Legacy of Desire (3 page)

Davina struggled to remove it and by the time she’d thrown it to the floor Phil was inside her, pumping rhythmically, his hands heavy on her breasts. She noticed that he no longer bothered to kiss her when they were having sex; instead he gazed at the wall ahead of him, concentrating solely on his own pleasure.

Just as the first tiny flicker of arousal began deep within Davina, Phil shuddered and gasped then rolled off her. ‘Did you manage to come too?’ he asked.

Davina felt both used and angry. ‘Of course I didn’t. It takes me more than four-and-a-half minutes you know’

‘I didn’t realise I was being timed.’ Phil sounded equally angry.

Suddenly Davina couldn’t bear to stay in the bed with him a minute longer. ‘I’m going to make some coffee,’ she said as she got up.

‘You’ve got a great figure,’ said Phil appreciatively. ‘I like girls with long, lean legs and high buttocks. I wouldn’t mind your tits being a bit bigger, but otherwise I’ve no complaints.’ He laughed.

‘Perhaps you’d like me to have some plastic surgery?’ suggested Davina.

‘Hey, come on, I was only kidding,’ said Phil.

‘Unfortunately I don’t feel quite as cheerful as you do,’ she said.

Once in the kitchen, with her silk robe caressing her sensitive and unsatisfied flesh, Davina stared out of the window. Her eyes widened in surprise at the sight of six
enormous removal vans parked in a row along the drive of the main house. She hoped there wouldn’t be too many more or they’d have to queue up the road. Thankfully she didn’t have to do anything to help Jay move in. He’d assured her that the removal men would see to everything, but she had to admit to herself that she was rather looking forward to his arrival on Monday. It would be interesting to see him again because she realised that, probably due to the circumstances of their meeting, she couldn’t remember him very clearly. Not that she intended to share these feelings with Phil. The very mention of Jay Prescott’s name was enough to put him in a bad mood and she wanted a peaceful weekend.

For the next two days the pair of them did all the things they usually did during Phil’s visits; they went for walks, taking Major, David’s Labrador, with them as the dog was living with Davina until she discovered what the American thought of animals. In the evenings they went out to eat at local pubs. It was nearly midnight on the Sunday before Phil left, and he was obviously reluctant to go.

‘Are you going to be all right this week?’

‘Why shouldn’t I be?’

‘You’ve got this American chap to handle. He’s a prosecutor, hardly the kind of man you’re used to dealing with.’

‘Meaning what?’

‘Meaning that he’s probably got a mind as sharp as a razor and a tongue to match. I don’t want you hurt by him, Davina.’

‘Why should he hurt me?’ she asked in astonishment. ‘We hardly need to see each other once he’s settled in.’

‘I still don’t like it, and I don’t know what your uncle was thinking of when he drew up the will. It isn’t right having you living here alone in the grounds with a man like that only a few hundred metres away.’

‘You make him sound like a criminal,’ laughed Davina. ‘He looked to me like a man whose work is the most important thing in his life.’

‘I don’t see how you could possibly know that.’

Davina shrugged. ‘It’s that air of authority he had about him, and his businesslike behaviour. You have to admit he wasn’t exactly a smooth charmer.’

‘Maybe not, but you noticed what he was like all right, didn’t you?’

‘You’re not jealous, are you?’ she asked incredulously.

Phil shook his head. ‘Not of him being here with you, just of his inheriting the estate.’

Davina wanted to remind Phil that the estate was nothing to do with him, that the pair of them weren’t even engaged and that if anyone felt upset about losing out on the inheritance it should be her, but as usual she kept quiet. ‘Drive carefully and have a safe journey,’ she said, kissing him on the cheek.

‘That’s not very passionate,’ he complained.

As he grabbed her, crushing his lips against hers, Davina realised that she was simply waiting for him to go. When she heard his car drive away she let out a sigh of relief and her shoulders sagged as the tension drained out of them. There was no doubt about it, their relationship was falling apart, but whether it was Phil’s fault or hers she wasn’t sure.

Jay Prescott unfolded his long legs and slid out of the driving seat of the Aston Martin that a friend had managed to get for him from a second-hand car dealer. He’d always wanted to own an Aston Martin and had greatly enjoyed the drive from London. ‘What do you
think, Pattie?’ he asked the leggy blonde climbing out of the passenger seat.

‘I think it’s great,’ she enthused. ‘I love speed.’

