Mistress On Demand. Maggie Cox

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СКАЧАТЬ up her nose at a taste she wasn’t sure she would ever become accustomed to. She needn’t have worried. On a teacher’s salary buying champagne was not exactly a dilemma.

      ‘What do you mean, you scared him off?’ Looking puzzled and beautiful, with her carefully styled blonde hair and her fitted ivory suit, Diana frowned. ‘Nobody scares Dominic Van Straten away from anything! More like the other way round! He told me something important came up that he had to attend to. I thought that might happen. The man barely ever takes a break from his work. What a shame…especially as he’s paying for all of this!’

      ‘Your boss is paying for your wedding feast?’ Now Sophie was aghast. You don’t strike me as a man who dispenses favours easily…she had said to him.

      ‘He insisted. Including all the champagne we can drink. He’s not the easiest man in the world to work for, but you can’t fault his generosity.’

      ‘Really?’ Sophie’s eyes slid guiltily away as she told herself it wasn’t her fault if he was so easily offended. He had, after all, called her a shrew. Had he really expected her to forget that and carry on as normal? But this was Diana’s special day, and she had clearly wanted her boss to be a part of the celebrations. Why wouldn’t she when he’d been decent enough to pay for everything?

      Honesty behoved Sophie to emphasise the truth more forcefully. ‘Diana, listen, it really is my fault that Dominic left! We got off to a bad start. His car inadvertently splashed me with muddy water; that’s why my coat was in such a state. Anyway, I’m afraid I lost my temper with him. Just now, before he left, things just went from bad to worse and I ended up insulting him rather badly.’

      At the appalled look of disbelief on Diana’s face, another surge of horrible guilt washed over Sophie. ‘I didn’t realise he’d paid for your wedding feast or I would have held onto my temper a bit better. I’m really sorry.’

      ‘Oh, Sophie, what have you done?’ Diana groaned, digging through her satin purse to find her mobile phone. ‘I’ll have to ring him and apologise. If I can persuade him to come back you’ve got to promise me you’ll be on your best behaviour, or you and I won’t stay friends for much longer! Do you understand?’

      ‘Perhaps it would just be best if I left now?’

      Knowing she was taking the coward’s way out, Sophie told herself that if Dominic conceded to return to the reception, and Diana enjoyed the rest of her day, then the fact that her best friend wouldn’t be there would be worth it.

      ‘Oh, no, you don’t!’ Grabbing her hand before she could take even one step towards the exit, Diana looked furious. ‘You are going to stay here and face the music! If Dominic expects an apology from you then you are going to give it to him—do you hear me, Sophie? I am not having my wedding day ruined because you were rude to the one person I can’t afford to let you be rude to!’

      CHAPTER TWO

      EATING humble pie had never been so painful. Later that evening, round the dining table, she deliberately avoided eye contact with Dominic.

      After making her stammering apology, Sophie had lapsed into a painful and angry silence. The man hadn’t even had the grace to accept her apology like a gentleman. Instead, he’d arrogantly replied, ‘I will accept your apology, Sophie…for Diana’s sake,’ then continued to talk to Freddie—Diana’s husband—as though Sophie no longer existed.

      Sophie had never felt more belittled or disgruntled in all her life. He had got the upper hand again, and it was clear he was going to make Sophie suffer as a consequence. Right then, as she studied his handsome, hard-jawed profile, she honestly despised the man. She was glad for Diana’s sake that he had relented and returned to the reception, but she almost would have preferred ex-communication from Diana’s friendship than endure the vehement discomfort that she was currently having to endure.

      When the guests moved into the bar area, where a tuxedo-attired pianist was entertaining the hotel residents with some gentle jazz, Sophie wondered how long in all conscience she should stay, before telling Diana she was leaving? Standing alone as she sipped the glass of wine she had brought with her from the table, Sophie glanced up startled as she suddenly found herself face to face with Dominic.

      For a long moment he just stared at her, saying nothing. Her spine prickling with resentment, Sophie remembered that she had promised Diana not to let her temper run away with her again. At least as far as this man was concerned. But, God, it was hard! Swallowing razorblades would surely be easier?

      ‘Having a nice time?’ she asked, then coloured as she realised he could easily interpret such a remark as facetious.

      ‘I can tell you are not happy that I came back, Sophie.’ One corner of his mouth curled back into his smooth cheek. She focused her gaze on the two black buttons on his jacket instead of being persuaded to look into his eyes, unreasonably annoyed that his eyes should be so disagreeably hypnotic and so unrelentingly green.

      ‘Whatever gave you that idea?’

      Now she did sound facetious. Dammit! It was nigh on impossible to be agreeable to this man when he clearly thought himself so much better than everyone else. Stealing a look over Dominic’s broad shoulder, in its perfectly tailored jacket, Sophie caught a pointed glimpse of Diana’s definitely raised eyebrow. It was as if she were silently saying to Sophie, Remember your promise? Don’t go ruining anything else!

      Sophie swallowed hard, and somehow managed to persuade her mostly uncooperative lips into a smile up at Dominic.

      For a moment he registered surprise. Then he glanced round, saw that she’d been looking at Diana, and turned back with a slight disapproving tilt of his jaw. She had to be the most difficult and argumentative woman he had ever come across, Dominic thought. But she had pretty eyes, and a torturously sexy mouth, and even though her ill manners exasperated him she stirred a surprising heat inside him that he couldn’t deny. In fact, as he took another careful sip of his wine Dominic let that heat sizzle a little in sudden concentrated anticipation that he might turn his verbal conflagration with Sophie into a conflagration of a very different but much more pleasurable sort. If she wasn’t passive by nature, there was no way that the woman would be passive in bed.

      Quite unexpectedly, the thought became urgent and goal-orientated, until Dominic found he could think of nothing he’d like more than getting Sophie between the sheets and indulging in the kind of sexual sparring that excited him most. Before the night was through, he vowed to have her purring rather than wanting to scratch his eyes out!

      ‘Your glass is almost empty, I see. How about some more champagne?’

      Before Sophie could even register his intention, Dominic had deftly removed her glass from her hand and, glancing round him, signalled a nearby waiter to give him her glass and an order for more drinks. When he turned back to Sophie, levelling his disturbing gaze on her eyes and then her mouth, as if he would devour her down to her very bones, her senses were suddenly besieged by a wave of desire so ignitable that for a moment she couldn’t think, let alone form words.

      Rocked to the very toes of her expensive cream sandals, she wondered what the hell was wrong with her? She disliked this smug, arrogant man intensely, never mind desired him! She must have had too much champagne and wine. That was the only logical conclusion she could come to right then. She had better slow things right down before she committed one more act of utter and complete folly, and so thoroughly made a fool of herself that she wouldn’t be able to live with herself again.

      ‘I really don’t СКАЧАТЬ