The Final Seduction

‘Did she?’

‘Uh-huh. It was just after I’d caught you topless on the beach and I think she suspected that my feelings might have changed. And she was right of course. I wanted you so badly that it hurt. But I was going away, so I thought I’d forget all about you. You were almost eighteen and I was twenty-five, and so I rather arrogantly gave her my word that I wouldn’t compromise you. And having given my word, kitten, how could I then break it?’

‘Thank you,’ she said simply, recognising only now the debt she owed him for his decency and his dependability.

‘Then, when the whole understandable Marco thing happened, I was too arrogant and too proud to listen to reason. Arrogant for letting you go in the first place, and too proud to ask you to come back. Your mother always said you would, you know.’

‘But you didn’t believe her?’

‘A part of me wanted to,’ he sighed. ‘But my pride stood in the way. I convinced myself that I couldn’t care less. How about that for self-delusion?’ He leaned across and brushed his lips against hers and she shivered with pleasure, trickling her fingers down the hair-roughened torso—from neck to belly button. ‘We’ve waited one hell of a long time for this!’ he growled.

‘I know. But what we just shared was—’ She couldn’t think of a word which would say it all. ‘For years we’ve had this slow, drugging build-up of the senses, and today…’ She sighed with memory. ‘Oh, Drew—wasn’t it worth waiting for?’

‘It was more than that, kitten.’ He moved closer. ‘It was the best thing that’s ever happened to me,’ he told her simply. ‘Want to make it happen again? Right now?’

She wrapped her arms around his neck. ‘Oh, yes, please,’ she whispered. ‘And now there are no secrets left between us, no barriers left to fall—’

‘It’s the final seduction?’ He smiled with delight as he slowly lowered his head. ‘Heart, body and soul…’

‘You’ve got it,’ she murmured, opening her lips to greet his. ‘You’ve got it in one!’ But her words were muffled against the sweetness of his kiss.

They spent the next twenty-four hours in bed and Shelley guessed that they must have slept at some point, only she wasn’t exactly sure when.

They were sitting facing one another in the bathtub and Drew was showing her how very erotic a toe could be when she plucked up the courage to ask, ‘What’s going to happen with Jamie and Jennie?’

He scowled. ‘I told Jamie that if he ever hurt my sister he would live to regret it. And that I was giving him a chance to make good.’ He saw the look of bewilderment on Shelley’s face. ‘I’ve loaned him the money myself to buy the boat. The rest is up to him.’ His eyes glittered dangerously. ‘He’d just better not blow it. That’s all.’

She leaned across the bubbles and kissed his nose tenderly. ‘You’re a bit of a pussy-cat when it boils down to it, aren’t you, Drew Glover? Lending him all that…all that…’ Her eyes widened in horror as she remembered. ‘Drew! All that money! We’ve left all that money lying on the table in the sitting room! Anyone could have broken in and stolen it!’

‘Come on!’ He climbed out of the bath and lifted her out. Then he threw over her discarded jeans and a thick navy sweater of his. ‘Put this on!’

Despite the fact that she might have lost a great deal of money, she couldn’t help smiling as she wriggled it over her head. Because it smelt of him—and now she felt as though he had filled every one of her senses. They jumped into his car and drove as fast as was safe and when they let themselves breathlessly into Shelley’s house they discovered that the money had indeed disappeared from the coffee table.

‘It’s gone!’ said Shelley dully.

‘Well, it would be, wouldn’t it? We might as well have posted a bloody great notice on the outside of the house. Of all the stupid things to do!’ But his eyes were soft. ‘I guess the only defence we can offer is that we had other things on our mind.’

‘Mmm.’ She reached up on tiptoe to kiss him, because—rightly or wrongly—the money didn’t seem to matter a bit right then. She had far more important things to think about. Like love. ‘We certainly did!’

‘We’ll have to report it,’ he sighed.

‘Maybe there are fingerprints,’ said Shelley hopefully.

‘Better not touch anything!’ He looked around and frowned. ‘I wonder how the hell they got in? There’s no sign of a break-in. You’d better see if they’ve taken anything else, kitten.’