LEO TEMPLETON had appointed one of his closest friends, Supreme Court Judge Henry Morgenstern, as executor of his will. The family had to wait a day for the judge to arrive, and now various members of the high-finance Templeton clan that counted in the children, grandchildren, cousins, even second cousins, were gathered in Leo’s study, with Henry seated behind the massive partner’s desk, with its elaborately carved lion’s paws for feet. Henry had pushed some papers to one side, before polishing away an invisible speck on his glasses. Next, he looked up over the top of his spectacles at those present, all of whom he knew. “Not much here you don’t know, my dear friends.” At least one surprise, however.
Inside Clio was quaking. She was certain Leo would have made mention of Josh in his will. Now she awaited confirmation with very real trepidation. Her father had it in for Josh, and no mistake. She knew the root cause was jealousy. And a lot of it was Leo’s fault. Leo had treated Josh in a different way from her father. Her father might lack Leo’s brilliance and Midas touch—he didn’t really understand money, probably because he’d never had to make it—but he had always applied himself very diligently to everything that was asked of him. With Josh Hart increasingly on the scene, her father might well have perceived himself not as Leo’s only son but a second string.
Such things happened. There was nothing ordinary about Josh. He was as exotic as a young lion. That had appealed greatly to her grandfather, who in his youth had exuded great physical attraction along with immense vigour and vitality. These days, with his marriage moving inexorably towards divorce, her father would believe his life was getting emptier and emptier with every passing day. Once a divorce was in full swing, he could go traveling—open his heart, his mind and his eyes. He could find the right woman. It wasn’t out of the question. He was much too young to shut down. There had to be light at the end of the tunnel. One had to believe it. Clio made up her mind she would have a long talk with her father.
He was speaking now, his tone bombastic. “I’d appreciate it, Henry, if you’d read my father’s will to us now.”
Clio caught her breath. The relatives looked shocked. Lyle was always a gentleman, sweet, with exceedingly good manners.
“No point in delaying.” Lyle sat virtually centre stage with Keeley on one side, overdressed for a will-reading, an extremely valuable necklet of South Sea pearls around her throat, which she kept fingering to make sure it was still there, and his beautiful daughter in a simple dark grey silk dress on the other. Leo’s two sisters, married rich, handsome women, perfectly attired, sat in the second row. Both lived in Melbourne, Sarah with her retired neurosurgeon husband, Delphine with her husband, a retired investment banker. Other members of the extended family, a small crowd, had pulled up chairs, positioning themselves where best they could.
“Of course, Lyle.” Judge Morgenstern tolerated the terseness of “young” Lyle’s request, because he could see how tremendously upset Leo’s only son was. He knew well in advance this wasn’t going to be easy. In fact, he anticipated a big problem. Someone definitely wouldn’t like this. Maybe the lot of them.
“If you would, please, Henry.” Clio gave him her lovely smile, making up for her father’s curt tone. She was clearly embarrassed. The judge smiled back. He was very fond of Clio. She needed to get away from her father’s influence. For that matter, the judge considered Leo had done his best to clip Clio’s wings. Clio was a very clever young woman. She had done extremely well at university, only it had become glaringly apparent Leo couldn’t bear to have his granddaughter out of his sight. In the Templeton family, going back many long years, sons were the thing. Daughters had different roles entirely.
By the time Henry had finished the reading, a kind of chaos reigned. Lyle was clenching the armrests of his chair so tightly his knuckles showed white, while rage had put red into his handsome face. His whole life had gone to pot! And he knew how it had happened.
It was painfully obvious to all that Lyle was trying desperately to keep himself together. No comfort from his wife, who was smiling and staring upward with an expression of near ecstasy, as though seeing a splendid vision. Not the religious kind.
“Do you mean to tell me Leo left that young man Aquarius?” Delphine asked her great-niece in wonderment. They all knew Josh’s history and how Leo had taken the “bad boy in town” under his mantle.
“Don’t forget the rest of it!” Lyle shouted, shoving his armchair back so violently Clio had to move fast to prevent it ramming Great-Aunt Delphine’s distinguished husband, who was looking aghast at Lyle’s lack of decorum and control. The Lyle they had always known had morphed into someone else entirely.
