Mistress at a Price (28 page)

For a moment he was motionless, the green eyes smoky with hunger as he looked at her.

Then he went to her, pulling her fiercely against him, his lips parting hers, draining the sweetness of her mouth with heated urgency.

‘
Oh, God,
’
he muttered unevenly, lifting his head with reluctance.
‘
Do you know
—
have you any idea how beautiful you are?
’

His fingers went to the first silver bow, pulling it loose.

‘
Sure you
’
re not tired after the flight?
’
Her voice teased and her eyes shone up at him.

‘
Tired is nothing.
’
Liam untied the second bow and watched the gown slip from her body like moonlight on a statue. His fingers were cool as they began to caress her, but they warmed and aroused everywhere he touched. And his smile was a kiss.
‘
With your help, my exquisite lady,
’
he whispered,
‘
I plan to be totally exhausted.
’

She was dreaming, and she knew it, walking among the fallen stones of some ancient castle. Liam was ahead of her, and she had to hurry to keep up, but the path was uneven and her feet were constantly slipping, forcing her to fall behind. Making her struggle to keep him in sight. She tried to call out to him, begging him to wait, but no sound came from her throat, and when she rounded the next corner he had gone.

Cat woke gasping, reaching blindly for him, but the bed beside her was empty. She sat up, pushing her hair back from her face, looking round almost wildly, and saw him standing by the window, looking down into the communal garden below, his tall figure a deeper darkness among the shadows, and as still as one of the stones in her dream.

She stared at him, feeling oddly disturbed.

‘
Liam?
’
she said uncertainly, and he half turned.
‘
Liam, is something wrong?
’

‘
Not a thing.
’
His voice was quiet.
‘
I just couldn
’
t sleep. But I didn
’
t mean to wake you.
’

She wanted to joke that she knew the perfect cure for insomnia, but something kept her silent.

Instead, she slipped out of bed and went across to him, sliding her arms round his waist and pressing her lips to the cool nakedness of his shoulder.

She said,
‘
Darling, come back to bed
—
please.
’
She managed a little laugh.
‘
Isn
’
t it ridiculous? I was actually having a bad dream.
’

‘
Want to tell me?
’
His voice was gentle, but there was no answering smile in his eyes. He reached for his discarded shirt and draped it around her.
‘
Don
’
t catch cold.
’

It was much chillier tonight, she realised. The seasons were changing and summer was nearly over. She found she was shivering a little.

‘
There were ruins,
’
she said lamely.
‘
And I was searching for you, but I couldn
’
t find you.
’

‘
Well, I
’
m here now,
’
he said, stroking her hair back from her face.
‘
So that
’
s all right.
’

‘
I expect it was because I
’
ve been missing you so badly,
’
she said haltingly.
‘
It
—
it was a long trip.
’

She found herself desperately wanting him to say, Next time I
’
ll take you with me. And knew that it would be just the breakthrough in their relationship that she needed so badly, and that she would say yes.

But all he said was,
‘
Unfortunately, that can
’
t always be helped.
’

‘
Was I restless?
’
she asked, forcing down her disappointment.
‘
Did I disturb you? Is that why you got up?
’

‘
I had some thinking to do,
’
Liam said, after a pause.
‘
The middle of the night can be a good time for that.
’

‘
But not just that.
’
She moved closer, pressing herself against him in tacit offering, comforted by his body
’
s immediate, instinctive response.

‘
No,
’
he said huskily.
‘
Not just that, my lovely witch.
’
And he lifted her into his arms and carried her back to the waiting bed.

Afterwards, he fell deeply asleep almost at once, but Cat stayed awake, staring into the darkness in her turn, wondering what thoughts had driven him to leave her like that. They certainly had not been happy ones, because his eyes had held an almost haunted look. And they couldn
’
t have been about anything trivial either.

She
’
d sensed a change, too, in his lovemaking that last time. She
’
d been aware that, although the physical pleasure he gave her was as breathtakingly intense as ever, he seemed to be holding back mentally and emotionally in some strange way.

Maybe he
’
s having business worries, she thought. Perhaps this trip hasn
’
t gone as well as he hoped.

She had not, realistically, expected him to share his problems with her, whatever they were. After all, she still had no idea what he did for a living. But it hurt just the same to be fobbed off.

