‘Don’t worry, I’ve got plenty more gowns back there.’
Yet again she had rallied to issue the subtle threat. ‘Hmm-mmm…’ his lips curved as she looked at him ‘…I bet you have…’
When she appeared in the next dress he breathed a sigh and stopped pacing. She looked…beautiful. Ethereal and gorgeous, and very, very sexy. ‘That’s the one. How much?’ he said with relief. They told him and he hoped the hairs standing up on the back of his neck weren’t too obvious. ‘Okay, we’ll take it…’As the assistant turned to bestow a look of triumph on her manager he added in a whisper only Liv could hear, ‘Would you like me to help you take it off?’
‘That won’t be necessary,’ she told him primly.
He loved her prissy voice in situations like this. It was a real turn-on. ‘Wrap it up, please,’ he said to the assistant, glad of the distraction.
They bought shoes and a bag too, but not matching, because that wasn’t cool, Liv said. Okay, so what did he know about fashion? He gave in over the cashmere shawl as well. He’d seen her looking at it and trying to act as if she didn’t care about leaving it behind. He liked spoiling her. He liked seeing the look of surprise on her face when he did so. It was a huge and welcome contrast to the expression on Liv’s face when he’d found her at Acacia Drive.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CADE had been more than generous, Liv reflected outside the store. So generous she didn’t know how to thank him. She had offered to pay him back—and then regretted it when he asked her how. ‘Out of my wages, if you hire me,’ she’d told him, keeping her eyes wide and innocent. ‘How else?’
Cade’s look had made her wish she hadn’t asked the question. Nothing was settled yet.
Oh, well, she would just have to work out the details later. Cade had made a point of saying the ball was his idea and it was up to him to cover any expenses she incurred. At that point she had settled for a smile and a gracious thank you. She still felt a little awkward after everything that had happened between them, not to mention everything that lay ahead of them, but Cade seemed to be taking everything in his stride, and so must she.
Liv scrambled back on the Harley after Cade stowed her packages in the neat under-seat saddlebag. The leather saddle was already throbbing with promise as he revved the engine. Was it possible for even a second to forget about sex while Cade was around? As he opened up the throttle Liv imagined the motor was pulsating in a mocking salute to her ignorance of sex and Cade’s experience of most things. As they powered away into the evening traffic she had to resist the temptation to lay her cheek against Cade’s back. He was such a strong force; metal to her meringue. Though, in fairness, she was starting to gain a crisp outer crust—so perhaps they were good for each other.
Deciding that was a dangerous turn for her thoughts to take, Liv changed direction and concentrated on the fabulous gown Cade had chosen for her. It was the most expensive in the store by far…a dream of a dress in apricot silk chiffon; a bias cut sheath that fell close to the body over a slinky coral underskirt…Cade had said it brought out the colour in her cheeks—when she could have told him that his dark stare was all it took to do that. Nothing was too good for his partner at the ball, he’d said, dismissing her concern when she’d questioned the expense. It was the right dress for the occasion, and as far as he was concerned the matter was closed.
‘We’ll have a fashion show when we get back,’ Cade informed her through the radio contact in their helmets.
‘Oh, will we?’ she teased him. Her heart thumped painfully in her chest at the thought that their after-dinner date was approaching fast.
Cade slowed the bike as they approached the turn into the drive at Featherstone. ‘I’ll just put the Harley away, and you can come downstairs and surprise me.’
‘Fine.’ She had to force an airy note into her voice. It was hard to believe she’d been so foolish—sex lessons with Cade? Was she mad?
When he stopped the bike she dismounted and removed the helmet, handing it back to him gingerly in case their fingers touched. She hoped he couldn’t read her thoughts as he handed her the parcels—they were censored. All she could focus on was the sight of Cade’s body flexing, and the unmistakable bulge in his jeans. His iron hips looked good enough to bite—
Which she’d have every opportunity to do before long, Liv reminded herself.
‘Something wrong?’ Cade said, frowning.
Plenty. ‘No…nothing.’
Liv hugged the parcels as Cade shrugged and remounted the bike. His jeans were stretched tight over contours that would soon be revealed in all their naked glory, and as she’d never seen him properly naked before her imagination was working overtime.
‘Come down to the kitchen when you’re ready,’ he shouted back.