“Not that I don’t accept it!” said Great-Aunt Delphine, patting her husband’s knee consolingly. It had taken a hard knock. “Leo always did know what he was doing. I believe the young man has turned out quite brilliantly!”
“For God’s sake!” Disillusionment and anger burst from Lyle’s throat. “Give me the will, Henry. I want to read this for myself.”
The judge sat straighter. “I assure you everything is in perfect order, Lyle.” His tone made it perfectly plain he wasn’t going to accept any more rudeness. Nevertheless, he passed the document over to Lyle, who took in most of it, in seconds, then promptly pitched it on the floor. “This is proof positive Dad was losing his mind. Or Hart had so manipulated him, perhaps intimidated him, so as he left him the island?”
Henry Morgenstern employed his judicial voice, which usually compelled instant attention, certainly in the courtroom though strangely enough not in his home, where his wife ruled. “No one intimidated Leo, as you very well know. Leo had enormous faith in young Hart to make a success of himself. He considered Hart had a great future.”
“But this is a young man who came from the wrong side of the tracks,” Lyle appealed to everyone in near despair.
“People still concerned about bloodlines, are they?” Keeley piped up, having none to speak of.
It didn’t seem as if Lyle had registered the fact he was the major beneficiary, which made him an extremely rich man. Lyle’s entire focus was on Josh Hart’s legacy, which didn’t strike anyone else as being over the top but was still worth a handsome sum. Clio had been left the Templeton historic home and a cool $100 million as well as an apartment in Sydney and the beach house on Queensland’s Gold Coast. Leo’s sisters were handsomely rewarded, with personal effects for the husbands. The younger members of the extended family didn’t go short either. Henry came in for Leo’s splendid collection of bronze sculptures. Meg Palmer could shut up shop tomorrow. Various charities were generously endowed. Substantial grants to the Queensland University in Brisbane, the James Cook University of North Queensland. All would be thrilled.
Only one very vocal exception. Lyle Templeton was looking and acting as though he had been left without a dime and nowhere to turn but the streets.
“I’ll fight this,” he vowed.
“How smart is that?” questioned Keeley, one painted eyebrow shooting up.
“My dear fellow, you won’t win.” Henry was as surprised as anyone other than Clio by Lyle’s violent and irrational reaction.
Clio took her father’s arm, persuading him to sit down again. Josh’s legacy of Aquarius blew her father’s crazy accusations out of the water. Yet she was filled with pity, knowing her father would have trouble getting over this.
“Gracious, Lyle, anyone would think you’d been treated badly,” Keeley said in her breathy voice. “I suppose it’s all taxed?”
No one answered. No one had taken to Lyle’s second wife, a gold-digger if ever there was one. With a wife like that, it was more than possible Lyle was suffering a delayed mid-life crisis.
Lyle had stormed off, paying no attention whatever to Keeley, who followed much more slowly, determined to have a word with her stepdaughter. Clio was so beautiful even when grief-stricken that it made Keeley really cross.
“Poor Lyle isn’t at all fond of Josh, is he?” she offered dryly.
“No, he isn’t,” Clio admitted. “Whatever you do, Keeley, I’d advise you to keep your distance.”
“Excuse me?” Keeley gave an excellent impression of a deeply offended woman.
“I don’t want to see my father made a fool of. Keep your distance from Josh Hart.”
Keeley threw back her head, giving a near braying laugh. “Phone calls okay?” she asked breezily.
Clio felt a stab of revulsion. “Would you care to explain that?”
“Do I really need to? Josh rings me. I ring him. Nothing wrong with that, my dear. It is the twenty-first century. We’re just friends.”
Anger overtook Clio. “You might want to be friends, but it’s not going to happen. You’re a married woman. Your husband is my father. I’m only masquerading as a nice person, Keeley. Shame my father and you’d better look out.” Clio’s dark eyes flashed.
