The Price of Seduction (9 page)

He heard her call out so he pushed the door open and stood in the doorway.

Her hands on her waist, Bree’s mouth curled to a sultry smile destined only for his eyes. She knew exactly what she was doing and how good she looked. Her lips were soft and seductive, her smile overflowing with confidence.

N
othing was sexier than confidence.

She
wore minimal make-up and had swept her hair up into a loose knot, her face and neck exposed except for a few stray tendrils of shiny mahogany hair.

It was
alluring to see so much of her pale skin bared for the evening. This was a woman who wouldn’t hide behind her hair and neither was she wearing a mask of make-up. It was as though she was baring herself for him.

Maybe later she would.

His eyes dropped to the neckline of her sleeveless evening dress. The colour of ripe plums, it accentuated the paleness of her skin and the rich depths of her hair. The neckline hung low enough to reveal her delicate collar bones and although the fabric covered the swell of her breasts, it did nothing to hide their allure, their soft feminine shape.

The bodice clung to her waist, then flared out into soft layers down
below her knees. Conrad watched open mouthed as she took a few steps towards him, revealing glimpses of the ivory skin of her thigh through a split hidden in the layers of fabric. It was an invitation for him to look more closely.

She
turned around slowly and he realised why her hands were still on her waist. The dress hadn’t yet been properly fastened yet and she was ensuring it didn’t fall open.

He dropped the jewellery box on a small table by the wall and headed straight for Bree.

Her hands slid down over the back of her hips as she asked him to help with her dress. Though he would much have preferred to take it off, he slid the zip upwards to the small of her back where the neckline at the back plunged in a deep V.

One weekend. That’s what he’d said to her. He’d wasted one night. He wasn’t going to let the same thing happen again this evening.

Her back bared, he was unable to resist. He slid his fingers up along the fine bones of her spine, past the spot where her bra would have been if she were wearing one.

Then what
was
she wearing under the dress? Not much, he hoped.

Her back still to him, Bree turned her head and tilted her chin upwards. “I hope I’ve lived up to the brief.”

“Pardon?”

“You were very specific tonight. Sophisticated. Seductive. Have I lived up to your expectations?”

“Bree, you’ve exceeded them but you misunderstood. It wasn’t a brief. This isn’t a job.”

She turned to face hi
m, looking up at him through lowered lashes. “Then perhaps we might enjoy ourselves after all.”

This woman was driving him crazy. Slowly he slid his hands across to rest on the curve of her waist
. They only stayed there for a moment before she glided away from him towards the mirror above the bedside table to check her hair.

Tonight, she was overflowing with confidence. She knew exactly how alluring she looked.

His eyes dropped down to two chiffon evening scarves in shades of plum on the bedside table and he remembered how stunning she’d looked with a scarf draped across her neck at the Indi-Art Ball. She wouldn’t be wearing a scarf tonight however.

Bree looked at his reflection in the mirror. “So do I look a million dollars?”

He swiped the burgundy velvet box from the table where he’d left it and stepped closer. He held the item out to her.

“I have something which wil
l finish off the outfit for you,” he said.

“I can’t accept a gift like this from you,” she said, even before she’d opened the jewellery box.

“I didn’t think you’d accept a gift. I’d like you to wear them just for tonight.”

And after that we’ll see
.
In his younger days he’d often lavished gifts on women and they’d never been refused, never been thought too great.

He watched h
as she opened the velvet box and smiled.

Shifting his eyes towards the mirro
r he saw her gaze was riveted to his reflection, her lips seductively parted. He wanted to take her there and then but knew he couldn’t simply grab what he wanted.

They were playing by her rules.

She slipped on the earrings and while she was still admiring them in the mirror, he reached for the fine pearl and neoprene necklace. Securing it around her neck, he admired the way it sat just below her delicate collar bones, highlighting both the curve of her neck and the swell of her breasts.

“Where did they come from?” she asked.

“I had them flown in especially.”

Her eyes dropped. “So I could outshine the other guests
including Trevor and his fiancée?”

“Why would you think that?”

“I noticed a certain rivalry between you and him and I thought…”

“You thought wrong. I ordered the items this morning before I knew who the other guests were. Besides, do you really think you need expensive jewellery to outshine them?”

“No, I thought that’s what you would think.”

“You weren’t happy to see Daniels either. Is there something you want to tell me?”

He thought he saw her flinch but she responded quickly. “No, there’s nothing I want to talk about.”

“Then let’s go out onto the terrace for dinner.”

Conrad took Bree’s arm as they made their way towards the deck at the far end of the building. Cantilevered over the Chelsea River, the terrace provided relaxing views across the lush gardens of The Residence in one direction and a spectacular vista across the river to the cliffs on the other side. The gum trees, ferns and other greenery on the far side were lit from below, illuminated for the benefit of the guests.

Aside from Trevor and Shannon, there were two other couples, both of them wealthy retirees staying at The
Residence that evening. They’d all taken their seats, leaving Bree and Conrad to sit opposite the two people whom they least wanted to see.

Still, he could be civil. It wouldn’t be hard to show Daniels up under these circumstances or any other.

“Bree,” Daniels said, “I see you’ve managed to clean yourself up for tonight.” She shot him a disdainful look but it didn’t stop him from continuing. “The two of you were such a sight when you came in this afternoon that I was wondering what you’d got up to.”

“Are you trying to imply something?” Bree said. “Because we were out hiking and swimming. In case
you hadn’t noticed Il Bosco has some amazing countryside.”

