Intimate Page 7

  She was too touched by his thoughtfulness and playful humour to do anything more than smile. Putting down his champagne glass, he stepped to her side.

  'But first,' he said, 'a kiss for the chef. For inspiration.' The warm wool of his sweater enfolded her cosily as he put his arms around her. The cool of the street had left its fugitive trace on his cheek, and his tender kiss, already probing with daunting power to waiting embers which sparked within her, seemed indescribably knowing and intimate. She rested her head on his shoulder, allowing his physical strength to support and soothe her as undeniable stirrings of desire shimmered through her senses. Quietly his hands stroked her back, her shoulders, banishing easily the strain that had possessed her for five days.

  'No more dallying,' he said, patting her hip and kissing her forehead. 'Otherwise I'll get distracted and we'll never have anything to eat.'

  His alacrity in the kitchen amazed Anna as he picked his way with assurance among her dishes and utensils. Adding the spices he had brought to her own, he produced a superb meal with a series of laughing flourishes. His tall, muscular form dwarfed the space of her tiny kitchen, and Anna could not help admiring the seemingly inexhaustible resources of his skill and confidence. For an instant she reflected in involuntary jealousy on how many other woman he might have regaled in this charming way before she met him. In the tight sweater which displayed the depth of his chest, the broad power of his shoulders, he was irresistibly attractive, the very figure of the supremely eligible, brilliant young professional.

  The meal passed as though in a pleasant dream, suffused by the aura of enfolding warmth which seemed to emanate from Marsh's caressing gaze and quiet humour. Clearly aware that Anna's week had been difficult, he was offering her an elaborate respite from her troubles, and she was only too happy to accept. At last, warmed by the wine he had served with dinner, she sat by his side on her couch, watching the delicate ripples on the tawny surface of the tiny glass of brandy he had placed before her.

  'You're a wonderful cook,' she complimented him. 'It was awfully nice of you to do this.'

  'I had help,' he smiled. 'Every chef needs inspiration. If you don't mind my saying so, Anna, you look more beautiful every time I see you.'

  With the same enrapturing power that had bewitched her before, his lips touched her own. His large hand slipped softly across her shoulder to graze her cheek, her hair. A flare of sudden heat, having slept insidiously within her since his telephone call, shot wildly under her skin, leaving her faint with pleasure.

  Struggling to control unwilling limbs, she touched his long arm with tender affection.

  'I imagine you've had a hard week,' he murmured against her temple. 'Here, put your head in my lap.'

  Pliantly she accepted his suggestion. Slipping off her shoes, she lay beside him, feeling his strong fingers run luxuriantly through her hair, with an occasional pause to massage her neck and shoulder.

  'That's heavenly,' she smiled, her eyes closed in rapt fascination at his touch. 'But I'm going to shed my hair all over you, like a cat.'

  'Never mind,' came his deep voice. 'Just relax.'

  His finger grazed her earlobe, her cheek, before returning to the lush swirl of her hair. A great, warm yielding overcame her tired nerves as layers of tension were stripped from her by his caress. Her hand rested quietly on his hard thigh as she lay numb with relaxation under the protection of his presence.

  'No jobs yet, I take it.' The stroking tones of his words belied their meaning.

  'No offers,' she murmured, gratefully allowing his intoxicating nearness to dim the painful memory he had evoked.

  'No offers for a research genius?' he smiled. 'Isn't that what Bob called you? I can't believe it.'

  'I guess the job market is tighter than I thought,' she sighed. 'I'll just have to stay with it until I find something.'

  'Worried about your sister?'

  She nodded.

  'I wouldn't, if I were you,' he said. 'Things will work out in time.'

  Time, she thought bitterly. That's what I haven't got enough of.

  'I hope so,' she said aloud.

  Again the sliding movement of Marsh's hands forced her worries into remote vagueness. Greedily her body poised itself to his caress, unwilling to let any other impression compete with the pure probing of the fingers which soothed her. Never had the touch of another flesh seemed so magical a balm, so total a remedy. A purring sigh of satisfaction escaped her lips.