The conviction in Clio’s voice got Keeley’s attention. “Good Lord, I’m beginning to see you in a different light, my dear. Of course it’s not every day a girl gets $100 million. But I’m no fool. You might do a great job of hiding it, but you’re mad about Josh yourself. Now you have so much money, Josh might very well fake an interest in you. Gorgeous Josh is a bit of a sociopath, don’t you think? He can’t care for anyone. His heart is like hammered steel. He doesn’t mind sex, though,” she gurgled. “I know for a fact he fancies me.”
Clio endeavoured to put a dent in her stepmother’s supreme self-confidence. “Sorry, Keeley. You’re too old.”
Keeley’s red mouth fell open, but very oddly she didn’t argue. “And you, girlie, aren’t up to speed.” She clapped a hard hand on her stepdaughter’s arm, leaving the marks of her fingers, before heading out the door.
At least she’d had the last word. That was something. She would call Josh as soon as she got home. Congratulate him on becoming overnight a fine, upright citizen. He would take the princely legacy Leo Templeton had left him and build on it. Josh Hart was going places. Wouldn’t it be brilliant to go with him? That parting shot from her stepdaughter had hit home. Obviously she needed a touch-up with Botox. It had to be the great scientific breakthrough of the twentieth century.
Within an hour the family had dispersed, except for Clio’s great-aunts and their husbands, who were staying over until the morrow when Tom would drive them to the airport to begin their trip back home to Melbourne. Before he left in the chauffeured Rolls, Henry had a word with Clio. “I thought Leo had quite a few more years left in him.”
“It’s a shock to us all, Henry. You must have noticed Dad really has it in for Josh Hart?”
Henry pulled a wry face. “Most unfortunate, and, it must be said, unreasonable. All information to hand confirms Hart has graduated to dazzling success as an entrepreneur. A ‘young man of integrity’ is the word. One wonders how he’s going to react to his good fortune.” Henry focused his shrewd, kindly eyes on Clio’s face. She was Allegra all over again. The same haunting beauty, the same look of class. Henry thought Clio would make a good fist of building on her inherited fortune. Even better, her mindset was far more philanthropic than Leo’s. It would be very interesting to see what Clio Templeton would do next.
The family retired not all that long after dinner. They had an 8 o’clock flight in the morning. Clio decided to ring Josh. She thought it best if she was the one to tell him of his inheritance before he received official confirmation. Was it likely she could be telling him something he already knew? Leo had never mentioned to her that Josh was in his will. She had never dreamt of asking. But had Josh? He had known there would be no problem starting the project on Aquarius. Had he known in advance Leo meant to leave him the island? Had he confidently expected a windfall when Leo died? She felt racked by doubts. Josh had big plans. And Josh was a man who’d had plenty of practice keeping his plans close to his chest.
In Leo’s study she punched in the numbers of Josh’s mobile. No problem to find it. Leo kept records of everything. She had, in fact, committed Josh’s landline and mobile numbers to memory when he’d shifted into his penthouse. He’d had a top architect who worked all over South East Asia design the outstanding, modernistic complex. He and Leo had been joint partners in the very successful venture.
Her hand was shaking. Her whole body was shaking. It was just the same as when she’d been a child. Some part of her was thrilled by Josh, while another part was sensitive to the dark places in him. That would explain the tight control and the formidability of his demeanour. What had happened to him as a child she didn’t want to think about. She knew absolutely nothing about abuse but Josh had lived with the terrible reality. All the coping mechanisms he would have had to employ were still in place. Josh wasn’t about to reveal himself to a woman.
Josh wasn’t about to reveal himself to her.
Keeley decided all she had to do was wait for someone to go into or out of the classy apartment complex where Josh lived. It took less than five minutes. A young man and woman, arms linked, studied her as she stood at the glass entry as if ready to walk in.
She didn’t know them. They didn’t appear to know her. Many affluent Southerners bought holiday apartments in this glorious part of the world. Naturally her self-assurance and the stylish way she was dressed was more than sufficient for them to return her smiling, confident “Good evening”.
