Read The Scent of His Woman Online
Authors: Maggie Pritchard
He was still unsure of his feelings about that other incorrect assumption. He’d been
uncertain of her age, late twenties maybe, certainly old enough for her innocent state to
have come as a shock to say the least. Would he have stopped if he’d known? He couldn’t
say, deflowering virgins had never been his thing but the need to have this girl had been
overwhelming, so who could say. He was appalled that he’d hurt her, even a little, but on
the other hand the thought that he was the first, the only man she’d allowed such intimacy,
made him feel he’d been given a precious gift. Even now he could feel the trio of emotions
that had flooded through him as she’d bucked under him crying out in pain at his thrusting
intrusion. Shock at what he’d irretrievably broken was quickly followed by a lusting
response to her plea that he should not stop that had led him to heaven. He’d felt a rush of
bittersweet tenderness at her anger, her self derision, and he’d cradled her tenderly for a
long time before he’d had made love to her again and shown her just what her body was
capable of. He’d held back from taking her again knowing she would be tender, he could
wait, there would be plenty of time for that he’d thought. So it had come as quite a shock
to wake alone the following morning. She had not long gone, the faint residual scented
heat of her body in the bed told him that, but though he’d dressed and left the apartment
within minutes of waking to search for her, he had not found her.
An hour later he had stormed into his Cardiff office in a foul mood that sent his
entourage scurrying to please, but his only concern was to brief his security chief and find
her. He would have gone himself and searched that country hamlet until he found her, but
he was booked on a mid morning flight to the states. No way could he miss this series of
meetings, so he’d had to rely on Owain to find her, find out all there was to know about her
and keep an eye on her until his return in three days time. Even then there had not been
time to deal with her, while he had been away, the protest group had accelerated the
protests at the LLan-aberth project so there had been that to deal with, along with the
usual backlog of work that inevitably followed an absence from the office. So he’d had to
be patient, content with reading the file Owain had prepared and intending to head off
immediately following the meeting to find her.
When he’d spotted her in the back row of the conference room it had come a
surprise, a pleasant one, no need to go chasing after her after all. He would get the
meeting over with and then she would find out that women did not walk out on Gethyn
Mathias. Some of the worlds most glamourous women numbered amongst those he’d
enjoyed on his own terms, for just as long as he dictated, months if they were lucky, days if
they failed to please. When he made it quite clear the relationship was over, he always did
that with an expensive little consolatory gift, before moving on to the next dalliance. Hell
would freeze over, he vowed, before he would be kicked into touch by any female, let
alone a prickly little hippie like this one!
A plan was already forming in his head that would possibly kill two birds with one
stone. He would get Ms Alexandria Owen back in his bed and jumping delightfully to his
tune for just as long as he dictated and she would also provide just the diversion he
needed to get his mother off his back. He loved his Mam, there was no doubting that, but
just recently she had become obsessed with matching him to one of her friends horsey
daughters.
Convinced marriage and children would be the making of him. Normally he
just kept his distance, busy with work it was not often he spent any significant time at the
farm anyway. The problem was that his parents ruby wedding anniversary loomed and a
big family celebration followed by a party was planned in a weeks time. The thought of
spending a long weekend avoiding the joint efforts of Mam and her crony to pair him off
with said cronies' daughter Sally was enough to make him seriously consider being out of
the country. But of course he couldn’t do that, he would have to be there. Now if he turned
up with a fiancée on his arm, he could be sure to put paid to their plans. Yes indeed Ms
Alexandria Owen would be the answer to his problem and at the same time she would
provide a delectable little diversion.
He looked up sharply as Owain re-entered the room carrying a big saggy cotton bag
in bright yellows and greens, prettily decorated with glass beads and sequins. Icy eyes
narrowing, Geth looked inquiringly at the young man for explanation.
‘No sign of her boss, but this was left in the conference room.’
‘Is it hers?’ His boss’ terse question made him nod in answer,
‘Yes I’ve checked look here are her purse and driving license.’
He proffered the documents to Geth, but he had turned to walk across the room to
stare out of the long narrow Georgian window at the teeming city below.
‘So she went with the rest of them? We can catch up with them at the village, ring
down for my car will you?’
‘No boss, she’s not with the rest of the group, I found them alright, just around the
corner, they were loading back onto a minibus but she wasn't with them, I watched until
they drove off, she never made it back to the bus.’
Geth turned sharply to look at the younger man, concern making his voice hard.
