The Secret Child

‘Mmm, that was nice.’ She stretched languidly beneath him, feeling like a cat that wanted to purr with pleasure.

‘Maybe a bit too nice,’ he murmured, his eyes raking over her upturned face with an intensity that made her heart drum crazily against her chest. ‘I’ve been trying to be a gentleman and not come on too strong these last few weeks.’ His gaze lingered on the softness of her lips. ‘But I’m finding it very difficult.’

‘Maybe I don’t want you to be a gentleman,’ she said, reaching up to kiss him again.

She trembled as the kiss deepened, delighting in the touch of his hands against her body, feeling them as if they were burning through the delicate material of her dress.

When Luke pulled back to ask huskily if they should go back to his place she didn’t even hesitate in saying yes.

It was the first time she had ever been in Luke’s apartment. She thought how ultra-modern it was with its panoramic views out across the docklands of London. She compared it with her basic lodgings and suddenly it struck her how far apart they really were in a lot of ways…she was just starting out, he was already a high achiever with a multinational firm.

But what really had made her nervous was the fact that while he was an experienced lover…she was a virgin.

‘Would you like a drink?’ He smiled at her as if he knew that she was apprehensive.

‘Yes…thank you.’ She watched as he poured them both a glass of wine.

‘Here’s to us,’ he said lightly as he passed her the glass.

‘Yes, to us.’ She took a sip of the wine and then as she glanced up at him uncertainly he reached out and took the glass away from her, putting it down beside them on the table.

‘Now, where were we…?’ he murmured, a gleam of purpose in his eye that made desire and apprehension mix in a shivery way inside her. ‘Oh, yes…I remember. You were telling me how much you didn’t want me to behave like a gentleman…’

‘Was I?’ The seductive gleam in his voice and the heat of his eyes as they swept over her slender body made her temperature soar.

‘So how do you want me to behave?’ he murmured, peppering small butterfly kisses over her face. ‘Am I heading anywhere in the right direction?’

‘Definitely…the…right…path.’

His kisses had always been hard to resist, but that evening as the darkness fell over London she knew that she wasn’t going to pull back. She wanted him, had wanted him for weeks. As he started to undress her she helped him, her body urgently demanding her to get as close as she possibly could. When he swung her up into his arms and carried her through to the bedroom she was beyond any sensible, rational thought; all she wanted was to be next to him, to feel his hands hungrily against her body. Their kisses were so heated that her mouth was swollen from them, her breasts tight with need as he took off her bra. It was a wild coupling as weeks of desire and longing finally gave way and barriers came crashing down in a torrent of emotion.

Afterwards as she lay beside him, their naked bodies pressed close together, she didn’t regret what they had done because it felt so right. But even then she didn’t want to think too far ahead.

Luke didn’t go to Cornwall that weekend; instead they spent it in bed, Luke teaching her the delights of lovemaking. He was a skilled and expert instructor and she was completely addicted, so much so that as the weeks passed in a glorious haze, Alison secretly longed to move in with Luke. But he didn’t ask her and she refrained from making any hints.

At the time she told herself that it was sensible not to see each other too much as she had a lot of studying to do and exams still to take, but also she knew instinctively that Luke was a man who valued his freedom.

The day she took her final exam and knew that she had finished at university there were mixed emotions inside Alison. There was a part of her that wanted desperately to go home to Cornwall; she was a country girl at heart and although she had enjoyed her time in the city she knew it wasn’t really the life she wanted.

However, Luke’s life was in the city. He was ambitious…and he was rising fast within the company he worked for. She was under no illusion that if she wanted to be around him she would have to be the one to make the compromises. So she applied for a few jobs and while she waited for a full-time job she took two part-time ones so that she could afford to stay on in her flat.

On her last evening at Luke’s apartment they made love and then, cuddling together in the deep comfort of his double bed, he broached the subject of the future, asking if she had heard anything from her job applications.

‘I’ve got a couple of interviews next week.’ She hesitated before adding quietly, ‘But I’m starting to wonder if I should go back home.’

