Lovers in the Afternoon Read online

  ‘The right idea,’ he corrected with a smile.

  ‘My car,’ she protested as he led her to the BMW.

  ‘You can come back for it.’

  ‘I haven’t forgotten what happened the last time I intended doing that,’ she glowered at him.

  His only answer was a mocking smile. Leonie seethed all the way to the restaurant, resentful of his high-handedness, feeling as if all decisions were taken from her whenever she was in his company. She had found her independence the last eight months, she didn’t need him taking over her life a second time. He—

  ‘Come on, dreamer,’ he chided, the car parked, Adam having opened the car door for her and now waiting for her to join him.

  She got out resentfully. ‘I wasn’t dreaming, I—Adam, this isn’t a restaurant.’ She looked up at the tall building that was almost a national monument.

  ‘No, it’s a hotel,’ he acknowledged, guiding her into the plush foyer.

  ‘But they won’t serve us here,’ she whispered fiercely.

  ‘Of course they will,’ he dismissed.

  ‘No—’

  ‘Have you ever heard of room-service?’ he taunted as he led the way over to the reception.

  ‘Room—? Adam!’ She came to a shocked halt.

  He turned to look down at her with mocking eyes. ‘I’ve booked us a room for the afternoon,’ he announced calmly.

  CHAPTER SIX

  ‘YOU’VE done what?’ she gasped disbelievingly, staring up at him in horror-struck fascination.

  ‘I’ve booked us into this hotel for the afternoon,’ he repeated softly.

  Leonie looked about them self-consciously, sure that everyone must know they were here for an afternoon of illicit sex; no one appeared to be taking any undue notice of them. ‘Adam, you can’t be serious,’ she muttered.

  ‘I am. Very.’

  ‘But I—We—I thought only married people sneaked off to hotels for the afternoon!’

  ‘We are married.’

  ‘I mean people who aren’t married to each other,’ she glared up at him frustratedly. ‘Surely you have your apartment for this type of thing?’

  ‘I don’t know what you mean by “this type of thing”,’ he said softly. ‘But I have my apartment to live in,’ he corrected reprovingly.

  ‘But you took me there last time,’ she said desperately as she noticed one of the receptionists eyeing them curiously, sure they must look very conspicuous as she argued with Adam.

  ‘But isn’t this more exciting?’ he teased.

  It was exciting, there was no denying that. She felt deliciously wicked, could feel the heat in her veins at the thought of spending the afternoon in bed with Adam. But they couldn’t just disappear for the afternoon, they both had responsibilities. ‘Adam, I have to get back to work, and so do you,’ she protested.

  He shook his head. ‘I told you, I intend concentrating on my reluctant lover; I cancelled all my appointments for this afternoon so that I could spend the time with you. I also told Stevenson I would need you all day. He agreed.’

  ‘Oh, Adam, you didn’t,’ she groaned, sure David would be curious as to why Adam should need her for the whole day when they were only discussing colour and fabrics.

  ‘It’s the truth,’ Adam told her huskily. ‘And that need is getting out of control,’ he added pointedly.

  Heat coloured her cheeks at his verbal seduction of the senses. ‘I feel embarrassed even being here,’ she muttered self-consciously.

  ‘Come on, Mrs Smith,’ he chuckled as he took her hand firmly in his and strode the short distance to the desk. ‘Or would you prefer to be Mrs Brown?’ he paused with his pen over the registration card.

  ‘I’d rather leave,’ she groaned uncomfortably.

  He shook his head, filling in the form before handing it to the waiting receptionist.

  ‘Good afternoon, Mr Faulkner,’ the beautiful young receptionist greeted after glancing at the card. ‘The “Bridal Suite” has been prepared as per your instructions,’ she continued warmly. ‘And if you should need anything else please don’t hesitate to call.’ She held out a key to him.

  ‘I won’t,’ he nodded curtly, taking the key, not glancing at Leonie as she would have pulled away at the other woman’s mention of the Bridal Suite.

  ‘Do you have any luggage?’ the receptionist asked as they turned away.

  ‘It’s following on later,’ Adam told her smoothly. ‘A mix-up at the airport.’

  ‘Oh, how annoying for you,’ the young woman sympathised.