‘So she’s alone in London with no money, nothing? Get the boys out there looking
for her, she can’t have got far, when she finds the rest have left without her and
remembers where she left her bag she’ll try to get back here. It shouldn’t be too hard to
catch up with her’
Owain dropped the bag onto the big desk before leaving the room, leaving Geth to
thoughtfully pick up the garish bit of cloth filled with her bits and pieces that he hoped
would bring her back to him. Then without thinking he pushed it out of sight into one of the
deep drawers of the desk.
Lexie hurried, pushing her way through the throng of visitors and shoppers’ enjoying
a day out in London, even in this wide street with its generous pavement it was hard going.
She began to worry she was lost and panic made it harder to focus, harder to remember
what the building looked like, what it was called. It was getting late, if she did not find it
soon there was a good chance it would be empty, locked maybe if its staff had left at the
end of their working day, then she really would be in trouble. She stopped in a doorway for
a second to catch her breath and calm down. There’s no need to panic, she told herself
silently, no need at all and it doesn’t help. All you need to do is walk carefully back the way
you came and you will find it. It’s a building not a needle in a haystack, think and
concentrate. Anyway if the worst comes to the worst, all you need to do is find a policeman
and he will help ring a sister or two, who can be entirely relied upon to race to the rescue.
Feeling calmer and less breathless she regained the pavement and began to walk steadily,
studying the buildings as she passed them. It was between two big shop fronts, she
thought she remembered, but she had no idea what was displayed in them. She did
however remember the doorway was wide, stepped, with a huge black painted door
standing open, there had been a brass plate too with the building name on it, but try as
she might she couldn’t remember what that name was. She was just beginning to worry
that she’d gone too far when she saw it, she was sure this was it, Corporation House, that
was it, how could she have forgotten such an unimaginative name for an office building?
The door was still open and she hurried inside fully expecting to be challenged by a
doorman or some other GLM employee, she would just explain, maybe her bag had
already been found and handed in. She remembered the wide spacious foyer with its
marble tiled floors and walls, it was empty now though and the big clock confirmed her
fear, its hands showing the time as five forty five, quarter of an hour past clocking off time
for most, so she hurried on up the wide staircase to the room the conference had been
held in. Pushing open the door she tentatively looked around, all the chairs were still in
place but there was nothing under any of them. Lexie stopped in her tracks, worry flooding
through her, don’t panic, it must have been found and handed in, that was it, it was safely
stowed away in some office somewhere waiting for her to collect it, all she had to do was
find someone to direct her to the right place.
Turning to retrace her tracks she stopped dead and her eyes widened in alarm, her
way was blocked in the worst way. Geth stood looking at her, filling the doorway with his
bulk, an unfathomable look in his amazing steely blue eyes.
‘Well well, look who it is, a little pixie with a penchant for early morning disappearing
tricks’, he drawled caustically. ‘Looking for something sweetie, me perhaps, with an
explanation to impart?’
Lexie faltered for a second, before squaring her shoulders and answering.
‘No actually I don’t have time for this... for you, I’ve lost my bag and I need to find someone
to help, please just get out of my way, will you?’
She watched a ghost of a smile play around his mouth and had to firmly put the unbidden
memory of what those devastating lips were capable of out of her mind to focus on what
he was saying. Far from moving aside as she’d asked he had simply stepped further into
the room and pushed the door shut behind him. It clunked shut with a sound that made her
panic return making it difficult to breath.
‘There is no bag here as you can see, maybe my staff picked it up and locked it
away for safe keeping before they left for the day, it can be sent on to you if you leave your
details. For now there is something else we need to talk about, don’t you think?’
She finished lamely, knowing in her heart it was too late, that the bus must have left
by now. He knew that too, she could tell by the smug look on his handsome face. Well I’ll
give you smug buster she thought and made to push past him, muttering ‘to hell with you
then’ as she did so. He stopped her, grasping her upper arm in a firm grip that changed to
vice like when she tried to pull free.
‘Let me go’ she demanded ‘I have nothing to say to you any more than you have to
me, I just want to go home.’
Not releasing his grip on her Geth turned and opened the big door behind him,
propelling her forcefully out of it in front of him he made a beeline for his office. There he
shut the door firmly behind them and pushed her into one of the big leather chairs in front
of his desk.
‘Sit there and be quiet while I sort this out for you, as I said we will forward your bag
if it can be found, in the meantime I need to get you home, but not before you explain your
little disappearing act of the other morning.’
