CHAPTER FOUR
SPOTTING the signpost, Samantha moved into the slow lane of traffic, preparing to turn off the M4 motorway on her way to her sister’s home in Gloucestershire.
Luckily, the traffic wasn’t too bad, and it was still light enough on a June evening to not yet need her headlights. In fact, after checking the clock dial on her dashboard, she realised that they were likely to arrive slightly earlier than she’d expected.
Briefly turning her head to cast a swift glance at the recumbent figure lying stretched out in the seat beside her, Samantha grinned, before quickly turning her attention back to the road in front of her. Despite his assurance that he never suffered from jet-lag, Matt was now clearly fast asleep!
Heathrow, had, as usual, proved to be a real pain—the Friday evening rush-hour traffic and the seemingly never-ending road works clogging the route leading to the airport. However, she’d luckily arranged to leave work early, which meant that she’d had plenty of time to park her car and meet Matt’s flight from Switzerland, which had only been delayed by a few minutes.
Prey to massive doubts and feelings of deep insecurity, she’d been overwhelmingly relieved to discover that Matt seemed highly delighted to see her. Clearly every bit as happy as she had been to find herself clasped tightly in his arms—and being given a long, satisfying kiss—to the obvious amusement of his fellow passengers, forced to edge their luggage trolleys around the couple, embracing slap bang in the middle of the entrance to the terminal.
‘I’ve missed you like crazy, but there was nothing I could do. Because it’s been hell on wheels, businesswise, for the past six weeks,’ Matt explained as she led him to where she had parked her car. ‘Ah—a nice, zippy little roadster. I always did like BMWs,’ he added, happily settling down into the passenger seat, and quickly disclaiming any intention of driving the vehicle himself.
‘Oh, no—I’m definitely not one of those men who refuse to be driven by a woman,’ he laughed.
‘Besides...’ he quickly pulled a lever, lowering his seat to an almost horizontal position ‘...I’m more than happy to take advantage of being able to relax and stretch out in comfort. So, drive on, James—and kindly don’t spare the horses!’
‘At least one thing hasn’t changed during the past six weeks, O, Mighty One. You’re still indulging in pathetic, lousy male fantasies!’ She grinned, not able to hide her sheer happiness and joy at being together with Matt once again.
‘So, what has changed since we last saw one another?’ he queried, almost causing her to curse under her breath at her own stupidity. How could she have forgotten that Matt had always been as fast and sharp as a knife?
‘Well...?’
‘Oh, nothing much,’ she murmured, unwilling at this early point in their reunion to confess to having spent so many sleepless nights in desperate longing for this man. A man who, until two days ago, she’d thought might well have walked out of her life for ever.
‘Incidentally,’ she continued quickly, anxious to turn his attention in a quite different direction, ‘I can’t understand how or why—when it’s obviously part of my job to know exactly who’s who, in the world of global finance—I managed to miss your appointment as chief executive of Broadwood Securities?
‘Well, I was only head-hunted fairly recently,’ he explained. ‘And, as you probably know, the company had got itself into a hell of a mess.’
‘Yes, I did hear about that.’
Matt gave a heavy sigh. ‘Unfortunately—and this is definitely not something I’d like you to repeat—the previous chairman and chief executive, despite being given the sack, is refusing to go quietly.’
‘Oh, dear!’
Matt gave a caustic laugh. ‘I can think of a stronger expression! However, the ex-chairman is stamping around, like an elephant on heat, loudly demanding God knows how much compensation for having his contract terminated so abruptly. All of which means that my appointment has not yet been publicly endorsed by the board of directors.’
‘Maniac!’ Samantha muttered beneath her breath, momentarily distracted by the threat of a driver just ahead, mobile phone clamped tightly to his ear as he wove dangerously in and out of the stream of traffic.
‘All the same,’ she added, picking up the thread of their conversation, when it was safe to do so, ‘I ought to give myself a black mark for not having heard anything on the City grapevine.’
‘It’s nothing but a damn rumour factory!’ he snapped, before quickly pulling himself together. ‘Sorry, sweetheart, but it’s the same thing on Wall Street. It’s practically impossible to keep any company business private and under wraps, these days.’