  ‘Very,’ Adam smiled. ‘Come along, darling,’ he urged Leonie as she stood numbly at his side. ‘I know you would like to lie down after the exhausting day we’ve had.’

  ‘Adam, how could you?’ she demanded as soon as the lift doors closed smoothly behind them, breaking out of the numbed surprise that had possessed her. She couldn’t believe this was happening to her!

  ‘With a telephone call,’ he deliberately misunderstood her.

  ‘I meant how could you pretend to that woman that we’ve just got married,’ she accused. ‘What are you going to tell her when our luggage doesn’t arrive and we leave in a few hours?’

  Adam unlocked the door marked Bridal Suite, pushing the door open for her to enter. ‘I could always tell her you left me,’ he said softly.

  Leonie was too engrossed in the beauty of the suite to detect the rasping edge of truth to his words. Vases of flowers filled every available surface, the olde-worlde decor adding to the feeling of this all being a dream.

  ‘Oh, Adam, it’s beautiful,’ she told him breathlessly.

  ‘You haven’t seen the best part yet,’ he assured her, pulling her towards the bedroom.

  ‘Adam, I know what a bedroom looks like,’ she blushed at his eagerness to occupy the wide double bed.

  ‘Not just the bedroom,’ he mocked, throwing open the adjoining door.

  The room was as big as the lounge in the flat, two walls completely covered in mirrors, a huge sunken bath dominating the room. But it wasn’t that that held her attention. ‘Champagne,’ she was already intoxicated without it! ‘Isn’t that a little decadent in a bathroom, Adam?’ she teased.

  ‘Very,’ he confirmed with satisfaction, bending down to turn on the water to the bath.

  ‘Champagne next to the bath is hardly in keeping with the modesty of a newly married couple,’ she said dryly, wondering what the hotel management had thought of these ‘instructions’ of Adam’s. ‘I—Oh, Adam,’ her cry of surprise was a mixture of despair and choked emotion. ‘It’s a Jacuzzi.’ She watched as the depth of the water foamed and whirled at the flick of a switch.

  Adam sat back on his haunches to watch her reaction. ‘I think I must have telephoned almost every hotel in London trying to find a Bridal Suite that had a Jacuzzi; most of them thought the “sweet young things” wouldn’t have progressed to sharing a bath just yet!’

  ‘A telephone call’ he had said was all it took to arrange this magical afternoon, and yet he had now revealed it had taken a lot of planning, planning she was sure he hadn’t consigned to the easily shockable Mrs Carlson. ‘Why, Adam?’ her voice was a husky rasp.

  ‘Well I suppose they thought the bride and groom would be a little shy with each other to start with—’

  ‘Not that, Adam,’ she spoke quietly. ‘Why have you done all this?’ She hadn’t realised at first, had been too fascinated by the idea of an afternoon in bed with Adam to notice the similarities to their failure of a honeymoon. Admittedly they hadn’t stayed in a hotel then, but Adam’s house in the Bahamas had also been filled with flowers at their arrival, a bottle of champagne cooling in the bedroom, a Jacuzzi in the adjoining bathroom.

  That night she had been embarrassed at the idea of sharing a bath with Adam, her inhibitions making her shy about revealing her body to him so blatantly. Adam didn’t have an inhibited bone in his body, had walked about naked almost from the time of their arrival, teasing her when she wouldn’t join him in nude ba
thing on their private beach.

  ‘We have a few ghosts to put to rest.’ Adam stood up as he saw the painful memories flickering in the bottle-green depths of her eyes.

  ‘Not this way.’ She shook her head, the memories too vivid to be denied.

  ‘Exactly this way,’ he nodded firmly, taking her in his arms. ‘I should never have married you,’ he murmured. ‘Another man may have been more understanding about your shy inexperience, may have given you the confidence in yourself as a woman that I never could.’

  She turned away. ‘It wouldn’t have made any difference,’ she reminded gruffly.

  ‘Sex isn’t everything between a man and woman.’

  ‘On their honeymoon it is!’ she scorned.

  He sighed. ‘We’re here to put those memories to rest, Leonie. Won’t you let me try?’

  She shook her head tearfully. ‘I can’t be seduced into forgetting that—that fiasco with champagne and a—a damned Jacuzzi,’ she told him sharply.

