A Night With Consequences (12 page)

The way that she dressed was in fact to his advantage. He did not want anyone else seeing what a stunning woman she really was. He would never get enough of her. Not that he wanted permanency, but contrarily he did not want to let her go. At least not for a long time yet!

‘Am I being persuasive enough?’ He deliberately kept his voice low and sexy as he posed the question. ‘Isn’t this what you want, Kara?’ Because it was as sure as hell what
he
wanted. The merest touch of her lips against
his fired a wild need through his body. Simply looking into her amazing blue eyes created a surge of adrenalin. There was no way he could work with her all day and not be allowed to release the energy she created. Kara had become a part of his life and he did not want to let her go.

‘Mmm.’

It was the only sound he heard from her. Already he could feel her beginning to respond to him, the defences she had built so determinedly starting to crumble, and in little more than a few seconds her body arched involuntarily into his, her hips tight against him, her lips parting hungrily.

He should have felt guilty, but he didn’t. Kara had turned into the most amazing woman—truly amazing—and he did not want to think that her strong virtues could hold him to ransom. He would not let them! He would do everything in his power to ensure she changed her mind.

Kara felt that she had let herself down. If she had not given herself to Blake in the first place then this would not be happening. She had become like every other one of his PAs—enchanted by Blake’s seductive power.

He’d flattered her when he had probably seen very little that was beautiful about her. And she had responded to that flattery and given in to him. And why? Because she’d been available to him at the conference and he was too virile a man to go without sex for long. Colour flamed her cheeks and she tried to pull free.

To no avail. Blake’s arms tightened resolutely. ‘Do not think I’m unaware that your need is as great as mine.’

It was—but didn’t he know that people would talk?

That her life would be hell if anyone found out she was being bedded by her boss? This was insanity of the highest order, and she ought to have known that from the beginning. What a crazy fool she had been to even
think
that Blake Benedict would settle for anything less than a full-blown affair.

‘Kara …’ His voice murmured softly against her mouth. ‘It is all right. Everything is all right.’

No, it wasn’t. It was all wrong. Everything she was doing was wrong. Except that another part of her mind, the insane part, was urging her to accept everything that Blake had to offer. He made her feel more feminine than she ever had in her life. He had given her a good feeling about her body. He had given her confidence. She had become a different woman, and if she was honest with herself then she truly liked that person.

But that was then and this was now. Circumstances were different. She could not go through with it. Except that there was still a part of her, a part of her head that was not connected to her brain, that was telling her it was all right to let go. That she deserved some pleasure in her life. That she could not remain a prim spinster because of the insecurity her father had beat into her, or because she needed to stay at home to help and protect her mother from the man who was ruling both their lives.

In the end she gave in to the primal urges that were taking over. She could no longer deny herself the excitement of being in Blake’s arms, of his kisses, of his touch. Already an army of pleasure-seeking gremlins were marching through her body, tracking along nerves and veins, infiltrating her blood stream, resulting in
her melting against him, accepting his kisses, returning them with a fervour that should have scared her but instead only increased her hunger.

When finally they both paused for breath, with Kara clinging on to Blake because she knew her legs would buckle if she let go, he said softly, ‘My driver will pick you up at seven-thirty.’

‘My mother—’

‘I’m sure your mother will not mind you dining with me. Would you like me to talk to her?’

‘No!’ Kara’s response was instant. ‘I’ll tell her myself.’ Which meant that she had agreed to his suggestion—as he had known all along that she would.

She was not sure what her mother would say, though. Lynne had not been slow in voicing her opinion that the Blake Benedicts of this world did not take women seriously. Especially their personal assistants. And Kara really had no wish to heap any more trouble on their shoulders.

It was too late now to back out. She had given her answer by letting him kiss her. But when she got home at the end of the day, when she told her mother that she was dining with Blake, her parent’s reaction was not what she expected.

‘It sounds as though he is a good man after all,’ she said. And when Kara came downstairs in one of the beautiful new dresses that Blake had bought for her, tears filled her mother’s eyes.