‘Well...it depends on which way you’re looking down the telescope, doesn’t it?’ she pointed out. ‘My business, for instance, relies very heavily on titbits of gossip, or early news of a company take-over. As you know,’ she added with a shrug, ‘in our sort of business, switching company pension funds either in or out of stocks and shares, which are likely to go up or down, can make a dramatic difference to funds we look after. And which, at the end of the day, means a better and much higher pension for the ordinary guy in the street.’
Matt gave a heavy sigh, ‘Yes, I know. But all that gossip isn’t much help, and can definitely be counter-productive if, say, a large company is trying to put together a complicated deal. Still...’ He shrugged his broad shoulders, grinning as he added, ‘I guess we’d better agree to differ on that score. So, I guess I’d do better to concentrate on admiring the passing scenery.’
‘It’s changed,’ she warned him. ‘There are now far more roads and huge motorways than when you were last living here.’
‘Nevertheless, it’s great to be back in England, after so many years. I’d forgotten just how beautifully green everything is,’ he added with a slight sigh of contentment. ‘June is really the perfect time to see the countryside at its very best, isn’t it?’
But now, as she glanced again at the man dozing beside her, Samantha wasn’t surprised that he had dropped off into a light sleep. Because he was looking a good deal more tired than when she’d last seen him, his face drawn and strained beneath the overlying deep tan which he’d obviously acquired in the Far East.
It was strange how uptight and, at times, how depressed she’d been about her new relationship with this man. Because once she’d first set eyes on him, in the arrivals terminal at Heathrow, all her doubts and fears about the wisdom of embarking on a new love affair with Matt had suddenly disappeared.
Once again, when alone with Matt, everything seemed very simple. They were friends as well as lovers, and despite the unfortunate history lying behind their break-up, all those years ago, when she was with him, Samantha had no problem in believing that she could easily cope with a non-emotional love affair. If there ever can be such a thing, she reminded herself warily, before giving a slight shake of her head at her own folly.
What on earth was wrong with her these days? As far as her and Matt’s relationship was concerned, she seemed to be swinging violently back and forth—one minute thinking that everything in the garden was absolutely wonderful, then, in almost the twinkling of an eye, suddenly finding herself plunged into the deepest gloom.
It was clearly time that she pulled herself together, took a deep breath and calmed down. A touch of che sarà sarà would be a good idea at this stage of her love affair with Matt, she told herself firmly. ‘What will be, will be’ was, in point of fact, the right attitude to take to just about everything in life. And in any case, she reminded herself grimly, she was still going to have to get through the coming weekend.
‘OK...here we are, at last,’ she announced some time later, rousing Matt with a slight nudge as she turned off a minor country road, driving past a pair of rusty iron gates and down a long, bumpy gravel track.
‘Right,’ he said, immediately wide awake and alert, as if someone had suddenly thrown a switch and jerked him abruptly into life. A moment later, with a swift adjustment of his seat, he was sitting upright, and gazing with interest at the fields either side of them.
‘Is your sister’s husband a farmer?’
‘No, far from it,’ she said, and explained that David Lancaster was a busy local doctor. ‘But he and Edwina have always wanted to live deep in the country, with children, dogs, ponies and other various forms of livestock.’
‘Sounds a good way of life to me.’
‘Hmm...’ Samantha murmured doubtfully, not at all sure that she would want to live buried in the country.
‘And what about your parents? Do they live nearby?’
Samantha shook her head. ‘No. My father was a busy architect, but he and my mother always had itchy feet. So, as soon as their children were grown up, and able to fend for themselves, Dad took early retirement And now they’re spending their days slowly sailing around the world. They miss us and the grandchildren, of course. But they do seem to be having the time of their lives.’
‘That sounds great. I almost envy them,’ Matt said slowly. ‘The rat race of city life isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.’
‘Too many rats?’ she queried, with a straight face, before they both burst into laughter.
‘By the way, I might have forgotten to mention the level of noise and general chaos,’ she added casually, as if only just recalling an insignificant item—and hadn’t deliberately chosen to avoid telling him the bad news for as long as possible.
‘There’s no need to worry,’ he replied, quickly picking up the note of tension in her voice. ‘I’m quite sure that I’m going to enjoy myself.’
Let’s hope so, Samantha prayed silently as she brought the car to a halt outside the front door of a long, low, half-timbered farmhouse.
As soon as she switched off the engine, they were immediately engulfed by what seemed a chattering crowd of people, packs of wildly barking dogs, and a loudly clacking gaggle of geese.
