Carole Mortimer - Fear Of Love

‘With me,’ he said grimly.

‘You’re just being pigheaded about this,’ she said angrily. ‘I’ve stayed at Roger’s house several weekends in the past. Gail and Trevor didn’t mind at all.’

‘A weekend is completely different from a full month. It could be even longer, we have no guarantee when Gail’s going to have the baby. No, you go back and tell your boy-friend that you’re staying here.’

She slammed the door behind her. He was nothing but a bully and a tyrant! She snatched up the telephone receiver. ‘Mr Tempest doesn’t think it’s a good idea,’ she snapped.

‘Damn him, he doesn’t have any say in it!’ Roger sounded as angry as she was herself.

‘He thinks he does.’ She sighed, relaxing her body somewhat. ‘Can you come and pick me up, I have to go and collect some of my clothes? I’ll wait for you outside, I find this place oppressive.’

They arranged to meet in half an hour, and for Alexandra the time dragged by. She ran over to the car when Roger arrived, getting in beside him before he had hardly had time to stop.

She leant over and kissed him hurriedly on the lips. ‘Let’s get out of here.’

Roger looked at her closely. ‘Hey, Alexandra, I’m sure that if you explained to your sister or Trevor how much you dislike being at Tempest’s house they wouldn’t expect you to stay.’

‘Gail isn’t to be worried and Trevor already has enough to think about. I don’t want to talk about it any more, Roger.’

‘Yes, but—–’

‘Forget it,’ she said fiercely.

‘But if it’s upsetting you, Alexandra,’ he persisted.

She smiled. ‘There are worse things in life than living in luxury at Dominic Tempest’s for the next four weeks.’ But she couldn’t for the life of her think of one right now!

She let them into the house with her key, exclaiming her dismay at the chaos in the kitchen. She had forgotten they were about to have lunch when Gail’s collapse had occurred. She set Roger to washing up while she defrosted the refrigerator.

Everything cleared away, she went up to her room to pack her suitcase. Roger stood in the doorway watching her.

‘So he’s graciously permitted me to call occasionally,’ he said sarcastically.

‘Who?’ She unlocked her wardrobe. ‘Oh, him ! Yes,’ she sorted through her clothing. ‘As long as we don’t bother him.’

‘The less I have to do with him the better.’

‘That’s what I told him.’ She sat down on the bed with a laugh. ‘I feel almost sorry for him. This time yesterday he was basking in the loving attention of his mistress, and now he has me foisted on him.’ She began to laugh in earnest now. ‘And I’m not exactly the easiest of people to suddenly have in your life.’

Roger came to sit next to her. ‘I like having you in my life,’ he said throatily.

She smiled at him. ‘It isn’t exactly the same thing. To Dominic I’m just a nuisance, he said so this afternoon.’

He put his arm about her shoulders, kissing her softly on the lips. ‘I don’t give a damn what he says, I think you’re lovely.’ He pulled her closer, the pressure of his lips increasing.

‘Oh, Roger,’ she breathed against his mouth.

‘Mm,’ he kissed her again. ‘I love you.’

‘I love you too.’

He pushed her back against the pillows, his lips travelling slowly over her throat and back to her mouth. They were slow drugging kisses and she felt herself responding to them without reserve.

She began to feel her first feelings of restraint when his hands began to roam beneath her tee-shirt, and she pulled back from him. ‘What are you doing?’ Her panic was obvious.

He was trembling against her. ‘I love you, Alexandra. And I—I want you.’

‘Roger!’ She was shocked now. ‘You can’t— we can’t.’

‘Of course we can,’ he kissed her again. ‘We’re going to be married soon.’

Alexandra pushed against him. ‘That isn’t the point Roger. We aren’t married now.’

‘Don’t be such a prude!’ He held her roughly. ‘We’re all alone here, we may not get an opportunity like this again. Don’t fight me, darling. I want to make love to you.’

‘ No , Roger!’ She moved her head from side to side to evade his searching mouth. ‘No, I won’t let you.’

His mouth claimed hers with a savagery he had never used before, forcing her lips apart to deepen the kiss. His legs across her knees pinioned her to the bed and her protests went unheard by him, his hands running freely over her body.

‘I love you, Alexandra,’ he groaned raggedly, his face buried in her hair.

‘I’m sure she’s glad to hear it,’ said a chillingly angry voice. ‘But if you don’t take your hands off her immediately I may be forced to ram those words down your throat.’

Roger was off the bed in two seconds flat, glaring with resentful anger at Dominic Tempest. ‘You have a way of turning up when you’re not wanted,’ he said nastily, his face flushed.

Dominic looked at him scornfully. ‘By the look of it I turned up at exactly the right time. Gail’s condition isn’t a good excuse for using this house for your assignations.’ He looked at Alexandra as she sat pale-faced on the bed. ‘I told you about that earlier. I thought you’d taken notice of what I said.’

‘I—I did.’ Roger’s unusual behaviour and the humiliation of being found in such a compromising situation by Dominic Tempest had made her feel ill. ‘I did,’ she repeated in anguish, unable to look at either of them.

‘It damn well looks like it,’ Dominic rasped. ‘Go on, Alexandra, get back to the house. I’ll talk to you later. And I’ll thank you for your key to this house.’ He held out his hand.

She stood up, reaching with shaking fingers into her denims pocket. ‘I—It isn’t what you think, Dominic. This has never happened before,’ she added pleadingly.

He took the key from her hand. ‘I don’t suppose it has, not in this house anyway. Gail and Trevor would hardly go out and leave you to it. Now go on home, I want to have a word with your boy-friend.’

Roger put a hand on her arm as she walked past him, her head downbent. ‘Alexandra, I—–’

She flinched away from him. ‘Leave me alone!’ She glared at him, huge tears like lakes in her blue eyes. ‘Just don’t touch me!’

‘Alexandra, I didn’t mean—–’

‘I know exactly what you meant to do,’ she cried. ‘And you won’t get a second chance. Goodbye!’

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