Carole Mortimer Romance Collection

Silke watched him over the top of the bedclothes. He looked slightly incongruous standing there with the teapot in his hand, pouring tea into two delicate china cups; Silke couldn’t help wondering if he had ever done anything like this in his life before.

Dark brows rose over quizzical grey eyes as he turned to look at her. ‘What are you smiling at?’

She hadn’t realised she was smiling, but she could feel the grin on her lips now, straightening her expression with effort. ‘You do like sugar in tea,’ she dismissed lightly, having no intention of telling him what she had actually been grinning at; he had actually looked quite endearing carrying out the mundane task of pouring tea for them both! Lyon—endearing; the two just didn’t go together!

One brow rose sceptically at her explanation, but he didn’t question her further on the subject. ‘Sit up,’ he instructed abruptly. ‘You can’t drink your tea flat on your back like that.’

She had deliberately lain ‘flat on her back’ so that she could have the bedclothes up to her chin, but of course he was right, she couldn’t drink tea like this, not with any degree of success anyway!

His mouth twitched with humour as she sat up to reveal the print on her cotton nightshirt; the pig pattern was hardly sexy, she ruefully acknowledged. But she was very fond of the busy pig pattern—and she certainly didn’t want to look sexy!

‘Trying to tell me something?’ he drawled, sitting on the side of her bed to drink his own tea.

Silke wished he hadn’t done that; the last thing she needed was to have him close to her like this. But as he continued to sip his tea he showed every sign of being comfortable exactly where he was. Comfortable was the last thing she felt herself; she was unnerved by this intimacy, her hand shaking slightly as she lifted her own cup to her lips.

‘Hardly,’ she answered him dismissively. ‘I wouldn’t presume to tell you anything!’

His eyes warmed with humour. ‘I don’t think sarcasm becomes you!’

‘I wasn’t—’ Her cheeks were slightly flushed. ‘Perhaps I was,’ she admitted ruefully.

He took her empty cup out of her hand, putting it back on the tray with his own, before making himself more comfortable on the bed. ‘You look about ten years old with your hair brushed back like that, no make-up, and wearing that nightshirt!’

Her inner turmoil at his closeness wasn’t that of a ten-year-old! She only wished it were. He looked so attractive in the black dinner-suit and white shirt, was so close she could smell that elusively tangy aftershave he wore. As for his hands, she refused to look at them!

‘Your daughter would be beautiful, Silke,’ he said huskily.

Her eyes widened. Daughter? Oh, no, he wasn’t back on that subject! She couldn’t—

‘You’re beautiful, Silke,’ he added softly.

He was too close now, his head bending towards her, his lips only inches from her own. Silke’s gaze was fixed on the beauty of that mouth, remembering all too well the emotions his kisses had evoked in her last time. Last time? God, she couldn’t seriously be contemplating letting him kiss her again, not after what had happened between them last week! Letting him kiss her—she knew all too well that if Lyon decided to kiss her then it wouldn’t be a case of ‘letting’ him do anything; Lyon was a law unto himself.

‘Cameron was a fool.’ His warm breath stirred her silky fringe. ‘How could he have been engaged to you and not made love to you?’ He shook his head disgustedly.

His mention of James was enough to free her of the sensually mesmerising spell he had been casting, and Silke drew back abruptly—she hadn’t realised until that moment that she had half moved up from the pillow to meet his kiss!

But talking about James was enough to put a dampener on anything, reminding her all too forcefully of the meeting she had had with him in her mother’s office last week. He had ‘made a mistake’ marrying Cheryl, he claimed, explaining that the marriage was now over, that he now realised he still loved Silke. And then he had asked her if they couldn’t try again, if the two of them couldn’t marry, as they had once planned, once his divorce from Cheryl was through!

Silke had been astounded at his cheek, that he had thought he could just walk back into her life, with the declaration of still loving her, and expect her to welcome him back. With open arms, apparently!

