The Unexpected Mistress. SARA WOOD

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СКАЧАТЬ at him. He’d listen to logic, she was sure, but he wouldn’t be bullied.

      Proud and erect, she stood up with great dignity, conscious, however, that her five-seven didn’t impinge on Cassian’s six foot.

      And they were now only inches apart, waves of heat thickening the space between them, pouring into her, the heavy, lifeless air clogging up her throat. Laura gulped, feeling that all the power was draining from her legs till they trembled from weakness.

      ‘Well! Are you fighting me, Laura?’ he taunted.

      Rebellion drained away too when she met his challenging eyes. His confidence was daunting. How could she fight him when he held all the cards?

      ‘I—I…’

      ‘Still the mouse,’ he mocked, but with a hint of regret in his dark regard. ‘Still meekly huddling in the corner, afraid of being trodden on.’

      ‘You rat!’ Sue gasped.

      ‘It’s true!’ he cried, his voice shaking in an inexplicable passion. ‘She can’t even stand up for her own flesh and blood!’

      ‘Leave her alone!’ Sue raged.

      ‘I can’t! She has to go! I have no intention of having a lodger around!’ Cassian snapped.

      With a whimper, Laura jerked her head away and found herself staring straight at the photo she’d taken of her son on his ninth birthday. Her heart lurched miserably.

      Adam looked ecstatic. They’d spent the day at Skipton, where they’d explored the castle, picnicked by the river, and splashed out on a special treat of tea and cakes in a cosy café. Cheap and simple as day trips went, but a joy for both of them.

      The recriminations surrounding his conception had been hard to bear. Yet, even in the depths of her shame, Laura had felt a growing joy. This child was hers. And when he was born, her emotions had overwhelmed her, unnerving her with their unexpected intensity.

      Love had poured from her and it had felt as if her heart would burst with happiness. She’d never known she had such feelings. Her child had reached into her very core and found a well of passion hidden there.

      For hours she had cuddled her baby, his warm, living flesh snuggling up to her. And it had been more than compensation for the hard, unremitting drudgery which Enid had imposed on her as a punishment for her ‘lewd behaviour’.

      She’d hardly cared because she had had her son to love. Someone to love her back.

      Laura squared her shoulders. She would never let him down. Adam was horribly vulnerable and deeply sensitive. Cassian couldn’t be allowed to uproot them both. Did he honestly imagine that they’d pack their bags without a murmur, and tramp the streets like vagabonds till someone took them in?

      She flung up her head and spoke before she changed her mind. ‘You’re wrong about me! I will fight you for my home! Tooth and nail—’

      ‘To defend your lion cub,’ he murmured, his voice low and vibrating.

      Her eyes hardened at his mockery. ‘For the sake of my son,’ she corrected in scathing tones, infuriated by his condescension. ‘Sue, get going. I can deal with this better on my own. Besides, I’d rather you didn’t witness the blood he sheds,’ she muttered through her teeth.

      ‘Sounds promising,’ Cassian remarked lazily.

      Laura ignored him because she thought she might choke with anger if she said anything. The situation clearly amused him. For her, it was deadly serious.

      ‘Come on, Sue. Off you go and get those molars drilled,’ she ordered tightly.

      Secretly astonished by her own curt and decisive manner, she pushed her protesting friend towards the door.

      Naturally, Sue resisted. ‘I can’t believe this! The worm turns! This I’ve gotta see!’

      ‘I’ll get the camera out,’ Laura muttered. ‘Please, please, go!’

      ‘I want close-ups!’ Sue hissed. ‘A blow by blow account, when I get back!’

      ‘Whatever! Go!’

      It took her a minute or two before Sue could be budged but eventually she went, flinging dark and lurid warnings in Cassian’s direction and promising Laura a stick of rock from Hong Kong to brain Cassian with if he was still around.

      Quivering like a leaf, Laura shut the door, braced herself, and turned to face him. With Sue gone, it felt as if she was very alone. And she would be—till the following afternoon. Adam was going to his best friend’s house after school and sleeping over. It was just her and Cassian, then.

      Her heart thudded loudly in her chest at the strange pall of silence which seemed to have fallen on the house, intensifying the strained atmosphere.

      Cassian was looking at her speculatively, his eyes half-closed in contemplation, a half-smile on his lips.

      ‘It’s a problem, isn’t it?’ he said mildly.

      ‘The camera or the blood?’ she flung back with rare sarcasm.

      The black eyes twinkled disconcertingly. ‘You and me. In this house together.’

      The huskiness of his voice took her by surprise. It contrasted oddly with the intensity of his manner. There was a determined set to his jaw and the arch of his sensual mouth had flattened into a firm line.

      ‘You can live anywhere. I can’t—’ she began.

      ‘You must have friends who’d take you in,’ he purred.

      ‘I couldn’t impose!’

      ‘You don’t have a choice.’

      She felt close to tears of anger and frustration.

      ‘You don’t understand! I have to stay!’ she insisted frantically.

      ‘Why?’

      ‘Because…’ She went scarlet.

      ‘Yes?’ he prompted.

      She stared at him, unwilling to expose her fear. But she saw no other way out.

      Her eyes blazed with loathing. ‘If you really want to know, I’m scared of going anywhere else!’ she cried shakily.

      He raised a sardonic eyebrow. ‘Then it’s time you did.’

      She gasped. So much for compassion. But Cassian would never know what it was to be uncertain and shy, or to be uncomfortable in unfamiliar surroundings. Her pulses pounded as her heart rate accelerated.

      ‘There’s more,’ she said, her lips dry with fear.

      ‘Yes?’

      She swallowed. This was deeply personal. Normally, wild horses wouldn’t have dragged this out of her, but Cassian had to realise what this house meant to her.

      ‘My…’ СКАЧАТЬ