Kara knew that she was thinking her father had been the reason why she had never worn fine clothes before. Her heart ached—both for herself and for her mother.

As she slipped into the waiting saloon Kara did not
see the other car parked on the opposite side of the road, or the driver watching her intently; nor was she aware that it pulled away and began to follow them.

Her head was in the clouds. Despite her own initial concerns she was excited to be dining out with Blake. Although she had been resolute in her decision today to let none of her time spent in Italy intrude, once Blake had kissed her every good intention had fled. And now she was filled with unbelievable anticipation.

As the city was left behind Kara began to wonder where they would be eating. The glass partition between her and the driver prevented her from asking, and it was not until he halted in front of a set of iron gates, passing through them as they opened to follow a long drive, that she finally realised she was being taken to Blake’s home.

Pinpricks of excitement—or was it fear?—heated her skin, and she sat forward on the edge of her seat. But even though she was expecting something impressive nothing prepared her for the grandeur that confronted her eyes. It was a stunningly beautiful mock-Tudor-style house overlooking its own lake—not as large as Lake Como, but imposing all the same. And the house was quite simply huge, making Kara wonder how one man could live there alone.

He came out to greet her, casually elegant in pale grey linen trousers and a matching short-sleeved shirt. ‘Welcome to my home.’ He kissed her gently on the lips, and even that one light touch created a sizzle of excitement, and with his arm about her shoulders he led her inside.

Kara was totally speechless—even more so when
she saw the huge oak-panelled entrance hall. A staircase with barley-twist balustrades ran right up the centre, and she caught a glimpse of a galleried landing either side.

‘I wasn’t expecting this,’ she said.

‘Where did you think I lived? In some smart London apartment?’

‘It would make more sense.’ Surely this place was too big for him?

‘I like space. I like the countryside. Quite simply I like it here. Besides, I do a lot of entertaining—corporate sometimes. It suits me perfectly. Would you like a tour, or are you hungry? I believe dinner is almost ready to be served.’

‘Then we will eat first,’ declared Kara, still breathless from both her impression of the house and Blake’s nearness.

‘Once again you look stunning,’ he said, with something deep and throaty in his voice—something that sent a further quiver of hunger though Kara’s veins. ‘But no less sexy than you did today, in that terrible suit of yours.’

‘How dare you call my suit terrible?’ she said with pretended indignance, tossing her head, her thick glossy hair brushing the side of her face as she looked him straight in the eye.

His lips quirked. ‘Of course—I was forgetting. It is your suit of armour. But unfortunately for you it doesn’t work against me any more. You’re ravishing, Miss Redman, whatever you wear.’

‘Should you really be saying that to your personal
assistant?’ she threw back, enjoying this teasing side to her employer.

‘There are lots of things I’d like to say to you,’ he growled, ‘but none that would be appropriate for the moment. Perhaps later …’

The innuendo in his voice created a further chaotic river of excitement, and she could not help wondering whether he would suggest that she stay the night.

The dining room was as impressive as the entrance hall, with a polished oak floor and a beamed ceiling, and a long oak table in the centre that seated at least a dozen people. Laid for the two of them, it looked slightly incongruous. A bowl of sweetly scented pink roses freshly picked from the garden stood in the centre, with matching candles either side in silver candelabrum.

‘You have gone to all this trouble for
me?
‘ she asked in an awed whisper.

‘You do not think you are worth it? Come, let me prove that you are.’ His kiss turned her hunger for food into hunger of a very different kind. And when his hands cupped the cheeks of her bottom, urging her against him, she was left in no doubt about his need of her too.

‘Blake!’

‘Mmm? Blake what?’

‘We should not be doing this. We should be taking our seats. What if—?’

‘Ahem!’

The sound of someone clearing their throat caused Kara to spring away. She felt one of her embarrassing guilty blushes coming on, but Blake was as calm and relaxed as if all they had been doing was talking.

‘Ah, Mrs Beauman. This is Kara, and we are both absolutely starving. Kara—my housekeeper.’