‘I meant the house,’ he said evenly. There were times when Pattie irritated him, but the sex between them was so incredible that he never let it show. They’d been together for six months and he still wasn’t bored; quite a record for him. He suspected it was because she was wonderfully inventive and willing to indulge all his desires, which was more than some of his girlfriends had been.

Pattie smoothed down her dark blue lycra mini-skirt and tugged at the white silk halter-neck top, which emphasised her cosmetically-enhanced breasts. Although only twenty-eight she was very anxious to keep the ravages of time at bay, and being the ex-wife of a millionaire could well afford to do this. ‘Kinda cute,’ she said brightly.

‘Cute? You’re talking about a piece of English heritage. Dolls are cute, puppies are cute, old English houses are magnificent.’

‘Okay,’ she agreed amicably, ‘it’s magnificent. I just hope it’s got central heating and a decent shower. You know what the Brits are like when it comes to central
heating. They seem to imagine that there’s something uplifting about freezing to death.’

‘I don’t imagine for one moment that this house has central heating,’ retorted Jay. ‘I don’t think my godfather had the money to heat a place this size.’

‘But you have, haven’t you?’ Pattie pointed out.

‘Sure I have,’ agreed Jay. ‘But I don’t know if I’m going to bother. It depends on how much time I spend here.’

‘You’re going to be here a year! Even you can’t manipulate things so that that doesn’t include a winter.’

‘I guess not,’ he agreed.

‘Was your godfather married?’

Jay shook his head. ‘He left a trail of broken hearts behind him in his youth and then settled down here on his own. He used to pop up to London now and again for discreet visits to lady friends but his work meant everything to him.’

‘You must have been blood relations, he sounds just like you.’

Jay shook his head. ‘Nope, but he and my father were good friends and we got on well. You’re right though, in many ways we were alike. The last time he
visited America he came and listened to me in court. He said some pretty kind things about me.’

‘So does everyone,’ said Pattie, walking up the steps and lifting the brass knocker. ‘I only asked because I hoped he’d got a large bed.’

‘Since we hardly ever use the bed for sex it doesn’t really matter, does it?’ Jay pointed out. ‘We’ve got enough rooms here to keep us happy for six years. I’m going to ask Todd and Tanya over once we’re settled in.’

Pattie’s eyes gleamed. ‘Fantastic! We can have a housewarming party, although perhaps it had better be called a housefreezing party.’

Jay glanced over his shoulder at the cottage they’d passed as they came through the gates. ‘Ask Clive to take our cases in,’ he said to Pattie. ‘Then we ought to pay a visit on Davina.’

‘Oh yeah, the niece. I bet she’s ticked off.’

‘Not inheriting the house you mean?’

Pattie nodded. ‘Sure. I mean you said she claimed never to have heard of you. She must have imagined the whole lot was going to her.’

Jay considered this for a moment. ‘She didn’t strike me as that kind of girl,’ he said at last.

‘What’s she like?’ asked Pattie, wondering if this English niece was going to offer competition, because Pattie was prepared to fight tooth and nail in a no-holds-barred war to keep her away from Jay if necessary. Marriage to Jay would give her an excellent position in Bostonian society, a position that she would never be able to obtain any other way. Also, sex with him was incredible.

‘She’s a bit taller than you with short, dark, curly hair, slim and intelligent looking,’ said Jay.

‘Is she attractive?’

He shrugged. ‘Yeah I guess, in a wholesome kinda way. She wears classy clothes.’

Pattie flushed. ‘What do you mean by that?’

Jay smiled to himself. He’d known that would sting. Pattie had no idea of class; it was the one thing money hadn’t been able to buy for her. Not that he objected, that wasn’t why he was with her, but he was well aware that it was an area of vulnerability. He always liked to know people’s weaknesses and anxieties as you never knew when they might prove useful.

An hour later he and Pattie arrived at the cottage. Davina answered the door to them wearing a pair
of black velvet trousers and a red and grey dogtooth jacket over a cream blouse. He’d been right, Jay thought to himself, she had class. On the other hand she didn’t look as though she had very much experience and he wondered what she was like in bed.

He watched with interest as she ran a hand through her hair. ‘You should have phoned me, told me you were coming,’ she babbled. ‘The place is an absolute tip. I’ve been working in the studio all day and …’

‘It’s your cottage,’ said Jay. ‘Doesn’t matter to me if it’s a tip or not. As long as you service me when required, the place is your own.’

