The Playboy's Proposal

The man was pure dynamite, she acknowledged wryly, and all done without even trying. It was stunning. Nobody had had quite this effect on her before. How could she possibly ignore it? Did she want to? That imp of devilment which was always under indifferent control now decided to come to the surface, and, as Drew had feared, she didn’t resist it.

‘I’m the woman you’ve been waiting for,’ she quipped back with a deliberate mix of seduction and mockery.

Amusement flickered in those devilish blue eyes. ‘Is that so?’ he drawled softly, giving her his full attention in a way that set up goosebumps on her flesh.

Caught between them, Drew rolled his eyes despairingly. ‘Kathryn, cut it out!’ he ordered.

‘Shut up, Drew,’ Joel commanded quietly, strolling towards her. ‘This is just getting interesting.’ Coming to a halt a mere foot away, he smiled lazily, an action that threatened to steal her breath away. ‘So, I’ve been waiting for you, have I?’

She inclined her head, smiling sweetly, whilst her heart raced away at a mile a minute at his closeness. ‘Impatiently, by the sounds of it.’

He shrugged that off without taking his eyes from her. ‘My temper’s been a bit frayed lately, but it’s improving by leaps and bounds now.’

Kathryn laughed, a sultry sound that made something flare to life in the depths of his eyes. ‘I have that effect on people.’ She knew she was behaving outrageously, but she couldn’t seem to help herself. ‘In fact, they’ve been known to hug and kiss me on sight.’

He grinned, and there was definitely something wolfish about it. ‘I can quite see why. I’m tempted to do the same.’

Oh, boy, he had the charisma to make a woman forget her principles just when she ought to be standing on them, she decided as she held up an admonitory hand to keep him at bay. ‘I should wait until you’ve seen what I can do first.’

Joel laughed, sending a tingle down her spine and curling her toes. ‘I’m impressed already.’

Drew, by this time, had steam coming out of his ears. He crossed over to them and took Kathryn by the arm. ‘OK, that’s enough!’ he exclaimed, and she turned startled eyes on him, having quite forgotten he was there. ‘When you’ve quite finished playing games, perhaps I should introduce you.’

A faint flush skimmed her cheeks, but it had nothing to do with his remonstration. She mouthed the word ‘sorry’ to him. It was partly true. She was sorry for upsetting him, but not for behaving as she had. It had been fun. It had been exciting. Her heart was still tripping madly, with no sign of slowing. Boy, the man was positively lethal. He had switched her senses on like a neon light. So that was what it felt like to flirt with the world’s number one playboy! It could become addictive. Already she wanted more.

Drew, meanwhile, was making the promised introductions. ‘Joel, this is my cousin, Kathryn Templeton. She’s here to sort out your computer for you.’

Joel’s eyes immediately narrowed on her thoughtfully. ‘Ah, now I get it. That’s what makes you the woman I’ve been waiting for.’

‘Impatiently,’ she added for good measure, laughing into his eyes.

He took a deep breath, which expanded his chest magnificently. ‘Well, let’s hope you’re as good with bits and bytes as you are with words, Kathryn Templeton.’

Another laugh escaped her. ‘With all modesty I can say I’m better.’

One eyebrow quirked lazily. ‘All modesty? You don’t believe in hiding your light under a bushel?’

She shrugged and exchanged a knowing look with her cousin. ‘In my family you have to fight your corner or sink without trace. I don’t intend to be the next Titanic.’

‘Competitive, are they, your family?’

‘Like you wouldn’t believe. I have four older brothers,’ she admitted, not to mention her father. She tucked her arm through Drew’s. ‘This side of the Templeton clan is protective and supportive without being combative, I’m happy to say.’

Joel rubbed his chin wryly. ‘Which means he’s probably warned you about the Big Bad Wolf.’

‘Of course. He doesn’t want to see me devoured like Red Riding Hood,’ she responded brightly.

Joel looked amused. ‘Something tells me if I tried it, I’d probably get indigestion.’

‘I’m certainly too rich for some people’s taste,’ Kathryn agreed breezily.

‘An acquired taste?’

‘Absolutely.’

His expression revealing equal amounts of intrigue and appreciation, Joel Kendrick held out his hand. ‘It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Kathryn Templeton,’ he declared, his voice again carrying that husky sensuality which found its mark and set the nerves in her stomach quivering.

