The Secret Heiress (11 page)

Alistair loosened his tight grip on the steering wheel. The question was loaded. “Why don’t we take it slowly and see where it leads?”

He didn’t understand her. He thought giving her closure on the business and investment would allow them to establish a connection beyond Gala & More. But she had clearly felt neglected in some way. He wasn’t amazing at offering reassurances in a relationship. He knew this about himself. Invariably, he would begin to feel trapped by expectations and move to end the relationship.

He needed the freedom to make decisions about his life without someone else trying to control his every move. Even the expectations of his grandparents and the winery became too much at times. His release was extreme sports. But in the last couple of years, even that was becoming less and less effective.

He pulled into his driveway and parked the car, shutting off the engine.

“I’m wildly attracted to you, Anna.” He met her gaze. “But I also crave freedom. A trigger for me is feeling trapped by other people’s expectations. I’m bringing this up because you seem to need some type of reassurance from me. We are not a good match in that way.”

Anna blinked a few times. “I get it. I value my independence as well. I’m not looking for a permanent commitment but I’m curious where you see this heading.”

He’d upset her. He could see it in her downcast gaze and the tension in her body.

He turned more fully towards her. “Maybe you’re not looking for marriage right now, but there is something that upsets you about not being certain of an emotional attachment.”

“I’m not interested in a one-night adventure.”

He reached forward and kissed her fleetingly. “I organized a celebratory dinner. Let’s enjoy the evening and then I’ll take you home when you are ready.”

Instead of waiting for her to object, he bolted out of the car and walked around and opened her door.

He offered her his hand and gently tugged her from the low vehicle. Her legs looked amazing in her patterned stockings and wickedly high heels. He could feel the blood rushing to his male anatomy and made a point of imagining his housekeeper serving dinner. He needed to be patient and not rush Anna.

She smoothed down the bottom of her short dress. “The house looks quiet without two hundred guests milling about.”

He placed his arm around her and they walked up the front path. “The final count was almost three hundred, but it raised a serious amount of money.”

She visibly relaxed when he moved the discussion away from their personal relationship.

Opening the front door, he asked, “Are you wearing another Olivia Bolles creation?”

Anna smiled. “Yes. This is coming out in her spring collection.”

He watched her walk into the house. “Your sister has enormous talent.”

Stepping away from him, she said, “Do you ever get lost in this mansion?”

He could see she wanted to keep the conversation away from their attraction to each other. “It’s large for one person. Even with a housekeeper and gardener. It came on the market and the location and architecture appealed to me. I planned to entertain and assumed one day that I would have a family.”

Anna moved into the formal living room. It was light out and she could see the English garden in the back.

Alistair didn’t shy away from emotions. He told her he craved his freedom and knew that she had abandonment issues. She did. Her father was terrible to her and her mother wasn’t much better. Besides having Olivia and William in her life, she had developed very few emotional ties since her grandmother had died five years ago. She had been very busy over the last few years, but her aunt and uncle had reached out to her on numerous occasions. Maybe she shouldn’t resist their attempts to draw her closer. She didn’t want to live her life not trusting others.

He drew her from her thoughts. “Some champagne to celebrate our deal.”

Anna took the glass he offered, and raising it, she said, “To our business deal.”

He smiled and touched her glass with his.

She took a swallow. “It is one of your sparkling wines?”

“No. I prefer mine, but it’s good to branch out occasionally.”

He led her to an elaborately set dining room. His housekeeper served them a salad with roasted walnuts and goat cheese, followed by salmon with a lemon mint dressing.

Throughout the meal, Alistair offered stories about learning the wine business in his early twenties. His grandparents were at his side, but they also had a dedicated and loyal staff.

“Did you grow up knowing who your father was?” Anna asked him.

“No. My mother had decided to sever all ties. He wasn’t supportive of the pregnancy and she was afraid he would reject me.”

She thought about Alistair as a young boy growing up without a father. “How did you meet your grandparents?”

He hesitated, then said, “When I was fifteen, my mother received a letter from my grandparents telling her that my father had been killed in a plane crash. She decided to allow them to see me, and three days later they were on our doorstep. It took nearly a week, but they convinced her to leave her life behind and come to the U.K.”

Anna took a sip of champagne. “Does your mother live near here?”

Alistair took a bite of salmon. “She married two years ago and has settled back in Ireland.”

She thought about some of the stories that Fionn had shared about their early life in Ireland together. “Do you have fond memories about growing up in Ireland?”

Alistair kept his voice neutral. “I don’t miss the poverty or my mother having to work all of the time. But I miss some aspects. I had a tremendous amount of freedom and could get by in school with very little effort.”

Anna began to see a different side of the polished and charming Alistair Martin. He’d had more challenges in his early years that most children. Maybe that was why he was so resilient. “Would you say you are more Irish or English?”

His relaxed voice soothed her nerves. “Both cultures are closely intertwined so I’m not sure. I’m at home in both places.”

The sun was setting outside and a warm dispersed light infiltrated the formal garden. She hoped that their desire for each other would take over. She didn’t want to go home tonight. She’d craved him for so long, she finally allowed herself to be open to the idea of a fling. Despite what she said to him in the car, she put the future out of her mind and thought only about tonight.

“Could you show me the garden before it gets dark?”

“Maybe you’ll be a gardener in your next career,” he said as his gaze flowed over her.

She smiled. “I love to garden, but a career is something entirely different.”