Geth sat across the desk from her, picked up the phone, jabbed at the buttons and
then spoke tersely into the handset.
‘I have a young lady here looking for a bag she left in the conference room. Yes of
course, well check tomorrow and we can make arrangements to have it returned if indeed
it has been found. In that case Owain, arrange for my car to be brought round will you?’
Then replacing the receiver and looking intently at her he spoke.
‘As I thought , your bag has not been found, it may turn up...’ he shrugged.
‘In the meantime I will take you home and on the way you can explain the other
morning.’
‘What is there to explain?’
Lexie was calm now, this was no different from all the other times when she’d put up
her safety barrier, just face him out girl, she told herself, face him out. Deliberately making
her voice hard she snapped at him.
‘We had sex, I went home, what more did you expect, fireworks? You were good,
but not that good buster!’
Suddenly he was on his feet and had rounded the big desk in a split second, she
could hardly believe such a big man could move that fast. Looming over her, he blocked
out the light and for a moment she quaked. Big hands grasped her, pulling her up from the
seat and she was crushed against the brick wall of his chest, she put out her hands to
push him away but had no chance. He was holding her almost off the ground so there was
no choice but to cling to him.
‘You thought I was good did you? Well I would be really interested to know just what
comparison chart you are using sweetie. We both know it doesn’t hold much in the way of
data, don’t we?’
His silky soft voice contrasted with hard grip he held her in, and Lexie knew he
intended to kiss her, she also knew she would be lost if he did. Struggling to break free,
she twisted her face away to avoid his mouth. The ease with which he manipulated her
was frustrating, one big hand slipped to the small of her back, supporting her against him,
while the other firmly cupped her face and turned it back to him.
‘Afraid of me?’ He questioned gently, ‘you know all you fear is your own response,
your own need, relax and let me show you everything will be ok, I promise you it will be.’
Then his mouth was on hers and for a moment everything was indeed alright as he
softly coaxed a response from her. She couldn’t think straight, couldn’t think at all. Nothing
existed but the pressure of his mouth on hers, gently tasting and teasing until her lips
parted, allowing him entry. It seemed to go on forever until she lost all sense of time or
place, until he finally lifted his head and his eyes, smoky with desire stared down into hers.
‘Still afraid?’ he asked ‘Or do you see now how right this is, it’s right because you
belong with me, you did from the moment I set eyes on you cariad.’
Geth paused, trying to analyze his own words, not his usual style of chat up line, so
why did they sound so right? As right as breathing in the intoxicating scent that was
uniquely her.
Reluctantly, Lexie forced herself to come back down to earth and focus.
‘No,’ she forced out the word, ‘you used me. Got me drunk and used me to get the
upper hand over the protest. I don’t know why you didn’t stop once you had the
information you needed. Were you just in need of a casual fling? Or were you just out to
do an old maid a favour? How you must have laughed at that, have you shared the joke
with the boys? Is that what this is about, another notch on your bedpost to brag about?’
He released her so abruptly she almost fell, icy blue eyes sparking, he returned her
anger.
‘What the hell! Is that what you think? Well let me tell you lady I am not in the habit
of extracting information from unwitting females drunk or otherwise and then bedding them
for fun, let alone discussing sexual conquests with my employees. Not even when those
conquests turn out to be so very intriguing.’
‘You... you pig!’ she spat the words at him, ‘don’t deny it, I was at that meeting when
you so smugly turned the tables on us, where else could you have got that information? If
it wasn’t from me then where did you get it from?’
When he didn’t answer she turned and stormed out of the room, all she could think
of was getting as far away from him as possible.
She was half way across the foyer before Geth caught up and with one hand
grasped her upper arm and stopped her flight. Lexie turned spitting fury, pushed him back
with enough temper fueled force to break his grip.
‘Don’t touch me, don’t you dare!’
The venom in her response making him take a step back, hands raised as if in
recognition of defeat.
‘Ok, ok, so you don’t believe me and right now I can’t prove to you that I didn’t use
you like that. But just think for a minute, you are alone in London, you’ve lost your bag and
soon it will be getting dark. You have no choice but to let me take you home, surely you
can see that.’
Lexie paused in mid flight as his word sank in, then she thought for a second before
answering.
‘No thank you I won’t be taken home by you. If you let me use a telephone just to
call my sister, that will be enough. You don’t need to put yourself out any more than that,
Mr. Mathias.’
Her use of the formal mode of address was close to an insult and it was not lost on
him.