Burning Obsession Read online

  Kelly frowned. ‘Why was the truth kept from me? Why not tell me my father had regained his memory?’ He still hadn’t answered that question—although he had answered a lot of others!

  ‘Because I wanted another chance with you.’ He shrugged. ‘It couldn’t work, not living with you like this. I only have to look at you to shake with wanting you. Sharing a bedroom with you was purgatory. I couldn’t be with you and not make love with you.’

  ‘But my father—’

  ‘Believed you had always loved me, even when we were apart. He thought I should have this chance too. He wanted you to be happy, and he thought I could achieve that. He was wrong, and so was I. You can stay here, I’ll be moving out.’

  ‘That won’t be necessary,’ she assured him hastily. ‘I—I intend going away for a while. I thought I might go on a cruise or something, travel.’

  Jordan frowned. ‘Your father won’t like that.’

  ‘I’m not asking anyone if I can go, Jordan,’ she told him in a controlled voice, making herself sound cool and assured.

  His mouth twisted. ‘Certainly not me.’

  ‘No,’ she agreed huskily.

  ‘Okay.’ He braced his shoulders, as if recovering from a blow. ‘Let’s go and put on a show for your father and Anne.’

  ‘Jordan…’ her voice broke, ‘I’m really sorry.’

  ‘So am I,’ he said heavily.

  Please, let this time go quickly, she prayed silently.

  * * *

  It didn’t, it dragged. And yet in the end it was all worth it. Nothing went wrong this time, and when the time came for the birth it all went off quite normally.

  During Kelly’s months in the nursing home her only visitor had been Laura, sworn to secrecy, even from Ian this time. And she had telephoned her father constantly, reassuring all his anxieties as to her whereabouts. His own newly married status had taken the pressure off her somewhat, although he never ceased asking when she was coming home from her travels.

  Jordan had remained at the house this time, and according to her father he was working harder than ever, suicidally so. Well, his suffering was now at an end; she could leave hospital. She took a taxi straight to the house, the carrycot on the backseat beside her.

  Mrs McLeod looked taken aback when she opened the door. ‘Mrs Lord…’ she took in the suitcase standing at Kelly’s feet at a glance. ‘Are you back to stay?’ she asked excitedly, her pleasure evident.

  ‘I am,’ Kelly grinned. ‘But I’m not alone.’

  Mrs McLeod looked behind Kelly at the apparently empty taxi. She frowned her puzzlement.

  Kelly laughed. ‘Come and help me,’ she invited.

  The housekeeper followed her in a daze. ‘I don’t understand…’

  ‘You will,’ Kelly promised.

  ‘Let me do that, love,’ the driver insisted as he saw her intention of getting the carrycot out of the back. ‘You shouldn’t be lifting yet.’

  ‘Thank you,’ she accepted gratefully. ‘Although I’m quite well.’

  ‘My wife has had three,’ he told her as he took the carrycot into the lounge, ‘so I’m sure you still tire very easily.’

  Kelly gave him a generous tip for his kindness, then turned to find a stunned Mrs McLeod peering into the carrycot.

  ‘I—You—I—’

  ‘It’s all right,’ Kelly laughed. ‘I know just how you feel.’

  The housekeeper stared to beam. ‘I’m sure you don’t.’

  ‘But I do,’ she insisted happily. ‘How do you feel about baby-sitting for half an hour? I’m just going to the office to bring Jordan home to lunch.’

  ‘I’d love to baby-sit,’ Mrs McLeod said eagerly. ‘Mr Lord’s going to be so pleased to see you.’

  ‘I hope so. I really hope so.’

  ‘He will be. But I’m afraid this,’ Kelly indicated the carrycot, ‘is going to come as something of a surprise to him.’

  ‘A pleasant one, I hope. Make it a celebration lunch, Mrs McLeod,’ she stooped to kiss her sleeping offspring. ‘Feeding time isn’t for another two hours, so you should be all right.’

  The housekeeper was looking disappointed. ‘And I was hoping to get a little cuddle.’

  ‘Don’t worry,’ she laughed. ‘You’ll have plenty of time for that.’

  ‘Oh, Mrs Lord…’ Mrs McLeod said tearfully.

