November Harlequin Presents 2(271)

‘Cryssie,’ he murmured in her ear. ‘I want you. I need you…’ And, almost lifting her from her feet, he half carried her towards the bedroom.

Suddenly, as if a wake-up call had sounded, and remembering the last time he’d held her like this, Cryssie stopped and dragged herself away from him. ‘No!’ She gasped out the word as if it hurt her, and he stared down at her, his eyes blazing like hot coals of incandescent fire.

‘Why, Cryssie?’ He paused, realising at once that he’d jumped the gun, been in too much of a hurry. ‘Don’t spoil the day! It would be the perfect ending…’ he murmured.

‘You need to know, Jed, that I don’t engage in short-term affairs—let alone one-night stands!’ She paused, listening to her own heart thudding in her ears. How close she had come to repeating the past!

He reached for her again, and she knew he was going to use all his persuasive powers to make her change her mind. But for once she had the upper hand.

‘I haven’t forgotten another occasion, Jed, when you—’ she began, and he interrupted breathily.

‘Yes—and you drove me to that, Cryssie! I was so frustrated at your…idiotic stubbornness….’

‘Oh, I was in no doubt as to your motives, Jed!’

‘You just made me so mad at your refusal to…to see sense!’

‘Well, I’m seeing sense now,’ she said, moving right away from him, her legs trembling. ‘And I really must…I want to go home now.’

As if by magic he asserted himself again. ‘Then that’s what we’ll do,’ he said flatly, as if what had just happened between them had been nothing.

Cryssie hoped he was fit to drive, because he must be over the legal limit, she thought. But she knew Jeremy Hunter wasn’t likely to endanger either of their lives. That would upset his business plans!

A chauffeur-driven limo took them home in comparative silence, and she knew he was disappointed at her refusal to allow him to make love to her. But she was glad that she’d not given in to him! She’d proved to herself that she was in total control of her life—of their lives—hers, and Polly’s, and Milo’s.

Jed’s mouth was firmly set as they sped along the motorway. He’d never been turned down by any female ever before, but somehow it didn’t get to him as much as he’d have thought. Because he knew he’d have his way in the end. The woman had proved that she was no push-over, yet for those timeless moments he knew that she had wanted him as much as he had desired her.

He glanced across at her covertly, and his gaze softened. This was not going to be easy, he thought—but he enjoyed a challenge. A grim smile edged his mouth. His idea, concocted almost overnight, would suit them both. All he had to do was make her see his point of view!

Finally, they drew into Birch End Lane, and Cryssie opened her door almost before the driver had stopped the engine.

‘Goodnight, Jed,’ she said shakily. ‘And—thanks for the—for the…ride…’ she added enigmatically, getting out and slamming the door.





CHAPTER EIGHT




JED’S BRAIN had been working overtime as he wondered how he could find a legitimate excuse to be alone with Cryssie without raising any suspicions. He knew she was desperate for the rest of the staff at Hydebound not to know anything at all about her new position in his business life, so when he did call in at the office his attitude with her was always strictly cool and formal.

Since their day in London a few weeks earlier, he just hadn’t been able to get her out of his mind, and he knew that he was becoming obsessed with the woman—or rather obsessed with the need to put his plan into action as soon as possible. Too much time was passing—valuable time that was being wasted! And all his instincts told him that he was letting things go off the boil. Because, in spite of her insistence that she didn’t want the complication of a man on her scene, he simply didn’t believe it. The heady memory of their few moments of closeness convinced him that she was sexually alive, and vulnerable. She was a sensitive, warm-blooded woman, and he knew enough about the subject to be certain he was right.

The other factor that was making it almost impossible for him to get her alone was that he knew weekends were a no-go area. She valued her time with the family too much. But he knew he must wangle it somehow, or he’d be back to square one.

Then, one Saturday morning, something unusual came up which made it essential that he should visit one of their properties—and even though he knew she wouldn’t be too happy about it he was determined that she’d do as he wanted.