  ‘I admit it would have been better if we could have returned to the villa, but I had enough difficulty getting you here without arousing your suspicions; the Bahamas would have been impossible!’

  ‘Why should you want to try, Adam?’ she sighed wearily.

  ‘I want to replace the bad memories with good ones, erase the bitterness of the past—’

  ‘And can you also erase your affair with Liz?’ she scorned.

  ‘There was no affair—’

  ‘Your sleeping together, then,’ she amended impatiently.

  ‘No, I can’t erase that,’ he acknowledged heavily. ‘But I would like to explain it one day, when you’re prepared to listen. Not today,’ he refused as she would have spoken. ‘We’ll erase one memory at a time, and today we’re starting with our honeymoon.’

  ‘I want to leave,’ she said stubbornly.

  ‘Without testing the Jacuzzi first?’ he teased.

  ‘Without testing anything,’ she looked at him coldly.

  He shook his head. ‘I can’t let you do that.’

  ‘You can’t stop me,’ she derided.

  ‘And what’s that starry-eyed receptionist going to think when you walk out after fifteen minutes?’

  ‘That I did leave you,’ she bit out. ‘A year too late. If I’d had any sense at all I would have walked out after the honeymoon.’

  ‘This is the honeymoon of our affair,’ he told her huskily, not releasing her.

  ‘Affairs don’t have honeymoons,’ she scoffed.

  ‘This one does,’ he insisted. ‘It also has a ring.’ He took a brown ring-box from his jacket pocket.

  ‘A Woolworth’s special, to convince the gullible?’ she scorned.

  ‘A Cartier special,’ he drawled, flicking open the lid to the box, revealing a flat gold band studded with diamonds.

  Leonie gasped at its delicate beauty. ‘I can’t take that, Adam,’ she shook her head.

  ‘Of course you can.’ He lifted her resisting left hand. ‘I noticed you no longer wear the rings I bought you,’ he pushed the diamond ring on to her third finger. ‘I want you to wear this instead.’

  She swallowed hard, the ring looking even more delicately beautiful on her slender hand.

  ‘Why?’ she choked.

  ‘It’s an Eternity ring,’ he told her softly.

  ‘Affairs are usually short-term, Adam,’ she shook her head.

  ‘Not this one,’ he said with a return of arrogance. ‘I want you to move in with me, stay with me.’

  ‘We’re getting a divorce, Adam,’ she reminded exasperatedly.

  ‘After the divorce then, if you think that living together might make that difficult. I think I can wait that long, if I can see you every night at my apartment or yours.’

  ‘Adam, living together would be like being married!’ she protested.

  ‘It would be nothing like it,’ his voice was harsh. ‘You hated being married, remember?’

  ‘Yes,’ she shuddered at the memory of how much pain it had caused her. ‘I did hate it,’ she confirmed vehemently.

  He nodded. ‘But you’ve enjoyed the last few days we’ve been together, haven’t you?’

  She would be lying if she said she hadn’t; it had been the first time she had felt really alive since she left him. ‘Yes…’ she answered guardedly, knowing she was walking into a trap.

  ‘Then wouldn’t you like it to continue?’

  ‘It couldn’t,’ she shook her head. ‘Not indefinitely.’

  ‘We could try,’ he insisted.

  ‘Adam, you and Liz—’

  ‘I’m sick of feeling guilty about Liz and I!’ His mouth was tight.

  ‘But what would happen to us when she finally finds the courage to leave Nick?’

  ‘Leave Nick?’ Adam looked astounded. ‘She isn’t going to leave Nick!’

  ‘Never?’ Leonie frowned.

  ‘Never,’ he repeated firmly.

  ‘But I thought—’

  ‘I don’t care what you thought,’ he bit out. ‘Liz is one of those women who make their marriage vows for a lifetime!’

  Leonie looked at him sharply, wondering if she had imagined the rebuke behind the words; Adam’s bland expression seemed to say she had. ‘So I’ll do as second-best, hm?’ she said bitterly.

  ‘You aren’t second-best.’ His voice was harsh. ‘You never were, you never will be. What happened between Liz and I was already over when I met you. God, I’ve already admitted I should never have married you, but that doesn’t mean we can’t be together now. The other night was incredible, you can’t deny that!’

