Dream Lover (6 page)

‘Mr Cordell,’ she called from the bedroom doorway, ‘I’ll turn in now, thank you very much for looking after me.’

He stood up and took a couple of steps toward her, ‘Come and sit down, I’ve poured a brandy for you. It will help steady your nerves and help you sleep,’ when she hesitated he sat down and patted the sofa, ‘Come on,’ he coaxed, ‘it will help you to relax.’

Tightening the belt on her dressing gown she walked slowly toward him, but instead of sitting on the sofa beside him she sat in the large armchair opposite him.

He smiled and handed her the glass, ‘Thank you,’ she took the brandy balloon holding it between her two hands for a moment before taking a tiny sip. Immediately the golden liquid warmed its way down her body. ‘How did you know where to find me?’ she asked trying not to gasp as the alcohol stung the numerous cuts inside her mouth.

‘Easy, I followed the trail of blood,’ he took a sip of his own drink before carrying on. ‘I had been to the gents, on the way I had noticed some blood by the lifts, I didn’t think anything of it at first but then on the return journey I saw the heel off your shoe.’

That surprised her, he’d studied her shoes long enough to recognise the heels! She doubted even she could do that.

‘I opened the lift door and found more blood and a handful of your hair,’ his handsome face pulled into a grimace, ‘after that it was a case of following the trail, which led straight to Giles’s door.’

Something did not feel right about what he had told her, ‘How did you follow the trail, his room is on the sixth floor, not even on the same floor as ours?’

He shrugged his broad shoulders, ‘I guessed.’

‘You guessed?’ she repeated, ‘why would you guess it was him...unless,’ her words faded as a terrible realisation hit her, ‘he’s done this before hasn’t he?’ she demanded to know.

Maxwell Cordell had the audacity to shrug his shoulders, ‘He may have done, and we were never sure up until tonight that it was him.’

‘You deliberately used me as bate, you set me up…’ she seethed.

He shook his dark head, ‘Not as such...’

‘You bastard,’ she stood up quickly, ‘get out,’ she demanded for the moment forgetting where she was.

His snort of laughter angered her even further, ‘In case you’ve forgotten this is my hotel suite and I’m not going anywhere,’ he drawled smoothly.

For a moment she glared down into his face, ‘I resign, find someone else to…use as bate…and vent your foul temper on you inconsiderate bastard,’ she threw at him as she dashed quickly toward her room; slamming the door so hard she was sure it shook the building to its foundations.

Quinn sat on the edge of her bed and waited for some comeback for her outburst. But she meant what she said she would hand in her notice officially the moment they got back to the office. She would also report him to her personnel officer; confident he shouldn’t have put her in danger the way he had even if he was the Chairman of the Company.

Making her way into the bathroom she checked her injuries, already the bruising was colouring the left side of her face even though she had used the ice pack Maxwell had provided. Luckily it didn’t look as though her eye would close, although it was bruised and sore.

She had been expecting Maxwell to have something to say about her outburst and was surprised there had not been a sound. Sighing she took off her dressing gown and got into bed. Sleep didn’t come easy to her, which was not really surprising it had been a very eventful evening, far too eventful as far as Quinn was concerned. But she did sleep eventually, waking up a half a dozen times after reliving Giles’s attack. Except for her last dream when she dreamt that Maxwell was making love to her.

Curling in to a small ball she tried to push the dream away from her mind. But she couldn’t it was too real, so real she could taste his skin, feel his hands moving gently across her body. Leaping from the bed she dashed toward the bathroom, she didn’t even like Maxwell Cordell why on earth should she dream about making love with him?

Pushing such thoughts to the back of her head she turned on the taps to fill the bath, she desperately needed to have a long soak and poured good helping of soothing bath oil under the running water, then sank gratefully under the mass of bubbles. All that being pushed and dragged about had left her aching… all over.

