leaned against the wall, watching reflectively. They would be leaving soon, she thought. Sal had an
au pair
, but she was a fond and conscientious mother who never liked the children to be without her for very long. She'd been getting visibly restless for some time, although Barney was good for hours yet, Cass thought affectionately.
With a start, she realised she was no longer alone.
In the shadowy room, Rohan's face was unreadable. Without speaking he drew her on to the dance floor, his hands closing on her waist and pulling her against him.
'Hold me,' he ordered quietly, and obediently, she lifted her hands to his shoulders, moving with him to the slow beat of the music, her blood a sudden millrace in her veins.
He said, 'Are you leaving with Barney, or will you stay?'
Dry-mouthed, she said, 'I—must go.' The brush of his body against hers as they danced was an unbelievable torment. Yet he made no attempt to follow the example of the others around him and kiss her, or even hold her more intimately. She ran her tongue round her lips. 'May—may I see Jodie before I go?'
'Naturally.' He paused. 'Now?'
She nodded. 'Please.'
He turned her towards the doorway, his arm round her waist, anchoring her to his side. People spoke to them as they passed, and he responded without pausing, threading his way through the chattering groups to the stairs, apologising pleasantly for disturbing the throng who'd gone to ground there, leading Cass between them, up to the gallery and beyond.
The nursery suite was quiet and dark. Rohan looked in on the boys first. They were asleep in a tumble of pyjamaed limbs and duvets, and he paused to straighten the covers before taking Cass on to Jodie's room.
Her daughter lay on her side, her face angelic in repose, her thumb drooping between sleeping lips. Cass removed it gently, then touched Jodie's hair in a butterfly caress.
'Good night, sweetheart. See you soon,' she whispered.
Outside, the landing was in darkness, its sole illumination the big square window, and the fierce brilliance of the stars beyond its panes.
Rohan was waiting for her there, his tall figure very still, and almost tense.
She sent to him slowly, aware of a deep inner trembling. His hands clasped her wrists, drawing her towards him. The handsome face was all planes and angles in the half-light, as he stared down at her, his eyes glittering like jewels.
She seemed to have stopped breathing when at last he bent towards her and put his mouth on hers, and her response was instant, almost stricken, her lips parting for him in yearning submission.
She heard him sigh in his throat, then he gathered her full against him, almost lifting her off her feet, so that her small breasts were crushed against the hardness of his chest while the kiss deepened—lengthened endlessly.
There was a hunger in him, a famine which she recognised because she shared it. An appetite that no kiss alone could satisfy, Cass knew as she clung to him, her slim body twisting in frustration at the layers of cloth which separated them from each other. She was silently begging to be taken and she knew it, and later she would probably die of shame remembering it, but now all she could think of was being part of him, absorbed by him—his body possessing hers as his mouth was signalling by its fiercely sensual invasion of her own.
It was physically painful when at last he lifted his head.
He said, 'They're waiting for you downstairs.'
Her nails dug into her palms as she fought to match his calmness—his utter control. 'It—it must be very late.'
'A whole new day,' he said. He took her unresisting hand and carried it to his lips, caressing the soft palm with his lips, making sweet tremors envelop her body. He said huskily, 'Have dinner with me tonight.
She knew, because he'd warned her once, what dimensions of intimacy the invitation covered, and reason—commonsense alone—screamed at her to be true to her first instincts about this man, and about
au pair
, but she was a fond and conscientious mother who never liked the children to be without her for very long. She'd been getting visibly restless for some time, although Barney was good for hours yet, Cass thought affectionately.
With a start, she realised she was no longer alone.
In the shadowy room, Rohan's face was unreadable. Without speaking he drew her on to the dance floor, his hands closing on her waist and pulling her against him.
'Hold me,' he ordered quietly, and obediently, she lifted her hands to his shoulders, moving with him to the slow beat of the music, her blood a sudden millrace in her veins.
He said, 'Are you leaving with Barney, or will you stay?'
Dry-mouthed, she said, 'I—must go.' The brush of his body against hers as they danced was an unbelievable torment. Yet he made no attempt to follow the example of the others around him and kiss her, or even hold her more intimately. She ran her tongue round her lips. 'May—may I see Jodie before I go?'
'Naturally.' He paused. 'Now?'
She nodded. 'Please.'
He turned her towards the doorway, his arm round her waist, anchoring her to his side. People spoke to them as they passed, and he responded without pausing, threading his way through the chattering groups to the stairs, apologising pleasantly for disturbing the throng who'd gone to ground there, leading Cass between them, up to the gallery and beyond.
The nursery suite was quiet and dark. Rohan looked in on the boys first. They were asleep in a tumble of pyjamaed limbs and duvets, and he paused to straighten the covers before taking Cass on to Jodie's room.
Her daughter lay on her side, her face angelic in repose, her thumb drooping between sleeping lips. Cass removed it gently, then touched Jodie's hair in a butterfly caress.
'Good night, sweetheart. See you soon,' she whispered.
Outside, the landing was in darkness, its sole illumination the big square window, and the fierce brilliance of the stars beyond its panes.
Rohan was waiting for her there, his tall figure very still, and almost tense.
She sent to him slowly, aware of a deep inner trembling. His hands clasped her wrists, drawing her towards him. The handsome face was all planes and angles in the half-light, as he stared down at her, his eyes glittering like jewels.
She seemed to have stopped breathing when at last he bent towards her and put his mouth on hers, and her response was instant, almost stricken, her lips parting for him in yearning submission.
She heard him sigh in his throat, then he gathered her full against him, almost lifting her off her feet, so that her small breasts were crushed against the hardness of his chest while the kiss deepened—lengthened endlessly.
There was a hunger in him, a famine which she recognised because she shared it. An appetite that no kiss alone could satisfy, Cass knew as she clung to him, her slim body twisting in frustration at the layers of cloth which separated them from each other. She was silently begging to be taken and she knew it, and later she would probably die of shame remembering it, but now all she could think of was being part of him, absorbed by him—his body possessing hers as his mouth was signalling by its fiercely sensual invasion of her own.
It was physically painful when at last he lifted his head.
He said, 'They're waiting for you downstairs.'
Her nails dug into her palms as she fought to match his calmness—his utter control. 'It—it must be very late.'
'A whole new day,' he said. He took her unresisting hand and carried it to his lips, caressing the soft palm with his lips, making sweet tremors envelop her body. He said huskily, 'Have dinner with me tonight.
She knew, because he'd warned her once, what dimensions of intimacy the invitation covered, and reason—commonsense alone—screamed at her to be true to her first instincts about this man, and about
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