The Housekeeper's Awakening

She wanted to contradict him. To listen to the small part of her brain which was questioning her own sanity. But the heat in her blood had other ideas and so she shrugged, as if it were no big deal. ‘So...’

‘So.’ He stood up very quickly, as if he didn’t quite trust himself to sit chastely beside her on the bed any more. ‘You will meet me on the upper terrace at eight o’clock. I will instruct the chef to prepare something cold and dismiss the staff for the rest of the night. We will not be disturbed.’

A shiver of anticipation whispered over her skin.

‘I should like you to wear a skirt or a dress and to leave your legs bare,’ he continued. ‘Oh, and make sure your hair is down. I don’t want to see you with that damned ponytail.’

‘Anything else?’ she questioned, her sarcasm hiding the sudden hurt she felt.

‘Yes. And this is probably the most important provision of all.’ He looked down at her, his shadow suddenly enveloping her like a dark cloak. ‘I need you to promise that you won’t fall in love with me. I can do sex—very good sex, as it happens—but I don’t do love. Do you understand, Carly? Because I mean it. And if you think this is going to end in we

dding bells and clouds of confetti, then you’re mistaken.’

Carly was in no doubt that he meant it. She could tell from the implacable note in his voice and the steely glint of his eyes. And while his arrogance was shocking, once again she couldn’t help admiring his honesty. Luis would never spin her any impossible dreams, would he?

‘There’s no need to worry about that,’ she said. ‘Believe me, I have no desire to waft up the aisle in a cloud of tulle and then listen to a load of boring speeches. I’m going to be a doctor, not a housewife, and I’m certainly not in any danger of falling in love with you, Luis. I know you too well.’

He smiled. ‘That’s what I like about you, Carly. I like your clear-headed way of thinking.’

But as Carly looked into the hard glitter of his eyes she suddenly found herself wondering if she had taken on more than she could handle.

CHAPTER SEVEN

CARLY BECAME PROGRESSIVELY more nervous as she got ready for dinner that night. Her mouth had grown dry and her hands were trembling and she thought seriously about abandoning the whole idea and telling Luis it had all been a horrible misunderstanding. Could she really go through with losing her virginity to a man like him, who had laid out his exacting guidelines from the start? She thought about what he’d said about her appearance, about what she should and shouldn’t wear for her seduction. He had been positively brutal in his assessment of her physical appearance, hadn’t he?

Yet he’d said nothing which wasn’t true. Dull anonymity had been her aim and it seemed she had achieved exactly that. But while fading into the background had worked brilliantly when she’d been his housekeeper, he had told her quite emphatically that it was inappropriate for her new role...

As what?

His lover?

She licked her lips as she pulled the scrunchy from her hair.

Or just someone who was jumping in way out of her depth?

She soaked in a long bath, then hunted around for something suitable to wear but that made her feel even worse. She had convinced herself that she didn’t care about pretty clothes, but as she surveyed her plain skirts and T-shirts she wished that someone would suddenly appear with a magic wand and transform her wardrobe into something frivolous and...pretty.

She did the best she could, but it wasn’t easy for someone who had become a stranger to titillation. She had no idea how to primp herself to look good and gain a man’s attention. She hadn’t worn make-up in years, and her only jewellery was a tiny pearl on a gold chain, which her granny had given her. She fastened it around her neck with still-shaky fingers, but when she surveyed her completed image in the mirror she knew she couldn’t go through with it.

Her mother had been right all along. You really couldn’t make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear. What would Luis say when he saw her with her scrubbed face and her cheap clothes and a pair of sandals which were currently showcasing her unmanicured toes? How could she possibly trot down to the terrace like some sort of prize pony and prepare to give him her virginity?

She began to pace the room, but that only increased her paranoia. What if she phoned him and told him she’d changed her mind? He might be irritated, yes, but he would understand. Wouldn’t he? He might even be relieved.

But still she hesitated as she walked over to the bed, where her cell phone sat on the table beside it.

What would she say?

A soft knock on the door was followed by someone opening it and suddenly Luis was walking into the room. His face was dark with question as his narrow-eyed gaze swept over her.

‘Have you started walking in without being invited?’ she said.

‘I thought I’d better come and find you,’ he answered. ‘But judging from the expression on your face, your no-show on the terrace might indicate something more than your usual poor timekeeping.’

She shook her head and suddenly she didn’t bother to hide her feelings behind a wall of pretending not to care. ‘Luis, I can’t.’

He was walking towards her and she could feel the loud bashing of her heart against her ribcage. Though he was dressed down in jeans and a linen shirt, nothing could disguise the glossy patina of power which moulded itself to him like a second skin. Suddenly, he looked like the towering superstar he really was and Carly felt herself begin to shrink in comparison. How on earth had she put herself in this situation? What had he said about those beautiful women at the airport? As interchangeable as the tyres I used to get through.

Was she out of her mind to contemplate having sex with him?