Ruefully viewing the expression of startled surprise and confusion on Matt’s handsome face, she suddenly remembered that he’d been the only child of a widowed mother, who had died during his first year at university. Oh, Lord—this weekend really was going to be a baptism of fire for the poor guy!
However, she definitely had to award him an alpha-plus for making a remarkably swift recovery.
Although clearly stunned by all the deafening clamour and hubbub, by the time he’d swung his long legs out of the car Matt had somehow managed to sort out the individual members of the family. Wishing a very happy birthday to Rosie, the youngest of the two children, he reached into the car to open his briefcase, handing a small package to the Birthday Girl, before presenting his hostess, Edwina, with an enormous box of Swiss chocolates.
‘Smooth Bastard!’ Samantha muttered under her breath, grimly forced to admire the sight of her normally tough, strong-minded older sister immediately succumbing to Matt’s overwhelming charm. In fact, if it wasn’t such a ridiculous idea, Samantha knew that she’d definitely be wary of someone who possessed such amazing social dexterity, and a seemingly effortless ability to cajole the birds from the trees.
‘Oh, Sam—he’s simply gorgeous!’ Edwina exclaimed later as the two sisters chatted together while preparing the evening meal. ‘And so generous! Rosie is just over the moon about her present. That tiny little silver heart on a silver chain, from Tiffany’s, was an absolutely perfect choice.’
Samantha, busy mashing potatoes, turned to smile at her sister. ‘Of course, she’s still a bit too young to get overly excited about being given one of those exciting sky-blue boxes, tied with white ribbon. But I must admit to being quite envious when I saw its contents.’
‘Mmm...so was I. And talking of hearts...’ Edwina hesitated for a moment. ‘Is it...er...just a casual friendship with Matt?’ she probed carefully, obviously dying to know what was going on between Samantha and her amazingly charming boyfriend. ‘Or could this be a seriously important relationship?’
‘No...well, it’s not really like that,’ Samantha told her cautiously. ‘The thing is...we’ve only just met up again, after not having seen each other for a long time. So...’ she shrugged ‘...it’s anyone’s guess how things will turn out.’
‘I didn’t realise...’ Edwina turned around from chopping an onion to look at her sister in surprise. ‘Do you mean that Matt is an old boyfriend?’
‘Yes...er...I suppose he comes under that heading.’
‘But I don’t remember having met him before. And quite honestly, Sam, I’m sure that I wouldn’t have forgotten anyone quite so scrummy!’
The younger girl shrugged. ‘It was a very long time ago. When I was at university. And, in any case, I never brought him home to meet Mum and Dad. It wasn’t...well, he was quite a lot older than me, and ] wasn’t sure that they’d approve.’
‘Oh, Sam!’ Her sister suddenly frowned with concern, recalling the younger girl’s first ‘grand passion’ which had apparently ended so tragically, leaving her devastated and bitterly unhappy for such a long time. ‘I never met him, of course. But surely it wasn’t Matt who caused you all that heartache so long ago?’
‘Yes, I’m afraid so,’ Samantha agreed with a twisted smile. ‘So, you can see why I’m taking things a bit carefully.’
‘Does he know about your first marriage?’
Samantha shook her head. ‘Not... haven’t exactly... er...well, the thing is...I didn’t quite tell him the truth,’ she muttered, not meeting her sister’s eyes as she busied herself shaking water from the lettuce before adding it to the salad bowl. ‘In fact...well, I’ve got to admit that I didn’t tell him I had been married before,’ she added in a rush.
‘Oh, dear—that doesn’t sound very sensible.’
‘I know...I know...’ she muttered quickly, feeling her face growing hot as she stared out of the kitchen window, still deliberately keeping her back firmly turned to her sister.
‘But it was so difficult,’ she continued. ‘I mean...there we were, right in the middle of a very glamorous restaurant. And I simply couldn’t face going into a long, involved explanation of exactly why I’d made the great mistake of marrying Alan. Quite apart from the fact that I still feel a bit raw about that stupid and disastrous marriage of mine.’
‘But I thought you didn’t have any feelings for Alan?’ Edwina shook her head in confusion. ‘Surely it’s all over between you?’
‘Oh, heavens, yes.’ Samantha relaxed, turning around to face her sister. ‘We’re still reasonably friendly, of course. But that’s all,’ she explained. ‘If anything really worries me, nowadays, it’s being such a fool in marrying someone whom I didn’t truly love. It still hurts. The fact that I was such an idiot, I mean,’ she added hastily.
