ON THE Friday evening of the following week, Dominic drove Louisa to Amberhurst for the pre-wedding dinner. He stopped in front of the gates, got out of the car and tapped a code into a discreet panel by the wall. The gates swung open silently and then closed again behind them as he drove through; the castle loomed in front of them.
When he eventually parked the car in front of the castle, Louisa felt as if her stomach was tied in knots. Now she had an idea how Dominic must have felt about meeting her parents. Would she measure up?
‘They’ll love you,’ Dominic said.
She blinked. ‘Did I just say that out loud?’
‘Uh-huh.’ He kissed her swiftly. ‘Give it five minutes, and I promise you’ll feel at home. My family’s very normal. Well. Normalish,’ he amended. ‘I suppose they’re a bit eccentric.’
But he loved them. She could see that in his expression. So she was prepared to love them, too.
He insisted on carrying her case as well as his own. He set them down briefly while he tapped in a code into the panel by the front door, then opened the door and toted them inside. Immediately there was a huge amount of barking and four assorted dogs burst into the hallway.
‘It’s OK, they won’t hurt you. They’re more likely to lick you to death.’ He stooped down and allowed them to leap about over him, and she followed his lead.
‘Oh, you horrible lot! Benjy, Cody, Buster and Fudge, heel.’ An older woman—Louisa recognised her from the photographs in Dominic’s flat as his mother—came into the hallway. She was beautifully dressed and perfectly coiffured; Louisa felt a teensy bit daunted. But she had the same smile as Dominic, and her eyes were warm as she assessed the younger woman. She kissed Dominic. ‘Hello, darling.’
He kissed her back. ‘Hello, Ma.’
‘You’re just in time.’ She smiled at Louisa. ‘And you must be Louisa.’
‘Hello.’ Louisa smiled awkwardly. ‘I’m so sorry, I’m afraid I don’t know much about etiquette. Do I call you Lady Hurst? And, um, do I curtsey?’
‘You call me Milly, and forget all the other nonsense.’ Dominic’s mother enveloped her in a hug. ‘Welcome to Amberhurst, Louisa. And I’m sorry about this lot giving you such a noisy welcome.’
‘It’s OK. I like dogs.’
‘Even Great Danes?’ Milly asked, looking surprised. ‘Fudge, sit,’ she said in exasperation to the Great Dane, who’d sneaked forward and was busy sniffing Louisa’s knees.
Louisa laughed and fondled the dog’s ears. ‘My son’s desperate for a wolfhound. I’ve explained that we can’t have a dog where we live now, but maybe one day we can have a dog. Something spaniel-sized, maybe.’ She knew that Tyler would adore these four, from the little Jack Russell right up to the huge Great Dane.
‘I’m sorry that Tyler wasn’t able to come to the wedding,’ Milly said. ‘I was looking forward to meeting him. Dominic explained why and I completely understand. I remember when Andy was little; if there were too many people around it made him uncomfortable, so he’d go and sit with the dogs or the horses—and his parents used to have to go and search for him, worried sick that he’d wandered near the pond or something.’ She shivered. ‘Perish the thought. But maybe when it’s a little quieter around here he might like to come and visit and play with the dogs.’
‘Thank you. That’s very kind of you.’
‘Everyone’s in the drawing room. Dinner’s almost ready. Dominic, do you want to take the luggage upstairs? Louisa, I’m just going to give these monsters their dinner in the boot room to shut them up, but do come and have a glass of champagne.’ Milly raised an eyebrow. ‘Or do you need the bathroom first?’
‘No, I’m fine, thank you.’ Louisa couldn’t help feeling a little shy, but Dominic had already started upstairs with the cases.
Awkwardly, she handed Milly the posh chocolates she’d bought in her lunch hour. ‘I, um, wanted to bring something to say thank you for having me to stay, but flowers didn’t feel right—not the day before a wedding when there are going to be flowers everywhere.’
‘That’s so sweet of you, but you really didn’t have to bring anything. I know I have you to thank for the smile being back behind Dominic’s eyes, and that’s the best gift any mother can ask for. Her child being happy.’
Just what her own mother had said. And how she knew she’d feel about Tyler’s eventual choice of partner, when he grew up.
