sounds like an extremely good idea,’ he agreed, grateful for the opportunity, however brief, in which to make a determined effort to pull himself together.
It was clearly ridiculous for a grown man, approaching forty years of age, to find himself so completely bowled over by a girl—however lovely she might be, he told himself, his lips tightening grimly as he mixed their drinks at the bar in the large sitting room.
After all, following the break-up of his marriage, he’d had plenty of glamorous, highly attractive girlfriends, none of whom had caused him to lose a wink of sleep at night, or produced even the slightest ripple in his life. So why...why should it take just one brief smile from that admittedly beautiful but troublesome American girl...and he was straight into meltdown?
In fact, if he didn’t get his act together—and fast!—he was going to be in dead trouble, Ace warned himself sternly. So, he’d better get the hell out of here, and as soon as possible.
‘Well, now...’ he drawled some minutes later, sipping his brandy as he leaned casually against one of the tall, wooden posts at the end of the bed. ‘I’m hoping you can solve the mystery of why, for the past few days, you’ve been dressed like an old bag lady? Why cover yourself from head to toe in thick layers of gauze? Not to mention the reason for wearing that quite dreadful hat!’
‘There’s no mystery. I was just being very careful not to get sunburned.’ The ravishingly lovely girl grinned up at him, before holding up a lock of her fiery red hair. ‘Unfortunately, with my kind of skin, if I sit in the sun for even ten minutes I turn a bright shade of lobster. And if you want to spend some time in the water, wearing total block isn’t always the answer, either.’
‘But you’ve got a wonderful tan,’ he protested, attempting to keep his gaze well away from her luscious figure.
She shrugged. ‘Well, I’m sorry to have to tell you that like everything else in show business it’s false. Just an illusion.’
‘I know nothing about “show business”, as you call it.’ Ace shrugged, before walking through into the other room to fix them both another drink. ‘In fact, I can’t recall the last time I went to see a play or a film. And I’m not exactly keen on the ballet, either,’ he added, returning to place a glass in her hand.
‘Oh, Lord...!’ he continued, his hooded grey eyes gleaming with amusement as he stood looking down at her. ‘I hope I haven’t said the wrong thing? Are you a dancer?’
‘No, I most certainly am not!’ she laughed. ‘Anyway, who cares about what either of us does for a living? I’m far more interested in the fact that I don’t even know your name.’
‘Yes, I suppose we ought to introduce ourselves. So...’
‘Just a minute.’ She winced, struggling to adjust the pillows behind her head. ‘I seem to be getting a real crick in my neck, staring up at you like this. How about taking the weight off your feet?’ she added, patting the bed beside her.
Maybe it had been a great mistake to pour them both a second drink. Because, when thinking about the episode, much later, Ace would totally fail to understand why he’d chosen to ignore the loud warning bells ringing so urgently in his head as he slowly lowered himself down onto the soft mattress.
‘That’s much better,’ she sighed, raising a hand to rub the back of her neck. ‘So, how about if I kick off by saying that, as far as Christian names are concerned, my parents chose to call me Eloise.’
‘Well, Eloise...’ he began, suddenly uncomfortably aware of the effect that the close proximity of this amazingly sexy girl was having on his body. ‘I...er...I regret to have to tell you that I am one of those very boring members of society—a lawyer. And, even worse, at my christening I was burdened with the truly awful names of Algernon Cedric Emerson!’
‘I’m not sure that “awful” is exactly the right word,’ she murmured, clearly trying not to laugh. ‘I’d be more inclined to call it downright cruel. Because I’m afraid that there is nothing in the least romantic about the name Algernon.’
‘You’re so right!’ he drawled, desperately fighting a totally crazy, insane urge to make mad, passionate love to this gorgeous creature who was smiling so enchantingly up at him. ‘Which is why, from my earliest years, I’ve insisted on being called by the name formed by my initials.’
‘Hmm...that’s a lot better,’ she agreed, the warm gleam in her wide blue eyes causing his pulse to begin racing out of control. ‘Yes, I think that Ace is just about the perfect name for a guy like you.’
There was a long silence as they gazed at one another, the smile slowly dying from her lips, her cheeks reddening slightly under his steady gaze.
‘I could be very wrong, of course,’ he said slowly, ‘but I have the distinct impression that there’s definitely something going on here, between the two of us?’
‘Well... er...maybe... yes. I think you could possibly be right,’ she agreed breathlessly. ‘It’s absolutely crazy, of course.’
‘Absolutely crazy,’ he agreed softly, his grey eyes darkening momentarily as she nervously moistened her dry lips with her tongue.
‘And... and we hardly know one another,’ she added with a helpless shrug, closing her eyes for a moment as a deep crimson flush spread over her face. ‘But... well, the truth is...um...I have to confess that I’m certainly feeling very... er... very peculiar!’
‘Believe me—you’re not the only one!’ he murmured huskily. Raising a hand, he brushed a stray tendril of hair from her brow before gently trailing his fingers over her cheeks and on down over the incredibly soft, velvety flesh of her neck to the creamy hollows at the base of her throat.
‘However, before I completely lose all control of my senses, I think you’d better tell me to go away,’ he added thickly, his heart pounding like a sledgehammer as she responded to his light caress with a low moan. ‘Quite frankly—we’re both likely to be in a whole lot of trouble if I remain here any longer.’
‘No...don’t go,’ she whispered softly, raising her arms and placing them about his dark head, before drawing him slowly down towards her. ‘I really don’t understand what’s happening to me. And...and I can promise you that I’ve never done anything like this before. But please...please don’t go.’
‘Wild horses wouldn’t be able to drag me away!’ he breathed huskily, before gathering the slim figure up into his arms, his mouth closing possessively over her soft, trembling lips.
CHAPTER TWO
ACE put down his pen, sighing heavily as he leaned back in his chair and gazed out through the window of his study at the trees and parkland surrounding Ratcliffe Hall.
It was now three months since he’d returned from abroad. A hard, frantically busy three months, dealing with the burdensome legacy of his inheritance: a dilapidated ‘stately home’ and an estate which had been badly neglected for many years.
With so much work to do—including many long, drawn-out meetings with the family trustees—he’d had no alternative but to resign from his position as senior partner of the large firm of lawyers in London. However, while he’d originally thought that he might miss the cut and thrust of City business, Ace had been surprised to discover that he’d gained a considerable
