Ran From Him (13 page)

Then again, did any woman forget her first lover?

She shivered, suddenly scared of the future, a Daniel-less future. It seemed bleak and unsatisfying, and she struck out at her fear. She had to remember her independence. Relying on someone else for pleasure, or anything else, made you vulnerable. “I’ve booked a ticket to Sydney for tomorrow.”

“What?” He tensed beside her.

“Well, Rob and Amie are okay, and they’re the reason I came here. I can’t stay forever, not on urgent personal leave from my job.”

“Your job,” he said flatly.

“Not all of us are newly retired,” she tried to tease him.

“No,” he said it slowly, reluctantly. Then he moved with sudden decision. “If we’re to make Matt and Olivia’s dinner, we’d better hustle. Do you want to shower first, or should I?”

“You.” She huddled up, feeling faintly chilled as she listened to the water run. Last night, they had showered together.

She gathered up her robe and retreated to her own room to shower. Time to be sensible and return to real life. She had told Daniel of her ticket to Sydney; how could she complain when he’d acted on her reminder that what was between them was only a passing interlude?

“Stop looking so stricken,” she muttered to her reflection and smoothed on some lip gloss. She dressed in jeans and her soft angora top. With her hair pulled back in a ponytail, she looked young and free, feminine yet practical. Independent.

Daniel wore casual trousers and a cotton rugby shirt in white with a blue strip the colour of his eyes. He waited for her in the living area. “You’re beautiful.” He stretched out a hand to her, and a faint scowl drew his eyebrows together when she ignored it. “Your family will expect us to act like we’re in love.”

“We don’t have to be over the top.” Cate made herself smile. “We never did get that engagement ring.”

A stunned expression spread over his face. “I forgot.” Clearly, he didn’t forget many things.

A case of wishful thinking? If you can’t see the ring, then this confused situation doesn’t exist?

She shrugged. “We’ll tell them I’m being fussy and can’t find anything I like.”

“No. You need a ring.”

“I’m leaving, tomorrow. This way you’re saved the expense of a ring.”

“And what about when you return for Amie and Rob’s wedding?”

“I’ll borrow one,” she said flippantly.

He scowled.

She wasn’t happy either, but how could she admit she’d suddenly wondered what Amie and Rob’s wedding would mean. Would she be expected to act the loving fiancée and stay with Daniel in the penthouse? If she did, would they make love again? Would she survive it? Or worse, what if he was no longer interested in her? He was starting a new life, one without her.

“I’ll buy you a ring.” His mouth set grimly. “Shall we go?”

They took the four wheel drive, sitting high above other traffic on the road and hardly talking.

Her dad had moved since Cate left six years ago, so she left the navigating to Daniel. She half-feared her dad would have bought one of the soulless new executive residences for the single wealthy, all hard angles and gloss paint without a plant in sight. Instead, and to her relief, he’d bought an old worker’s cottage, renovated into new charm and set in a well-maintained garden. A magpie sat on the white picket fence and regarded them with the beady eyes of ownership. They apparently passed muster since it offered a short carol before spreading sleek black and white wings and gliding a few metres to a neighbour’s front lawn.

“It’s lovely,” Cate exclaimed, unwilling to examine how much of her enthusiasm came from the chance to escape the oppressive tension that had filled the car. “I love old houses that have been brought back to life. This one has so much character and charm. I’m glad Dad bought it.”

Daniel walked silently beside her.

Matt Trapani met them at the front door. “Come in. Come in. Olivia is in the kitchen.”

“Hi, Dad.” She gave him a quick hug. “Something smells wonderful.”

They trooped down the narrow hall to the kitchen at the back of the house.

Olivia looked up from stirring a pot of soup and smiled. Although this wasn’t yet her home, she was very comfortable in it, very much mistress of the kitchen and her whole world.

“Can I help?” Cate offered.

“All under control.”

Matt popped a bottle of champagne. “I’m not waiting for Rob and Amie before we begin celebrating.”

“I wouldn’t either,” Daniel said. “Amie’s usually late.” He placed a box of expensive chocolates on the bench, out of Olivia’s way. “I’d present these to the chef, but you look busy, Olivia.”

“Not too busy for chocolate.” She abandoned the soup and studied the chocolates. “Lovely. Thank you, Daniel.” She kissed his cheek and accepted a glass of champagne from Matt.

When they all had their glasses, Matt raised his in toast. “To Cate, for coming home.”

She smiled and blushed as they all drank and Daniel put a casually possessive arm around her.

“To Cate,” he echoed.

