First Love, Last Love (17 page)

‘Why not when they died?’ Lauri asked huskily.

‘You’d idolised Robert as your father,’ Jane sighed. ‘I just couldn’t do that to you when you’d just lost him. After that there just never seemed to be a right time. Maybe I was being a coward again, I don’t know, but I kept to my role of loving aunt, longing to tell you the truth but knowing I’d left it much too late.’

‘You haven’t,’ Lauri squeezed her hand. ‘Not for Laurence or me. You do still love him, don’t you?’

‘I never stopped. But he was married, with no chance of a divorce, and I knew I had to give him up or feel guilty for the rest of my life. I never meant to hurt your sister, Alex.’ She looked at him pleadingly.

‘I know that,’ he said gently. ‘Now don’t you think
you should go in and see Laurence? Unless you want him to suffer another heart attack …’

Jane frowned worriedly. ‘Is that why he’s here?’

‘Yes.’ Alex smiled. ‘So would I be if suddenly faced with a daughter of seventeen!’

‘Anything’s possible,’ Lauri put in bitterly.

He gave her an angry look. ‘Laurence is very eager to see you,’ he spoke to Jane. ‘Lauri and I will be in the visitors’ room when you’re ready to leave.’

‘Thank you,’ she gave a nervous smile before going into Laurence’s room.

‘I thought you handled that very well,’ Alex sat opposite Lauri, shielding her from the other people in the room.

‘Am I supposed to thank you for your praise?’ she asked sarcastically.

‘No,’ he sighed, ‘I don’t expect you to do anything.’

‘Good,’ her sparkling eyes glared her hatred of him. ‘Because accepting Laurence as my father, and Jane as my mother, doesn’t mean I go one step further and accept you as my lover.’

‘I didn’t ask,’ he said harshly. ‘Your attitude towards your parents may have been totally adult, but you’re still the child I don’t want in my life. So before refusing to share my bed, wait until you’re asked. Get it?’ he asked vehemently.

‘Yes,’ she acknowledged huskily.

The wedding took place three months later, a very quiet affair because of Laurence’s recent ill-health. Lauri had got to know her father well during the last few months, had come to like and respect him, although she still had a little trouble calling him ‘Dad’. That he and Jane adored each other there could be no doubt. It was as if their years apart had never been, and Lauri had never seen Jane so animated.

Steve still seemed to be rather dazed by the sudden
turn of events, although being the one to tell Robin to get lost had more than made up for that. Not that he had been that blunt, but Robin and his parents had made a hasty retreat when informed of his fiancée’s other ‘family’.

Much to Lauri’s annoyance Alex Blair had been chosen as best man, and etiquette decreed that as the bridesmaid she be accompanied by him. Steve brought along his girl-friend of two months, and the six of them had dinner at one of the exclusive restaurants in town before splitting up into pairs and going their separate ways.

Not that Lauri wanted to be with Alex Blair, but in the circumstances she had little choice. Jane and Laurence had gone to a hotel for the night, Steve and Joanna had gone on to an all-night party, so she was left with no choice but to accept Alex’s offer of a lift home.

‘It seems strange to think I once said Jane had no hidden depths,’ he remarked with amusement, the windscreen wipers on as the rain pelted down on the car. ‘She certainly kept you hidden.’

‘I would probably have done the same in her position,’ Lauri bristled angrily.

‘No, you wouldn’t,’ Alex shook his head firmly. ‘For all her confidence and air of self-assurance, you have more strength of character than Jane. You wouldn’t have collapsed, either mentally or physically, as she did. You’re a fighter. You’ve done nothing but fight me since the moment we met.’

She raised her eyebrows. ‘A question of self-preservation.’

‘Explain that remark,’ he ordered curtly.

‘You’ve made no secret of your physical attraction towards me, although why it should exist I have no idea—’

‘I have,’ his gaze ran over her appraisingly. ‘Oh yes, I have.’

Lauri gave him a surprised glance. ‘I thought you said you were no longer interested.’

‘Until you grew up. I happen to think you have. But we’re diverting. Carry on with your explanation.’

Her mouth tightened. ‘You’re so bossy. I have no idea why I still—’

‘Yes?’ he prompted as she bit her lip.

‘Nothing,’ she blushed. ‘As you said, we’re diverting.’

‘But such interesting diversions,’ he grinned. ‘I believe you were about to say you were still attracted to me too.’

No such thing! She had been about to admit her
love
for him. She remembered how Jane—her mother, had told her that Laurence was her first love, and how he had remained the only love of her life, that he was now her last love too. Alex meant the same thing to Lauri, her first love, and her last love. ‘We were talking about my self-preservation,’ she reminded him firmly.

‘Okay,’ he sighed.

‘Right. Well, you told me at the beginning that to you familiarity always leads to boredom.’

‘I believe the word I used was contempt. And I feel far from contempt for you.’

She looked away from the warmth in his eyes. ‘Yes, well, you made no attempt to pretend your going out with me at all was anything but a way of becoming unattracted to me. You even
made
me admit to being attracted to you.’

‘And how did I do that?’ They had come to a stop outside her house, the car engine off, only the sound of the heavy rain to disturb them.

Lauri blushed. ‘You know how.’

‘Like this?’ He bent forward to claim her softly parted lips, tasting their sweetness with slow enjoyment. ‘And this?’ He invaded her inner warmth with the sensuous tip of his tongue, his hand moving caressingly down her throat to cup her breast.

The air was electric between them, Lauri’s body trembling with the desire she had been denied for so long. And she was melting, melting, becoming part of Alex through sheer force of will on his part.

‘This car wasn’t designed for making love,’ he murmured throatily, his lips travelling over the creamy skin his exploring hands had revealed, working a slow erotic pattern to the rosy peak of her breast, holding her tightly against him at her cry of pleasure.