Milly looked away, but not before Louisa caught the sheen of tears in her eyes. She blinked them away rapidly and cleared her throat. ‘And these are for me?’ She peeked at the package and beamed. ‘Oh, I love these. I know I’m going to like you, Louisa. A lot. You’ll have to forgive me for being rude and not offering these to everyone else with coffee. These are going in my study.’
‘Would that be in your “secret” chocolate drawer, Ma?’ Dominic drawled as he caught them up.
‘Which is kept locked.’
‘And you think that’s going to stop anyone?’ He laughed. ‘Oliver taught me how to pick that lock when I was nine. And Papa taught him.’
Milly rolled her eyes. ‘You’re terrible. The three of you. How I put up with you, I really do not know! Dominic, I’m going to give these monsters their dinner before they sneak into the kitchen and start trying to scrounge things from Cook. Take Louisa through to the drawing room.’ She shooed the dogs further along the corridor, and they bounced joyfully before her, while Dominic ushered Louisa to the drawing room.
Dominic caught Louisa’s hand as they reached the doorway. ‘OK?’ he mouthed.
‘Fine,’ she mouthed back. She liked Dominic’s mother, and she was pretty sure she’d like the rest of his family, too.
The room was full of people. She picked out Dominic’s father and brother instantly: they both looked so like him, with the same dark hair and navy-blue eyes, and of course Oliver was the only one in a wheelchair.
Dominic carefully introduced her to everyone, including Oliver’s fiancée, Mina, and her parents, plus several great-aunts and great-uncles. Louisa was aware that everyone was watching them as she was introduced to Oliver, wanting to see whether she’d be fazed by the fact that he was in a wheelchair, but she ignored the feeling of being watched and smiled at Dominic’s brother before shaking his hand firmly.
Milly reappeared and handed her a glass of champagne before shepherding everyone into the dining room. The table was enormous, seating eighteen; and all the places were set. It looked exactly like one of the displays in the stately castles Tyler loved visiting, with furniture so highly polished that you could practically see your reflection in it, exquisite porcelain, solid silver cutlery and candelabra, and delicate hand-blown glasses in the deepest blue. There were flowers arranged in what looked to her like priceless antique vases, and the carpet was so thick that you actually sank into it. The walls were covered with paintings and the curtains were rich deep-blue damask. Everything screamed luxury and wealth.
And then she saw the photographs on the mantelpiece. In silver frames. A wedding photograph of Dominic’s parents, graduation photographs of the boys, a photograph that was clearly celebrating Oliver and Mina’s engagement, and one that looked like a multi-generational family photograph. But the photographs she really loved were the more candid shots of Dominic and Oliver as children, playing in the garden. In one, Dominic had a bucket on his head and a mop in his hand, clearly pretending that he was a knight.
‘That’s one of my favourites. Sir Hugo’s first outing, when he was five,’ Milly said with a smile, seeing what had caught Louisa’s eye. ‘And I love the one in his flat of the two of you with Tyler and Pegasus.’
Louisa knew the photograph she meant. The very same photograph that had pride of place in Tyler’s bedroom. ‘My mum took that one at the jousting. I’ll have a copy made for you, if you like.’
‘Thank you. I’d love that. It’s the happiest I’ve seen Dominic for more than two years.’ Milly paused. ‘We had hoped to meet you at the jousting. But then there was the accident. It must have been terrifying for you.’
‘It was. I’m just so lucky Ty’s made a complete recovery.’ Then Louisa bit her lip, remembering Oliver—who’d also been involved in a riding accident and would never make a complete recovery. ‘Sorry, that wasn’t very tactful.’
‘But it was honest. And Oliver does at least have most of his independence. It could have been an awful lot worse. At least I don’t have to cope with an Oliver-shaped hole in my life. That would be a lot, lot harder.’ Milly patted her arm.
Louisa discovered that she was seated at the opposite end of the table from Dominic, next to Oliver.
‘Can I help you at all?’ she asked as Oliver prepared to transfer himself from his state-of-the-art lightweight wheelchair to the dining chair.
‘Thanks, but I can manage.’ He smiled at her, softening the slight abruptness of his tone. ‘It was about time Dominic brought you to meet us. How’s your little boy doing?’
‘He’s fine, thanks.’
‘Is he back in the saddle yet?’
She took a deep breath. ‘No. I’m not sure I’m ready for that.’
‘Of course, it’s your decision,’ Oliver said. ‘But he’ll miss out on an awful lot.’