Needless to say she had told him exactly what he could do with his suggestion, had advised him to go back to his wife and try to make his marriage work. He had been furious at her lack of understanding, that Cameron temper quickly showing itself once he realised she wasn’t about to fall back into his arms. Silke had been speechless at his nerve in even thinking he could come back to her after the way he had walked out on her a year ago—but she had quickly regained her voice when she ordered him to leave. And not to come back! His silence since that day seemed to confirm that he had taken her at her word. Thank goodness! It was up to him whether or not he took any notice of her advice about his marriage; as long as he stayed away from her she didn’t care what else he did.

And she certainly didn’t want to talk to Lyon about him now, in any context. ‘I would like to go to sleep now, Lyon, if you don’t mind,’ she told him distantly, not really caring whether he minded or not; she just wanted him to leave.

His gaze narrowed on her thoughtfully—and what he read in her glittering green eyes must have warned him not to push her any further at the moment, because he straightened before standing up in preparation of leaving.

Silke moved uncomfortably under the intensity of that steely gaze, but her own gaze didn’t drop, meeting his steadily as she willed him to just go.

‘I’ll take the tray back out to the kitchen,’ he gave an abrupt nod—as if he had just come to an inner decision. ‘Can I get you anything else before I leave...?’

‘No,’ she answered forcefully. Why didn’t he just go and leave her in peace!

‘OK,’ he accepted smoothly. ‘I’ll see you in my office at nine-thirty on Monday morning, then—’

‘What?’ Silke sat up abruptly in the bed as she frowned at him.

‘Our appointment is for nine-thirty on Monday—’

‘What appointment?’ Her frown deepened. What on earth was he talking about now?

Lyon studied her closely, obviously seeing her complete puzzlement at his statement. ‘Did you get a chance to talk to Henry this evening?’ he said slowly.

‘Not privately, no.’ She shook her head, her expression wary now. What had Henry been up to now?

‘Ah.’ Lyon nodded understanding. ‘In that case I suggest you call him in the morning and—’

‘I’m asking you now, Lyon,’ Silke cut in agitatedly. ‘What appointment? What possible reason could I have for coming to see you on Monday morning?’

His mouth twisted. ‘To discuss your jewellery designs, of course.’

‘My—?’ She gasped. ‘But I told Henry—’

‘Get some sleep, Silke,’ Lyon advised firmly. ‘Everything will look better by Monday morning.’

Silke watched open-mouthed as he left without offering any further explanation. Not that one was necessary. Despite all her protests it was obvious Henry had gone ahead with his proposal for her jewellery designs to be introduced to Buchanan’s—and it looked as if, in spite of the objections she knew must have come from Lyon, Henry might have got his own way!

Great. Just great!

Did no one ever listen to her?

Well, maybe they hadn’t up until now. But they were certainly going to on Monday morning!

CHAPTER NINE (#ulink_854f3040-ac91-5867-bb59-5ef66fa392f0)

‘ENJOYING your swim?’

That was exactly what she had been doing! Had been. Lyon’s arrival was sure to spoil that.

Her mother had decided to go into the agency today, insisting Silke take the day off, that she needed a little rest and relaxation after being ill on Saturday evening. Henry had offered her the use of his indoor pool in the grounds of their home, an offer Silke had been only too happy to accept. Until a few seconds ago, that was!

She had been floating aimlessly on her back in the water for the last twenty minutes or so, was enjoying the almost tropical warmth of the beautiful indoor pool, plants and loungers around the spacious pool adding to that effect. But at the first sound of Lyon’s voice she had rolled self-consciously on to her front, swimming to the side now as he stood there watching her.

He looked slightly overdressed in his dark three-piece business suit and pale blue shirt, and considering the heat in here he must be feeling slightly uncomfortable. Not that he looked it, just as arrogantly self-assured as usual as he stood looking down at her.

‘It’s a beautiful pool,’ she answered him warily, conscious of her slicked back hair and make-up-less face. She hadn’t envisaged feeling at quite such a disadvantage the next time she saw him, hadn’t for one moment imagined he would interrupt her leisurely swim. But then, when had Lyon ever done anything she expected him to do! Even so...

‘Henry told me you were here,’ he drily answered the question that had been forming on her lips.