‘Pleased to meet you, Kara,’ said the short, cheerful woman. ‘Blake surprised me when he said he had invited a guest for dinner. I usually get more warning.’

‘I hope I’m not inconveniencing you,’ said Kara at once.

‘Not at all.’

Kara waited until Mrs Beauman had left before she turned to face Blake. ‘Well, that was embarrassing. I hope she knows I’m just your PA!’

‘You are not my PA tonight, Kara. You are my—friend. My lady-friend. My—whatever you would like to call yourself. My lover, perhaps?’

Again that telltale blush, but more furiously this time. ‘Please don’t call me that, Blake. I know it’s what I was in Italy, but things have changed.’

‘Have they?’

‘Of course they have. I keep you telling you that.’

‘Except that your body tells me differently,’ he said, his voice a deep growl in his throat. ‘Don’t try to hide or deny it. But let’s not think about that now. Let’s take our seats. Mrs Beauman does not like to be kept waiting.’

The meal was scrumptious. That was the only word Kara could use to describe it. Everything was homemade and tasty and tempting. They started with a very flavoursome carrot and coriander soup, followed by lamb chops with garden peas and new potatoes. Then fresh raspberries and cream for dessert.

There was nothing fancy about it, but everything was delicious. She ate too much, and drank too much, and by the time they had finished she was so relaxed that
she was laughing and chattering as though Blake was a lifelong friend instead of the man she worked for.

Afterwards, instead of touring the house, they took a walk in the grounds. ‘We need to walk our dinner off first,’ said Blake, and Kara agreed. She was excited by the swimming pool, with its own changing rooms and sauna, but even more enthralled by the log cabin that stood in a lightly wooded area. It had a living roomcum-kitchen, a bedroom and a shower room, with decking at the front.

The house was lovely, but so big. This was cosy—this was something else. Intimate. Sexy. And clearly Blake thought so too. He caught her in his arms as they were viewing the bedroom and pulled her down on the bed. ‘I’ve been wanting to do this all day,’ he growled. ‘You’ve been driving me insane, do you realise that?’

Kara had been determined not to let Blake make love to her tonight. If she let him get away with it now she would be for ever at his mercy. But what was a girl to do when her heart ruled her head? When her body craved fulfilment? When the most amazing man in the world, a man who could have any woman he liked, desired
her?
How could she refuse him?

‘Y
OUR
house is incredible.’ Blake had just given Kara a guided indoor tour, and she had lost count of the number of rooms—each one furnished to an incredibly high standard. By comparison it made the house she and her mother lived in look like a doll’s house.

‘I will take that as a compliment.’

They were sitting in the conservatory, which looked out over the lake and the gardens beyond. The inky dark sky was laced with a myriad stars and a sliver of silver moon. The lake and surrounding area was lit by hidden lights. It reminded Kara of Lake Como.

‘I still don’t see why you want something so huge,’ she said. ‘Was it once your family home?’

Blake gave her one of his body-tingling smiles and shook his head. ‘We didn’t live anywhere this grand. My mother actually still lives in the house where I was born.’

Kara had seen a photograph of his mother standing proudly beside Blake at his graduation. She looked a very strong and very fine woman. ‘And was that a photo of your father I saw in the drawing room?’ She had meant to ask him at the time, but somehow their mouths had been otherwise engaged. She found it strange that
he never talked about his father, though she supposed it was because he had lost him when he was so young.

Blake nodded. ‘It was taken some years before he fell ill.’

‘You look like him.’

‘So I’ve been told.’

‘What was he like?’

‘He was very strict. He’d help me with my homework, make sure it was done, but he was of the old-fashioned school, believing that children should be seen and not heard. He was an academic, actually, his head always stuck in a book. He was kind and fair, though, and it was a sad day when he died. He’d been ill a long time and it was expected, but even so I wasn’t too young to feel it.’

He went quiet for a moment, and Kara felt sorry that she had asked the question. She had not meant to bring back sad memories. If only her own father had been of such good character her life would have been so different. ‘I expect your mother still misses him?’