  ‘I know,’ Kelly squeezed her hand. ‘Now, half an hour,’ she warned before leaving the house.

  Janet looked as surprised to see her as Mrs McLeod had been, although she recovered her equilibrium very well. ‘I’ll tell Mr Lord you’re here,’ she said politely.

  ‘No, don’t do that,’ Kelly stopped her from buzzing Jordan’s office. ‘I want to surprise him,’ she explained.

  Janet raised her eyebrows. ‘Oh, I think you’ll do that.’

  ‘My husband will be out to lunch,’ Kelly told the other girl. ‘And could you cancel his appointments for the rest of the day. And don’t put any calls through.’

  ‘I’m not sure—’

  ‘Cancel them, Janet,’ Kelly told her firmly before letting herself into Jordan’s office.

  He looked up as soon as she entered the room, obviously not used to people walking in on him in this way. He looked ill, very gaunt and pale, his hair even greyer at the temples. There was a look of bleak unhappiness about him, and Kelly knew she was the cause of it. She hoped she would be the one to dispel it too.

  ‘Kelly…’ He stood up slowly, a quickfire emotion flickering into his eyes.

  She was heartened by that emotion, believing it to be the love he had hidden from her for so long, a love she now felt able to accept to the full. ‘Hello, darling,’ she greeted him huskily.

  He swallowed hard. ‘Darling…?’ he repeated dazedly.

  ‘Yes—darling.’ She instantly went to him, putting her arms about his waist below his jacket, her head resting on his chest, the fast beat of his heart sounding like a drum. ‘I’ve missed you so,’ she told him shakily.

  His arms closed fiercely about her. ‘God knows I’ve missed you too,’ he groaned, his face buried in her throat. ‘Where have you been?’ he demanded to know, holding her at arms’ length. ‘I’ve had people looking for you everywhere!’

  ‘You have?’ Her eyes widened.

  ‘Of course. You can’t just disappear like that without worrying me out of my mind.’

  ‘But I telephoned my father.’

  ‘That isn’t the same,’ Jordan rasped. ‘Where have you been, Kelly?’

  ‘I’ll tell you later.’

  ‘You’ll tell me now.’

  ‘No, I won’t. Right now we’re going home to lunch.’

  ‘Home? Our home?’ he asked incredulously.

  ‘Yes.’ She took his hand, leading him towards the door. ‘Mrs McLeod will have everything ready for us.’

  He stopped dead. ‘What is this, Kelly? Another go at trying to live with me? Because I don’t need that. I can’t go through losing you all again—’ His voice broke emotionally.

  ‘You aren’t going to lose me. Jordan, I love you. I’ve always loved you. I never stopped for one moment, not even when I thought I hated you.’

  He shook his head. ‘But you left me.’

  ‘And I had a good reason for that. I’ll explain when we get home.’

  ‘It had better be good,’ he warned tautly.

  ‘It is.’ She took his hand again, smiling up at him adoringly.

  His eyes darkened almost to black. ‘God, you’re beautiful!’ he groaned, bending his head to devour her lips with his own. He was shaking by the time he drew back, his breathing ragged. ‘I love you,’ he told her throatily.

  ‘Let’s go home,’ she murmured.

  ‘You’re going to stay?’

  ‘Oh yes,’ she smiled.

  ‘Then let’s go.’ His arm went protectively about her waist. ‘I’ll be out for the rest of the day,’ he told Janet as they passed through the outer office.

  She nodded. ‘I�
��ve already cancelled your appointments.’

  ‘I asked her to,’ Kelly explained at his questioning look.

  ‘Do you intend taking over my life?’ Jordan asked her once they were in the car.

  ‘Completely,’ she told him happily. ‘You’re going to enjoy being with me so much you’ll never want to leave my side.’

  ‘I never want to do that anyway,’ he said deeply.

  ‘Oh, Jordan, I love you,’ she said with a catch in her throat.

  ‘I hope to God you do, because I won’t let you go again.’ His hands were tight on the steering-wheel.

  ‘I’m going to prove it to you as soon as I’m able,’ she promised throatily.

  ‘When we get home?’ he quirked one eyebrow hopefully.

