he known her long?”
“He met her at Easter, but she’s only been at the château a week.”
Lance had come home for that holiday on a chance twelve-hour leave, but there’d been no mention of her then.
A week was long enough for his parent to have become infatuated. He ground his teeth. What hold did this woman have over his father? He’d buried his heart with Lance’s mother and had waited until his mid-forties before marrying a second time.
That travesty of a union had lasted less than a year. Long enough to scar his father, or so Lance had thought …
A blackness swept through him. “What’s your opinion of her, Henri?”
“She’s been good for your father.”
Such praise coming from Henri, the soul of discretion, was unprecedented. Evidently she’d deceived Henri, too.
“When was the last time Corinne was home?”
“Last month. She’s on holiday in Australia right now.”
That meant she wasn’t privy to this latest information about his father’s interest in another woman. He could only imagine her reaction when she found out. As for her knowing Lance had returned …
He patted Henri’s shoulder. “Thanks for all your care of him. Now that I’m home on a permanent basis, bring any concerns to me.”
The other man smiled. “It’s good to have you back. Your father has been living for the day.”
If Brigitte hadn’t already gone to bed, she’d volunteer certain details about his father’s relationship with this latest predator. Unlike her husband, Henri, the housekeeper had no qualms when it came to expressing her opinions.
Any feelings of guilt Lance suffered for having been away this long were overshadowed by anger that another toxic female was already sleeping under their roof, counting the seconds until his father made her his third wife.
In need of a drink, he went to the kitchen for coffee first. Much as he’d like something stronger, he would opt for painkillers in lieu of alcohol to tamp down the pain of a recent injury. However there was no medicine, no drink to wipe out the agony of shattered dreams.
From the first day of her arrival, Andrea had been told she could help herself to anything from the modernized kitchen no matter the hour. Brigitte insisted the cook wouldn’t mind.
Taking her at her word, Andrea found some fresh brioche under a glass cover and ate one over the sink so she wouldn’t spill crumbs on the stone floor. Since neither coffee nor fruit juice sounded good, she ended up drinking potable water from the faucet.
As she was standing on tiptoe to put the glass back on the baker’s rack, someone pushed open the kitchen door and came in. She assumed it was Brigitte about to make hot tea with honey for the Duc.
“I hope Geoff’s better tonight,” she called over her shoulder.
“We’re all hoping for that miracle.”
Andrea stilled for a moment.
That deep voice with the heavy French accent—she’d heard it before. Just a little while ago in fact.
Her heart began to thud before she spun around to face the man she’d met in the forest. The quick motion caused her golden-brown hair to float about her shoulders before settling.
His searching gaze watched her, taking in every inch of her curves before it looked into the dark velvety-brown of her eyes. Like scorching blue flames, his flared in recognition.
He needed a shave and was still dressed in fatigues. The collar couldn’t hide a thin white scar that ran up the side of his bronzed neck. She hadn’t noticed it in the semidark of the forest. At the mere thought of how he came by it, a shudder ran through her body.
If her instincts didn’t deceive her, he was not pleased to discover that the trespasser he’d confronted earlier was inside this château, helping herself to the food.
“Who are you?” he asked in a grating voice that managed to disturb her already sensitized nerves.
“Andrea Fallon. It appears the groundskeeper neglected to let you know Geoff had a guest.”
He poured himself a cup of coffee from the cafetière and drank part of it, studying her over the rim. His gaze was insolent as well as bold. He had no shame.
She averted her eyes. A man who lived a life-and-death existence as he must have done, had dispensed with civilized pretense a long time ago.
“Did you give my camera to the guard at the gate?”
“No,” came the unequivocal answer. “I’ll return it to you later.” He swallowed the rest of his coffee and put the cup in the sink.
“Morning will be fine. Now if you’ll excuse me, I want to look in on Geoff.”
“Not yet,” he muttered. The next thing she knew he’d placed his body between her and the door. His hand grasped her wrist so she couldn’t leave.
“What on earth is wrong with you?” she cried, trying to pull away from him. But his grip was far too strong. At five foot six and only a hundred and twenty pounds, she was no match for his steel-like strength.
“My question to you exactly,” he bit out, drawing her nearer until she felt the warmth from his rock-hard body. The male scent of him was as erotic as it was unexpected. “What are you? All of twenty-two compared to his almost seventy years?”
When Andrea figured out what he was implying, she couldn’t prevent the incredulous laugh that escaped. “Not that it’s any business of the hired help, but Geoff and I are friends!”
“No doubt you’d like it to be more.” He pulled her against him until she was crushed against every line and sinew of his body, sending fire through hers. She moaned in disbelief this was happening.
“Who made you his personal watchdog?” she cried, far too aware of their breath mingling, let alone his long, sooty lashes and the lines of experience bracketing his sensual mouth. No man had a right to be this attractive, yet so utterly offensive at the same time.
“Since his second marriage never took.” She thought she saw pain interspersed with anger flashing from his eyes. “If you think I’m about to let him enter into a third with someone young enough to be his granddaughter, you’re deluding yourself.”
He’d pushed her too far. She couldn’t refrain from baiting him. “Sometimes age isn’t as important as kindness and love.”
His lips twisted unpleasantly. “Especially when you’re looking at a fortune after he’s dead.”
“Is that why you stay in his employ?” She flashed him a mocking smile. “Are you hoping there’ll be something in it for you?”
The minute the question was out, she regretted her lapse of control and tried to jerk away from him without success.
“Why
