Savage Awakening(26)

'Well, then … '

'Let me worry about Amy.'

'No.' She swallowed. 'This is wrong.'

'Is it?' He was mocking now. 'You seemed to be enjoying it a moment ago.'

'Matt!'

'Fliss!' He mimicked her breathless denial. 'Stop stressing. We're not hurting anyone.'

'How can you say that?'

She turned her head to stare at him and then wished she hadn't when she  found they were face to face. His mouth was only inches from hers, and  before she could turn away again he moved closer and covered her lips  with his.

It wasn't like the other time she'd kissed him. Then, she'd been  intensely aware that it was she who was making the running. This time  Matt himself had initiated the contact. And because her lips were still  parted in surprise, it was a wet and open-mouthed meeting of lips and  tongues.

His mouth was soft, but incredibly hot, his tongue a sensual invasion  she had no will to resist. Finding him this close to her, breathing his  breath, feeling his heat, was a mindless pleasure. The images she'd had  before were overlaid with other visions now, of naked bodies and  thrashing limbs, of her and Matt in bed together. Anticipating how  satisfying that would be, to have him not only in her arms but inside  her, implied an awesome intimacy. And was far too devastating to ignore.                       
       
           



       

She tried to turn fully towards him, but he wouldn't let her, and she  could only clutch at his shirt with both hands. Simple lust was roaring  through her veins, leaving her eager, yet helpless, and for several  minutes she was held captive by her own body's demands.

His mouth left hers at last and she wanted to howl in protest. But he  turned her back towards the mirror and buried his face in the hollow of  her neck. She sensed he was fighting his own needs; aware that with  every minute that passed Amy was more likely to interrupt them. It was a  sobering thought and it made her feel better knowing that he was  frustrated by it, too.

And then her reflection intruded. She hardly recognised herself now. Her  cheeks were still burned, but the flush extended down her throat as  well. Her mouth looked swollen and there was a distinct mark on her neck  where Matt had bitten her. Oh, God, she thought in horror, how on earth  was she going to explain that?

Amy would notice immediately, she thought. Her daughter always noticed  everything, whether Fliss wanted her to or not. And if she mentioned it  to her grandfather …

The sound of the phone brought an end to any further speculation.  Brought an end to Matt's sensuous exploration of her shoulder, too, and  he lifted his head reluctantly and met her anxious gaze in the glass.

'What's the matter?'

Immediately he'd sensed her feelings, and with a determined effort she pulled away. 'Your phone's ringing.'

'Yeah. I hear it.'

Fliss pressed her lips together. She was not going to tell him he should  answer it, she assured herself firmly, but something of her ambivalence  must have shown in her eyes because he said a little tensely, 'What?  What?'

'Nothing,' she murmured, suddenly noticing that the top button on her  trousers was undone. When had that happened? she wondered, hastily  fastening it again. 'Um-I'd better go and collect Amy. It's getting  late.'

'Something's wrong,' said Matt doggedly. 'I knew that before that bloody  thing started ringing.' He cut a scowling glance towards the hall.  'Stop, can't you?'

The unexpected cessation of sound was almost deafening and Fliss ran a  nervous hand over her midriff. Then, reminded of how Matt had done the  same, she stuffed her hands into her pockets instead. 'That's a relief,'  she said, hoping to avoid another argument. 'You must have supernatural  powers.'

'Though not with you, huh?' he countered flatly. He waited and, when she  didn't answer him, he said, 'Have you stopped speaking to me again?'

Fliss sighed. 'Of course not.'

'So what's bugging you?'

'You mean other than the fact that I should have had more sense than to  go along with this?' she demanded flippantly, but he wasn't amused.

'You're saying what we did was against your will?'

'No-'

'Gee, thanks.'

'But we both know you were only amusing yourself at my expense.'

'Do we?'

Fliss made an exasperated sound. 'Do I look like I was born yesterday?'

'And your point is?'

'Look at me, Matt. Really look at me. Then tell me you don't know what  I'm talking about. I may be amusing, but I'm certainly not the kind of  woman that men like-that men are irresistibly attracted to.'