  ‘No…’

  ‘And can you deny that you want me now?’

  She knew she couldn’t, knew he must be as aware of the pounding of her heart as she was. She did want him, the non-committal affair he was offering very enticing.

  ‘Come on.’ Adam sensed her weakening and took advantage of it, beginning to unbutton her blouse. ‘Or the bath will be cold and the champagne flat,’ he drawled as he slipped the blouse down her arms and moved to the fastening of her skirt. ‘And we wouldn’t enjoy it then—the way I intend us to enjoy it,’ he added with relish as he stripped her naked.

  Colour flooded her cheeks as reflections of herself appeared all over the room, looking very pale next to Adam’s dark colouring and the dark suit he still wore. ‘Are you sure this is a Bridal Suite?’ she asked irritably.

  ‘Yes,’ he laughed softly. ‘But I think it’s for the more—experienced, bride and groom.’

  ‘Shouldn’t you undress too?’ she suggested awkwardly.

  ‘Yes.’ He looked at her pointedly.

  She had had little experience with undressing men, never taking such an initiative during their marriage, their undressing the other night having taken place in a darkened apartment, not broad daylight, with images of them reflected everywhere! Her fingers fumbled a little at first, but her confidence grew as she saw the effect she was having on Adam, her hand trustingly in his as they stepped down into the water together.

  It was such a big bath that they could quite easily have sat facing each other, but Adam had other ideas, sitting down to pull her in front of him, pulling her back to lean against his chest, his arms around her waist.

  He nuzzled against her throat. ‘We forgot the champagne,’ he muttered, the ice-bucket and glasses out of their reach.

  ‘It isn’t important.’ She already felt intoxicated just from his touch, gasping as his hands moved up to cup the fullness of her breasts. ‘Oh, Adam, I—’

  ‘No, don’t move,’ he instructed as she would have turned in his arms. ‘I haven’t washed you yet.’ He took the soap in his hand and began to lather her body.

  By the time they had finished washing each other the bath was filled with bubbles, all inhibitions gone as they frolicked in the water, Leonie facing him now, leaning against his chest as she lay between his legs. ‘Do you think we would drown if we made love in here?’ The idea had been tantalising her the last few minutes, know
ing Adam was as aroused as she was.

  ‘It’s too late even if we do,’ he groaned as his mouth claimed hers.

  They didn’t drown, but the carpet around the bath did seem very wet when they stepped out on to it, not bothering to dress but wrapping towels around themselves as they carried the champagne through to the bedroom.

  Adam dipped a finger in his champagne to trail it between the deep vee of her breasts.

  ‘Oh, Adam…!’ she groaned as he licked the wine from her heated flesh, turning in his arms, gasping her dismay as all the champagne from her glass tipped over Adam’s stomach, dripping down on to the bed. ‘Oh no,’ she groaned. ‘And I was doing so well too!’

  ‘You were,’ he agreed seductively.

  She blushed. ‘No, I meant—’

  ‘I know what you meant,’ he chuckled, making no effort to mop up the champagne with the towel he still had draped about his hips. ‘Care to reciprocate?’ he invited. ‘Your clumsiness may be to my advantage this time.’

  She knew what he meant, eagerly drinking the champagne from his body, tasting Adam at the same time, feeling the rush of need that engulfed them both as she removed his towel.

  ‘We really should do something about ordering lunch,’ Adam mumbled contentedly a long time later. ‘I need to keep up my stamina if you’re going to keep attacking me in this shameless way.’

  ‘If I’m going to—!’ She turned to look at him indignantly, only to find him watching her with one sleepy eye, his mouth quirked in amusement. She relaxed. ‘Of course, if your age is going to slow you down,’ she began mockingly. ‘Maybe I should find myself a younger lover.’

  There was a deep threatening rumble in his chest as he rolled over to trap her beneath him. ‘Maybe I should just smack your bottom for you,’ he growled. ‘My age hasn’t slowed me down so far, and—Leonie, did you mean what you just said?’ he suddenly asked sharply.

  She frowned at his sudden change of mood from lighthearted bantering to serious intensity. ‘What did I just say?’

  ‘That I’m your lover.’

  She blushed. ‘Well you are, aren’t you?’