So far so good. She knew she was taking an incredible risk, coming here, but she needed to see Josh on his own. She didn’t doubt that, given the opportunity, she could whip up enough sexual excitement for it to go somewhere. Preferably Josh’s bed. She knew perfectly well he didn’t ignore women—he had a tremendous sexuality about him—even if those women didn’t live in town. Occasionally a name popped up. She knew his various affairs were no more than passing. The right woman could change all that. The job would require a real pro like her.
Josh’s phone was engaged the first time Clio rang. She gave it fifteen minutes then called again. Still engaged, probably business. Business, business, business. She’d had a lifetime of it with her grandfather. There was nothing to stop her going over to Josh’s apartment. She had never been there. She hadn’t been invited. But she had pored over all the early drafts for the building, then the master plan. Obviously Josh was at home so she could buzz the penthouse. It might put him on the spot, but she didn’t think he would refuse to allow her in.
She made the twenty-minute drive, parking her car across the Poinciana-lined street. There were four penthouses. Josh’s was the pick of them, positioned on the far right. The lights were on. She was just opening her door to get out when in a frenzy she shut it again, recoiling into the shadows, a sob caught in her throat. For a second she closed her eyes in shock, thinking she would die of distress. In the next second, she was praying she had made a mistake.
So, anything wrong with your eyesight lately?
Josh was escorting her stepmother, dressed to kill, out of the complex. He had a guiding hand on her arm. Keeley was looking up at him, her lips moving, asking him a question? The next time they could meet? The body language from Keeley was one of intense, raw involvement. Josh kept walking her to the door, a strange look of concentration on his face. Her eyes swept over them, forced to lock in the picture they made. She had never been to Josh’s apartment. But Keeley had. Lord knew how many times.
There were all kinds of sins in life, Clio thought. There was a sharp pain like a knife prick in her breast. Infidelity had to be one of the most despicable. Keeley didn’t wait for life to come to her. She just kept at it and at it until she got a result. Once she had given Keeley the benefit of the doubt about her supposed pregnancy and subsequent miscarriage. Her father had thought it was the truth. Not so Leo, who had made no bones about labelling Keeley a conniving gold-digger. Now that Clio knew her stepmother so much better she realized Keeley had lied.
Striving to keep calm, she closed the fingers of her two hands around the wheel, trying to clarify her thoughts. She had two options. Confront them. Let them know precisely what she thought of them. Or drive away. Any notion of speaking to Josh faded into nothingness. The odd thing was, he didn’t walk Keeley to her car, as she would have expected. She had spotted the Jaguar parked in the visitors’ zone of the beautifully landscaped grounds. He remained standing outside the building, watching her move off, his blond hair shining in the exterior lights.
For the briefest of moments she clung to the belief Keeley might have been trying to compromise Josh, like she had her father, but no one could do that to Josh. He wouldn’t exactly have tossed Keeley over the balcony, but he would have found a quick way to get rid of her. She had to overcome her massive upset and think coolly.
He didn’t see her to her car. He’s still standing there, like you, waiting for her to drive away.
Mercifully Keeley was going in the opposite direction, otherwise her headlights would have rayed into her car.
When she looked back to where Josh had been standing, he was still there, staring across the street intently. “God!” She released a strangled breath. Had he spotted her? While she remained in the car, a car had slid into the parking spot behind her. Another one was parked in front of her. The magnificent shade trees deflected most of the streetlighting.
Why don’t you wave? the wicked little voice inside her head taunted.
She didn’t answer. Anger was slowly devouring her. Disgust.
Go back inside, Josh.
What a fool she was, thinking Josh lived to a high standard. She had to face it squarely. Josh was a man. Keeley had one heck of a crush on him. All the elements were in place. Was Keeley content with living in the moment, however brief? Josh mightn’t fancy Keeley, but it would be a priceless opportunity for him to get even with her father.
No, no, no! her inner voice sternly chided her. That wasn’t Josh. Keeley was the predator.
God, he had seen her. Hands shaking, Clio turned on the ignition, put the car into drive, then pulled out of the parking spot, staring straight head. She couldn’t risk a U-turn, though the street was wide enough. She had to go ahead. This was all so humiliating.
Come on, now. Settle down. Don’t give in to your emotions. They’re not reliable when you’re in this state. What did you actually see?