  'You're right,' he whispered. 'Just like a cat. A big, sleek cat in my lap.'

  'Mm-m,' Anna smiled against his thigh.

  But his soft rubbing, and the shifting of her limbs on the comfortable cushions, the heat of his thigh against her cheek, were beginning to take on another, subtler rhythm. And before she could consciously notice how strange was this change which took place little by little, and yet all at once a deep quickening in her senses told her that, as surely as relaxation had banished the day's fatigue, desire had come to wash away everything in its path. The muscular caress of Marsh's knowing hands, only a moment ago a quiet stroking which peeled away layers of discomfort, now probed intimately to awaken depths of longing within her.

  For a moment his caress, enmeshed in the billowed maze of her hair, continued its languid movement as though unaware of the change that had come over the flesh under it. She lay suspended in her own delight, resting with mute expectation against the hardness of his thigh. But at length, as though in response to an impalpable message radiating from her depths, his hand touched her shoulder, slid easily under her arm to caress her waist, her ribs, the creamy flesh of her hip.

  'Did they treat you badly?' he asked quietly.

  'Mm-m,' she sighed in rapt contentment, barely able to concentrate on the past which seemed buried by the daunting immediacy of Marsh Hamilton's body and personality. 'Who?'

  'N.T.E.L.'

  'N.T.E.L. is in my past now,' she murmured, stubbornly determined to solve her own problems without involving him. 'It's well out of my life.'

  'So they did treat you badly.' The tender sympathy in his voice harmonised bewitchingly with the ethereal touch of his hands on her slender limbs.

  'It doesn't matter,' she insisted pridefully. 'I can take care of myself.'

  'I know you can,' he smiled with frank admiration. 'You're pretty tough, aren't you, Anna?'

  'When I have to be,' she agreed, unafraid to acknowledge the fiercely independent personality which had allowed her to cope with many a pressing dilemma in recent years. But the thought was banished as she felt herself raised tenderly from her reclining position. All at once it occurred to her that she had merely tasted the fearsome virility of Marsh's hard body.

  She knew instantly that her intuition was not wrong, for the kiss that penetrated her now sent a stunning wave of desire through her senses. The fingertips pressed to her spine seemed to burn through the fabric of her dress to the silken nudity underneath. A lithe, goading shudder of pleasure shook her with delicious intensity. The male desire behind his friendly words was aroused in its full force, coiled around her at last, and irresistible.

  For a long moment he held her in suspension, his lips and arms joining her to him in paralysing intimacy. The fabric of her dress, loosened by her reclining posture, grazed the gentle swell of her breast, teased the impossibly taut flesh of her nipple, as a powerful hand closed over it. A shimmer of tickling excitement trembled across her stomach, slipping quickly down her thighs so that she stirred against him in a little spasm of delight.

  'Damn, but I want you, Anna.' His deep voice penetrated her dizzyingly, forcing her to see in words what was all too palpable under the flesh that strained towards him. She could not yet answer him, for the traitorous response of her body, quickening in his grasp, took her breath away.

  Again his lips claimed hers, their searing exploration firing an ache of desire in her depths. She knew that he wanted her to be his now, and his passion might well have carried her away, had he not somehow stemmed i
ts tide and released her. Lying in stunned pleasure against his taut limbs, she was at once grateful for his restraint and unnerved by the seductive power he had so suddenly unleashed.

  'I can't stand this any more,' he murmured, a groan of desire mingling with the sharp determination in his voice. 'Marry me, Anna.'

  Her numbed thoughts came to an abrupt halt at his words.

  'But…' By instinct she made an effort to clear her mind, to find her bearings. But to her surprise, his proposal seemed so self-evident that she could think of no pretext for questioning it.

  'Isn't this a bit sudden?' she smiled. 'You hardly know me, Marsh.'

  'I know you,' he said simply. 'I know you well enough to want you and need you. I don't have to know any more.'