Edwina shrugged. ‘If that’s the case, I don’t understand why you didn’t tell Matt the truth?’
‘Because...because I was still madly in love with him when I agreed to marry Alan Gifford,’ she pointed out, her voice tight with exasperation. ‘There was no way I could tell Matt that particular piece of information—not in the middle of a restaurant, when we’d only just met up again after so many years. And most definitely not when I wasn’t even sure whether he was chatting me up—or what I was going to do about it if he was!’
In the long silence that followed, Samantha bitterly regretted having let her exasperation get the better of her. Why the hell hadn’t she kept her mouth shut?
‘For goodness’ sake—please don’t tell anyone else. I couldn’t face...’
‘Don’t worry. My lips are sealed,’ Edwina told her firmly. ‘I must say that this whole business sounds desperately complicated. But you’re a big girl now, Sam. And, although I love you very much, I do realise that I’ve got to leave you to lead your own life. All the same,’ she added with a sigh, ‘Matt really is gorgeous. And I can quite see why you’re prepared to give the relationship a second go. I expect I would, too, under the circumstances. Do you think...is there any chance you could both get serious about one another?’
Samantha shook her head. ‘No. It’s not that sort of relationship. So, I don’t want any heavy hints about wedding bells—because neither of us is interested in any long-term commitment,’ she told her sister firmly. ‘Besides, having made one disastrous mistake, I’m sure as hell not going to rush into another!’
‘Oh, Sam...’ Edwina sighed and shook her head. ‘You’re such an idiot sometimes! I mean—just look at you. You’re beautiful, sexy, highly successful at work, and earning pots of money. In fact, compared to so many other people, you’ve already achieved so much. So why keep reminding yourself about a mistake you made ages ago? It’s time you put the whole incident behind you and got on with finding a man who will make you happy.’
‘Thanks for the vote of confidence.’ Samantha smiled mistily at her sister, deeply touched by the obvious love and affection embodied in her words of wisdom. ‘All the same,’ she added slowly, ‘if I could make such a spectacular mess of things once... How on earth can anyone make sure that they never make the same mistake again?’
‘They can’t,’ Edwina told her simply. ‘However, if you listen to your heart, you’ll know when you’ve found the person with whom you want to spend the rest of your days.
‘Actually, that’s the easy bit,’ she added with a laugh as she opened the oven door to check how the roast chicken was coming along. ‘It’s making the relationship work—day in and day out, through good times and bad—which can sometimes be very hard work. You just have to hang in there. Always having faith and trust in one another is what counts in the end.’
‘Mummy...?’ Olivia, the eldest of her two daughters, suddenly burst into the kitchen. ‘Mr Warner and Daddy are having a drink in the sitting room—and want to know whether you and Aunt Sam would like one, too. And can we please take Mr Warner out to see the ponies?’ she continued in a rush. ‘It’s still not too dark, and...’
‘Hold it!’ her mother laughed. ‘Yes, Sam and I would love a glass of wine. And no—you can’t drag poor Mr Warner off to the stables at this late hour. Besides, it’s time for you and Rosie to have a bath and go to bed. You can show him the ponies tomorrow morning. But, for goodness’ sake, don’t wake the poor man up too early. OK?’
‘Which reminds me...’ Edwina said as her young daughter gave a heavy sigh and left the room. ‘I hope that I’ve made the right sleeping arrangements?’ She gazed at Samantha with a worried frown. ‘I mean...I wasn’t exactly sure, from what you said on the phone, whether you and Matt were...er...’
‘Relax!’ Samantha grinned, taking pity on her older sister. ‘Yes, we are sleeping together. But, no, it doesn’t matter about giving us separate rooms. For one thing, this is your house. And I know that you and David would always prefer your guests to respect the family atmosphere. And besides,’ she added, ‘I don’t think it’s ideal for either Olivia or Rosie to rush into my bedroom, first thing in the morning—as they have a habit of doing—to find someone else in bed with me.’
‘I’m so glad you see it that way,’ her sister murmured, clearly relieved to have her own judgement confirmed. ‘I realise, modern-day life being what it is, Olivia probably knows more about the facts of life than I do!’ Edwina gave a wry bark of laughter. ‘But I already have so many questions to answer, I can well do without any more!’
‘The joys of motherhood...?’ Samantha grinned.
