However he still moved with that lithe, predatory grace that never failed to cause such an unwelcome awareness in the pit of her stomach, and when he stepped aside to let her in she ensured that her bare arm didn't brush any part of his lean frame.
His dark eyes narrowed, impaling her with a cool, dangerous gaze, letting her know he had noticed, and she found it difficult to say, 'Good morning,' as she moved into the room.
Matt closed the door and then leaned back on it for a moment, watching her. 'Why didn't you just come in?' he asked, his harsh voice scraping sensuously over her nerves, and she strove for a casual tone.
'I thought you must have company,' she said, setting her backpack on the table. She glanced about her, noting there were two empty coffee mugs on the drainer, and stiffened. 'Is Diane here?'
'No.' Matt's tone was chilly. 'I don't expect to be seeing Diane again.'
'Oh!' Fliss moistened her lips. Did that account for his haggard appearance? 'I'm sorry.'
'Are you?' His thin lips twisted. 'Yeah, well, don't lose any sleep over it. I haven't.'
'You look as if you have,' Fliss exclaimed impulsively, and then wished she hadn't when his expression darkened.
'Thanks.' He was sardonic. 'I can always rely on you to tell it like it is.'
'I didn't mean … ' Fliss felt as if she was digging a pit for herself, but she couldn't let him think she didn't care. 'It's just-well, you look tired, that's all.'
'Right.'
'I-perhaps you should get yourself a gardener, after all,' she continued doggedly. She knew he spent most afternoons working in the garden now. 'You've probably overdone it again.'
Matt gave a disbelieving shake of his head. 'How pleasant it must be to live in your world, where every ailment can be explained away in physical terms. I'm looking tired, ergo I've been overdoing it. I've got a headache, so I should stop banging my head against this brick wall.'
Fliss felt the colour rise in her cheeks. 'There's no need to be sarcastic,' she said stiffly. 'I realise some things can't be explained away so easily. And whatever you say, I'm sure Diane-'
'For God's sake, will you stop harping on about Diane?' he snapped savagely, and she drew back in surprise.
This was a side of him she'd never seen before and, as if realising he'd alarmed her, Matt came away from the door. Putting a hand on the table at either side of her, he imprisoned her within his arms. 'Don't look at me like that,' he implored her roughly. 'I'd never hurt you, surely you know that?' His eyes dropped to her mouth and she quivered in spite of herself. 'And don't ever think Diane has any bearing on the way I'm feeling now, because she doesn't.'
'And I can vouch for that,' remarked a dry voice behind them, and Fliss, who had been wondering if Matt was going to kiss her again and speculating about what she would do if he did, started violently.
Matt reacted considerably less urgently, pushing himself away from the table-and Fliss-with weary resignation. Then, as Fliss glanced somewhat apprehensively over her shoulder to see a much older woman watching them, he said flatly, 'This is my mother, Fliss. I don't believe you've met.'
'As if that was in question,' observed Mrs Quinn crisply, coming further into the room. She was a tall, elderly woman, with iron-grey hair, dressed in an elegant silk suit. 'How do you do-Felicity, is it? I understand you've worked wonders in this house.'
Fliss licked her dry lips. 'Um-Fliss will do,' she murmured, glancing awkwardly at Matt's set face. 'And I-er-I've just done my job, that's all.'
'Rather more than that, from what I hear,' declared the other woman smoothly. She, too, glanced at her son. 'Isn't that right, Matt?'
'If you say so.' He was remote.
'I do say so.' His mother seemed unmoved by his obvious withdrawal. 'You two evidently know one another very well.' She paused. 'Is there something I should know?'
'No!'
Matt's denial was violent, and Fliss felt something inside her curl up and die. Whatever might have happened if his mother hadn't interrupted them clearly meant nothing to him.
'That's not what Diane says,' Mrs Quinn murmured softly, and once again her son lost his cool.
'I don't give a-a damn what Diane says,' he snarled, and Fliss knew he was moderating his language for his mother's benefit. 'What do I have to do to make you both understand that I couldn't care less about Diane?'