“Are you starting without us?” Rob hadn’t waited for an invitation, but barged in, towing Amie with him. She balanced a covered dish carefully, only relaxing when she’d slid it safely into the fridge.

“More champagne.” Matt poured and handed Amie a glass with a smile that suggested that on this happy day, he could accept even a spoilt rich girl as a daughter-in-law.

Cate and Olivia exchanged glances and smiles, sharing their relief at Matt’s new attitude.

“To family,” he toasted and they all stood in the crowded kitchen and shared the thankfulness and joy.

“To family!”

Tears pricked Cate’s eyes and she leant into Daniel. His arm tightened around her. They both knew the importance of family. She looked up, expecting to see him watching Amie as she settled in with her new family.

Instead, he was watching her. “I’m glad you’re home, Caty.”

“Me, too.” She put her arm around his waist and his watchful expression eased. He clinked his champagne glass with hers.

“Now, scoot,” Olivia said. “I don’t need help, but I do need space. Matt, can you settle everyone in the dining room?”

Obediently, they followed him into the dining room, finding the table beautifully laid with gilt-edged white china, gleaming cutlery and a low centre arrangement of apricot blush roses.

“Olivia must have spent all day preparing,” Cate exclaimed.

“She has,” Matt said. “It’s her way of saying she’s happy to be joining our family.”

“We’re happy to have her,” Rob said.

Amie beamed approval and pride at him.

Daniel pulled out Cate’s chair, seated her, then sat beside her.

With Matt’s assistance, Olivia carried in a golden spring vegetable soup. He brought a basket of small bread rolls.

When they were all served, Matt began. “I don’t usually say grace, but today I have so much to be grateful for that it comes from my full heart. God, we thank you for the abundance of love and good things which you have given us. Watch over us, always. Amen.”

He wiped his eyes as they echoed, “Amen.”

“Homemade stock,” Amie said after her first spoonful. “Delicious.”

“Thank you, Amie.” Olivia smiled at her future step-daughter-in-law.

“Rob, how’s the house hunting going?” Matt asked.

Some of Amie’s bright happiness faded and Rob’s shoulders hunched.

“Not brilliantly,” he said. “We’re still looking. It’s hard to find something we both like. There’s the question of location, size, whether we want a garden, or even room for a dog.”

Unexpectedly, it was Daniel who nodded understanding. “Buying a house together is more than buying a place to live, it involves lifestyle decisions, like pet ownership.”

Cate wondered when he’d considered such matters. She’d thought he’d been too busy building his business to consider…well, domestic matters. Did men dream of a home?

“Finding a house is hard,” Amie said fervently. She smiled at Rob. “But we’re getting there.”

Talk became general then and light-hearted. Cate relaxed into it, feeling her heart fill and overflow with joy. It was so good to be home, to be gently teased by Rob, to share a joke with Daniel, to see her dad sit happy and proud at the head of the table.

“Have you shown Amie your baby photos, Rob,” she teased.

“Have you shown Daniel yours?” he shot back.

“I will get them,” Matt said, immediately. He rose.

Cate and Rob howled him down.

“Now you’ve done it, sis.”

“I would like to see them,” Daniel said.

Amie seconded him.

“Later.” Olivia quelled the squabble. She glowed in her new role of almost-stepmother.

Over the lamb roast, attention focussed on Amie and Rob’s brought-forward wedding.

“Have you spoken with your mum?” Matt asked Amie.

“Yes. She’s just gotten engaged herself, to Eric.”

“Wonderful.”

“Amazing.”

“Brilliant.”

“An orgy of marriages,” Rob said. “Do you think there’s something in the water?”

“Since I’m drinking champagne.” Cate took an illustrative sip. “No.” But her eyes caught Daniel’s and she flushed.

“Everyone is happy and that is good.” Matt smiled down the table at Olivia. “We are very lucky to have all found our love.”

Cate glanced down at her champagne glass, her sparkling mood dimmed. She hadn’t found love and she didn’t intend to. Love made you vulnerable. What she had found was lust and physical satisfaction, and lies. She was living a lie in the middle of her family.

“I…Daniel and I—”

But he spoke over her. “So, what did Mum say about your new wedding date?”

Amie threw her hands in the air. “She said I’d need help, and she’s coming home just as soon as she can…but not until she and Eric have seen Venice together.”

“How romantic,” Olivia breathed.

“We will go there on our honeymoon,” Matt said instantly.

“Oh, darling.”

They exchanged a loving look.

Rob cleared his throat. “I know I’m only a mere male and not an expert on weddings, but I think Amie will need help—and I know I will—in setting up the wedding for a month’s time. So, Cate, we’ll take up your offer of help and Olivia’s, too.”

