying to her, that was something she had found out about him over the time she had worked for him he always told the truth. No matter how painful, no matter whom it hurt.

Quinn pushed herself out of his arms, ‘I still want to go home,’ she said wrapping her arms around her own body. When he did not answer her she looked to where he sat on the sofa, for a fleeting moment their eyes met. Amazingly it was he who looked away first, ‘I said...’ she started to say.

‘I heard what you said,’ he cut in quickly. ‘You are not going anywhere, I want you to sit down and talk to me, tell me about this dream you mentioned.’

‘No… I won’t,’ she turned away as her face started to burn. She stifled a groan and looked back toward him and her embarrassment grew. She had been naked... he had been naked... They’d probably touched…not probably definitely…

‘Quinn are you all right?’ he asked as he started to stand.

‘Leave me alone, I just want some time to myself,’ she told him waiving her hands at him.

‘I don’t have any plans to go out sorry,’ he said smoothly resting back against the deep cushioned sofa.

‘Well go to your own...’ she stopped and looked around remembering they were in his room.

‘This is my room,’ he said with a smile, ‘if you remember you checked out of yours this morning and I think you will find the hotel is fully booked.’

‘Please let me go home,’ she begged.

‘You can, if you can get on the plane alone and I don’t think you’ll be able to, you couldn’t do it before you won’t do it now,’ he gave a grim smile. ‘I still have work to finish here an extra meeting has been called, I can’t leave until tomorrow. Sorry.’

But she could see he didn’t look sorry at all.

‘I’ll have to find another hotel…’

‘We could share,’ he cut in smoothly.

Quinn raised her hand and pointed to something in the air, ‘Oh look at that,’ she said with a mocking laugh.

His brow creased, ‘What?’ he said looking up to where she pointed.

‘A flying pig!’ she gave him a hard glare, ‘I’m not sleeping with you,’ she snapped.

‘I wasn’t suggesting you did, you could sleep on the sofa,’ he patted the wide expanse of thickly padded velour.

‘Why don’t you sleep on it,’ she suggested, ‘I need my comfort, after all I am pregnant thanks to you!’ she snapped back at him.

Maxwell laughed, ‘At my height I don’t fit onto sofas’,’ he stood up suddenly and pulled her quickly toward him. ‘Sit down and don’t argue Quinn, I’ve been very patient with you but to be honest it’s wearing a bit thin.’ He looked into her pale face again, ‘Now tell me about this dream,’ he demanded.

‘No and don’t you dare shout at me!’ she tugged unsuccessfully at her arm, ‘You just wait until my brothers hear about what you’ve done…’

He gave a humourless laugh; ‘Oh yes and what will your brothers’ think when I tell them you encouraged me?’ he threw back at her, then immediately regretted it when her face paled. ‘I’m sorry that was below the belt,’ he apologised quickly.

‘I hate you,’ she whispered sadly as she pulled at her arms to free herself.

‘No you don’t,’ he said evenly, nonplussed by her angry words, ‘now tell me about this dream.’

She shook her head, ‘No, let me go,’ she demanded still trying to release her arm from his grip.

‘In that case I’ll tell you what happened that way you’ll be able to compare notes and see if it lives up to the real thing,’ he smiled into her outraged face.

‘Please don’t...’ she whispered concerned as to what he was going to tell her.

But he told her anyway how he had woken to hear her calling his name, when he left his room she was standing in the lounge.

‘You looked like a vision in the soft light, your eyes were wide open, and when you spoke you spoke clearly.’ He thought for a moment before carrying on, remembering. ‘Your hair was like a golden halo in the soft light,’ he lifted his hand and ran is fingers through the length. ‘The strap from your night dress had slipped off your shoulder, the material only just covered your breasts,’ he looked down to her breasts then back into her eyes. ‘As I got closer to you I could see you were afraid, you seemed to think someone was in your room, ‘
please don’t let him hurt me
’ you asked. I told you there was no one there and to go back to bed,’ he hesitated for a moment while he took a deep breath. ‘You looked toward your room, I told you again there was no one there, but you were shaking, literally shaking with fear. For just a moment I wondered if Giles had got into to the apartment so I led you back into the room, after checking there was no one there I put you into bed….’

‘You don’t have to tell me anymore...’ she interrupted as she realised he was going to give her a blow-by-blow account of their encounter.

‘Oh but I do, I want you to know how I came to make love to you, no, how we came to make love to each other,’ he corrected. ‘Now stop interrupting. Once I had put you into bed you held onto me asking me to stay with you, I never went into your room with the intention of getting into your bed. I promise you that was not my intention,’ he repeated while he held onto her arms when she tried to move away. ‘You wrapped your arms around me and asked me to stay.’

‘Please stop,’ she gave up trying to free her arms from his tight hold but still turned her face away from him, refusing to look at him.

‘No I won’t. Suddenly we were kissing gently at first, then passionately. You held onto me wrapping yourself around me, when your night dress rode up and I found you were naked I touched you and when you didn’t object I naturally thought it was what you wanted.’ He caught her chin and held her face tightly as she tried to turn away, his eyes locked onto hers.

‘Stop!’ she begged embarrassed beyond belief as he repeated everything that had happened that night.