Gradually she had a sense of coming more fully to herself. Josh had a place in her heart. Nothing had ever changed that. In that initial shocking instant, what she had seen seemed like a betrayal of her trust in him. Wasn’t that a measure of her feeling for him? Distressed she had jumped to a too-obvious conclusion. She hadn’t actually seen anything other than proof of Keeley’s obsession. Keeley might have been desperate to make contact. Seduce Josh? She was just stupid enough to think it might work. But how had she got into the building? Josh must have allowed her in.
Think about that, girl. Don’t some people in apartment buildings foolishly let down their guards?
Keeley dressed to the nines wouldn’t have presented a threat to anyone going in or out. She would have waited her moment then, with a show of confident calm, gained access to the building.
It could have happened that way. Shame on you for thinking the worst.
Headlights appeared in her rear-view mirror. They flashed on and off full beam. It was Josh’s powerful Porsche. He was signalling her to pull off the road. Right or wrong, she had no intention of obeying that signal. The Porsche swept past her, then pulled in dead ahead. He had slowed his speed to such an extent she was forced to follow suit. She had no choice. She couldn’t detour around him. Clearly she had to pull over. He was intent on making that happen. She knew he wouldn’t give up. The big problem was, she didn’t feel like listening to his side of the story until her heart settled.
How perverse was that? Pronounce him guilty without giving him the opportunity to explain?
She pulled over onto the thickly grass carpeted verge, then switched off the engine, resting her head on the wheel of her car.
Pull yourself together. Don’t let him know how shocked you are.
Self-admonished, she lifted her head, watching him as he stepped out of the Porsche. He loomed very tall and formidable. Nevertheless, an odd calm began to wash over her. She had her opportunity to have it out with him. Get to the bottom of things. All these unanswered questions with Josh were driving her mad.
She lowered the passenger window as he came to the side of her car. “Are you prepared to listen?” he asked, resting his elegant hands on top of the glass.
“You’ve got about two minutes before I deliver a verdict,” she said.
“Is that so? Open the door, Clio. Or get out.”
She was so stressed she laughed. “You might be tempted to slug me.” Immediately she felt ashamed. “Joke, just a joke,” she apologized, holding up a conciliatory hand. “Get in.”
He did so, immediately pushing the passenger seat back to accommodate his long legs. “What were you doing anyway? Spying on me?” He looked across at her hard. “Push your seat back. I don’t want to be talking to the side of your head.”
“Okay, okay.” She reached down to slide her seat back so it was in line with the passenger seat. Inside the car it was almost unbearably claustrophobic. She could feel the force of him, breathe in the clean male scent of him. That alone acted like an intoxicant. She didn’t know if she had the strength to withstand this man. Yet she sustained a pretence. “I’m not that interested in you, Josh.”
“You’d have fooled me, princess.”
The sarcasm undercut her. “All right!” she retorted. “I wanted to be the first person to tell you Leo included you in his will. You’ll be notified, of course, by the executor of Leo’s will.”
“Morgenstern, right?”
“Did you already know?” She stared at him. In the interior lights his eyes glittered like jewels. His expression was enigmatic. He was so hard to read.
“I thought Leo would leave me some memento.” He shrugged. “He hinted as much, but we all thought Leo was in better shape than he was. Leo and I never touched on the subject. Is that plain enough?”
Her mind slipped into another gear. “What a mess! So Keeley thought she had the ideal opportunity to pop over to tell you herself?”
“That’s the polite way of putting it,” he said very dryly. “Keeley popped over on the off chance she might get a bit of sex.”
Who wouldn’t want sex with Josh? she thought, swallowing with difficulty. “No need to be crude.” Even to her own ears she sounded a prude.
“It’s the conclusion you jumped to, isn’t it?” he challenged, seeing the stain of colour mount under her beautiful skin. “Prim old you! Why didn’t you get out of the car and come over if you were so interested in finding out what was going on?”
“Be glad I didn’t,” she said tightly. “But you let her up to the apartment. You must have.”
“Did I really ever say you’re highly intelligent?” he asked in a laconic voice.
“All right, she managed to slip past tenants going out?” She gave a brief laugh, more from relief than anything else.