“Of course,” Olivia said. “I’ve looked into a few things for my own wedding. Venues and catering, even string quartets.”

“I don’t know how much I can do from Sydney,” Cate said, hesitantly.

Everyone stopped and stared at her, except Daniel who continued eating with every sign of enjoyment.

She looked back at her family helplessly. “I have a job in Sydney.”

“A job?” Matt, who lived and breathed dedication to work, sounded outraged. “A job? Your brother is getting married. The man you love lives here. Your family wants and needs you. And you talk of returning to Sydney.”

“I have a plane ticket.”

“Bah.”

“Matt,” Olivia said, low and warning. “Cate has her own life and decisions to make. She has responsibilities we don’t know about.”

“I understand,” Amie said in a small voice. “I was being selfish hoping…I mean, I thought, since we’d be sister-in-laws twice, marrying each other’s brothers…I wanted to share…”

“Can’t you take holidays?” Rob demanded.

Then they all, except Olivia, turned to Daniel. “Can’t you tell her?”

He looked calmly back. “I’ve already told Cate how important family is. She knows I want her here.”

In bed!
she thought, indignantly. She looked at her family. She loved them so much.

“In fact,” Daniel continued. “Cate has plans to write a second book. I think she could resign from her current job and concentrate on research and writing here in Perth. It would be nice if she stayed close to those who love her.”

“Another book? Cate, that’s wonderful.” The encouragement came from Olivia.

“See? Stay,” Rob said.

Amie simply looked imploring.

But it was her dad, visibly reminding himself not to interfere, and yet, bracing for rejection, that decided her.

“All right. I’ll stay.”

“But where will I stay?” Cate demanded of Daniel when, having kissed and hugged everyone good-bye, they climbed into the four wheel drive and he put it into reverse. “You know if I stay in Perth they’ll all expect me to stay with you in your apartment.”

“Is that such a problem?” He pulled onto the road. Streetlights cast dim puddles of illumination and a prowling cat stared a moment, its green eyes reflective, until it dashed for the safety of a low-growing shrub.

“Well, it’s your space I’m invading.” Even to hear own ears she sounded sulky, someone lost, unhappy and determined to find something to pin her unhappiness to. Hadn’t she been half-dreaming of coming home to Perth? She ought to be happy. Instead, she folded her arms and slumped in her seat. “I’m a space invader.”

“I don’t mind.”

For a second she saw Daniel’s expression in the orange glow of a streetlight. He looked amused.

“It’s not funny.” The protest burst out of her. “And what happens when the rest of the world finds out—and they will. People will be curious about why you’ve quit as CEO. They’ll be prying into your life, and they’ll find me there. A secret, romantic engagement. They’ll think I had something to do with the decision.” Ramifications unfolded. “When we split up, they’ll think you’ll want your old job back. Tim Radjick will feel insecure.”

“Not Tim. And no one pries into my life.”

“Huh.” She thrust out her chin, stubbornly clinging to her grievance. “Journalists pry into everyone’s lives. I know. I am one. Rob and Dad, not to mention Amie, won’t keep our supposed engagement secret. It’ll be common knowledge. What do you think people will say when we break up a second time?”

“Do you care what people say?”

She hesitated.

“You’re like me.” He stopped at a red traffic light and turned to face her. “We live our lives on our own terms. Other people’s judgement is less important than knowing that we’re being true to ourselves.”

Rats, but it annoyed her he was right. She refused to explicitly agree. “But I’m not being true to myself. Nor are you. We’re lying to our families.”

“To save them pain. How do you think they’d feel if we’d simply said we were having an affair? We’ve been over this ground.”

She didn’t want to admit it, didn’t want to admit the confusion of her emotions. Her dad and Rob were so happy in their new relationships. They were moving on, trusting in love, committing themselves to someone else. She was only pretending commitment.

“The light’s green,” she said.

He put the four wheel drive in gear. “Do you want to change your mind and go back to Sydney?”

Cate drew a shuddering breath. “No.” If she did, it would be like abandoning her family. “How can I after everything Dad, Rob and Amie said? They want me here and I said I’d stay.” She exhaled unevenly. “Love is so manipulative.”

“Pardon?” Daniel sounded honestly startled.

“When you love someone, you know what buttons to push. Like Amie with Rob and threatening his guitar. You know how to get the person’s attention, and how to argue or guilt them into doing what you want.”

“That is a remarkably cynical attitude.”

“Honest.” She leaned her head back against the car seat and closed her eyes. “Dad tried it six years ago. I’ve learned to be wary, but sometimes you can’t fight it. Love makes its own demands.”