CHAPTER FOUR

After a long relaxing soak in the bath Quinn looked in the mirror to inspect her face and realised that everyone would speculate as to what had happed to her. The left side of her face was covered in multicoloured bruises, it was also very sore, giving a half laugh at least she wouldn’t have to bother with eye make-up today she couldn’t help but think.

She gave another half laugh, maybe she would let people think Maxwell had struck her; after all he was famous for his bad temper she was quite sure many would immediately blame him. Holding back a sigh of dismay she realised that she was going to have to face him very soon and no doubt reap the consequences of the previous night’s outburst. Really she didn’t care and would see the head of personnel when she returned to the office ‘don’t care if he is the chairman,’ she muttered into the mirror.

Quinn finished dressing and had wrapped her spoilt dress in the laundry bag when there was a gentle tap on her door.

‘Quinn, it’s me,’ Maxwell called, ‘will you come out please I need to talk to you.’

My, that’s a first she thought as he said please. Taking a deep breath she pulled the door open, when she looked up into his face she was pleased to see he looked tired, extremely tired.

‘Yes?’ she asked turning the bruised side of her face toward him, intending to make him feel as guilty as possible.

‘I’ve ordered breakfast, under the circumstances I didn’t think you would want to go to the restaurant,’ he hesitated, ‘also I wanted the opportunity to apologise for what I said to you last night,’ his blue eyes looked straight into hers and she saw only sincerity.

She looked away quickly as a remnant from last night’s dream played over in her mind. He was holding her face in his two hands while whispering soft words, ‘
let me kiss you better
,’ he said as he lowered his head and gently brushed his lips over her cut and swollen mouth.

Quinn gave a huge sigh and his brow creased, ‘How do you feel?’ he asked pouring her coffee, ‘your face is it…’

‘Bloody sore,’ she snapped attempting to push the ridiculous dream out of her mind. Without thinking she lifted her hand and gently touched her lip with one finger, dropping it quickly again when she realised Maxwell was watching her with a strangely disturbing all knowing look in his eyes.

Maxwell put the coffee jug down and turned to her, ‘I didn’t set you up and it was stupid and unkind of me to let you think I had,’ now he sighed. ‘I am really sorry Quinn, I was angry you had been attacked,’ he held out his hand toward her. ‘I promise I did not set you up,’ he told her sincerely.

She looked up into his face, he did look truly sorry and had obviously lost sleep over it, he looked almost as tired as she felt. Which had to be a first, he never looked tired. Slipping her hand into his, she was very aware of his strong warm fingers as they closed gently around her much smaller ones. Suddenly her heart started to race as a flash of the previous night’s erotic dream replayed only this time it wasn’t her lips he was kissing.

‘I’ll let you off this time.’ She couldn’t say ‘forgive’ she wasn’t sure she did, ‘but I don’t think I want to accompany you on anymore trips, not after last night,’ she informed him forcefully.

His brow creased as she pulled her hand from his, ‘Look about last night,’ he looked slightly flustered and strangely guilty, ‘I didn’t realise that you were…’ his words faded as he seemed to go into a world of his own.

Quinn’s brow creased while she tried to work out why he looked so troubled, he was silent so long in the end she prompted him, ‘That I was what?’

He looked up quickly, ‘you know… so… innocent.’

‘Mr Cordell what are you talking about?’ she asked finishing her coffee while waiting for his reply.

His brow creased even further, ‘You know….’

‘No I don’t know,’ she shook her head and sighed; if anyone’s brain should be scrambled today it should be hers but by the way her employer was carrying on it was definitely his.

‘You don’t?’ he looked stunned, perplexed even, ‘I thought you enjoyed last night,’ he said looking into her puzzled golden brown eyes.

Quinn shook her head in disbelief, ‘Just how many women do you know who like being punched in the face?’ she asked as she stood up intending to go back to her room. The man was unbelievable!

