The Bedroom Surrender. Emma Darcy

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СКАЧАТЬ smile widened to a grin. ‘I’ve learned to be a bit cautious about jumping in with first names here in England. I’m from Australia and old habits die hard.’

      Rather intriguing to find a dyed-in-the-wool English earl married to an Australian. Was he a rebel, too?

      ‘Please join us,’ she went on, gesturing to a nearby armchair. ‘The children are out walking the dogs but they should be back any minute.’

      She’d barely finished speaking when Cate burst into the room, throwing the double doors to it wide open. ‘Hi, Dad! Saw your car coming up the drive,’ she breathlessly informed.

      Celeste was right on Cate’s heels, along with a couple of Yorkshire terriers. ‘We ran but you got here first, Mr. Cazell. Oh, do shut up, Fluffy and Buffy!’ This to the dogs who were yapping at Adam—a stranger on their territory.

      Two small boys raced in past the girls and the dogs, coming to an abrupt and rather shy halt at seeing Cate’s father, eyeing him up and down before the older one—possibly all of five—commented with considerable awe, ‘He’s as big as Uncle Zachary, Mum.’

      Rebel laughed at the remark.

      Then in strolled Rosalie James.

      She looked directly at him.

      And all Adam’s instincts transmitted a wild belief that the time warp in the tunnel of trees had been spiralling him towards this moment.

      CHAPTER TWO

      SO THIS was Adam Cazell…Cate’s father…

      As her nephew had just said, as big as Zachary Lee, but what of his heart? From listening to his daughter, Rosalie had formed the strong impression that Adam Cazell didn’t give enough of it to Cate, whose discontent with her home life was all too evident. Celeste thought her best friend’s father was fabulous, but that had more to do with her image of him as a daring billionaire businessman with enormous buying power.

      A colourful man, Rosalie thought, if viewed from the perspective of his flamboyant achievements, but close up…

      Then the big man’s gaze locked onto hers, jolting her with an emanation of power that squeezed her heart and sent a weird shiver down her spine. Silver grey eyes…like bullets…tearing through defences she had raised a long, long time ago. She stared back at him, helpless to do anything else, feeling his aggression weakening every bone in her body.

      Hugh rescued her, moving to draw the boys forward and introduce them. ‘These are my sons, Geoffrey and Malcolm.’

      It forced Adam Cazell to look at them and say something appropriate, giving Rosalie enough recovery time to be more on guard when her introduction came.

      ‘And this is Rebel’s sister, Rosalie James.’

      Politeness demanded she touch his hand. He seized complete possession of hers, strong fingers wrapping around it, pressing a hot imprint that felt like a claim on her entire body—his for the taking.

      Resistance burned in her mind.

      Nobody took her. Nobody!

      ‘Her sister?’ The assault of his eyes was briefly halted by a flicker of surprise at the relationship. He glanced at Rebel, then back to Rosalie, frowning.

      ‘No likeness,’ she dryly interpreted.

      Celeste piped up. ‘Everyone in Rebel’s family was adopted, Mr. Cazell. From all over the world. Rebel is the English one…’

      ‘And you?’ he asked Rosalie, his eyes as sharp as steel knives.

      Every instinct screamed to deny him any private information. She sensed he would maul it unmercifully. ‘My life is my own, Mr. Cazell,’ she said with quiet dignity.

      ‘Adam,’ he insisted.

      She denied him the familiarity. Give this man an inch and he’d take a mile, and Rosalie was not about to travel his road which she’d already judged to be totally centred on what he wanted. She tore her gaze from his to send a quelling message to her chatterbox niece.

      ‘Let’s give Cate the chance to talk to her father, Celeste. She hasn’t seen him for…how long has it been, Cate?’

      It was a deliberate barb, aimed at hitting some paternal guilt. Frustratingly, his daughter defused it. ‘Oh, Dad will get around to me in his own good time,’ she answered off-handedly.

      Surprisingly Adam Cazell laughed, released Rosalie’s hand and swung towards his daughter, spreading his arms invitingly. ‘I could do with a hug, Catie mine.’

      Her young face lit up with joy in the openly affectionate invitation. She flew at him and he lifted her up and whirled her around. ‘Dad, I’m not a little kid anymore,’ she protested, mindful of her dignity in this company but loving his uninhibited pleasure in her nonetheless.

      He set her down with a look of helpless dismay. ‘The terrible teens,’ he moaned. ‘You’re only one small step into it. Does everything have to change?’

      She huffed an exasperated sigh at him. ‘You have to face the fact I’m growing up.’

      ‘Well, you can teach me about it over the holidays,’ he said with grand generosity.

      ‘Sure.’ Her mouth twisted. ‘A few weeks to pack it all in.’

      The irony floated right past him. Or he chose to ignore it, smiling to dispel the slightly sour note. ‘So what have you two been doing this past week?’ A twinkling look at Celeste. ‘Shall we sit down and you can regale me with teenage girl things?’

      Quite a charmer, Rosalie thought, watching Celeste’s eager response to the invitation. They all moved to the lounge setting near the windows. With the confidence of a charismatic king, Adam Cazell proceeded to court his daughter and the family whose guest she still was until after lunch.

      Rosalie had chosen an armchair slightly apart from the rest of them, determined on observing rather than participating. She knew he was aware of her detachment and would undoubtedly try to breach it sooner or later, which would put her on her mettle again, but she felt safe enough to watch him for a while, and he was quite compellingly watchable.

      The charm tempered an innate forcefulness that obviously fuelled everything he tackled, explaining why he succeeded in whatever he undertook in the business world. And he was attractive, as well. Not in any pretty playboy sense. His face was too rugged to be called classically handsome but its strong lines and angles had a very male appeal that Rosalie judged would automatically evoke a positive response in both men and women. Besides which, the rather unruly waves of his dark hair softened the craggy look, adding to his charm, making him appear approachable.

      The boys certainly weren’t frightened of him.

      More fascinated.

      As they’d been by Zachary Lee.

      The comparison niggled at Rosalie’s sense of rightness. Adam Cazell might have the same formidable height and breadth of chest and shoulder as her big brother, promising a strength that would be easy to lean on, but she was sure he was much more a taker by nature than СКАЧАТЬ