'Now that I can believe,' remarked his mother mildly. 'But you used to. And the poor girl can't understand what she's done for you to treat her so shabbily. Especially if you're living here alone.'
'Can't she?'
Matt's tone was mocking now, but Mrs Quinn was not prepared to back down. 'No,' she replied pleasantly. 'She seems to think there's something going on between you and … ' Her eyes flickered briefly in Fliss's direction. 'Well, between you and this young lady, actually.' Her dark brows arched in enquiry. 'Is she wrong?'
'Yes.'
Matt's response was immediate, and Fliss wished the floor would just open up and swallow her. He'd had no hesitation in dismissing his relationship with her. Whatever was going on between them, it was not something he was prepared to own up to.
She shifted awkwardly, desperately wishing she was not a part of this conversation. But when Matt looked at her, instead of at his mother, what she saw in his gaze confused her even more.
Hot and passionate, his eyes ate her up. It was an almost palpable invasion that turned her legs to water. Banked fires burned behind his gaze, yet she had the sense he was still determined not to give in to them. But he wanted her; she could see it. What power was controlling him that was so much darker than his natural will?
She was mesmerised for several mindless seconds, and then his mother spoke again, destroying the tenuous bond between them. 'Well,' she said, 'if there is no one else, I don't understand your attitude. When you were captured, when you were a prisoner in Abuqara-'
'Diane was screwing her boss's brains out,' Matt finished for her harshly. He started towards the door as if he'd had enough of her interrogation. 'Ask her about it. See if she denies it. But you know what? She did us both a favour.' His lips parted in a grim smile. 'I'm no good for any woman, and that includes Fliss.'
He strode out of the room then, without looking at either of them again, and Fliss turned abruptly towards the sink. She felt sick, and empty, and she snatched up the two dirty coffee mugs and started washing up. But her eyes were burning, and she had to blink several times to clear them.
The room was silent behind her and, guessing Mrs Quinn had followed her son, she glanced over her shoulder. But to her surprise, and dismay, she found the woman still standing where she'd been before, dark eyes, so unnervingly like Matt's, regarding Fliss with an intent appraisal.
'Oh!'
Fliss couldn't prevent the shocked exclamation and Mrs Quinn held up an apologetic hand. 'I'm sorry. Did I startle you?'
Twice, thought Fliss tensely, swinging round again before Matt's mother could see her tear-wet eyes. But she should have known better than to think she could fool a close relative of his.
'You're upset,' Mrs Quinn said gently. 'I'm afraid my son has that effect on people. Or rather he has since he got back from North Africa.'
'I've got something in my eye, that's all,' said Fliss, not prepared to confide in her. Then, when the woman still didn't go away, 'Can I get you something? Have you had breakfast?'
'You don't have to pretend with me,' insisted the older woman sympathetically. 'Matt can be utterly charming when he puts his mind to it. And, obviously, he's taken quite a fancy to you. But you must understand, there's no future in it.'
'Do you think I don't know that?' Much as she wanted to remain silent, Fliss didn't like being patronised in this way. 'As your son said, there's nothing between him and me.'
'But you'd like there to be?'
Fliss pressed her lips together. 'I must get on,' she said, refusing to satisfy the woman's mordant curiosity. Then, with a coolness she was quite proud of, 'Will you be staying for a few days? If so, I'll make sure there are plenty of towels in your bathroom.'
Matt's mother stayed for four days and during that time Fliss made sure that she and the other woman were never alone again. It wasn't difficult, the weekend making up two of the days. She knew that what Mrs Quinn had told her was true, but that didn't mean she had to listen to her. Besides, despite what Matt had said about Diane having an affair with her boss, Fliss suspected his mother still hoped he would forgive her. And why not? Diane was blonde and beautiful, and successful. Exactly the sort of wife a man like him should have.
Deciding whether or not she should stay on at the Old Coaching House as Matt's housekeeper was another matter, however. Mrs Quinn's visit had made certain things clear to her, and one of them was the total futility of her attraction to her employer.