How could he say that, when he’d been so badly injured in a fall from a horse?
As if he could read her thoughts, he said softly, ‘Once a horseman, always a horseman. I miss it.’ He paused, his eyes growing serious. ‘Dominic said he told you about the accident.’
‘Yes.’
Oliver looked relieved. ‘I’m glad he’s talking about it. He refused counselling afterwards, but I think he needed it as much as I did. More than I did, probably. I used to play rugby, and I could’ve had a bad tackle at any time that would’ve left me like this. I wouldn’t have held it against the person who tackled me, and I don’t hold this against my brother.’
‘He does enough of that for himself,’ Louisa agreed.
He gave her a level look. ‘Maybe you’re the one who can help him learn to forgive himself. Because it wasn’t his fault. It was a stupid accident, and I’m just as much to blame because I wasn’t giving the joust my full concentration. I’ve told him that, but it didn’t stop him wearing a hair shirt.’ He sighed. ‘I’m half-surprised he didn’t decide to train as a surgeon to make up for the fact that I’m not one any more. But it’d be a waste if he did—emergency medicine suits him down to the ground.’
‘He’s an excellent doctor. And he said you were a brilliant surgeon.’
‘I was,’ Oliver said, with no hint of arrogance—just like Dominic, she thought, Oliver would make enough effort to excel at anything he did. ‘But now I intend to be a brilliant GP. I’m retraining. So I’ll still get to make patients better—but I’ll get to see my patients over the whole of their treatment rather than simply fixing a valve in their heart and waving them off home to recuperate and having no idea whether their lives really are better after the op. And the hours are more family-friendly, which Mina will appreciate—I can do my fair share of changing nappies.’ He shrugged. ‘If life gives you lemons, you’d better learn to make lemonade—or you’re going to wallow in misery, and I can tell you from experience that that’s a complete waste of time.’
Milly made everyone change places between courses, so over the next course Louisa ended up sitting next to Roderick, Dominic and Oliver’s father, who was incredibly sweet; and over pudding she was charmed by their great-uncles, Rupert and Ashton. After dinner, the women all withdrew to the drawing room again, leaving the men to their port; Louisa finally got to chat to Mina, Oliver’s fiancée, who turned out to be incredibly sweet-natured. She and Oliver would definitely be happy together, Louisa thought.
When the men joined them again, Dominic sat on the arm of Louisa’s chair, resting his hand on the nape of her neck. Although she knew this was all for show and didn’t actually mean anything, she still couldn’t help the little thrill running through her at his touch.
Finally people started drifting off to bed.
‘Can I help you clear up?’ Louisa asked Milly.
‘It’s all taken care of,’ Milly said with a smile.
Of course. To run a house this size, they’d need staff. And Milly had mentioned a cook, earlier.
‘But bless you for offering.’ Milly gave her a hug. ‘We’ve got a busy day tomorrow. I think we all need to try and get some sleep.’
‘Yes. Goodnight,’ Louisa said politely.
‘I’ll see you up,’ Dominic said.
‘I had a lovely evening,’ she said as they walked up the sweeping central staircase. ‘I like your family.’
‘Good. They liked you, too.’ He paused outside a door that she assumed led to her room. ‘Um, there’s something I need to talk to you about. Can we go inside?’
‘Sure.’
He opened the door and flicked on the light. What she saw was a very masculine room—and her case was standing right next to Dominic’s.
He looked awkward. ‘I thought you were going to be in the room next door to mine, but we have the great-aunts staying and there was a burst pipe yesterday that’s made two of the bedrooms uninhabitable, which means we’re shorter on space than usual. I’m afraid my mother made a bit of an assumption. She’s put us both in my room.’
Meaning that his mother thought they were already sleeping together. Louisa felt the colour shoot into her face. ‘Oh.’
‘Look, I’ve got a blanket in the back of the car—I’ll go and fetch it. I can sleep on the floor.’
‘Dominic.’ She placed her hand on his arm before he could open the bedroom door again. ‘I’m not going to make you sleep on the floor. We can share a room.’
Colour rose in his face. ‘This wasn’t some deep, dark plot, you know. I wasn’t intending to share a bed with you this weekend. Actually, I’d been planning to take you to Venice in April. The most romantic city in the world, in springtime. And then I was going to seduce you.’
‘April. That’s quite a long time to wait.’
