adaptable considering your up-bringing.’
‘You know nothing about my up-bringing.’ She sighed as his hands moved to the back of her neck.
‘Vera told me you were brought up by your father.’ Patrick’s hands slid into the hollows of her shoulders. ‘I should imagine he spoiled you.’
Ellie’s shoulders relaxed against his sensational hands. ‘You couldn’t be more wrong, Patrick.’ She smiled as she thought of her father. ‘He wanted me to grow up with as much independence as possible. He said ... he might not ...?’
‘Might not what?’ Patrick asked gently when her voice faltered.
‘Might not always be there for me - and he wasn’t.’
‘I’m sorry. You must miss him.’
Patrick could be so nice sometimes, Ellie thought dreamily. Despite his disastrous involvement with her father’s company he sounded genuinely sympathetic. ‘I’m glad he didn’t live to see his company go into liquidation.’ Ellie winced as Patrick’s fingers dug into her flesh. ‘He built it up from nothing.’
‘He must have known it was in trouble.’
‘The company outgrew his ability to manage it. My father was just a figure head for the two years preceding his death. David Lessingham was in control.’ David must have known the company was going under thought, Ellie thought uneasily, and then murmured. ‘I can’t understand why David didn’t tell me the company was going broke.’
‘Should he have?’
Cautiously she said, ‘I was friendly with him.’
‘The massage stopped. ‘How friendly?’
She took a deep breath. ‘I understood we would eventually marry.’
‘Why didn’t you?’
‘My father died, the company folded, and David Lessingham ... went overseas.’
‘He ditched you?’ Patrick’s thumb chased a line of shivers down her spine. ‘He used you up, and then he discarded you. Is that what you’re saying?’
‘If you want to put it that way.’
His hand applied pressure to the middle of her back when she tried to sit up. ‘I haven’t finished yet, Eloise. Tell me about David Lessingham.’
‘What else is there to tell?’
‘Were you in love with him?’
‘I thought I was at the time. I was straight out of school when I met him. It was the classic story. Young impressionable girl meets sophisticated glamorous older man. You know the rest.’
‘Poor Eloise. You must feel bitter about being used in that way.’
‘Not any more.’ Why should she be when she’d learned a lot from the experience? ‘I don’t plan to live the rest of my life being negative about a failed love affair.’
‘What plans do you have for the rest of your life?’
Feeling totally relaxed now from the caressing hands Ellie smiled. ‘I’m going to get married and raise a family,’
‘You’ll have to learn to cook,’ he observed with a chuckle. ‘A family needs to eat.’
‘Stop being difficult, Patch Morgan.’ She’d forgotten to tell him that her legs didn’t ache. Her calf muscles seemed to melt away, then her thighs, then her buttocks. Sensational - hands gliding over warm dunes of oiled silk. She’d become weightless. ‘Mmmm ... that’s nice.’ The long fingers spanning her waist, the thumbs inching up her spine ... were almost erotic. ‘The man I marry will overlook my faults. He’ll be perfect.’
‘There’s no such beast.’
Definitely erotic. What would Patrick do if she encouraged a more personal massage. Smack the almost bare behind he’d stroked so deliciously a few seconds earlier? Her eyes flew open. The towel must have slipped off for him to have done that!
Knocking his hands aside, she grabbed the edge of the quilt and rolled over, taking it with her. Wrapped in the quilt like a fat sausage she accused. ‘Why didn’t you tell me the towel had slipped?’
‘You looked better without it.’
It was hard to convince herself she was angry when his damned male logic was a compliment. The laughter in his eyes drew a responding grin from her.
‘Sweet dreams,
‘You know nothing about my up-bringing.’ She sighed as his hands moved to the back of her neck.
‘Vera told me you were brought up by your father.’ Patrick’s hands slid into the hollows of her shoulders. ‘I should imagine he spoiled you.’
Ellie’s shoulders relaxed against his sensational hands. ‘You couldn’t be more wrong, Patrick.’ She smiled as she thought of her father. ‘He wanted me to grow up with as much independence as possible. He said ... he might not ...?’
‘Might not what?’ Patrick asked gently when her voice faltered.
‘Might not always be there for me - and he wasn’t.’
‘I’m sorry. You must miss him.’
Patrick could be so nice sometimes, Ellie thought dreamily. Despite his disastrous involvement with her father’s company he sounded genuinely sympathetic. ‘I’m glad he didn’t live to see his company go into liquidation.’ Ellie winced as Patrick’s fingers dug into her flesh. ‘He built it up from nothing.’
‘He must have known it was in trouble.’
‘The company outgrew his ability to manage it. My father was just a figure head for the two years preceding his death. David Lessingham was in control.’ David must have known the company was going under thought, Ellie thought uneasily, and then murmured. ‘I can’t understand why David didn’t tell me the company was going broke.’
‘Should he have?’
Cautiously she said, ‘I was friendly with him.’
‘The massage stopped. ‘How friendly?’
She took a deep breath. ‘I understood we would eventually marry.’
‘Why didn’t you?’
‘My father died, the company folded, and David Lessingham ... went overseas.’
‘He ditched you?’ Patrick’s thumb chased a line of shivers down her spine. ‘He used you up, and then he discarded you. Is that what you’re saying?’
‘If you want to put it that way.’
His hand applied pressure to the middle of her back when she tried to sit up. ‘I haven’t finished yet, Eloise. Tell me about David Lessingham.’
‘What else is there to tell?’
‘Were you in love with him?’
‘I thought I was at the time. I was straight out of school when I met him. It was the classic story. Young impressionable girl meets sophisticated glamorous older man. You know the rest.’
‘Poor Eloise. You must feel bitter about being used in that way.’
‘Not any more.’ Why should she be when she’d learned a lot from the experience? ‘I don’t plan to live the rest of my life being negative about a failed love affair.’
‘What plans do you have for the rest of your life?’
Feeling totally relaxed now from the caressing hands Ellie smiled. ‘I’m going to get married and raise a family,’
‘You’ll have to learn to cook,’ he observed with a chuckle. ‘A family needs to eat.’
‘Stop being difficult, Patch Morgan.’ She’d forgotten to tell him that her legs didn’t ache. Her calf muscles seemed to melt away, then her thighs, then her buttocks. Sensational - hands gliding over warm dunes of oiled silk. She’d become weightless. ‘Mmmm ... that’s nice.’ The long fingers spanning her waist, the thumbs inching up her spine ... were almost erotic. ‘The man I marry will overlook my faults. He’ll be perfect.’
‘There’s no such beast.’
Definitely erotic. What would Patrick do if she encouraged a more personal massage. Smack the almost bare behind he’d stroked so deliciously a few seconds earlier? Her eyes flew open. The towel must have slipped off for him to have done that!
Knocking his hands aside, she grabbed the edge of the quilt and rolled over, taking it with her. Wrapped in the quilt like a fat sausage she accused. ‘Why didn’t you tell me the towel had slipped?’
‘You looked better without it.’
It was hard to convince herself she was angry when his damned male logic was a compliment. The laughter in his eyes drew a responding grin from her.
‘Sweet dreams,
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