Colour stained her normally pale cheeks and he felt excitement stir within him. He’d been careful with his use of words, suspecting that she’d find them unsettling, and as he walked into the cottage he could tell that she was uneasy.

‘Now this
is
cute,’ enthused Pattie, who hadn’t been listening to her lover. ‘You say you’ve been working in your studio. Are you a ballet dancer?’

‘Does she look as though she’s been working out at the barre in those clothes?’ asked Jay.

Now it was Pattie’s turn to flush. ‘I guess not. I wasn’t thinking.’

‘Obviously.’

‘Is everything all right for you at the house?’ asked Davina anxiously, moving restlessly around her living room. ‘Clive said that the removal men were excellent and everything was in place.’

‘It looks fine,’ Jay reassured her. ‘If you don’t mind I’d like to have a look at your studio and the work you do there.’ He was surprised when Davina seemed about to refuse. ‘Do you have a problem with that?’ he asked in his best prosecutor’s manner.

‘Not a problem exactly,’ stammered Davina. ‘It’s just that some of the pictures I’m doing at the moment are a bit risqué.’

Pattie laughed, linking one arm in Jay’s and running a hand over his chest and down to his waist, her long fingernails scratching lightly just above his belt.

‘You don’t need to worry about Jay, honey. He’s very broad-minded.’

‘Well, all right then,’ Davina agreed reluctantly and, intrigued, Jay walked into the studio.

There were pictures everywhere, on the walls, on the
floor, stacked in the corners, and large sketches at various stages of development were on different drawing boards. As Davina stood uncomfortably in the middle of the room, her hands clasped tightly together, Jay prowled around, fascinated by the erotic drawings that were clearly her latest pieces.

‘It seems you’ve got hidden depths,’ he drawled.

He could tell she was embarrassed. ‘I’m freelance, I have to take any work I can get,’ she said defensively.

‘Sure, but you couldn’t do it if you didn’t know about this kind of thing.’

‘It’s science-fiction, a fantasy,’ explained Davina.

‘In other words, you use your imagination, is that what you’re saying?’

‘Yes … that is, no.’

‘It must be one or the other.’

‘Don’t worry about him,’ laughed Pattie. ‘Jay doesn’t have conversations, he conducts cross-examinations.’

She looked at the picture her lover was studying, wriggling between him and the drawing board and then pressing her buttocks back against him until Jay felt himself responding. As his erection stirred inside his trousers he put his arms around Pattie’s waist and
nuzzled the nape of her neck for a minute, while she continued to wriggle enthusiastically.

Jay was well aware that Davina was embarrassed by Pattie’s behaviour and this amused him. He was so used to Pattie that normally he ignored her, but the drawings had aroused him as well. He supposed that if he analysed his reaction it wasn’t so much the drawings as the fact that they’d been done by this cool, rather innocent-looking young woman standing defensively in her studio, obviously longing for the pair of them to leave. He remembered her boyfriend from the day of the funeral. He hadn’t looked anything special. Jay couldn’t imagine that Davina had drawn any ideas for the pictures from him.

Eventually, as Pattie continued to writhe, Jay realised that they were going to have to leave and continue things back at the house. He moved the blonde to one side and turned his attention to Davina. ‘I just wanted to let you know that we were here. Perhaps you could stop by the house at ten tomorrow morning and I’ll tell you about the first dinner party I’m arranging. I’ll need your help with that.’

‘Of course,’ responded Davina.

‘We can show ourselves out,’ continued Jay, and he saw a look of relief cross the English girl’s face. ‘Why don’t you get back to work?’ he suggested.

‘Now?’

‘Sure, I’d like to see you working on that picture.’

‘I can’t work with other people around.’

‘Well that’s a pity, honey, because I want you to and as I understood it from the will, what I want has a distinct bearing on whether or not you remain in the cottage.’

‘My work isn’t a service for you,’ protested Davina.

‘I think it’ll relax me to watch you at work. Are you refusing?’

He saw the indecision on her face as she tried to work out what she should do. Then, clearly deciding that she was in no position to argue at such an early stage in their relationship, she sat down on the high stool and began to draw. Jay moved nearer, standing directly behind her, and as he inhaled the light fragrance of her perfume he reached out and very lightly touched her on the shoulder. She jerked as though a bolt of electricity had shot through her and her pencil fell to the floor.