Love Me

Episode 4

Briefly she tried to challenge its entry, but what should have been the rejecting

thrust of her own tongue against his swiftly became, under David’s sensually

skilful manipulation and expertise, more the intimate sparring of lovers rather

than the defensive rejection of adversaries.

‘Mmm...’ Instinctively Kelly moved closer, close enough to lean her body

fully against David’s and let his strength support her weakness as delicious tremors

of sensation skidded dangerously over her.

‘Mmm...’

Beneath her hands David’s back felt so broad, so firm, so...

Eagerly she tugged his shirt free of his waistband, glorying in the sensation of

sliding her hands beneath it and onto the hard heat of his skin.

She felt him shudder responsively as she traced his spine and her own body

jolted fiercely in excited reaction.

Beneath her white T-shirt she could feel her suddenly swollen breasts pressing

eagerly against her bra. Her n*****s ached and even without being able to see

them she knew the crests would be hard and erect, the soft flesh around them

flooded with aroused dark colour. David could not see what he was doing to her, though...what effect he was

having on her as his tongue slid erotically against her own, no longer coaxing

but openly, fiercely demanding from her the response his sexuality wanted.

Only one man had seen her body naked and aroused, to only one man had she

willingly and, yes, almost wantonly exposed the full femaleness of herself,

glorying in her sexuality, in her response to him, her need for him glorying in her sexuality, in her response to him, her need for him, not

fearing...not imagining that he would reject her.

Reject her!

Immediately Kelly stiffened, her nails momentarily digging into David’s back

as she recognised with shocking abruptness just what she was doing and, even

worse, whom she was doing it with.

‘Let go of me...’ she demanded furiously, fiercely pushing him away, her face

bright with mortification and confusion as David immediately stepped back from

her and then, without taking his eyes off her face, casually unfastened his belt

and started to push his shirt back inside his jeans.

If her face had been pink with self-consciousness before, that was nothing to

the heat she could feel burning off it now, Kelly recognised as she refused to

give in to the silent visual challenge David was giving her and forced herself to

keep her gaze locked on his as he slowly and tauntingly completed his task.

Why, oh, why should it be that when a woman disturbed a man’s clothing in

the heat of passion he could make her feel so self-conscious and femininely

vulnerable whilst he repaired the dishevelment she had caused, but when it had

been a man who had disturbed a woman’s clothing she was still the one to feel

shy and self-conscious when she re-dressed herself?

No wonder the Victorians had considered modesty to be a feminine virtue.

His shirt rearranged to his satisfaction, Ran re-fastened his belt and then,

without taking his eyes off her face, greeted her ironically.

‘Welcome to City Hall...’

Kelly would have given the earth to be able to make a suitably withering

response but she could think of none. The shaming fact was that, no matter how

she tried to convince herself otherwise, she had done exactly what she had

promised herself she would not do and allowed him to take the upper hand. And

worse than that...far worse...she had... Quickly she swallowed the frighteningly

familiar and painful lump of aching emptiness she could feel blocking the back

of her throat. No way... She was not going down that road again...not for a king’s

ransom. The arrogant, selfish, almost cruel way David had just behaved towards

her proved everything she had ever learned about him. She was under no

illusions about why he had kissed her like that... It was his way of reminding her

not just of the past, but also of his superiority...of telling her that, whilst she

might be the one who was in charge of the project they were going to be working

on together, he still had the power to control her...to control her and to hurt her.

Kelly turned swiftly on her heel, not waiting for him to see the emotions she

knew were clouding her eyes. knew were clouding her eyes.

‘The lake needs dredging,’ she commented crisply as she shuttered her eyes

and stared out towards the large ornamental lake several hundred yards away

from the house.

It was the wrong thing to say. She could hear the mocking amusement in

David’s voice as he drawled, ‘Well, yes, it does, but let’s hope this time you don’t

end up head-first in the mud. We’ll have to hose you down out here if you do.

There’s no way Mrs Liyae is going to let you into the Rectory smelling of

stagnant lake water and covered in mud and weed...’

Kelly stiffened, for the moment ignoring his reference to the ignominious fate

which had overtaken her as an over-eager teenager when she had missed her

footing and fallen head-first into the pond they had been cleaning out on Nick’s

estate.

‘The Rectory?’ she questioned him with ominous calm.

She knew from the reports she had read before leaving Europe that David

was presently living in the eighteenth-century Rectory which was part of the

estate and which, like the living which had originally gone with it, was in the gift

of the owner of the City Hall. To judge from the plans and photographs which Kelly

had seen, it was a very, very substantial and handsome property, surrounded by

particularly attractive grounds, and she had not been in the least bit surprised to

read that it had originally been built for a younger son of the family who had

chosen to go into holy orders.