And it meant that she couldn
’
t discuss her own anxieties with him either, even though things were tricky on the work front for her too. The troubled international situation had made people reluctant to spend money on any major changes at their premises, so the market for their services had slowed right down, and there were few new projects in the pipeline. Andrew, who usually came to work whistling, was disturbingly silent these days, and there were nasty rumours that if things didn
’
t improve soon there might have to be some redundancies.

It could be a stormy winter, Cat thought uneasily. And she turned her head and looked at Liam
’
s sleeping back, wishing suddenly that he would reach for her and hold her. And never let her go.

‘
We got the Venner contract,
’
said Andrew.
‘
Their acceptance was in this morning
’
s mail.
’

‘
Oh, good.
’
Cat, who
’
d been miles away, started a little. She gave him a swift glance.
‘
I mean, it is good, isn
’
t it?
’

‘
Anything
’
s a bonus these days,
’
he said glumly.
‘
But it
’
s hardly mega-stuff.
’

‘
We
’
ve had a bad month,
’
Cat reminded him.
‘
Now it
’
s behind us, and things will start to pick up soon.
’

He grimaced.
‘
I hope you
’
re right.
’
And he set off towards his office.
‘
Oh, by the way,
’
he added, turning back,
‘
have you seen today
’
s
Clarion
? There
’
s a piece about your mother in it.
’

‘
No,
’
Cat frowned.
‘
What does it say?
’

Andrew took the folded paper from his pocket and handed it to her.
‘
Read it for yourself. The gossip column.
’

Cat sighed inwardly as he departed. She was still brooding over the previous night and its aftermath, because Liam
’
s preoccupation had spilled over into this morning. Usually she found waking with him a wonderful experience, with laughter and tenderness tempering the ache of another separation. Often, too, Liam helped her to dress, closing zips and hooks, and refastening buttons with deft, regretful hands.

But today he
’
d simply showered and dressed himself, swiftly and silently. And his parting kiss had done hardly more than brush her lips.

The passionate lover who
’
d come back to her last night might never have existed. There had to be something seriously on his mind, she thought. And now it was worrying her too.

I have to know, she told herself. Have to find out. But how? She
’
d tried ringing him, but his mobile was switched off. In fact, it was almost as if he was putting himself deliberately beyond her reach.

And the more she told herself she was imagining things, the more uneasy she became.

So the last thing she needed was Vanessa muddying the waters for her, and she sighed as she unfolded the paper and turned to the requisite page.

    A special face will be missing from the first night audience when beautiful Vanessa Carlton opens in
Playwright in Residence
at the Excelsior Theatre in two weeks
’
time.

    Ruggedly handsome boyfriend Gil Granger is on his way back to California to pursue his career in photography
—
and there are no plans for his return.

    However, three-times married Vanessa, appropriately playing one third of a seventeenth century love triangle in Nevil Beverley
’
s new comedy, is making a super-fast recovery from Gil
’
s defection, and is rumoured to have his successor in place already. So, not all the drama
’
s on the stage at the Excelsior, it seems.

    And Miss Carlton
’
s comment, when asked the identity of her new squeeze? Simply
—‘
No comment.
’

Cat put the paper down and sat staring into space. Well, she thought, it had been obvious from the start that Gil and her mother were hardly the ideal couple. But that didn
’
t mean Vanessa would relish being dumped so publicly, and just before the play was due to open.

Damn Gil, she thought forcefully. Surely he could have hung around for another two weeks
—
let her get the first night over and done with.

She imagined the story of his instant replacement had probably been concocted by Vanessa herself, as a face-saving exercise. And in her place she
’
d probably have done the same, she admitted ruefully.

Having failed to locate her mother at the theatre, Cat dialled the number of the Chelsea house. Vanessa answered at once, sounding eager and far too cheerful for someone who
’
d just been jilted by a much younger man.

But her voice took a slight downturn when she realised it was Cat.
‘
No, darling, I
’
m not rehearsing this morning,
’
she said.
‘
David
’
s blonde needs some extra work on the second act, and apparently she feels intimidated if I
’
m within a hundred yards of the theatre. Isn
’
t that bizarre?
’

‘
Amazing,
’
Cat agreed drily. She hesitated.
‘
Actually, I read the piece in the
Clarion
and I wanted to make sure you were all right
—
and to tell you that I
’
m sorry about Gil.
’

‘
There
’
s really no need.
’
Vanessa was clearly amused.
‘
Gil had simply outlived his usefulness, and it was time for him to go. Besides,
’
she added,
‘
he
’
d begun to mope quite terribly over Patric, and I was finding it all very depressing.
’