The Temptress (36 page)

‘You promise me that you won’t wake him? If you
wake him up I swear it will be another six years before you see either of us
again,’ I warned. Seeing tears on this dominant man’s face was too much.

‘I promise,’ he nodded, breaking into a smile.
‘Come, get dressed. We will leave now.’

‘We still need to talk, about today.’

‘Merde, Myrtille! We will talk in the car. You
will make it brief and concise for she is of no interest to me. I want you to
tell me everything about your pregnancy, the birth and my handsome boy. He is
nearly as good looking as his father,’ he chuckled, making me smile. He grabbed
my face and kissed me again. ‘You are an incredible woman, to look after him so
well, alone. To protect him from other men who would have tried to take my
place.’

‘I’m not incredible. I’m just a protective
mother.’

‘You are incredible, to me you are everything.
You are my soul mate, the love of my life and the mother of my child. I hope
that you are serious about wanting to be with me, Lulu McQueen, because now
that I have you, I will never let you go. Come, get dressed and hurry. I am
impatient to see him.’

‘I cannot believe the nerve of her,’ he growled,
as he slammed the gearstick down to third, the engine of his powerful Lotus
Exige S roaring behind my ears. Hard as I’d tried to start off the conversation
with my meeting with Myrtille, he’d insisted that he wanted to have the details
of my pregnancy and Tristan’s birth first. As we’d got closer to home, I’d had
to force the issue by telling him that she knew about our son and was prepared
to use him as part of her smear campaign against Luc and that my timeframe had
reduced to a week now. ‘You should have told me before, I could have filmed us in
bed, you could have handed the recording to her and this would all be over.’

‘I have some cards up my sleeve, I just have to
move up my timetable,’ I confirmed. ‘Let me worry about handling her and you
worry about getting your affairs in order, she knew you’d met with the two
banks.’

‘She may have friends in high places, but I do
also. I may need to go back to China to ensure that I have their backing. It
would mean that I may not return Friday night,’ he sighed heavily. I reached
over and placed my hand on his thigh.

‘Do what you have to do. I’m not going
anywhere.’

‘No, you are not. I know enough to find you if
ever you run from me again, Lulu McQueen,’ he warned, flashing me a serious,
irritatingly hot, possessive look.

‘I’m not running. Turn left up here, the white
house with the oak garage door.’

‘This is an expensive area,’ he observed.

‘I work hard and I earn good money, so in case
the thought is in the back of your mind, I’m not looking for any hand outs and
if you lose everything, I won’t care. I managed without your money for six
years, I can continue to manage.’

‘I do not doubt it, you have brains as well as
beauty, but you have given me an excellent idea for protecting some of my
assets just in case,’ he replied, a slow smile spreading across his face as he
pulled up to my garage door and turned off the engine.

‘Luc, I need you to promise me that you won’t
wake him up and you won’t turn up here without my express invitation. This is
important to me. I know you’re excited, but I won’t tolerate any attempts to
push this at your own pace,’ I warned.

‘I am not happy about this at all, but I must
trust that you know our son and his needs best. I acquiesce, Ms. McQueen. Now
please, I am beyond impatient. Take me to him.’

‘You’ll have to leave after you’ve seen him,
sometimes he wakes up and wants to come into my bed, I don’t want him to find
you in there with me.’

‘Are you determined to ruin my night?’ he
groaned. ‘I may not see you again for days.’

‘Then we’ll make up for it next time I see you,
I promise,’ I confirmed, as I leaned over and clasped the back of his head as I
kissed him, breaking away when he started to moan and become more vigorous with
his tongue. ‘Come on, this car wasn’t built for sex, or children,’ I advised
looking through the clear panel behind me at the ridiculously powerful engine.

‘Merde, I need another new car,’ he groaned.

‘Another? How many do you have?’

‘A few, boys and their toys,’ he shrugged, with
a grin on his face. I took his hand as we crept in and made our way upstairs.