“Yes, I can see it from where I’m comfortably seated at the moment. You know I don’t like to get my hands too dirty.”

Bree smiled wanly. “Of course not.”

“Very kind of you to treat us all to dinner tonight,”
Daniels said to Conrad.

“I wanted to sample the best of what the area has to offer,”
he replied. “It’s really not that complicated.”

Through the corner of his eye, he could see Bree and Daniels continuing their terse conversation
. Meanwhile Daniels’ fiancée kept making inane comments to him.

Shannon Graham was a replica of hundreds of women he’d met before. Slim and reasonably attractive, there was little behind the flashy exterior. In a tight black dress which looked cheap against her tanned skin and pale hair, she was revealing as much cleavage and leg as possible. Tonight, her appearance and styling was the polar opposite of Bree who looked effortlessly elegant.

“Conrad, I know you’re a Sydney-sider,” Shannon said. “I’ve seen your picture in the paper. So why have you come up to this place?”

He wondered if she could be as clueless as she sounded.

“Hasn’t Daniels mentioned it to you?” he asked.

“No. I know why we’ve come to this remote, barren place. For Trevor’s work. But I don’t know why you’re here.”

It was true that Il Bosco was remote. That was part of its appeal but if this young woman thought it barren she clearly hadn’t been paying much attention.

“You could s
ay I’ve come here for work too,” he said.

“And what kind of work dragged you up here?”

“I’m tendering for this remote, barren place.”

Shannon’s mouth turned into a perfectly shape
d O. “But so is Trevor’s client. You’re business rivals. Enemies.”

Clueless just took on new dimensions.

“You could say that,” Conrad replied.

“I
sn’t this place a million acres?’”

“Yes.”

“And aren’t you talking about millions of dollars?”

“Yes.”

Shannon reached across the table, placed her hand on his and looked up at him through mascara-clogged lashes. “You must tell me all about it.”

He could read her like a book. It wasn’t difficult.

She may have heard of him but clearly she hadn’t cottoned on to how much he was worth until just then. He knew well the feigned interest and inelegant flirting of gold diggers much more experienced than her and was hardly going to be taken in by it. Shannon might be engaged to Trevor Daniels but she’d seen a richer fish she might hook. Pity she had no chance.

The evening passed slowly but at least the food lived up to Conrad’s expectations. Among other things they had fresh Barramundi, a delicacy from the rivers of the north of Australia, and local corn-fed beef seared to perfection.

Unsure of the guests’ tastes, Conrad had ordered a range of desserts and was surprised to see Bree request two of them. He teased her about it and she insisted dessert was her favourite part of the meal.

Not long after dinner, the two older couples excused themselves for an early night and Conrad thought perhaps he and Bree should do the same. She had already stood up and Conrad rose to join her, his hand reaching across to hold hers.

Her gaze met his, the hint of a smile washing across her lush parted lips. She beckoned him with eyes glimmering with desire, her pale skin aglow, her whole face smouldering.

“You’re not leaving
, are you?” Daniels asked.

“We’ve had a long day.
” Conrad squeezed Bree’s hand.

“But I’ve just ordered a cognac for us. The waiter’s bringing them over. It’s the least I can do after your hospitality this evening. Surely you’ll have one quick drink with me. Just so I can say thank you.”

It didn’t sound like an unreasonable request.

“Would you like to stay a little longer?” Conrad
asked Bree quietly. She shook her head, hardly a surprising response. He added, “Then I’ll meet you in your room.”

Conrad was still standing, watching the gentle sway of Bree’s hips and the soft rippling of the fine skin of her bare back as she left when he heard D
aniels ask Shannon to leave.

When she was out of
her fiancé’s line of sight, the young woman lowered her eyelids and flicked her tongue across her top lip as she passed Conrad. Now there was an invitation he could resist.

“To Il Bosco.
” Daniels raised his glass. “May the best man win.”

Conrad had no doubt as to who would win and tossed back a gulp of the rich amber cognac.

“The jewels Bree was wearing must have cost a pretty packet,” Daniels said. “How much were they?”

“That question is too gauche to answer
.”

“Is she worth it?”

Conrad slammed his glass down on the table and spoke slowly, his eyes flaring at Trevor Daniels. “You have no idea.”

“Oh, yes I do. I think I’m in a position to say what I want since you spent most of the
evening flirting with my fiancée.”

“Is that what this is all about? Sorry, mate, but you’ve got it the wrong way around.”

“You might be rich, Conrad, but you’re not the kind of man Shannon would be interested in.”

He’d
had enough. “I’m not interested in Shannon. I don’t want your used goods.”

“Like Bree?”

“What do you mean ‘like Bree’?”

Daniels’s laugh reverberated through the night air. “What? She didn’t tell you? We went out together for two years.”

Conrad stood and strode towards Bree’s room.

The night wasn’t over yet.

Conrad slammed the door of Bree’s room behind him. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

After everything he’
d said about respecting her privacy, she’d expected him to knock before entering and certainly hadn’t anticipated his outraged question or demanding tone of voice.

Bree knew immediately it was something to do with Tr
evor. She didn’t know what he’d said or why he would badmouth her behind her back when he’d supposedly moved on. But there was no doubt this was Trevor’s doing.

She’d had a bad feeling about it when Conrad agreed
to have a drink with the man. She should have trusted her instincts and refused to leave them alone together or, better still, convinced Conrad to come back to her room with her. After all, that was what she had wanted all along.