Trish Wylie - His After-Hours Mistress

Their table was placed so that they both sat looking out through the open window with its glorious view. By this time the sun had gone down and the sky was filled with stunning colours—gold and scarlet, the inkiest of blacks and the richest purples, all reflected with even more intensity in the calm waters of the Caribbean Sea. Her mood mellowed as she sat looking at it.

And when dishes of food were placed in front of them she discovered a hunger that she hadn’t suspected. Fish broth, Creole baked chicken, fresh fruit. She tasted them all. She enjoyed them all. They hardly spoke; such was the enchantment of the evening. Or was it because Zane was still angry with her that he didn’t say much? Lucinda couldn’t be sure.

Afterwards, as they sat outside on the terrace sipping wine, listening to the sounds of the night and gazing at the stars that were surely more brilliant than they ever were in England, she felt amazingly content. This was an experience that would stay with her for a long time.

Until suddenly she became aware that Zane was watching her and not the darkening sky, and although the night air was cool her skin grew moist with sudden heat. This was truly a place made for lovers—and he was looking at her as though that was his intention.

‘You’re very beautiful, Lucinda,’ he said roughly. ‘Far more beautiful than I remember.’

‘That’s because when I was babysitting Tim you were never there,’ she reminded him, unable to keep a note of censure from her voice. ‘You hardly had time to notice me.’

‘I guess I did have other things on my mind,’ he agreed. ‘But not so now. This is one of those rare occasions when I can relax. And I have you to keep me company. What more could a man ask for? A beautiful lady in a most beautiful part of the world.’

‘I’m here to work,’ she reminded him. She didn’t like the way he was talking—as though their time here was for his pleasure alone.

‘You know what they say about all work and no play,’ he reminded her, his eyes a dark blue in the light that spilled out from the dining room. It gilded his features with bronze. His face was beautifully sculpted with an almost Roman nose and chiselled cheek bones and a mouth that was fluent and kissable and…She stopped her thoughts right there.

What he looked like was of no interest to her whatsoever, and she’d do well to remember it. Except that he’d set light to a fire inside her and she couldn’t help but wonder what it would be like to be kissed by him again out here in the moonlight.

That earlier brief kiss, no matter how much she had resented it, had opened up her defences. She was susceptible to him now. And, judging by the look in his eyes, he knew it! They were narrowed and intent on hers, reading her dilemma, knowing exactly how she felt. It was time she left. But when she pushed back her chair and stood up a hand shot out and caught her wrist.

‘Don’t leave yet,’ said Zane. ‘The evening is still young and I have no wish to spend it alone.’ And all the time he was speaking he was pulling her inexorably towards him.

The air between them crackled with tension, warning her that if she didn’t escape now it would be too late. But did she want to escape? Wasn’t this devastatingly attractive man setting alight fires inside her that had never been lit before? Wasn’t he arousing passions that no one else but he could quench?

Yes, but…

But what? asked an inner voice.

But nothing! There was no but about it. She was being foolish. If she didn’t put a stop to things now she would hate herself later. ‘I want to go to my room,’ she told him firmly, trying to no avail to tug her hand free. ‘I really am very tired.’

‘And I’d like you here with me. Please stay.’

Their eyes met and held, his fingers relaxed and suddenly her hand was free, but instead of turning and running Lucinda amazed herself by slipping quietly back on to her chair. It was the way he’d said ‘Please stay’ that had done it. It had been an unexpected ‘please’. Not what she was used to from this man. Perhaps he was lonely? After all they were both in a strange place with no one else to turn to for company.

‘Very well,’ she agreed quietly, ‘but not for long. I should go to bed.’

Gradually she relaxed. Zane seemed to be in a mood for not saying very much and she too was content to sit quietly. Nevertheless his nearness could not be ignored. The heady scent of him invaded her nostrils and if she closed her eyes and listened intently she could even hear him breathing. There were so many other night sounds around them and yet Zane’s breathing and the constant thud of her heart were the only ones that she heard.

‘What are you thinking?’

His voice broke the silence and made her jump. ‘How beautiful it is out here,’ she lied.

‘But not as beautiful as you.’

Her eyes shot wide and her heart rate increased. ‘You shouldn’t be saying that, Zane. We’re here on business. Or at least I am.’ But never had a job taken her to such a faraway magical place. Everything here was beautiful.

He inched his chair nearer to hers. ‘I’m glad you said that you’re here on business and not me, because I don’t normally like to mix business with pleasure. As things stand, I have no such dilemma.’ Again he edged his chair closer, so close this time that there was but a hair’s breadth between them.

Lucinda drew in a swift breath, trying to ignore the alarming sensations that were pulsing in every single one of her cells. He was going to kiss her; she was very much aware of it, and if she had any sense she would flee. But sense and sensibility didn’t show their heads; instead she felt an aching need that only he could assuage and when he tipped her chin with a firm finger she willingly parted her lips.

Zane had wanted to do this ever since Lucinda had walked into his office just over a week ago. She had transformed herself into a stunningly beautiful businesswoman. Not only beautiful but hellishly sexy as well.

But he was aware, very much so, and she was driving him crazy. He had begun to think that he would never get anywhere with her—and he had taken a huge gamble when he’d kissed her earlier. Brief though that kiss had been, he had become immediately aware that she wasn’t immune to him. It had given him the encouragement he needed.

He had heard it said that St Lucia was born beautiful. That was true of Lucinda as well. Just as the beauty of nature enhanced the island, an inner beauty made Lucinda one of the most striking women he had ever met. She was completely unaware of it but to him it was like a beckoning beacon. He wanted her so badly that it hurt.

And when she showed no sign of resisting him, when she seemed to melt into his arms, he groaned deep within his throat and, pulling her on to his lap, he deepened his kiss.

He traced her lips with his tongue, he tasted the nectarlike sweetness of her, he explored the intricacies of her mouth, and all the time he could feel the throb of her heart getting stronger and stronger. And the soft warmth of her body growing hotter and hotter.

His own desire surged and when Lucinda wriggled against him he knew that she was aware of his arousal. The beauty of it was that it didn’t frighten her away. On the contrary, she sucked in his kisses like a drowning woman, letting her tongue play with his, her hands shaping his head, fingers twisting in his hair, her passion growing with each second that passed.

What he wanted to do, what he really wanted to do, was pick her up and take her to bed. But he knew that it was far too soon. So he continued to kiss her and slowly he let his hand glide over one of her breasts. When he discovered that she was not wearing a bra beneath the coral silk it nearly drove him wild.