‘If he wakes up you come and sit out here,
don’t make a sound and don’t move until I come back out. I mean it, please
don’t let me down.’ I looked up at him and he quickly frowned as he recognised
the fear in my eyes.

‘I promise, though it will kill me, I promise.’
He gently kissed my forehead and I blew out a deep breath and took his hand as
I carefully opened Tristan’s bedroom door. His night light was glowing and I
could see him fast asleep on his back, Eric his elephant tucked under his arm.
I heard Luc gulp and looked up at him, raising my eyebrows. He gently exhaled
and nodded, so I carefully headed over to the bed, with him in tow. His grip on
my hand tightened as he gazed down at him and I smiled as Tristan let out a
soft little snore. I looked back up at Luc, to see he was battling tears again.
I tried to pull on his hand to head back out, but he shook his head and pulled
me in front of him, wrapping his arms around my waist and resting his chin on
my shoulder as we just stood watching him sleeping. ‘He’s perfect,’ he eventually
whispered in my ear. I smiled and nodded.

‘He really is and he has his father’s good
looks,’ I whispered in return. ‘I wonder how many hearts he’ll have broken by
the time he’s your age?’

‘Too many,’ he sighed.

‘Mummy?’ I froze as Tristan moved and moaned.

‘Shit, outside now,’ I warned Luc. ‘NOW!’ For a
moment I thought he wasn’t going to move, but he quickly released me and
disappeared as promised, just as Tristan opened his eyes.

‘Hello, darling, it’s very late, go back to
sleep.’ I bent over and kissed his forehead.

‘I missed you,’ he yawned.

‘I missed you too, so much. But I’ll be taking
you to school and picking you up tomorrow and staying with you all night, ok?’

‘Hmmm,’ he moaned.

‘Sleep, darling. I’ll see you in the morning.’

‘Elmer,’ he murmured.

‘It’s too late for Elmer, we can have Elmer
tomorrow night.’

‘Please, Mummy,’ he pleaded.

‘One chapter, then sleep or no Elmer at all
tomorrow,’ I warned. I could never resist him.

‘Ok,’ he smiled, his eyes half-closed already.
I reached for the book from his bedside table, sat on the edge of his bed and
started to read, smiling as his little hand reached down to hold mine. I
caressed the back of his with my thumb as I softly continued, closing the book
when I got to the end of the promised chapter.

‘That’s all. We’ll have more tomorrow.’

‘Thank you, Mummy. I love you.’

‘I love you too, to the end of my life and
beyond. Now be a good boy and go to sleep, you’re tired.’ I kissed him again and
sat watching him, as he continued to try and fight against his eyes closing
tightly shut. I wondered how he’d react if he knew his dad was sitting on the
floor outside right now. In under a minute his grip on my hand went limp, his
lips parting as he started to snore again. I waited for a while, to make sure
he was well and truly out of it, before carefully getting up and heading out,
pulling the door behind me. Luc, sitting on the top step of the stairs, leapt
to his feet and gave me a pleading look. I shook my head.

‘He needs his sleep and I can’t risk him waking
up again. I’m sorry, I can’t imagine how hard this must be for you, but doing
it this way, the
right
way will be best in the long run,’ I advised. He
sighed and his shoulders slumped in defeat as he gave a barely discernible nod.

I clung to him tightly as we stood in my lobby,
by the front door. Now that he was back in my life I never wanted to let him
go. Wrapped in his strong arms, held tightly against that body, I felt so safe,
so cherished and
loved.
It had been a long time since I’d had that
feeling from a man. He didn’t seem willing to release me either and lifted me
up onto his hips, one hand holding my bottom, the other the back of my neck as
he kissed me. It was as if we hadn’t kissed before, like it was our first ever
kiss, full of hunger for each other. An intense, ravenous hunger, that felt as
if it could never be sated. I reached down and undid his zip, snaking my
fingers into his boxers to grip his thick shaft. He let out a low groan as I
tugged him free, then positioned him against my naked and already abused flesh.
He was inside me in seconds, stifling my screams with his tongue as he thrust
up into me. I soon caught his fast rhythm as his hips moved with the speed of a
cheetah, powering in and out of me with long hard strokes, building me higher
and higher until I shattered in his arms. My climax taking both of us by
surprise, forcing his own, as he called out my name and gently rested his
forehead on mine as we tried to come down from our high.