He shrugged. ‘You’re worth waiting for.’
She could see in his eyes that he meant it. And it melted her. ‘Maybe it’s time we stopped waiting.’
He sucked in a breath. ‘Are you sure about that?’
‘Very sure,’ she said softly. She tipped her head back so that she could look at him. Lord, he was gorgeous. His pupils were so huge that his eyes looked black, there was the faintest shadow of stubble on his face, and that beautiful mouth… How could she resist?
‘You’re beautiful. Adorable,’ he said softly, and bent his head. He brushed his mouth against hers, and when she leaned into him he caught her lower lip between his, teasing it and cajoling her into letting him deepen the kiss.
Desire spun through her; Dominic was irresistible. And, best of all, he was all hers.
He stroked his fingers under along the bare skin of her back, above the top of her dress. ‘Your skin’s so soft,’ he said, his voice full of wonder. ‘Louisa, I really need to touch you.’
She needed him to touch her, too; she could feel her nipples hardening and her breasts were aching. ‘Then touch me,’ she whispered. ‘Please.’ Just so he knew this was completely mutual and he wasn’t pushing her into anything she didn’t already want.
His hands were shaking as he lowered the zip and slid the straps from her shoulders. He dipped his head to nuzzle the skin of her shoulders, making her shiver in delight. She arched against him and his mouth traced a path of kisses along the column of her throat, then slowly along her jaw and up to her mouth, He kissed her again, his mouth sweet and sensual and offering more and more pleasure. She slid her hands into his hair and kissed him back.
He eased the bodice of her dress down towards her waist and his hand skimmed her midriff. She closed her eyes as his hand slip up further underneath and at last he cupped her breast, teasing the hard peak of her nipple between his forefinger and thumb and rubbing it against the lace of her bra.
He broke the kiss, his breathing uneven. ‘Louisa, I want to see you.’
She knew what he was asking, and nodded. He slowly eased her dress over her hips, and she shimmied until the material hit the floor. There was a deep, intense look in his eyes as he unhooked her bra and let the lacy garment fall.
And then he looked.
He sucked in a breath. ‘You’re gorgeous.’
Desire kicked sharply through her. ‘I need to see you, too.’
‘I’m in your hands.’
Slowly, she removed his tie. Opened the buttons of his shirt, very, very slowly. Pushed the soft cotton off his shoulders. And stared.
It was the first time she’d ever seen him stripped to the waist; there was light sprinkling of hair over his chest, and he had perfect six-pack abs, which she knew came from riding and working in the stables rather than from pumping iron in a gym.
Feeling brave enough to touch him back, now, she stroked his pectoral muscles. ‘You look like a Greek god.’
He laughed. ‘Hardly. I’m just a man.’
Just? she thought. No, Dominic wasn’t ‘just’ anything. He was special. And she loved him. Really, really loved him.
Not that she could scare him by telling him that. Not now, when they were going to make love for the first time. Better to concentrate on a different truth: the fact that she really, really wanted him. Physically, he blew her mind.
She reached up and pressed a kiss against his chest, and he gave a sharp intake of breath. ‘Do you have any idea how much I want you?’
‘About as much as I want you, hopefully.’
His eyes widened. ‘Oh, yes. I want you now,’ he said hoarsely.
Common sense was forgotten; all she knew was that she needed this man to touch her and make her see stars. ‘Yes.’
He dipped his head and kissed her throat in a way that made her arch back against him. He drew a line of kisses along her collar-bone, teasing the pulse-point and making her wriggle, and then slowly, slowly moved downwards. His mouth was warm and sweet against her skin, making her want more. Then, at long last, he closed his mouth over her nipple, sucking hard. She gasped his name in pleasure and slid her fingers into his hair, urging him on.
After that, things went blank for a while. She had no idea which of them moved first, which of them finished undressing the other, but then they were skin to skin, and it felt so good.
‘If you want me to stop,’ he said huskily, ‘say it now and I’ll go and have a cold shower.’
‘If you stop now,’ she said, ‘I think I’ll go insane.’
He smiled. ‘You and me both, honey.’ He stroked her thighs apart, and sucked in a breath. ‘Your skin’s so soft.’ He cupped her sex, and she pushed against him.
‘Don’t tease.’
He pushed a finger into her, circling her clitoris with his thumb.