‘You wait! You won’t find it so funny—not when you’ve got your own children watching TV, and subsequently demanding to know exactly what HIV means, or expecting you to help them with their maths homework. Believe me, it’s exhausting!’
‘I’m not sure that I’m ever going to be into having children,’ Samantha mused slowly. ‘I wouldn’t ever want to give up my career, and...’
‘Rubbish!’ Her sister laughed. ‘I thought you were a feminist? The sort of woman who believes that you can have your cake and eat it too?’ she added sardonically.
‘Well...’
‘Don’t worry, Sam. You’ll find, if and when you do get married and have children, that it is quite possible to keep on working, as so many of my friends seem to be able to do. It’s just that you have to run twice as fast,’ she added. ‘What a pity that you can only stay one night. If only to view your dear sister running herself ragged, trying to cope with merely two daughters and no job!’
Samantha grinned. ‘We all know that you can manage with one hand tied behind your back,’ she teased. ‘But I’m sorry we have to go back so soon. Unfortunately, Matt’s only over here for a brief visit. He’s having to fly back to the States on Sunday. So, I’m afraid we’ll have to leave after Rosie’s party tomorrow afternoon.’
‘Well, at least you’ll still be here when Georgie arrives,’ her sister said. ‘I’ve had our younger sister on the phone this morning. She’s promised to arrive in time for the party, but was getting worried that she might not have the chance of meeting your “new squeeze”!’
‘Oh, Lord!’ Samantha groaned.
‘Yes, well...I’ll do my best to see that she doesn’t cause you too much embarrassment,’ Edwina promised. ‘She really doesn’t mean to say or do the wrong thing. It’s just...’
‘I know,’ Samantha agreed heavily. ‘It’s just that Georgie is quite incapable of keeping her mouth shut! However, there’s no point in worrying about something clearly beyond anyone’s control.’ She shrugged. ‘I think I’ll just go upstairs and freshen up before dinner. OK?’
Making her way up the stairs and along the landing of the old house, Samantha was startled, on entering her small room, to find Matt lying stretched out on her bed.
‘I thought you were having a drink with David?’
‘Yes, I was enjoying his company. In fact, your brother-in-law is an exceptionally nice and extremely intelligent man,’ he drawled, swinging his long legs off the bed. ‘But I thought I’d try and have a word with you, while everyone is still downstairs.’
‘Is there a problem?’ she asked anxiously, wondering what on earth could have gone wrong, so soon after their arrival.
‘A problem? Good heavens, no!’ he drawled with heavy sarcasm, coming over to put his arms about her slim figure.
‘I’m absolutely delighted to find my bedroom is down a long corridor, simply miles away from your room. I’m utterly entranced to discover that every single floorboard of the said corridor squeaks like a banshee. And I’m simply over the moon,’ he added through gritted teeth, ‘that I’ve got about as much chance of making love to you tonight as I have of suddenly discovering the secret of the universe!’
‘Oh, Matt,’ she giggled.
‘Don’t you dare laugh at me, you wretch!’ he growled, pulling her tightly up against his hard, strong body. ‘It’s been six weeks since I held you in my arms. Believe me, you’re looking at a desperate man!’
‘Well...that’s nice!’ She smiled at him as she wound her arms up about his neck. ‘Unfortunately, we shall both just have to exercise some control won’t we?’ she teased.
‘Congratulations on your self-discipline, Sam!’ he breathed thickly, raising a hand to pluck away the combs holding up the hair on top of her head, and allowing the long, heavy mass to tumble down about her shoulders.
‘Unfortunately, I’m not nearly so strong-minded,’ he added huskily, burying his fingers in the pale, silky strands and holding her head firmly beneath him as his mouth came down to take possession of hers, parting her lips and devouring the sweetness within her mouth with ruthless determination.
She moaned helplessly as he pushed her gently backwards, until she found herself pinned up against the oak door of her bedroom by his muscular body, and in no doubt of his barely suppressed, rampant arousal.
His lips gradually softened, slowly moving over hers with a languorous sensuality, which provoked an instantaneous, passionate response in her trembling body. Swept by a riptide of fierce passion and excitement, pulsating through each and every fibre of her being, Samantha could only cling helplessly to his broad shoulders as she responded feverishly to his kiss.
Slowly raising his head, Matt stared down at the soft, trembling temptation of her lips, and the long eyelashes, fluttering helplessly as she gazed blindly up at him, totally in the grip of a torrent of passion and desire.
