Passion from the Past Read online

  ‘Yes.’ She was unnerved by his closeness, wished herself anywhere but alone with him here.

  Gideon quirked an eyebrow at her. ‘Any comment?’

  ‘None,’ she answered stiffly. ‘You?’

  ‘No.’

  ‘Then it’s all settled.’ She shifted some papers about on her desk, wishing he would leave.

  Gideon halted her movements, his hand firm on hers. ‘I can ask James to make other arrangements if you would prefer it,’ he said huskily.

  Laura looked at the way one of his hands covered both of hers, a strong, dependable hand that knew how to caress her to abandonment, a hand that knew her more intimately than any other. The thought made her blush, unable to look up at Gideon in case he should see the hunger in her face, the longing to be in his arms that she couldn’t deny.

  ‘As I said, it’s settled,’ she mumbled.

  ‘It can be unsettled.’

  ‘If you would rather I didn’t—’ She broke off, having looked up in anger, at once mesmerised by his face only inches from her own. She shouldn’t have looked up, shouldn’t have let him see the reaction his hand touching her was invoking. ‘If you would rather I—rather I didn’t become your—your secretary,’ she stuttered and stumbled over the words, feeling herself inevitably drawn towards him, as his hands on her elbows drew her nearer and nearer. ‘I—I’m sure James would—that he would respect your wishes,’ she added lamely.

  ‘Oh, I want you for my secretary, Laura,’ Gideon told her softly, his mouth only inches away from hers now. ‘But I want more, so much more. Laura…!’ he groaned before his mouth claimed hers.

  She forgot the past, forgot the bitterness of their parting, forgot everything but the wild sensations coursing through her body. After she had thought never to be in Gideon’s arms again it was exquisite torture to be here with him like this, although perhaps it was as well that they weren’t in a more private place. She had no idea how she was to stop the soul-destroying kisses, or whether, in fact, she wanted them to end.

  Gideon certainly seemed to have no such inhibitions, as he stood up to mould her body to his, letting her know by the pulsating hardness of his body just how deeply he was aroused.

  His hands ran intimately over her body, heatedly undoing several of the buttons on her blouse to smooth the silky material from her shoulders, his lips lowering to the milky-white flesh there.

  Laura gasped as one of his hands captured her breast, caressing the hardened tip even through the gossamer of her bra, and her reaction was instantaneous.

  ‘Touch me, Laura,’ he groaned. ‘For God’s sake touch me!’

  ‘Gideon—’

  ‘I need you, Laura,’ he moaned, moving her hands to his waistcoat, helping her undo the half a dozen buttons before pressing her hand against his shirt. ‘Undo that too,’ he muttered against her throat. ‘Touch my flesh, Laura,’ he seemed to shudder just at the thought of it.

  She fumbled with the buttons, but Gideon made no effort to help her, his attention all on the breasts he had bared to his caressing tongue, groaning in his throat as he at last felt her hands entangle in the dark, silky hair on his chest, clutching at his taut waist as he continued his caressing of her nipples.

  It was a complete explosion of the senses between them, the demands of their bodies having taken over, their naked torsos seared together in heated desire, their mouths fused together in a ritual as old as time itself.

  ‘I want you!’ Gideon raised his head to gasp, his eyes glowing like black coals in his pale face. ‘Laura, I want you now.’

  ‘Not here. And not now,’ she cried her dismay. ‘I—I couldn’t, not here!’

  He buttoned her blouse with unsteady fingers. ‘Come with me,’ he held her hand in his as he waited for her answer.

  ‘I can’t!’ she groaned, closing her eyes to shut out the beautiful sight of him, wishing this were all a terrible dream. ‘I—Please,’ she frantically buttoned his shirt for him. ‘It was a mistake. I—I didn’t—I don’t know what happened,’ she admitted miserably. ‘I didn’t mean for it to happen,’ she added lamely.

  She was so ashamed, so embarrassed she couldn’t even look at Gideon. And her behaviour just now had been disloyal to Nigel and the friendship he had shown her the last few weeks—a friendship she knew she could no longer take advantage of. If she could act this way with Gideon then she had no right to go out with Nigel.

  Gideon’s expression darkened as he moved forcefully away from her. ‘You didn’t mean for it to happen!’ he bit out savagely. ‘Then what the hell did you mean?’