She closed her eyes and a breath shuddered from her. ‘Oh, that’s good. Oh, Dominic. Yes.’
‘Mmm. You’re so responsive.’ He stole a kiss, then kissed a path down her body. Her hands fisted in his hair as she felt his mouth on her, just where she needed it most.
Her orgasm surprised her, unexpectedly fast and fierce, and she gasped.
‘OK?’ he asked, looking concerned.
‘Yes, I… It’s been a while,’ she admitted. ‘I’m a bit out of practice.’
‘You’re delightful,’ he told her. ‘Sexy as hell. And I really, really want to make love with you.’
‘Yes,’ she breathed. ‘Yes, please.’
He took his wallet from the table next to the bed and removed a condom; he ripped open the foil packet and rolled the condom onto his penis, then kissed her again, his kiss sweet and yearning. At last, he fitted the tip of his penis against her and slowly eased into her.
‘Dominic.’ She stroked his face. She knew he was holding back, being gentle with her—but gentle wasn’t enough right now. ‘I want all of you.’ She shifted so she could wrap her legs round his waist.
Dominic could hardly believe that this warm, generous woman wanted him as badly as he wanted her. He felt as if he was losing himself in Louisa. Her warm sweet depths were wrapped round him, her eyes were all dark with desire, and he couldn’t resist dipping his head to steal a kiss. She slid her hands into his hair, drawing him closer, and kissed him back.
It was as if stars were exploding inside his head as he felt her body ripple round his, urging him on towards his own climax. He’d never felt anything quite like this before, such a pure and deep connection. All he could do was hold on.
But when his pulse had finally slowed to normal, guilt kicked in.
‘I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have taken advantage of you.’
Her legs were still wrapped round his waist, and she refused to let him go. ‘You didn’t take advantage of me. I was there with you, all the way.’
‘This was supposed to be Venice in April. A four-poster bed, candlelight and Bellinis. I wanted to make it really romantic.’
‘Some people,’ she said softly, ‘would think that an ancient castle is just as romantic. Including me.’ She stroked his face. ‘I wanted this as much as you did. And I’ve already made you wait for long enough.’
‘You’re incredible. You make me feel as if I can conquer the world.’
‘You can.’ She stole a kiss. ‘And you don’t feel quite so tense now. Are you still worried about tomorrow?’
‘Being Oliver’s best man? Yes and no.’ He sighed. ‘I mean, Mina loves him to bits. She’s stood by him, even when he went through the ragingly angry stage and tried to push her away. Getting married is absolutely the right thing for them to do. But he’s not going to be able to walk down the aisle with her. He’s not going to be able to carry her over the threshold. It’s things like that I feel I’ve stolen from his future.’
‘He doesn’t blame you. He told me last night, apart from the fact he thinks he contributed to it himself, it could’ve happened in a rugby match. And he really doesn’t hold it against you. You’re the only one doing that.’ She paused. ‘And you’ve given him something else. Did you know he’s retraining?’
‘No.’ Oliver hadn’t breathed a word to him. Given the state of his back, it had to be a desk job. ‘What’s he doing, taking over the estate management from Papa or something?’
‘He’s going to be a GP. So he gets to care for his patients all the way through. And, as he put it, it’s family-friendly hours.’
‘He’s planning to have a family?’ Dominic really hadn’t expected that.
‘Put it this way, he was talking about changing nappies. And whether they’re able to have children of their own, or they need IVF or they decide to adopt, I think Oliver’s going to be a very hands-on dad.’ She stroked his hair away from his forehead. ‘He reminds me a lot of you. He’s got that same energy.’
‘Yes.’ And he wanted to be a hands-on dad, too. With a ready-made family—and maybe a little brother or sister for Tyler. And a puppy. A house, a garden, a family: Tyler’s dream definitely matched his, and he hoped that it matched Louisa’s, too.
Not that he intended to propose to her in bed. Or right now. He hadn’t even told her he loved her—though he had a feeling that she might already have guessed that.
He kissed the tip of her nose. ‘Though there’s something I should tell you, Nurse Practitioner Austin. I’m really looking forward to falling asleep with you in my arms. And waking up with you.’
‘Guess what?’ Her face was all soft and sweet. ‘I’m looking forward to that, too.’
And suddenly his plans for Venice didn’t matter any more. Because this was just perfect. Everything he wanted.