In honesty, she was testing the water, wondering if he would ask her not to go. But he didn’t say anything like that, just asked if she missed her family or just Cornwall.

‘Well…both, I suppose.’ She rolled over to look at him. ‘Don’t you miss home?’

‘I like Cornwall but I’ve got other things on my agenda at the moment. To be honest I’m thinking of leaving England altogether. I’ve been offered a posting to New York for a while.’

The statement took her so much by surprise that she lay there aware of her heart thundering against her chest as she waited to see if he’d ask her to go with him.

‘It’s a great opportunity for the future. The company are putting together a new Anglo-American venture and they want me on board.’

When she didn’t say anything to that he continued firmly, ‘It’s just a plane ride away, Alison, and I feel—’

Whatever he was going to say was cut off by the shrill ring of the phone and Luke reached to answer it. ‘It’s for you,’ he said, handing the receiver over. ‘Your flat-mate.’

She knew instantly there was something wrong; Sandra never phoned her at Luke’s.

‘Your brother has been on the phone, Alison.’ There was a moment’s hesitation. ‘It’s your parents—they have been involved in a car crash.’

Luke drove her through the night to reach the hospital. He offered to go in with her but she refused the offer, telling him she’d ring him later.

Garth met her in the corridor and one look at his face told her she was too late.

Grief-stricken, Alison threw herself into helping out at home. Her youngest brother Ian was just fifteen and she felt she needed to be there for him.

Luke came down just after the funeral and they met on the cliff path that ran along the side of their two properties.

‘I’m really sorry about your parents,’ he said gently. ‘I know what you must be going through; I lost my mother ten years ago, and it was a very difficult and emotional time.’

The gentleness of his voice stirred her deeply. She looked up and met his eyes and felt as if he was reaching out to her in a way that made her feel suddenly warmly protected, cocooned…it was the strangest sensation, but at that moment she felt as if she would trust Luke Davenport with her very life. What did it matter that he hadn’t told her he loved her? she asked herself. After all, they were only words…and maybe he wouldn’t take that posting to New York?

She found herself talking more about things at home than she had ever done. The farm had been left equally between her and all three brothers but Garth wanted to sell.

‘It’s the last thing I want. I love the farm and I believe we should keep things as they are at least for a little while…Mum and Dad have only just died and it seems we will be selling in almost indecent haste. But I’ve been out-voted by my brothers, and business-wise I can understand where they’re coming from. Garth is brimming with ideas for the old Cliff House. I’ve looked at the accounts with him and he’s convinced me it would be a viable proposition.’

‘That’s the hotel further along the headland, isn’t it?’ Luke said cautiously. ‘It’s been up for sale for a long time.’

‘Yes, they want a lot of money for it.’ Alison nodded. ‘But even if I don’t go in with them the boys’ share of the farm should almost cover it with an additional bank loan. I just wish I could keep the farmhouse and the stables. But everything will have to go.’

Luke heard the catch in her voice and saw the disquiet in her eyes. ‘It’s not good to be too attached to things, Alison,’ he said quietly.

‘You don’t feel sentimental about your home?’ she asked.

‘Yes, of course I do, and as I’m the only son I suppose I’ll take over the running of the estate one day.’ Luke shook his head. ‘But at the moment I prefer to look to the future rather than the past. I find it exciting to move on, explore pastures new.’

She experienced an ominous feeling of foreboding at those words. ‘Does that mean you’ve decided to take the posting to New York?’

They reached a bit of path that was uneven and slippery and he took hold of her hand. The thrill of his skin against hers sent goosebumps down her spine and made her remember the wild, heady nights in his arms and suddenly she was very afraid that she would never lie with him like that again.

‘They don’t need an answer for another couple of months,’ he said and she had the distinct impression he didn’t want to talk about it.

‘Well, I guess I’m going to be stuck down here for a while anyway until we get everything sorted out.’ She tried to sound OK about it all, as if she were content to let things lie.

‘Do your brothers want you to run the hotel business with them as well as invest in it?’