  Laura was very pale. ‘I don’t know,’ she groaned her misery.

  ‘God, Laura, were you playing with me?’ he rasped.

  ‘No!’ she raised startled eyes. ‘Of course not. You wanted it as much as I did,’ she accused indignantly.

  ‘I didn’t want it, I wanted you,’ he told her harshly. ‘I always have.’

  Laura’s mouth twisted bitterly. ‘Always, Gideon? Or just since you found out Martin is my brother?’

  ‘Of course I knew Martin was your brother—’

  ‘Of course you did,’ she agreed scornfully.

  ‘But it made no difference,’ he finished grimly.

  ‘No difference to what?’ she gasped.

  ‘To the fact that I was attracted to you, that I wanted you to go out with me.’

  Laura shook her head in dismissal. ‘You don’t expect me to believe all this, do you?’

  A pulse beat erratically at his jawline. ‘It’s obvious you don’t.’

  ‘No, I don’t,’ she snapped.

  He gave a sigh of defeat. ‘Then I’m sorry, sorrier than you’ll ever know. Goodnight, Laura.’ He was once again the remote employer.

  ‘Goodnight—Mr Maitland. I won’t be late in the morning,’ she added as a reminder, to herself as much as anyone, that she would be working for Gideon from now on.

  ‘I’m sure of it.’ His mouth twisted before he moved to the door. ‘And just for the record, Laura, I admire your spirit.’

  ‘Just for the record, with James as a stepfather, I think I’m going to need it,’ she told him ruefully, knowing that the two of them couldn’t work together in this strained atmosphere. A compromise would have to be reached, and tonight, before they had the keen audience of Diane Holland. But how could they come to a compromise after the passion they had just shared?

  ‘If he gets too much for you,’ Gideon séemed to sense her desire for, if not friendship, then at least a truce, ‘just let me know. I’m years ahead of you when it comes to handling James.’

  ‘So he told me.’ She was aware that they were walking on fragile ice, that an argument could break open again at any moment if either of them said a word out of place. And yet they had to strive for this politeness if they were to work together at all.

  Gideon raised his eyebrows. ‘He told you that he helped bring me up?’

  ‘Yes.’

  His expression was guarded now. ‘Did he tell you anything else?’

  ‘Should he have done?’ she frowned.

  Gideon shrugged, buttoning his waistcoat, looking now as if that heated encounter had never taken place. ‘James seemed to be playing chief matchmaker between us at the moment—’

  ‘Not with you too!’ she groaned, her face coloured with embarrassment.

  ‘Afraid so,’ he gave a rueful nod.

  ‘I’m sorry. I—’

  ‘Hey, it isn’t your fault,’ he chided softly. ‘James has an idea in his head, and it will take a bomb to shift it. Your brother—’ he suddenly changed the subject, catching her off guard.

  ‘What about him?’ she asked defensively.

  ‘Will he be at the wedding?’

  ‘No,’ she answered with relief; she had been tense as she waited to see what he had to say about Martin. ‘It’s too soon after his last holiday.’ Besides which, he knew nothing about the wedding, and wouldn’t until their mother was safely married to James!

  ‘In
that case, perhaps I could take you?’

  Laura gave him a sharp look, searching his calm grey eyes. ‘Why should you want to do that?’

  ‘You won’t have a partner—’

  Oh God, he felt sorry for her! ‘Nigel will be with me,’ she told him stiltedly.

  A shutter seemed to come down over his features, his mouth a thin line, his eyes glacial. ‘Of course, you’re still seeing him,’ he rasped.

  ‘Of course. And how is Mrs Harlow?’

  Impatience flickered in his dark grey eyes. ‘Laura—’

  ‘She’s well, I hope?’

  ‘Yes. But—’

  ‘Good,’ she interrupted dismissively, turning pointedly to the work on her desk. ‘If you’ll excuse me, I have to get this finished. I have a date tonight.’

  Gideon was every inch the haughty executive now, only his tousled dark hair reminding her of the way she had feverishly run her hands through it minutes earlier. ‘I’m sorry I delayed you.’

  ‘That’s perfectly all right, Mr Maitland,’ she replied primly, no longer looking at him but at her work.

  He thrust her chin up savagely. ‘You’ll call me Gideon in front of Diane,’ he told her forcefully. ‘Save your antipathy for when we’re alone.’