Maxwell caught her arm as she went to pass him, ‘I meant the before and after,’ he smiled, ‘but mostly the after,’ he added with a smile playing around his eyes. For a moment his fingers wrapped around her slender wrist and once again he was lost in thinking how silky soft her skin felt.

Shaking her arm free she looked down into his smiling face, her brow creased once again, ‘before was bearable as for the after I don’t know what you’re talking about,’ she looked at her watch then back down into his face. ‘Unless you want to be late you had better hurry,’ she informed him smiling to herself as he jumped up, grabbed his jacket and brief case before dashing for the door.

An hour later the manager of the hotel and the head of security came to see her, after taking a brief statement of events they apologised and hoped the incident had not put her off staying at the hotel again in the future. Before they left the manager offered her an all expenses paid weekend for two any time she wanted.

With nothing left for Quinn to do but wait for Maxwell’s meeting to finish she completed her packing, once she had finished she did a systematic sweep of the room to ensure nothing had been left behind. She was sat in the lounge when she realised Maxwell had probably left his packing for her to do. When she looked in his room she sighed he hadn’t even made a start. For a moment she was tempted to throw his clothes into his overnight bag but then thought better of it and carefully folded them as she put them away. When she placed his bloodied clothes in a laundry bag she made a mental note to take both his and her own to the dry cleaners on her return, although she was not sure they could be worn again.

It was after one o’clock when Maxwell came storming back into the suite, ‘I know it’s late but have you had any lunch?’ he asked.

‘No I was waiting for you; I wasn’t sure what time you would finish or what your plans were,’ she replied while wondering did he do everything at a hundred miles an hour.

He lifted her chin between his fingers and thumb, inspecting her bruised face, ‘I know somewhere we can go. Have you done my packing?’ he asked.

‘Yes’ she replied pointing to their cases.

The somewhere was a very up market Thai restaurant, where their seats were in an intimate alcove away from prying eyes.

‘Do you like Thai food?’ he asked scowling from the menu to her.

She smiled, ‘I like food, period.’

He didn’t return her smile but turned his attention back to trying to decide what he was going to eat.

She surprised him by knowing exactly what she wanted to eat, when the waiter appeared to take her order she told him, ‘Hot and sour prawn soup with lemon grass, followed by Fried Jasmine rice with prawns, please,’ hiding her smug smile at Maxwell’s surprised expression.

‘Have you eaten here before?’ he asked, ‘You haven’t even opened the menu.’

‘No I’ve been to Thailand though, the food is wonderful,’ she enthused.

He studied the menu a moment longer, ‘I’ll have the same,’ he told the waiter. His brow creased for a moment, ‘If you are so afraid of flying how did you manage a...what...eighteen hour flight?’

‘I wasn’t always afraid to fly. Two years ago the plane I was on had to make an emergency landing. It turned out that there wasn’t anything wrong with the plane it was a faulty warning light, but to make matters worse the pilot overshot the runway and the plane almost crashed. It was a dreadfully frightening experience and ever since I have been terrified of flying,’ she explained.

Maxwell nodded, ‘Maybe it will pass one day, after you have flown and not had any problems.’

Quinn nodded, while thinking she doubted it very much.

Their meals arrived and the food was excellent, their conversation mostly about work passed pleasantly until they were drinking their coffee.

‘About last night…’ he started looking unaccustomedly flustered once more.

She quickly held up one slim hand, ‘I would rather we didn’t talk about last night, the sooner it’s forgotten the better,’ she told him.

He looked completely and utterly stunned, ‘Forget it?’

‘Yes, it never happened,’ she told him quite forcefully. ‘What?’ she asked when he stared at her with an expression of astonishment etched on to his handsome face. Once again she found herself wondering what was wrong with him today.

‘You don’t strike me as the type to forget it,’ he shrugged his broad shoulders, ‘but if that’s what you want, so be it,’ he added testily with a look of disbelief on his face.

‘It is,’ she said bringing the conversation to an end.