“Now we’ve got that straight.”
Anger flared again. “Why didn’t you toss her off the balcony? You could have if you wanted to.”
“That’s right, Clio. I’m all about violence.” It came out a lot harsher than he intended, but his self-control was coming under massive assault with the two of them in the car. He was almost crazy to pull her over into his lap. Take control.
She bowed her dark head. “I’m sorry, Josh. I confess to being overwrought. We’ve only just buried Leo. Keeley is bringing my father, indeed the whole Templeton family, down. You’ll have to forgive me if I’m a little out of my mind.”
“I have to take it as an excuse, then?” he asked.
Was it a trick of the soft lighting or was his expression unforgiving? She reacted at once. “I don’t give a damn what you take,” she said, her voice abruptly breaking. She had never ever been so close to Josh, let alone in such a confined space. She had been this close to him in her imagination, but this was for real. Josh was different from any other man she had ever known. The excitement was shattering. One should fear having one’s composure totally dismantled. Her flesh tingled. There were tremors all over her body, tiny knife thrusts between her legs. She had read of such extreme sexual arousal. Now she was experiencing it.
“Could that be construed as a green light?” he challenged in a hard, bold voice.
She swung her head in surprise towards him, encountered that piercing blueness. “Josh, I—”
He, the control junky, couldn’t control himself. Too many hungers were erupting. His yearning for this woman was pathetic. It split him wide open.
She didn’t know quite how he did it, but he reached for her and drew her across the console and into his lap, cradling her like a child. She might have been a child, he did it with such ease.
“You’re two people,” she gasped.
“Shhh!” He cupped her beautiful delicate face with his hand, his nostrils inhaling her fragrance. “Keeley wouldn’t even rate beside you in the art of seduction.” His voice dropped deep into his chest.
For once he didn’t attempt to hide his expression. It was so exquisitely tender, so disarming, it brought tears to her eyes. She tried to hold them back, but they rolled out of her radiant dark eyes and down her cheeks.
“So now you cry?” His breath was on her cheek as he gathered up her teardrops with his tongue, carrying them most erotically into his mouth. “You cry for Leo. You cry for your father. You cry for yourself.”
“I cry for you, Josh, whether you like it or not. You have so much hurt locked up inside you, but you won’t let it out.”
“Ah, Clio,” he groaned. Her gaze on him was so steady she might have been trying to reach his soul. “You think if we sat down together and had a long talk, the demons that ride my shoulder would all fly off?” He spoke with some cynicism.
“Maybe we can get rid of them one by one. I know the past can never go away, Josh. Not for anyone. Not for me. We all have our memories, the good ones, the bad ones. The bad ones aren’t easily forgotten. With you, the boy is still locked up inside the man. It might help if you could talk to me.”
“Clio, your tears would run in rivulets.” Clearly she had insight into his mind, but he wasn’t ready to start unravelling. Not even with Clio. “I think my neuroses, if that’s what you’ve diagnosed, would be way too much for you to handle.”
“How would you know if you won’t even allow me to ask a question? I can only guess at the severity of the damage that was done to you.”
“So what question would that be?” he asked sardonically, trailing a finger down her cheek. “You almost swallowed an illicit affair between your stepmother and me.”
She took a shuddery breath. Her body was in a state of agitation, her heart racing. “You’re too much for me, Josh.”
“I know,” he said. “So what draws us together?”
“I can tell you my reason,” Clio spoke with great fervour. “I long to know you better.”
“You want me to reach out?”
He sounded as if he was determined to dissociate himself from that. “Well, why not, then?” she pleaded. “I sincerely believe sharing would help. I’m sorry if I had a split second of misjudging you, Josh. I should have known better.” “I think so,” he said, putting a lot of feeling behind it. That Clio trusted him was all-important to him.
“So what are we doing here now?” she asked, with a rush of heartbeats.
“You’re comfortable, aren’t you?” He gave her a mocking smile.
“I don’t know that comfortable is the right word,” she said, not with her body on fire. “It’s astonishing how you got me into this position. I feel like a doll.”
