Web of Deception (13 page)

Walking into the bedroom, he saw she was still sitting on the edge of the bed in her thermals, her bare feet dangling down. Her hair was messed up from wearing a beanie all day but she looked beautiful as always.

He wondered how it was possible for a woman to look so damn sexy wearing candy striped thermal underwear. He didn’t have an answer. He only knew he wanted to get her out of those clothes as quickly as possible.

Kate looked up at him. “I’m too tired to move.”

“You’ll feel better after a soak in the tub.”

“That s
ounds good,” she said. “If only I could get up.”

Daniel stretched out his hand and she took it, following him back into the bathroom.

She stepped ahead of him onto the bath mat, her hands on her hips as she peered into the tub. “That looks good.”

“We’ll have to get you out of these clothes first.”

He wound his hands around her waist from behind, hooked his fingers over the hem of her thermal top. Kate raised her arms obediently as he lifted the top over her head and tossed it onto the tiles. She turned her head to look at him through the corner of her eye. Daniel unhooked her bra, slid the straps off her shoulders before sending the bra in the same direction as her top.

Instinctively
, he lowered his lips to the curve of her neck and kissed her gently from behind. He wrapped his arms around her waist again, his fingers inching higher up her rib cage towards those lush round breasts.

His fingertips skimmed the underside of her breasts. He wanted her. All of her. But he would make her wait.

Sidling up close behind her, his chest was pressed against the fine smooth skin of her back. She felt so good. His hands dropped lower until he hooked them over the top of her thermal pants and he slid them down over her thighs. Stepping out of them, she wore only flimsy black panties, striking against her pale skin.

Daniel slid one hand over her stomach and pulled her close. His other hand slid over the lace of her panties. She gasped and tilted her head back onto his chest.

“This isn’t very sensible underwear, now is it?” he said. “Best we get rid of it.”

Still breathless, she nodded and he lowered the scrap of fabric down to her ankles. On his knees behind her, he pressed his mouth on the soft flesh of her bottom, then slowly stood, trailing kisses up her spine. She was so soft, her skin so smooth, and as he pulled her close again he thought how well she fit against his body.

His towel hadn’t shifted from his waist, so he ripped it off. Last night and the night before when they’d made love, it had been so quick, so intense. This time, he was going to make it last longer so he could savour every moment.

Daniel pressed one final kiss to her neck. “We can’t let the spa go to waste. It’s our last night in the mountains.”

Taking her hand, he helped her into the tub, then joined her.

“Champagne!” Kate pointed to the silver tray with two glasses a
nd a chilled bottle on it. Daniel had put it there before his shower.

“I’d almost forgotten about that,” he said. “I was distracted.”

Reaching across, he removed the foil, popped the cork and poured two glasses. He passed one to her.

Kate’s lips curled to a sultry smile as they clinked glasses. “This is the life.”

“So you could get used to this?”

She took a sip of champagne. “Absolutely.”

This could all be hers. And so much more.

If only she would open her mind just a little and look at things from a different viewpoint, from out
side the square. She’d shown Daniel what she was capable of on the slopes this afternoon when she’d forgotten the rules her ski instructor had taught her. She’d trusted herself instead, flown down the hill, gone much faster than she thought she could. If only she would take his hand now and let him show her the way.

Kate
knew what she wanted. She’d been very clear on the matter. A man, a home, a family, and a career, of course. And he respected that. There was no reason she couldn’t work after having children if that was important to her though her priorities might change after the fact.

So might his too, for that matter. He could scale down the business. It’s not like he needed the money but he did enjoy the thrill of the next deal. Working from home could be an option if he decided to spend more time with the children. He just hadn’t had the chance to think about it.
There was still time time for that.

Security must surely be a consideration for Kate, though she’d never stated it directly. That was one thing he could give her. She wouldn’t want for anything and he’d make sure she was well taken care of for the rest of her life.

She wanted all those things and saw marriage as the first step to achieving her goals.

But there were other paths she could take which would lead to the same end. There were other ways which would fulfill her, satisfy her. She just had to open her mind to it, consider other options.

Why was she so set on marriage? Perhaps there was more to her past than she’d let on.

Kate’s eyes were closed as she slid lower into the tub, glass still in hand.

“You’ll drown if you slide down any lower,” Daniel said.

As she sat up higher, he glimps
ed a flash of dusky nipple, until she adjusted her position so she was covered by water and the bubbles.

She smiled. “Perhaps I was a little too relaxed.”

“I’m glad I have that effect on you.” He slid beside her so their thighs were touching. Putting his glass down, he stretched one arm around her. “I get the feeling sometimes that you’re on your guard.”

“You know the old saying. Once bitten, twice shy.”

“We’ve all been “bitten”. We’ve all had experiences, some not so pleasant, that have shaped us.”

“That’s it, I guess. I’ve made mistakes and I don’t want to make the same ones again.”

“What happened? Before Mark, I mean.”

“I told you about Craig Deal, the ad guy, and how shallow that relationship was.” She looked down. “There was another man after him. A bigger mistake.”

“Kate, everyone makes mistakes.”

“Not like this. This was a complete sham. I just didn’t know it at the time.”

“What made it so bad?”

“He was ten years older than me and much more worldly. I thought he was sophisticated but that’s not how I’d describe him now. He was cunning and clever in ways I could never be and I think he’d had years of practice at it. I wasn’t looking out for it. I’d never met such an accomplished liar. Never suspected someone could be that two-faced.”