“You would need a different flat.”

She nodded. Her current flat had one window overlooking a brick wall less than two feet away. It definitely didn’t work for growing anything.

Alistair opened the door and led her into the night air. It reminded her of their first kiss by a fig tree years ago. And their last kiss had been in the public garden. Maybe she was tempting fate by asking him to show her the garden.

He activated the lights from the terrace and led her through the formal spaces. “You probably know much more than I do about the plantings and types of trees.”

She explored the plantings. “I grew up with an elaborate garden. My grandmother would come and stay with us sometimes and she was a wonderful gardener. I learned a great deal from her.”

“Are you impressed?” He reached out and took her hand.

Anna had a difficult time concentrating on the garden with her hand held in his. “It’s beautiful. There are many old trees and plantings which can’t be reproduced.”

He pulled her closer to him. “I had the gardener plant a fig tree over here in honor of our forbidden kiss.”

She stopped and turned towards him. She couldn’t believe that he had held onto the sentimental memory. “He must have thought it was a bad idea.”

“Fig trees are not typical in English gardens, but he humored me.”

Anna inspected the tree. It had been planted for a long time. “When did you have it planted?”

“The week after Fionn and Olivia’s wedding.”

She gasped and covered her mouth. “It seems like a sentimental thing for you to do.”

“It surprised me, but I felt driven to do it. I definitely enjoy the memory.”

She gazed at him. He was quite a bit taller than her and had matured in a sexy way. She could feel a pull between them but waited for him to make the first move.

He stepped forward. “If I recall correctly, you approached me.”

Her heart leapt. She had approached him. She had been fascinated by him on her few previous encounters and at eighteen was fearless.

Alistair stood under the tree and waited. She moved closer to him and touched his chest. Standing up on her toes, she gently pressed her lips to his. He moved and pulled her closer, deepening the kiss.

She could feel his entire body pressed close to her but focused on meeting the demands of his mouth and had to pull away briefly to take in oxygen.

“I’ve waited forever for you,” he murmured, his voice husky.

He plundered her mouth and gently pulled up her dress, exploring her round, firm bottom. She could feel desire build within her core and wanted him to keep going.

Alistair kissed her neck. “You are so beautiful, Anna.”

She ran her hands over his chest and began to unbutton his shirt. He returned to her mouth and kissed her again. She continued to unbutton his shirt and after several clumsy attempts, he stilled her hands and unbuttoned his shirt himself.

She explored his warm chest and ran her hands along his tight muscles.

He stopped kissing her and asked, “Are you sure, Anna? I can’t promise you forever.”

Her eyes locked on his, her heart beating fast, and she whispered, “I’m sure.”

He led her back through the garden and into the house. Picking her up, he carried her up the stairs.

Alistair took her into his bedroom and placed her on the bed. He hastily removed her shoes and followed her silk stockings up to her garter belt. “Your sexy stockings have been driving me crazy all night.”

“Olivia recommended them. I was wearing gray pants.”

“I find you incredibly sexy in anything that you wear.”

Anna pushed his shirt off his shoulders. His chest was defined and tight. She had seen him without a shirt at the beach once but had kept her distance.

Alistair unrolled her stockings and placed a kiss on the inside of each thigh. He pushed her dress up and kissed her belly.

“I need help with the dress.”

She sat up and he slid the zipper down and then she stood, allowing the dress to fall to the floor.

Alistair stood up and unzipped his dress pants, sliding them down after he kicked off his shoes and removed his socks, balancing on one foot at a time.

He stood in front of her wearing tight black boxers and nothing else.

She released her hair and let it fall down her back. Reaching behind her, she unclasped her bra and he stepped forward and caught it in his hands.

Removing it completely, he bent down and drew her nipple into his mouth and she held onto his head. He moved her back against the bed and gently let her fall backwards, his arms around her waist. He followed her and continued exploring her breasts. She was already lost to the sensation and moved against him wanting more.

“We shouldn’t rush this, love.”

He moved his hands down her body and tugged off her lace panties. Anna was beyond rational thought. Her entire body was sensitized to his touch and she wanted to feel him against her. She had waited forever for this moment and didn’t want to over think it.

She traced the length of his erection through his boxers and heard his indrawn breath. He put his hand on hers and encouraged her to grip him more firmly. He stopped kissing her and removed his boxers before looking in his nightstand for a condom.

“Next time, it will be more controlled.”

He put the condom on the bed and captured her wrists, placing them over her head. “You are driving me insane, Anna.”

He continued to explore her body and, only when she begged him, he ripped open the condom and put it on.

Alistair kissed her mouth again and positioned himself over her. She could feel him at her entrance and moved against him. She wanted him inside her.

He steadied her hips, then plunged into her in one movement. She could feel herself expanding to accommodate his size and grasped his shoulders. The sensations were so intense that she held onto him and tried not to lose her mind.

He retreated and plunged inside again. Anna could feel a deep pleasure building and opened herself fully to the experience.

She matched his rhythm and he devoured her mouth before moving on to her neck. She exploded into an orgasm and he followed after one final thrust.

She lay next to him while their breathing returned to normal and he lightly ran his hand down her back.

Alistair left the bed for a moment to go into the bathroom and she felt her body slowly calm. He was incredibly sexy, so physical and tuned into her needs. She pulled the coverlet over her and watched him walk back to her completely unfazed by his nudity.