Irresistible Temptation(10)

'Quite the bloody philanthropist, isn't he?' Jeremy gave a short laugh.  'Well, it's done now, I suppose. But it's going to make it damned  difficult for us to see each other on our own. If I come visiting,  Sasha's bound to see me and report to Declan.' He sighed irritably. 'If  you'd just told me what you were planning, I could have found you a  place well away from W11.'

'But absolutely the right area?' Olivia asked drily.

Jeremy flushed slightly. 'Well, perhaps not, but as a stopgap that wouldn't matter so much.'

'I quite like the stop-gap I've got' Olivia paused. 'But I'm sorry to  have created all these difficulties. You see-I thought you'd be glad to  see me.'

'Darling, I am.' He sounded eager, remorseful. 'But it's going to be  bloody frustrating for both of us. So near, and yet so far apart.'

It's not what I had in mind either,' Olivia said crisply. 'Maybe you should step your flat-hunting up a notch.'

'Yes,' he said. 'That's obviously the thing to do.' He sighed again.  'I'm going to get another drink.' He reached for her glass, and stopped.  'You've hardly touched your wine.'

'No,' she said. 'Could I have an orange juice instead, please?'

'You can have whatever you want.' He picked up her hand and kissed it  'I'm sorry, my sweet.' His voice lowered repentantly. 'You haven't had  much of a welcome, have you? But I'm still a bit stunned about all  this.'

And I'm a little shaken myself, Olivia thought, watching Mm make his way  to the bar. Because somehow, and quite unbelievably, I seem to be in  league with Declan Malone.

And that has to be seriously bad news.





CHAPTER FOUR





By the time Jeremy returned with the drinks, Olivia had managed to  recover her composure. She was also determined to hide her  disappointment at his initial reaction to her great surprise.

Beth had clearly been right, she thought rather sadly. She should indeed  have discussed her plans with him in advance. In which case she would  probably still be in Bristol, a small voice in her head added brutally.

But I'm here, Olivia thought, straightening her shoulders and lifting her chin. And I'm staying.

'This temping work,' Jeremy said abruptly, setting down the glasses. 'I  wish I could help, darling, but we're fully staffed at the agency. You  do understand?'

'No problem.' Olivia smiled with more confidence than she actually felt,  concealing her instinctive pang of hurt 'I wasn't looking for  hand-outs. I can make my own way.'

'But you're taking a hell of a risk.' He swallowed some of his drink.  'You had an established business in Bristol. You were doing really well.  I can't believe you've thrown it all away like this.'

Olivia lifted her eyebrows. 'Is that how you see it? I thought I was coming to join the man I love. That was my priority.'

'Well, of course.' He reddened slightly. 'And don't think I'm not flattered.'

'I'm relieved to hear you say it' Olivia put a hand on his knee. She  said gently, 'Jeremy, I haven't come to make waves-I promise. But I felt  it was time to move on- professionally as well as personally. London's  still the magnet-the magic place. Maybe I came for myself as well- to  prove I could make it in the big city.'

'Then I hope you're not disappointed,' he said moodily. 'It isn't as easy as it seems.'

She gave him a quick, concerned glance. 'But you're all right, aren't you? Things are going well?'

'Absolutely. Couldn't be better.' He looked at his watch. 'Apropos of  which, I have to be moving. I have a business dinner with some potential  clients.'                       
       
           



       

'You do?' This time she couldn't conceal the chagrin in her voice. 'But I thought we'd be able to spend the evening together.'

'Not this time, my love.' He stroked her cheek swiftly, coaxingly. 'You must realise I have appointments-commitments.'

And what about your commitment to me? she wanted to cry out, but did not dare.

'Now, if I'd had some warning,' he went on, 'I might have been able to  rearrange my diary, perhaps.' He smiled into her eyes. 'But we have  plenty of time ahead of us- all the time in the world, in fact.'

'So when will I see you?' Flatly, Olivia watched him retrieve his briefcase.