“Cate—”

She opened her eyes. “I guess putting up with me until Amie’s wedding is worth it to you for her peace of mind.”

“I’m not ‘putting up with you’,” he said violently. He parked the four wheel drive beside the Ferrari and switched off the engine. In the silence he touched her face. “I thought what we have between us was more than ‘putting up’ with one another. Isn’t there pleasure between us?”

“Pleasure?” The drifting stroke of his fingers set her nerves tingling. The confused jangle of her emotions was pushed aside by desire. Her breath shuddered. “A great deal of pleasure.”

She lifted heavy eyelids to study his face in the shadows of the car park. He looked stern, but she’d learnt that the taut line of his mouth spoke of passion. She turned her face so her lips caught a finger, caressed and released it. With desire building, she let go of her reservations, the nagging swarm of ifs and buts. “Are you reminding me we have a month of loving until Rob and Amie’s wedding?”

“If you want it. My bed or your own room—your choice.”

“Your bed.” She watched the flare of emotion in his eyes.

This time the lift to the penthouse was empty. Cate was glad. She wanted to melt into Daniel’s heat, to forget everything but the merging of their bodies and the explosion of their senses. She hooked an ankle around his calf and leaned up and into his kiss. He tasted of chocolate, coffee and champagne. He tasted of Daniel.

He untied her hair and ran his fingers through it, massaging her scalp in an erotic stimulation that brought a whimper to her lips and a desperate edge to her kisses. She curled her tongue around his and only reluctantly acknowledged the opening of the lift doors.

While he unlocked the door to the penthouse, she unbuttoned his shirt.

“I love how you feel, how you smell.” She rubbed her face against his chest.

His chest heaved and he slammed the door shut behind them.

She reached for his belt buckle. While she fumbled, he slipped his hands under her top, undid the catch of her bra and claimed her breasts.

“How can I concentrate when you…ah.” Her protest faded.

They kissed and groped their way to the bedroom where he kicked off the last of his clothes and stood naked. “Your turn.”

She wriggled out of her jeans, less self-conscious now than last night. She liked the compliment of the hot colour that stained his cheekbones as he watched her undress. She liked, too, the other unmistakeable responses of his body to her nakedness.

He touched her face, the fullness of her mouth, ran down her throat and his fingers circled her breast. Then he took two steps forward so their bodies just brushed one another as they breathed and his hand fell away from her breast.

They stood like that, tantalising one another with their nearness. Her thighs started to tremble. His hardness nudged her belly.

“Daniel.” It was a cry from the depth of her need. She took the half step that closed the distance between them and leaned against him. She felt as pliable as melting chocolate. “Please.” She kissed his skin. Tiny, nipping kisses to feed her hunger and his. “Please.”

“What do you want, Caty? Do you want me to touch you? Show me.”

“I want.” She brought his hands to her breasts. “I want to feel my breasts in your hands.” She looked down at his hands cupping and forming her breasts, and below his hands, to the pressure of his desire as it nudged and excited her body. “I feel pagan.”

“Why?” He tugged at a nipple.

She arched responsively, gripping the muscles of his upper arms. Thought and speech were becoming harder. “Flaunting our bodies.”

But he understood what she meant. “Enjoying what they will mean for one another. How perfectly we’ll fit. Do you like it, imagining me inside you?”

“Yes,” she groaned.

“I like imagining myself inside you. You’re hot and tight, so sweet.”

She moaned, incredibly aroused by his words and touch. She wanted him now. She bent her head and flicked a tight male nipple with her tongue.

He reacted promisingly. His hands closed at her waist and he lifted her to the middle of the bed. She reached for him, but he laced his fingers through hers and raised their joined hands above her head. “Patience, sweetheart.”

She arched up, unafraid of her body’s openness to him. He knelt over her, one knee between her thighs and she wriggled the heat of her against him and pressed.

His breath hissed. He took her mouth, claiming possession with the thrust of his tongue. She answered each thrust by rubbing her heat against him. So he shifted, removing his knee and leaving her aching. She’d have protested, but his hand found her and she followed its directions, striving for the pleasure he’d taught her.

But maddeningly, he brought her to the brink again and again, only to retreat.

She panted, her eyes burning up at him, her body wild. “Daniel.” She watched him deal with protection. When he entered her, she took no chances, but gripped him with legs and internal muscles and brought him deep inside.

She screamed his name.

When she drifted back, he was waiting, and she found she couldn’t look away from his eyes as he took her again, deeper, harder, faster to the place where only they existed. He broke her and made her whole, and by the burning intensity of his eyes, she did the same for him.

“Thank you,” she whispered.