‘Mmm...you won’t have seen it as you drove in. It’s on the other side of the

estate. I’m living there at the moment and I’ve arranged with Mrs Liyae, who

used to be my cousin’s housekeeper when he lived there, for a room to be

prepared for you. Nichole mentioned that you’d probably be working here for a

number of months and he and I agreed that in view of city’s distance from

the nearest town, and the fact that Nichole has warned me that you like to keep a

very keen eye on the budgets, it makes sense for you to stay at the Rectory rather

than waste time and money hunting around for alternative accommodation.

Especially since it seems that there could be occasions when you might have to

travel abroad to check on work you’ve set in progress at other Trust properties.’

What he said made sense, but still—she wasn’t a child any longer; what she

did not need to have was David telling her what to do!

‘But you live at the Rectory,’ Kelly commented quickly.

Immediately David’s eyebrows and he told her laconically, ‘It’s got ten

bedrooms, Kelly, excluding the upper attics—more than enough space for both

of us, I should have thought.’

‘Does this Mrs Liyae live in?’ Kelly asked him stiffly ‘Does this Mrs Liyae live in?’ Kelly asked him stiffly. David stared at her for a moment and then burst out laughing.

‘No, she doesn’t,’ he told her coolly, ‘although I’m not sure why it should

make any difference. You and I have lived under the same roof before, after all,

Kelly, and if it’s the thought of any unplanned nocturnal wanderings that’s

worrying you...’ He gave her a wolfish grin and to her fury actually reached out

and patted her tauntingly on the arm as he told her, still laughing, ‘Don’t worry.

I’ll make sure I get a lock put on my door so that you don’t come wandering

in...’

Kelly was too speechless with anger to be able to respond.

‘What’s wrong now?’ David challenged her mock-innocently. ‘There’s no need

to be embarrassed at the fact that you occasionally sleepwalk... Of course, it

might be an idea to make sure you go to bed wearing something, but I’ll warn

Mrs Liyae and...’

He stopped as Kelly made a female growl of frustration deep in her throat.

‘That was years ago, when I was a child,’ she told him defensively, ‘and it

only happened once... I don’t sleepwalk now...’

What was she doing? What was she saying? Why was she letting him do this

to her? Kelly ground her teeth. Yes, once, when she had been initially

disoriented and upset at her mother marrying again, she had actually

sleepwalked, and might, in fact, have suffered a nasty accident if David hadn’t

happened to see her on his way up to bed. But it had happened once, that was all,

and, even after she had eventually developed a massive crush on him,

surreptitiously creeping into his bedroom had been the last thing on her mind

then. She had been far too unworldly, far too even to think of such a thing.

‘No! Then what are you worrying about?’ David challenged her, his expression

suddenly hardening as he demanded, ‘If it’s the fact that you’ll be living under

my roof whilst Nichole is in Europe—’

‘Your roof?’ Kelly interrupted him quickly, suddenly recognising a way of

turning the tables on him and regaining control of the situation, of showing him

who was boss. She gave him an acid-sweet smile. ‘The Rectory may have been

yours, David, but as part of the estate it is now owned by the Trust and—’

‘Not so.’ David stopped her even faster than she had him. ‘I have retained

ownership of the Rectory and the land. I intend to farm it and to develop the

fishing and shooting rights.’

Kelly was momentarily caught off guard. It was most unusual for Nichole to

allow something like that. He normally insisted on buying whatever land went

with a property, if only to ensure that as much of its natural background and with a property, if only to ensure that as much of its natural background and

surroundings as possible were retained.

‘If you’d like to follow me we can drive over to the Rectory now,’ David

offered coolly.

Immediately Kelly shook her head. ‘No... I want to see over the house first,’

she told him crisply.

David stared at her and then looked at his watch before telling her softly, ‘That

will take at least two hours, possibly longer; it’s now five o’clock in the

afternoon.’

Kelly raised her eyebrows. ‘So...?’ she challenged.

David shrugged.

‘I should have thought after a transatlantic flight and the drive here from the

airport that you’d have wanted a rest before touring the house, if only so that you

can view it with a fresh eye and a clear head.’

‘You’re out of touch, David,’ Kelly told him with a small, superior smile.

‘These are the nineties. Crossing the European for a power breakfast and then re-

crossing it for another meeting is nothing,’ she boasted.

David shrugged again and then waved one hand in the direction of the main

doorway as he drawled laconically, ‘Very well...after you...’

As he walked towards the door behind her, David paused. The sight of her had

given him much more of a shock than he liked. He had prepared himself for the

fact that he would be meeting her as a woman, and not as the girl he had watched

boarding the flight for Europe, but womanhood came in many different guises

and took many different forms. However, none of them could possibly come

anywhere near causing the kind of devastating effect on his senses that Kelly’s

was creating.