  She wrenched out of his grasp. ‘I’ll do that,’ she said fiercely, glaring at him.

  ‘God, Laura, you—Oh, hell!’ He threw the door open, slamming out of the room.

  Laura collapsed exhaustedly on to the desk. Working with Gideon just couldn’t work out, it couldn’t! Because she still loved him, no matter how he had used her!

  * * *

  Her mother was predictably ecstatic about her promotion to Gideon’s secretary, sure that James had only Laura’s best interests at heart. Laura wished she could feel as confident of that!

  ‘It is a good promotion,’ Nigel told her later that evening. The two of them were alone at Laura’s home, her mother and James having gone to the theatre for the evening, a welcome break for them after the rush and bustle of the wedding arrangements.

  Laura had been too weary and dispirited to feel interested in going out herself, although Nigel had wanted to take her out to celebrate her promotion. She preferred to spend the evening at home—after all, what did she really have to celebrate?

  ‘A bit embarrassing, maybe,’ he continued thoughtfully.

  ‘A bit!’ she scorned. ‘It’s going to be awful.’

  ‘Is Gideon aware of the arrangement?’

  ‘Yes,’ she sighed, pushing her hair back irritably from her face.

  Nigel raised his eyebrows. ‘I take it he has no objections?’

  ‘He didn’t mention any.’

  ‘Hm,’ Nigel said slowly.

  ‘Hm, what?’ she asked sharply, frowning heavily.

  ‘Just hm. Any more coffee going?’ he changed the subject.

  ‘Hm, what, Nigel?’ Laura persisted, not willing to let the subject go.

  ‘Does that mean there’s no coffee?’

  ‘Nigel!’ She had provided him with dinner, and now they were in the lounge enjoying their coffee together. ‘I’ll get you another drink in a moment. Now what did you mean?’

  ‘Well, Gideon didn’t object to having you as his secretary, did he?’

  ‘Not to my face,’ although she remembered James said he had been reluctant.

  ‘I wonder why.’

  ‘It isn’t his place to object—’

  ‘Of course it is,’ Nigel snorted. ‘Hey, I’m the Personnel Officer, and believe me, if Gideon didn’t want you he wouldn’t have you.’

  ‘James—’

  ‘Certainly doesn’t rule Gideon. He never has.’

  Laura frowned her puzzlement. Why had Gideon accepted her as his secretary? She didn’t want to probe the reasons just now, just as she didn’t want to think of his desire earlier this evening, his clamouring to make love to her.

  ‘Does it matter?’ she dismissed.

  Nigel frowned heavily. ‘I think so. You never did tell me why the two of you broke up.’

  ‘It wasn’t important.’ She evaded his eyes.

  ‘If it isn’t important why won’t you talk about it?’

  ‘Nigel!’ she sighed. ‘Please, let’s just drop the subject.’

  ‘I don’t think I can.’ He sat forward in his seat. ‘You see, Laura, I like you a lot myself, and while you still have this hang-up for Gideon—’

  ‘It isn’t a hang-up!’ she flushed.

  ‘No,’ he sighed acknowledgement of the fact. ‘It’s more than that, much more. I have to be honest with you, Laura, and tell you that I’ve been thinking of marrying again.’

  ‘Oh.’ Her heart sank. ‘I—Do I know her?’

  ‘You did,’ he gave a rueful smile, taking her hand in his. ‘It just hasn’t worked out.’

  She licked her lips nervously. ‘You mean—me?’ She hardly dared voice the thought.

  ‘Don’t look so surprised,’ he chuckled. ‘You’re beautiful, young, fun to be with, and you seem to like kids.’

  ‘Er—yes,’ she frowned.

  ‘And most important of all, I like you, more than like you.’ He shrugged. ‘I’m not getting any younger, and I would like to marry and have children before I get much older. Unfortunately I seem to have become fond of a girl who’s in love with another man.’

  ‘No!’

  ‘Laura,’ he said reprovingly. ‘You love Gideon. And I happen to think he loves you too.’

  ‘Why does everyone—’ She broke off, biting her bottom lip. ‘He doesn’t love me,’ she said stubbornly.

  ‘Who else thinks he does?’ Nigel correctly guessed her unfinished sentence.

  ‘No one. I’m sorry things haven’t worked out, Nigel. I’ve enjoyed going out with you, and—’

  ‘Who else, Laura?’ he persisted.