Nonetheless, she smiled back. ‘Likewise, Mr Kendrick,’ she returned smartly.

‘Joel,’ he prompted with a decided gleam in his eye as she took his hand.

‘Joel,’ she repeated obediently, a cool smile hovering about her lips.

What happened next rocked her belief in her ability to remain detached and in control. As their hands touched, she looked into those wickedly alluring, fathomless blue eyes and found herself drowning in them. For an instant she lost her bearings entirely. Her nervous system went into overload and her breath got lodged in her throat, so that she forgot to breathe. The swiftness of her response to him was stunning. She had felt sexual attraction before, but never experienced quite this brand of magnetic potency. It drew her as nothing else had. Sensible thought was vanquished by a tidal wave of sensuality. In the flicker of a heartbeat she wanted him. Craved him like a hungry woman craved food, and her body swayed towards him, seeking appeasement. Seeking…

The sound of a polite cough gathered her scattered wits into a seething whole, and Kathryn careened back into the present with a gasp. She had an instant to see the answering passion in those blue eyes before the instinct of self-preservation took over and she swiftly hid her thoughts behind practised calm. She eased her hand away just as Agnes brought in a tray of coffee, and she turned to the woman, grateful for the breathing space.

Joel Kendrick had proved to be more than a little overwhelming close up. Always before she had had the ability to keep a cool head, but this man had changed that completely. It shook her, and sent a frisson of alarm through her system. Drew was right, this man was different. She had an inkling of what he could do to her, and it was distinctly unsettling.

‘Can I help you with that, Agnes?’ she asked in a voice that thankfully gave away nothing of her inner turmoil.

The housekeeper smiled at her. ‘Thank you, my dear. If you’d just move that vase to one side… There.’ She set the tray down whilst Kathryn found another spot for the vase. When she straightened up, she glanced at Drew. ‘Have you eaten, Mr Templeton?’

‘Not since this morning, Agnes,’ Drew admitted.

It was a cue for Kathryn to shoot Joel a mocking look. She might be all of a twitter inside, but not for the world would she let anyone know it, least of all the cause. Keeping up the appearance of normality was suddenly very important. Having started out flirtatiously, she couldn’t now back off without giving too much away.

‘He said we couldn’t spare the time. Food was weighed in the balance against your temper, and found wanting,’ she taunted gently, not averse to saying what she thought. She was here to do him a favour. Her livelihood didn’t rest upon his goodwill. Besides, she felt the need to goad him a little, because the best form of defence was often attack. Until she had had time to think, it seemed the most appropriate thing to do.

Joel’s response was to raise an eyebrow, but he said nothing to her, merely turned to his housekeeper. ‘You’d better bring dinner forward, Agnes. I’d hate to see such a beautiful woman fainting away.’

‘Very good, Master Joel,’ Agnes agreed. ‘I’ve put Mr Templeton in his usual room, and I thought it best to put the young lady in the rose room.’

Joel’s expression became wry, but he smiled fondly at the elderly woman. ‘Quite right. The rose room does have some of the best views.’

‘And it’s on the other side of the house from you,’ Agnes added pointedly, causing Kathryn to hastily smother a laugh. ‘Now, if you’d give me a hand with the cases, Mr Templeton, I can get the food on the table sooner,’ she declared in her motherly fashion, and bustled out again.

‘Master Joel?’ Kathryn asked in amusement, after Drew had obediently followed the other woman from the room. She had recovered her equilibrium, and felt more able to hold her own with him now that her pulse had steadied.

Joel pulled a wry face. ‘Agnes used to be my nanny. She’s been with my family for many years, and nobody wanted to see her go, so her position has changed several times. She was companion to my mother before becoming my housekeeper. She’s more like one of the family now.’

Kathryn felt a curl of warmth grow inside her at his explanation. It showed, she was glad to notice, that there was a softer side to him. ‘I like that.’ Her grandfather, her mother’s father, treated his servants as something below his notice. His only interest in their welfare was in how it would affect him.

‘You approve?’

‘I always approve of kindness. My grandfather would call it foolish sentimentality,’ she admitted regretfully. ‘You don’t keep somebody on when they’re past their usefulness.’

‘Your grandfather, if you’ll forgive me for saying so, is a fool.’