“Not to me you don’t,” he said. “I’ll let you go in a minute, Clio, but first let me tell you what draws me to you. It might even be better if I showed you.” He shifted the weight of her slender body until she was lying back, her dark head resting against his shoulder. “You have such a lovely mouth,” he murmured.
“Do you know you’re the only man to make me fully conscious of my own beauty?”
“I like that.” He bent his head towards her with a hungry yearning motion until their lips met.
Every atom of her being rose to meet him. Everything he did was beautiful to her. She abandoned herself to a state of euphoria, with no thought of denying him. Being with Josh was like breaking out of a cocoon. He could do what he liked with her. It was that bad.
For Josh it was rapture. To have all her sweetness, even as he knew it was a rapture that could tear him to pieces. Their fatal attraction had been forged many years before. The bond had never frayed or broken. But it could be just another sad tale of doomed love. At that moment it didn’t matter. Nothing mattered but the taste and the touch of her mouth, the sweet flicker of her tongue as it mated with his. She was perfectly willing to allow him to explore her mouth, willing to allow him to push his hand into the neckline of her shimmering silk dress, his fingers slipping beneath the soft lace of her bra to trace a long slow curl around the dark pink aureole surrounding her aroused nipple. Her little helpless moans drove him on. His fingers moved in to take the tight bud between finger and thumb. He could hear the way her breathing had changed, deepened. Their desire for each other bridged all divisions. Her body was sinking inwards to him. She had to be aware of his powerful erection.
Smothering sensations were bearing down on them, wave after wave crashing onto cliffs with their inner tumult blocking out the roar. What they had felt for each other for so long demanded expression.
He continued to kiss her, strangely languid yet immensely passionate kisses that made the hot blood rip through his veins. They were outside time and place now. There was only obliterating excitement. His hands travelled down over the slight curve of her stomach, the tips of his long fingers reaching lower. He wanted to remove her every item of her clothing. He wanted to know every inch of her body. He wanted for her to know him. He wanted to open his whole self to her, what he had endured, but he didn’t think he could bear her stricken face.
They had reached a point when Clio’s breath was coming in unstable gulps. Nothing so life-changing, so confronting, had ever happened to her before. She was losing herself in him. Her dark head slumped forward.
“Clio?” He heard the worry in his voice. He had to stop. For a moment he hated himself for his loss of control. His endless desire for her was driving her too hard. Wasn’t that what he feared?
“It’s okay, Josh. I’m all right, just a little dizzy.” Her voice was soft and whispery, the syllables a little slurred.
With exquisite gentleness he lifted her chin. “I don’t know how to properly approach you, Clio.”
“Oh, Josh.” She was desperate to reassure him. “No one could ever approach me better.”
“We were getting in too deep?” he asked. “You’re bothered by being in the car?” Why wouldn’t she be?
“Yes,” she confirmed. “It has nothing to do with the fact someone might see us. It has more to do with my need to lie down. All the strength seems to have left my limbs.”
“So, the right time, and the right place.” Resolutely Josh drew her supple body back into a sitting position, supporting her against his shoulder. “Will that ever happen, do you suppose?” His voice was rough with emotion.
She didn’t hesitate. “Wishes can come true, Josh.”
“That’s your answer?” He gave a laugh that held little humour. “What if I asked you out to dinner?”
Her throat rippled. “I’d like that.”
“It seems to me it would have to be out of town, wouldn’t it?” he replied sardonically. “Someone is always watching us, ready to spread the rumours. I should tell you I don’t like you getting mixed up in the Crowleys’ affairs. I understand Susan Crowley’s problems but there are other law firms in town.”
“She trusts me, Josh. And I’m another woman.”
“I understand that too. But in coming to you she’s exposing you to trouble. Think about it, Clio. Leo’s death has in a sense left you defenceless. Your father isn’t thinking straight. I’ve had old Paddy try to run interference in my business affairs.”
“Have you?” she asked worriedly, twisting her head to look up at him.
“He’d do anything to hurt me. Leo was the buffer. Didn’t you realize that? Crowley couldn’t show his hand with Leo around. But Leo’s gone, and with him a great deal of support. Paddy Crowley thinks it’s only a matter of time before you marry his grandson. He’s always had his eyes on the mansion, only he would pull it down and build some monstrosity or parcel the land and sell it off.”
