19

I stood in front of Sir Simeon like a naughty schoolgirl in front of the headmaster. He had kicked Merlin and Geoffrey out of the room before I could protest, and they were waiting for me in the bar like sulky boys.

I was still in sexed-up mode. I tried to conjure up the image of Sir Simeon’s cock thrusting inside me, his face loosening with ecstasy, his voice cracking with climax – anything to lighten the situation, but his face gave nothing away. It was as if each time I wanted to charm him, I would have to start from scratch.

‘Merlin is best off in the country, don’t you think?’ he said, picking up a photograph that I’d placed on the table next to the fire. It showed me on my favourite Arab mare a few years ago, my hair and her tail streaming out in a dramatic sunset and the great pyramids in the background. ‘He has a job to do down there, after all. I don’t think London is the place for him.’

‘He’s here as my guest, Sir Simeon, as well as being a member of the club,’ I replied airily, putting one hand on my hip, determined to regain my cool. ‘And he’s going to find it very hard to stay away. I think he blends in very nicely, actually.’

‘Blending in isn’t exactly what he came here for though, is it?’

‘In the end they all come here for the same reasons,’ I replied, perching on the arm of the opposite sofa. I nonchalantly fastened a couple of buttons on my dress. ‘You know that’s why this place has become so successful. Since Mimi put me in charge and you announced you were taking a backseat, I’ve taken it upon myself to run it exactly as I please. And exactly as the members please, of course.’

He leaned back in his chair and tapped his fingertips. He was wearing a dark-navy suit with a very subtle pinstripe. The white cuffs of his shirt emphasised the brown skin of his wrists and hands. He could be a politician or an off-duty judge.

‘I fully supported Mimi appointing you as her successor,’ he said. ‘But I still have the power to sack you if I choose. As far as Merlin is concerned, I’m telling, not asking. And if you’re not careful, Miss Summers, you could ruin years of careful planning on my part. I don’t want Club Crème, or this new club you’re launching, to get a reputation.’

‘Too late, Sir Simeon.’ I came and sat beside him. ‘It already has a blistering reputation. A far more exciting reputation than it had when I came here. There’s no going back. Not unless you want to close it down altogether. And I’m not about to let that happen over a stupid family feud.’

He stroked one finger thoughtfully along his upper lip. I kept my eyes steady on him as I slowly crossed my legs. I could feel the spunk sticking my pussy lips together, smell the tang of raw sex wafting through the hastily fastened buttons of my dress.

‘I can see there’s no arguing with you,’ Sir Simeon remarked after a pause. Across the patio, we could hear male laughter in the bar as Rick the barman tossed his cocktail shakers. Like that naughty schoolgirl, I was itching to be dismissed so I could get back to my mates.

‘I’m afraid that’s right, Sir Simeon. I’m having too much fun. I’m determined to make a success of this club, in my own sweet way.’

‘What a lot you’ve learned in so little time,’ he murmured, still studying me. I kept very still on the sofa beside him, and breathed in his faint cologne. ‘I didn’t spot this ruthless businesswoman tucked away under that old beret. I didn’t see the dominatrix busting out from that ill-fitting polyester suit, either. But I did see the foxy little minx!’

‘But do you like what you see?’ I asked softly, adding seductress to the list of my new skills. His jacket opened over his pale pink shirt as he stretched one arm along the back of the sofa. His stomach was flat and toned underneath that shirt. Those arms were strong and persuasive, I knew.

‘Mimi’s an expert. Like me, she spotted your potential, and she was so right. This job has opened you up. Like a flower. And now look at you.’

‘What do you see?’ I was bristling at the idea that Mimi had somehow shaped me. If there was some truth in what he said, it didn’t matter now. Mimi wasn’t in charge here any more. I was.

‘A devastatingly sexy girl-woman. Half scruff, half sophisticate. I’d still like to see you naked in the hay one day.’

He extended his leg with a very slight grimace and I remembered that, despite the stony, unbending exterior, he had at least one weakness. There was a silence between us, broken only by the clattering of pans in the club kitchen. I sat up straighter.

‘How about naked right here, right now?’

Sir Simeon laughed then, his blue eyes genuinely amused. His arm slid off the back of the sofa and gripped my shoulders, pulling me towards him until my face was a couple of inches from his.

‘You should know by now I prefer the element of surprise. And anyway,’ he said and glanced scornfully at my lovely kilim rug, ‘someone’s been here before me. It will have to be some other venue. I’ll find you when I want you.’

Battle was drawn after all. I felt dizzy with the wealth of choices spreading out before me. The debonair aristocrat in front of me, his devilish son a few feet away in the bar and a posse of others both tasted and waiting in the wings. My wings.

I jumped to my feet. ‘If that’s it, Sir Simeon, I have a club to run.’

‘I haven’t finished with you yet,’ he objected mildly, as I marched towards the door and held it open.

Very slowly I did up the other buttons on my dress so that I covered up again. Respectability itself. I ran my fingers through my hair and smoothed it over my shoulders.

‘I’m sorry, Sir Simeon, but tonight is our first school dinners night. That’s why the club is full to bursting. I have to go and put the finishing touches to our menu.’

He stood up as well, straightening his tie as if we actually had been conducting a board meeting.

‘And what’s on the menu, apart from the staff?’

I smiled mysteriously and wagged my finger at him.

‘That’s easy, Sir Simeon. It’s toad in the hole.’