‘Never has sex felt so good as it does with
you,’ he murmured as our lips gently touched, sending spine tingling shivers of
bliss down my back.

‘After five years I’d imagine any sex would
feel good.’

‘Non, c’est toi, Lulu. It’s all you. Tell me,
how many have there been since me?’

‘Luc,’ I sighed, closing my eyes. It wasn’t a
high number, but I had a feeling unless the answer was none, he wasn’t going to
be happy. ‘I waited for a long time, I didn’t just leap into bed with the first
man who came along.’

‘How many?’ he repeated as he kissed each
corner of my mouth, his cock still hard inside me, flexing and keeping the odd
spasm running through my exhausted body.

‘Four,’ I said quietly and felt his entire body
instantly tense. ‘None lasted, none measured up to you, in length, girth,
stamina or the way they made me feel. All of them I compared to you and all of
them were lacking.’

‘And while you were pregnant? You had sex with
one of these men?’

‘No, no one. If you need a paternity test I
won’t object, but I promise, he’s yours, you’ll see yourself in his eyes, in
the way he holds himself and frowns.’

‘I do not need a test, I already see it. I
trust you.’

‘Thank you,’ I whispered. ‘I promise I won’t
keep you from him any longer than I have to.’

‘I know,’ he sighed. ‘I am not patient, but you
are right. I must think of him, not myself. I must return to the hotel. I have
work to do.’

‘It’s two in the morning, you need to rest,’ I
warned him, as I stroked his hair and kissed his forehead.

‘I will not sleep tonight, I am too wired. I am
in love, with a beautiful woman and child, I cannot possibly sleep tonight. I
will call you when I am home tomorrow night.’

‘Where is home in Paris?’ I asked, suddenly not
wanting to hear that he returned to the house he shared with Myrtille.

‘Are you jealous, ma belle?’ he chuckled. ‘We
live in separate parts of the house, but sometimes I return to my old
apartment, it held fond memories for me, of you. One day I would like to take
you back there again.’

‘I’d like that too,’ I smiled. I moaned as he
carefully lifted me off him.

‘I must go now, or I will never leave,’ he
sighed. He clasped my face and kissed me again, as I clung to the material of
his shirt. ‘When I know when I will be back, we will make plans, but do not deny
me your company for a whole night at least.’

‘I can see you Saturday or Sunday, after I’ve
put him to sleep,’ I confirmed. ‘Luc, thank you. For being so understanding,
for taking me to see your beautiful home, for my stunning pendant and for …
everything that you’ve said. It means so much to me.’

‘As do you to me. Au revoir, ma belle. Je
t’aime.’ He replied, with a final kiss before he quickly undid the door and
strode off to his car. I immediately spotted the PI with the camera, jumping to
attention in the car parked on the opposite side of the street and flicked my
head to signal to Luc. He hesitated for a moment, then quickly strode back,
grabbed my hand and pulled me outside. Before I knew what was happening, I’d
been dipped into an old fashioned Hollywood kiss, which lingered, taking my
breath away. He finally righted me and guided me back indoors. ‘There, now she
has something to get her knickers in a twist over,’ he chuckled.

I watched him driving away with a heavy heart.
Was it normal to miss someone so soon? I locked up and headed for a much needed
shower, finally curling up in bed at three a.m. For the first time since he
came back into my life, I felt as if things were weighted in our favour.

Lulu

Friday

I browsed the stunning gemstones, all protected
behind toughened glass display cases, spotlights angled on them to show them
off at their best. None had prices on, a sure sign that they were out of even
my price bracket. I reached up to touch my diamond from Luc, smiling as I did,
turned around and bumped into someone standing at my side.