“That’s not going to happen, Josh.”
“Try telling Jimmy,” he responded crisply. “These days you’re on your own in that huge house, Clio. It bothers me greatly. I know you’ve got Meg and Tom—good people, but they couldn’t handle anything. And they live in the grounds. Get them back in the house. At least for a while.”
She turned her face into the hollow of his neck. “Are you trying to frighten me, Josh?”
“God, no,” he said forcefully. “I’m trying to put you on your guard. Would you allow me to get the security system at the house upgraded? It’s well past time. Home security systems have improved enormously, Clio. Apart from the house, it’s filled with very valuable art, antiques, furnishings. You need high-tech burglar and fire protection. I know of an excellent firm.”
She had considered upgrading security herself with Leo gone. Still she voiced a mild protest, “No one would hurt me.”
“Of course not,” he answered a little roughly, by no means sure about that and unwilling to take the chance. “I just want you safe.” “But you think the best way to keep me safe is steering clear of me.” She angled her body so she could put one hand against his chest.
“What do you call this?” he asked, locking his two arms around her. “It might be a good idea if you got back in the driving seat.”
“Give me a minute, can’t you?”
“You can stay there for ever as far as I’m concerned.”
“Why can’t we sleep together, Josh?”
He took a moment to answer. “You mean you’re prepared to totally abandon yourself to me? This man you hardly know? How is that possible?”
“Not possible unless you let me in, Josh. Take me inside you. Don’t push me away.”
“Like ‘Open Sesame’,” he said.
She could feel the tension rise in him like he was arming himself for attack. “Okay, stick to your cage,” she said quietly, kissing him on the cheek. “I think its time for me to get behind the wheel, don’t you?”
He shifted his legs, opened the door. He waited until she rounded the car and strapped herself into the driving seat. “You know you don’t have to consider setting up business on your own, Clio. Buy the Crowleys out. You have the money. You don’t need Vince or Jimmy. Let them set up shop elsewhere. You’ll find far better lawyers to replace them. Speak to your father.”
That triggered a dry laugh from her. “Dad won’t go along with that, Josh.”
“He really has no inkling of how the Crowleys operate?”
Clio sighed deeply. “You know as well as I do that the Crowleys are long established in this town. People kowtow to them. It’s the same old story. Paddy has a lot of money. That buys him power and influence. Only one man he bowed to. Leo.”
“There are ways of dealing with the Crowleys.” Josh’s expression turned hard.
“God, you’re not going to start a gang war, are you?” It was only half a joke.
His blue eyes blazed. “Why does it always end up I’m the bad guy?”
“You overreact. You’re a tough guy.” She reached out a calming hand to stroke his cheek.
There was such warmth and tenderness in the gesture. It seemed extraordinary to him that she could care so deeply about him. “I’d go into battle for you, Clio,” he said. “No one will ever try to harm you with me around.”
“I’ve no doubt of that,” she said, knowing it was true. Josh would never see her defenceless. “You might have to cross swords with Paddy and Vince,” she said, “but Jimmy is a pushover.”
The muscles along his clean jaw line tightened. “I can hand you a lever. Over the years I’ve made valuable contacts and gained a lot of inside information. Remember Chris Patterson—the builder that went bust some years back?”
Clio frowned, trying to recall the name. “Ah, yes, Vince handled his bankruptcy petition.”
“Among others in the construction business.” There was steel in Josh’s voice. “Vince’s clients paid very heavily for services they didn’t get. Botched services they did get. It wouldn’t be difficult to check out Vince’s mistakes or maybe poor old Jimmy prepared the paperwork for him. Either way, both should pay. Patterson hates Crowley, but he still doesn’t have the money to sue a partner in a highly regarded law firm like Templetons.”
“You have proof?” Clio was deeply disturbed that the firm’s core values might have been trashed.
“I wouldn’t be saying so if I didn’t.”
Clio took a deep breath. “Okay, we move on Vince Crowley,” she said.