‘Sweetheart...!’ he groaned softly, burying his face in her hair, savouring its fresh, clean scent for a moment before gradually pulling himself together.
‘I’m sorry, darling—I got carried away for a moment or two,’ he murmured huskily. ‘My only excuse is that six weeks has proved to be a much longer time than even I had anticipated,’ he added ruefully.
‘That...that makes two of us,’ she murmured, desperately trying to drag herself back from the wilder shores of lust to some form of normal, everyday existence. ‘Why don’t you go on downstairs, while I just fix my hair? I’ll follow you in a minute.’
He shook his dark head. ‘Oh, no. We’ll go downstairs together,’ he told her firmly. ‘I’m not even going to try and pretend that we haven’t been having a highly romantic encounter up here. Besides,’ he added with a low, ironic laugh, ‘I don’t think either of us is particularly good at hiding our emotions.’
Samantha was well aware of her sister casting speculative glances at both Matt and herself during dinner. But her husband, David, was a far too prosaic, down-to-earth character to be interested in delving into any speculation about his guests. So, Edwina had no choice but to follow his lead.
 
Although Samantha had been dreading the arrival of her younger sister, in the event it proved not to be the awful ordeal she’d feared.
Having hitched a lift from one of her many boyfriends, Georgie airily told the rather vacuous-looking youth that she would expect both him and his smart sports car to be outside the farmhouse in four hours’ time.
‘Well—off you go, Hugo,’ she added impatiently, dismissing the devoted swain, and clearly forgetting all about him by the time she walked in the front door.
‘Oh-ho! So, you’re the man of the moment who’s currently keeping my sister’s bed warm?’ she queried, giving Matt a broad smile, while her two older sisters cringed in embarrassment.
But Matt, who’d swiftly and accurately summed up the situation, merely gave Samantha’s beautiful young sister a cool smile.
‘Yes, you’re quite right She’s just using me for sex,’ he drawled smoothly. ‘However, I’m sure that we’re all far more interested in hearing about you. Exactly how many men of the moment are you currently using as a hot-water bottle?’
There was a stunned silence following his words, with Georgie staring at him blank-faced for a moment, before she threw back her head and gave a peal of laughter.
‘Hey—you’re all right! Not at all the sort of stuffed shirt I was expecting to meet.’ She grinned.
‘No, I only wear my shirts stuffed during the week,’ he assured her blandly. ‘At weekends, I like to relax and attend birthday parties. Shall I take you to join the other children?’ he added, the heavy irony clearly going straight over her head as Georgie beamed happily up at him; then he led the way out through the house to the garden, where the party was in full swing.
Edwina and Samantha stared at one another, breathing a collective sigh of both relief and amazement.
‘I’ll tell you what, Sam,’ her sister finally said in awestruck tones. ‘If you’ve got any sense in that beautiful head of yours, I reckon you’d be a fool not to drag that man up to the altar—as soon as possible! For what it’s worth, he’s certainly got my vote of approval.’
As it turned out, Georgie was so clearly entranced to actually meet someone prepared to be, if necessary, even blunter than herself that the rest of the afternoon passed by without any upsets. In fact, as Matt confessed on their drive back to London, he’d thoroughly enjoyed meeting all Samantha’s family.
‘Even Georgie?’ She grinned.
‘To be honest, it was fun teasing your younger sister,’ he said. ‘There really isn’t an ounce of malice in the girl. And, let’s face it, she merely puts into words what everyone else is thinking—but far too polite or inhibited to say out loud. Maybe we should all stop being so well-behaved, and take a leaf out of Georgie’s book,’ he mused reflectively.
‘Life certainly wouldn’t be dull!’ Samantha laughed. ‘Now, we’re coming into Central London. Which hotel are you staying at?’
‘Sa-man-tha...!’ he groaned. ‘I’ve never heard anything so stupid. Have you entirely lost your mind? Why on earth would I want to stay in a hotel?’
‘Well, I hadn’t really thought much about it,’ she muttered, her cheeks flushing. ‘I mean...I just assumed, now that you’re a captain of industry and all that sort of thing...’
‘That’s very flattering, of course. But, if it’s all the same to you, I’d much rather spend the night in your apartment. Or is there any reason why I wouldn’t be welcome? ’
She didn’t immediately answer, her attention being claimed for some time by the need to drive carefully through the heavy Saturday evening traffic.