‘O my God, I’m so sorry,’ I exclaimed, gripping
his toned bicep to steady myself.

‘Don’t worry about it, one often gets lost in
the moment of true beauty,’ smiled the handsome guy, kitted out in a sexy navy
three piece suit.

‘They are stunning diamonds,’ I agreed as I
released him.

‘I wasn’t looking at the diamonds,’ he replied
with a cheeky wink. I narrowed my eyes at him. Dirty blond hair, piercing blue eyes
and a build to rival Luc’s? I knew exactly who I was looking at.

‘For someone who seems intent on bedding my
best friend, Mr. Donovan, I would suggest hitting on me is not one of your
smarter moves.’ I smirked as he looked startled.

‘I’m sorry, have we met? You seem to have me at
a disadvantage.’

‘Lulu McQueen, best friend of Coco Barrella,’ I
replied, offering my hand. He broke into a wide smile as he took it in a firm
handshake.

‘Hunter Donovan, but then you already knew
that. And for the record, when I said I wasn’t looking at the diamonds, it’s
because I was looking at one, the exquisite piece around your neck that was
purchased directly from me for one of my new clients. He has excellent taste in
diamonds and the recipient.’

‘Nicely saved,’ I smiled. ‘You’re still holding
my hand.’

‘Did you consider that in today’s equal
opportunity world it might be you still holding onto mine?’ he retorted quick
as a flash, as we released our grips.

‘Then in the spirit of equal opportunity, I
feel it only fair to warn you that I hold a black belt in kick boxing.’

‘I’m not sure I understand your implication.’

‘I’m not implying anything, Mr. Donovan, I’m
stating facts. If you persist in pursuing Miss Barrella and were to be lucky
enough to hit the mother of all jackpots and have her agree to go out with you,
and quite frankly I fancy your chances of a quadruple lottery win this week
more, hurt her and I’ll show you equal opportunities in a boxing ring.’

‘It seems my chances have a higher possibility
of a return than you think, if you feel the need to warn me. If I didn’t stand
a chance at all, we wouldn’t be having this conversation,’ he grinned.

‘Given you’re wrapped up in such a handsome
package, your chances with any woman are greatly improved, but regardless of
how pretty the jewellery box, it’s the contents and their longevity that carry
the greatest weight in a woman’s mind. I’d suggest you remember that. Though part
of me really hopes that you won’t, the idea of seeing you in boxing shorts,
begging for surrender is rather appealing.’

‘You have no idea how good I look in boxing
shorts,’ he chuckled. ‘Though I think it would be you doing the begging.’

‘Trust me, I’ve every idea, but having seen the
man who bought me this diamond, you think I’d be looking at your body or
begging anyone else? You overestimate your appeal to womankind, Mr. Donovan.’

‘Who said I was interested in womankind? Maybe
it’s just woman. Singular,’ he replied, as his eyes strayed over my shoulder. I
looked back and smiled to see Coco appear, pushing her statement black rimmed
work glasses up her nose as she brushed some lint off her pencil skirt.

‘Then I sincerely hope it is, or we’re back to
laying bets on that boxing ring. I’ll be seeing you around, Mr. Donovan.’

‘I’ll look forward to it, Ms. McQueen,’ he
replied with a smile, before casting a last lingering look over at Coco as she
approached us, then turned on his heels and left. I grinned, Coco definitely
had a not so secret admirer.

‘I see you met the arsehole,’ she whispered as
she kissed my cheek.

‘Seriously
hot
arsehole, you downplayed
that
big
time,’ I laughed as I slipped my arm through hers and we headed
for the exit.

‘Urgh,’ she groaned. ‘He so is, isn’t he? I
hate
him. Damn him for being hot, arrogant, cocky and chauvinistic.’

‘I liked him,’ I shrugged.

‘Seriously?’ she raised her eyebrows as we
stepped out into the fresh air.

‘He’s quick witted, a charmer, gorgeous and
seriously buff.’