“What did he lie about?”

Kate sipped her champagne.
“Everything that was important. Now that I look back on it, I should have picked up on the clues. He only gave me his mobile and work numbers, not his home phone. We always went to my place, never his. He said he was renovating. Oldest story in the book.”

The penny dropped.

But Daniel knew Kate well enough to know she would never fool around with a married man or break up someone else’s marriage. She had far too much integrity for that. There wasn’t a nasty bone in her body.

“
He was married,” Daniel said.

She nodded. “And everyone else seemed to know ab
out it except me.”

“So how did you find out?”

“We were having drinks with some people from his work. I overheard him say something to a mate about Sharon and I asked a woman from his office who she was. She said it was his wife and looked at me like I was an idiot, like it was really obvious. But it wasn’t to me. I was in shock.”

“And what did
he
say?”

She shrugged.
“Not much. He acted like it was no big deal. Told me I was overreacting.”

Daniel raised his eyebrows. “He expected you to put up with that?”

“Yes. He said if his wife didn’t care, there was no reason I should. Apparently they had an open relationship but the fact is, he hadn’t been open with me about any of it until I confronted him. He knew I wouldn’t have had a bar of him if I’d known he was married. I’ve got standards and I think he found that funny. Thought it was a game. He used me.”

What kind of man would do that? All men wanted sex. There was nothing new in that. But if that was what he’d wanted there were other ways of getting it. Other women, for a start. Because Kate was too kind a person to treat so badly.

A curl of anger unfurled in Daniel’s stomach. Did that man know how much his selfishness had affected her? Would he even care?

Daniel cared.

Though it was in her past, this had obviously shaped her personality and her ideas and the woman she had become.

Kate put her champagne glass to her lips, then lowered it. And the words came tumbling out.

“Do you know what the worst thing was?” she asked. “He was completely dishonest about the whole thing, not just through the relationship but at the end when I broke it off with him too. He refused to accept that he’d kept anything from me or done anything wrong. I was shattered when it happened but the thing that stuck with me the most afterwards was the lack of honesty and integrity.”

So that was
why she’d found a man like Mark afterwards. He wasn’t the kind who’d lead her on or cheat on her. With Mark, what you saw was what you got. The man was reliability personified. That was one of the things that made him a good employee.

“Not all men are like that,” Daniel
said. “Not all of us are dishonest. You got unlucky. And if I saw that bastard I’d take great satisfaction in punching him out.”

“I’m sure you would.”

“I’ve been honest with you from the beginning. I wanted you from the start and that hasn’t changed.”

She looked at the glass in her hand
. “You’ve never led me on. But surely you can see why I don’t want to be taken for a ride again. My heart has led me astray not once, but over and over again. I don’t want to do it that way any more. To make my choices based on my feelings. I’ve got a good head on my shoulders.” With a wry smile, she added, “I just need to use it more.”

“You’re an intelligent woman, Kate.”

“Mark wasn’t right for me either. He’s a nice guy. Reliable. Caring. I can’t say a bad word about him. But we weren’t right for each other. We didn’t have deep feelings for each other. Certainly not enough to last us a life-time together. It wasn’t anyone’s fault that the relationship fizzled out.”

“Your feelings aren’t always wrong,” Daniel said. “There’s a strong attraction between you and me. Emotional as well as physical. You can’t deny it. But we can make the most of it without hurting each other. It doesn’t have to be that way. And I guarantee I’ll always be honest with you.”

Kate looked at him, her expression serious. “I’ve been honest with you too. I know what we’ve got won’t last forever.”

He returned her deep stare. “But I’m all right for a bit of hanky panky? A good time?”

Her lips parting, she nodded. “A very good time. That hasn’t changed.”

Kate was wrong. Something
had
changed for him. From the moment he first saw her, he knew he wanted her, but he hadn’t known how she could fit into his plans in the long term. Not for life. But for much longer than a fling. This was a woman who could satisfy him in so many ways.

Lowering her eyelids Kate sipped her champagne, then put the glass to his lips. The fine bubbles of rich liquid were refreshing and he felt a surge of renewed energy. Taking the glass from her hand, he placed it on the edge of the spa with his.

Kate was too fast for him. She slid one leg over to perch herself on his lap facing him. The look in her eye told him she was done with talking. She rested her hands on his upper thighs and leaned forward, her breasts pressed together by her arms.

The wet ends of her hair tumbled forward so he pushed the locks behind her shoulders. He wanted to see her. Those lush, round breasts were put there for his enjoyment, after all.

Tilting her head closer, she covered his mouth with hers.

She was all his.

*          *          *

Kate’s lips were still swollen and her body limp from their love-making, her hair splayed across the pillow. She lay on her side and reached across to place her hand on his chest.

Daniel wondered if she wanted more. Was it possible he’d found a woman with whom he couldn’t keep up? They’d only been getting warmed up in the spa before ordering room service and spending the rest of the evening naked, rolling around on the bed together.

“Daniel,” she said, “I told you about my past but you’ve never told me about what happened with Jane.”

The way women wanted to talk after sex amazed him. What was wrong with simply lying side by side? Or closing you eyes and falling asleep?

He turned onto his side and cupped her face in his hands. “Surely you don’t want to talk now. Wouldn’t you rather just fall asleep in my arms?”

“I’ll do that later. But I deserve to know about your life too.”

Daniel rolled onto his back again. “There’s not much to tell.”