‘I may have assumed that you’d have been booked into the Ritz or the Dorchester, for business reasons,’ she told him finally as they entered the underground car park beneath her apartment ‘But for you to think that you wouldn’t be welcome to stay with me really is stupid.’
‘Touché!’ Matt laughed. She parked the car, and they began walking over to the elevator. ‘Right...’ he added as she punched the button for her floor. ‘I’m giving you precisely ten seconds from the moment we enter your apartment And if you are still wearing any clothes after that time I refuse to be responsible for my actions!’
‘Oh, really?’ she laughed. ‘And what about you?’
‘Oh, don’t worry,’ he murmured, leaning across to give her a quick kiss. ‘I shall be undressed and in your bed, stop-watch in hand, long before you’ve even begun taking the combs out of your hair. And that’s a promise!’ he vowed, sealing his words with another kiss.
 
It was still pitch-dark when Samantha surfaced from a deep sleep. Turning her head, she saw from the luminous dial of her bedside clock that it was just after three in the morning.
She slowly stretched her body, which still felt heavy and languorous after a night of passion. As always, their lovemaking had been so breathtaking and indescribably perfect that if Samantha hadn’t been such a down-to-earth person she might have thought that she’d been in paradise.
Heaven can wait, she told herself, smiling in the darkness. Certainly for a few more years. She was only concerned with the present—the vital personality and the flesh and blood of the man who’d raised her to such heights of unimaginable pleasure.
Putting out a hand to touch his sleeping form, she was surprised to find that Matt was not in the bed beside her. He must have just gone to the bathroom, she thought idly, settling the pillows more comfortably behind her head and lapsing back into a delicious recollection of all they had done and said to one another that night.
However, as she once again opened her eyes and saw that it was nearly half an hour since she’d discovered his absence, Samantha frowned, before suddenly realising that he might not be well. Or perhaps the confit of duck, which she’d hastily thrown together for a late supper, might not have agreed with him.
Quickly switching on her bedside light, she got out of bed. Slipping on a light robe to cover her nakedness, she padded silently out of the bedroom and across the large main sitting room, towards where she could see a dim glow of light, from the kitchen.
Unaware of her presence as she stood in the kitchen doorway, her bare feet having made no sound as she’d moved over the oak wooden flooring, Matt had his back towards her as he leant against the kitchen cupboard on the other side of the room. Sleepily blinking, she was just opening her mouth to enquire whether he was feeling all right, when she saw he was speaking rapidly into a small mobile phone.
‘Well, you’re just going to have to firm up some support from the shareholders,’ he was saying. Even from across the room she could hear the grim, tense note in his low voice, before a slight movement caught the peripheral edge of his vision and he turned to see Samantha standing in the doorway.
‘I’ll be in touch,’ he muttered quickly, swiftly slamming the phone shut before walking towards her. ‘Did I wake you up, darling?’
‘No...’ She raised a hand to rub the sleep out of her eyes. ‘No...but I was just wondering where you’d got to. I thought you might be ill, or something.’
Matt gave a low laugh. ‘Far from feeling ill, I’ve never felt better in my whole life!’ he murmured huskily, putting his arm around her waist and leading her slowly back through the large, empty sitting room towards her bedroom.
‘But... but what were you doing?’ she asked, finding it difficult to concentrate on anything other than the featherlight touch of his fingers on her skin as he slowly removed her light wrap. ‘Who...who were you talking to?’
‘Nobody important,’ he muttered, his strong arms tightening possessively as he gently drew her up against him. ‘My lovely, exciting Samantha,’ he breathed, clearly savouring each moment as his hands moved leisurely over her warm, pliant flesh towards the aroused peaks of her breasts, swollen and aching in anticipation of his touch. ‘How gloriously soft your skin is—smooth and silky as velvet.’
And then the feel of his own warm body against hers was so exquisite, and with her overwhelming compulsion to respond to his urgent touch, her whole being vibrating in response to his sensual arousal, Samantha completely lost any interest in the phone conversation which Matt had been having in the kitchen, surrendering eagerly to the extraordinary, heart-stopping pleasure of his warm lips moving slowly and seductively over her flesh.
It was only much later, lying securely clasped within his arms as they both slowly slipped into a deep sleep, that Samantha recalled Matt’s use of the mobile phone. But it had nothing to do with her. So why should she care whom he was calling at that hour of the night?