  She had to admit the feeling was mutual, and overwhelming in its hold over her.

  'You certainly make up your mind about things quickly,' she said, slipping her hand into his own with quiet tenderness.

  'No,' he corrected, 'you're wrong there. I've had days and nights to think about it, but even that amount of time was unnecessary. It's really a question of years, Anna. I've known a lot of women, but inside I've been waiting for you all along. And now here you are, every bit as thoughtful and beautiful—and independent—as I always knew you'd be. I don't need to wait any longer. My mind was made up for me the first time I spoke to you.'

  In silence she lay in his arms, bewitched by the strength of his desire no less than by the daunting flare of exultation that leapt within her own breast.

  Calmly he stroked her hair, her shoulder, as his words took their effect.

  'Of course,' he smiled, 'as I said to you once, a lawyer shouldn't be premature. I've walked into your life at a difficult moment, and I realise that. Perhaps you need a little time to think things over.'

  Though she was flattered by his cautious words, Anna could not help feeling that her past life was already a forgotten thing, banished by the excitement which had overcome her. The hard body and caressing voice which enfolded her now were joined to the centre of her own personality in a mysterious, enthralling harmony. She could think of no earthly reason not to throw herself into his embrace, abandon the concerns that had filled her solitary life for so long, and give herself totally to the joy of belonging to him.

  'But something tells me I'm not being premature,' he said, reading her thoughts with uncanny precision.

  She shook her head in agreement with him and in wonder at the jarring novelty of the situation she found herself in. The next moment could bring her a new life by opening a door whose existence was unknown to her only two weeks ago. In a flash of memory she saw herself walking the corridors of N.T.E.L., taking the bus, paying the interest on the loans she had taken out for Sally's tuition, without a thought for her own future. That life of determined routine was gone now, as was the preoccupied woman who had lived it. In this heady moment, the unforeseen path to a happiness beyond words had opened upon her, and in her heart she had already welcomed it. She wanted this handsome stranger, and somehow knew already that he deserved her trust.

  She could not say no to him, and she knew it. To do so would amount to accepting an exile from her very self, which was already bound to Marsh Hamilton by forces she could not oppose.

  'Say yes, Anna.' His deep voice probed to the very quick of her, opening her to him with gentle insistence, drawing the words of acceptance inevitably outward, so that they trembled on her lips, waiting to escape her in joyful freedom.

  'Marsh…' She could hold out no longer. Her moment had come, and she prepared to welcome it.

  With a jangling shock the phone suddenly rang across the room, striking her dumb. The ebony irises that held her flicked reluctantly to the instrument.

  'You'd better answer it.' A teasing smile spread over Marsh's handsome features. 'I hope whoever it is has a good excuse for interrupting us.'

  'It must be Sally,' said Anna, rising to cross the room. 'No one else would call me at this hour.'

  Still shaken by the emotions claiming her attention, she picked up the receiver with an uncertain smile.

  'Hello?' she said, glancing at Marsh's tall form on the couch.

  'Hello, Anna,' came a deep voice. 'Remember me?'

  Turning instinctively away from Marsh, she paused for a desperate second before answering.

  'What is it?' she asked, searching for words which would conceal the nature of the conversation.

  'So you do remember,' said Porter Deman. 'I'm not that easy to forget, am I?' There was a silence over the line as he waited, probably calculating the effect of his words on her. 'There's something important I have to discuss with you,' he said at length. 'Very important— to you, Anna. Perhaps at lunch tomorrow.'

  'That's out of the question,' she said coldly. Hadn't he done enough to her? What could he possibly want now? What did he have left to threaten her with?

  'Why?' he asked slyly. 'Not working, are you?' His low laugh sent a chill down her spine. 'I mean,' he added with feigned innocence, 'tomorrow is Saturday, isn't it? No one works on Saturday.'

  As he paused again, she understood his innuendo.

  'Having trouble finding a job?' he asked.

  Feeling Marsh's presence behind her, Anna had to fight back the angry words that came to her lips. A muffled chuckle sounded over the line.