  ‘It doesn’t matter—’

  ‘Your future stepfather, right?’

  Her eyes widened. ‘How did you know?’

  ‘Maybe his glowering attitude towards me lately.’ He grinned. ‘I don’t think I’ve ever been his favourite person, but just lately… Well, something’s been bothering him. He wants you for Gideon too?’

  ‘Too?’ she frowned.

  ‘Gideon seems to want you for Gideon as well,’ he explained ruefully. ‘His attitude towards me has been even more chilling than James’s.’

  ‘You’re imagining things—’

  ‘No,’ Nigel shook his head, squeezing her hand. ‘I want to stay your friend, Laura, but as far as anything else goes I think we should call it a day You’re never likely to patch things up with Gideon with me around.’

  ‘We’re never likely to do that anyway,’ she said bitterly. ‘You see, we—we weren’t the only people involved.’

  Nigel gave a disbelieving frown. ‘Gideon was seeing another woman?’

  ‘Among other things,’ she nodded.

  ‘When?’

  ‘What do you mean, when?’

  ‘Well, as I remember it, you saw each other almost every night during the time you were going together.’

  ‘Except when he went to Manchester—’

  ‘Where he worked constantly. The unions were being difficult, and the meetings went on almost day and night. Gideon barely slept, let alone saw another woman.’

  ‘It wasn’t only that.’ She could hardly tell him that the ‘other woman’ actually lived in Gideon’s house with him.

  ‘Can I take a guess?’ Nigel quirked an eyebrow. ‘Martin, right?’

  Laura gasped. ‘How did you know—I mean, whatever gave you that idea?’ she strove for casualness

  ‘Martin and I were friends when he worked at Courtneys,’ Nigel revealed.

  ‘Then you know—you know about—about—’

  ‘Felicity? Yes,’ he nodded. ‘I was one of the few who did. Gideon was another one.’

  ‘Yes,’ Laura agreed heavily.

  ‘He could hardly help his wife’s affair with your brother,’ Nigel pointed out gently.<
br />
  ‘He could help punishing me for it!’ She stood up agitatedly. ‘I’m sorry, Nigel, I didn’t mean to shout.’

  ‘That’s okay. But I’m not understanding any of this,’ he shook his head. ‘Just what have you dreamt up in that confused mind of yours?’

  ‘I’m not confused. And I didn’t dream it up. Martin accused Gideon of using me to get back at him—’

  ‘And what did Gideon do?’

  ‘He denied it, of course,’ she recalled impatiently. ‘But then he would, wouldn’t he?’

  ‘Would he?’

  ‘Well—yes.’

  ‘Why?’

  ‘Because—well, because—’

  He shook his head. ‘You haven’t been thinking straight, Laura. And Martin was acting out of anger and pain. If Gideon had been going out with you as a means of revenge on his wife’s lover—God, how melodramatic that sounds! If that were his reason for going out with you don’t you think he would have enjoyed telling Martin that?’

  ‘I—’

  ‘Reason it out, Laura,’ he encouraged. ‘If he wanted revenge he would have taken it then.’

  ‘But he didn’t…’

  ‘No, he didn’t. Because Felicity and Martin have nothing to do with the two of you. They were the past, and Gideon has buried the past. He wasn’t very happy in those days—’

  ‘Then he shouldn’t have married a woman he didn’t love!’ She tried to keep her anger against him, although each word Nigel spoke seemed to be breaking down her defences. ‘He just wanted to get his hands on Courtneys—’

  ‘He didn’t have to marry Felicity for that.’ Nigel frowned. ‘Who told you all this? Martin?’ he said disbelievingly. ‘God, he must be bitter!’

  ‘And shouldn’t he be?’ Laura was indignant on her brother’s behalf.

  ‘Maybe,’ Nigel conceded. ‘But not so bitter that he should try and ruin your life too. It isn’t true that Gideon needed to marry Felicity to get control of Courtneys. Gideon’s father was James Courtney’s junior partner a long time ago, making Gideon his partner now, making Gideon the next rightful chairman of Courtneys.’

  Laura frowned. ‘I didn’t know that.’ Although it would explain why James had taken over Gideon’s care when his father had died.

  ‘There seems to be a lot you don’t know.’ Nigel stood up. ‘And I don’t think I’m the one to tell you. I think you know who is?’