You don’t have to lie about it, Diana.’
Diana!
Ally felt awful. ‘I—my name’s not Diana,’ she admitted weakly. ‘It’s Ally. Ally Sloan.’
‘No kidding?’
He didn’t sound surprised and she looked at him a little warily. ‘You knew?’
‘Well, if you were prepared to lie about which floor your room was on—’
‘I wasn’t lying, exactly.’
‘No.’ He was sceptical. ‘Don’t tell me, they’re accommodating you in one of the banqueting halls?’
‘You don’t have to be sarcastic,’ she said, hurt by his tone. ‘If I were better at this I wouldn’t have chosen that floor in the first place.’
‘Why would you want to be better at lying to people?’ he demanded in a low disturbing voice. ‘Have I given you any reason to be suspicious of me?’
‘No.’ Ally’s tongue circled her lips in innocent provocation. ‘But I didn’t know that when you spoke to me in the bar.’
Raul’s eyes darkened. ‘And you feel you know me better now?’
Ally swallowed. ‘Well—yes.’
His smile troubled her, but before she had had a chance to wonder what it meant, his hand covering hers in her lap drove all other thoughts out of her head. ‘I’m glad,’ he said, and she was supremely conscious of his knuckles digging into her thigh, causing a wave of heat to dart upwards into her groin. ‘You don’t have to be afraid of me.’
‘I’m not.’
The words came out automatically but she wasn’t at all sure she believed them. Something was warning her that he hadn’t been completely honest with her either, and while it was easy to put it down to her own over-active imagination, she still found his attention hard to justify. She simply wasn’t the type to attract a man like him—a man as young as him—and she wasn’t sure how he expected her to proceed.
But he was attractive, and the hand holding hers in her lap was strong and masculine. It reminded her that it had been too long since she’d had a man’s hands on her body, and she wondered what he would say if she confessed that she’d only ever been to bed with one man in her entire life. She was hopelessly naïve when it came to the way men and women conducted themselves today, and although Sam had done her best to educate her, she’d never expect her mother to find herself in a situation like this.
However, thinking about Sam made her realise how shocked her daughter would be if she could see her now. It was one thing for Sam to expound the sexual advantages women enjoyed today and quite another for her to face the fact that her mother was still a comparatively young woman and might be sexually attracted to some other man. Sam was disgusted with her father’s behaviour but that didn’t mean she’d forgive her mother’s transgressions, even if the circumstances were totally different now.
Tugging her fingers out of Raul’s grasp, Ally took refuge in her coffee, almost spilling it when he squeezed her thigh. As he did so, all the bones in her limbs turned to water and a pulse she’d hardly been aware of before beat insistently between her legs. Dear God, she thought, did he know what he was doing to her; had he guessed how emotionally starved she was?
‘Would you like another drink?’
To her relief, he removed his hand from her thigh and contented himself with turning sideways to face her. His knee nudged her leg and she had to steel herself not to move away. But perhaps another drink wasn’t a bad idea, she thought breathlessly. It might help to calm the nerves jumping in her stomach.
‘Why not?’ she said, promising herself she’d have one more drink and then say goodnight. She wanted to be up bright and early in the morning. After all the effort Suzanne had made, the least she could do was not to miss the plane.
Raul summoned the waiter and ordered himself a Scotch over ice and Ally another vodka and tonic. Even the drink she’d chosen was a cliché, she thought impatiently. Why couldn’t she have ordered a champagne cocktail or a spritzer?
She noticed that Raul had put one arm along the back of the sofa now and she wished she had the nerve to sit back in her seat and see what he would do. As it was, she was perched on the edge of the cushions, her knees pressed tightly together.
The waiter returned with their drinks and Ally picked up her glass and took a reassuring gulp. But she had the feeling it would take more than another drink to make her relax. She was far too tense for relaxation; far too aware of him and the temptation he evinced.
‘So what made you decide to go to the Bahamas?’ he asked, lifting his own drink to his lips.
‘Oh—you know.’ Ally shrugged, collecting her thoughts. ‘Sam thought it would be a good idea for me to have a holiday.’
‘Your daughter?’
‘Mmm.’ She smiled. ‘Like I said, she feels she has to look after me.’
‘I’m not surprised.’ Raul regarded her gently. ‘You have that effect on people.’
‘Oh, I don’t think—’
‘I mean it.’ To her consternation, she felt the brush of his fingers against her nape. ‘You’re very appealing, Ally. It’s quite a novelty to meet a woman who is so lacking in self-conceit.’
Ally blushed. She couldn’t help it. ‘You’re just trying to embarrass me now,’ she accused him uncomfortably. She picked up her glass again. ‘When I’ve had this, I’m going to have to say goodnight.’
Raul glanced at the narrow gold watch on his wrist. ‘It’s early yet,’ he protested.
‘For you, maybe.’ Ally caught herself before she admitted that she was usually in bed by half-past ten these days. She glanced behind her. ‘I just want to speak to the waiter first.’
‘The waiter?’
‘In the restaurant,’ Ally explained. Then, with a certain amount of reticence, ‘I want to ask him to add the cost of my dinner to my room bill, that’s all.’ She looked round again. ‘I wonder where he is?’
‘It’s dealt with.’ Raul took a deep breath as Ally turned confused eyes in his direction. ‘I signed the bill before we left the restaurant.’
‘Oh, but—’
‘I hope you’re not going to embarrass me by refusing to let me buy your dinner,’ he said mildly. ‘It was my pleasure. As I said before, this has been a very pleasant evening.’
‘For me, too,’ said Ally impulsively, and he tugged on a strand of her hair.
‘Then perhaps you’ll allow me to escort you to your room?’ he suggested, causing her stomach to plunge uncertainly. He grinned. ‘I’m sure Sam would approve.’
Ally was equally sure that Sam wouldn’t, but she could hardly say that. Not when he had been kind enough to pay for her drinks and her dinner, and for the wine she had consumed so