‘Hot, arrogant, cocky,
filthy mouthed
and chauvinistic,’ she repeated.

‘Well I have me one of those and trust me, it’s
not all bad.’

‘How’s it going?’

‘We’re having incredibly hot telephone sex, but
thank God he’s back tomorrow lunchtime. Mum’s having Tristan Saturday night
until Monday morning, to give Luc and me a bit of time together.’

‘Have you told Tristan yet?’ she asked, as she
held up her hand to wave down a passing taxi.

‘It’s just the two of us tonight, I’m going to
test the water. Can I ask a favour?’

‘Sure,’ she replied as we climbed in. ‘The Ritz
please,’ she instructed the driver, who nodded and set his meter. I’d promised
her a champagne afternoon tea to celebrate the end of the first week in her job
and given she’d had to go to New York overnight with Hunter on Wednesday,
they’d told her she could have this afternoon off, so I’d booked us into the
beauty salon for mani-pedis as well, before I had to dash to pick up Tristan
from school.

‘I’d like to just talk about you. I want to
hear all about your first week, what fabulous designs you’re working on and
what you did to get Hunter’s boxers all in a twist over you.’

‘I did
nothing
,’ she spluttered, turning
pink.

‘Exactly! I need your rejection of him word for
word, because that boy tried it on and you knocked him back. You’ve thrown him.
He reminds me of Luc, say no and they see you as an instant challenge.’

‘Well I’m one challenge he
won’t
be
winning.’

‘I think the lady doth protest too much,’ I
grinned and earned myself an elbow in the ribs.

‘Thank you, darling,’ I smiled as he helped me
fill up the dishwasher after dinner. ‘Have I ever told you what an amazing boy
you are?’

‘Yes,’ he nodded, a serious look on his face.

‘Ok, we’re all done here. Come with me, I want
to show you something.’ I held out my hand and he took it straight away as we
headed upstairs into my bedroom. I lifted him up and sat him on my bed, then
reached up to take the elephant picture he’d painted off the wall. I’d had it
framed and put above my bed. I sat down next to him with it on my lap. ‘You
know how much I love this picture you did for me?’

‘My elephant picture?’

‘Yes. I love you telling me all about it. Who’s
this one?’ I asked, as I pointed at the little purple one.

‘Me,’ he beamed.

‘He’s so cute, just like you,’ I smiled and
kissed the top of his head.

‘And this big pink one?’

‘That’s you Mummy, you know it’s you,’ he
giggled.

‘Do I have beautiful long eyelashes like this?’
I asked.

‘Yes, Bryce says you’re the prettiest Mummy in
the whole playground.’

‘Bryce is nearly as sweet as you,’ I laughed,
battling the dry mouth that had suddenly claimed me. ‘So who’s this big blue
elephant?’

‘That’s my daddy.’

‘Your daddy?’ I asked and he pulled a frown
with his bottom lip out and nodded. ‘Why are you pulling a face?’

‘Everyone in my class has a daddy.’

‘Is that why you drew one, because everyone
else has one?’ I watched his face as he nodded and reached out to hold my hand.
‘Having a daddy is nice, I love mine.’

‘Who’s your daddy?’

‘Grandpa is mine.’ I giggled at his shocked
face.

‘He’s much older than Bryce’s daddy,’ he
responded, with a serious look on his face.

‘He is. So what does Bryce’s daddy do with
him?’

‘They play football and stuff and he carries
him around on his shoulders.
A lot
,’ he mouthed.

‘Would you like a daddy to play with? One who’d
carry you around too? Like Uncle Dom does?’

‘I like Uncle Dom,’ he grinned as he bounced on
the bed.

‘I know you do, but he’s so busy travelling
around the world he can’t come and play with you as much as he’d like. Would
you like someone else to play with, when Uncle Dom can’t be here? Another man?’
I waited as he bit his bottom lip, the way I did when I was thinking, with a
serious look of concentration on his face before he spoke again.

‘Would he like elephants?’