‘I’m ready now,’ Liv murmured anxiously. If losing her virginity had been incredible, then progressing her education under Cade’s tutelage made her shake with excitement—or was that fear? All she could be sure of was, the more she loved him, the more she had to lose, and she loved him a lot.
Shaking the hair out of his eyes, he lowered the temperature of the power spray to ice. It was the only way he knew how to deal with a rebellious body, and his was really acting up. Too hungry for too long, it ached like hell for Liv. Once tasted, never forgotten. And that time in the kitchen had been an unsatisfactory encounter—a taste when he needed a banquet to satisfy his hunger for her.
But she’d been a virgin, his inner voice reminded him. Had he forgotten that? No, and he’d make it up to her now. He just wished she hadn’t come up with this crazy scheme of hers; things should happen naturally, but she’d had to go and set an appointment—
Which his body found an interesting proposition even if he strongly disapproved. He tried thundering his fists against the tiles, but that only brought Liv into clearer focus. He wanted her. It was that simple and that complicated.
Killing the spray, he grabbed a towel and dried off roughly. Staring in the mirror, he faced facts: he was too old for Liv; too hard. He’d seen too much. He wore scars inside as well as out. Rich and successful, maybe, but he was still filled with the type of restlessness that had plagued adventurers since the dawn of time. What he needed was a home port, and to date he hadn’t found one that could hold him. And now Liv of all people had come along. Liv with her frills and dainty ways, who demanded he teach her about sex. And then he was supposed to turn his back on her? Straightforward enough, she thought. But he was a protector, not a jerk.
Burying his face in a towel, he scrubbed at it impatiently. He wanted more than sex with Liv, but what did he have to offer her when he could never forget the past? What would it take for him to move on with his life?
Tossing the towel aside, he thumbed his stubble impatiently. He glared at his reflection, as if Lieutenant Colonel Grant was someone he didn’t like too much. He looked like the bad guy in a film with all the scars. He thought of Liv again, and how her prettiness and purity and innocence contrasted so starkly with him. He should know better than to go through with this—except that he wanted to.
Liv gazed in the mirror with amazement. In the eternal quest to see her married, her mother had ensured she understood what suited her, but this gown that Cade had bought was by far the most stunning thing she had ever worn. Of course, it cost many times her usual budget. She had always relied on savvy buying and cute accessories. It wasn’t necessary to spend so much money, but Cade had insisted. And he was right about the colour suiting her—she had never worn apricot before.
She thought about standing at Cade’s side when he was in uniform…She thought about Cade out of uniform. And then told herself sternly that she’d better stop thinking about him at all and get downstairs before she lost every
bit of courage she had.
Cade was stoking the fire when she walked into the kitchen. He straightened up slowly. ‘You look amazing…No, really, you do…But you’ve got a strap twisted—come over here.’
She could have sorted it out for herself, but what fun would that be?
Cade’s touch on her naked skin made her tremble; she had to look away. She could tease him, but she couldn’t blank her feelings—not when Cade’s lazy stare was making every part of her tremble with awareness. This was crazy. She felt more of a virgin than she had ever done. And then a horrible thought hit her: What if Cade had changed his mind now he’d seen her? What if he couldn’t bring himself to fulfil his part of the bargain?
How bad would that be?
How relieved would she be?
‘You’ll do,’ he said dryly. ‘Now go and change back into your jeans; we’ve got work to do—’
‘For the ball, of course…’ A reprieve! ‘I’ll be right back.’ She bounded up the stairs, sure that Cade was glad to have an excuse not to go ahead with his part of the bargain.
She was down on her hands and knees scrubbing when Cade came up behind her.
‘The ballroom’s clean, or hadn’t you noticed I had contractors come in and clean it after your comment about it looking so sad?’
Brushing back a strand of hair, Liv plonked her scrubbing brush back in the pungent, disinfectant-laced water inside her blue plastic bucket. ‘You know, I’m beginning to think you like to see me in the role of Cinderella.’
Cade’s lips curved. ‘I like to see you on your hands and knees in front of me…’
‘Cade! What are you doing?’
‘Guess.’
Liv’s mouth dropped open as Cade hunkered down. For a moment there she had thought—‘You really are bad.’