She was ashamed of the weakness, she really was, but Sephy found herself wishing the walk to the restaurant could have lasted for ever. It was the sort of stuff dreams were made of.
As they stepped out of the centrally heated warmth of the foyer into the harsh, driving sleet Conrad folded her securely into his side, one arm round her shoulders and the other holding the massive umbrella protectively over her so that they were enclosed in their own intimate world.
Her head slid just under his square chin, as though it had been made to fit there, and the angle at which he was holding her forced her arm round his waist so that her stomach was pressed against his hard thigh and the smell and feel of him was all around her.
‘Mmm, this was a good idea of yours after all.’ His voice was deep and husky as they stood just outside the building, careless of the harassed commuters hurrying past them, anxious to catch buses and trains. ‘I never realised what I was missing using the car all these years.’
One of his other women would have made some light, teasing, amusing reply, no doubt, but held against his powerful male body as she was, with trickles of heat making her limbs fluid, Sephy thought she was doing pretty well just to remain upright.
He didn’t love her, and his interest was predacious to say the least, but her body seemed determined to ignore all the frantic warnings her brain was giving it and thrill to his closeness. Her breasts were heavy and full, there was a warm throbbing ache deep inside her and her blood was singing through her veins in a way that made her feel more gloriously alive than she had in years.
‘Five minutes, did you say?’ He whispered the words into her hair, lowering his head slightly, and she felt herself go weak at the knees. ‘How about we go the long way?’
‘I…I don’t know a long way,’ she said feebly.
‘Pity.’
He lowered his head further, his eyes moving over her flushed cheeks and bright eyes, and then he smiled, very slowly, his gaze warm on her face. ‘Eyes like warm honey. Eyes a man could lose himself in,’ he murmured softly. ‘I’ve never seen such eyes before. And your skin is real peaches and cream.’
‘We…we ought to start walking.’ If they didn’t she would melt into a little pool at his feet and he would have to scoop her up off the pavement.
‘You’re beautiful, Sephy, and you really don’t know it, do you?’ he continued in a low voice. ‘I’ve watched you over the last months—hell, I’ve done nothing else but watch you all day and take umpteen cold showers all night—and you’re genuinely oblivious to how you effect the male sex.’
She stared at him in utter surprise, the eyes of which he had spoken open wide and her mouth slightly agape. He couldn’t seriously be talking about her, could he? Was he mad?
She couldn’t let him guess what this was doing to her. She drew on all her reserves and managed to say, her voice faintly teasing, ‘Cold showers? With Caroline and all those other gorgeous women available? I think not.’
The stunning blue eyes were very steady as he said, ‘My position makes it necessary to have companions at various functions and whatever, but since the first day you have worked for me that’s all they have been. I have never yet taken one woman to bed for mere sexual release when my mind and my body has been occupied with someone else. Even I have certain principles.’
‘You weren’t occupied with me,’ she protested shakily.
‘Oh, yes, I was, Sephy,’ he said softly, a strange half-smile on his lips. ‘More than you’ll ever know.’
This powerful, magnetic, ruthless tycoon, who could inspire fear and trembling in the most hard-boiled business associates and have women falling at his feet in seconds, had been waiting for her? It was unbelievable, and yet in all the months she had known him she had never heard him lie.
‘You accused me of playing musical beds and that assumption is based on gossip and hearsay,’ he continued quietly. ‘Whilst it wasn’t particularly flattering to think you considered me that crass, I could understand where it had come from. I’ve had women, Sephy, lots of women, from the time I ventured out into the big bad world, but if I’d slept with all the females accredited to me I’d deserve a medal for sheer endurance. I can actually take a woman out for the pleasure of her company and nothing else.’
She stared up into the dark lean face, totally unaware of anything but him.
‘I’m rich and I’m powerful and those attributes carry their own penalties,’ Conrad said evenly. ‘There’s always some reporter somewhere who’s anxious to fill a column, and if they can get under your skin a bit, rile you, then all the better. Human nature is the same the whole world over, and the have-nots will always take a hit at the ones who have made it, even if they’ve sweated blood to get there.’
‘And have you sweated blood?’ she asked softly.
They looked at each other for a second and then he shrugged dismissively. ‘There were a few rough times in the beginning, but I can’t complain,’ he said, in such a way she knew the brief glimpse into the psyche of this complicated and disturbing man was over. He allowed her so far and then no more, and it was tantalising.
‘So…’ He pulled her closer in to him as he lowered the massive umbrella a fraction and kissed her swiftly before straightening again. ‘I’m in your hands,’ he said silkily, his eyes lazy.
‘My hands?’ Brief as the kiss had been, it had caused feelings akin to little flames flickering through her.
‘The way to the restaurant?’ he mocked softly. ‘Remember?’
‘Oh, yes, of course.’ She tried to pull herself together but it wasn’t easy, locked against him as she was. And he knew, he knew how he was affecting her, she told herself silently, but just at the moment she couldn’t work up the annoyance his arrogance should have demanded. Not with him holding her like this.
Time lost all meaning on the short walk to Giorgio’s. She had never felt so cherished, so protected, so deliciously feminine in her life before, and even though she knew it was an illusion—at least the cherishing part—it didn’t stop her from feeling as though she’d entered heaven on earth.
The little restaurant was almost full when Conrad opened the door and she stepped into the warm, aromatic interior— Giorgio was beginning to benefit from a well-deserved reputation and inevitably Friday nights were always popular—but when Giorgio saw her he at once came bustling to their side, his round face beaming.
‘We haven’t booked,’ Sephy said quickly, before he asked, ‘but I wondered if you’d got a table for two, Giorgio?’