'Men like me, you mean? Don't underestimate yourself.'

'And don't you underestimate me,' she retorted hotly. 'What happened  here-well, it was quite an experience. But Diane will soon come here-'

'Leave Diane out of this,' he snapped, but she wouldn't back down.

'That's really what this is all about,' she went on unsteadily. 'You've  had a row with her-probably over you moving down here-and you decided to  give your housekeeper a thrill.'

Matt looked appalled. 'Do you believe that? Is that what you really think of me?'

It wasn't, but Fliss consoled herself with the thought that his ego was probably much less vulnerable than hers.

'Does it matter what I think?' she asked wearily. Then, as the phone  started to ring again, she made a defeated gesture. 'Go on. Answer it.  She's not going to give up until you do.'                       
       
           



       





CHAPTER TWELVE





AMY was grumpy on the walk back to the cottage. She hadn't taken kindly  to being woken up and she didn't understand why she couldn't go into the  house and speak to Matt before they went home.

'But I haven't said bye-bye,' she protested, when her mother announced  that they were leaving right away. 'Can't I just go and thank him for  coming with us? It wouldn't have been half as much fun if he hadn't.'

Well, thanks, thought Fliss drily, but she had more important things on  her mind. 'Not today,' she insisted crisply, marching her daughter  firmly along the path towards the churchyard gate. 'In any case, he's  busy. The phone rang and-he went to answer it.'

Which might or might not be a lie, she conceded as Amy squirmed  impatiently out of her grasp. Whether Matt had answered the call or not  wasn't her business. Either way, it was an excuse Amy could identify  with.

Unfortunately, the little girl chose to turn her disappointment on her  mother and, noticing Fliss's hot face, she said, 'Why are you all red?  Did you and Matt have another argument? Is that why I'm not allowed to  speak to him?'

'No!' Fliss was horrified at the suggestion. But she had to admit that  Amy was getting far too astute for her own good. 'In case you overlooked  the fact, it's been a sunny day. I'm sunburned, that's all.'

'So why aren't I sunburned?' Amy countered, still regarding her mother's  face with curious eyes. Then she gasped. 'Did you know you've got a big  bruise on your neck, as well?'

Fliss's hand went automatically to cover the mark Matt had made, and she  was glad her face couldn't look any redder than it already did. 'Oh-I  must have been bitten,' she said, cringing at the irony. 'That's why I  get sunburned and you don't. My skin is much fairer than yours.'

'Really?' Amy didn't look convinced and, despite Fliss's efforts to  distract her, she still kept casting curious looks at her mother  whenever she thought she could get away with it.

'Yes, really,' declared Fliss at last, feeling as if her nerves had been  strung out to dry. Then, because she couldn't let Amy waltz into the  cottage with the news that her mother had been bitten by some monstrous  insect, she said, 'And I'd prefer it if you didn't tell Grandad.'

'Why?'

Why? Fliss stifled the sob of hysteria that rose in her throat. How was  she supposed to answer that? 'Well-well, because we don't want to worry  him, do we?' And that was the truth. She took a breath and then  continued firmly, 'You know he wasn't very keen on us going out today.  We don't want to give him anything else to-to-'

'To complain about?' suggested Amy shrewdly, and Fliss reflected that her daughter was growing up fast.

'Sort of,' she said now, not wanting to feel guilty about her father, too. 'And we have had a lovely day, haven't we?'

'Oh, yes.' Amy nodded. 'I really like Quinn, don't you?'

'Mr Quinn,' Fliss corrected her swiftly, and Amy pulled a face.

'You call him Matt.'

'I don't.'

'You do. I heard you tell Grandad that it was me who let Harvey into Matt's garden.'

'You hear too much!' exclaimed Fliss shortly. 'Anyway, that doesn't  matter now.' She took a breath. 'So, we're agreed? We won't say anything  to Grandad about my-bite.'

'OK.'

Amy gave a dismissive shrug of her shoulders and Fliss had to be content  with that. In any case, they'd reached the far side of the churchyard  now, and it would only take them another minute to reach the cottage. No  more time to coach her daughter, no more time to prepare herself for  her father's interrogation.