I’m in the market for that kind of relationship. I was cured of that five years ago.’
Abby gasped. ‘You bastard!’
‘I’ve been called that before. I think it’s getting a little old?’
Abby stared at him. ‘So—you seriously expect I would be willing to be your mistress?’
‘Why not?’ He spoke succinctly, and she clenched her fists so tightly, her nails dug into her palms.
‘Just because I let you make love to me the last time you were here does not make me your whore!’ she retorted angrily, despising herself and him in equal measure.
‘Did I use that word?’ Luke regarded her narrowly, his eyes watching her intently.
‘You didn’t have to.’
‘Well, forgive me,’ he said sarcastically. ‘Only it’s hard to feel sympathy for a woman who’s cheated on her husband in the past.’
‘You know nothing about my marriage to Harry.’
‘And I don’t want to know,’ he retorted, reaching for his jacket. ‘Perhaps you’re right. Perhaps I should get out of here.’
‘Perhaps you should,’ said Abby, striving for indifference.
But before Luke could grab his jacket and leave, his strong fingers trailed down her sleeve and flipped beneath the hem of her shirt. She tried to back away from him, but the temptation of Luke’s touch was too much for her.
And when his hand spread against her bare midriff, warm and possessive against her soft flesh, every nerve in her body went on high alert. She wanted him to touch her, she admitted despairingly. Her limbs were melting in anticipation of his caress.
Without giving her a chance to break his hold, he pulled her down onto the sofa again and, pressing her back, covered her body with his.
Then, possessing her mouth, he whispered arrogantly, ‘What was it you were saying about not wanting to be my mistress?’
LUKE WAS IN a foul mood when he got back from Edinburgh.
The weather had been predictably bad and the conference he’d attended had been boring in the extreme. In addition to which, he’d spent much of the last three days fending off the advances of his host’s daughter, who seemed to think she was God’s gift to the opposite sex.
Fortunately, he’d had Felix drive him to the conference, so he hadn’t had to suffer the girl’s unsubtle attention on the flight back. She apparently worked in London, too, but he’d made sure she was never in a position to suggest he gave her a lift back to the capital.
Nevertheless, Luke found the return journey long and tedious. He’d worked on his laptop for a while, but, when he’d achieved as much as could be achieved without his files, he’d spent the remainder of the journey staring out of the window at the motorway.
Felix had done his best to entertain him, but he’d received monosyllabic replies at best. And, after a while, he’d asked Luke if he’d mind if he put on some music.
Luke had offered no objections, but he had raised the screen between the two halves of the car, which had been answer enough for Felix. The music had been turned off and silence had reigned until they got back to Eaton Close.
Back home, Luke took a shower and changed into casual clothes. His housekeeper, Mrs Webb, had prepared a delicious dinner for him, but, although he ate the smoked salmon, he only picked at the braised belly of pork, and didn’t touch the chocolate mousse.
She tutted her disapproval as she cleared the table in the morning room. The room overlooked the terraced garden at the back of the house, which at present was a riot of colour. A teak bench sat in the shade of hydrangeas and semi-tropical ferns that Luke’s gardener kept in immaculate order.
Mrs Webb knew better than to make any verbal complaint about his appetite, however, and asked if Luke would like coffee in the library.
‘Yeah, sure,’ said Luke, pushing away from the table. He forced a polite smile. ‘Sounds good.’
Even so, the word ‘coffee’ aroused disturbing connotations in his mind. It might be several weeks since that night in Ashford-St-James, when he’d gone to Abby’s apartment; but the memory was all too vivid, reminding him, as it had done before, that his behaviour where she was concerned was less than commendable.
He asked himself for the umpteenth time why he’d gone to see her again. It wasn’t as if he’d had any intention of pursuing their affair. Indeed, his original idea had been to prove he was not the man she evidently thought he was.
And what a waste of time that had been.
He supposed he could make the excuse that he’d wanted to apologise, for the way he’d behaved the last time they were together. But as soon as he’d seen her, as soon as she’d shown her indifference towards him, his pride had kicked in. In consequence, his good intentions had gone out of the window along with his common sense.
Nonetheless, he had enjoyed having dinner with her. Too much, he suspected, which was why he was in the position he was in now. He’d let her get under his skin again and he’d done what any red-blooded man would have done and had sex with her.
Hot, passionate sex, as it happened. The kind of sex, he acknowledged, that he couldn’t put out of his mind.
She’d just been so damnably desirable. He hadn’t been able to keep his hands off her. But was that any excuse for what had happened?
Probably not.
When they’d parted, he hadn’t asked if he could see her again. Despite the fact that he really hadn’t wanted to leave. But Felix had been waiting, and he’d told himself he had nothing to be ashamed of. She’d been as eager to be with him as he had been with her.
But he should have at least followed up the encounter with a phone call.
The truth was, he disliked the fact that she still had such an effect on him. That had never happened before with any woman, and it disturbed him.
Goodness knew, the past few weeks had been hectic, and he shouldn’t have had time to think of anything else but the business. There’d been strategy board meetings, budget discussions, and financial seminars, all demanding his attention. And that without this most recent interminable conference in Edinburgh that he’d not been able to avoid.
He should have been able to forget about Abby. It wasn’t as if she were an angel. Quite the reverse, he assured himself, considering the way she’d treated her husband. Yet she consistently continued to occupy his thoughts.
* * *
Abby woke up with a thumping headache.
She wasn’t used to getting headaches or the unpleasant feeling of nausea that gripped her as soon as she got out of bed. This wasn’t the first time she’d felt sick and she didn’t like it. Oh, Lord, she thought, I hope
