CHAPTER FOUR
JOSIE spun around on the chair, the brush dropping from her hand. ‘I didn’t hear you come in!’ she exclaimed, her eyes flying to Conan, who was standing just inside the room.
Her startled gaze roamed over him. He had removed his tie and the jacket of his suit and the first few buttons of his shirt were open, exposing the tanned flesh. His black hair fell forward over his forehead, ruffled as though he had been running his fingers through it. He looked tired, but his firm lips were enticingly sensuous, and his eyes... Her own were captured and held by the brilliant gleam of male appreciation she saw lurking in their depths.
She watched as he walked towards her. It was only when he reached out a hand to her that she came to her senses and remembered she was virtually naked.
Hastily she dropped her head and folded her arms defensively over her bare breasts. His hand closed around her arm. and she trembled as he urged her to her feet.
‘Why so modest, Josie? I have seen you naked before,’ he reminded her, and, gently unfolding her arms, he held them at her sides. ‘I don’t want you to be embarrassed with me. I am your husband, and I thought last night we were finally making some progress.’ His dark gaze dropped to her firm breasts. ‘I hope I wasn’t wrong,’ he opined huskily.
Colour flooded her cheeks and she was helpless to control the burgeoning awareness of her rose-tipped nipples to his hungry gaze. She had not known that she was so incredibly sensitive there; only a look and she ached. But with the ache came anger.
Wrong, he had said! It was Josie who had got it wrong, that was for sure. His dishevelled state probably had more to do with the blonde he had spent the afternoon with than hard work, and that thought gave her the strength to respond.
‘I don’t know what you’re talking about,’ she denied curtly, to some point over his left shoulder. It was dreadful. How could she hope to hide her love from him when every nerve in her body leapt to life at the sight of him? But she had to... Charles had caused her pain, but she knew it was nothing to the agony she would suffer if Conan ever discovered she had been stupid enough to fall in love with him.
‘Are you sure you’re okay?’ His query broke into her troubled thoughts. ‘You haven’t heard a word I’ve said. I thought you were getting over your habit of daydreaming.’
If only he knew... She tilted her head back and forced herself to look at him. Then she wished she hadn’t, as his arms slipped around her waist and she found herself held close against him, her nipples taut in contact with his chest.
‘I do not daydream,’ she contradicted him. ‘I was tired, but I’m all right now.’ And, wriggling out of his arms, she crossed to the bed and picked up her robe. She slipped it on and, tying the belt firmly around her waist, she made herself turn around to face him, adding, ‘I went shopping this afternoon, so I thought I’d better rest before the party.’
‘Jeffrey told me. It was a shame I missed you,’ Conan offered, following her across the room. ‘But I had a business lunch I couldn’t avoid.’
Business? Was that what he called it? Some business... Josie thought angrily, and unconsciously took a step back.
Conan noted her withdrawal with a raised eyebrow, but continued talking. ‘Angela Deacon from the New York office arrived this morning with some information I needed.’ He ran one hand distractedly through his hair and said. ‘I’ve had a hell of a day.’
With e-mail, fax and the Internet at his disposal, she found his explanation a bit thin. But, clutching at straws, Josie considered maybe she had jumped to the wrong conclusion; maybe the woman was just a work colleague; maybe the kiss had been a simple welcome-back gesture. The thought was enough to deter her from arguing with him.
‘It’s all right, Conan. I understand and I didn’t have much time anyway.’ Catching sight of the bedside clock, she remarked, ‘And I don’t know if I want to be ready before our guests arrive.’
‘You’re not worried about this evening?’ He eyed her quizzically.
‘No, of course not. I have arranged dinner p
arties before—my father and I weren’t complete recluses. I won’t embarrass you; you needn’t worry,’ she told him briskly, her temper rising yet again. She knew he thought of her as a child but surely he wasn’t ashamed of her as well?
‘Josie, I didn’t mean to suggest you weren’t capable, but meeting people for the first time is a strain for anyone. But I want you to know I have complete faith in you, and I’m sure tonight will be a great success.’
‘Condescending swine,’ Josie murmured under her breath, and for an awful moment she thought she had spoken out loud. His dark eyes narrowed on her flushed face, and then, stepping forward, he bent his head and kissed the tip of her nose.
‘I’d better go and dress, or neither of us will be ready in time.’
Shortly after, Josie descended the staircase to the hall. She knew she looked good. She had piled her hair on top of her head in a coronet of curls, held in place with diamanté combs. She had taken time over her make-up, and, wearing her new dress and shoes, her mirror had told her she had never looked better. Even so she took a deep breath before entering the drawing room.
Her heart missed a beat and she stopped inside the door. Conan was standing in profile, looking out of the window, a glass of whisky in his hand. The perfectly tailored black dinner suit and the crisp white of his shirt lifted his chiselled features from handsome to devastating. For a long moment Josie simply stared. But she must have made a sound because he half turned.
‘Josie.’ He said her name, his lips curling back over even white teeth in an appreciative smile as he walked across the room to her. ‘You look exquisite,’ he drawled softly, taking her hand in his.
‘Thank you,’ she said coolly, but his obvious delight in her appearance gave her confidence a much needed boost. Even though it was obvious he preferred big blondes...
‘So polite,’ he chuckled, and clasped her hand tightly. ‘You know what you remind me of? When I was a small boy, every Christmas at the Manor we used to have a huge Christmas tree standing in the hall, and on the top a beautiful porcelain angel doll. I used to think it was so ethereal I ached to touch it, to keep it,’ he murmured almost to himself, and, lifting his hand, he trailed one finger down her cheek.
His touch burnt like a trail of fire on Josie’s soft skin, and it took all her will-power to fight down the tremor snaking through her body. With his other hand, he gently rubbed his thumb back and forward over her palm, and it suddenly occurred to Josie that her fierce reaction to Conan over the last couple of days was being heightened by his own changed attitude. The deliberate seductive touches, the passionate kisses... Oh, he had kissed her since the wedding, but usually a peck on the cheek, a supporting arm. So why was he being so blatantly provocative with her now? Or was it her?
‘I suppose that’s a compliment—being likened to an angel—but I’m not sure I’m flattered at being called a doll,’ she managed to say lightly. Conan stared down into her smiling eyes, his own expression unfathomable to Josie. The air around them seemed to crackle with an electric tension. She swallowed nervously; was she the only one aware of it?