  'Listen to me, Anna,' he said. 'I can help you, don't you see? Without me, you'll never find work. I'm all you've got. What do you say? Just a little lunch. We'll discuss things. Just a civilised little conversation, that's all I ask. Otherwise…'

  'Where?' she asked curtly, at once horrified at his reappearance in her life and relieved to know the source of her troubles. She shuddered involuntarily as she listened to his instructions. Without a word, she hung up the phone, made an effort to suppress the torrent of painful thoughts coursing within her, and turned back to Marsh.

  'What was that?' he asked, his eyebrow quirked in perplexity.

  'Nothing,' she said, forcing a smile.

  'Didn't sound like nothing,' he said.

  'It was something… that doesn't matter,' she said, torn between her desire to put Porter Deman out of her mind and the necessity of explaining away his call. 'It has to do with jobs,' she added weakly. 'Another interview.'

  Marsh had not moved. The dark intensity of his gaze seemed to annihilate the breadth of the room as it reached to caress her slender form.

  'Come back,' he said.

  Without a word Anna crossed the carpet and buried herself in his waiting arms. She could neither conceal her upset nor reveal the reason for it, so she contented herself with clinging to the strength of the man who held her.

  'My poor Anna,' he murmured. 'They're making it tough for you, aren't they?'

  She nodded, fearful of his sharp intuition. His observation was disturbingly close to the unspeakable truth.

  'That was a rude interruption,' he smiled. 'Some people don't have the decency to let a man propose to his girl in peace.'

  She smiled, buoyed by his humour and by the comforting warmth of his muscular arms.

  'Perhaps it's for the best, though,' he added, rocking her gently as he touched her cheek. 'I was putting quite a rush on you just now, and I really do want you to have a little time to think over what I've asked.'

  For an answer she slipped her hand into his own. Though he could not realise it, his suggestion had a special meaning to her. She must confront Porter Deman one last time, and learn the depth of the danger he posed, before burying him in her past, where he belonged.

  For over a week he had succeeded in influencing her destiny through his malignant conniving. She could not turn back the clock, but she could at least inform herself as to the precise extent of his power. There must be a way to fight him or, failing that, to elude him.

  Regardless of what tomorrow might bring, she reflected, it could not come between her and the bright future that had opened out before her tonight. Porter Deman was an obstacle, and no more. Soon he wo
uld be out of the way, and well out of her life.

  The strong arms of Marsh Hamilton continued to support her, sending their waves of tingling warmth through her senses. Here with him, she was safe. The power of his own personality gave her courage to face the coming day optimistically. Thank heaven, she thought, that he had chosen this difficult time to cross her path, and perhaps to alter its course for ever.

  So she rested calmly in his embrace. But she could not see the quick turning of the wheels in his lawyer's mind.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  'Sit down, Anna.'

  Porter Deman rose from his seat as the maitre d'hotel pulled the table away from the booth. With chagrin, Anna realised she would have to sit in the intimacy of a booth with him instead of across a table.

  'Drink?' he asked. A waiter had appeared and stood expectantly before her. She sat in momentary confusion, unable to think of an answer to the question.

  'Bring her what I'm having,' said Porter. 'And another for me.'

  Silence reigned between them until the waiter returned. Draining his cocktail with satisfaction, Porter accepted its replacement and twisted the glass absently.

  'I love a good strong drink in the middle of the day,' he said, his eyes scanning the expensive appointments of the elegant room. 'They make a good dry Martini here. Go ahead, Anna, taste it.'

  The bitter, penetrating taste of the gin was particularly unpleasant, since Anna had had nothing to eat all morning. She felt a deep inner coldness which prevented her from taking any pleasure in outward impressions.

  'I'm glad you could join me,' he said. 'In this beautiful fall weather, nothing could be nicer than to get out of the house and meet a beautiful woman for lunch.' Seeing that she did not respond, he leaned comfortably against the plush fabric of the booth and gazed knowingly at her. 'Have you been enjoying the weather?' he asked.