‘I think he’d love
anything
you loved.
You remember asking me why you didn’t have a daddy and I told you that I’d lost
him a long time ago and couldn’t find him?’

‘Did you drop him in the park? Like Eric?’

‘Yes, something like that,’ I smiled,
remembering how devastated he’d been when we’d realised his treasured toy was
missing and he’d sobbed his eyes out. We’d retraced our steps and found him on
the roundabout. Tristan had been over the moon, hugging him so tightly I was
worried he was going to decapitate him. ‘I lost him just like you lost Eric,
but guess what?’

‘What?’ he asked looking up at me wide eyed,
like I was telling him the most exciting story in the whole wide world.

‘I found him, just like we found Eric.’ I
grinned, clapping excitedly, making him laugh and bounce on the bed again.

‘You did?’

‘I did and he’s
so
excited to come and
meet you. Would you like that?’

‘Is he coming to play tonight?’

‘Not tonight, darling, he’s … on holiday at the
moment. But if you’d like me to ask him to come and play with you when he comes
home, I can. Maybe when I ring him in a while, you can say hello and tell him
that you’d love for him to come and have dinner with us and play with your
Lego?’

‘Can he read?’

‘Yes,’ I laughed. ‘He can read. Would you like
it if I asked him to buy that Elmer book you wanted for your birthday? He could
bring it with him when he comes to see you.’

‘Yes please!’ he yelled and kicked his legs
excitedly.

‘Then we have a plan,’ I beamed as I put the
picture to the side and hauled him up into my arms and kissed his face
repeatedly, as a few stray tears leeched from my eyes.

I sat on the sofa as he played with his Lego on
the floor and sent Luc a text.

How are the negotiations in China going? Do
you think you can still make it back tomorrow night? Mum’s having Tristan for
me if so, until Monday morning. I’ve spoken to him about you and he took it
much better than expected, though of course I’m not sure he really understands
fully. I’ll order one of his favourite books and wrap it up so I can give it to
him and say it was from you. He was very excited to hear you could read! I’d
love to speak to you if you have a moment. I miss you. Lulu x

I pressed send and sighed. I did miss him. A
few hours in his presence was so intense that it left a gaping hole when he
left. I jumped as my phone rang and looked down, smiling to see it was him.

‘Hello.’

‘Ma belle
,
’ came his purring tone. ‘I
have missed you too and this is exciting news. Do you think he’s ready to meet
me?’

‘One step at a time,’
I warned. ‘Though
what we discussed will be a good start, as will the thing I just texted you
about.’ I was trying to speak in code. Not only did he love elephants, but he
had ears like one as well. As if on cue, he looked up at me.

‘Who are you talking to, Mummy?’ he asked. I
didn’t like lying to him and the more I mentioned his father, the more it may
start to feel natural to him.

‘Your daddy. Would you like to say hello?’ I
asked. He shrugged, so I patted the seat next to me wondering if he’d come. He
hesitated for a moment, then wandered over and clambered up beside me. I tucked
my arm around him and could hear Luc heavy breathing down the phone in
anticipation. ‘Why don’t I put him on speakerphone and we can carry on talking
and if you want to join in you can, ok?’ I asked and Tristan nodded, so I quickly
activated it and put it on my knee. ‘So Luc, how did the …’

‘Who’s Luc,’ came Tristan’s voice.

‘That’s your daddy’s name and who I’m talking
to now.’

‘Hello, Tristan,’ called Luc. I blinked back
some tears to hear the waiver of emotion in his voice. Tristan giggled.

‘He talks funny.’

‘He does doesn’t he. Do you know why?’ I asked
and he shook his head. ‘Because he’s French. Dire,
bonjour
,’ I
suggested.

‘Bonjour,’ he sang, his accent almost perfect, making
my heart melt.

‘Bonjour, Tristan. What are you doing?’

‘Playing Lego.’

‘I
love
Lego. Do you have the Big Zoo
kit with the elephants?’

‘No! Mummy there’s an elephant one?’ Tristan
gaped up at me, excitement all over his face.