His After-Hours Mistress. Trish Wylie

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      Lucinda nodded. ‘We went to the hospital yesterday to see his grandmother.’

      ‘Ah.’ He dropped into one of the easy chairs. ‘I was going to take him there this afternoon. How was she?’

      ‘Not well at all,’ answered Lucinda crisply. ‘I can’t believe that you’ve let her take care of Tim all this time. She’s far too old. He’s such a handful; it’s not fair on her. No wonder her heart’s giving up.’

      ‘Is that what she told you?’

      ‘Not the Tim bit, but she did mention her heart. She can hardly get her breath.’ Lucinda was really fired up about the whole thing and her voice rose. ‘You should be the one looking after Tim, not his grandmother. Goodness, what were you thinking?’

      ‘I’m thinking I have a full-time job,’ he answered fiercely.

      ‘Nevertheless you could still have him living here with you,’ she slammed. ‘He starts back to school in September. Lots of one-parent families cope. Even working parents. They get help. You could have done that instead of putting all the pressure on Helen.’

      ‘Helen wanted to look after him,’ informed Zane, his brow thunderous now.

      ‘And you let her.’ Lucinda was really fired up now. ‘You didn’t stop to think that it might be too much for her. Oh, no, having Tim here would spoil your nights of passion with whichever woman is your current favourite. I despise you, Zane Alexander.’

      Once the words were out Lucinda wished that she hadn’t uttered them. He’d gone to a lot of trouble to set things up for her here, and this was how she repaid him. Goodness, she wouldn’t blame him if he told her to go. Right now!

      ‘And how about our nights of passion?’ he asked with amazing calmness.

      Actually he was too calm. It worried Lucinda.

      ‘How do you rate those? Were they sordid?’

      Lucinda winced. They definitely hadn’t seemed it at the time. They had been beautiful and sensual and her heart had sung with sheer happiness. Even now, despite her reservations, she still looked on them with pleasure.

      ‘Of course they weren’t,’ he answered for her. ‘You’re letting your emotions run away with you, Lucinda. You know nothing about my private life.’

      ‘I know what I read in the glossies.’

      ‘And you believe it?’

      ‘And I know that you’ve done wrong by your brother.’

      Zane closed his eyes and laced his fingers tightly together. ‘I sometimes think I could strangle you, Lucinda Oliver. And at other times—’ he opened his eyes and looked straight at her ‘—I want to take you to bed. In fact, I think that’s what I might do right now. A form of punishment, shall we say, for daring to turn on me.’ And, with that, he scooped her up into his arms.

      Lucinda’s struggles were to no avail and, to be honest, she didn’t struggle too hard. Zane had made up his mind and that was that. He kicked open the door to his bedroom and she had a quick impression of masculine browns and beiges and a dark green carpet before he laid her down on the bed.

      In a matter of seconds he had ripped off his clothes and then he did the same to her. She was utterly at his mercy, her eyes wide and shocked and appealing, but it made no difference. Zane wanted and Zane was going to take. And she, Lord help her, was powerless to do anything about it.

      She could have left. While he was undressing she could have got off his bed and made for the door. So why hadn’t she? Because she wanted it as much as he did! She had lain there and watched as each inch of his flesh was exposed. It was so familiar to her, so incredibly powerful, that she hadn’t been able to move.

      And this time when he made love to her there were no preliminaries. No long drawn out foreplay, no teasing, no enticing and encouraging. He held himself over her for just a second before he entered her, a second when his eyes were asking whether she wanted to run.

      But by then Lucinda’s heart was racing and her hormones dancing and the very thought of him taking her like this held a very different kind of excitement. It wasn’t until he had entered her that she realised he was not using protection. On all other occasions he had, but this time he’d been in too much of a hurry.

      It was too late now to worry about it and with a bit of luck it was the wrong time of her monthly cycle. There were much deeper issues to think about. Like the fact that she was still in love with him—despite everything! And the fact that his lovemaking was coming to a grand finale far too quickly!

      She could feel her climax rising within her and she knew that Zane was nearing his own. She cried out as he collapsed on top of her, his breathing ragged, hers the same as sensation after exquisite sensation made her writhe beneath him, as her whole body throbbed and her throat went tight.

      And then they were still.

      For a long time they were still.

      Until Zane slowly rolled away from her! Their eyes met and his no longer twinkled. They were filled with soul-destroying sadness instead.

      Lucinda turned away; she couldn’t bear to look at him. She didn’t know why he was sad. Anger she could have understood—it was what had started this off, but sadness? Perhaps he wanted their affair to carry on but knew that it couldn’t? No, that wouldn’t make him sad. Zane was the sort of man who hopped from one girl to another without giving them a second thought.

      She must have been mistaken because he sat up now and looked at her again and there was nothing to suggest sadness. ‘I had to do that, Lucinda.’

      She nodded.

      ‘You could have stopped me.’

      She nodded again.

      ‘Am I to take it then that you didn’t mind?’

      How could she answer that? She did and she didn’t. She was crazy where this man was concerned. It didn’t matter what rational thoughts entered her head, they took off in all the wrong directions whenever he chose to take control.

      He was very good at taking control. It was almost as though he hypnotised her into doing things against her will. He had the power to make her think that she wanted what he wanted. How could that be?

      ‘Lucinda?’

      He touched a finger to her chin and forced her to look at him. ‘I asked whether you minded?’

      Slowly she shook her head. ‘But I would like to go to my room.’ She got up off the bed and, hugging her clothes to her, headed for the door. He let her go. And, completely naked, she walked along the corridor to her own room. Where she threw herself down on the bed and cried.

      Zane was shocked by how easily Lucinda had capitulated, and ashamed for forcing himself on her. He would have let her go if she had fought him off, but she hadn’t, and now he felt guilty. He didn’t feel the pleasure he normally associated with making love to Lucinda, and this was alien to him.

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