  Kelly shook her head regretfully. ‘I have other plans for when we get home.’

  He frowned. ‘Lunch can wait.’

  ‘I didn’t mean lunch.’

  ‘Then what—’

  She reached out and touched his thigh. ‘Wait and see.’

  His sighed his impatience but didn’t press the matter. Kelly just hoped he wasn’t going to be too shocked. Maybe she should have telephoned and explained the situation to him, but she daren’t do that at the time, and now it was too late to do more than present him with a fait accompli.

  Everything was very quiet when they entered the house, no baby crying to warn Jordan of its existence. The reason for that soon became obvious, Mrs McLeod was cradling the baby in her arms, talking in a soft voice as it gazed blankly up at her.

  ‘What the hell—!’ Jordan had gone grey, frozen to the spot.

  ‘It’s all right, darling,’ Kelly touched his arm. ‘Come and meet your son.’

  ‘My son…?’

  ‘Yes.’ Kelly took the baby from the housekeeper, his blue babygrow still far too large for him, and placed him gently into his father’s arms.

  ‘I’ll go and check on the food.’ Mrs McLeod tactfully left the room.

  ‘Kelly—,’ Jordan was having trouble articulating. ‘I can’t—This baby—’

  ‘Your son,’ she confirmed, looking at the thatch of dark hair so like Jordan’s, the determined chin that reflected his stormy little nature, having already proved how powerful his lungs were. He was too like Jordan to be anything other than his child.

  Jordan sat down before he fell down, holding the baby awkwardly in his strong arms. ‘You must have been expecting him when you left me,’ he finally said raggedly. ‘Did you know?’

  ‘Yes.’ She bit her lip. ‘Jordan, there’s more.’ She looked at him pleadingly.

  ‘More?’ he choked. ‘What else could there be?’

  ‘Don’t be angry with me, Jordan. Please!’

  ‘I’m not angry, I’m just dazed, incredulous.’

  She took a deep breath. ‘Then you’re going to be even more so in a moment.’ She bent over the carrycot and lifted out a second tiny shawl-wrapped baby.

  ‘Twins!’ Jordan gasped.

  ‘Your daughter,’ she nodded, taking off the shawl to reveal the pink babygrow-covered baby.

  ‘My God!’ He shook his head. ‘All this and you never let me know!’

  ‘Because I couldn’t bear to see you suffer!’ she told him desperately. ‘I couldn’t stand your pain, don’t you see that?’

  ‘And instead you went through all that alone. What a coward you must think me!’ His face was harsh with self-loathing as he looked down at the baby in his arms.

  ‘You aren’t a coward!’ Kelly cried. ‘And I didn’t go through so much. I’ve spent the last seven months in bed, and the birth was so easy. I’ve had a lovely time.’ She could never tell him of the lonely days when she had longed for him with a fierce desperation.

  ‘Don’t lie to me.’ He wasn’t fooled for a moment. ‘What are their names?’ He looked at his children with a tenderness that lightened Kelly’s heart.

  ‘They don’t have any yet,’ she smiled her relief. It was going to be all right, she knew it was. She grinned. ‘They were the only babies at the nursing home that didn’t have names. I didn’t think it fair to decide on something that important on my own.’

  ‘Thank you,’ he said deeply. ‘Care to swap?’ he quirked an eyebrow teasingly. ‘I have an urgent desire to hold my daughter.’

  Kelly’s expression was impish as she handed him the little girl, another tiny replica of Jordan. ‘Don’t you think I’m clever?’

  ‘Very clever,’ he drawled.

  ‘Actually, Jordan, I do have one name, if you wouldn’t mind? I wanted to call our daughter Jordana.’

  His expression was searching, obviously remembering the baby they had lost. ‘If you’re sure that’s what you want,’ he said uncertainly.

  ‘Oh, I’m sure,’ she gave him a glowing smile. ‘I’ll let you name our son.’

  ‘I’ll have to give it some serious thought. After all, the poor little devil’s got to have it for a lifetime. I—Oh. Er—Kelly,’ he gave her a sideways glance, ‘I’m not sure, but I think…’

  ‘Nappy change?’ she giggled. ‘I’ll show you how.’ She put the wide-eyed baby boy she was holding back into the carrycot.