'I'll call you.' He pulled her towards him, kissed her swiftly and  hotly. 'God,' he breathed, 'if there was something I could do to unload  tonight's shindig-but there it is … '

She watched him thread his way through the crowd, and out on to the sunlit pavement.

And thought, That's that.



She could remember as a child looking forward to things- a party, a  particular birthday-with almost painful intensity, and finding that the  occasion rarely lived up to her expectations.

She had the same feeling of deflation now as she made her way back to Notting Hill.

It was also her first experience of London's rush hour, and as she  stood, strap-hanging, pressed uncomfortably between the unyielding  frames of two complete strangers, she began to question her own wisdom.

Maybe she should just return quietly to Bristol and wait for Jeremy to  call the shots, she thought unhappily. That was what everyone seemed to  think she should do.

Including, of course, Declan Malone, she realised, wishing she had sufficient room to grind her teeth.

He was the snake in her grass-the thorn in her flesh- the something  nasty in her woodshed. And she was damned if she'd give him the  satisfaction of knowing that she'd trailed home with her tail between  her legs. She could just imagine that cold smile of his. Well, she would  do her utmost to ensure that he never smiled again.

Yes, she'd suffered a setback, but that was no reason at all to cut and  run. Far better to confront her new life head-on. To take it by the  scruff of the neck and shake it into line. And prove to Jeremy that she  wasn't going to be some kind of drag. That she could stand beside him  and play an equal part in their relationship.

And for starters she would fight her way to the door of this train, using shoulders, elbows and even teeth if she had to.



When she'd eaten her evening meal and cleared away, determinedly not  dwelling on any 'might have been,' Olivia set up her laptop computer and  began to compose another CV to distribute to recruitment agencies. It  would do no harm to concentrate on her career prospects for a while, and  let her personal life take care of itself. Maybe Jeremy needed some  time to recover from the shock of her arrival, she thought drily. And  he'd have more respect for her, too, if she showed her independence.

And so might Declan Malone.

She stopped, her fingers poised above the keyboard, wondering what could have brought that unwelcome idea into her mind.

After all, it was a matter of complete indifference what that creature  thought about her. But it was clear, from what Jeremy had said, that he  had been giving her at least some consideration.

She sat back, frowning heavily. He'd let her off the hook with Jeremy.  He'd had the chance to do her some real damage, to put in the knife and  twist it, and yet he'd refrained. But why?

That was the question for which she could find no answer.

But it certainly wasn't out of the kindness of his heart, she thought  sombrely. She'd seen him in action on television, after all, reducing  some luckless politician to a shadow of his former self with total  ruthlessness.

Admittedly she'd never been a regular viewer of the programme, because  she'd no real taste for blood sports, which was probably why she hadn't  recognised him at once.

On the other hand, she couldn't have expected to come face to face with a  media celebrity on her first day in London, when all she'd been able to  think of was Jeremy anyway.

She supposed that the reason she'd got off lightly so far was that he kept his steel for worthier foes than herself.

But that could change at any time, she acknowledged without pleasure,  remembering the hard lines of his mouth, and the cold silvery glint in  his eyes.

Yet his mouth could soften to warmth and charm. She'd seen it do so with  other women-or at least the blonde he'd been wining and dining the  other night.

She closed her eyes with a slight shiver, trying to banish that  particular memory, and instead found herself wondering how his lips  would feel-if they touched hers-in a kiss. How it would be to stand held  intimately close against his lean body.

For a moment she could almost breathe the fresh, salty scent of his  skin, that she'd fleetingly encountered when he'd stood behind her at  the window, that first morning at his house.                       
       
           



       

Until this moment she'd never realised that she had such total physical  recall, making her body stir and warm with sudden, devastating need..

She leaned back in her chair, hands clasped behind her head, allowing  the crisp material of her shirt to stretch tan across her hardening  nipples. Imagining, as her body slackened-moistened-that it was the  brush of a man's fingers-his mouth-his tongue creating this arousing  torment.