Wish For The Moon. Кэрол Мортимер

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СКАЧАТЬ was fascinated as he sang a rowdy song with Fergus, able to recognise that his voice was as true now as it was on his albums.

      Suddenly he turned and once again caught her staring at him, sharing a grin with her before turning back to her cousin. Lise felt as if someone had struck her in the chest.

      She was in love! Fully, completely, utterly, in love with Quinn Taylor. And now that he knew she wasn’t a child he seemed to like her too!

      She, Lise Morrison, who had never had a boyfriend in her life, was in love with Quinn Taylor, a man who was known worldwide for his wonderful singing talent, who grossed millions every year in revenue from his songs and albums. It was incredible. Wonderful. It was impossible!

      She was seventeen, he was thirty-two; he was still married, even if he was getting a divorce.

      She felt so deflated she could have cried. As it was she played all the completely wrong notes, breaking off apologetically as Quinn turned to her with gentle enquiry.

      Fergus broke off too as he sensed her distress. ‘Terri and I will go over to the house and get some beers,’ he suggested lightly. ‘We need it after all that singing.’ His arm was about Terri’s shoulders as they left to go over to the house.

      Lise knew she should move away from Quinn, that her emotions were too vulnerable sitting this close to him.

      He turned towards her, leaning his arm on the top of the piano. ‘I’m sorry if I embarrassed you earlier,’ he spoke gruffly. ‘Fergus had mentioned his little cousin to me,’ he shrugged. ‘And I—–’

      ‘It’s all right,’ she hastily dismissed. ‘I am little.’

      His lips curved into a gentle smile. ‘How old are you?’

      ‘Seventeen,’ she supplied reluctantly,

      His eyes widened, and she realised she had surprised him. How old had he thought she was, for goodness’ sake!

      ‘Two days ago,’ she added heavily.

      Again his eyes widened. ‘I had no idea… I should have brought you something,’ he shrugged.

      ‘Why?’ She blinked up at him, fascinated by how clear a blue his eyes were this close, his lashes thick and dark.

      He frowned slightly, staring back at her, both of them suddenly breathing very shallowly. ‘Lise—–’ He began to shake his head.

      She moved slightly closer to him on the bench-seat. ‘If you really want to give me a present…’ she prompted breathlessly.

      ‘Yes?’ The slightly up-and-down movement of his chest as he breathed almost brought him into contact with her breasts.

      She blinked once, closer still. ‘You could kiss me,’ she encouraged huskily.

      He moved back slightly. ‘No, Lise, I—–’ He couldn’t protest any more because she had launched herself into his arms, her arms about his neck as she kissed him with all the love inside her she had just discovered for him.

      It was wonderful, his lips warm and firm beneath her own. She clung to him mindlessly, totally unprepared for the way his hand dug into her nape as he threaded his fingers into her plait there and dragged her painfully away from him.

      His eyes glittered down into hers, his mouth a taut line. ‘What the hell do you think you’re doing?’ he rasped.

      Consternation washed over her as she became completely aware of exactly what she had done. This man was here as Fergus’s guest, had shown her politeness but nothing else, and she had just thrown herself at him!

      His expression softened as he saw the tears glistening in her eyes. ‘You should have waited for the invitation, little one,’ he told her softly. ‘This is the way I like to kiss.’ He gently parted her lips before lowering his head to hers, the way he kissed so much more than the tight-lipped caress she had given him.

      As his lips continued to move against hers she felt as if she had become a part of him, melded to him, following his lead, realising that until this moment she had known nothing about a kiss at all. She felt as if she were being consumed!

      He moved back abruptly as Fergus and Terri could be heard returning up the stairs. ‘Happy birthday,’ he murmured gruffly, standing up to move away from her, his hands thrust into his denims pockets as he stared out across the countryside.

      ‘Think you’ll be able to stand the quiet for another couple of weeks?’ Terri drawled, moving to stand next to him, handing him an open can of beer.

      He turned to her slightly. ‘I was brought up in Alberta, on a wheat farm my parents refuse to leave. I don’t think I’ll ever stop being a country boy,’ he added a little wistfully.

      Lise just sat and watched him, his profile firm and dominant in the last of dusk’s shadows. Her heart was pounding, her hands trembling. Quinn Taylor had just kissed her. Oh, she had asked him to, and the first time she had taken the initiative, but that last kiss Quinn had controlled completely. If Fergus and Terri hadn’t returned when they had…

      ‘Here you are, Squirt.’ Fergus handed her a can of Coke, sitting beside her on the piano bench. ‘Mum says you ought to be going in,’ he added regretfully. ‘You have an early start in the morning.’

      She looked uncomfortably at Quinn, but he was still staring out into the rapidly darkening night. Maybe he hadn’t heard her being ordered to bed as if she were still a little girl; she certainly hoped so!

      But her aunt was right about the early start. She had been helping her uncle with his summer crops during her break between finishing school and starting college when the new term began. Farm work was long and hard, but her uncle needed the help, and the money he was able to pay her was more than welcome. Just last week she had bought another Quinn Taylor album with some of her wages.

      ‘I’ll go in now,’ she nodded, smoothing down her dress as she stood up. ‘Goodnight, Terri,’ she called to the other girl. ‘Goodnight—Quinn.’ She refused to call him Mr Taylor after he had kissed her so thoroughly.

      The bleakness left his eyes as he turned to her. ‘Goodnight, Lise,’ he returned gruffly.

      She smiled at him shyly. ‘I—I’ll see you tomorrow.’

      He nodded abruptly, his expression giving away none of his thoughts.

      ‘How about a kiss goodnight, Squirt?’ Fergus teased as she would have turned to leave.

      For a moment she looked at Quinn blankly, and then she realised Fergus wanted her to kiss him goodnight, not the other man.

      ‘Of course.’ Embarrassed colour darkened her cheeks as she bent to kiss her cousin on the cheek. ‘Goodnight, Fergus.’ She smiled at him shakily.

      ‘’Night, button.’ He returned the smile.

      She and Fergus had always been the best of friends, her cousin feeling none of the resentment towards her that so many other children might have done when a new baby suddenly invades their home, especially as that baby wasn’t actually a brother or sister. Or maybe it was because of that, because he had always realised she would never СКАЧАТЬ