  ‘You’ll do no such thing!’ Jordan stood up, handing their daughter to her. ‘At this size they terrify the life out of me. I’ll play football with them when they’re bigger.’ He moved to the telephone.

  ‘Who are you calling?’ She deftly changed the baby’s nappy.

  ‘Your father. I take it he doesn’t know he’s a grandfather?’

  ‘No, I thought you should be the first to know.’

  ‘Are you feeding them yourself?’ he asked huskily.

  ‘Jealous?’ she teased, realising that to tease him was the best way of dealing with his obsessive love.

  ‘Insanely,’ he chuckled. ‘You’ve grown cheeky, young lady. When you’re strong enough I’ll give you a sound beating. But right now I’m going to telephone your father and tell him what a clever girl you are.’

  ‘Jordan,’ she bit her lip, ‘I can’t—’

  ‘I know,’ he kissed her briefly on the mouth. ‘I just want to hold you, darling, kiss you, tell you how much I love you. I can wait for anything else.’

  ‘I—’ She was cut off by the hungry wail of their daughter, their son soon joining in the demand to be fed. ‘I don’t think our children can wait any longer for their lunch,’ she said ruefully.

  ‘They can wait two minutes. I want to watch,’ he told her huskily.

  ‘Jordan!’ she blushed fiery red.

  ‘I want to see what I’m missing,’ he, taunted. ‘Oh, Kelly, I’m so sorry for what I’ve put you through, although I don’t think I could have stood the agony of it all. God, what a coward I am!’

  ‘Don’t keep apologising.’ She put her fingers over his lips, trembling as he kissed her creamy skin. ‘We’re together now, that’s all that matters.’

  ‘If you say so.’

  ‘I do.’

  ‘I can’t wait for later,’ he said throatily.

  ‘Neither can I,’ she smiled, already imagining the pleasure of being held in his arms all night, their love for each other now confessed by both of them.

  * * * * *

  If you enjoyed this story by

  USA TODAY bestselling author

  CAROLE MORTIMER,

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  ONCE A MORETTI WIFE

  Stefano Moretti wants revenge from his wife, Anna, for leaving him. Her losing all memory of their marriage is his chance… He’ll seduce her, then publicly divorce her. But soon there’s somethi
ng he wants more—Anna, back for good!

  Keep reading to get a glimpse of

  ONCE A MORETTI WIFE

  CHAPTER ONE

  HOW MUCH HAD she drunk?

  Anna Robson clutched her head, which pounded as if the force of a hundred hammers were battering it.

  There was a lump there. She prodded it cautiously and winced. Had she hit her head?

  She racked her aching, confused brain, trying hard to remember. She’d gone out for a drink with Melissa, hadn’t she? Hadn’t she?

  Yes. She had. She’d gone for a drink with her sister after their Spinning class, as they did every Thursday evening.

  She peered at her bedside clock and gave a start—her phone’s alarm should have gone off an hour ago. Where had she put it?

  Still holding her head, she looked around but saw no sight of it, then forgot all about it as her stomach rebelled. She only just made it to the bathroom in time to vomit.

  Done, she sat loose-limbed like a puppet on the floor, desperately trying to remember what she’d drunk. She wasn’t a heavy drinker at the best of times and on a work night she would stick to a small glass of white wine. But right then, she felt as if she’d drunk a dozen bottles.

  There was no way she could go into the office… But then she remembered she and Stefano had a meeting with a young tech company he was interested in buying. Stefano had tasked Anna, as he always did, with going through the company’s accounts, reports and claims and producing her own summary. He trusted her judgement. If it concurred with his then he would invest in the company. If her judgement differed he would rethink his strategy. Stefano wanted her report first thing so he could digest it before the meeting.

  She’d have to email it and beg illness.

  But, after staggering cautiously around the flat she shared with Melissa, holding onto the walls for support, she realised she must have left her laptop at the office. She’d have to phone Stefano. He could open it himself. She’d give him the password, although she was ninety-nine per cent certain he’d hacked it at least once already.

  All she had to do was find her phone. Walking carefully to the kitchen, she found a pretty handbag on the counter. Next to it was an envelope addressed with her name.