She swallowed hard. ‘Making love?’ she questioned his description, as she had done once before.

‘Yes, damn you!’ He looked up at her with deep blue eyes. ‘Making love!’

‘Alex …?’

‘I love you, you stupid child,’ he rasped angrily.

Shock warred with anger. ‘Alex, you can’t tell a girl you love her in that fashion,’ she admonished, laughter finally winning.

‘I just did. But if it makes you any happier …’ His hands came up to cup each side of her face, and he took his time kissing each delicious feature, finally moving back to look at her as if he wanted never to see anything but her face. ‘I know I’ve been a brute to you at times, darling Lauren, but I took one look at those flashing green eyes, freckled snub nose, and adorable—kissable—mouth,’ his actions suited his words. ‘And I knew I’d met the girl I was going to marry.’

‘You certainly didn’t act like it,’ she complained, still not able to believe what he was saying to her.

‘I know that, because “girl” was the appropriate word. I’m used to sophisticates, women of my own age who wanted what I wanted.’

‘And I didn’t?’ she asked shyly.

‘Not at first. It took all of my persuasion to get you to even go out with me.’ He frowned. ‘Lauren, do you love me?’

‘You haven’t finished telling me everything yet,’ she stubbornly refused to answer him.

‘You little—! Okay,’ he sighed, touching her lips with the tip of his thumb. ‘God, I want to kiss you!’

‘Later,’ she dismissed impatiently.

‘You really mean that?’

‘Yes! Now, please …’

He drew a ragged breath. ‘When you say yes like that—! All right, I’ll finish what I was saying. But later—!’ His eyes were eloquent with meaning. ‘I loved you on sight. But I knew I was in for trouble because the next time I saw you were kissing that boy in the lift,’ he said with remembered anger.

‘He was kissing me,’ she corrected. ‘And I soon forgot about that when you kissed me immediately afterwards.’

‘You did?’

‘Mm,’ she nodded.

‘I wish I’d known. I was furious—’

‘I gathered that.’

‘So would you have been if you’d been me. After that I used any way I could of seeing you—blackmail, seduction, you name it and I tried it. But I never saw you as a means to revenge on Laurence. Never! But I was going about winning you in completely the wrong way. Like I said, you’re a fighter, and by forcing you into seeing me I was ruining my chances.’

‘I was very attracted to you.’

‘Was?’ His fingers bit into her arm.

‘Still am,’ she corrected.

‘Have you heard enough now?’ he groaned, his gaze locked hungrily on her mouth.

‘No.’

‘God, you’re a little tease! It would be difficult to rape you in the front seat of this car, but I think I might manage it,’ he warned. ‘Through sheer desperation.’

‘You should have brought the Rolls,’ she said practically.
‘There would have been more room in that. Actually, the simplest thing to do would be to go into the house, we have it all to ourselves.’

‘Lauren?’ he looked hopeful.

‘Mm?’ she asked innocently.

‘I’m warning you—’

‘Ooh, I love it when you come on all strong and domineering!’ She gave him a mischievous glance from beneath lowered lashes.

‘Will you be serious for five minutes,’ Alex snapped tautly. ‘I never thought that when I proposed my intended bride would laugh at me!’

‘I’m not laughing, Alex. And you haven’t proposed.’

‘I haven’t?’ he frowned. ‘No, I haven’t, have I? And I don’t intend to,’ he said with the old forcefulness. ‘You’re going to marry me—and no arguments. I have your parents’ permission, and that’s all that matters.’

‘You’ve spoken to my mother and father?’ Her eyes widened.

‘Yes, I’ve spoken to them, but Laurence knew how I felt the day we met him at the airport. That’s why he knew it wasn’t true when you accused me of wanting you only for revenge on him.’

‘Then he’s known more than I have,’ Lauri said with remembered pain. ‘That day at the airport you were horrible to me. You even said you were going to see Connie Mears.’

‘Pure fabrication, as was the woman I told you I’d found. I don’t want anyone but you, I haven’t since the moment we met. A little self-preservation on
my
part, I’m afraid. God, you can’t imagine the shock I had when I realised you were Laurence’s daughter! I think I must have gone mad for a few days. I just wanted to hurt you.’

‘That night you took me to your apartment,’ she said huskily.

‘Yes,’ Alex agreed heavily. ‘I also realised that night that I had to marry you. When I hurt you so badly I realised just how much I loved you, that by hurting you I was just hurting myself. I followed you back to your home with the intention of asking you to marry me. But Steve interrupted, and after that there never seemed to be a right time. Laurence collapsed, and I was worried that he was going to die before you even knew he was your father.’

She smoothed his brow. ‘We’ve done nothing but hurt each other.’

‘But no more. I love you, Lauren. You’re the most important thing in the world to me. I just can’t live without you. Now tell me you love me, or must I use force?’

Knowing what direction his force would take, she willingly opted for the latter.

‘Do you love me?’ Alex demanded before he would even kiss her.

‘Very much,’ she nodded.

‘Then tell me!’

‘You said you didn’t want a ring through your nose,’ she reminded him teasingly, ‘or a collar and lead around your throat.’

‘And you told me you didn’t want to get married.’

She smiled. ‘I lied.’

‘Tell me!’ he groaned.

‘I love you very, very much,’ she said huskily. ‘And if you don’t soon kiss me I think I’ll die.’

‘You’re going to make me a shameless wife,’ he chuckled. ‘Thank God!’

Lauri raised her eyebrows. ‘I haven’t said I’ll marry you.’

‘No,’ he claimed her mouth in a savagely arousing kiss. ‘But you will.’

And she did.

* * * * *